Kaffe Fassett, textile designer
Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:33:00 GMT
Textile designer Kaffe Fassett, world-famous knitwear and textile designer, famed for his colour designs...
...talks about ‘yarn-bombing’ and why students shouldn't be afraid of filling their designs with colours.
“COLOUR is my passion,” said world-famous artist and designer Kaffe Fassett when he spoke to a packed audience at the University of Huddersfield. And he added that during a day meeting textile design students, he was moved and excited by the passionate colours and the burgeoning talent that he encountered. “It was great to see all the flames that will be fanned into careers.”
A prolific author and exhibitor, American-born Kaffe Fassett has been resident in England since the 1960s and is regarded as one of the most influential figures in his field. His London studio – which he described as “a playground for colour” – is renowned for its fabrics, needlepoint, mosaics, quilts, rugs, knitting and painting.
Kaffe showed audience a long succession of photographs that he had taken around the world, on his global quest for colour. There were also illustrations from his books plus pictures taken in his studio or on location. Subjects ranged from iron manhole covers that had taken on a colourful patina, to Moroccan quilts, Australian aboriginal art and brightly-painted Italian townscapes.
He provided many insights into his own creative process and included illustrations from exhibitions of his work, some of which had taken place in unusual locations, such as a remote church in Lincolnshire.
After, the lecture there was a succession of questions from the audience – which included a large number of students – and Kaffe Fassett was thanked by Nicola Redmore, who is Senior Lecturer and Subject Leader for Textiles at the University of Huddersfield.
“We have had a fantastic day with you and we are really inspired,” she said.
