found particularly inspiring. ‘I am always drawn to people who work with their hands to create something aesthetically pleasing. So it was a complete joy to work with professional crafts people who understood my thinking.’ Having mastered so many mediums, I wonder what his favourite might be. ‘I love them all,’ he says, ‘they have such different demands and results. Knitting and needlepoint are portable, so I can travel and get on with a complex project. Patchwork is quicker and more physical, and you can achieve a larger project fast. But I love to feel a piece of knitting growing on the needles or see a flower taking shape on canvas in needlepoint. Each has its charms and quiet excitement.’ I can see that it does and wonder why it is, as he says, that people are afraid to use colour. ‘People think there is something ‘to know’ about colour,’ he tells me. ‘They don’t remember or realize that some of the best colour is created by ‘uneducated’ Third World crafts people.’ His new exhibition, Kaffe Fassett: A Life In Colour, is now open at The Fashion and Textile Museum. Showcasing the development of Kaffe’s use of colour, on display will be ninefoot-wide knitted shawls, a ‘feeling’ wall for visitors to touch, and a fantastic collection of quilts. I, for one, cannot wait to see it, and revel further in the colourful career of this master of contemporary crafts.
EXHIBITION IMAGES (C) JAY MCLAUGHLIN; KAFFE FASSETT (C) KAFFE FASSETT STUDIO
ARTS&CULTURE
Until 29th June, Kaffe Fassett: A Life in Colour, Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, SE1; ftmlondon.org / kaffefassett.com 46
April_KAFFE FASSETT.indd 46
28/03/2013 14:38