Heather Kingsley-Heath – February 2-4
Website: https://heatherworks.co.uk
Heather Kingsley-Heath is a British artist with a background in design, and a long-standing passion for the handmade. Heather explores the creative possibilities of both beadwork and textiles, often combining many techniques into mixed media creations.
Known for her distinctive use of color, texture, and form, she combines her continuing research of traditional craftsmanship; with a contemporary aesthetic to create pieces that are both intricate and contemplative. Heather has developed a practice rooted in tradition and imagination, inspiring others to discover the creative potential of beads and textiles as art forms. She continues to explore how materials, process, and meaning intertwine in the language of making.
Based in the United Kingdom, her work is exhibited, published, and taught internationally.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I work with beadwork and textiles to explore how materials can tell stories. A story has many layers; the simple delight in a delicious combination of colors and textures, the meaning attached to a particular element, a response to an event, place, object or relationship. I spend a lot of time researching in museums and archives, connecting with the artisans of history.
I delight in creative conversations with fellow artists, and I have a magpie hoard of photographs of random things that capture my imagination.
Three things lie at the heart of everything I create, color, story and form. Each piece is created to delight me first, then where possible, dissected into step-by-step instructions for classes, or shared in a broader sense as inspiration for my students and followers.
VIRTUAL LECTURE: Tues, Feb 2: 9:30 am (CT): The Interaction of Influence in the Works of Gustav Klimt
As an introduction to the workshop “Sublime Geometry”, the lecture explores the work of Gustav Klimt, the influences and the narrative which surrounded the artist both in his studio and in the wider context of the period in which he lived.
Taking influence as a theme, and the complexities of interaction, influence and the slightly more controversial cultural appropriation, we explore the wider concept of how inspiration from the past can be used as a tool to generate contemporary work in an honest and original way.
Virtual Workshop: Creativity & Complex Curves
Tues, Feb 2: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Wed, Feb 3: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Thurs, Feb 4: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
First created as a masterclass for the Beadworkers Guild in the UK, this is a workshop to explore inspiration and interpretation with seed beads.
There are several layers to the class, which takes students on a journey through the thought processes and experiments that take a source of inspiration into finished contemporary beadwork To develop an understanding how to use source material, Klimt’s use of pattern and colour in his portraits provide discussion points for symbolism, and layered meaning.
The interpretation of color from one medium to another, examines four Klimt portraits to provide both motif and color inspiration. Color work includes creating a color palette, and how to distribute color to enhance the beaded shapes.
The beading is a series of flat beaded shapes, with further inspiration for how to create, plan and combine them. The shapes can also be linked, or used to make three dimensional forms.
The resolution is to create new beadwork from the information gathered. I supply step by step instructions for several shapes and techniques and students will be able to copy a class sample or create their own combinations.
For students to gain maximum enjoyment from the class, a basic working knowledge of beading with seed beads and thread is required. Techniques are explained with step by step diagrams for each of the beadwork shapes.