Australian business “Third Drawer Down” create art with domestic products as their chosen vehicle.

Their mission statement:
“By placing art into the most domestic of circumstances, Third Drawer Down® products promote an ongoing dialogue between art and everyday life, whilst promoting the work of International Artists and Designers.

All Third Drawer Down® products are packaged in sustainable pouches, colour coded, and with the artist’s provenance and details of the Third Drawer Down® project on the back.”

Personally, I’m a sucker for intelligent, fun design and TDD doesn’t disappoint. I first came across their tea towels. Their products are innovative and inspiring. With names like lapkin, bubkin, artpron and artkerchief who wouldn’t be curious. Unfortunately I can’t link to individual pages so you’ll just need to head on over and check out the site.

They also promote a product called “Magnart“, a system that allows the hanging of artwork without nails or wire! Great idea.

Audrey Boyle currently practices in Auckland working in installation/sculpture and printmaking, working intuitively with found objects. Kerri-Ann Abbott works in porcelain to achieve the fragility and translucency required to create patterns and textures found in textile crafts.

Victoria (Australia) Craft council has a new exhibition showing ‘common goods’ cultures meet through crafts.

is a Craft Victoria residency program, exhibition and publication. The process is as important as the result. Makers from eight Commonwealth countries have been selected as representatives of a craft particular to their culture. They will arrive in Melbourne and meet a local ‘welcome’ artist who introduces them to current practice. Works from visiting and local artists go on display at the Melbourne Museum from 6 February. Then visitors spend the month of February in residence producing a work of art especially for the Games. These works then join the initial pieces for an opening at Melbourne Museum on 28 February. Through Common Goods, many different cultures coming to Victoria will find a way to work together.

There is a blog for the February residency

Thank you bugheart for the info on the Baltimore craft council show - some great craft artists exhibited - I particularly loved Lynn Whipple and her mixed media art, and Jacqueline Sanchez and her puzzle jewellery.

In the bakery led me to Jessica Smiths fabric designs “domestic element” - I give you some images of her wonderful fabrics - some are hand printed others digitally printed.

katy hackney

oxidised silver & cellulose acetate

Katy’s work evokes words such as ’sensuous seduction’ and ‘tactile enticement’, her jewellery has been called ‘extra-terrestrial cartoon abstractions’ and ‘retro, pop and future graphics’, it has been suggested that her work be ‘adopted as contemporary talismans’. (from CAA)

“Katy Hackney combines gold and silver, cellulose acetate and wood with such dexterity that it makes pieces that seduce the wearer with their charming quirkiness”. (from CAA london)

vintage formica, plywood, silver, enamel

velvet davinci

at alternatives
lesley craze gallery

crochet super heroes and embroidered comic books by Mark Newport.

“Newport works in and around an arena which, no matter how hip, still must be considered under the particular jurisdiction of the adolescent male: comics and the comic-book hero. … The artist’s use of needle craft, typically considered well within the realm of “women’s work,” establishes a challenging relationship between the young man implied by these works, the voice of popular culture/media”

(from Greg Kucera Gallery)

pics at greg kucera gallery (via slashdot) (next exhibition at greg kucera gallery may18 06)

good article at ASU art museum
also at moco loco
article at knitty

I’ve read and admired Brandy Agerbeck/Loosetooth.com for a long time. Her artwork, jewelry, sewing, and overall cheery disposition make her several blogs a joy to read. Lately she’s been working on perhaps my favorite stuff, some really neat octopus, lady, and dress prints posted at her Art/Work one.

Other favorite parts of her site: calendar collages and Craft Show 101 guide.

megan whitmarsh “uses embroidery and sewing techniques in her art. Her works combine the traditional medium of embroidery with elements in pop-culture such as yetis and battling elf girls. While the size of her work ranges from small to large, her characters remain tiny and detailed, forcing the viewer to literally peer into her worlds.” (from non starving artists) This image is titled ‘Shangri-la’

further reading:
layers of meaning
pirate kat
craft joint

Sometimes your are surfing around and similar things come to you from different sources. This morning I somehow ended up at Project Gutenberg, a great site with over 17,000 free books online, and started looking around for craft books. I came across this gem — The Ladies’ Work-Book, which contains knitting, crochet and other needle work patterns as well as some nice old illustrations.

A little more searching found Beeton’s Book of Needlework, which includes 600 engravings! And I’m sure there are more books like this hidden in this site. Days can be wasted with this kind of web surfing.

So I finally pulled myself away from Project Gutenberg, only to be sucked into the beauty that is Illuminated Books (found via meggiecat.) They have taken beautifully illustrated and illuminated books from private collections and scanned them into the website for your viewing pleasure. Some of the children’s books are especially nice.

