FIBERWORKS - A CELEBRATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN
FIBER AND TEXTILE ARTISTS

Title: This is me here

Description: I was born in the Western Cape, did most of my schooling in Australia and graduated in Graphic Design at the Vaal Triangle Technikon in South Africa.

I have kept some drawings that my children did more than twenty years ago and recently re-discovered one of my daughter’s drawings.

I looked at it for some time, soaking up the potent combination of the image and the words. It still spoke to me with a convincing strength as it did when I first saw it many years ago. The simple direct statement, ‘This is Me Here’ is highly personal yet also universally relevant and speaks to each of us about finding ourselves and our place in this world.

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: Passion I

Description:

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: MY HEART IS GLAD

Description: The 10 year anniversary of democracy in South Africa motivated me to create this work, and voice my feelings about this milestone. Several 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 in my quilt. These words remained in my mind and they wonderfully express my feelings about the "New South Africa".

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.

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: BREATHE LIGHTLY NO. 1

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've had to change my way of thinking and working. The clear, defined 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: ENDLESS MIGRATION

Description: A close-up view of a craggy rock-face - 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 MARRAKESH

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: 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 & 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 & 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 and 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 immediately appealed to me. I began imagining the history of this 150 year old chair and where it had been and was inspired to start this series of "The Chair-Isihlalo". The series consists of 3 works.

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.

Odette Tolksdorf
83 Jan Hofmeyer Rd
Westville
Durban
3629

Cell: 0836283326
Phone: 27(0)312662978

Email: odetteT@iafrica.com