Contemporary American artist Diedrick Brackens has a knack for telling stories old and new, weaving them deftly into his intricate, hand-crafted textiles. Based in Los Angeles, Brackens draws on the traditions of textiles as a powerful and direct means of communication, using them to reflect on themes surrounding identity, race and sexuality that impact his…
The Magical Storyteller: Diedrick Brackens
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do. My name is Leila, I live in London with my partner and my two Sphynx cats. I’m a freelance strategist and most often I’m focused on brand, creative and marketing challenges. But I love helping start-ups think about how their whole idea fits together. I started and stopped…
Pop artist Andy Warhol had an inimitable knack for capturing the essence of an object, animal or person, ramping up its impact with daring, electrifyingly bright shades of colour like RASPBERRY’s searing hot pink. His screen prints are arguably the most enduring aspect of his legacy, giving him room to experiment wildly with the same…
Admittedly, I do not know much about fabric content and the differences between- what is Chiffon vs Silk? Cotton Voile vs Cotton Faille? I tend to stay in the “natural fibers” lane, relying on blanket names like Linen and Cotton to fill my stash and ultimately my closet. Before we get too carried away with…
In a world fit to burst with excess, contemporary Greek-born, London-based textile designer Maria Sigma still believes fabrics should play a significant role in our daily lives. She produces what she calls “zero waste woven textiles” from naturally derived, recycled, or upcycled yarns, which are designed to bring depth and warmth to interior spaces. These…
Serves 4–6 One of my favourite dishes that my mum would cook when I was not well was Khadi, a soothing dish of yoghurt gently cooked with light spices, chickpea flower and mustard seeds. It was both comforting and sustaining. So simple to cook with all the ingredients being easily found at your local supermarket….
The pioneering Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi painted a world of rich, decadent and warm tones like MARSALA, which she coupled with dramatic, heightened chiaroscuro. Her paintings draw us into private worlds where theatrical, sometimes terrifying stories play out, or melancholic heroines are overcome with strong emotion. As the most successful female painter of her day,…
I’m a big fan of a pattern with multiple garment options included. I have made the Riva Top multiple times and with different length variations even a dress but today I pulled out the Riva Pattern yet again to make a second pant variation, the shorts! Just as I enjoyed the process of the pants…
From canopies made of recycled t-shirts and architectural wall-hangings to vast garments made for multiple wearers, Mexican artist Pia Camil is constantly experimenting with the boundaries of textile art, pushing it in a series of exciting and unexpected directions. She is particularly interested in breaking down the pretensions of the art world, namely the utopian…
Everyone remembers their first. Mine was a basic Singer, purchased ~10 years ago because my then-boyfriend encouraged me to “get a hobby.” Fast forward seven years- I never did pick up sewing, but did get a different boyfriend who became my husband- I finally decided to pick up that hobby. Over the next three years,…
British 19th century painter John Constable painted the British landscape as a place of wild and unspoilt wonder, revelling in its curling old trees, mud-soaked ground and billowing, cloud-filled skies. He was fascinated by nature in all its grubby, dirty reality and often honed in on details other might choose to ignore or omit, like…
Bright patterned fabric has never been my style; when I do dip my toes in those bold waters, it’s usually in the shallow checks and plaids end of the pool. But there was just something about the Fabrics-Store Pablo Flowers print that pulled me in the second I saw it. Maybe it was the first…
London-based, contemporary textile artist Richard McVetis makes intricate, minimalist objects that take hours of dedication and patience. His works of art, which range from wall hangings to sculptural cubes, feature tiny, hand-woven grey and black marks built up slowly over time onto woolen fabric grounds, each stitch recording the methodical, repetitive movements of his hand…
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do. My name is Kelsey, and I live in Tampa FL with my husband and our two little girls. Previous to staying home with them, I worked in the world of professional makeup artistry. I feel like my life has been marked with many instances…
In 1891, at the age of 43 years, French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin left his life in Europe for Tahiti, in search of a mystical paradise untainted by the trappings of modernity. The paintings he made here are arguably the most celebrated of his entire career, reflecting the abundant landscape of Tahiti with a rich…
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