Text – Textile – Paper
In this workshop we will work with both paper and textile and the combination of these two materials. Through a variety of exercises we will explore visual and physical layering in compositions and experiment with different collage techniques.
Experimentation is essential in collage, and the handling of materials – the cutting, tearing, folding, stacking and attaching bits and pieces into a whole – reinforces the importance of the process. And this spontaneous hands-on way of working helps develop an intuitive feeling for composition.
We will use text as a visual means of communication and work with non-traditional tools for writing and mark making. We will further deal with collage in an art historical context and discuss form and content, the concept of less is more, the Japanese principle of wabi-sabi, and the benefits of working in a series. – Number of participants is limited to ten.
Jette speaks German, but the main instruction will be in English.
Participation Terms
An open mind and a willingness to experiment.
„Experimentation is essential“
Jette Clover
Born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark; she lived and worked for many years in USA and the Netherlands since 2005 she has lived in Belgium. She was a journalist before she became an artist, which explains why text and lettering almost always are present in her work. She is also an art historian and worked for 11 years at the Dutch Textile Museum, curating exhibitions and organizing educational programs since 1998 she has worked full time as a studio artist and taught workshops and masterclasses in textile and mixed media internationally. She is a member of the European group Quilt Art.
Books
2013 Words and Walls 2010 Small Notes.
Artist Statement
Since the dawn of time mankind has been making marks to communicate – from signs and symbols in early cave paintings to spray-painted messages on urban walls. I love the walls in the city with layers of overlapping posters, faded advertisements, notes of missing pets and cryptic graffiti. I paint and print and screen text and letters on fabric, and stitching has become a new way of writing for me. Stitching resembles the rhythm of writing with a pen – a slow, intimate process during which one becomes aware of the marking of time. I work in collage constructions and usually combine cotton, linen, cheese cloth and paper to which I apply painting, printing, screening, discharge and rusting. I could be painting with oil on canvas, but I like working in the textile medium, because of the tactile quality and because of its association with women’s work and history.
Mehr über Jette Clover unter www.jetteclover.com.
Porträtfoto: © Pol Leemans