Martenitsa

Happy 1st March !

Every year, it is a Bulgarian tradition on the 1st of March, the month marking the spring awakening, to adorn our chests with a red & white wool brooch, which we Bulgarians call martenitsa. Through the centuries this art, but a handful of wool, has been handcrafted in various forms and shapes, but always using red & white wool. The white represents our wish for long life and the red our wish for good health. Martenitsa is not just a strong symbol of Bulgarian identity,but has become part of Unesco heritage. It is invariably one of the first presents that we share with friends of Bulgaria. As Irish would have it, there is an Irish story about martenitsa. It is a love story.

The Artist’s Take

The art pieces look into the science of love; endorphins and dopamine are first released by those who click. In the Bulgarian tradition of martenitsa-making, the white represents the female hence Svetlana has a white cape and carries a hat sculptured with white blood cells. Arnie wears a hat sculptured with red blood cells and has a red cape. Their hands are connected by a long piece of rope which is a sculpture of endorphins. The inspiration for the art pieces in this look comes from the pursuit of understanding love at first sight an intricate connection that bursts in a moment and could last a lifetime.

Svetlana and Arnie Hensman

The Hensman family lives in Dublin and have three children and two cats. They have been married for 15 years. Arnie‘s dad is American and his mum is Irish. Svetlana, originally from Varna, Bulgaria came here almost 20 years ago to pursue an academic career. Their first connection was when Svetlana gave Arnie a martentitsa on the 1st of March. At their wedding reception, Arnie had a word of caution to all guests: ‘‘If a Bulgarian girl gives you a matrenitsa, be warned that you might end up getting hitched one day. Just like us!’’ Svetlana, Arnie and their children Daniela, Christopher and Alex all celebrate Martenitsa Day by giving martenitsa-making workshops in the children’s school. Perhaps it is in the hope that there is another couple somewhere that might find their own love by such an exchange.

Celebrations

The work profiles the evolving make up of a community through geographical, cultural and personal change. The artistic conversation is how festivals and customs reflect and manifest this.

The models in each visual narrative are authentic members of the Bulgarian community. They are selected on the basis of their personal connection to a festival, holiday or custom.

For each scene the artwork in felt is purposely created by Niki to reflect the message about growth, change and strength which is connecting to others. It is a research into what shifts our personal and collective boundaries of empathy, acceptance and strength.

This is a collaborative project between Niki Collier- an award winning visual artist and designer based in Dublin and Ivaylo Petrov a photographer from the Bulgarian community based in Kildare.

St Valentines, Dionysus and  all follies

St Valentine's Art and concept Niki Collier Photo Ivaylo Petrov

This year I look into celebrations with the help of the Bulgarian community. The project argued change as growth by looking into positive community blending as a consequence of geographical, career or personal move.

It is my way to understand why and how people choose 'special and spectacular' days. Also why and how we define and redefine us and them through cultural, geographical and demo-graphical boundaries. This month and in particular 14th of February is an interesting one from my perspective. I grew up celebrating the God of Wine on the 14th February.  It is the day the vineyards cut the vines in Bulgaria to secure healthy crop of grapes. But then I came to Ireland and it was as if the God of wine has yielded its reign to the God of Love. Arguably they both cause an array of follies. And arguably we love falling for both. Throughout the years I came to realise that we have developed a complicated relationship with both wine and love. So I started asking as a joke: ''What do you celebrate today? The god of wine or the god of love?'' I have chosen love. I knew I wanted to present love as an elevating rather than smug experience so I comment here on gay love.  The acceptance that love is love is something that my current home has proudly embraced and  regrettably something my original home Bulgaria still struggles to accept with open heart.  As the whole inspiration in the project Celebrations comes from the conviction that we can only move forward I chose a Bulgarian gay activist to help me tell the story.  Finding her was a journey that proved a learning experience. I found her through a mutual Irish friend as it turned out that Bulgarian community has not accepted its gay representatives. So I chose the narrative, which shows love in all colours and shapes with the firm stance that  as community we all need to accept that love is love. For the sake of live.

