Today’s technology provides us with access to an astounding array of textile related podcasts on a broad range of topics that include in-depth interviews with artists
Maiwa Handprints, founded in Canada in 1986, supports the production of embroidered, blockprinted, handwoven and naturally dyed textiles throughout a number of countries. They have made available a series of outstanding in-depth audio and video podcasts recorded at the annual Maiwa Textile Symposiums that are accessible at:
http://www.maiwa.com/documentaries/podcasts.htmlThe Maiwa podcasts include:
The Independent Artist: Working to Commission - Lucy Goffin - Working to commission involves forming a special relationship with a client. Large works for public spaces require the artist to deal with architects, planners, and engineers. It involves navigating through time frames, budgets, and fire regulations. The challenge is not to compromise the creative process due to the added constraints. In fact the reverse can often be true: exciting creative ideas come out of problem solving within a working brief.
Reel and Weave: The Silkspinner's Story – Parts 1, 2 & 3 - Part 1: Karen Selk describes her journeys to China and explains how silk is raised and harvested; Part 2 - Karen describes her experience in Laos and explains how weaving traditions are an essential part of Laotian culture; Part 3 - Karen explores India and visits both the giant tusser moth and the Salvi community, makers of a famous double silk ikat known as Patan Patola.
From the Heart: A Weaver’s Journey – Parts 1 & 2 –Bhakti Ziek is a weaver, teacher, writer, and lecturer and “…has the ability to talk to a group about her life as a weaver while making it seem as if she is sitting talking directly to each person about their own lives and intimate experiences. In this talk, she updates her journey, sharing how a tenuous, fine thread grew into her life line and the sometimes unpredictable path it has taken. Sharing both the triumphs and knots, periods of intense curiosity and spells of disillusionment, she will talk about ways of staying connected that she has found helpful in her struggle to remain involved, creative, and hopeful as an aging weaver, artist, and human being.”
Choreographed Cloth – This is a video podcast - Angelina DeAntonis is an artist driven to express her passion for color through the dye process. This is a presentation made to the 2007 Maiva Textile Symposium.
Kismet, Ajrakh, and the Fish of Knowledge: Collaborating with Craftspeople in India – Eiluned Edwards - “Edwards tells the story of the events leading up to her first trip to India, how it felt to arrive, and how her life was changed by a meeting with the blockprinters of Dhamadka. The trip was profound and its effects were long lasting, Edwards shifted her focus from textile design to cultural anthropology. She spent the next 16 years researching the textiles of the Kutch Desert, collaborating with artisans, aranging exhibitions and studying traditional Ajrakh blockprints.”
The Intimate Stitch: Blueleaf Shibori – This is a video podcast – Jane Callendar describes her development and artistic influences and reflects on her artistic journey.
The Working Traveller: Parts 1 to 4 – These are the reflections of workshop panelists – John Gillow, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Charllotte Kwon – each speaking about their personal experiences, how they got started, the reason for their journeys, and how interaction with other cultures has changed their lives. Another segment addresses specific questions from the audience.
The Mummies of Ürümchi: Textiles in Time – Elizabeth Barber – Dr. Barber is an expert on prehistoric textiles. Her talk is about the naturally mummified and spectacularly clothed bodies of Caucasians found in Chinese Turkestan that date back to the Bronze Age, 3,000 – 4,000 years ago.
Waiting for the Monsoon: Slow Clothes in India – Charlotte Kwon and Mahesh Dosaya – a reaction against fast food culture, “…slow clothes are made with an eye to the human impact on production rather than a need to race to meet a fashion trend.”
