Post blues

After spending the last six months of my life running around for the St. Lorient Beyond Fabric-ation show it is now over and the show was a huge success. There were a few minor little glitches the day of the show, but nothing that we could not handle. I am sure that no show or event has ever gone down without kinks that needed fixing on the day.

Just to remind all our readers of what the show was about:  it was a collaborative fashion show between ten fine artists, five textile designers and the second year Fashion Design students from the Tshwane University of Technology. The aim of the show was to design and create a garment, its fabric and accessories based on one of the ten artists’ work.  This show formed part of the 2014 Cool Capital initiative that I wrote about earlier in the year.

For the students and designers working on the show was almost a full-time job along with all the stress of our regular jobs and studies. The process was not without tears, fights and breakdowns, but for the most part it was a very positive experience and atmosphere. The most challenging part was the fact that for most of the participants, including the artists, it was a huge learning curve as most of us have never done a collaboration of this nature before.

At the show each model walked out in her garment, along with the artist whose work inspired the dress, the textile designer and a representative of the fashion group that worked on the garment. The crowd’s response was overwhelming when each group walked out and seeing the whole outfit come alive was breathtaking.

Will I do it again? The answer is: YES!!! So what is the problem? The problem is that I miss the excitement and pressure of helping with the show. The explosive creative energy has come to a standstill all of a sudden. Let us hope the next challenge is right around the corner…

Peace and love

Clara

PS: All the garments and artworks will be on display until 31 December 2014 at the St. Lorient Fashion and Art Gallery.

Playing with clay

During my first year at University both Fine Arts and Textile Design students did the same foundation year that combined subjects from both courses. In the student’s second year of study they could choose either to major in Fine Arts or in Textile Design. The readers know already that I chose Textiles and never looked back, nor regretted my decision.  During this foundation year I was introduced to the joys of pottery and working with clay.

Clay was something that children played with, according to me and wheel throwing for some reason was something that did not really capture my attention. That is until I started playing with clay as an adult and actually had to work on the wheel in order to pass the subject. For the next four years I did not really pay much attention to this desire that I had to do pottery again and continued my studies as usual.

At the end of 2013 I decided to do a second take and go for some classes and learn a bit more about pottery. In March 2014 my mother joined me at our first class at Rhoda Henning’s Pottery Studio in Brooklyn, Pretoria.  These classes have become many things; a weekly break from reality, some bonding time with my mother, social interaction (which I sometimes forget to do) and an extremely exciting hobby.

Like dyeing, the outcome of your pottery is always a surprise due to how unpredictable and stubborn clay can be, the high temperatures clay is fired at and the fact that any paints or glazes applied to the object only develop their true colours once it has been fired for a second time. It took a lot of convincing before mommy dearest believed that the pink paint she is using will turn blue during its second firing.

Pottery is another hobby that I would recommend everybody try during their lifetime. This may not be suitable if one is impatient as the process takes quite a bit of time and if one does not like to get your hands dirty. When working on the wheel many are cover up to their eyebrows in clay. Nonetheless it satisfies the need to create, paint and make functional as well as ornamental artworks.

Go forth and play!

Peace and love

Clara

Dyeing to dye

When one thinks of tie-dyeing the first thing that comes to mind is hippie spiral shirts in extremely blinding colours. while doing an internship I spent two years working for Melanie Brummer, a tie-dye artist who has dyed many fabrics that have appeared on catwalks around the world and I learnt that this art form can be very stylish.

In these two years where I had learnt so much about various techniques of dyeing various fabrics I have become quite addicted to dyeing fabrics and have made it my main specialty within Textile Design. simple dyeing turned into product development and for a range in my fourth year I dyed 12 wall hangings of 2m x 1m each on pure cottons and silks using multiple processes of dyeing in different colours layered over each other and adding hand stitching to add texture and depth.

This project inspired the range of scatter pillows that I had the opportunity to sell at DecoreX and in the space of two month I dyed, stitched and made over one hundred scatter pillows. After this endeavor I thought that I am cured of my dyeing addiction, but then i saw a new technique.

Dyeing with ice has entered my world and I am dying to try it. I find myself lying  awake at night thinking of various ways to try this new technique and I cannot wait to finish my exams, buy fabric and try it.

So what is the moral of my story?

It is quite simple: I have found something that just keeps on exciting me. Dyeing fabrics is very unpredictable and even making one hundred pieces in five different patterns I was always excited to see the result. No matter how much the process is controlled and standardized, each piece looks different. Try dyeing some fabric, it really is a whole universe of possibility and you might be surprised at what you can do.

Peace and love
Clara

Happy days

Open the doors of any closet in my house and mountains of clothes will fall on you, not including the mountain that is already scattered on the floor after going through fifteen outfits on what I like to call a “fat day”. No matter what I put on I don’t feel good, I feel ugly and dull.

