Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Manchester 11th October 2013

Visited the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester  on the 11th. As ever it was a brilliant show, loads of amazing artists and designers with such an inspirational  work...wanted to buy so much of the work! The GNCCF showcases cutting edge contemporary craft to buy from over 150 selected designer-makers in ceramics, glass, jewellery, interior and fashion textiles, wood, paper, silver, metal, product design, print-making and more.

http://www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk/2013-exhibitors.aspx - follow this link to see the list of artists who exhibited -  will give you loads of inspiration

some of my favourites:


Julia Jowett

I saw Julia's  work, i think her work is amazing and am really excited as she is going to be part of the Staffordshire Contemporary Artist and Designer fair 2013 that i am in the midsts of organising (our second one) - watch this space for more info.

 

'My illustrative practice explores the importance of storytelling and imagination. Working dense areas of hand embroidered stitches with wire and print techniques, I harness instinctive feelings and childhood tales to create considered folkloric mixed media narratives that intrigue'.

 

 

Anja Keeley

 

'Creator and curator of a compendium of curious creatures and whimsical wonders discovered during explorations and adventurings. Here you will find mischievous mammals, botanically baffling birds, frolicsome fairies and much, much more. All specimens are one-off artefacts using found and reclaimed objects with wire'.

 

 

 

 

http://www.anyakeeley.com/

 

 

really love the paper cutting technique - loads of inspirational work around at the moment using this technique - 2 at the fair - 'Deli cut' and 'Blasted Glass - Caroline Rees' 

 

Deli cut

 

I am a paper cut work artist,creating pictures and cards with wood and acrylic tokens. Inspired by the traditional Swiss art Scherenschnitte.

 

 

 

Blasted Glass - Caroline Rees

 

Working from her studio in Gower, Wales, Caroline Rees creates architectural sandblasted and carved glass to commission. Her stylised drawings have also been used to create a collection of free-standing glass panels and papercuts.

 

 

 

 

loved the intensity of colour on this glass work by.....

 

 

 

 

 

Clare Hillerby

 

Am a real fan of collage art, especially ones involving old documents and photographs. These collages were beautiful as was the jewellery.

'Old found handwriting is the inspiration and starting point for my work; discarded old postcards, as well as stamps, maps and photographs are collected, interesting areas are extracted then combined with new metalwork to create contemporary stories. The original messages become ambiguous and contrasting writing styles are combined in new conversations. The metalwork elements are influenced by markings in the found papers, and markings found in our urban environment.

My collection consists of necklaces, bracelets, brooches, earrings and cufflinks. I also create collages combining found ephemera, layered with stitched handwriting'.

 

http://www.clarehillerby.co.uk/index.htm