Authentic Creativity and Ethics

Australian Felt magazine publishing my article on Authentic Creativity and Ethics http://artwearpublications.com.au/subscriptions/felt-magazine.html(by ArtWear Publications)
With the editor's note by Wendy Bailye:
"We have a special article by Vilte on ethics and authenticity - a very timely topic. With the growth of the internet and with so many images of precious work being published, there are ever increasing concerns about people copying other peoples work and denying their own creative selves. Vilte presents us with some interesting research and questions".
Photography in the article is by me and SVETLANA BATURA* fotografija. And thank you to our beautiful models - Beata Molyte and Helman Lik.
This article is the first part - a theoretical, psychological, research approach to the matter. The second part of the article will be published in December issue with interviews with some of very well known textile artists, as well as my personal point of view.

4 full Moons

4 Full Moons - a skirt with the circumference of 4 circles.
nuno felt: silk, wool, fresh water pearls
natural dyes: weld, indigo, logwood

Handprint

"you carry the stories of the people that make your clothes"...

Who really made your clothes?
From Director Mary Nighy and Producers White Lodge comes Handprint, a provocative short film starring Elettra Wiedemann. Premiered at London Fashion Week at the launch of the Green Carpet Challenge

Through other’s lens–my felt and natural dyes

nuno felt dress as seen by photographer Viktorija Vaisvilaite

natural dyes: madder

First book "Veltinis" is now in English!

FELT by Viltė Kazlauskaitė | Make Your Own Book

My first book "Veltinis" that was published in 2008 and then revised in 2010 (in Lithuanian) is now available in English for your iPads as an eBook! You asked for it, and here it comes - Felt by Vilte Kazlauskaite. Revised English edition, 2014. Print copies are also available for order on Blurb

Rustic felt on the cover

Felt and natural dyeing by me on the cover of Lithuanian People magazine, worn by beautiful Lithuanian actress Egle Jackaite and her sons. Photography by Viktorija Vaisvilaite.

The idea of the photographer was to create rustic and cozy image of the family members. For this I chose delicate silk, cotton muslin, wool, spun silk embroidery and natural dyeing and improvised eco printing of the garments. I used madder, cochineal, alkanet, walnut and young alder collected from my yard.

Cyprus workshop 2014 - registrations being accepted now

September 8-14, 2014. Cyprus. 

The search for Identity.

This is not a regular felting workshop, rather a creative journey in search of authentic identity in felting textures, forms, and using natural colours.

What are the main traits of creativity? How does creativity work for us?

Can we define self? How do we draw parallels of our characteristics of self and our creative language?

What influences authentic self expression and imitation?

What is there in the colour? What do we base our selection of colour on?

These are the theoretical questions we will try to explore together during the workshop.

During the practical part of the workshop we will explore different felt textures as a personal language, looking for possible alterations to match our authentic identities.

We will explore felt’s characteristics as lightness, heaviness, density, transparency, drape and stretch through fiber dynamics.

We will learn to make a flat body prototype pattern to be used as a reference in altering patterns and creating interesting forms. We will also analyze specific forms and their application, such as full circle, double circle, triple circle, etc and different pattern inserts.

You will then design your own wearable piece referring to all the practical and theoretical experience lived through the workshop.

We will also explore natural colours – mordanting, extracting colors, modifying them and applying colours in a creative way of mixing and matching different tones and different plants. We will practice an analytic method of natural dyeing plan and the choice of materials depending on it.

Info and registration: viltess@gmail.com

Birds make great sky-circles. Madder red

“Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall and falling,
they're given wings.” (Rumi)
A dress comes when it's time for it to come. The dress with idea of circles came to my mind about 2 years ago when reading poetry by Rumi and imagining the whirling dervish. I just took a more feminine shape of the circle in my opinion.

nuno felt dress: wool, silk, flax, fresh water pearls

natural dyes: madder

Glimpse of the process

Another shade of madder

nuno felt: silk & wool. natural dyes: madder