We all know that feeling where we do not feel like we look good in anything and feel like just pulling a bag over our head or want to crawl back into bed and drown in self pity. Most of it is just in your head and the battle will be more with your overly critical brain. I have several ways that I use to combat this horrid feeling and hope that these tips can help readers overcome their “fat days”.

• ·         Style your hair properly on that day. Good hair makes for a good day.
• ·         Wear at least one item of clothing or accessory that you feel extremely comfortable in like your favourite scarf or pair of jeans.
• ·         If you are wearing a plain outfit give it flair with something daring like a bright pair of shoes, but not something that will make you feel self-conscious.
• ·         Grey, black and dark blue flatter all body types.
• ·         If, like me, you don’t really wear makeup it is a good day to apply makeup.
• ·         Designer labels don’t always make you feel that you are looking your best, so if there is an item of clothing that is a bit on the cheaper side which flatters you, wear it.
• ·         As strange as it may sound, wear your most expensive underwear. Nobody needs to know, but you will feel good.
• ·         Take time during the day to look at things that inspire you, whether it means surfing the web for gardening tips or walking through an art gallery, your mood will lift.

As tempting as it is to be sulky and stay in bed, get up and smile on your “fat days” and nobody will notice your mood and you will most probably forget that you are in a foul mood.

Peace and love

Clara

Making Olaf

Last year I undertook a the great task of making an Ikat. An Ikat is a woven piece where all the strands are dyed to form a pattern. here is a brief overview of my 7 month operation to create Olaf the Ikat. 

Process for making an Ikat:

Various designs must be drawn out on paper. After doing rough sketches, take the best design and draw it out on graph paper according to scale and decide on colours. After the design and colours are planned, the final design will be painted.

To calculate the amount of threads for the warp of the woven piece, wind the yarn tightly around a ruler for 3 centimetres and divide the number of threads by three e.g. 30 threads divided by 3 = 10 threads per cm. The design is 96cm wide, thus it will consist of 960 threads. The length of the warp is 450cm (including 100cm for waste and shrinkage). Bunches consisting of 30 threads each are put on the warping frame with a total of 33 bunches being made.

To bind the yarn, stretch a bunch of warps between 2 “G-clamps”.

The design is divided into sections from A to H to keep track of binding. A tag on each of the warp bunches mark which section is being bound for dyeing.
 
Sections for the first colour are measured and marked off with a pencil. Strips cut from plastic bags are then tightly bound around the bunch of warps to function as a resist for the dye.
 
The method of dyeing used is over dyeing and works as follows:
The design consists of 4 colours, namely red, blue, green and purple and there are three primary dye colours: yellow, turquoise and magenta, the principle is the same as any CMYK colour mixing.

• Yellow + Magenta = Red/ Orange
• Yellow + Turqoise = Green
• Magenta + Turqoise = Purple

To use the method of over dyeing means that the colour of the dye will not be mixed inside the pot, but on the yarn itself. It minimizes the amount of time spent dyeing and binding the yarn.

The first colour that will be dyed is yellow, although there is no yellow on the design. The yarn is bound so that all the spaces that must be green and red are left open.

To mix the dye add 1 part yellow pigment to 4 parts salt to 1 part soda ash in a pot of water on a heat source.
  
Stir the ingredients and when the water boils insert the wet yarn into the pot.
  
Stir the liquid for 30min to ensure even coverage of the dye. Remove from the heat source and let the pot stand for an hour before rinsing.

After rinsing put the warps on a flat surface overnight to dry and to prevent the dye seeping into white areas.
  
Rinse the warps a second time and hang to dry. When the warps are dry, remove the plastic bindings. If there are still some damp areas, hang the warps out again to dry and prevent mildew from forming.
  
Repeat the process with Magenta, leaving open the spaces that must be red and purple on the design. The last process will be Turquoise where the spaces that must be green, purple and blue will be left open.

The warps are now ready to be sorted and put on the loom.

As soon as the warps are rolled up, combed and the ends cut it is time to thread the yarn onto the loom.

After all the threads are pulled through at a width of 12 threads per centimetre the threads are “milked” by gently tugging an each thread to pull it straight and untangle threads.

 The threads are tied into bunches of 24 threads per bunch and tensioned at the front of the loom. Then the test weave can begin.

During the test weave trouble shooting is done and mistakes in the threading can be fixed.

 The final product: Olaf

 

Happiness is a warm slice of pizza

Just off Jan Shoba Street (formerly Duncan Street), in South Street and next to the “Hatfield Zoo” is a cosy little pizzeria named Bravo. From the street it does not seem too grand with the interior seemingly mismatched and very casual with picnic tables outside and scattered chairs with low tables. Inside are couches and an open kitchen and bar area, where the coffee and milkshakes are made. All of these features add to the charm of the pizzeria.

