[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-felt-mistress-creature-couture":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"What a triumph! On Tuesday night, Foyles Charing Cross hosted a party for \u003Ca href=\"http://www.blankslatebooks.co.uk/our-books/creature-couture/\">\u003Ci>Creature Couture\u003C/i>\u003C/a>, a brand-new release by \u003Cb>Blank Slate Books\u003C/b>, featuring the wonderful creations of the \u003Ca href=\"http://www.feltmistress.com/\">Felt Mistress\u003C/a>, \u003Cb>Louise Evans\u003C/b>. Here's my drawing of the book's designer, Louise's good friend \u003Ca href=\"http://www.woodrowphoenix.co.uk/\">Woodrow Phoenix\u003C/a>, Louise, and her partner \u003Cb>Jonathan Edwards\u003C/b> (aka \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jonathan-e.com/\">Jontofski\u003C/a>).\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/jabberworks/Events/fm_creature_couture_bw.jpg\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/fm_creature_couture-07e838dd5a.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\u003Ci>(Click on the pic \u003Ca href=\"http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/jabberworks/Events/fm_creature_couture_bw.jpg\">or here\u003C/a> to see the black & white sketch. I was trying to play around with Jonathan's way of drawing first with grey brush pen, then black, with mixed success.)\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nWe were treated to a fabulous display of Louise's work, a mix of 3-D characters and photo portraits of others, made to look a bit like an at-home lounge, with gilt frames and tinsel. \u003Cb>The Felt Mistress exhibition continues until New Year's Day\u003C/b> in Foyles' third-floor Gallery, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=1724\">details here\u003C/a>. Do pop along and see if it you're in London! Take time to meet each character properly, every one has a name and a back story.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_creatures3-c43a939bb2.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cb>Austin Flisk\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Skeechy Dwippford\u003C/b>, 'hosts of the best parties, makers of the best espresso, wearers of the sharpest threads'\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nI first met Felt Mistress and Jontofski through Woodrow, who invited me along one year to a freelancers' Christmas dinner at a restaurant in Kings Cross station. Louise told me how she made one-off styled wedding dresses, but that she was also making these little monster figures. The first one I saw was a photo of her 3-D interpretation of Woodrow's cartoon character, Pants Ant: a tiny ant who operates an enormous robotic pair of trousers. Woodrow was utterly pleased with it, followed Louise's work closely, and then wouldn't rest until they'd put together a beautiful, full-colour coffee table book documenting the amazing creatures she's come up with. They pitched it to \u003Cb>Kenny Penman\u003C/b>, publisher at Blank Slate, and he was up for it; the page count tripled  (or was it quadrupled?) from the original proposal, to 400 pages, there were just so many good things to include. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_wdz_louise-b47dc1a3d3.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nLouise and Jonathan are an amazing partnership, they work closely together and influence each other's work hugely, picking up where the other leaves off. You might recognise Jonathan's illustrations from \u003Ci>The Guardian\u003C/i> and loads of other places. Louise, with her top-notch sewing skill, realised she could make his drawings come alive as figures, and now she collaborates with him and lots of other well-known artists, too, such as \u003Ca href=\"http://jonburgerman.com/\">Jon Burgerman\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://monsterism.net/\">Pete Fowler\u003C/a>. They've also worked with businesses such as \u003Cb>Selfridges\u003C/b> (they did a big \u003Ca href=\"http://www.feltmistress.com/#/fm-selfridges-display/4548102459\">window display\u003C/a>), \u003Ca href=\"http://www.nobrow.net/\">Nobrow Press\u003C/a> (including a beautiful felt version of \u003Ca href=\"http://lukepearson.com/2011/12/hilda-by-felt-mistress.html\">Luke Pearson's Hilda\u003C/a>) and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.kirkoriginals.com\">Kirk Originals\u003C/a> (note the figures with amazing specs). Here's a video about \u003Ci>Creature Couture\u003C/i>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"2342\"/>\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\nJonathan was drawing portraits of people in the front of their books. Here's my monster portrait, isn't it Fabulous?! I'm so chuffed! :D \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_jontofski_sarahpic-c8540afd8d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>Martin Steenton\u003C/b> from Blank Slate introduced this crew, and Woodrow interviewed Louise and Jonathan about how this book came together. Woodrow did an amazing job, some of the best interviewing I've seen, because he knows those two so well and has been passionate about their work for so long. It was fascinating to hear about their month work placement in Japan, about her training in perfectionist sewing, about her shed-full of vintage tweed. And when I read through the book this morning, I spotted a lot of those stories in its pages. Well worth reading, as well as picture-gazing!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_wdz_fm_jon-b49fa70717.