The Art of Annie Montgomerie: Flocked and Socked

Product Description
There are 70,000 Instagram followers who go crazy for Annie Montgomerie's “beautiful,” “amazing,” “awesome,” dirty-kneed, filthy-sleeved, sculpted animals dressed in stitched-together vintage finds -- and those are just the ones who are already following her and selling out her every gallery show. With the release of The Art of Annie Montgomerie: Flocked and Socked, the first book dedicated to her work, these fans now have a way to share their obsession with their fellow collectors ― and something they can actually buy that hasn't already been sold out from under them.\nU.K.-based mixed-media artist Annie Montgomerie creates individual and unique sculptures from “upcycled” children's dolls, bits of velvet and leather, vintage buttons and charms ― whatever she can find that speaks to her love of styles from horror to twee. The result is a world of animals that sits somewhere between Frankenstein and Peter Rabbit. “I don't mind admirers of my work saying it's cute but I hope my art has more to say. I like to skirt around the outside of dark with a hint of sorrow or regret that goes with the passing of time,” she says.\nVice described her work as “Hovering between pop culture and fine art … off-kilter and weird in the same way cats are.” Those tens of thousands of social-media followers are more to-the-point with comments like “gorgeous,” “magnificent,” and “They are all so cuuuute!!!” And just as her every gallery show sells out, we expect this book to sell out.
Review
"Hovering between pop culture and fine art … off-kilter and weird in the same way cats are." --Vice
About the Author
Annie Montgomerie has created a world of storybook beings -- curious creatures from the outside to display inside. Each piece is individual and unique, and because they are made from recycled materials, no two pieces are quite the same. Most of the fabrics she uses are foraged locally in Dorchester in the UK. She uses muslin, 100% wool felt, 'up-cycled' wool garments, velvet, leather, cotton, moleskin and blankets for wall hangings and figures.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
I spend hours looking for old fabrics, clothing, little toys, key rings, charms, jewelry, and everything in between at flea markets, second-hand shops, and various junk sales. I can be browsing these places and see an inanimate object and suddenly a whole character with a story can come into my head. I'll elaborate on that story for a few days until it comes to fruition.\nThe animal I choose to make for a piece is relevant to my mood at the time, and images of animals that inspire me most. I spend a lot of time looking at animal photography but also an equal amount of time studying vintage photos. My all-time favourite images are old school photos, class photos in particular. I adore the expressions on each little face and imagine the time leading up to and after the photograph was taken. The children dawdling up to those steps or benches to have the annual school album updated. Saving a seat for their best friend, avoiding sitting next to him or her, shuffling into place. Most of their little faces are quite sullen although there's always the class clown making a face and a couple cracking a smile.\nThrough every part of my process I am thinking of the expression of the piece. Often my pieces look sad or lost. I think children can have these emotions quite regularly. I harp back to my feelings as a child ― I remember lonely times and that sense of inadequacy. Most of my school life was in a convent and I was taught by nuns who were often pretty intimidating in their black gowns and habits. Of course they're not all monsters, but to my eight-year-old mind they came fairly close.\nAll these insecurities and worries of childhood I channel into my art. It wasn't all doom and gloom and this can be reflected on a rare occasion, too, in a piece with a cheeky smile or smirk.\nI want my characters to