Let’s face it; the interior of a restaurant does not really matter when there is pizza involved. Good pizza. The ingredients are always fresh and the pizza is always happy to see you and you will be even happier to see it. With names like “Talented mister Ribley”, “Penny Lane”, “a fish called Wanda” and “Cherry bowl”, who would not be happy?  When you dig into the fresh avocado, pancetta, olives or whatever your heart desires on a pizza, you immediately enter heaven and you feel nothing but joy. Not to mention their tantalizingly good signature Prego sauce.

The menu is not only limited to pizza. It also includes: chicken- and beef burgers, smoked chicken salad, a rib basket and more. All this is freshly made on the premises, using high quality ingredients. With Hatfield being an area occupied by many students the food sold at Bravo makes for a sustainable meal during exam times or any occasion that might not allow time for cooking.

I am not sure what is the most appealing about Bravo. It could be the coffee, it could be the pizza, it could be the homely atmosphere or it could be the fact that Bravo makes the best wood fired pizzas in the world. Yes, the world.

Be sure to pop in for a meal. Seriously…

Peace and love

Clara

PS: This was not a sponsored post.

https://www.facebook.com/bravopizzeria012?ref=ts&fref=ts

Busy (fashion) week

My apologies for being so quiet the past week, but it was one of those weeks that had me running up and down every single day. Not that I am complaining, it was a great week. Some of the interesting events included a meeting with the SABS on craft standards, finally visiting Karoo Café, Fashion Week Pop Up shop, meetings with the designers for our fashion show and the Spar Women’s race.

So here I sit with my stiff legs from the race and think back on what I saw at Fashion Week Designer Pop Up shops at Brooklyn mall. What struck me most is that most of the designers that were showcasing and selling their work have been in business for eight years or less and the amount of talent in such a small space was astounding. Some of the more seasoned designers at the event were Clive Rundle, Albertus Swanepoel and Black Coffee. Some of my favourites, however, included YOUMEWE, Hannah and Jane Sews. If only my shopaholic budget allowed buying an item from every label, luckily I did not walk away empty handed.

Now I have a good idea of what to expect this coming summer in terms of trends. The most obvious of the new trends is the new colour palette; pastel colours. Not my favourite, but black, grey and white featured enough to not make me lose hope.

The second trend in terms of fabric was that prints are making a comeback and the popular dyed effects are taking the backseat.  The popularity of digital fabric printing is on the increase. What is so spectacular with digital printing is that it breaks away from the flat colours that one is used to with printed fabrics and gives a more realistic and dimensional look. The reason for this is that with digital printing there is no limitation on the amount of colours that can be used. Another print that was very popular was bold African inspired prints in bright colours, a contrast to the pastels that made their appearance.

Thirdly; high waist skirts are very popular. The prints and colours are varied and the lengths are from knee-length to long and come in many different types of fabric. The thing that really awoke my inner-child was that I saw Tule used for skirts in more than one collection. Now I cannot wait to buy myself another tutu, but this one will be fashionable and not just me running around looking like a fairy.

Today is officially the first day of spring and I will be wearing flowers in my hair and stocking piling anti-histamines. Let’s hope the rain will be here soon.

Wishing all our readers a wonderful week.

Peace and love

Clara

Decorex Johannesburg

The month of August marks a few significant events. It is the month when OppiKoppi and Decorex Johannesburg takes place; it is also Women’s Day on the 9^th. Funnily enough all three these events tend to happen in the same week and in this year’s case all three were on the same weekend. Although I did not attend OppiKoppi, or the celebrations at the Union Buildings for Woman’s Day, I did attend Decorex.

For anybody that is in a design field, Decorex is an event that is a must-see every year. Mostly it is a tradeshow for interiors; the information gathered on design trends and colour schemes is always useful. One can also network and mingle with other designers and find useful contacts and suppliers. Another very significant part of this year’s show was the 100% Design, a showcase of new ideas and fresh cutting-edge design. The public could also attend talks by the artists and designers taking part.

As a crafter I always head for, well, the craft section. Floorboards, kitchen appliances and shower heads are things that I will pay attention to when I grow up and have my own house to renovate. The Department of Trade and Industry sponsors selected crafters from each of the nine provinces in South Africa to exhibit their work, giving them a good platform to market their work, which is often connected with a community project. Seeing the amazing contemporary crafts that these artists produce is awe inspiring, yet the crafts never lose their South African flair.

Apart from this section and that as a crafter it is always both refreshing and relaxing to see other artists and designers excel at their craft I had another motive for going. I went to see my own work on display. Earlier this year I was given the opportunity by Marileen van Wyk to send scatter pillows to Decorex with her company, The Glass Forming Academy. It might seem a bit strange; obviously the scatter pillows are not glass. They are in fact pure cotton that I dye, embellish and sew by hand. Along with my dyed work, there was ceramic pieces, printed canvases and an array of quaint glass beads, key rings and teaspoons.

