Folkestone Mermaid Festival Art Exhibition - 25th May to 1st June 2013

 

I have picked out my favourite pieces from the Folkestone Mermaid Festival Art Exhibition, so this entry is mostly photographic, with links to some of the artists pages or websites if you would like to see more of their work.

 

Victoria Nelson (Lion Tamer Prints) - 'Well there could be worse things in the world'

Inspired by the H.G. Wells book 'The Sea Lady', which is based in Folkestone. It is a comment made by one of the books characters, Lady Poynting Mallow, on hearing of the Folkestone Mermaid and her tail.

 

 

Carol Stump, Seahorse (l) & Catfish (r).
Apologies for poor quality photos, but I think these 2 pieces have such charm!

Dee Taylor, 'Online Dating Danger'

Possibly a problem faced by many Mermaids wishing to find land based love online!



Mark Sutherland 'Sea Lady off Sandgate'
Another piece inspired by H.G. Wells book, and the image is taken from the same stretch of beach.

Driftwood seahorse from La Mer, Old High Street

Victoria Fontaine-Wolf 'Coral Reef Mermaid'

Carol Harper (Banana Garden) 'Scampi the Merbear'.

I adore Carols work, and Scampi is a cute take on her traditionally made collectors bears.

Carol Harper 'Veleda'

Mermaid dolls by Vanessa Clarke

Elena Priestley 'Mermaid' & 'Merman'

 

Caroline Hallett 'Mermaids suitcase'

I have to confess this isn't the type of thing I usually like, but there is something very charming about this little suitcase, especially the photos of sailor boys she has persumably loved over the years!

Russ Smith (The Dirty Pen) 'Nerissa'

I'm a HUGE fan of The Dirty Pen, and the above image is the poster girl for the Mermaid Festival. Her name comes from the ancient greek for water.

'Nerin'

Her name is taken from the ancient greek name for 'one from the sea'. Russ's detail is incredible, you really need to see his work up close to appreciate it, but I have taken some close ups (through the glass) to give you some idea of the incredible intricacy.

'Morgan'

A baby from Irish Mythology, which tells of a baby mermaid found on the shore by a fisherman.

Sparkly fish from the mermaid photography booth

 

The exhibition is on until 1st June at 65 Tontine Street, Folkestone and entry is free.

 

The Mermaid Festival is on Saturday 1st June 2013, see Folkestone Festivals website for more details, or find it on facebook.

 

Kaffe Fassett - A Life in Colour Exhibition 2013 at The Fashion & Textile Museum, London

 I was very lucky to visit Kaffe's recent London exhibition, A Life in Colour at the Fashion & Textile Museum, Bermondsey.

Kaffe is right up there at the top of my 'design idols' list (I feel a 'people whose work I admire' post coming on), he's a total 'renaissance' man who seems to be able to turn his hand to any technique with stunning results! His long and illustrious career has, in my opinion, paved the way for many modern young textile designers to earn a living from their creations, particularly those specialising in the less 'popular' and more laborious techniques such as needlepoint.

(Apologies for the quality of some images - lighting was low to protect the textiles)

 

Needlework cushions

 



A beautiful still life arrangement - it looks like an oil painting!

 

 

Needlework Upholstered Chairs & Stools

 

I'm very inspired by this upholstered furniture .... and have acquired my own stool for an upcoming project!

 



 

My favourite was this tiny blue & white chair - unfortunately my photo of it came out badly so I've pinched one from the Kaffe archive.

 

Knits

 

 I purchased Kaffe Fassett & Brandon Mably's book 'Knitting with the Colour Guys' as I was so inspired by these amazing zig zag knits I felt that I must try my own version with my ever growing stockpile of chunky wool!

This Leopard knit is particularly clever - a bit advanced for me at the mo I think!

 

Fabric Design

 

These were particularly interesting to see, as I have been considering going back to designing my own fabrics recently.

 

Quilts

 

 

Paintings