Rebecca Fairley, Author at The Open College of the Arts

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Rebecca Fairley

Traditional textile techniques used in contemporary ways – Part 5: mending and repair

Posted: 16/11/16 09:26 | 7 Comments

I am including the subject of mending and repair in this series of blog posts about traditional textile techniques used in contemporary ways because this practical and necessary skill from the past has been making a comeback in recent years. With the advent of recycling, upcycling and the slow textile movement there is a growing interest in extending the life of garments.

Traditional textile techniques used in contemporary ways – Part 4: Weaving

fine art textile art

Posted: 03/11/16 09:11 | 1 Comments

Weaving is an ancient craft used over the centuries by many cultures to create fabric for the home and clothing. The method of creating structure by interlocking threads continues to be explored and developed by artists and designers a like. In this blog post in the series about how traditional textile techniques are being developed for contemporary sensibilities I will be giving you a taste of how weaving can be at the cutting edge of fashion, design and art.

Traditional textile techniques used in contemporary ways – Part 3: Knitting

textile art

Posted: 26/10/16 09:29 | 2 Comments

Knitting has come down the ages as a means to turn wool and other fibres into useable, usually domestic objects. Despite being a highly skilled activity knitting is most frequently seen as a handicraft and marginalised by the conventional art world into a feminine form of expression. As with crochet the technique has plastic abilities that allow the artist to express freely in 3 dimensions. In the hands of contemporary artists and practitioners both women and men are bringing knitting into galleries and to the forefront of artistic expression.

Traditional textile techniques used in contemporary ways – Part 2: Embroidery

textile art Textiles WeAreOCA

Posted: 12/10/16 09:46 | 1 Comments

If you are interested in using embroidery in your own creative practice I suggest you research widely, exploring the approaches of other contemporary practitioners. Be open-minded about the surfaces you stitch into, the places where embroidery can appear, the patterns and designs you create and what can be communicated through stitch.

Traditional textile techniques used in contemporary ways – Part 1: Crochet

crochet Textiles WeAreOCA

Posted: 03/10/16 09:45 | 8 Comments

Many OCA textile students come to their studies after years of developing and becoming highly skilled in a range of traditional textile techniques. I am writing a series of blog posts that introduces a number of contemporary practitioners. My hope is to widen the knowledge base of our textile students, broaden your outlook to different possibilities and encourage OCA textile students to create innovative engaging and contemporary textiles during their studies. I am starting with crochet.

Textile art and design that conveys ethical messages

BA hons textiles degree

Posted: 21/09/16 09:55 | 0 Comments

Following on from my previous blog post about sustainability in textiles I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at some textile practitioners and artists that use textiles to convey messages or evoke discussions about ethical issues. In the post I will use a number of practitioners to illustrate the diverse ways textile practices and materials are used.

An introduction to sustainability in textiles

BA hons textiles degree

Posted: 12/09/16 09:51 | 5 Comments

In this blog post you will be taken through 3 key aspects of sustainable textiles. These are the Textiles Environment Design project (TED), the Slow Textiles Movement, and Design for disassembly. Every textile student and practitioner should have some knowledge and consider the ethics of textile production in their practice.

Art_Textile Review

Posted: 16/12/15 09:42 | 4 Comments

Rebecca reviews a recent study visit to the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester.

Drawn to Stitch

Posted: 11/11/15 09:39 | 6 Comments

I’m aware as a textile tutor that it is not always clear to textile students of the value and purpose of drawing and mark-making. For this blog I am looking at two books written by established textile practitioners that I believe clearly illustrate how to use mark-making and drawing to inform textile work.

Textiles at the British Art Show 8

Posted: 03/11/15 09:35 | 1 Comments

As the Programme Leader for textiles I am keen for OCA textile students to understand that they can develop their own practice by exploring a wide range of art and design including fine art disciplines. I would also suggest that all students at the OCA explore the work of other disciplines to broaden their outlook and expand knowledge.