Emily Jo Gibbs – January 6-8
Website: http://www.emilyjogibbs.co.uk
Emily Jo Gibbs is a British artist who has established an international reputation for her delicate textiles. In her current practice Emily creates hand-stitched portraits and still lifes with a graphic quality, observing the quiet beauty of the overlooked, and gently advocating “The Value of Making” by creating work that celebrates the skill, dexterity and the creative problem solving of people who make things. Projects include Connected Cloth, The British Textile Biennial 2021, Portrait of a Chinese textile worker making silk organza.
Emily has received significant critical acclaim and examples of her work are in The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Crafts Council Collection and The Museum of Fine Art, Houston. She is a member of Contemporary Applied Arts, The 62 Group of Textile Artists, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Between 1993 and 2006, Emily made luxury handbags.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT:
I make hand-stitched pictures predominantly working with silk organza layered onto linen. I really enjoy the translucent nature of the silk and the soft color pallet the layering creates. I stitch in a meticulous way often using tiny stab stitches, I change my thread color a lot.
I’ve been an artist for a long time, but first I was a maker and my process is rooted in the making. Being able to make things has really shaped who I am, it gave me a sense of identity and self-worth as a young person.
I’m interested in the idea that by taking the time to slowly describe someone in stitch, you convey your admiration. Celebrating people who make things by the investment of time in making the work is a quiet, thoughtful act of care and value.
I am interested in all kinds of making and by how expert material knowledge is required for low and high-tech outcomes and how that knowledge is gained through using our hands.
I’m concerned about the position of making in the hierarchy of skills we value as a society and how this is exacerbated by the decline of making in schools.
VIRTUAL LECTURE: Tues, Jan 6: 9:30 am (CT):
A Career in Making
Emily Jo Gibbs has established an international reputation for her hand-stitched textiles, observing the quiet beauty of the overlooked. She specializes in layered appliqué, creating portraits and still-lifes with a pared back aesthetic. This talk is about her career in making – from high end handbags to portraits.
Virtual Workshop: Illustrative Pictures, Working with Silk Organza and Hand Stitch
Tues, Jan 6: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Wed, Jan 7: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Thurs, Jan 8: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Create layered collages – abstract or figurative – that exploit the qualities of semi-transparent material. This is a hand-stitch class. Experiment with layering translucent fabric to change the color and tone. Learn how to cut accurate shapes, overlap pieces to build areas of different colors and tones, examine how the layers are built up and the work is stitched together. You will look at stitching for construction and stitching for decoration and how the two interplay. Work from your own drawings, photographs or collage.