I had such a hard time choosing images for this post because Sara Plantefève-Castryck’s work is just so cool…there were too many good ones to pick from!! You can browse through more of her innovative artwork on her website or her tumblr page. I bet you’ll be more than a little inspired to try out some mixed media prints after checking out her interesting combinations of techniques!
Sara writes, “I’m an Antwerp based textile designer with a background in graphic design. As a young designer I’m still every day searching and exploring in my little studio. I have a strong focus on (often hand painted) print design. I go from one extreme, graphic black & white, to the other, crazy bold color design. Every design I make comes from my hand; I draw, I paint, I use puzzles to make collages, I cut and paste, all of these designs I will digitalize and edit in Photoshop into a final collage. But just as often I take my paint brush and a piece of textile and directly paint my print on the empty canvas. I love the feel of handcraft and little imperfections a hand painted piece can show, it also gives me a much more personal bond with the work I create.
But what to do with these textiles? I’m not the designer who will make a finished piece into a scarf, a hand towel or some curtains. I love playing around with my textiles, using them in my experiments and research of how patterns and colors work in space. I’ve been making installations where I play with these elements and how they interact on the human mind. Researching this I play with the dimensionality of fabrics and prints: going from 3D to 2D and back. All in a very playful, some may even say naive way. Sometimes I work small, with corner installations, focusing on graphic details and feeling but with some projects I went all the way and build whole rooms filled with patterns and textiles where people could walk in, experience and be overwhelmed by their surroundings.”
My last installation: Room With a Lined View (2014)