I love Rosa’s new brown monkey - super adorable. Isn’t this photo fantastic!

while she naps made these adorable scrappy owls with matching cards.

icy suncatchers that iris made. Of course you need freezing temperatures outside for these to work - but what a fun idea.

Heather (our new author - soon to be writing for us - check out her profile in the sidebar) from Making time - has an excellent round up of japanese miniature bears. I loved the link for totona mei - and this picture is from there.

updates:
last time I posted about twelve22’s teacup cozies, now she has a new design for tall glasses - I love it.
And my little mochi is at it again - this time with a kokeshi doll pin - 2 inches high.
patterns:
Don’t you just love wee wonderfuls paper dolls - go and download them now.
love the tutorial that pinned has posted on making a patchwork table runner, more about it here too.
people:
I am really enjoying kraf-o-la and her amazing people interviews.

lisa kokin (via in a minute ago) explores memory and history by using the objects we leave behind.

about her button sculpture:
“I have sewn since I was a child and the stitch plays a major role in my work, so it was natural to join the buttons together to form a reconstructed family portrait. … My work has always had an obsessive quality and this body of work is no exception. Every button is stitched to its neighbor to form a low-tech pixilated composition. Up close each piece is an abstract mélange of colors and shapes; the further back one stands the more decipherable the image becomes. This interplay between abstraction and representation intrigues me.”

About her use of sewing in sculpture and photography:
“Much of my sculpture involves stitching objects which are normally not sewn such as toy ovens or ironing boards. For two generations my family made a living with needle and thread, my grandmother sewing ties, my parents dinette sets and boat cushions. They’ve covered the traditional territory; I am fascinated by the thought of sewing what is not normally sewn.”

There seems to be a meme doing the rounds of using embroidery in contemporary art. I wrote about Kent Henricksen’s work last week and have since discovered a few more artists working this way - I will be posting about them in the coming days.

Sandrine Pelletier (via the cool hunter)

This image is from ‘wild boys’, an installation with mixed media works.
Extract from an interview with her - about her use of embroidery:

“I wanted to show the violence behind the gentleness of embroidery. I find this visual effect intriguing. I discovered by accident that it was interesting to show the back as well as the front the embroideries. It is true that the back of these portraits has a wilder appearance: the figures seem to bleed from their eyes, their flesh seem to be full of scars and their veins seem to be inflating. … The way I embroider is absolutely profane, … [and] working with a sewing machine allows me to obtain a rougher, wilder trait. I never follow the outlines attentively. Sometimes the machine jumps, or it gets stuck and these accidents can create very interesting effects. … it introduces a very physical dimension.”

knitscene - new knitting mag on the block - lots of online patterns, great images and a readers gallery where you can email a photo and they will post your design. (info from news article read more) images from knitscene mag

helloindie magazine - Helloindie is an all-indie, all-handmade shopping magazine, they support handmade crafters and designers by promoting their work to a larger audience. Who’s eligible to be featured in the magazine? Just about anyone with cool, hip, edgy, artistic work to sell - full-color spreads at $150. (info via the small object) read more at mediabistro (oh and they have two url addresses I like the layout of this one better)

crafty wonderland - portland’s art and craft extravaganza - The 2nd Sunday of every month from 11-4 pm - go and apply if you live nearby (thanks diane from crafty pod for the info)

Melissa has been keeping me up to speed with the new images of denyse schmidt’s new line from freespirit. It’s going to here really really soon! These are some of my faves. I know Cia will have some maybe by the end of this month?. . .can’t wait!

Blue Moon Fiber Arts just announced their Rockin’ Sock Club! How fun is that?

And if you want to try out some other fiber arts clubs — how about these:

• The Ashford Club — includes a magazine, free patterns and drawings. (I won a book — so it’s true!)
• Debbie Bliss’ Club — includes goodies like free patterns and yarn.
• Rowan International — includes magazine subscription, yarn and free patterns.

(Socks that Rock Club found via january one.)

I want a way to mention all the wonderful things happening in craft blogland. Some fabulous information and tutorials and links which make is so much easier for others. I love going to new and old favourite blogs and reading about online resources, reviews and ideas for projects and finished projects and patterns and tutorials that people have worked out. I love seeing what inspires others and following links to new places.

To kick off this regular round up of cool craft blog posts I will start with clementines shoes wonderful post on making felted children’s blocks. She has a mini tutorial and information on the process from felting the machine knitted pieces to cutting and sewing them together.

juju loves polka dots did a neat tutorial on a really gorgeous pocket bag - part 1 and part 2. (I also love the skirt she is wearing) and what a gorgeous combination of fabrics she has used.

makewrite has been inspired by our wonderful crafty palooza to make her very own pincushion (there might be a tutorial in whip up’s future on this so watch out)

kim’s (from dioramarama) fabulous post on solid fabrics - lots of great resources there - and I love where she said “If you are bored by solids, your inner child is dead.”

