Textile Landscape: Painting with Cloth in Mixed Media

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I’m not so sure I make a clear distinction between the value of cloth and paper as a surface for stitch. Instead, I prefer to investigate how any material’s surface responds to stitch, as well as different mediums and techniques. I’m also fortunate to receive scraps of cloth and paper from people I teach or generally meet in the generous world of textiles. Those gifts often trigger an idea. “Tea Flora Tales” is a perfect example in which people created their own connection to the landscape in small postcard-size pieces reflecting local wildflowers and places of special interest. And that effort also helped raise awareness of the need to conserve habitats. So to that end, the book shares a variety of techniques for manipulating both paper and fabric to help make stitching easier and more interesting. Textile Landscape by Cas Holmes is published by Batsford. Artworks by Cas Holmes, photographed by Jacqui Hurst

It was wonderful to watch people interact with the artwork and talk to them about the small changes they made to the piece as a metaphor for the small changes they could make in their lifestyles to lessen their carbon footprint and environmental impact. Using a combination of friction, soap and water to felt together wool fibres, a new fabric is formed that can be moulded into whatever you desire. This article features an interview with Cas in which she explains what inspired the book’s creation, as well as some of her favourite techniques featured in the book. Plant and Loy Yang Power Station: Textile Landscape by Cas Holmes is published by Batsford. Artworks by Cas Holmes, photographed by Jacqui Hurs Spotted was created for an outdoor exhibition in the dunes of the island Ameland in the Netherlands, and featured the work of ten artists. This island felt comforting and safe to Hannah, and she wanted to focus on the lichen found hiding amongst the grass.

Words of advice to textile artists

Exploring the connection between landscape, people and place Cas collects found materials as she goes. marks are then created which combine cloth, paint and stitch with a disregard of the divisions of medium usage and application that often define the world of painting and textiles. Working alongside other artists can open up new approaches to your own work. I find you can learn and develop your own ideas through listening to ‘other voices’. My connection to Australia was through invitation to teach at ‘Fibre Arts Workshops’ in Ballarat, Australia, organised by Glenys Mann, artist and teacher. Textile Landscape is ideal for anyone who wants to broaden their personal creativity and explore landscapes as a subject matter. Nature is a constant source of inspiration if you want to use it, and this book gives you practical tips in how to produce textile work across a range of media with a natural focus. Content The contents reveal the balance of technique and theory

I want the reader to be as excited as I am by this ‘in-between world’ of cloth, paint and stitch to represent landscape aspects in their own work. Harlem-born artist and activist Ringgold began working with textiles after a trip to Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseumin 1972. There, a gallery guard introduced her to Tibetan thangkas—traditional Buddhist paintings on cloth, surrounded by silk brocades. Returning home, Ringgold enlisted the help of her mother, a professional dressmaker, to make politically minded thangkasof her own, sewing frames of cloth around depictions of brutal rape and slavery. In 1980, Ringgold crafted her first quilt—again, with some sewing help from her mother—called Echoes of Harlem(1980) ,portraying 30 Harlem residents in a mandala-like composition.

Fiona Robertson

If you are inspired by the work featured in this article, take a look at the eBook Textiles: A Response to Landscape, which brings together 10 more incredible contemporary artists who speak of the subject matter in a unique way. In compiling the book, we sought to highlight the vast range of opportunities textiles offer as a means of interpretation by exploring the stories, influences and techniques of the artists featured. There’s also a wide selection of beautiful images of their work.

Buildings feature strongly in my works at the moment. I am passionate about landscapes, but often an old croft or bothy will find its way in there. Maybe I’m trying to convey a sanctuary within my work. A place that creates a feel good factor where the onlooker can create their own story within. There’s something about woollen felt that appeals to the senses. Is it the warmth, the colours, the texture, or something else?Our relationship with the local and global environment is a fragile one. No one who has grown up in the flat Norfolk landscape as a child can fail to make connections between change and man’s impact on the land through farming, building and use of world resources. Medway Gap: Textile Landscape by Cas Holmes is published by Batsford. Artworks by Cas Holmes, photographed by Jacqui Hurst While the field of landscape art (pun intended) has been explored many times, the real pleasure in this book comes from Cas’ curation of the textile techniques you can try, and the involvement of other artists. Artists like Jane Fairweather are included for further inspiration

First, select a landscape that has personal meaning. Think about how you are emotionally connected with this chosen landscape. Is it the colours or the textures? The atmosphere, the geology, or the weather? Or is it a personal connection, maybe a memory or a narrative, that links you to the place?

A collective narrative

Whether you are an experienced textile art practitioner who wants to explore the landscape as a subject, or you’re a new textile artist who needs to start from scratch, Cas Holmes – Textile Landscape: Painting with Cloth in Mixed Media is a great book for you.