January Sock Club Inspired by Del Kathryn Barton
Del Kathryn Barton (b 1972 in Sydney) is an Australian painter best known for her whimsical depictions people and animals.
She grew up in the bush-land of the lower Blue Mountains west of Sydney Australia, often living in sheds or tents with her hippie-like parents. She drew obsessively from an early age and lived in her imagination. Her early subjects included fairies, animals, nature, and maps. She also drew the female form, occasionally using her mother to pose for her nude works, other times copying work from published magazines.
She attended the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, graduating with a BFA in 1993 and her psychedelic environments are created using sequins, markers, gouache, and glitter. She held her first exhibition in 1995, and has gone on to hold numerous solo exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne.
On 7 March 2008, it was announced that Barton had won the 2008 Archibald Prize for portraiture, for “You are what is most beautiful about me, a self-portrait with Kell and Arella”, a self-portrait with her two children. In 2013, she again won the Archibald Prize, this time for her portrait of the actor Hugo Weaving (shown below). She was also an Archibald Prize finalist in 2018.
She continues to live and work in Sydney, Australia. Her works are held in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, among others.
What I love about her works
Well not really sure where to begin….I love all her works. And when I say I love them I really do!! Whimsical, curious, playful and mystical, her works asks the viewers to take their time and look at them. Not just look at them but really look at them!! The intricate details and layout encourage viewers
to take their time to enjoy every inch of the work. So much detail to explore and enjoy! And how she puts the colours together is just pure genius! Love, love….love!!
What colours are planned for February?
The colours for this month will be tones of steel blue and greys for the solids, with the variegated colours being a riot of colours from yellow, golds, greens, blues and reds, through to shades and hints of purples.
How does it work? Our Blackwattle Sock Club is a 'purchase as you go' type of club. Love January's colours? Snap up your favourites from the January collection. Prefer August’s palette? Pick from the August selection.
No subscriptions, no pressure - simply order the months you adore.
Pack options available for your mix and match:
- 2 x 100 gram solids (light + dark)
- 2 x 100 gram variegated (light + dark)
- 2 x 100 gram solid and variegated (medium + medium)
- 1 x mini skein
- 2 x mini skeins
- 3 x mini skeins
- 4 x mini skeins
- 5 x mini skeins
The mini skeins will be solids that will contrast/coordinate with the 100 gram skeins. The 3 variegated colours and the 3 solid colours (100 gram skeins) will fade into each other: light, medium and dark.
Each month we will create new colours....insert excited Angela here! Fun fact about me.....I LOVE creating new colours!!
When do they open and when do you post them to us? Sock Clubs open on the 1st of each month (or earlier if I can't help myself) and will remain open for 2 weeks. Clubs will be posted at the end of each month. If you order other products at the same time, we will hold your order until the Sock Club yarns are ready to go. All packages will ship with tracking. You will receive an email letting you know the club has shipped with a tracking number (Australia Post Tracking Number).
Looking for sock pattern ideas? Here are a list of FREE sock patterns, available through Ravelry, that we think would work with our hand dyed yarns:
- Beauty and the Beast Socks by Elina Maaria
- Confetti by Karin Fernandes
- Twisted Lace Socks by Jennifer Anne
- Lemon Drizzle Socks by Debbi Ford
- Rickrack Socks by Nicole Simmons
- Krufka Socks by Comfort Zone Knits
- Sank Socks by Lotta H Lothgren
- Pine Tree Socks by L'oro unico
- Villiviini by Tiina Kuu
- Extranilla Socks by Meaghan Schmaltz