 Negative heart pillow by Clara Jansen

 Black Geometric pillow by Clara Jansen

 Purple split pillow by Clara Jansen

Not knowing what to expect in terms of feedback from Decorex I am quite nervous to hear how it went. When I visited there was not really time to talk. I am truly grateful for the opportunity given to me and fellow designers and artist by the Glass Forming Academy to be able to showcase our products at Decorex. Please visit their website www.glassforming.co.za.

Peace and love

Clara

Art in the Capital City

My home town, Pretoria, does not always seem to be a great place to live when one is an artist. Yes, I know it is the capital city, but there is something nostalgic about calling it a town. Artist André Naudé once told me that he sees Pretoria as still being a “dorp”. How will the Jacaranda city respond to Cape Town being the 2014 design capital of the world?

The answer is an initiative called The Cool Capital 2014 Biennale. It is described on the official website, www.coolcapital.co.za, as “the world’s first uncurated, DIY, guerrilla biennale: a place for citizens of the Capital City to collectively contemplate and express why we love our City and how we can improve it”. For someone who really loves Pretoria I think this is an amazing concept and a chance to show the country what we have to offer in terms of not only visual arts, but performing arts as well. From 29 August to 15 November Pretoria will showcase what the city has to offer in terms of art, architecture, design, film and music.

Not only do I support Cool Capital 2014, I am very proud to say that I will be an active part of it. Keep 1 November open as we will be having a fashion show at St. Lorient Fashion and Art Gallery. The show will be collaboration between fine artists, fashion designers and textile designers from Pretoria. It works as follows: the artist will choose one of their works, in any medium and hand it over to a team of fashion designers and a textile designer. The team will interpret the work and create a garment and hand printed fabric based on their understanding of the artwork. The resulting garments will be showcased in an event at the gallery on 1 November. The garments, along with the artwork will then remain on display for three weeks.

Artists taking part in the collaboration are André Naudé, Celia de Villiers, Tommy Motswai, Petro Neal, Anton Smit, Thelma van Rensburg, Gwenneth Miller, Tanisha Bhana, Gordon Froud and Michaela Janse van Vuuren. To view their work, visit www.art.co.za.  The two artists that I will be working with for the show are Thelma van Rensburg and Gwenneth Miller.

Hope to see you there!

Peace and love

Clara

PS: Biennale refers to an event taking place every second year. Here’s hoping to participate again in 2016 and a successful 2014.

PPS: St. Lorient Fashion and Art Gallery’s address is 492, Fehrsen Street, Brooklyn Circle, Brooklyn, Pretoria and readers can visit their website at www.stlorient.co.za . 

Coffee with Cinnamon

It was 8:00 and the two of us are holding on to our coffees for dear life (because nobody functions without coffee this early) at the Hazelwood Food Market at the Greenlyn Village in Pretoria. More details about the market later. The reason we came together was to kick off the first official post for our blog.

Introductions are in order, I think. My name is Clara Jansen and I am clutching coffee with my fellow blogger, Chandré Nortier. The aim of this escapade is to introduce her to our readers. Many other escapades will follow as the two of us will be visiting craft and flea markets, conventions, tradeshows, share some DIY ideas and good restaurants in the ways we understand how. The blog, for me, is all about getting out and enjoying whatever I may find.

Down to brass tacks; this post is not about me. It is to introduce Chandré…

Chandré is a second year Fine Arts student at the Tshwane University of Technology majoring in Painting and Printmaking. She defines printmaking as a traditional form of art capturing an image on a two dimensional surface by not drawing or painting it. Methods of printmaking include Silkscreen printing, etching and lino. She admires British-Nigerian artist Yinko Shonibare and South African artist Desireé Malan. The end goal for this talented lady is to have a career in restoring art or become a lecturer for Art Theory.

In a world where artists are making more and more extreme art statements and try to shock the viewer, she feels that art is allowed to still be beautiful and does not need to make a statement or be extreme. In her art she focuses more on the aesthetic value and technique of the painting or print, rather than the concept. She considers her skill to be stronger than her conceptual development, which links to the fact that she is also a crafter.

Yes, this lady has many talents. Some of her other skills are very much related to craft and textiles. She can knit, crochet, sew, quilt and do fibre art. Ironically she prefers crafting over her majors at university due to the fact that she does not like to have dirty hands.

To conclude our first official post I had to ask if she would rather hug a Grizzly bear or a Honey badger. Her answer was the Honey badger. Good luck with that…

Have a splendid week filled with coffee, good food, beautiful things and good friends.

Peace and Love

Clara