| Career
Summary
............................eMail:
grietje@dodo.com.au
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Following
the completion of an associate diploma in Fine Art as
well as degrees in Urban Design and Architecture, Grietje
embarked on a 10 year career in Town Planning. During
that time she also designed a number of houses and extensions
for clients and developed her own property.
She
is now building her own studio and she works fulltime
as an artist and designer and teachs the art of felt making.
She mainly works with textiles, exploring its sculptural
possibilities as well as creating wearables and accessories.
She
says,"on the one hand I love to push the flimsy quality
of the lightest silk, yet giving it body, strength and
texture by felting merino wool and other fibres onto it.
On the other hand, I sculpt with textiles, often using
armatures and/or stiffening agents – such as wire,
PVA or Paverpol – to create strength and to support
the desired form."
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Whilst my
mother was a full time working mum as well as raising a family
of 5 children, she did find time to teach me to knit when I
was 4, and to crochet and sew on the sewing machine a year later.
Embroidery was taught both at school and at home. My brothers
on the other hand build model planes and cars. We had an enormous
electrical train board and created entire towns from lego, sticks,
sand or cardboard, depending on what was at hand. We always
tried to push the boundaries and this has never stopped.
Whilst I
still do some house design, my main focus now is on textiles,
in particular the art of making felt. I like the immediacy of
the media, its familiar feels and textures and its relationship
to history. For example, felt is thought to be the first man
made fabric on this earth and silk is arguably the most luscious
fabric and it is traditionally associated with wealth, wool
is thought to have created Australia and considered to have
waterproof qualities. I like to play with these and other references.
Sometimes
the intent is obvious and provides a quick smile, at other times
perhaps more thought is required. Invariably I aim to improve
old and explore new techniques. I also like to contrast textiles
with other materials to convey the intended concept. At the
wearable level of my work, the most common comment I get is
that people's understanding of felt is that it is a chunky,
woolly, somewhat ugly though warm material, not necessarily
something to wear with an evening dress. My nuno felted wraps,
scarves and dilly bags completely dispel this long held believe.
At a sculptural
level, felt is often considered to be ugly and chunky, with
many works of art invoking images of death or decay. My use
of colour, texture, and the quality of both workmanship and
design aim to dispel this thought also.
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