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My work is almost always three-dimensional. I use recycled and unconventional non precious (to others) materials with traditional textile techniques and other mixed media techniques.
I experiment with materials and techniques and need to create texture, letting let the materials guide my work through an almost hypnotic state.
This allows me the freedom to produce challenging but sculptural pieces.
I have tinkered with 'found objects', twisting every
day object into submission for as long as I remember, building
magical worlds and machines.
I learnt to knit and crochet at a young age in Lyon, France, where I grew up, and have never stopped since. My mum taught but I can't remember learning (she does! With great pleasure of course!).
Lyon is a city of fantastic and magical textile
history. I only recently found out that my great-grandparents
had been weavers so there must be something in the blood.
This is where Jacquard was from, his loom being the precursor to
our computers (maybe another reason why I ended up working in
IT?). I also have Corsican and Catalan origins and now live
in Scotland.
I started teaching crafts with the Adult Education Programme run by the City of Edinburgh Council over15 years ago. I have since also set up my own studio. I run workshops and classes, as well as give private tuition.
I am always working on multiple projects, big and small and take inspiration from my environment. I often work on recurring themes of identity, origin and memory, be it people's or the land's.
I am a member of Frayed Edges, a group of mixed media artists. We exhibit on themes chosen democratically every couple of years. During lockdown and through most of the pandemic we met weekly online and gave ourselves a wee challenge from week to week, with close to a hundred wildly different themes. This will inspire our next exhibition which we have started to organise.
I also work in collaboration with a group of visual artists called transFORM. We have exhibited across Scotland.
In parallel to my art work I make more functional textile pieces, occasional throws, wearables, jewellery and unusual handbags.
Copyright 2023. Nathalie Cortada All Rights Reserved.
nathalie@atelierscortada.com