Tracey Cameron Creative

Tag: wall hanging

57 Vulva’s and counting!
All of my art work is a way for me to find my own personal power. I look at the natural world and am struck by the beauty and the innate sense of strength and connection in everything around me. With every piece I make I strive to inspire that feeling in myself again and to encourage it in others.

The Bloom project started as a way to use up scraps and for me to feel more comfortable with the natural size and shape of my vulva. No two are alike and I found that I got really excited about combing different colours and patterns and seeing how the fabric would fold. At the moment I am up to 57 individual vulva’s and I finding I’m not as motivated to continue.

I had a particular exhibition space in mind for these pieces and unfortunately they weren’t selected, and honestly it’s got me a little bit bummed. Sometimes with art it feels like you have to be constantly hustling to get your work “out there” and all that effort can be draining. So I don’t know where this project is going to go. I know I will continue to make my little fabric vulva’s because I love how they turn out but I don’t know where in the world they will find a home. But I guess sometimes I just have to trust the urge to make and believe that everything else will take care of it’s self. Even if I throw myself a little pity party or two along the way.
December 7, 2021
The Bloom Project
This month I have started to experiment a bit. I have spent the better part of a decade fascinated with birds and using them as my main subject matter in my art, but I got the itch to start playing with something different. I was watching the hilarious and poignant Netflix show “Sex Education” when they started talking about vulva’s and shame. And it hit hard for me. I have felt for a long time that my body is some how “wrong” because I don’t look like what is represented in main stream media. And it turns out I am not alone. Women don’t seem to know what normal is or even that there is no normal!

I love bio diversity and that’s one of the main reason’s I’m so drawn to birds. But I thought I should take a moment and turn that highlight on personal diversity too. As I dove down the rabbit hole (or vagina as it were) I discovered many woman have been celebrating the vulva and all it’s glory long before me. Including Judy Chicago’s “Dinner Table” and Hilde Atalanta’s “The Vulva Gallery“. I know what I am doing is not new and it doesn’t have to be. It’s not about creating something ground breaking, we’ve been talking about vulva’s since Georgia O’Keeffe (and probably long before that too!). It’s about becoming more comfortable with my own body and no longer looking to other’s for approval or validation. I wanted to celebrate the wobbly bits, labia majora and minora in all their glory. Showing that they come in all sorts of colours, sizes and shapes. It’s not about fitting into a neat little homogeneous box, it’s about loving yourself and all your amazingly wonderful variations.

If you connect with me and my work and would like your own perfectly imperfect vulva, head over to my shop page now. Each one is completely individual and no two are the same, just like us 🙂
October 27, 2021
Why Birds?!

This is a question I’ve been asking myself for a while, “What’s with all the birds Tracey?!” And the simple answer is, I don’t really know…

It’s not something that has been a rational choice. I don’t have a manifesto about the social implication of flight or the environmental consequences of species loss. I can’t sit down and tell you what my intellectual intention behind a piece is, and honestly, for a long time that has made me feel like less of an artist. I used to think you must have something to say and make people stop and think. But my personal approach to art is more feeling and less thinking. I am a visceral artist. I don’t make art to make a point, I make art because it makes me feel good to make something beautiful and I hope it makes people feel happy to see something beautiful.

Right now I choose to celebrate the beauty in birds because I seem to be endlessly fascinated by them. It’s the curve of their necks, the graphic shape of their form, their strange staccato movements, their ability to take flight, their wildness, their diversity, their colour, their songs … They interest me on so many levels and maybe one day I’ll put into better words why I am so drawn to them but for now it simply boils down to I think they are pretty.

November 26, 2020
How to Hang Textile Art

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of how to care for textile art, let’s talk about how to hang textile art. We all had that friend in college who hung up a piece of fabric on the wall with push pins, we are going to be a little more polished than that.

There are two methods I choose to use when hanging textile art. For large scale pieces (ie greater than wide 20”) I used a hanging rod that is inserted into a hanging sleeve that I have sewn near the top edge of all my pieces. The rod consists of a piece of painted MDF baseboard with two to three small holes drilled through that can be then hung on the wall. I choose to use painted MDF instead of bare wood as the wood will leach acids into the fabric, that over time will either discolour or harm the structure of the fibres. Whereas the painted MDF will not.

For small and medium scale pieces (ie smaller than 20” wide) I prefer to hang them framed, as it gives them a bit more visual presence and weight in a room. To hang I have sewn 2-3 velcro tabs near the top edge of the textile art which can be paired with adhesive backed velcro pieces mounted on matt board which is then inserted into a frame. I choose to leave the glass off the frame as I mentioned in the How to Care for Textile Art post, fibres need to breath and enclosing them in glass can cause premature aging.

Because of it’s world wide accessibility, I choose to size my pieces to fit within RIBBA frames from Ikea. If you are having your piece custom framed you can choose to include glass but have your framer insert some small vent holes in the side so your textile art can breath.

If you like the look of textile art hanging “naked” on the wall regardless of size, the velcro tabs also double as a hanging sleeve and can be hung in the same manner as the large scale pieces.

October 18, 2016
4 Benefits of Wall Hangings

People don’t always think of fibre wall hangings when deciding on art work. Not only can they be visually stunning works of fine art they also have some practical benefits over a standard canvas painting or print.

1. Acoustic – Fabric wall hangings and tapestries provide a soft surface to absorb extra noise rather than a hard surface for sound waves to bounce off of.

2. Insulation – Have a cool exterior wall? Hang a wall tapestry to provide a little extra warmth and insulation. Just like a sweater helps keep you warm, a wall hanging will keep your home that much cozier.

3. Variety – The key to a strong room design is variety. Not only should you have a variety of complementary colours, textures, and shapes but also a variety of artworks. Paintings and prints are a great start, but layering in a wall hanging or two will add the 3 dimensional texture your eye loves.

4. Sense of History – Historically many different cultures have displayed fibre art to beautify and warm buildings. In Medieval Europe tapestries were hung on a castle walls and to cover door openings. The Greeks and Romans used fibre art as wall coverings for civic buildings and temples like the Parthenon.

August 19, 2016
Ostrich Flock Wall Hanging

I’m starting to run out of space in my studio to create new sculptures, so I decided it was time to work flat! Although I went flat, I didn’t go small. This mammoth 60″ x 30″ wall hanging put my sewing machine and my patience through it’s paces. But I’m very pleased with the results. I had a lot of fun working flat. Got to be a little more graphic and abstract with the shapes. Next piece I will try to mix in a little paint with the fabric and have the shapes dissolve and become a little more raw.

Ostriches have such personality and individuality I wanted to create an ostriches flock but allow each bird to stand on it’s own as well. I layered cream, white and yellow laces and sheer fabrics over black shapes to create their form. And kept adding layers towards the head to create dimension and texture. Their eyes and long lashes are such a dominate feature I wanted to put the focal point there. If you look closely you can see I also added some lines of stitching in yellow, grey and white to give more depth and interest and line quality.

July 29, 2016