Louise Saxton - WILD

As a member of the Australian Lace Guild I have taken on the job of writing a regular article for the Australian Lace Magazine.  The articles will focus on contemporary lace makers and artists who use lace as inspiration for their work.  The bonus is that the artists might also agree to allow me to feature them in this blog.

The first artist I have the honour of introducing is the amazing Australian Artist Louise Saxton.  If you are lucky enough to be in Melbourne between November 12 - December 5 please head to her exhibition entitled WILD.

WILD  
12 November - 5 December
Gould Galleries
270 Toorak Road, South Yarra 3141

www.gouldgalleries.com

Louise Saxton in studio with Feint Heart 2015 after Adrian Feint 1944
(Photo shows work in progress)
Reclaimed needlework, glass-head pins, lace pins, nylon tulle
Approx. H 185 x W 165cm

Louise uses 'reclaimed' embroidery and lace to create amazing artworks.  Although each reclaimed piece holds a new purpose in her work, it still honours its historical origins.

Louise's work developed an embroidery/lace focus after a residency in Kuala Lumper in 2006.  She had always loved textiles but the immersion in the exotic birds, insects and gardens inspired her to begin working with the 'garden that is embroidery'.  Louise collects the embroidery and lace  from markets, op shops, friends, family and travels.  She then creates her work by cutting and pinning these pieces together to form a contemporary tactile assemblage.  

When asked about her current body of work for WILD Louise stated - 

In this exhibition I turn my attention from birds and insects to flora, but in a more eclectic way, however my concerns for the loss of domestic art traditions and species in the natural world are still prevalent.  The title WILD speaks to my process and the various materials I use, as well as my motivation behind this more eclectic second exhibition at Gould Galleries.  In Sanctuary Too I sought to find sanctuary for the disappearing materials and in WILD I have sought to “go wild” – in both my approach to the medium and in my imagination.  For me the term describes the overall impact I hope the exhibition will have and also its references to nature.  While only a portion of the embroidery used to create this body of work is Australian wildflowers, the entire flora in the exhibition (from the most stylized or the most accurate embroidered motif, to my reinterpreted paintings of flowers) has its origins in a wildflower somewhere in the world.  Even genetically modified flora comes from a wild source.  Overall I hope that the viewer might leave the exhibition with a sense of “that was wild”.

Bubo & Snow 2014 – after Edward Lear 1832
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle and silk on museum board
H 73 x W 52cm
Private Collection Boston MA, USA

Louise Saxton in studio with Feint Heart 2015 after Adrian Feint 1944
(Photo shows work in progress)
Reclaimed needlework, glass-head pins, lace pins, nylon tulle
Approx. H 185 x W 165cm

I have had the privilege of seeing Louise's work and love the texture and sculptural quality her pieces have as each piece is pinned together.  Her works are contemporary while honouring the tradition and beauty of each reclaimed piece.

If you are in Melbourne and can get to Gould Galleries please do.  You will not regret seeing these pieces, their textures, colours and beauty

For more examples of Louise’s exquisite work head to http://www.louisesaxton.com/ Under the Journal section you will find some amazing detail of the creation of “Feint Heart” and “Partum Floralia” 2015, both of which will feature in the WILD exhibition.

Photos by Gavin Hansford

Spinners for MeMe

I am very privileged to have a wonderful friend who recently began her foray in the world of Etsy shops.  Jen is an amazing woman and mother who somehow finds time to continue to explore her love for design and all things sewing.

Jen's store, Spinners for MeME sells amazing hand crafted spinners (AKA dresses) in sizes 1-4.  I recently took on a collaboration with Jen.  It is a perfect union in my book, I get to make lace and Jen gets to sew and the outcome is a stunning handmade dress with handmade lace features.

The first creation of our collaboration is a dress called the Petticoat Spinner.  In Jen's words -
 It is a classic design, with a lightweight blue cotton over a silver grey cotton voile lining, the full lining drapes into a half circle skirt which peeks out below the outer dress. In our house dresses are known as Spinners, and each new design gets its own name, so this dress has been named the "Petticoat Spinner".





I have designed a handmade lace cloud which hovers over the dresses silver lining.  We are very proud to have had one sale so far and I hope this is the beginning of many more lace collaborations with Spinners for MeMe.

