Page 15 - VE Magazine - Issue 42

were both needle felted onto an armature with natural wool fleece. The Hare’s dress is a cashmere piece I found that has been needle felted with woodland creatures and flowers and embellished with vintage sequins and vintage yarns. Put together with a tule underskirt, wicked witch stripey tights and sequin pumps.
The Raven’s dress is a vintage find that was in tatters so I went with the tattered look and needle felted rats onto it, leaving many ripped layers. The jacket is a Victorian piece covered in jet beading and lace. Put together again with a tule underskirt and stripey tights and finished off with a pair of vintage shoes. A weird and truly wonderful expression of my art.
11. When a story has been created and the photos are taken I love them to find their forever homes! 12. Magical.
MisterFinch www.mister-finch.com
MY NAME IS FINCH – it’s actually my surname but everyone calls me Finch and I like it. I’ve called my business Mister Finch
so it’s clear from the start that I’m a man, and one that sews. We are a bit thin on the ground but we are out there! I stitch and pull scraps of thread and fabric to make fairy tale creatures looking for new owners and worlds to inhabit. 1. I’m a maker who uses fabrics and found objects to create creatures and plant life, often with a fairy tale aesthetic.
2. I’ve always been able to sew since being a child and have always fixed clothes and made curtains, that kind of thing. I’ve had a sewing machine since being about 17. Sewing has always surfaced in my work in some way and when I made jewellery for years I made the fabric bags that they went in. I wanted to leave making jewellery and try a new area, it wasn’t that I didn’t love it I just grew tired of having to rely on so many others to get work shown and seen... photographers, models, makeup etc. I wanted to be able to make something and do everything alone and so I began to play around with making simple insects from cloth and textiles and that’s how it began.
3. Inspiration comes from so many places it’s almost impossible to pin down. I try to flood myself with imagery and films and listen to audiobooks whilst working and try to just see as many new things as possible. The tiniest thing can be inspirational. Once I was on a train and sat opposite were two old ladies talking about their garden and their blossom trees, the ticket inspector was talking to a customer who asked which station to get off and I heard ‘blossom’ and ‘which’... Blossom Witch. That was it, I was off, the idea of a blossom witch was just beautiful and I loved the idea of her sitting in a tree hiding, and creating a back story for her. So you see it comes from anything and everything.
4. You are more than welcome to.
5. It’s the story and often the visible wear that textiles can have. I love to use old clothes more and more now and there are so many components that you can use; the pockets, lining, shoulder pads etc. I do love to use things that are way past being rescued and that they are turned into something completely new. An old coat becomes a toadstool or a threadbare wedding dress is wound around wire to make a large spider with her egg case. This process in itself lends itself to really wonderful storytelling and is what I adore.
6. I made a huge moth years ago from a rug that was in a skip, the contents of the skip were from a fire damaged property and half of the rug was destroyed but a good chunk of it was fine and I used it for the wings. I had a simple moth pattern that I was using and I enlarged
it on an overhead projector and made her
up. I called her Oonah and she means a huge amount to me. It was around this time my work was selling well and this allowed me to leave my jobs and sew full time. So she’s a reminder of a really great time!
7. I do love spiders and making large ones is hugely satisfying, especially making them with heavy embroidery, it seems to fit them so well. Spiders are hugely symbolic all around the world and mean so many different things and this is really attractive to me.
8. Both. Sometimes I’m led by what I find
and other times I’m on the lookout for certain things. The last show I did ‘The Wish Post’ had me making large life-size swans and I needed all different weights of white and cream fabrics for the feathers and I actively looked out for them and collected them. So it really is a case of both.
9. I don’t work on commissions, I generally work on solo shows which is wonderful and so I tend to work with galleries and parks. I don’t get as much time to make and sell myself as
in the past, so now my work can get quite big and heavy and so it lends itself to going to a show. I have all types of people who have my work and also for many different reasons. I had a lady buy a spider years ago to help her deal with her crippling arachnophobia, which is a huge compliment really.
10. Currently working on a small Christmas show which launches on 1st December at Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool (www. bluecoatdisplaycentre.com/shop).
11. If I’m making for a show then I know
from the beginning that they are going to
be for sale and so I don’t form attachments, which is easier said than done, but usually I’m better now with letting things go. In the past when I have made creatures, for example
my greetings card range, I knew I would be hanging on to them and so now I’m used to them being around and would be sad to see some of them go.
12. Upbeat.
world, a few famous ones too (who shall remain secret).
10. At the moment I am working on a collection for Pollocks toy shop in Covent Garden London
for their Christmas window display along with my own collection for Christmas. I have a small exhibition in January at the Copro Gallery, Santa Monica to work towards. 11. Sometimes I feel little tugs
on my heart strings when it’s time for pieces to go especially if I have grown fond of a particular character I’ve created. One of
the reasons I make collections of pieces to sell is so that I can have them with me for a few months around the house before they go. 12. Jittery.
www.vintagexplorer.co.uk
ve / October-November 2018 / 15