Nithikul Nimkulrat

Material inspiration: the practice-led research of a craft artist

A tangible material is a primary element in the everyday creative practice of any craft artist. Although craft artists implicitly understand the expressive aspects of the tangible material they use to create their artworks, they rarely discuss or give a written account of them. In this paper, I present a way in which my practice-led research on the expressivity and materiality of a fiber material can shape the total artistic process as well as the resulting artworks and their meanings. The research generates the conception of materialness in fiber art, which can assist fiber artists and other craft artists in creating aesthetic and meaningful artworks.

Ways of Being Strands: Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Using Craft and Mathematics

This article presents a collaborative project between a textile practitioner-researcher (Nimkulrat) and a textile practitioner-mathematician (Matthews). Mathematical investigation of Nimkulrats craft knots through mathematical knot diagrams by Matthews revealed knot properties which were indiscernible from the work alone. This approach led to a way of visualizing knot designs using more than one color prior to making. The result of this current research phase illuminates the role of mathematics in making the knotting process explicit. It demonstrates the influence of mathematical analysis on craft practice and the significance of cross-disciplinary collaboration on the development of knotted pattern design.