The fascination with love and its power to destroy or save us is as old as humanity. The festival of love arose from the ancient Greek tradition that gave the month its name- February.  The customs of today to smother ourselves with chocolate and pre-written cards is a product of consumerism and Middle Ages views.

The desire to say that love is love has inspired the choice of our gay activist - Vessi to be the model.  At the time Vessi was in between relationships so the felt art of rainbow coloured hearts is developed in different surfaces showing the multiple ways of breaking and putting together of ones heart. 

For the month of February the work was showcased in The Constant Knitter, Studio Space.

Celebrations The Evolution of the Bulgarian Community in Ireland

The work profiles the evolving make up of a community through geographical, cultural and personal  change.  The artistic conversation is how festivals and customs reflect and manifest this.

The models in each visual narrative are authentic members of the Bulgarian community. They are selected on the basis of their personal connection to a festival, holiday or custom. 

For each scene the artwork in felt is purposely created by Niki to reflect the message about growth, change and strength which is connecting to others. It is a research into what shifts our personal and collective boundaries of empathy, acceptance and strength.

This is a collaborative project between Niki Collier- an award winning visual artist and designer based in Dublin and Ivaylo Petrov a photographer from the Bulgarian community based in Kildare.

Grandma's Day 21st January

Grandma's Day Concept and Art Niki Collier, photo Ivaylo Petrov

Grandma’s Day Grandma’s Day is celebrated at the beginning of January in Bulgaria. It pays homage to those who help during birth – during the 18th, 19th and first part of the 20th century it used to be experienced older ladies- therefore the Day of Grandma. On that day young women and toddlers pay respect to these women giving them a few gifts amongst which is a bag of wool.  In my childhood, my grandma was a grounding force in our sometimes volatile family. She taught me how to knit and the last thing she knitted before she died was a hat for me.  Grandma shaped my core- my passion for telling stories in textiles. The Story This composition shows knowledge transferred from one generation to another. It relates to conversations about age, attitudes and connections between generations.  It simultaneously explores aging in the context of today’s reality- that people’s desire to have a full life keeps them young regardless of their age. Therefore the look of the grandmother is informed by Iris Apfel who even in her late 90s continues to be an inspiration for the fashion world and a true icon of style and gumption. The boy is taught to knit by her as a twofold story: that crafts are again cool and young and that we have the option to choose our occupation regardless of age, gender or race. The Grandma’s hat is inspired by the changing structure of aging chromosomes. Our body changes are triggered by the shortening of their tails. The Boys hat is formed by open tubes to symbolise the openness of our minds as children. The knit art used as a teaching sample has been done by the model herself.

Veronica & Kevin Veronica came to Ireland 10 years ago with her husband and son. Eventually, the family grew- her son married his Latvian wife, they had a daughter that Veronica dotes on and Veronica’s mum has joined the family. Four generations under one roof.  Veronica always dreamed being an actress. She re-enacts Baba Marta at the community celebrations of Baba Marta. So with her young spirit and grandma’s reputation she was the obvious choice for this story. Kevin is a pupil in the Bulgarian School Азбука He is very imaginative child and as soon as he saw the hat of learning he gave it a name: Shrek’s hat.  

Celebrations The Evolution of the Bulgarian Community in Ireland

The work profiles the evolving make up of a community through geographical, cultural and personal  change.  The artistic conversation is how festivals and customs reflect and manifest this.

The models in each visual narrative are authentic members of the Bulgarian community. They are selected on the basis of their personal connection to a festival, holiday or custom. 

For each scene the artwork in felt is purposely created by Niki to reflect the message about growth, change and strength which is connecting to others. It is a research into what shifts our personal and collective boundaries of empathy, acceptance and strength.

