Posts Tagged ‘contemporary’

Sydney winter sunsets are awe inspiring, warm gelato pinks, streaks of strawberry, rose lemonades, fluffy flamingo coloured clouds . The sun sets in the west and the silhouettes of people, places and things contrast against the bubblegum skies.

Intelligent animal and the Darlington Installation Project (DIP) present
Blame it on the Sunsets by Niki McDonald, Tapestry Girl. https://www.intelligentanimal.com.au/

‘I’m saying that our urban environment empowers the women who embrace
the colours, reflections, lights, and Sunsets’. Follow the link for the catalogue . https://www.intelligentanimal.com.au/_files/ugd/7c5458_5c41c7e30d85469a885e6b54dc3fd61c.pdf

Follow the link for What’s on in Sydney. https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/blame-it-on-the-sunsets-niki-mcdonald-aka-tapestry-girl

The purpose of Intelligent Animal (ia) is to financially contribute to people and organisations undertaking critical action to ensure the future and ongoing protection of our bio-diversity.

Sunset City
Afternoon Tea
Pink Gelato

It’s happened again, just as my, Seamingly compliant , exhibition was about to open, Sydney went into a Stage 4 Lockdown and the Traffic Jam galleries had to close. The exhibition has been set up and photographed and you can see my work in the Catalogue by clicking on the link. I am so happy with this Body of Work, Seemingly compliant, is an exhibition divided into 3 parts, and is an exploration of my personal journey to find authentic self-expression and reinvigorate the story within the common thread. Scroll down for a taster or click for the whole show

Click for the catalogue

Intelligent Animal and Darlington Installation Project (DIP) present Niki McDonald, Tapestry Girl.

This is the sixth exhibition in an awareness and fundraising campaign series to support Frontline Action on Coal (FLAC) curated by intelligent animal in conjunction with DIP window Gallery.

50% of all sales will go to supporting the community members from around the country that are undertaking frontline action to stop the construction of the Adani Carmichael Mine at Moray Downs, Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef is at risk of being destroyed and since I haven’t been there yet, I really want to make sure it’s preserved and is ready to welcome eco tourists.

Our environment is precious, precarious and needs our help to thrive and survive. Covid 19 has taught me that with less planes, trains and automobiles, by keeping life simple, the skies are crystal clear, the water ways can play host to marine life and our environment has a chance to recover.

The window exhibition can be seen at 30 Golden Grove street, Darlington, NSW until 16.08.2020

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In these unprecedented times when an exhibition is hung and a catalogue has been created but for the health of all no one can visit it. Please check out my body of work in the Traffic Jam Galleries catalogue.  https://www.trafficjamgalleries.com/Niki-McDonald

Amending Traditions is a body of work that pays respect to the tradition of needlepoint tapestry, it honors its process and considers its subject matter. Art reflects society and in the 19th century, tapestry affirmed rigidity and modesty. The role of the amended tapestry is to break the customary stereotypes by sassing up the traditional subject matter. Stitching and mending recontextualises and allows for autonomy and sustained self-expression.

Traditional tapestries are stitched and darned with contemporary urban themes and incorporate humor to show contrast.  Niki McDonald employs sub-culture slang and lyrics from popular songs to prompt the viewer to complete the line and relive a moment in time. By inviting the audience to connect their own experience with that of the subject in the tapestry she hopes to ignite impact.

Birds represent freedom, they have a higher perspective and a big picture view. In the series, Amending Traditions, the bird gives us insight into how the subject is feeling and what their challenge is.

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I hope you enjoy the exhibition catalogue as much as I enjoyed creating and stitching it x

Anni Albers Quote. Being creative is not so much the desire to do something as the listening to that which wants to be done: the dictation of the materials. Creating is the most intense excitement one can come to know.

I was chatting with a friend about my needlepoint tapestry, Slowly Taking Dictation, she said that it worked with the Polish Poet’s, Secretary of the invisible. I’m drawn to the idea of slowly taking dictation in the role of the secretary of the invisible.

Niki_McDonald_ Slowly taking Dictation _ NP Tapestry _ 2019

Slowly Taking Dictation 110x90cm. Hand dyed 30ply wool, 3.75 tapestry canvas, 2019

Secretaries by Czeslaw Milosz

I am no more than a secretary of the invisible thing
That is dictated to me and a few others.
Secretaries, mutually unknown, we walk the earth
Without much comprehension.  Beginning a phrase in the middle
Or ending it with a comma.  And how it looks when completed
Is not up to us to inquire, we won’t read it anyway.

