Toshiko Horiuchi

Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam is one of Japan's leading fibre artists, and one of a very small number that sometimes use knitting or crochet in their work. Living in Canada, she now specialises in creating large, interactive textile environments that function both as imaginative and vibrant explorations of colour and form.

Fibre columns/Romanesque Church

The beginning of her career coincided with the development of 'fibre art' as an active sub-section within the fine art world. Her work was very much a part of the new wave of fibre art that happened in the 1970's, and she was one of several Japanese artists to make a deep impression.

Nylon 6-6
	constructed net, crochet
	Horiuchi called the work which resulted from her change of direction, 'Sculpture for Children'.
	She describes the various factors that lead to this shift. Ever since her earliest work as a designer with a New York interior textile company she had been pondering the question, 'what is cloth?'. It was a question that continued to intrigue her. Cloth, she concluded, is a second skin and so, like skin, it is thin, it stretches and is comfortable to the touch and it is porous. Like skin, it can breath - a perforated membrane.

It was while she was trying to capture this notion within her work in a joint project with Naoko Furue in 1971 that she first discovered that there was another 'human' aspect to the essence of cloth that she had overlooked.

It all happened quite by accident. Two children had entered the gallery where she was exhibiting 'Multiple Hammock No. 1' and, blissfully unaware of the usual polite protocols that govern the display of fine art, asked to use it. She watched nervously as they climbed into the structure, but then was thrilled to find that the work suddenly came alive in ways she had never really anticipated. She noticed that the fabric took on new life - swinging and stretching with the weight of the small bodies, forming pouches and other unexpected transformations, and above all there were the sounds of the undisguised delight of children exploring a new play space. She felt it was almost as if she had discovered a new dimension. The children played with such abandon that it was almost as if they were playing inside a mothers womb.

Derby High Puppet Animation Project

Hello ladies, you have probably been wondering where I have been!

Well this week I had the fantastic oppotunity to spend 3 days working at Derby High School in Bury. The project was organised by the Ideas Foundation, which is an educational charity created by advertiser Robin Wight. They have two offices based which are based in London and Manchester which aim to spot creative talent in local schools that wouldn't usually be represented in the creative industries. A few lucky students are then selected for a Creative Schlarship programme.

Our aim of the week was to create a puppet animation film based on the importance of reading. The project was lead by experienced animator Paul Couvela, who has worked on Pingu and Bob the Builder, producer and writer, David Hanson who has previously worked on Corrie and Holly Oaks, and inspriational textiles artist Sally Ann Duis.

Our role as Student Mentors was to help and encourage small groups in specialist areas of model making, set design, and costume and props design. With only 3 days to create everything, we often had to create the odd prop here and there!

In small groups we worked together to read the characters and established what they would like to wear. The pupils did a fantastic job of analzying and developing their styles.

Considering many of the pupils had done little or no textiles before they picked it up really quickly! Some were definately had natural talent they hadn't realised existed, and blossomed at certain tasks they were given. They coped really well outside their comfort zone.

The progress everyone made was amazing, and I think even if some of the group leave school without studying art again, they will be able to think more creatively and will have learnt to co operate well in a group situation, which is something that we come across in all walks of life.

I'm really glad I was part of this project and I would like to do more community arts projects in the future. I learnt more about myself and how I work with others. When working with other artists you need to be open minded to listen to other ideas that may have not even crossed your mind. I have also realised how much strength of character you need to be a teacher! I cannot picture myself in an authoritative role, however I am calm, caring and patient and see myself in more assistant or therapeutic roles. I would like to be an art therapist one day and would like to build up as much experience as possible.

 

Another Manchester Tour

Sorry guys I'm dragging you on another tour!
This walking tour was with a company called "New Manchester Walks" £6 for 3hours Our guide really knew his stuff. It covered many key places of Manchester, a great insightful day, these are a few images along the way....

Impressive chandelier from the Britannia Hotel, the hotel initially was a textile warehouse.

The landings overlooking the foyer, looks like a scene from the Titanic

This plaque was placed on a building which has replaced the  original. John Dalton had his office here, where he made his amazing discoveries, unfortunatly the building was destroyed in the War, along with many of his papers.

Interesting pub next to the Manchester Art Gallery

Detail from the coving  of the Art Gallery, just a small piece of detail in a beautiful space.

Apparently Lowry came here nearly every day to gain inspiration.

This is a fascinating futuristic building, I find it interesting how it mirrors the surroundings.

Check out the detail

A very grand doorway

The Royal Exchange Theatre which was initially used as a cotton trading exchange, the theatre is a circular steel and glass enclosure placed in the middle of the Great Hall of which the circular stage is surrounded by seating. It is too heavy to support itself on the floor so there are large beams attached to the pillers.

Apparently in the IRA bomb blast, it lifted the stge 6ft from the floor.

Detail from the Town Hall entrance

In the middle of the Town Hall is a quadrangle, which is fascinating, you wouldn't think it was the same building, apparently they don't clean the stone walls as it is in such high demand as a film set, part of Harry Potter was filmed here.

Window from the stunning John Rylands Library below

I spotted this street sign and immediately fell in  love with it, I would stick it on my lounge wall, although my other half might have a few words to say.

This is just down the road from Hotspur House, I liked the contrast of the yellow against the old brickwork


You have now reached the end of the tour, thank you for joining me!