This is a collaborative project between Niki Collier- an award winning visual artist and designer based in Dublin and Ivaylo Petrov a photographer from the Bulgarian community based in Kildare.

My Egg. Do not Sit!

This year I am working on series of microorganism related to human rights.

The one that you see here is my contribution to the debate about women's freedom in Ireland. As of today women in Ireland are legally confined in making choices about their bodies and their families. We cannot terminate unwanted pregnancy.  I strongly disagree that someone else what is best for me and those who are closest to me.  And I am confident that choices made out of religious prejudices are never of the interest of anyone else, So here I am. Simply sitting and holding my egg in my lap, thinking of what makes us stand as one. I have put my One hat- we are all children one humanity. Each of us is also the best keeper of our own well being. So let me make my choices. I know how to choose the lesser evil. Do you?

A textile sculpture of a human egg in the process of fertilisation that contributes to the debate about ownership, choice and human rights. Who owns a woman’s egg?

The shape is inspired by a microscopic photo of a human egg. The multi-layered textile object encompasses both solid and hollow shapes that are intertwined together. The sculpture uses warm colours associated with beginnings and round shapes both as negative and positive spaces using various textile making methods: shibori, lace, nunofelt and solid felt. Colour, shape and methods unite to further emphasise the depth and complexity of the arguments the piece embodies. The artist’s stance is expressed in the mount. It looks like

a vessel, in this case a chair, but the artist’s instructions are to not use it in this way. It is Not Your Vessel. The owner has expressed their desire. It is also made delicately so that you cannot actually sit on it. You will break it if you 

do. The choice stays with you.

Favourite Colour? Wool! Just Don't Mess with it!

What is your favourite colour? I was asked this question in an interview. Wow, well, let me see... No when I think of it… Hmmmm I have been thinking about it for a month?!!! Why is it so difficult to answer a simple question like that? How shall I go about it? Historically? Conceptually? Trendwise? How do I reveal the truth without committing to something that is not at the core of me? As a design and textile woman colour is obviously part of the form and often it determines the function. In fashion, on the edge of what I am skirting with my handmade pieces, colour is sometimes just another school yard game of In & Out. Or in the words of Galinda the White: “Popular? You wanna be popular?”. Yep in fashion, one day Red is the New Black, another day – you are to throw out everything that is not signal green.

Which could be either amusing, confusing or irritating depending on how much coffee you have had. Let’s take red. You see, I think I am an expert on red- I grew up in communism. Red was the brand colour of communism. So even today when I get red it has to be the one on the left of the above picture. The scarlet is a bit too orange for my understanding. Look for reference in the communist scout uniforms that those girls are wearing. Well, maybe red is the answer to my struggles with my opinion on colour. I have seen colours rise and fall with political regimes, seasons, people and even movies. The things is whatever we claim to be the In & Out, roses would be red and violets would be blue you do not need trends, just do what you do. Here is what I am thinking for next year:

Yep, I seem to be not able to play the popularity game... If you have asked me through the years the answers were: Red, Green, Purple (and I am getting into Blue really seriously lately). The irony is that if you look at pictures of what I wore these colours would have been far and in between. You would have seen the hand knitted sweater from mum in beige and brown. I still wear it often to work. The skirts in black, which were my first projects in sewing. And then a lot of my clothes, which I picked from the Shanghai fake brand market: in skin, ivory and brown and black... And yep, I do wear a white punjabi suit at the Taj Mahal (take picture), and a Beige trench coat when I arrived in Ireland. A splash of colour in an abundance of naturals- both in colour and materials. I look in these reflections. What actually IS my favourite colour? So today I will brave it: my favourite colour is the colour of wool. And here are three reasons why: It is Rich and Yet Unassuming: I love it for the richness of its blends- if you look closely it is never just white, beige or brown, it is usually a blend of ivory streaks with oatmeal overtones and a few coffee streaks. Black is never black and grey has more than 50 shades… Each breed of wool has almost a unique colour and the overall visual impact comes from seeing the blend. The difference between the more blueish grey of the Gotland to the more browner beige feel of the Jacobs is stunningly subtle, but fascinating to relish. But then put Jacobs next to Blue Faced Leicester and you know that grey overtones are complex affair. And that is before we even start discussing lustre and texture, which make all the difference when we compare a white think Wensleydale and Merino wool tops. At the other scale wool which is almost black in its dark browns such as Finish becomes a wonderful blend which binds all these colours together. With all wool colours though it is like a bouquet of a pallet rather than a single colour. And although it carries rich undertones and overtones it would never blind you or be too loud. It is just there to soften and comfort.

