Artist's Hands-Lea Livne

For every artist there's the clean shiny PR text that you can easily reach on Google, curriculum vitae, or should I say Ridiculum vitae… that show everyone our lists of goals achieved, list of exhibition and prizes. But what it doesn't show is the dirty hands that can't stop working, the bustling brain that can't take a rest. A busy messy studio that you can hardly find your hands and legs inside but it's impossible to throw anything away as it might be the only missing thing for our next project.

Let me introduce you to an artist I admire, I meet her in the street of my Kibbutz, look up to her thinking someday I want to be just like her, hiking Chinese mountains with sport sandals at the age of 80, and searching the beach sand every morning for a new and inspiring textures for my next art.

Lea Livne born 1935 in Israel. Member of Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael. Took art courses in Haifa, oil and water colors with Haim Naor. Completed studies at Avni Institute, with emphasis on etching under Touvia Beeri.

Art training in Paris with painter Jean Clarte of Heiter art.

Through the years, Lea developed innovative printing techniques and different ways to express them.she combines modern technology and more conventional printing methods cartons.

Recently, Lea has been using a specific etching technique; drawing on paper, combined with printing ink on different types of rollers.

With the introduction of internet sites in the art world, Lea has become associated with art centers, museums and artists associations, not only in Israel, but around the world.

Lea exhibits her work primarily in international group shows.

Fields of Denim

Field of Jeans, Catalytic Clothing at Chelsea College of Art. Image credit: Jon Daughtry

What would you say if I tell you that your pair of jeans can purify the air?

That we can walk around and purify the air that we breathe just with the help of our very own clothing… sounds like science fiction, right?

Well not any more…

Artist and designer professor Helen Storey and scientist professor Tony Ryan have been collaborating on this amazing project that explores how clothing and textiles can be used as a catalytic surface to purify air.

The scientific key is adding Titanium dioxide to the fabric (best used on denim), that, when exposed to lite and air – it reacts and naturalizes harmful pollutants around it.

The idea is that virtually anyone will be able to use this formula on the clothes they wear, by using a laundry additive that is now in development in our own laundry machine, that way we will soon be cleaning the air around us as we walk…

Helen Storey and Trish Belford making 'Herself'. Image credit: Aoife Ludlow

 you are more then welcome to read more at Helen Storey Foundation web site  http://www.helenstoreyfoundation.org

I think it is so interesting that in some places around the globe, artists and designers are collaborating with science to improve their abilities and collections, in an effort of bettering the environment and the atmosphere around us.

So I guess I was right about textile being the key to saving the world after all… 

Under The Pool

We had so much fun taking our photo shoots at the Theater house, we had to take it higher to the next level...

So Next thing Hagai Nativ-my talented photographer could think about was..."Let's jump into the water" and no mistake about it...It was as cold as the ocean in April.

Anat Brandes being professional as a model could possibly be…not only did not say a word about the cold…but barely tweeted when her eyes were burning red, trying to pretend that swimming under the water fully dressed is a natural habit, she did asked me for eye drops…and I mistakenly dropped ear drops into her poor eyes, hysterically funny to me, and quite burnt life experience for her...

I could bubble more and more about this once in a life time experience, but apparently that Hagai Nativ surprised us with hidden camera behind the scene

 Hmmm, and Last photo is mine…had to try living under water too…

Curious for more...Stay tune till next week...

check out for Under water scene by Hagai Nativ Professional underwater photographer right here

The Witch,the Lunatic and the healer

I would love to share with you a bit of why and when...

and this is how it start...

I studied fashion and textile design at Shenkar University in Israel, so I can actually say I have my first degree in knitting…

My final project at Shenkar raised a lot of questions that I am still dealing with over and over in my design path till now…In this project I started from single thread,created 3 clothing sets, and photographed them in their atmosphere locations...Can you recognize the model?

In early middle age days, 3 ladies are on a trial, 3 ladies are telling the same story or almost the same story, each one of them in a different place in a different time.

One of them is domed as a witch and raised to the fire

The second one is announced as a mental ill and sent to the mental institute, while the third one is announced as a holistic healer and the people follow her path.

And none of these ladies ever stop to ask why…

The healer photo was taken at the small community village where I live up north, and that is the most beautiful place in Israel, just by the Mediterranean Sea.

I think that as a final project for textile design, it is also raise the question of how do we treat textile in our heart and our lives, should a textile remain the second voice back stage, or can it raise to life, taking its place at the front of the stage?