Fiberworks - A Celebration of South African
Fiber and Textile Artists

Title: Remix Africa

Description: Geometric designs from all over Africa have been gathered together and re-assembled in this quilt. The central panel, with a barkcloth background, uses shapes similar to those seen in Kuba raffia dancing skirts. At a closer glance, these shapes make up a word – reading from top to bottom and left to right, are the letters A-F-R-I-C-A. Kuba raffia textiles also inspired the pompoms on the edge.

Title: Flow and Flow

Description: My thoughts of the continual and ever-changing flow and rhythm of our lives is represented in this work. When emotions, relationships, creative ideas, even my car and cappuccino machine flow along in smooth streams, it feels good and the world seems radiant and clear.

In my design which interprets this concept, I’ve returned to a visual theme which holds great attraction to me and which has appeared regularly in various forms in previous work: narrow strips of colour contrasted against large solid areas of colour.

I relish the process of choosing, observing and assessing each colour, its shape and size, and the effects of juxtaposition.

Title: Vuvuzela Madonna

Description: Even though I generally have very little interest in sport, it was almost impossible not to get caught up in the excitement of the football World Cup held in South Africa in 2010. The vuvuzelas were everywhere - not just at the football matches and I even bought one! I saw some Zulu women's hats decorated with beadwork and vuvuzelas which looked wonderful and I thought that it's a great use for vuvuzela's.

Title: MY HEART IS GLAD

Description: The 10 year anniversary of democracy in South Africa motivated me to create this work to voice my feelings about this milestone in the country of my birth.

Many years ago I attended a lecture in America by the quilt historian Barbara Brackman. She showed a small banner that had been used in a parade celebrating the Union victory in the USA in 1865. The banner belongs to the Smithsonian Institution and contained the words I have used on my quilt: My Heart is Glad My Country is Free.These words remained in my mind for a long time and they wonderfully expressed my feelings in 2004 about "the new South Africa."

The fabrics include hand-dyed and screened fabrics from Rorke's Drift in rural KwaZulu-Natal and commercial shwe-shwe prints, which both have historical and political significance in South Africa and added meaning to this work for me.

Title: REMEMBERING GABI

Description: I met Gabisile Nkosi only once, and in those few hours she left an endelible impression on me. Little did I know that it would be our first and last meeting, for shortly afterwards she was tragically murdered. However, my memory of Gabi is of a calm and confident, sincere and compassionate young woman who generously shared her numerous talents with other. Many of the fabrics in this works are designed, hand screened and hand dyed in South Africa. Their graphic qualities reminded me of Gabi's art and I've combined the various images using a collage-type applique.

Title: MONA SPEAKS AT LAST

Description: This work developed layer by layer, starting with some roughly woven, old flour bags that belonged to my grandmother. The flour bags were used to form a simple abstract background.
Paging through my art books, I came across the "Mona Lisa" and she became my guide for the profile of a female face formed in sisal string. I chose the barbed wire for its interesting linear pattern and to represent life in South Africa and the modern world. The next step was a classic case of serendipity or maybe it's just an example of what sometimes happens in the creative process : to represent the "barb" in the barbed wire, I cut a short piece of string and crossed it over itself in the centre. To my amazement, in my hand I was holding……an AIDS ribbon. This was an unexpected revelation which seemed to connect everything in this work.

Title: Breath

Description: Take one breath, take another and another……..This is how we each stay alive and survive every day. The delicate, translucent organza seems as if it could inhale and exhale taking one breath after another and another……..

In my recent work I have become fascinated with the delicate, translucent qualities of organza fabric. As organza is so different from what I usually work with, I have had to change my way of thinking and working. The crisp, clear, definite edges that I'm familiar with, aren't appropriate and are almost not possible, in this new medium. I had to find other ways to work with the soft, blurred and indistinct edges that are an inherent characteristic of this material.

Title: Breath no 2

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Title: Breath no 3

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Title: Breathe Lightly no. 1

Description: This works is a further exploration of the delicate, translucent qualities of organza textiles.

Title: Freeflow Greenglow

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Title: Off the Edge

Description: My "Edge" series continues - this work starts coming "off the edge" and into the centre.
The "Edge" series was sparked by the carved designs on an old wooden Zulu headrest. I was intrigued that the carved designs were only around the edge of the rectangular format and the centre was left as a blank space. This appealed to me as a design challenge - to emphasize the edges instead of the centre of the composition while still integrating the whole surface.

Title: On the edge no 3 (left)
On the Edge no 4 (right)

Description: Hand quilted by Inge Lailvaux to design by Odette Tolksdorf

The spark which started the idea for this series was the carved designs on an old wooden Zulu headrest. What fascinated me was seeing how the carved designs were only around the edge of the rectangular format with the centre being left as a blank space. This appealed to me as a design challenge - to emphasize the edges instead of the centre of the composition while still integrating the whole surface.

In my "On The Edge" series, as in much of my other pieces, I work by responding to what's in front of me, absorbed with each shape, colour, line and space to understand what their role will be in the artwork. I try to achieve a harmonious discord which is somewhere between the confusion of overcomplexity and the silence of oversimplicity.

Title: Raw Wall No 1 & no 2

Description: I am drawn to old walls and surfaces which suggest a rich history in their textures, layers and colours. "Raw Wall no.1" is the first work in a series I conceived after seeing traditional West African wall-paintings. The exterior walls of homes are embellished with hand-painted designs which are temporary, as they only last for one season between rainfalls.

