Milos Tomic

Fabric sketchbooks, scraps like in the Foundlings Museum collection or the explorations of Louise Bourgeois, fascinate me even more than a good 'paper' sketchbook that has been; handled, worked in, 'lived in'.
Fabric books especially when made from upcycled fabric, tea towels, ironing board covers and clothes, fabric that has been with people for a while has smell and textures of someones life imprinted on them, have a soul and a quality that gives me goose bumps, and it is with this sentiment that I am sharing the work of Milos Tomic and his 'Book of stains, holes and patches.'
In the hope that it will inspire you to make fabric sketchbooks, to gather fabric, and use this to work with in innovative, creative ways.

Textile Sketch Book

Above: some pages from my textile sketch book
This is a great way of finding a home for samples and experiments. It is a fantastic way to build up a portfolio of ideas and a wonderful 'sketch book' for anyone involved in textiles and textile manipulation.

Inspired by Louise Bourgeois's textile book I have endeavoured to make a similar sketch book this weekend, it is great fun, liberating and probably the most experimental sketch book I have ever made, have a go !!!!! (I will bring it in, to show and tell).

Louise Bourgeois Textiles

Wonderful textiles from the amazing artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) will be exhibited at Hauser and Wirth Gallery, London from 15th October-18th December 2010.

In the examples above, you can see how Louise Bourgeois has quilted patterns together to create bold designs, she has combined patterned fabrics with plain, embellished and weaved scraps together.

Louise Bourgeois was a sculptor and artist who moved between mediums of wood, rubber, bronze, and stone. However her favourite medium was textiles, it was in her blood her mother was an expert weaver and seamstress, the family business had been the restoration of tapestries.

Louise Bourgeois's works are often sexually explicit, witty and emotionally charged, she was an artist who constantly created and recreated herself as an artist throughout her 98 years. Louise Bourgeois was always surrounded by other artists and her influence on fellow practitioners in her adopted home New York was great, her opinion and expertise kept her current and at the forefront of the artistic life of the city. (thanks)