Contemporary Applied Arts

A symposium on Tuesday October 25th 2011 for all Level 4 students & staff across the Art & Design programme at Hereford College of Arts, organised by Jane Farrington; Course Leader of BA (Hons) Textile Design and Anna Falcini, Lecturer BA (Hons) Contemporary Applied Arts.

Speakers at the symposium include;

Sue Lawty who is a practitioner of traditional tapestry but who also now works with found materials
such as stones and lead. Sue exhibited at the Taking Time: Craft and the Slow Revolution exhibition at
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in 2010 and has work in the V&A Collection amongst other notable
activities.
Sue Lawty’s work has been described as
‘a deeply contemplative experience….
meticulous… minimal… spiritual…’
Work is rooted in an emotional, spiritual
and physical engagement with the land,
particularly rock. It draws upon direct
experiences of remote, raw, edgy,
landscape and an increasing interest in the
fundamental impact of geology.
Constructed pieces (often woven) and
drawings in two and three dimensions use
a range of materials including hemp, linen,
lead, tiny stones and shadow.

Matthew Harris is a graduate of the textile course at Goldsmiths College and has been working
with textiles since 2000, having for the previous ten years made and exhibited drawings and
works on paper. He has shown in a number of group and solo exhibitions throughout the U.K,
Ireland and Japan. Matthew also took part in the Taking Time: Craft and the Slow Revolution
Exhibition in 2010. He recently had a major show with Cleo Mussi at the Victoria Art Gallery in
Bath, a solo show called Trace Elements at the Black Swan Gallery in Frome, Somerset in 2009 
and has consistently exhibited at delivered lectures at the Stroud Textiles Festival. He was
commissioned to create an installation depicting a graphic score at Colstan Hall in Bristol in
2006-08.
www.matthewharriscloth.co.uk

Amy Twigger Holroyd is a designer, maker and researcher specialising in knitting, participation
and sustainability. Amy’s diverse craft activities take place under the umbrella of her ‘slow
fashion’ knitwear label, Keep & Share. Each piece of Amy’s knitwear is designed to satisfy over
time, and is lovingly machine knitted using an array of manual techniques. In recent years her
work has naturally developed to include knitting workshops, hand knitting kits and communal
knitting projects, along with a new, more conceptual body of work exploring issues of
authorship and longevity. Alongside her practice Amy is studying for a PhD at Birmingham
Institute of Art & Design, investigating the impact of making on fashion well-being. She received
the Crafts Council Development Award in 2005, has exhibited and lectured widely, and has
been featured in Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, The Observer, The Telegraph, Fashion Theory,
Fiberarts and Blueprint.
www.keepandshare.co.uk

Top image; Atsuko Tanaka wearing the Electric Dress (1956)

Bottom image; Electric Dress (1956)

Centre image; 83a (painting)

In July I was commissioned by Interface, the website for Artists Newsletter to write a review of the retrospective of Atsuko Tanaka’s work in an exhibition at The Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, called The Art of Connecting. I proposed to review the work by observing visitors to the show, to see how long they spent before the work, what seemed to attract them and the profiles of visitors; i.e. what colour socks were they wearing. I enjoyed reviewing the work in this way and i hope you enjoy taking a peek at the review.

This email has been sent to you by Anna Falcini who invites you to view their latest review of Atsuko
Tanaka: The Art of Connecting posted on Interface. Please follow this url http://www.a-n.co.uk/interface/reviews/single/1450615 to go directly to the review.

Interface (from www.a-n.co.uk) provides a focal point around the busy business of showing art, and a
platform for critical writing, vital for artists and the artworld.

To receive further alerts of new reviews on Interface you can sign up to RSS news feeds.

Anna Falcini

Here is the link to the review.

Come and see the incredible diversity and quality of the final collections from the CAA course. it is an amazing exhibition this year, private view on the evening of Friday 17th, then open every day until Weds 22nd June.

2010 CAA graduate Julia Smith is featuring at The Mission Gallery Swansea as Artist of the Month

Ann Kelcy at the V&A

Graduate Ann will be on a residency in the new ceramics gallery at the V&A this summer  go and say hello.

Hi and welcome to the new blog for the Contemporary Applied Arts Course at Hereford College of Arts.

Follow our blog to find out the current activities of the course , the students , the staff and our many links with the creative industries.

We will be posting information about educational visits , professional opportunities, exhibitions, visiting lecturers, fairs, art festivals, workshop visits, studio space , student success stories and much more.