Sissel Blystad

For four decades Sissel Blystad has been a central figure within Scandinavian textile arts. She creates large scale tapestries and shaped textiles using bright colorful hand-dyed wool fiber on board. She is also one of the first textile artist to incorporate digital rendering as composition guide. Much of her ‘drawings with thread’ is abstract built on repetition of small elements. The artist who lives and works in Oslo was educated at the Crafts and Arts School and Bergen Handicrafts School.

Images: Courtesy of Sissel Blystad.

Rebecca Ringquist

Rebecca Ringquist is the Portland-based visual artist and teacher who created the amazing pieces shown above. She uses embroidery as a way of drawing creating colorful abstracts that are often biographical. She has also created these incredible samplers that are availbale in her Etsy shop, Dropcloth. On Chicago Arts-Lifestyle she says this about her interest of fiber arts:

“I found myself taking a very forward-thinking feminist art history class as an undergraduate at Cornell College. Women in Fabric, Fiction and Film explored the role embroidery played in colonial and Victorian times in the development of girls’ lives and the inculcation of femininity. Further, I spent a lot of time studying the feminist art movement of the 1970s.”

“Before this class I was very reluctant to sew, but I became interested in embroidery as a conceptual way to represent ideas about femininity in a subversive manner. I was so excited by the idea that the material could convey its own very important history and meaning.”

“I then attended the Art Institute as a grad student in Fiber and Material studies and began exploring these ideas further.”

You can find Rebecca Ringquist on her website, Facebook and Instagram.

Images: Courtesy of Rebecca Ringquist.

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Rob Blackard

Really liking the bold, graphic illustrations of artist Rob Blackard. The New York/California-based designer, illustrator and product developer blends color, shape and typography in many of his pieces which he labels as a ‘playful sophistication’ style. On an interview with Creative Honey he says this about his work as a product designer and leaves an advice for entry level creators:

“Creating something that has a life or function beyond being purely visual is one of my favorite things about product design. I work quite a bit in the art/craft/DIY category. Some examples are paper crafting and fabric. People are inspired by what I’ve created and use that as a jumping off point for their own projects. They take what I’ve done and then create something entirely different and new from it. I love seeing what they come up with and I’m continually inspired and motivated by their talent and vision.”

“Be appreciative of your talents and vision. Appreciate that you are a creator and trust that everything will unfold for you in just the right way. Opportunity is all around you.”

You can follow the artist on his website, Facebook, Behance and Instagram.

Images: Courtesy of Rob Blackard.

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