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

 

 

 

Blog of The Dead - Sophie artwork

 

I'm so glad that I can finally reveal a project I've been working on for months:

 

The Artwork for Lisa Richardson's upcoming Debut Novel:

'Blog of The Dead - Sophie'

The book is based around the story of the Zombie Apocalypse hitting Folkestone, and features many well known local places and names, including Googies Art Cafe and it's proprietor Keith, Kay McLoughlin, Stewart, Liam and a number of fictional characters including the narrator Sophie, who reports on the horrific scenes via her student blog.

But I won't tell you more than that as it will give the plot away if you haven't read it yet.

The original blog diary can be found here

 

The original sketch based on Lisa's brief.

 

 Primed and marked up blank dolls.

 

 Waiting to be varnished on the studio shelf

 

 The finished Kindle book cover, Russian Dolls & cover design by me. Photography by Ian D Johnstone.

 

 Photography by Ian D Johnstone.

 

 Photography by Ian D Johnstone.

 

Photography by Ian D Johnstone.

 

Photography by Ian D Johnstone.

 

 Kay and her axe ready for action.

 

 2p piece to show the scale - but I even got those darned croc flip flops in!!

Close up of the Narrator Sophie's face.

 

 Side view of Sophie.

 Liam gets turned into a zombie after an unfortunate incident in Debenhams. You can tell he's loving it. Bastard!

 Blood splattered biker jacket.

 Ripped off arm & hole in the head. To be honest he looks like this most Friday nights.

 Tracy was a generic zombie I invented for the purpose of being able to really go to town with the gore! I'm quite fond of Tracy, I imagine her as the kind of girl who looked after her appearance and dreamed of her wedding day and nice little new house in Broadmead Village, and really just wanted her Mum to be proud of her. And now she's got to be a bloomin' zombie with gore all over her and Liam for company! Poor Tracy.



 'Works in a shirt with her name tag on it.......' (after Mark Ronson). Some of the tiny details like this were more for my amusement and the challenge of working on such a tiny scale.

 

 Side view of ribs & arm socket.

 Stewart, aka Tess Jones, looking determined.

 Tess always has his guitar handy.

 

I will post a link to the actual book once it is published.

 

PS: You might get the impression from some of the comments above that I don't like Liam very much! In fact, I love him to bits but just like giving him stick ;)

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Post UPDATE - 16/05/13

The book is launched and downloadable from Amazon UK for the amazingly bargainous price of £2.02. Just click here for the link.

If you don't have a Kindle, you can download free kindle reader software from the website, just click the 'available on your PC' link below the 'Buy it now' button.

In honour of the book launch, one of the frequently featured locations Googies Art Cafe have launched a limited edition Zombie Burger!

 

Apparently it DOESN'T contain Rotting Human Flesh or Braaaaiiiiiiinnnnnsssssssssss!

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Post Update 13/06/13

The dolls and cover artwork were featured in an article in the Folkestone Herald

 

We had great fun at the photoshoot, and it gives you an idea of what the real life characters look like!

 



Folkestone Mermaid Festival 2013

 

So I haven't blogged for a looooooong while!

I have either been busy, or struggling with the lethargy & depression that BPD brings, so sorry about that.

Anyhow, I am feeling a bit better now and have been able to start/finish some work that has been on the go for a while.

This is my old sea map inspired map/poster for the 1st Folkestone Mermaid Festival, which is taking place in the coastal park on Saturday 1st June 2013.

 

 

(click on the image for a larger version)

 



Events will include;

2pm - Mermaid Parade, starting from the Leas Lift and finishing on Mermaid Beach.

 

3pm - Fancy Dress Competition

6pm - Siren Song at the Amphitheatre, live music from local ladies including Maiuko.

For more information, have a look at their facebook page in the link above, or go to www.folkestonefestival.org.

 

For a taster of Maiuko's music, watch this: