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This week I’m looking at the fantastic work of textile artist Debbie Smyth. With her striking statement thread drawings, Debbie is a favourite amongst the folk here at MCDC. She creates installations and smaller framed works (perfect to put up at home!) by stretching a network of threads between accurately plotted pins.
Debbie loves typography – in particular “the shapes, the angles, the curves”. For her, “creating text works like these allows me to give words a new dimension, literally lifting them of the page and giving these important words a new lease of life.”
Her work often features slogans, cute sayings and sweet nothings – and our three ‘Forming Words’ pictures are no exception. We have three works by Debbie in ‘Forming Words’ – each with a romantic theme – for example bearing the statements “True Love” and “Je’t’aime”.
Debbie’s work is not just confined to frames – she has worked both nationally and internationally with many companies (including The New York Times, Sony and The Dorchester Hotel Group), and if you’re an MCDC regular you may recognise her unique style from her solo exhibition here in 2010. Debbie created a special commission for us taking inspiration from the Northern Quarter’s urban landscape and local Manchester people – you can take a look at Debbie’s amazing MCDC installation here: CLICK HERE
As a little piece of added excitement for you, Debbie is currently collaborating with MCDC’s very own Jane Blease to create an installation at Shambala Festival this weekend. If you’re going to the festival, be sure to say hi… And if not, you can get a sneaky peek at what’s going on here: CLICK HERE
As with all of the works in ‘Forming Words’, Debbie’s three works are for sale. For prices and more information, pop by or email me on [email protected].
We’ve been inspired by Debbie too, and have created our own family activity here at MCDC. Our woven ‘MCDC’ sign has had over 50 hands building it up so far – why not pop by this weekend and help us create our ‘Forming Words’ sign too?