So Simple; so brilliant: A dotted scarf with mother-of-pearl buttons – and little tails of thread leading the eye here and there!

I first came across greenolive’s work on flickr. Greenolive’ secret identity is as Martine Booth, an Australian designer – both graphic and textiles. She makes many things and tells a small tale about each object. The story behind today’s scarf:

“You like hearing the stories behind the scarves, so here’s another one. A tale of a classic black-and-white spotted scarf which is on its way to my Mum.

1. Start with a silk remnant from Clegs. Yes, this was bought on the same day, the infamous Clegs Boxing Day Remnant Sale.
2. Sew it up, and then decide it looks a bit plain and needs something. Buy said somethings while out shopping with Aunty Shabby.
3. Sew somethings onto random spots on the scarf
4. Voila! A finished scarf complete with a certain je ne sais quoi!”

I am sending this blog entry to the daughter who is taking a fashion design class at Syracuse University. Do you think she’ll get the hint?!

The expansive nature of landscape and the constricted environment of embroidery create an automatic tension. UK textile artist, Carol Naylor explores this relationship in machine stitched wall hangings and smaller framed pieces.

Naylor says about her work:

I stitch directly onto painters canvas using the sewing machine as my paintbrush and the threads as my palette. The weight and intensity of the threads cause distortions to the base fabric, which are deliberately enhanced in order to create more tension, adding a unique sculptural quality. I use this technique to explore and enhance form. Undulations and movement are created that would be impossible to replicate in either formal painting or other textile techniques. Some pieces include finely stitched details to provide contrasts. Traditionally, paint is worked onto the surface of the canvas. A weaver creates a completely new cloth. By covering the canvas totally with stitches that penetrate the material, I transform a flat piece of canvas into a new fabric with three-dimensional potential.

I find that this approach to embroidered textiles provides me with a more painterly approach to textile art. My work is very tactile, and I prefer to leave larger pieces unframed so that the public can interact with it more directly.

Inspiration has always come from two sources. Personal experiences and observations provide the source materials, whilst the works of specific artists have informed my use of colour and line. Dufys placement of dark lines over blocks of gold and blue to describe form, and Klees immaculate use of colour and light within his paintings, are just two of the artists I have referred to when resolving ideas.”