Barbara Adams, Anne Gason, Chris Rose, Chris Smith and Gail Stiffe (VIC)

Connie’s Coat - the film

An autumn retreat at a country property gave five Victorian papermakers the time and inspiration to create the character of Connie, and her all-weather coat of many pockets. The five artists involved share years of papermaking experience between them, providing the understanding of what would work for the garment and how to expand the story through the use of handmade paper.

Connie’s life is told through the items in the pockets, each made by the participating artists. A handmade book accompanies the piece, containing a descriptive biography of Connie, authored by Chris Rose and written in blackberry ink.

Connie’s Biography

Materials: Handmade paper (various fibres), kozo, additional paper and string made from cotton linter and pineapple fibre. Scarf – kozo fibre (momigamied). Pocket items – handmade by artists and found objects.

Karen Benjamin (QLD)

Flow - the film

Winner: Award in Honour of Pam and Neil Thorne, sponsored by Janet De Boer OAM $1000

Karen Benjamin is an eco-friendly artist who works primarily with natural, recycled or found materials. Through her whimsical, thought-provoking art, Karen combines issues surrounding caring for the community with caring for our environment. 

‘Flow’ is constructed from hundreds of circles made from toilet paper that has been made from recycled paper.  Each circle has been coloured with sharpies to create the illusion of flowing water during the changing tide. The circles have been lovingly hand stitched into a garment using a vintage German needle from the 1960’s. 

Reflecting the changing tide reminds us that is never too late change.  The underlying message of the piece is that, as a society, we can change our ways to help heal and protect the planet. 

www.karenbenjaminartist.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenbenjaminartist/

Also see our WINNERS page

Kelcie Bryant-Duguid (NSW)

Pretend Print-cess - the film

Kelcie Bryant-Duguid has a multi-disciplinary art practice that is materials based. Themes of identity, the environment, place and belonging form her personal narrative.

Her wearable art garments are a medium for storytelling, allowing the wearer to assume an alternative persona or character and act as a vehicle for expression of individuality and identity.

Pretend Print-cess evokes memories of childhood innocence. The multi-layered sundress-style outfit tells a story through imagery, illustration, collage and text.

Materials: Found and purchased papers: washi tape, crepe paper, raffia paper, rice paper, watercolour paper, greaseproof kitchen paper, paint charts, silver eyelets, thread, ribbon, cotton.

‘Pretend Print-cess’ – Description and Design Concept

Images – ‘The Making of Pretend Print-cess’

http://kelciebryantduguid.weebly.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kelciebryantduguid/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/kelciebryantduguidartist

Polly Crowden (NSW)

Snowy Mountains Dreaming - the film

Highly Commended

Polly Crowden is an Assistant Costume Standby working in television and film. It was Polly’s time working in the NSW High Country during the filming of The Drover’s Wife, The Legend of Molly Johnson, which inspired Snowy Mountains Dreaming. 

The shape of the garment is modelled on a bell-shaped 1900’s antique copper lantern.  The lower part of the garment is divided into eight sections. Each has been decorated with different aspects of the Snowy Mountains landscape – the sunsets and sunrises, mountain rivers, distant dwellings and local flora and fauna.

The wearable lampshade is illuminated from within, creating a sparking vision which brings the landscapes to life.

Polly was awarded the 2018 Friends of the Gallery Runner Up Award in 2018 for her piece Adira of Aberlorne

https://www.facebook.com/pollycrowdenthelabel

Amee Dennis (NSW)

Study of Grass - the film

Highly Commended

In creating Study of Grass, Amee was motivated by her fascination with how a modest piece of handmade paper can be converted into a designer garment.

Although now based in the Central West of NSW, ‘home’ for Amee is a remote million-acre cattle station and tourism business in the heart of the Central Australian desert. At the family-run Curtain Springs Paper, Amee is a permanent Artist in Residence. Her role includes developing and producing products in an economical and sustainable way, running workshops and tours, and managing the Artist in Residence Program.

The landscape of the Central Australian Desert is a constant source of inspiration. Amee specialises in making paper from the native grasses of the region.  

Study of Grass – papers: Main bodice and skirt – wheat paper from Amee’s NSW property. Additions to bodice and skirt are papers made from – Kerosene Grass with clay (providing the red colour), Spinifex Grass, Kangaroo Grass, Woolly Butt and plain Kersosene Grass paper. Inclusions in the paper include cow poo, bottlebrush flowers, clay and bang tails (the hair cut from a cow’s tail during cattle counts).

Images – Landscapes Amee’s Region

Images – The grasses

Images – Amee making paper

https://www.facebook.com/ampaperarts

http://www.ampaperarts.com/

https://www.curtinsprings.com/curtin-springs-paper/

Kate Dunn (NSW)

Exposure - the film

Kate Dunn is a Sydney-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores contemporary Australian politics, identity and popular culture through sculpture, diorama, zine making and costume making.

In their practice, Dunn uses recycled and often overlooked materials as a means of pushing the boundaries of wearable art.

While often humourous and explorative in nature, Dunn contextualises their works in the context of global capitalism, using recycled materials as a means of highlighting the throwaway culture of the fashion industry.

Exposure is an experimental work exploring the experience of emerging artists trying to establish themselves in the artworld, amid the minefield of unsolicited career advice, small victories and many, many rejection letters. 

Made primarily from the rejection letters received by the artist for arts jobes, prizes, residencies and exhibitions, Exposure is both sparse yet ornate. Both proud and vulnerable, the piece reflects the repeated process of exposure and rejection emerging artists engage in. It reframes this experience as a process of learning from past mistakes with a sense of pride and dignity.

Materials: Paper (printed rejection letters), papier maché, glue, modge podge, wire. 

www.instagram.com/moonfurhat

Renata Fukuda (Germany) and Marta Lisboa (Portugal)

Burgeon - the film

Burgeon is a collaboration between paper artist and jeweller Renata Fukuda and fashion and jewellery designer Marta Lisboa. Both artists share an appreciation of edgy contours and unconventional constructions. The piece plays with proportion and has a fun and appealing aesthetic.

By bringing together the stiffness of the 19th century crinoline and the airiness of puffy sleeves, the artists have experimented with the contrasting properties of paper – highlighting the structure of the sheets, the fragility of tridimensional modelling and the organic texture of the paper pulp elements.

Materials: 200gr acid-free cellulose paper, tissue paper, abaca paper pulp, pigment, wood glue, zipper, hook, elastic band

Simone Guascoine (NSW)

Loong (Dragon) tale - the film

Simone is a mixed media artist currently living in Tumut NSW. Her wearable garments explore various cultures and link people to different periods of history. 

The initial spark of inspiration for Loong (Dragon) tale was the vision Chinese miners – far from their homeland and culture - skiing down the slopes of the Snowy Mountains with their pigtails flying. The Chinese came to the region during the gold rush era, often as indentured labour. With extraordinary tenacity they adapted to their new (sometimes hostile) environment, shocking the local skiers with their newfound skiing skills. Their endurance and perseverance contributed greatly to the growth of many townships in the area. They set up market gardens and transported goods to the various mining communities – walking as far as 13 miles in deep snow carrying supplies in large baskets carried on their shoulders!

The summer bushfires of 2019/2020 impacted greatly on these same communities. Businesses, farms, bushland and homes were destroyed. The present-day population are now demonstrating their tenacity and resilience. Whilst the Chinese population is now dispersed, their enduring legacy remains a part of the fabric of the region.

The piece features zhezhi, a style of paper folding which celebrates and references the invention of paper by the Chinese in 100CE. Greaseproof paper is used, reflecting the Chinese cultural tradition of utilising greaseproof paper in lantern making. The flower designs show the connection to nature, celebrating the gardening skills of the settlers and emphasising the region’s agricultural activity despite being ravaged by fire.

A traditional female costume design, the AO, has been constructed from shoji paper. The inside of the coat depicts faces of the Chinese settlers. A QUN skirt of the period is worn under the tunic top.

The elaborate headpiece features a funeral tower and one single burnt flower. The flower is all that remains from a ceremonial burning of the original headpiece. This symbolic act took place on a friend of the artist’s property in Batlow (running alongside an old Chinese gold prospecting site) which was completely burnt out during the summer fires. Ashes from the ceremony have been deposited in the funeral tower. The artist explains: ‘…although something is burnt to the ground, memories and stories still remain… from destruction comes regeneration, growth and redevelopment’.

Materials: Japanese Awagami Kinwashi, Momigami (soft and hard), greaseproof paper, tissue paper (shellac coated and plain). 

Link https://recollections.nma.gov.au/issues/volume_8_number_2/papers/chinese_skiers The Chinese Skiers of Kiandra

Link http://chl-old.anu.edu.au/publications/csds/csds2014/csds2014_10.pdf Chinese influence on both sides of the Snowy Mountains

Images Chinese Settlement

Ceremonial Burning video

Cynthia Hawkins (TAS)

The TasmAsian - the film

Highly Commended

Cynthia has demonstrated a passion for art since she was a small child. Her career has seen her apply her creative skills across a number of professions – make up artist, hair stylist, photographer, digital art designer and arts tutor. She has made many pieces of wearable art, mostly using materials other than fabric. In 2018, as a first-time entrant to paper on skin, Cynthia won the Cocoon Designs Public Vote Award of $500 with her striking piece Empress at Forbidden City. 

The TasmAsian is a celebration of the twelve years Cynthia has resided in Tasmania. It showcases the beauty of the local landscape whilst incorporating the symbols and motifs of her Malaysian heritage. Of special note are the shoes. Inspired by the visual image of a foot stepping into a ream of REFLEX copying paper, Cynthia designed and hand-moulded a pair of highly original shoes from literally thousands of pieces of butchers’ paper. They feature a hand cut diorama of a Tasmanian tiger in the wild. 

Full details of the design concept and making of:

Downloadable – TasmAsian Design Concept and Making Of

https://www.facebook.com/My-name-is-Shih-and-I-create-107955857658402

Janine Hilder (VIC)

Lantern Lass - the film

Janine is a practising visual and performing artist, with over 21 years’ experience providing entertainment and workshops at festivals and events both in Australia and overseas. Her costumes and sculptures are mainly made from re-cycled and re-purposed materials. Her work involves creating original characters – and their costumes – which she performs at festivals and other events.

The inspiration for Lantern Lass comes from the simple paper lanterns Janine would make as a child. The design incorporates various sizes and combinations of these paper lanterns and showcases the endless possibilities of folded and cut paper.

Materials: Paper card, metal fasteners, Velcro

https://publicmischief.com.au/

Jade Kahle (VIC)

The Esther Dress - the film

Jade is a knitter and printmaker with a Bachelor of Visual Art and a Diploma in fashion.

The Esther Dress is inspired by the immortal Jellyfish – Medusae. The use of trace paper captures the ethereal translucency of the jellyfish. It has been hand-cut, creased and assembled to form a pliable fabric which has been made into a wrap dress. The Haori jacket (half kimono style) is made from 115 knitted triangle motifs made from 1000m of paper string. The brain-coral patterned hat and mittens showcase Jade’s prodigious knitting and crocheting skills.

More about Jade and her creative endeavours here:

https://www.jadekahle.com/

Marion Kennedy (TAS)

Fathoms - the film

Marion has studied fashion design at TAFE and works in the clothing industry. She has a passionate interest in costume, especially historical costume and movie garments. The use of paper as a medium appeals to Marion - ‘I find paper intriguing for its versatility and strength despite its weaknesses’ (from Artist Statement). Nature is a consistent theme in Marion’s work. Her respect for the natural environment encourages her to re-use and re-cycle when selecting her materials. 

The concept of Fathoms is to display the wonders below the surface of the ocean. All the history, beauty and mystery beneath the waves. The style of the 1860’s ballgown style dress provides a broad space on which to depict the underwater world. Marion has used proportion in creating the sense of underwater life of varying sizes. The headdress is complete with three dimensional fittings and cargo.

Brielle Killip (Lead Designer), Chris Geissinger and Jennifer Garber (Designers) – Colorado, USA

Flower of Life - the film

Honorable Roger Jaensch MP Runner Up Award $2000
Cocoon Designs Public Vote Award $500

Flower of Life is made by a trio of designers, each bringing a unique set of skills and experience to their projects.  Lead designer/engineer Brielle is a formally trained graphic designer and is inspired by nature and mathematical patterns. Christopher finds inspiration in function and architecture. Jennifer is inspired by haute couture fashion and motion.  Of their process, the artists say ‘Each design has taken on a life of its own after thorough experimentation. During the design process, the team will build almost the entire garment in white paper to ensure functionality and fit.’  

Inspiration for the piece has been drawn from ‘…the flower of life, a symbol of sacred geometry containing ancient, religious value and depicting the fundamental forms of space and time. It is a visual expression of the connections life weaves through all beings, representing beauty, balance, confidence and grace. We wanted to make a bold dress that would make the wearer of this dress radiate these qualities and be comfortable to wear.’ 

The conception and making of ‘Flower of Life’ is an example of form following function. The piece is made from over 2.300 pieces which have been assembled using thread on a sewing machine.  The geometry of each piece helps define the overall design, giving both flexibility and strength to the dress and cape.  The cape is reversable.

(Quotes from Entry Submission).

Also see our WINNERS page

https://bluelinencreative.com/about-us/

Mali Klein (Netherlands)

Foggy Lady - the film

Mali is a visual artist specialising in paper art. Her passion for paper comes from its diverse and unique characteristics; transparent and fragile in some cases, while being dense and massive in others. Mali sculpts and paints with paper pulp made from various kinds of paper, both existing and self-made with the addition of natural pigments. 

The concept of Foggy Lady comes from Mali’s concern about the environmental challenges facing the planet – specifically air pollution in India. Delhi is the world’s worst city in terms of air pollution. Foggy Lady tells the story of how the rich colours of India will gradually turn to unclear and foggy colours. The contrast highlights the duality of our existence in this fragile world. An bright illusion of hope can be presented but, in reality, the truth is the opposite. The piece also makes comment on the western world’s dependence on locating heavily polluting textile industries in poor countries for purely economic reasons. 

The design and concept for Foggy Lady was submitted prior to the emergence of COVID-19. It included gloves and a facemask as a barrier and protection from the outside world. Mali notes hoe now – in these pandemic times – gloves and masks are a necessary part of life. 

Materials: Paper waste, handmade paper and natural pigments.

Images: ‘Foggy Lady’ – The Garments in Progress.
Images: Papermaking and Paper Pulp for ‘Foggy Lady’.
Images:  Paper and design sketches - 'Foggy Lady'.

Denise Lamby

New Life - the film

Tasmanian Hearing and Implant Centre – Dr Kellie Walker’s Encouragement Award $1000

Denise is an Award-winning artist, photographer and author. Through her practice, she aims to encourage the viewer to look at everyday objects from a different angle and challenge one’s perspective on life itself.  Denise calls herself a ‘sustainable artist’, giving everyday objects a second and sometimes third chance at life. 

‘New Life’ is a work of comprising over 3000 discarded teabags that Denise has repurposed in a variety of ways.

The bodice has been constructed using traditional paper making techniques from shredded teabag pulp. The skirt is comprised of 1800 paper teabag tags with strings intact to add detail and interest. The necklace feature is made from tea bag tags, each laced together.

After meticulously extracting the tea from teabags, Denise has dried the bags, making a unique, gravity-defying headdress from the resulting feather-light, paper tissue canvases. The headpiece is constructed using a traditional book binding technique, weaving the delicate tea bag papers together with toothpicks. The colourful inner headpiece of additional tea bag tags marries with the colours in the skirt to bring the piece together. 

Accessories complete the work including. A kaleidoscopic, sea urchin shaped ring, made from recycled paper using traditional paper beading techniques. The spectacular shoes are augmented with vertical hand rolled paper straws up cycled from the pages of an old book. 

Also see our WINNERS page

www.bciart.com.au

Facebook: Bci Art Studio

Instagram @bciartstudio

Amanda May (VIC)

Waratah - the film

Design Eye Creative Major Award $5000

Working primarily in paper, Amanda May creates custom handmade statement pieces for special events, decorations and styling. Nature, manmade nature, and the relationship between them are influences on Amanda’s work. Another strong interest is the blurring of lines between the real and artificial. Her work often allows for the exploration of structures that are not possible in nature. As ‘Waratah’ demonstrates, scale plays an important part in suspending reality - playing with the viewers perception and hijacking expectations to amuse and intrigue.

‘Waratah’ was designed as a celebration of Australia’s unique wildlife. Telopia speciosissima is a bold and iconic example of our indigenous flora. The piece showcases how perfectly nature combines individual parts, utilising repetition and interlocking units to result in spectacular symmetry. 

The blue-banded bee was incorporated to highlight the story of pollination. The bees are only 10-12mm long and are one of a few native bee species that perform ‘buzz pollination’. Some of our Australian indigenous flowers can only be pollinated in this way. The underlying message is that Australia needs to be mindful of protecting and encouraging insect species on our own shores. With enough bee-attracting flowers, the Blue-Banded Bee can be found be found in urban areas.

‘Waratah’ is made from 225gsm uncoated, carbon-neutral paper.

Also see our WINNERS page

http://www.amanda-may.com.au/

Instagram @amanda.may.lee

Tara Morelos and Liz Bradshaw (NSW)

Rockabetty - the film

Tara works as an independent artist, curator and cultural producer. Liz is an artist interested in the history of modernity and how it resurfaces in contemporary culture transformed by technology and globalisation. Tara is the founder of ARTeConnect, a collaborative network of artists, designers, educators and social entrepreneurs who have a shared passion for working creatively with technology. In 2019, along with two other ARTeConnect artists, Liz and Tara produced a garment for World of Wearable Art (NZ) and received third place in the Transform Category.

Rockabetty is an illuminated, 1950’s inspired circle skirt and pleated top. Both pieces are constructed from recycled tissue paper, discarded exhibition posters, LED lights, cardboard and assorted fixings.

The skirt is textured with circular cutouts of different sizes. This surface treatment allows the colour and pattern of the printed poster to break through in the abstract, creating voids and shadows which vary the colour temperature of the light seen throughout the garment. The lights move in a programmed sequence beneath the skirt, revealing muted design elements from the posters, punctuated by the cutouts. 

https://www.arteconnect.com.au/

RR Pascoe (NSW)

Calligraphica - the film

Highly Commended

RR Pascoe is an internationally acclaimed, multi award winning artist and sustainable designer. She is best known for her wearable artworks utilising found objects and waste materials. The use of reclaimed and sustainable materials in traditionally luxury, high-end products aims to draw attention to the ecological and humanitarian impacts of the fashion industry, to question ideas of conventional beauty, age and obsolescence, and to explore the commodification of self and identity.

Calligraphica is made from approximately 450 linear meters of 9mm wide 100% paper millinery braid (Japanese Toyo paper braid), a woven Japanese rice paper yarn traditionally used in hat making. The garment is created using a sculptural pleating technique taught to the artist in 2013 by renowned Dutch sculptural milliner, Eugenie Van Oirschot. Meticulously hand sculpted to reflect broad, gestural strokes, the piece evokes calligraphic brush work - nodding to another traditionally paper-based art form.  Using only 100% cotton thread, with the removal of minor structural elements the piece is entirely biodegradable, echoing the temporary nature of paper, paper-based works of history and, ultimately, life and civilisation itself.

RR Pascoe is a three-time finalist in the World of Wearable Art (NZ) with works which feature her unique sculptural pleating technique.