Mister Finch at the YSP

Hello readers, how are you all ? doing well I hope. I wanted to mention that I’ve just become aware of a change on my site, in that my last few posts weren’t allowing you to comment on them. Many thanks to keen reader Deidre from Australia for pointing it out to me. Hopefully all back to ‘normal’ again now and you can share your musings and chat away to your hearts delight once again lol.

I have missed your thoughts and did even start to wonder if you were all on holiday at the same time lol.

Returning from a sunny holiday in North Yorkshire myself, I stopped off at the  Yorkshire Sculpture Park and by chance there was an exhibition on the work of Mister Finch. I thought it apt to re-post this article I put together back in 2013, with some added photos from the exhibition at the end. Enjoy.

Mister Finch lives in Leeds. Finch is actually his surname but everyone calls him mister Finch so he named his business just that. He is almost completely self taught in his sewing and creating skills and when he’s not making things (which isn’t often), he likes nothing better than to watch an old movie or read a book.

He has a collection of dead insects, which provide inspiration as well as being first hand research material for some of his more insect based forms.

He has a flair for hares, and it doesn’t stop there. These wall mounted heads are quite wonderful.

He says ” My main inspirations come from nature and often I return to certain ideas again and again. Flowers, insects and birds really fascinate me with their amazing life cycles and extraordinary nests and behaviour. British folklore is also so beautifully rich in fabulous stories and warnings and never ceases to be at the heart of what I make.”

There’s a quiet peacefulness about the sleeping, curled up animals and even if you’re not the worlds biggest fan of moths, you must admit that their furry, velvety textures and florally wings capture the essence of the creatures perfectly.

” Humanising animals with shoes and clothes is something I’ve always done and I imagine them to come alive at night. Getting dressed and helping an elderly shoemaker or the tired housewife. Making things has always been incredibly important to me and is often an amazing release to get it out of my system. It’s a joy to hunt for things for my work…the lost, found and forgotten all have places in what I make. Most of my pieces use recycled materials, not only as an ethical statement, but I believe they add more authenticity and charm. A story sewn in, woven in. Velvet curtains from an old hotel, a threadbare wedding dress and a vintage apron become birds and beasts, looking for new owners and adventures to have. ”

Mr Finch’s creations sell on Facebook when he has some available or there’s more info on his Site.

Storytelling creatures for people who are also a little lost, found and forgotten… aren’t we all ?

Here’s a few shots from the Y.S.P show itself.

The exhibition has been an amazing success as everything appeared to have sold. The attention to detail and clever use of fabrics help bring these magical creatures to life.

You can see the layers in this swan, it just looked like the real thing.

The exhibition at YSP is on until September 23rd so do pop over and have a look at this beautiful work for yourself.

If you found this interesting, you may also like my post on Vraid Lee and Michael Sowa. The animals also reminded of ‘The Science of Sleep’ a film with Gael García Bernal and Hartley Hare from ‘Pipkins’ from my childhood memories. Of course don’t forget to leave some thoughts by way of a comment too…. now that you can again lol.

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