The bonus is this particular dress has been specially designed for the #makeforgood campaign, raising funds for Plan Internationals "Because I am A Girl" project, which supports women in developing countries access education, healthcare and with protection of human rights. 20% of the sale price will be donated to the campaign.

To see more of Jen's wonderful creations and inspiration please check out Spinners for MeMe and Facebook and Instagram.

Veteran Community Story Writing and Art Competition

The Story Writing and Art Competition (SWAC) is an annual art/painting, craft, photography, story writing and poetry event run specifically for members of Victoria’s ex-service community.  The competition is open to current and ex- service men and women as well as his/her partner, children and grandchildren.

The competition began in 1962 at the Repatriation General Hospital in Heidelberg, Melbourne, as therapy for returned soldiers. Today, it continues to enhance participants’ health and wellbeing by providing the opportunity to develop new skills, interests and social support.  This year there was a record number of entries from those currently serving, demonstrating the power creating art has at such times.

My grandfather served as a Commando in World War 2 and encouraged me to enter an artwork I completed many years ago that reflects upon war.  I noticed there was also a textile and fibre category so decided to take the opportunity to enter some wire lace.  I thought this would be an opportunity to exhibit and allow a wider audience to see this style of lace.

My grandfather accompanied me to the opening and to my surprise and our delight my lace piece entitled Gum Leaves had won third prize.  I am looking forward to attending the award ceremony in November.

 This award, along with my recent recognition at the Triennial Lace Awards has encouraged me to continue to explore the world of wire lace and continue to develop my own style and designs using this medium. 

The Australian Lace Guild - Trienial Lace Awards for 2015

The Triennial Award is a competition held every three years by the Australian Lace Guild.  The theme for 2015 was Gold.  There are various categories including bobbin, needle and mixed laces as well as group entries.  This year I decided to enter a piece under the bobbin lace category.  This was a huge step for me as until this year, I had never entered a piece of lace into anything other than a country show.

As per my previous post I participated in a lace demonstration at the National Gallery of Victoria ealier this year as part of their Exquisite Threads exhibition.  The exhibition coincided with my decision to make a piece for the Trienial Awards so I went along looking for inspiration for my design.  I certainly found it.

Below is the piece I made. It is made with copper wire.  The design is made in three sections and then joined.

Here you can see where I found my inspiration at Exquisite Threads.  These are strong connections to the shapes lines and form of three of the pieces from the exhibition.

The winners for the award were announced at the AGM during the National Conference.  To my delight I was awarded Highly Commended.  It is an honour to learn that my piece is regarded highly amongst the lace community. 

I really enjoyed designing this piece and creating it.  The whole process just seemed to flow together.  It has certainly inspired me to continue designing and creating pieces in wire.

The theme for the next Trienial Award is footprints.  If I pulled this piece together in four months lets see where my imagination, skills and drive can take me in three years........

Exquisite Threads – English Embroidery 1600s-1900s

 Image from NGVsite

Exquisite Threads – English Embroidery 1600s-1900s is currently on at the NGV international until July 12.

The Australian Lace Guild has been invited to talk and demonstrate a variety of laces as part of the exhibition on June 14 and July 11 at 11:45am.  I am excited and a tad nervous to be demonstrating wire lace at this event on both days. So if you are free please come and have a look.  It will be a great way to see a variety of laces on display and being made at the same time.

The exhibition itself is a great collection and well displayed. From samplers made by seven year olds in the 1700s to art deco fashion of the 1920s.  Taking the time to view the short videos of how some of the pieces are made is well worthwhile.

This is one of may favourite pieces, an apron from the 1730s.  Image from the NGV site.

Why is this on my blog for contemporary lace you may ask?  Because the traditions and skills of the past are what inspire our creations for the future.

5000 Poppies reflection

I was privileged to visit 5000 Poppies  on April 24 and again on April 25.  What an incredible project.  I am in awe of the women who dreamt of the project and supported it and nurtured it as it grew from 5000 to over 250,000.000 poppies.

 

Poppies were draped on the steps of Federation Square and found in the surrounding garden beds, atrium and galleries.  

Try as I might I could not find my poppy however I did manage to find some other lovely lace poppies.

A massive congratulations to the project and I hope the poppies can continue to travel and be seen at various locations long into the future.