Paperfolk Loves ... Rieko Koga

Rieko Koga is a contemporary artist based in France. Working with textiles and thread in both 2D and 3D construction is the main outcome of her practice. I particularly enjoy the spontaneity in the process where it appears as if the work is forming and taking shape as it is being worked on which is very organic. This is the way I like to work in my own practice where I have a loose idea/outline to get me started and then all of the pattern, layering and stitching evolves from there. I always try to keep this way of working even when it is on a larger scale (which can be a bit more daunting since there is always a possibility that it won't work out!) I have quite a few disaster canvases in my loft to prove that it doesn't always work. Rieko's art has the feeling of taking that raw and exciting material from a sketchbook and actually allowing it to evolve into a piece of work. 

If you would like to read and see more please check out Rieko's beautiful website

Paperfolk Loves... Miki Sato

Miki Sato hails from Ontario, Canada and dabbles in paper illustrations, ink drawings and comics to name a few. I was incredibly impressed with all of her art works but especially drawn to her paper craft. I love the whimsical scenes and also the colour palette. I can actually see every single one of these transferring well to embroidery which is probably another big tick for me!

Check out the full catalogue of work on her website. In the meantime, here are a few works....

Paperfolk Loves... Mister Finch

Mister Finch is a man who sews and sews very well indeed. I was first introduced to his works when I did an online search for vintage plant illustrations- after scrolling through dozens of images I came across an image of a large mushroom. On closer inspection, the mushroom was made entirely from fabric and had such a beautiful, delicate touch that I had to find out more.
I ended up on the Mister Finch website and found even more images to get lost in! Mister Finch is from the Yorkshire area of England and unbelievably has no formal training. His skills have been learnt through trial and error but he definitely has natural talent thrown into the mix. Most of his works have a fairytale quality to them but it's the combination of fabric choice and sewing skill that really gives life to the sculptures. The artist works using recycled fabrics so each piece is truly unique.

I would love to see more of Mister Finch's works in the flesh as I definitely think there would be a lot to learn and love in the detail.

Paperfolk Loves... Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin is an artist i'm very fond of. For those of you who are unfamiliar with her work she is an English artist who uses a variety of medium in work including neon signs, embroideries, screenprints and sculpture. She was part of a group of artists known as the YBAs (Young British Artists), a group that included Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas. In 1997 she became famous for a work titled Everyone I Have Ever Slept With (1963-1995) . The work was a tent, appliqued with names of anyone she had ever shared a bed with.

Despite having embroidered since I was a child it wasn't until I discovered the work of Tracey Emin that I was truly inspired to use embroidery in my artwork. Before this, I looked at embroidery as a hobby that I enjoyed doing but it was often quite traditional motifs and there wasn't a lot of contemporary artists that I knew of doing this type of work. Bearing in mind that the internet wasn't something that everyone had access to, it was much more difficult to come across truly inspiring works. Emin was in the newspaper and in everyone's face- I was hooked!

Emin's work came back into mind because of a new show that opened in the White Cube, London. The show titled, The Last Great Adventure is You, looks to be an amazing body of work and I can't wait to see it.

Here are some past works of Emin's that were a great inspiration to me as a young 19 year old art student...

Paperfolk Loves... Hasta Mostla

After leaving artschool (now 10 years ago!) I trained and worked in Community Arts for a few years. I mostly worked with groups of young people who were disengaged for a variety of reasons. Although I moved on to work in a different type of learning and engagement I can honestly say that those years were probably some of the most rewarding time in my working life.

As a result I have a bit of a soft spot for artist led community collaborations and know how difficult it can be to achieve success in these situations. I came across Hasta Mostla, a project between female embroiderers from Mexico and artists from Mexico and Iberoamerica.

I think the images below speak for themselves but if you would like to check out more work in progress or details there is a project website as well.

Paperfolk Loves... Lisa Kokin

Lisa Kokin uses embroidery to evoke emotive responses to found imagery and text. She is one talented lady, creating book art and installations as well as teaching classes. I particularly love her series of black and white photographs with stitching, they remind me visually of the work of Christian Boltanski.

Here are a few of her works but there's lots more to look at on her website.

Paperfolk Loves... Donna Wilson

So I've been a fan of Donna Wilson for a while. I love her knitted characters and, not to get all patriotic, she is from Scotland y'know!
Donna's brand has been growing at an amazing rate considering she only set up her company in 2003. I was really excited to hear that she has just released a new fabric collection featuring the same hand-illustrated tone of her knitted characters and other works.
This means we can all have a bit of Donna Wilson's design in our homes but have all the fun of making it ourselves!
Here are some of the new designs available to purchase from her shop.