Saturday, March 31, 2012

6 ways to thread shoelaces!

I bought some new tennis shoes. Or would you call them sneakers? I never use that word. Whatever they are, they have 4 pairs of holes. They came with the standard shoeshop display lacing, but I don't like it very much, because the laces end up on the inside of the shoe plus they are tedious to tighten. I decided to explore other options which means to Google. I struck gold at Ian's shoelace site!


On the right you see "Straight European Lacing". The laces run straight across on the outside and diagonally on the inside. It looks sleek and minimalist and was definitely the favoured style in Stockholm, when I lived there. But it's a bit fiddly to tighten.


On the left I've just done two crosses on the top. The laces criss cross all the way on the inside and end up on the inside on the top. It's easy to tighten, looks tidy and eats up some length which is nice, since I don't like the ends hanging long.


The left starts with one straight across and carries on with a cross. Finishes with a bow on the top. The laces criss cross all the way on the inside and are easy to tighten. The style looks neat but a bit random.

The right one is the classic "Criss cross" with a straight start. You could have the straight on the inside to achieve an unbroken crisscross look. It's simple, comfy and quick and leaves the ends on the top.


The crazy one on the left is "Double Helix Lacing". All the laces run one way diagonally on the outside and the other way on the inside. It's said to reduce friction and to allow faster, easier lacing. The style looks interesting but you have to pull one lace on the inside and one lace on the outside to tighten. Straange.

The style on the right is called "Display Shoe Lacing". It's a reverse of the criss cross and leaves the knot on the inside, hence you can hide the laces inside the shoe when it's in the box. This one you have to start with one straight across.


Bet you haven't seen these before. Here we have "Lattice Lacing" on the left. It looks cool but it would take you ages to get the shoes on! The knot is very much on the inside. This style has a point of difference for sure.


I must admit I find the "Asterisk" on the right very cute. It's actually not too difficult to tighten as a single one. You need multiples of 3 eylet pairs + one for tying the knot.




And the chosen method is... Now I just need black laces, as the white ones are too glary!




Sunday, March 25, 2012

Changing Threads 2012


Published a tad backdated but better late than never...

Changing Threads, the National Contemporary Fibre Arts Awards was on show at the Refinery Artspace in Nelson from 24th March until 21st April 2012 for the fourth year running. Thanks to Ronnie Martin`s initiative and the support from Arts Council Nelson we get to enjoy this classy feast of imagination and the unexpected in my home town.

These are my favorites from the exhibition, for any unfathomable reason. There was other lovely work too, but these are the ones my camera gravitated towards.

Sandra Mead: Immigrant


Matt Siwerski: Buck Fever
Melliors Simms: Blizzard
Sally Reynolds: Yin and Yang (on the left)

Karyn Henson: 365 Days

Colleen Plank: Skin Deep

Jo Kinross: Colins Bed (An Artist`s Life Isn`t Always a Bed of Roses)

Marilyn Andrews: 2731 Genetic Experiment RCG07022012a:
Marilyn Andrews: 2731 Genetic Experiment RCG07022012b:

















Jo Kinross: 5 Little Prayer Flags

 Maria Julkunen Dalton: Blip (on the Love Radar)

Sharon Patterson: Close/Closed
 














Jean Carbon: Together/Alone

 
 Sandra Mead: Pippi


Sue Heydon: Entitlement Series
Love, Shelter, Warmth, Food, Stimulation, Companionship

Jenny Judge: Field

Chris Tait: This is the Story of a Girl...

Claire Hey: Vintage Beach Culture


Looking forward to next year already!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Blip (on the Love Radar)

I entered this piece to the 2012 Changing Threads exhibition with the name Blip (on the Love Radar). Changing Threads is a juried National Contemporary Fibre Arts Awards exhibition held annually here in Nelson. This was the third time I participated.
Click on the photo to see the details.

I ended up mounting the piece twice. I first wanted to maintain some transparency as the distressed cloth with stitching looked interesting with backlight. The best board I got hold of turned out not being transparent enough. Not only that, but it ended up warping in the heat of my car while it sat there for a few hours before driving to the gallery. I was mortified.

I liked the wide silk organza edge on the first version, even though it always looked a bit wobbly on the sides. During the next few days I remounted it on a smaller but thicker board. I also padded the centre of the biggest circle on the left for better 3D effect. Mounting is tricky business and once again I learned that it would be better to have that in mind quite early on in the process.

I was so proud to share the exhibition space with such high standard of work overall. You can see photos of my favourite pieces here.