Dear ALL
Dates to diarise:
- 19 July Zoom meeting: Celia de Villiers on Community Engagement.
- 16 August Textile Art Port Elizabeth (TAPE) Entry form to GFI Gallery.
- 28 August art works sent to Carole Green - see below.
- 5 September to 16 October 2024 TAPE exhibition at the GFI Gallery in Gqeberha. More on this later.
- National Fibreworks Members Exhibition:
Tina Skukan Gallery, 26 May 2024
Thank you for the opportunity to open this inspirational exhibition. Tilly, Jenny, and Rex have put together a fantastic exhibition.
According to Jenny and Tilly there was no central theme to the exhibition, but the title is itself ties the works together. The definition of word 'Odyssey' is a long and eventful or adventurous journey or experience, and this is exactly what each and every work is.
There are over 60 works from about 30 artists so the exhibition. According to the artists, many of the works took 3 months of full time works and longer. That amounts to more than 10 years of works hanging on the walls of this exhibition. A lot more man hours represented here than most exhibitions even major retrospectives.
I was always an aspiring artist but as a full-time architect in my own business with two children, there was never enough space for an easel or canvas or time to learn and practice skills required for most of the traditional art practices. My mother however taught me the basics of sewing very early on and all through school, sewing was still taught to girls as was woodworking taught to boys, so it became an instinctive skill.
Sewing was easy and unpressurised. It became an unintimidating way to make art in between life. Small pieces could be done sitting in a car waiting for ballet lessons and in the aeroplane to site visits then rolled up into a bag until the next available opportunity. I think that's why so many women are drawn to textile arts generally, the basic skills are taught early on, and it can be done anywhere. It is also enormously therapeutic in our frantic lives. It would be of so much benefit to children if basic skills like seeing, woodworking and cooking were introduced back into schools for all children.
That said, I am very pleased to see the beautiful works by Paul Shutte. Much world class contemporary textile art is by men and African ones at that for example El Anatsui and our own Igshaam Adams.
Textile and Fibre art include a wide range of techniques from embroidery, applique, felting, quilting, painting, and many others. It is not restricted to two-dimensional art as we see on this exhibition in the bowls of Tilly de Harde, Helga Beaumont's Fibonacci Spiral Bowl, and Jenny Hearn's divination board.
For me sewing has many parallels with architecture. Pattern making and using planes to create three dimensional pieces should be a part of all artist student's education.
The techniques and materials used in these works have their own cultural significance and personal associations and these add layers of meaning to the stories these artists tell in their works.
Cathy Knox incorporates mud cloth designs and Adinkrah symbols into her work. Before she even starts with her own transformations the viewer is transported to West Africa and the meanings of the symbols.
Small pieces of Shweshwe in Sarojani Ganasen's Nature's Bounty, take me straight back home to South Africa. The huge array of Shweshwe colours and designs in fabrics stores in South Africa are like coloured pencils in a pencil box in an art shop. One really needs one of each!
Corina Lemmer's pieces of blue and white porcelain in the stitched blue landscape somehow take us to our grandmother's kitchens and treasured ceramics from Europe. Her traditional beaded messages and addressed envelopes take us back to days of physical communication before WhatsApp messages and emails.
The Indonesian Batik pieces that make up the ammonite fossils in Sheila Walwyn's Nature's Design perfectly capture the subtle colours and patterns in the fossils.
Odette Tolksdorf's Breathe Lightly, made of carefully colour graded, folded organza squares takes a traditionally feminine dress making fabric and transforms it into an almost pop art modern artwork.
In our current climate culture of trying to reduce waste, textile art is one of the most effective techniques for the reuse of materials. From the teabag art of Sue Akerman and Karin Arbeter to Tilly de Harde's reuse of her "Textile compost". Textile art more often uses left over scraps of material, old tableware and clothes, fibre scraps and indeed anything else the artist finds and through skill and imagination transforms them into something "new".
Lastly, the craftsmanship and attention to detail is reminiscent of the old masters and viewers can spend hours scrutinizing the details of these works and marveling at the patience and skill. In this age of immediate gratification and short attention spans, these types of works are becoming increasingly rare and are immensely satisfying. Please spend the time looking at every artwork and allow yourself to be enveloped by the textures, colours, and stories that each piece presents.
Thank you for inviting me to speak and thereby involving me in your exhibition. I loved having good excuse to look at each work properly and feel inspired to try new techniques. This brief interaction with these artists and their works reminds me of the importance of collaboration and sharing of ideas with like-minded artists. I hope to be a part of this group as well.
Sue Clark
Thanks very much Sue for your insightful commentary.
- Fibreworks meeting, 6 July, SAQG International Quilt Festival
Present: Odette Tolksdorf, Barbara Murray, Elaine Barnard, Sue Akerman, Paul Schutte, Mari Claasč, Tilly de Harde, Kathy Harmer Fox and Helga Beaumont
Thanks to Helga and Odette who chaired the meeting. It was Odette's birthday so matters were discussed with tasty relish and delight!
Thanks to Mari Claase and Tilly de Harde and Jenny Hearn for the success of the two recent Fibreworks exhibitions in Stellenbosch and Pretoria. So much hard work, but so successful. Thank you.
Mari spoke about the difficulty in finding a suitable gallery in Stellenbosch, and how much research and time had been necessary to achieve this.