I love the elephant and monkey purse that my little mochi whipped up. That polka dot fabric on the inside is the best - but the ears just kill me.

The teacup sweater by twelve22 is cute and practical. Her own pattern - with freestyle directions.

Turkey feathers post on making yoyo’s. I am intrigued by these - using up colourful scraps in interesting ways is always good, I have never made the next step into doing it - maybe now I will. She links to a good tutorial as well.

“The Cutting Edge: Extreme Fiber,” on display through March 10 at Hawaii Pacific University Art Gallery - (image and story from starbulletin) image - “Cut Your Coat According to the Cloth,” a newsprint, net and organza piece by Helen Friend.

other news:
fred flare - call for crafters - deadline march 31 (via poppy)
Center for Maine Contemporary Art seeks fine crafts artists to participate in the “Work of the Hand” annual crafts show and sale from October 6 to 15, 2006. To apply check in at their website.
The American Craft Council’s Baltimore Fine Craft Show will take place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Baltimore Convention Center - interesting article about it here
South Australian craftspeople are to take part in an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum next month. The exhibition, Collect, is Britain’s major crafts fair and is now in its third year. … Article here Or go to the V&A website for more details.
Spring Fling - art and craft in Southwest Scotland 27-29 May 2006 - article here
“It’s been said, ‘She who dies with the most yarn wins,”‘ Berman said. “We’re all obsessive. We’re crazy about it.” … read more on this article here

(image: Detail of a work coat, diamond pattern; Cotton, quilted in cotton thread. Late 19th century. From embroiderers guild)

what is sashiko? (from art to wear) Early 18th Century Japanese wives of farmers, fishermen and lumberjacks made warm garments for the men by stitching two pieces of heavy fabric together using fine running stitches throughout the entire garment. At first, the stitching was used for reinforcing and repairing damaged fabrics but later became more decorative. The cotton fabric was dyed very dark blue with the root of a native plant. We know this color as indigo.

By the end of the century, this particular style of stitchery was known as “SASHIKO”. Around the late 19th Century, sashiko appeared in cities. The style was adopted for warmth but the stitching designs became more elaborate. Patterns were adopted from kimono prints, fabric weaves and nature such as, bamboo, ocean waves, flowers

tutorial of sahiko quilting at the creative life (via in a minute ago)

traditional sashiko designs and demonstration here
quilt.com has a very good explanation of sashiko designs

booga J has reviewed a couple of sashiko books

examples of some simple sashiko embroidery:
six and a half stitches - some embroidery on her bag and pin cushion
wee wonderfuls sashiko embroidery on an apron

makewrite - how to search for japanese terms on google - sashiko included

Back in fifth grade Mrs. Douglas taught our class to do cross-stitch. I still have the first project I stitched up - a sad looking little giraffe. After that I happily stitched my way through an entire book of Ziggy charts. Then there was a teddy bear or two and even a rainbow encircled unicorn, but once I graduated from gradeschool good charts got more and more difficult to find. The things that I wanted to stitch just weren’t availble.

• Long Dog Samplers
• Anagram Diffusion
• Papillon Creations
• Rouge du Rhin

(The design pictured above is “Paradigm Lost” by Long Dog Sampler. Photo used with the permission of designer Julia Line.)

I don’t know where I’ve been for all these months, but I only recently discovered that whipup’s own Maitreya has been keeping an amazing blog with all kind of resources about Japanese craft books called Crafting Japanese. She’s got a guide to ordering from amazon japan, links to resources like Kinokuniya Bookstores, and indexes of images from craft books as well as the projects that people have completed from the books. Wow!

Also, the Inspiring Craft Books flickr pool has hundreds of images from craft books, japanese and others, that holds tons of inspiration.

I could spend a lot of time drooling over the beautiful japanese vintage fabric like these at Kitty craft.

Also, recently Jan at Be*mused has posted a gallery of pictures from her trip to the Tokyo quilt festival. Lucky gal, and generous of her to share them with us!

Help+art is an online shop that fights poverty through fair trade. All their goods are handmade from disadvantaged individual craftworkers, small family firms and co-operatives across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

(link via treehugger)

Kent Henricksen’s work draws us in with his use of the traditional medium of embroidery. His use of this unthreatening medium packs a punch, once we are in he then disrupts our peace with his grim imagery.

info from Cross magazine
via extreme craft and we make money not art
more images from his exhibitions at john connelly and seite

image ‘Country Life’ Embroidery thread on printed fabric mounted on wood