Nick Cave: Fiber Arts in Motion

If the above image looks familiar, you're probably already aware of American performance and fiber artist Nick Cave. Cave is the creator of strange and beautiful costumes, including his famous Sound Suits, which swish and rustle when worn in performances that Cave choreographs.

Cave, who is the director of the graduate fashion program at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, speaks of his work as a way to look without judgment, to see something other than race, gender, or class. His work certainly accomplishes this, but that it does so in a way that is so deeply friendly and approachable is one thing that makes it very special.

That many of his suits look like friendly beings from the dreams of children is quite intentional.

“I was really thinking of getting us back to this dream state, this place where we imagine and think about now and how we exist and function in the world. With the state of affairs on the world, I think we tend not to take the time out to create that dream space in our heads.”

--Nick Cave, Interview Magazine, 2013

 His work is collected internationally and shown in static gallery-style formats as well as semi-interactive performances, such as HEARD, featuring soundsuits that turn dancers into dreamlike shaggy bedecked ponies, which separate into two dancers, each a shaggy colorful being in their own right, before reuniting gracefully.  The dances are not always flashy and quick modern affairs meant to impress, as one might expect. HEARD is primarily a slower series of movements, understated, appropriately herd-like, and sometimes clumsy. It opens a space of possibility with gentleness and delight, not confrontation.

(See a full performance of HEARD in Grand Central Station without commentary here.)


More Sound Suits and sculptural costumes by Nick Cave:

Pushing the Limits of Polymer: Cool, Weird Clay Creations

Polymer clay is an astonishingly limitless medium. It can be used to create the tiniest of picture-perfect objects. Miniature pies, with each berry glinting in the light, can be fashioned by expert artisans. Detailed animal figurines, looking just like the real thing, can emerge from blocks of polymer clay. Fine artists and playful worshippers of various television shows and comic genres can equally exploit the qualities of polymer clay to create objects to suit their fancy.

Here we check out a few unusual polymer clay creations. They might not be something you'd like to own personally, but then again, inspiration comes in all forms. These creations show off the possibilities of polymer clay.

Here's a mindblowing piece of artistry: A complex, twining set of octopus tentacle jewelry by Kaity O'Shea aka KTOctopus. Can you imagine wearing this? If so, what with? Something tells me that no matter what you wear with it, this jewelry's going to take center stage.

These Animal Cling Rings are by Japanese artist Jiro Miura, working under brand name Count Blue. Miura creates these exquisitely detailed animal rings as well as figurines; his designs have also been used to create mass produced phone plugs and rings. It's a lucky artist who sees his work become so popular.

Baby seal rings by Jiro Miura	An attention-getting ring for sure.

Low cost and ease of use make polymer clay an ideal choice for unorthodox one-of-a-kind creations. Above is My Little Batman and Robin by Jodi Moisan. Moisan's precision with these handcrafted My Little Pony-based superhero figurines is astonishing.The exact reasoning behind creating My Little Ponies dressed as various characters from comics and movies isn't quite clear, but they're nothing short of adorable.

Joe Fig is a man of many mediums, but this diorama comes from his series of table sculptures of artists' studios in their full splendor and disarray. This particular table sculpture shows the studio of April Gornik. These studio dioramas were gathered together into a book, Inside the Artist's Studio, which is introduced this way:

"Inside an art gallery, it is easy to forget that the paintings there are the end products of a process involving not only creative inspiration, but also plenty of physical and logistical details. It is these "cruder," more mundane aspects of a painter's daily routine that motivated Brooklyn artist Joe Fig to embark almost ten years ago on a highly unorthodox, multilayered exploration of the working life of the professional artist. Determined to ground his research in the physical world, Fig began constructing a series of diorama-like miniature reproductions of the studios of modern art's most legendary painters..."

Fig uses many materials to construct his unusual tributes to the artistic process, including polymer clay.

Another by Joe Fig, this one depicting the studio of Dana Schutz.

With its blendable, vibrant colors and translucent options, polymer clay works well for skin, even the delicate  rosy skin of weirdly tiny babies. Adorable? A little creepy? The talented Camille Adams creates these tiny polymer clay babies.

Some polymer clay artists test their skill-- and even make a living-- creating tiny lifelike foods in 1:12, 1:24, even 1:48 scale. The miniature polymer foods are purchased by collectors for well-appointed dollhouses. This fish spread was made by Stephanie Kilgast.

Last but not least, Afsaneh Tajvidi steals our hearts away with her beautiful polymer clay snails. ❉

Beyond Zentangles! Extreme Doodling, my newest obsession

Early extreme doodle

Pieces from my work bench. You can see the fun
use of just black and white.

Oh boy, just what I need: another compulsive thing to do! I am newly infatuated with something I call extreme doodling. Extreme Doodles are sort of like "zentangles," but without the structure, specific steps or instructions (yuck!).


black & white
All of the possibilities of design can be explored within the limits of black and white. Black and white design is the foundation, the beginning of all design. It's also a very exciting place to play-- both with doodles and with polymer!

My creative obsession with lines and black and white patterns began when I started working with black and white "canes" in polymer clay. Polymer caning is where design with polymer often starts, just as a two-dimensional design might start with a doodle. In caning, sheets of clay and long pieces are combined into a single "cane," which can then be lengthened and sliced into thin sheets. Canes can also be combined with even more canes to create ever more complex and beautiful designs.

Polymer clay artists like myself have an almost infinite array of colors to choose from-- and as you know, I love color! Yet in black and white design, we find that the reversal of figure/ground, the black line in white background-- and then the reverse-- is so very fascinating. In extreme doodling, it's all about exploration.
Extreme doodling 

Try it yourself! There are no rules!

• All you need to start is a light sharp pencil, white paper and fine markers. Sometimes I start with a border. It can be wavy like the first example, or straight.
• I then let my mind wander a bit to shapes I like and that come naturally to me. Just like doodling. I then plan out a little bit to arrange what I think will be the most dynamic composition. Play a little with shape and size. Big verses little. Dark verses light. I tend to like things that are organic and sea-like. I also favor links, as in chain links. These are components in my jewelry making and come somewhat naturally to me.
• Think about what comes naturally to you or that you find appealing. Remember to let it flow -- there are no rules. The possibilities are endless.

Very ocean-inspired.

Plant life.

 

Floating pods.

  

After you give it a go, I would love to see what you have come up with. If you create an "extreme doodle" of your own, send it to suzanne@yikestudio.com and I'll put your doodle on the blog!

I am looking forward to adding a little watercolor to my drawings at some point, and maybe trying some colored fine tip markers.

 ❉