In my interpretation I wanted to reveal the immediacy and spontaneity of the paintings and also the irregular and raw quality inherent in their techniques. This suited my process of working : I began by pinning up broad areas of fabric to give myself a general idea for the design and colour direction, then I became involved with details to add depth and complexity.
"Raw Wall" is characteristic of my work in that it is influenced by aspects of Africa, where I live, work and find inspiration. The simple, bold design is executed with rich colours and the subtle use of some discordant or unexpected elements.

Title: The Backbone is connected no 3 & no 4

Description: My "Backbone" series was inspired by the lines and shapes formed by a beaded corset worn by a Dinka warrior. I made a simple sketch with bold lines emphasizing the vertical orientation and expressing energy and vitality. The design idea came together in 1997 at a time when I had some negative thoughts about events in South Africa. But then I thought : Our country is on track, good things are happening and "the backbone is connected ".
The concept of the "backbone" linked up with my original inspiration of the beaded corset on a body.

Title: The Chair - Isihlalo no 1 & no 2

Description: Paging through a book of Zulu treasures, I saw a picture of a wooden chair which had belonged to the Zulu king, Cetshwayo. The carved back of the chair had a wonderful asymmetrical chevron design which I adapted. I began imagining the history of this 150 year old chair and where it had been. I was inspired to start "The Chair-Isihlalo" which now has 4 works in the series. The extended checkerboard on two borders encloses the design with some formality.

Title: Thandi goes shopping

Description: The vibrant, bold colours and shapes reminded me of the sights and sounds of going shopping in Johannesburg.

Title: Sticks and Stones

Description: The idea for this quilt came during a visit to Shakaland in Zululand. I was intrigued by the walls and structures made from tree branches and stones and found the shapes beautiful. The shapes seemed just right to be interpreted in curved piecing. My memory of the structure was also of texture and this is represented in the quilt with areas of exposed raw seams as well as the hand dyed fabric and printed textures.

Title: Babanango meets Grey Street

Description: In this work, the concept and the unusual colours seemed to come from a combination of sources - Durban's Grey Street area, the winter landscape in Zululand, and the pompoms which I'd seen on transformed, traditional clothing worn in Durban and rural Zululand.

Title: Passion I

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Title: A view of Morocco

Description: My travels around Morocco were greatly influential in forming this work. All my senses were on "high alert". I was aware of amazing colours around me: the seemingly infinite variations of terracotta and earth colours; the blues of the Tuareg men and the sky; the dark, rich colours in the ancient, medieval souks.

Title: Afro-Kimono

Description: This work was my response to a Kimono theme. I was interested to integrate both an African and a Japanese spirit in the work, reflecting similiarities and differences. This idea then expanded to examine the subject of opposites: rough/smooth, precise/imprecise, patterned/plain, dark/light and earthy colours/pastel colours.

Title: Cross-Section

Description: Slices cut from tree trunks were the starting point for this work. The round forms and the growth rings of the wood slices create repeated and varied shapes and lines.

Title: Pentimento

Description: Pentimento is a painting term that refers to signs of re-working or a change of mind or concealed mistake by an artist in executing a picture. This work is about re-working pieces of cloth that had been previously used for various other purposes before they all came together here. The re-working continues the history and the story of each cloth. These are some of the cloths I have used: wool blanket (from Australia), mulberry bark cloth (from Tonga), ficus bark cloth (Uganda), cotton flour bags (Canada), kimono offcuts (Japan), hand-printed cotton (South Africa), off-cuts from my previous work, organza (?).

Title: Broken Leaves - Summer

Description: My intention was to work with a palette of clear summery colours together with white. The surface design consists of large blocks of colour, each containing many related colors to create textural and tonal interest. Long narrow leaves in my garden inspired the white leaf shapes superimposed on the background.

Title: A view to the left

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Title: Endless Migration

Description: A close-up view of a craggy rock face which was rugged, rough and textured, was my starting point for this work. The spirals are moving, migrating across the surface of the quilt, an analogy of all the people who migrate endlessly between countries, cities and villages.

Title: Lost in Marrakech

Description: I never did manage to get lost in Marrakesh but there were times when I felt it was imminent.
This work conveys some of my impressions of the city of Marrakesh and of Morocco - the ancient medinas containing the labyrinth of souks, the startling blues in the Majorelle Gardens and also the indigo worn by the Tuareg, the walls throughout the land in a great variety of terracotta earth colours, and lastly, the silence of the Sahara.
The dark grid is taken from a street map of Marrakesh and I've taken some - actually a lot of, artistic licence with it - I don't think anyone could find their way around using this map ! The quilt is shaped slightly narrower at the top than at the bottom edge to give a feeling of perspective which in a way challenges the two-dimensional street map.

Title: Morocco-Majorelle

Description: My visit to the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakesh was a glorious surprise of colours, shapes and textures. A magical atmosphere created by the plants, pathways, architecture and the use of "Majorelle Blue", added a sense of mystery. The silent drama in the garden is portrayed in this work. The folded triangular shapes on the edge of the quilt represent the spiky parts of the cacti and succulents.

Title: Sheswe and Shield

Description: 40 x 61cm / 16ins x 24ins

Title: Groovy

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Title: Urban Avian

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Title: Seedpods and Leaves

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Title: Red Riverscape

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Title: Between No 1

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Title: Between No 2

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Title: Fever

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Title: You are here

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Title: Breathing and Barking

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Odette Tolksdorf







Website:- http://www.odettetolksdorf.co.za