Whoa. I am completely in awe of this fantastic installation work by American artist Anne Lindberg. Thousands and thousands of strands of thread, anchored from one wall to another, that seem to glow from within… I said whoa already, right? I wish I could see this work in person… well, if I lived in Omaha Nebraska I could! This work is part of a group show, titled Placemakers, currently on at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts from January 13 – March 31, 2012. Please go, and report back! Count how many times you say, whoa. Thank you!

Fabric that folds itself! Tel Aviv based artist/fabric designer Mika Barr calls this beautiful, organic-looking series folding A-part. Here’s how she does it:

A collection of 3D fabrics that fold, fracture and turn three-dimensional, derived from the flat printed pattern. The textiles are made in a unique process, in which the printed image defines the fabric’s dropping and folding. The light, elastic textiles are dyed and then screen printed with an inflexible material that indicates the nature of the fabric’s movement and creates a new, three-dimensional textile structure.
While the initial prototypes were hand made (dyed and printed), the technique has been transferred into industrial production through the studio. Besides forming sculptural elements, the textiles can be designated for use in various fields – furniture, lighting, fashion and accessories.

… Yes, things like folding pillows! Gorgeous.

{via designboom}

Hello. My name is Danielle, and I’m an embroidery-aholic. Ok. Yes, it’s true, I have been on a major embroidery kick lately. And clearly I have no self control, because when I found the lovely work of Amsterdam based artist Hagar van Heummen {and her girls in weird, triangular, red hats} I couldn’t stop myself from writing about them. Love, love, love!!!

I’ll stop tomorrow. Maybe.

Thread. All of it. Yes, even that lovely living room suspended from the ceiling… it’s all thread! I’m lucky if I can hem a skirt, but clearly Toronto based artist Amanda McCavour is more than comfortable using a sewing machine! Here is Amanda’s artist statement describing her process {because you know you wanna know how she does it!}:

In my work, I use a sewing machine to create thread drawings and installations by sewing into a fabric that dissolves in water. This fabric makes it possible for me to build up the thread by sewing repeatedly into my drawn images so that when the fabric is dissolved, the image can hold together without a base. These thread images appear as though they would be easily unraveled and seemingly on the verge of falling apart, despite the works actual raveled strength.

I am interested in the vulnerability of thread, its ability to unravel, and its strength when it is sewn together.  I am interested in the connections between process and materials and the way that they relate to images and spaces.  Tracing actions and environments through a process of repetition, translation and dissolving, I hope to trace absence.  My work is a process of making as a way of tracing and preserving things that are gone, or slowly falling apart.

I have loved the work of Vancouver based artist Jessica Bell since the first time I saw it, about two years ago. Bits of paper, paint, fabric, thread… it’s all in there! They are delicate, lovely, and beautifully composed. The images below are her latest body of work {so recent in fact that these images aren’t even on her site yet!}. These textile assemblages contain bits and pieces of perfectly chosen fabric, that have been sewn together to create a series of “clouds”…

I wish I could show these to you in person!* They’re huge {light ones: 32″x40″ ; dark ones: 36″ x 48″} and so beautifully crafted. Oh boy, now I really want a stormy day… and a sewing machine!

*{If you’re in Vancouver, you can see these at East Van Studio until November 12th. They are part of a group show called “Monument(al)” that also features the work of Sarah Gee and Aaron Moran.}

Oh, I wish that I had been in Seattle when this was happening! New York based artist Zoe Williams created this project called Free Art* for Seattle’s First Thursday art walk. “Colorful felt balls were placed around the Pioneer Square area with tags stating that they were free to take, but in exchange for the free artwork, participants were requested to visit the project website and contribute to a collaborative story.” I couldn’t find the site that went with this {I’m curious about the collaborative story part!}, but in any case, I would have been thrilled to find a sweet little felted ball that I could take home for my very own. I want a yellow one, please.

And on that note, have a happy, colorful, fuzzy, art filled weekend! See you on Monday xo

Gorgeous Hermes scarves, video of a beautiful woman, and a strategically placed wind machine. This story is not new, but that doesn’t make it any less brilliant. Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka installed this piece at Maison Hermes in Toyko over the 2009 ~ 2010 Christmas holidays. Oh, how I wish I had seen this in person, but I didn’t, so I guess You Tube will have to do… sigh, so beautiful.

{ps. you really do have to see this in action! Go – you’ll love it!}

Gorgeous, insanely detailed geometric embroidery… but hold on, it’s gets even better. This work by UK based artist Kaylee Hibbert is actually {wait for it}… stitched wallpaper. Gasp! Amazing, no?

{via Yellowtrace > via Colossal}

“…balance, color, composition, contrast, push-pull effect, shape, texture, variety of mark makings, visual weight…” These are the elements that go into the colorful, beautifully bizarre {embroidered!} wonderlands that are the work of Winnipeg based artist Takashi Iwasaki. Now, where did I put my sewing kit… I’m suddenly feeling very inspired!

Auntie Peggy Has Departed 2003 {mercerised cotton, audio equipment, 2 part looped soundtrack; Aldwych Tube Station, The Strand, London}

Gasp! Be still my beating heart – Doily cobwebs… hm, or cobweb doilies… well, either way, I’m left slightly breathless. I wish so much that I had been able to experience London based artist Shane Waltener’s ode to Auntie Peggy before she departed.

{Thanks so much to Kelly at Design Crush for sending this my way… clearly, she knows what I like!}