It is Vernacular and Yet Sophisticated; the shades and their proportion come as they are because the season was wet or dry, because the sheep was roaming in a particular grass field, because the Sheppard sheered it on a particular day. It gives lustre and blends which, with their complex hues of grey, ivory, white and black always convincingly revealsthe nature of the material as well as the conviction of the person that wears it.

It is Classical and Yet Edge; a colour range that is never pertinent to time and place- its honesty and simplicity makes it relevant to any age and any context. It looks stunning in a royal parlour and a farmer’s pen. It is as fashionable today when we have access to the most stunning colour as it was in the olden days when it was The Colour, and that’s that! And whether you wear it on an elaborate designer outfit or something you made yourself it just enhances the rest without overpowering it. And then it has this amazing quality to reflect mood and concept that makes it the household colour to all futuristic and apocalyptic visualisations.

Yes, undyed wool is the best colour. And that is that.

Etsy Ireland: My People My Way

The Etsy Team visiting me in 2014 having some serious fun with Niki Collier's hats!

A few weeks back I got a letter from Etsy. They are starting a new program aimed at helping Etsy makers. There is a lot of times that Etsy teams help people... You know me. I am a one woman show- a felt woman from Ireland. So why should I be feeling special or noticed- I botique designer from a small country, making in a medium that is not yet made its mark? Well, as luck would have it, last year I was invited to their Craft Party and somehow I created this amazing relationship with the team, that they said they would come to visit me.

We do not get to see that many people in our studios so it is always pleasure to welcome someone to your den. A team from your Etsy HQ in Ireland (and US) came to my studio in the summer of 2014. It was an epic visit! Not least as I was compelled to cleaned my studio, which is always a challenge... And is never easy or pleasant task. But it was worthed! Seeing your practice and environment through the eyes of like minded people is like re-discovering the initial spark that made you jump into it... They got. They got how it makes sense that an old linen mill is now a home to variety of small businesses: printers, carpenters, garage, bakery, rock stars studios, publishing house, yoga joint and boxing parlour. We have it all. And they even got the chance to meet Steve from The Stunning I made a great connection with your team. We were talking hats, making, how to make Etsy work better for us. They all asked relevant questions, asked and took notes of the answers and appreciated everything we do.

Karo's hand next to her wonderful bowl in Etsy HQ in Dublin

   

 One of their members calls the Etsy Sellers her family. She met me to talk me through my shop. She gave me an invaluable Etsy Clinic. And it was outside her working hours. It is great to know that those who support us love what they do too, right? There is so much to learn about how to promote your work so you reach more people that appreciate what you do. Since myself and Karo from KaroArt have been at a lunch event with the Irish Etsy Team who have beautifully restared headquarters in the heart of Dublin City. Here is a bespoke bowl made for their headquarters in Dublin.

The Etsy guys rock! 

 I love being part of like minded folks that share my passion for handmade local pieces. I love that they instill the sense of purpose through the support we get every time I reach out to Etsy teams. It is great to know that there are those who are building a place where being who you are pays off. Whatever the weather in Ireland (very predictable as we all know) there is a spring in my step when I think that a girl from Barcelona is pouring her talent into a portal made to celebrate local makers.