DIYthing

We had an opportunity to ask Danny Mansmith some questions recently about his work. We have been in love with it for some time now. Danny is a Chicago fiberartist who uses fabric to make collages - collages that we find represent life and space in a most creative way.

DIYthing: Your grandma had a considerable influence on you, I can say the same about my mother. Are there others that you are influencing today?

DM: oh gosh i don’t know but it is so nice to hear from strangers on the internet that email me and say that my work has inspired them and i do kinda hope i can
help people see that they can make things and don’t worry about the mistakes just have fun and that will be a good beginning…

DIYthing: I see that you taught yourself to sew - do you recommend this to others?

DM: for me it was the right thing to do–i didn’t think about it too much i guess i just got so excited about sewing

DM: that i just went for it. funny though the 1st month i started at the end of that month i had no more store bought clothes because i had taken them all apart to follow the patterns–for me i needed to find my own way of sewing and not take classes to teach me the right way…

DIYthing: “Clothing for me is sculpture.” Tell me more about your affinity for the human form.

DM: i did last a year in art school and in that year life drawing was the one thing that is a great memory for me-i was going to be a painter i guess, but school wasn’t for me-but drawing the human figure was a little beginning my 1st art classes i got from my grandma when i was little on how to draw hands and faces-than when i started making clothes it opened my mind up because in a sense for me covering the body with fabric was like making sculptures that can move- the clothes i wanted to make were always filled with details and lots of textures and they became the 1st steps towards making soft sculptures and dolls…

DIYthing: We laughed when we read your comment, “I look for things out of place-broken pieces left behind as i walk down the street” - funny Deb and I do that also, we are often fascinated by what others leave behind. What draws you to use found pieces in your work?

DM: well again it’s my grandma she decorated her whole house with stuff from the dumpsters-she would take me in the alleys growing up where, well lets say the rich people lived and find beautiful things-so since then my eyes have always been focused on the alleys as i walk by -also i think being an artist i see details that most don’t bother to see during their day and i have to say picking up a piece of junk and making something out of it is just fun for me…

DIYthing: Your resume is impressive, what is it about showing your work you find most important?

DM: oh there are times when it’s just hard but i feel artists have to try to show their work because then how is anyone going to know about them, it’s important-i feel i want to share what i do with others and even if they don’t understand what i’m doing i hope to at least make someone smile and enjoy looking…

DIYthing: We are fascinated with what we’ve read about your creative space - your studio. Do you have other spaces that you work in?

DM: for the most part my studio is it for me-i have had the space now for two years on the northside of Chicago. the studio is my sanctuary, my cushion against the outside world…

DIYthing: You often use multiple lines of stitching in your collages, do you start with this look in mind when sketching out your design?

DM: it’s my way of a gesture drawing in a way–but i want to have a very free feeling to my work-that there are no rules and that you can do anything and that the drawing is not perfect and it shows a human did it, with all it’s flaws but it’s still beautiful…

DIYthing: “It’s more interesting to make things with the wrong tools-adapt and to be engaged with your work.” Can you tell us more about this statement?

DM: i just don’t think you always need the right tools for the right job–don’t let the lack of things you have stop you from making–for me in the past and now when i want to make something i just do it with what ever i have around and that process always makes the end result much more interesting than if i went out and bought what i needed…

We asked Danny to tell us more about the Boys Meet the Girls Panel that he will be a part of at the Symposium on contemporary Textiles at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. He shared that he was asked by a dear friend, Elyse Koren-Camarra, to be involved. She is a fiber artist and the president of the Illinois State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts {ILNMWA}. The idea of the panel is to talk about textiles today and that more and more men are involved in the fiberart field. Well we are glad we discovered Danny’s work and hope that you explore more of his work at his website and his Etsy site where you can purchase some of his creations.
You can also check out his blog and his Flickr photostream.

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