Archive for the Artwork Articles Category
As most cross stitch enthusiasts will already know, not only is cross stitching a very rewarding, relaxing hobby but it is also a form of art.
Although most cross stitch kits provide everything required to complete your chosen item, it still requires a degree of artistic skill to complete your piece of work, frame it and then decide where it should be hung to achieve the maximum result. If you have decided to make a present of your cross stitched piece to a friend or relative, not only will they greatly appreciate your gesture but will, no doubt, request your advice on the best method of displaying such a treasure.
What an achievement of your imagination and “arty crafty” skills to design your own pattern, choosing your own colour scheme and theme - that really is artistic talent. Imagine the pleasure on someone`s face when you give them an originally designed cross stitched emblem to be sewn to a jacket pocket or attached to a pair of jeans - a really glitzy pattern will turn ordinary jeans into special jeans. A young football fan will be delighted with a baseball cap in his favourite team`s colours with possibly his name alongside the team emblem.
There are so many different types of needle craft following on from cross stitch including embroidery, quilting, needlepoint tapestry work, knitting and crochet which are also amongst the most popular forms of needle craft.
Embroidery is also an artistic needle craft and when you think of the number of items that can be embroidered the list is endless. For example, it is possible to transform a plain pillow case by embroidering a pretty pattern onto it, edging the complete pillow case with lace and you have created a luxurious place to rest your weary head when you have finished all that stitching.
Of course, now you need a pretty patchwork quilt to compliment the pillow cases - get quilting.
Needlepoint tapestry uses wool instead of sewing floss and the completed results are very dramatic and hardwearing. Footstools are an ideal example of needlepoint tapestry.
Experienced knitters will know they are creating something unique when making a Fair Isle item of clothing. The patterns are very intricate and it needs a great deal of skill to use several colours (without dropping any stitches) but this form of knitting really does enable you to end up with a very special sweater, hat or cardigan.
Crochet is another form of needlecraft and it is possible to complete some really unusual items - one of my favourite keepsakes is a crochet christening shawl my mum made for my first baby. This shawl comprises some 500 individually crocheted shells and is absolutely gorgeous. As you can imagine, it has now become a family heirloom with my grandchildren each being christened in it.
So you see there are several forms of needle craft following on from cross stitch which could all be referred to as artistic. Cross stitched cushion covers, coasters, greetings cards, matching tablecloths and napkins are all beautiful pieces of Cross Stitch illustrating your artistic as well as sewing talents.
If you love graphic art and you haven’t yet got hold of a copy of FLIGHT then something is clearly and desperately wrong! Mind you, not living in Canada is a hindrance as it is published there. I should have been writing this five years ago but by god time flies faster than flight that is now in its fifth year. Every Christmas I get a new copy of it from my brother who lives in Canada and I’m always amazed by the sheer variety of talent and inventiveness contained in it. Flight showcases many different graphic artists ranging from wonderful painters to sketchy cartoons. The stories can go across all five issues or just be a one-off and the variety of ideas and characters is staggering. The first one is always about a fox-like creature with a crystal horn called Rex and you really get to love this little alien creature as he goes on his long voyage of self-discovery in a bizarre world of alien life forms. One particular cartoon style strip that only started in issue four is so funny I almost cry. It has the bizarre title of ‘Igloo-head and Tree-head’ who are the two main characters and the artist-writer of this one really has a strange and wonderful sense of humour with the innocence of a child thrown in for good measure. Some stories are moral messages, others are just fun. Some make you think, others make you feel, but given the variety it is hard not to find something you like and to be able to enjoy such a wide range of artistic and writing talent is a real joy. Even if you don’t manage to find a copy in your own country it is certainly worth sending off to Canada for. The only reason I haven’t name-checked particular artists here is that it would seem a shame to name some and leave others out as they are all doing such a wonderful job of contributing to this project. But let’s give a mention to Kazu Kibuishi who is behind the whole Flight project. Let’s hope it soars on for many years to come.
Have you ever wondered how comic artists manage to conceive of some of the bizarre and outrageous poses of their characters? That leering expression or striding hero figure, that posturing or fawning servant, for instance? Well, Glenn Fabry, a comic artist of no small talent has given us the privilege of a glimpse into his world by showing us the photos he took of himself for some of his work, which flip over to the final artwork when you put your cursor on the photo. Go and have a look. It’s really a fun way to look at how an artist works. Then come back here and tell us what you thought of it. You just need to click here to go to the right page on Glenn Fabry’s website.
It really is great to feature some artforms here that are not painting or drawing. These short films are so well designed and produced it is hard to believe they have been done by amateurs. Whether you like cats or not the chances are that the following short films will have you rolling off your chair and giggling helplessly on the floor. The third one is particularly recommended for engineers or anyone in a similar profession - ENJOY!
Every once in a while there comes along a really new style in art and rock, goth and metal bands have often been the first to pick up on the new art and commission an artist to produce a cover for their latest album in that style. Very often the art is so associated with the band that more than one cover ends up being done with a similar style or even by the same artist. This was the first cover commissioned by Paradise Lost from artist Holly Wurburton but has some similarities to the style of Dave McKeane who did the earlier ‘Shades of God’ and ‘As I Die’ covers. It was also the last one in this style as they changed their style musically and artistically quite radically after this album.
Probably the earliest artist-band symbiosis and also the most long-lived one was that between landscape surrealist Roger Dean and the progressive rock band YES (although Roger Dean did plenty of covers for many other bands too).
If you are looking at the cover for Draconian Times above and puzzling over the names of Holly Wurburton and Dave McKeane and particularly wondering why the latter seems so familiar (possibly because you have been living on the planet Pluto for the last ten years or ended up on this blog by mistake whilst looking for knitting patterns) then Dave McKeane was the artistic genius behind the covers for Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics and the designer for the incredible film Mirrormask. If you love McKeane’s art then you must see that film! It is to large extent Dave McKeane’s art come alive and it is wonderful to see his creatures come alive like that. Holly Warburton has had perhaps less involvement in the fantasy horror comic genre than Dave McKeane but has produced a fabulous array of fantastic art that you can see on her website.
Returning to the Draconian Times cover, the music, providing it is a genre you are into, is excellent. The first track Enchantment has the most incredible melody that seems so familiar that you feel you must have heard it before. No-one here has managed to figure out where it comes from if it is not original though. Any guesses? There was a large poster of the artwork of the Draconian Tiomes cover produced by the record company but sadly they’d all disappeared before we could lay our hands on any of them. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all …
Holly Warburton art here and Dave McKeane art here
Loads of MC Escher puzzles and prints by clicking here!