IN CONVERSATION WITH KIM THITTICHAI

Kim Thittichai is a textile artist, tutor and author based in Brighton, East Sussex UK. Her specialty is creating 3 dimensional textile forms and surface decoration. Known for breaking boundaries and helping students to think out of the box, Kim lectures, delivers workshops and exhibits her work whenever and wherever possible. Her first book Hot Textiles is a fabulous guide full of inspiration and techniques for anyone wishing to experiment, burn, layer, melt or distort a wide range of exciting materials with heat tools. It has become one of our favorite resources and we were so pleased that Kim was able to grant us this interview.

KIM THITTICHAI

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO: Morning person or night owl?
KIM THITTICHAI: Morning.

RWSS: Dogs, cats or.............
KIM: Dogs - DEFINITELY!

RWSS: Favorite place you've been or lived?
KIM: My current house, after 10 years I finally have it how I would like and enjoy opening for the Brighton Open Houses in May and December. It makes me clean my house at least twice a year!

CAPSTONES

7FT WIDE

RWSS: Who's on your i-pod?
KIM: Doobie Brothers, Seal, Outkast, Carly Simon, Anastasia, Gabriella Cilmi.

RWSS: Mac or PC?
KIM: PC

RWSS: What book have you read recently?
KIM: I hate to say it - my next book Experimental Textiles - it's at the final proof stage. I THINK it's good!!!!

EXPERIMENTAL TEXTILES

RWSS: Have you ever held a traditional 9-5 job?
KIM: No - have managed to escape - so far.......

RWSS: If you had to choose another career what would it be?
KIM: A gardener or a chef.

RWSS: Favorite quote?
KIM: Be sure your sins will find you out!

COLOURED COLUMNS

VESSELS RANGING FROM 4-7 FT TALL

RWSS: What inspires you?
KIM: Triumph over adversity.

RWSS: Are there any of your own pieces that you can't bear to part with?
KIM: My ceramic vessels that I made for my degree show many moons ago.

RWSS: Favorite medium to work with?
KIM: At the moment - CS800, similar to Lutradur 130. It gives amazing effect when zapped with a heat gun or can be soldered for a smooth edge.

EARTH JEWELS
5 FT TALL

RWSS: Any indispensable tools or equipment?
KIM: My heat gun.

EARTH JEWELS DETAIL

RWSS: Best advice you've ever received?
KIM: Slow down, don't try to do it all at once.

RWSS: Worst advice you've ever received?
KIM: "God only sends you what you can cope with". It's very irritating and patronizing and not what you want to hear when you are at a low ebb.

RWSS: What do you do to unwind?
KIM: Walk, play in my studio and work in the garden.

TORN

24" x 12"

RWSS: Best part of your day?
KIM: Waking up.....

RWSS: I'd be lost without......
KIM: My sister.

RWSS: What's on the horizon for 2010?
KIM: I'm hoping to do a PHD.

RWSS: Do you do anything special for your birthday?
KIM: CELEBRATE!!!!!

ICE AND PARTY GIRL

5 FT TALL

RWSS: Best dessert?
KIM: A good chocolate mousse or New York cheesecake or homemade ice cream or lemon tart or..........

RWSS: What would you like to be remembered for?
KIM: Being a good tutor and making a difference to one or two lives.

KIM TEACHING AT A WORKSHOP

RWSS: What would you do with a few extra hours each day?
KIM: My own work.

RWSS: Any words of wisdom?
KIM: I know it's a cliche` but ......... this is not a rehearsal !!!!!


We are delighted to carry Kim's first book Hot Textiles in our online shop and look forward to the release of her second book Experimental Textiles in August 2009.

HOT TEXTILES

FEATURE PRESENTATIONS

Our Feature Presentations this week include an art to wear piece titled the Cordoba Bag, the Fabric Master - one of the 'hottest tools' on the market and the sumptuously illustrated book 'Embellish and Stitch'.

FEATURE PROJECT
The Cordoba Bag by Maggie Grey was inspired by the Great Mosque at Cordoba, in particular the arches. The Great Mosque at Cordoba was founded in 785. The Roman Catholic cathedral and former mosque is situated in the Andalusian city of Cordoba and today houses the main church of the diocese of Cordoba in Spain.

GREAT MOSQUE AT CORDOBA

A design board based on the structure was produced and then translated onto fabric and fibres.

DESIGN BOARD
Photo courtesy of Maggie Grey

A needled background of wool felt was colored with walnut ink and embelllshed with silk fibres and chiffon. Cut out arches and stitched shapes, based on Moorish floral motifs, were overlaid onto the background. The arches on the bottom and the straps were produced using sewing machine software.

Photo courtesy of Maggie Grey

The resulting piece is a stunningly detailed piece of wearable art!

CORDOBA BAG
Photo courtesy of Maggie Grey

For more ideas and inspiration please visit Maggie Grey's site
Workshop on the Web.



FEATURE PRODUCT
The Fabric Master is literally one of the "hottest tools" on the market! The art of distressing fabric with heated tools has become an integral part of Contemporary Art Quilting. Soldering tools such as the Fabric Master have given artists the freedom to produce intricate patterns that might otherwise have been impossible.

Photo courtesy of Kathleen Laurel Sage

A wonderful article titled 'Mastering the Fabric-Master' was written by Kathleen Laurel Sage for the UK based magazine 'Stitch with the Embroiderers Guild' - Issue 46, April/May 2007.
http://www.embroiderersguild.com/stitch/index.html

Synthetic fabrics including chiffon, organza and acrylic felt all work well for fabric distressing. Held like a pen, the Fabric Master uses heat to do all of the cutting, no pressure is required. The variety of tip shapes make it fun and exciting to use.

Books such as 'Embellish and Stitch' by Maggie Grey and Valerie Campbell-Harding, 'Hot Textiles' by Kim Thittichai and 'Fusing Fabric' by Margaret Beal all provide excellent reference material on using hot tools.

Author Margaret Beal

Author Kim Thittichai

The Fabric Master Kit includes one 18W tool, 7 interchangeable tips, one A4 cutting mat and one mini sample pack of fabric.

Solder on!

FEATURE BOOK
Our feature book is 'Embellish and Stitch' by Maggie Grey and Valerie Campbell-Harding.
This book concentrates on using embellishing techniques to produce a variety of effects and surfaces.

Authors Valerie Campbell-Harding and Maggie Grey

Topics include Superior Surfaces, which examines the materials suitable for use with the embellisher machine, hand felting and texturing.

Photo courtesy of Maggie Grey

The section on Heat Treatments explores ideas for using the heat tool with embellished and needled surfaces.

Photo Courtesy of Maggie Grey

Other topics include applying fabrics and fibres, texturing and trapping, couching, manipulating and weaving. Softcover - 55 pages with full color photographs.

STANDING OVATIONS FOR:
* The Meade Design Group Team for their excellent work and continued advice.
* Sierra at Stampington for all of her help with the complimentary ads in Belle Armoire.