Mother May I? Use the tools of domesticity for sustained self expression and urban sass. 

As a textile artist I sometimes feel the confines of expressing myself through the textile medium. I am asking for permission and validation to use needlepoint tapestry as a medium to break the rules of tradition using a traditional medium.  Mother May I, is a ‘Darn Bombed’, repurposed traditional tapestry that I have roughly darned with black wool to impart urban sass and individuality.  I give myself permission to go outside the needlepoint tapestry grid.

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2017 was all about maximising the needlepoint tapestry medium. I played with spray painting my 5ct canvases (90x60cm) and using the luxurious KPC yarns for a double half cross stitch which revealed the background allowing depth and layering. I’m drawn to size and wanted bigger so I moved to 3ct canvas and stitched with 20ply wool (180x110cm). I was satisfied with the size, it had impact and maximised the medium.

Throughout the year I wanted to break the rules of tradition using the traditional medium. I’m saying that the colours and shapes from our streets empower our urban woman and give them sass and individuality.  The repetition of the tapestry stitches echoes the pixels in digital work and is in line with the photographic term DPI (dots per inch)

Some 2017 highlights were; The KPC yarn Pop up shop in Paddington, the exhibition with the ‘Seedstitchers’ at Gaffa Gallery where we employed textile mediums to express our theme, Wonderment. An exhibition to celebrate The Manly Warringah Arts Festival at, Gallery Diverasity and an exhibition at TAP gallery for Sydney Craft Week.

5 big exhibitions meant a year of painting, stitching, purchasing, evaluating, creating, framing, talking, connecting, organising and feeling. I also had the honor of 4 interviews, 3 workshops and a design published in MR Xstitchs’ Modern Xstitch magazine. It was a great year and I’m feeling maximised out,  now I’m in anticipation for 2018 with 2 new body of works in process and so many notes in my art diary……. I’m giving myself permission to use the tools of domesticity to start a conversation on permission.

 

The Seed Stitch Collective

The Seed Stitch Collective comprises seven Sydney based textile practitioners exploring concepts through making. They are Soraya Abidin, Sky Carter, Alana Clifton, Suzanne Davey, Gillian Lavery, Niki McDonald and Emma Peters. Read Our story on The Sydney Craft Week web site Sydney Craft Week Interview 

JPeg Craft week

See Our exhibition at The TAP Gallery 9th – 15th of October

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The collective is comprised of seven Sydney based artists: Soraya Abidin, Sky Carter, Alana Clifton, Suzanne Davey, Gillian Lavery, Niki McDonald and Emma Peters. While their backgrounds, education and approach to art practice are diverse, they each have a deep understanding of material qualities and textile processes. The Seed Stitch Collective are passionate about exploring and promoting contemporary textiles.

Wonderment can be described as a surprise encounter that arrests our senses for a fleeting moment. It is an instant of absolute presence where we are transfixed by an awe-inspiring sight, or engaged in child-like discovery, or merely struck and shaken by the extraordinary that exists in the familiar and everyday. In every instance of experiencing wonderment, we are left with a feeling of revitalisation, renewal and awe.

In our current state of political and social tension and the accompanying cacophony of media noise, wonderment stimulates a momentary pause in time, acts as a surge of clarity, and sees the worry and overwhelming tensions in the world fall away.

In this exhibition, the Seed Stitch Collective celebrates wonderment as an antidote to contemporary anxieties. As artists, we are able to delve into the depths of our creative world and seek remedy in the surprise encounters of creative acts. The moments found within art-making is where this respite is found. It slows us down, it occupies our mind and hands, and we are joyfully enthralled by the possibility of creation.

We hope that the audience finds the spirit of this theme, the collective and the creative output to be a powerful reminder that hope, generosity and connection is alive and well.

You are Invited to, ‘Wonderment’ @Gaffa Gallery, level 2, 281 Clarence St, Sydney.

Wonderment opening – Thursday 31st August 6-8pm through until 11th Sept 

Artist Talks – Saturday 2nd of September 12-2pm

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I am excited to be part of, Issue 1 of XStitch Magazine created and developed by Jamie “Mr X Stitch” Chalmers. There’s an abundance of textile artist profiles and patterns. You can purchase copies of the magazine from the website (http://xstitchmag.com/shop/issue-1-pre-order) and because I’m in it, you can use the discount code ISSUE1STAR to get 10% off the xstitch pattern magazine, the discount doesn’t apply to shipping though. Here is a sneak peak of one of my pages.

Tangerine Dream