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe essays by Jon Burgerman and others were quite in-depth. I loved something Pete Fowler wrote: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Ci>I think the best compliment you can give or make to someone is 'Your work is you. Your self and your work are the same, it's a projection of yourself.' Louise doe that to a tee, absolutely, with no slacking. I'd like to think that we are all like that, in any circles of artwork and artists that you have, there's a lovely group of friends that inspire each other and unknowingly, perhaps, push each other. Not in a competitive way (maybe it is a little competitive) but in the nicest possible way. Jonathan and Louise's work always inspires  me. If I'm ever feeling down, or at a bit of a crossroads with work, or just having one of those days where I feel 'I'm rubbish', I look at people's work on the Internet and think 'I've got to pull my socks up'. But seeing Louise's work never makes me feel like 'God, my work is crap', it's just inspiring.\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/fm_george_harrison-8d161f36c6.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cb>Rishikish George\u003C/b>: George Harrison, made for \u003C/i>All Together Now\u003Ci>, The Beatles tribute show at Gallery Nucleus, Alhambra, California\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_creatures2-b416f34d26.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cb>Lester Flent\u003C/b>: husband of Hester, co-founder of the Furious Rhomboid gallery, Lester believe in the power of the continuous line\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nHa ha, the drinks were quite startlingly colourful. Excellent! Also all the jellybeans we could eat. A total sugar buzz.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_drinks-8ce3494560.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_drinks-1-5508ffa92a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSpeaking of friends and supportive creative community, it was great seeing so many of the people whose work I find inspiring. Like one \u003Ca href=\"http://www.fumboo.com/\">Jamie Smart\u003C/a>, at the party with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/thatswedishgirl\">Swedish Anna\u003C/a>. I got to know Woodrow (and thus Louise) through \u003Ci>The DFC\u003C/i>, a weekly comic now going strong as \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/\">\u003Ci>The Phoenix Comic\u003C/a>\u003C/i>, and so many people who inspire me now, like Jamie, are people I met that way. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_jamie_anna-5f9e026e75.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's \u003Ca href=\"http://www.devicefonts.co.uk\">Rian Hughes\u003C/a> with his portrait. Rian's work was recently featured in \u003Ca href=\"http://www.johnmiers.com/Foylescomic/\">Foyles, a graphic history\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FB_rianhughes-0991e6f913.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nMy lovely and super-crafty studio mate Ms \u003Ca href=\"http://www.whodunnknit.com/\">Deadly Knitshade\u003C/a>, fitting in remarkably well with the other creatures.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_deadlyknitshade-be387984e9.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cb>Edwin Crepuscule Flenk\u003C/b>: Artist, poet, novelist and 'nocturnal romantic'. Edwin's band, The Decadent Prosimians, split acrimoniously after differences arising over styling mousse in 2005.\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_creatures1-36ed8091ae.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cb>Flink Strothers\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Groobo Tubbs\u003C/b> from The Furry Mayhem\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_lauren_creatures-64c8ebff7c.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cb>Gilbert Twang\u003C/i>\u003C/b> and \u003Ci>\u003Cb>Pooky Snooks\u003C/i>\u003C/b>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_creatures4-ed1a74cbd9.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Lovely detail on Skeechy Dwippford\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_tunnocks-847c772b29.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOh, we DO love Tunnock's! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_chris_craig_louise-914661fd0f.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Chris, Louise and \u003Ca href=\"http://craigscomicland.com/\">Craig Conlan\u003C/a> (who drew one of the characters in the book that Louise made)\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_gary_lizz-1ee7ac9569.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>My fab studio mate \u003Ca href=\"http://www.garynorthfield.com\">Gary Northfield\u003C/a>, and comics artist \u003Ca href=\"http://www.lizzlizz.com/\">Lizz Lunney\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nHurrah! I'm so glad I finally get to see this book!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_sarah_book-c6ca800b25.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nPiece of trivia: I actually have WORK in this book! Oh yes. It's on page 398, I took that teeny-tiny photo of Woodrow and Louise. That's the one, right there at the bottom of the page. *puffs out chest proudly*\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_wdz_mypic-b7fc460021.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSo if you're looking for an amazing Christmas present, you know just what to get! Considering the size and quality of the book, it's a real steal at £24.99. And supporting Blank Slate is always a great thing, they publish some of the most amazing books and comics out there. (Do \u003Ca href=\"http://www.blankslatebooks.co.uk/\">check out some of their other stuff\u003C/a>!) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/FM_foyles_highlights-6595ff88f9.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nCongratulations and thanks to Louise, Jonathan, Woodrow, Blank Slate and Foyles for a wonderful evening and a marvelous book!","2012-12-12T23:26:00.000Z","felt-mistress-creature-couture",[],"felt mistress: creature couture",1776628724516]