Tilly gave us feedback from Rex, the co-owner and curator of Tina Skukan gallery: he wants artwork that is 'marketable i.e. work that sells'. He was very happy because over R100 000 work was sold! Congratulations to the following people who sold work:
- Jenny Hearn
- Tilly de Harde
- Kathy Harmer Fox
- Elaine Barnard
Kathy Harmer Fox said she noticed that in the past few years, galleries in South Africa are more willing to exhibit textile art and it's selling better than in the past. Several people agreed with her. Both Kathy and Tilly use Facebook to sell their works with great success and they encourage everyone to do the same. Thanks for sharing this.
Once again, the pricing of our work was discussed and Kathy Harmer Fox and Odette Tolksdorf shared their views on how they priced their work:
Kathy Harmer Fox talked about her pricing formula: she can sell a drawing/painting at R1000 a day, but a fibre piece is more intensive, so she charges in the region of R2000 per day. She works out the hours she puts into a new piece and tallies it up. Kathy therefore prices her work based on the time spent on the work.
Odette Tolksdorf pricing structure is different. She opts for a Width (100cm) x Length (100 cm) = R10 000. This is her starting point. Then Odette decides what's next: double, triple or halve that amount, or add or subtract a percentage? Any other variation which works.
Thanks for this input, Odette and Kathy. Clearly, there are various ways you can arrive at your Asking Price, and these formulae above from two people who have sold successfully in the past, can provide some guidelines.
A few people expressed the opinion that asking too low a price for an artwork in a group exhibition is not good, as it can lower the standard of an exhibition. This is debatable and resurrects an old discussion. Perhaps this needs to be addressed again. Perhaps our AGM - give this some thought.
Another point of discussion was the hefty overseas shipping/courier costs which discourages many of us from submitting work to international exhibitions. Quite a few of us have had to foot large return tariffs from overseas exhibitions, despite marking the work for exhibition purposes only. Sue Akerman recommended a company called Artist Admin (Pty) Ltd that she uses to ship art works overseas. phone: 010 880 5286, email fatima@artistsadmin.co.za This matter needs to be further investigated.
Even so, if anyone sees international or other exhibitions advertised, please share it on our WhatsApp group and send the information to Helga.
Mari is very keen on the Fibreworks members holding an artist retreat. Any suggestions on where and how we can do that? We have talked about this lovely idea in the ancient past and perhaps now it's time to resurrect the idea!
Congratulations also to all our Fibreworks prize winners at the International Quilt Festival: Marilyn Pretorius for her Best on show and all the others who kept the Art category alive.
Fiberworks Membership
Below are two questions we are often asked about our Fibreworks group:
1.'Why don't you ask ???? to become a Fibreworks member, her work is so good?'
2. 'If someone wants to join Fibreworks, why do they have to go through the process of submitting a CV, Artist Statement, images etc? Can't we just shortcut it by looking at their work?'
Here are the answers:
Question 1
Google Fibreworks and have a look at our website: fiberworksart.com. It has all the information for anyone to apply for membership at any time. https://fibreworksart.com/Membership.html
Question 2
Submitting a CV & images etc. shows a commitment to becoming a Fibreworks member and gives the prospective member an idea of the administrative work that is needed for exhibiting with the group. Fibreworks is not a group for people who have never exhibited their work. Finally with regard to a CV and images - it is good way for Fibreworks members to get to know a little about prospective new members.
Chat soon
Helga, Odette, Jeanette
- TAPE Exhibition
Date: 5 September to 16 October 2024
TAPE Textile Art Port Elizabeth
To give you a little more info about the upcoming exhibition at the GFI Gallery this year
HAND IN DATE: Wednesday 28th August no late entries can be accepted
This Exhibition ties in with the 37th Conference of the South African Visual Art Historians Association being held at the Nelson Mandela University.
Quote from SAVAH
Theme Overview: As South Africa continues its journey of self-discovery, the concept of "settling" takes on renewed significance. One may think of settler-colonialism, and the associations between settlement and belonging, along with expressions that relate to place and trauma, such as letting the dust settle. On the other hand, looking back over recent history from the end of the apartheid era, or even further back, some complacencies in contemporary South African society might still need to be "unsettled". This raises questions about how much we have actually changed. The visual and performing arts offer opportunities for critical interrogation of the "settled" and "unsettling" dynamics of our society and how we express ourselves.
While the title of the exhibition is UNSETTLED the art works can be your interpretation of the subject. OR any other Fibre art work piece, within the size limits.
Art Works to be handed in or delivered to Carole Green 64 Stanbury Park, Seymour road, South End, Port Elizabeth 6001.
POSTNET is Waterfront Spar, Humerail. Humewood. South End Port Elizabeth 6001
This is the only POSTNET I can collect from please
Entry fee is R20 or more as it is a donation to the Keiskamma Embroiders
Deposit details Carole Green FNB Walmer branch code 211417 Account 51320051645
Entry forms must be emailed directly to GFI Gallery before 16th August 2024 manager@gfigallery.com
- Website: https://www.fiberworksart.com/
If you are unsure, look at the web site.
If there is a query, we put the buyer in touch with you the artist and you negotiate the postage and sale. Remember there is then a commission of 10% that goes to Fibreworks.
That's all for now folks!
Jeanette and Helga