The man in a white suit and gecko's with dry feet

The film "The Man in the White Suit" 1951, tells the story of a scientist who constructs a fabric that he claims will never need washing and last forever.  He has many adventures and becomes a hunted man by both the textile management and the industrial workers who would lose their jobs if the fabric was sold to the public. 

The white suit is now a reality.

BBC News 26 April 2012.  Stain-shedding coating gets tough By Jason Palmer

"Super-hydrophobic surfaces have fascinated scientists for years; they are behind the lotus plant's self-cleaning leaves and the gecko's super-dry and thus super-sticky feet.  The new work hinges on what is known as layer-by-layer self-assembly - basically dipping a fabric into a solution over and over again to deposit multiple layers on it. The team from the Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre at Deakin University made their solution with tiny particles of silica - the same material as sand".

How did someone discover that a gecko has dry feet?

This very short video shows what happens when a water droplet hits a sample of the "self-cleaning" coating. Courtesy of Tong Lin/Deakin University.

Watching the liquid bounce back up from the fabric surface is so funny!

//www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17852304

Esref Armagan - And my thoughts

I know this is a bit random, but I'm so intrigued
I stumbled on this information about this amazing guy called Esref Armagan. He is a Turkish painter who has been completely blind since birth, so has never experienced what it is to see colour or the environment.

He has never had an art lesson,has never had the opportunity to see detail, he has defied scientific belief and has managed to paint details in pictures using bright colours and 3-point perspective without assistance, how is that possible? 
He has become the subject of scientific brain studies in the U.S. 
Watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLYYPnx9Cic

I cant start to imagine what it would be to have no sight, and this is something I hold dear, but I have often heard that blind people sometimes expresses that the other senses are enhanced when unable to see. 
We cant underestimate the imagination.
I think it would be an interesting exercise to explore this idea and attempt to paint blindfolded whilst having someone describe to you a scene or to use the sense of sound to guide your mind with what to put on paper. 
Or maybe just using the sense of touch to enhance how we translate our work.
Its very easy to just accept what we have without appreciating it.


Just a thought.......

A mental vacation from my work

OLEG DOU

" Born in 1983 in Moscow.

As his mother was a painter and his father was a dress designer, in his childhood Oleg Dou used to gather with the artists and to spend a lot of time reading is father’s fashion magazines. At the age of 13, his parents offered him his first computer set up with an old version of Photoshop with which he already began to transform his school friends or teachers faces. After studying design, he worked as a web designer. In 2005, he buys his first professional camera.

He is one of the most promising artist of his generation. In 2011, the Artprice company, leader of the information on art value, has graded Oleg Dou in the top 3 of the under 30 years old photographers the best saled in public auctions. One of his images will make the cover of an extensive " Frozen Dream, contemporary art from Russia" book, from Trans Globe Publishing and Thames & Hudson.

Oleg Dou lives and works in Moscow". Gallery notes

Very surreal, outsider art, extremely brilliant use of digital manipulation. It's not fashion, portrait or graphics but a strange combination of all three. I saw his work four years ago when we did an exam question " Identity". It made a great discussion topic. I have posted it because after the tutorial my head is full of conflicting ideas and ways forward, this work is as different to my own as it is possible to be. Mental vacation!

Urbed Bus Tour

I went on the Urbed bus tour organised by Emily Crompton who did a talk the other day. Urbed specialise in urban design and sustainability. 
It was a brilliant 3 hour tour on a lovely old London Bus, with a running commentary from the bus driver who also works for Urbed and knows Manchester like the back of his hand, and of course the very lively Emily, who obviously loves her new job.

Our transport

Whilst waiting to go, I noticed the detail above the Holden gallery doorway, its beautiful.

You will have to excuse the quality of these pictures as they are taken through a grubby window of a moving bus.

This is Moss Side where there is a lot of house regeneration, the old houses have been flattened, and replaced with new, all except this one on the right, where the owner has refused to move.

At the end of each row of terraced houses, are these white ultra modern buildings, I'm not convinced.

A grand old building in need of a bit of TLC

"Skyhook" by Brian Fell


This sculpture is quite fascinating self supporting representing the past industrial area of Salford Quays area

The imperial War Museum - apparently the building is supposed to represent a broken cup and saucer!!?

The bridge linking the new "Media City",

everything feels ultra modern and squeaky clean

BBC offices

 Buildings in Media City, Its nice to see a bit of thought has gone into the design process, the one below could almost be mistaken for Lego.

One of the many old bridges

I love this old building, it has so much potential, it appears to be one of the old cotten mills, which will probably turn into new apartments eventually, this seems to be the way for most of these buildings, I love the blue against the brickwork.

New Next to old, and the waterway system which bought much wealth to Manchester in the cotton industry.

I find it interesting the new next to old, there is a lot of it in Manchester. The starkness of the modern buildings almost offsets the lovely architecture and character of the older building.

This is is a Premier Inn an ugly building, but kind of interesting "pod like" windows

Another large glass house- looks fragile

One of the shop windows in the Northern Quarter

I apologise for going a bit crazy on the photos, I just get a bit excited!

The trip was a great experience and opportunity to get some inspiration for Unit X, and to view it from the upper deck of the bus was a bonus.  I know that I'm feeling the pull from the detail of the historic parts of the city.