LadyBugLive - Dottie Moore posts podcast interviews of visual artists from around the world. The fiber/textile art segments include:
Mical Aloni – embroidery artist
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery4.html
Hollis Chatelain – textile artist
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery9.html
Gwendolyn Magee – textile artist
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery35.html
Susan McGehee – woven wire
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery30.html
Kisha Rawlinson – sweetgrass artist
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery21.html
Bernie Rowell – contemporary quilt artist
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery26.html
C. Elizabeth Smathers – fiber artist
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery20.html
Waltraud Reiner – millinery artist
http://ladybuglive.com/gallery10.html
Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft & Traditional Art – interviews with Gustina Atlas & Geraldine Nash – quilters (12 minutes), Gwendolyn Magee - quilter (25 minutes), Carol Welch – (12 minutes) basket weaver. Click on the artists’ name:
http://www.traditioninnovation.org/interviews/audio/index.htmlInternational Quilt Study Center & Museum – These are podcasts of online lectures, gallery talks, and discussion.
http://www.quiltstudy.org/connections/resources/podcasts_video.htmlAmong others, the podcasts include:
Quilts: Reflections of Trade, Technology & Tradition" by Patricia Cox Crew – 54 minutes – “…how quilts reflect American culture and the lives of quiltmakers of the past.”
"Nancy Crow: Contemporary Quiltmaking" by Nancy Crow - 59 minutes - Ms. Crow describes the evolution of her work, the many inspirations she finds, and the challenges she sees ahead.
"Modern, Yet Anti-Modern: Two Sides of the Late-Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Century Quiltmaking" by Marin Hanson – 43 minutes - Her lecture explores contemporary and historical dichotomies in culture and how quilts fit into that discussion.
"The American Quilt and the Grammar of Two-Dimensional Design" presented by David Hornung – 42 minutes
"It's Fashionable to be Pennsylvania Dutch Today: Disseminating Traditional Design in a Modern World." by Janneken Smucker – 35 minutes - The lecture focuses on research Smucker conducted regarding the commercialization of Pennsylvania Dutch culture during the 1930s and 1940s.
"Recycling and Resourcefulness: Quilts of the 1930s" by Merikay Waldvogel – 65 minutes
"From Fibers to Fieldwork" – Nao Nomura – 51 minutes - describes the use of fiber analysis and fieldwork techniques to more closely determine quilt provenance.
"Patchwork and Quilting in the UK" by Dr. Sue Marks – 45 minutes - lectures regarding art and design history, particularly the divisions that occur within the arts and crafts, and feminist debate.
"Quilt Surface Design Symposium: Incubating the Innovative Quilt" by Michael James – 35 minutes
"The Underground Railroad Quilt Controversy: Looking for the 'Truth' by Laurel Horton- 44 minutes
WeaveCast: A Podcast for Handweavers – list of all episodes
http://www.weavecast.com/archives.html Transcripts of select episodes also are available:
http://www.weavecast.com/transcripts.htmlMelanie Testa – Textile Artist & Fabric Designer – In this 70 minute podcast, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood interviews Melanie as she talks in-depth about her life, how she got into the field of textile art, the decision points about her art, her techniques, her struggles along the way, and advice.
http://blip.tv/file/133959Denyse Schmidt - Textile Artist – In this 60 minute podcast, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood interviews Denyse about how she went from being an artist with a day job to working fulltime as an artist living her dream.
http://craftsanity.blip.tv/file/132167/Jenny Hart – Embroidery Artist – In this 70 minute podcast, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood interviews Jenny about bringing embroidery back as an artform.
http://craftsanity.blip.tv/file/868865/Susie Hewer – Knitter – in this 30 minute podcast, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood interviews Susie about her passion for combining her love of knitting with her love of running marathons. Susie is included in the Guiness Book of Records for knitting the longest scarf while running a marathon.
http://craftsanity.com/?p=505Linda Gass – Quilter - 26 minutes – interviewed about how she “…uses multi-layered quilts to illuminate issues of water management in a state that descends into drought nearly six months out of every year. Linda Gass introduces three new pieces that illustrate the past, present, and - through restoration - the future of saltwater marshes in the San Francisco Bay. “
http://applausecastbusiness.podomatic.com/entry/2006-02-23T17_54_12-08_00Justine Dennis – Fiber Sculpture Artist - This is a 17 1/2 minute podcast. “Living in a 200-year-old log cabin near New Haven, Kentucky, Justine tells us about how she creates her whimsical fiber sculptures. She also talks about how a single bag of cotton inspired her to take up sewing and how her creativity has shifted over the past couple of years.”
http://www.southerncreativity.com/moonshine/issues/article.php?id=205
