'Kitchen Made' Author: Styling/words Heather Nette King. Date: 19/06/2011. Source: SAG. Publication: The Sunday Age         Section: M. Page: 14. 
Aside from drying the dishes, tea
towels are turning into contemporary artworks.A wise soul once observed that no
man was ever shot by his wife while he was doing the dishes. Another said that
it is the perfect wife who will help her husband do the dishes. Arguments about
the division of household labour aside, we must all agree that drying up is as
exciting as, well, putting out the rubbish, or scrubbing the grout. Yes, it's a
tedious task, but luckily for us, the tea towel has experienced a stylish
rebirth, so at least we can gaze upon some eye-candy while toiling at the dish
rack. Said to have originated in England in the 1700s, the tea towel was used by
the lady of the house to dry her fine china. Since then the humble rectangle of
linen has withstood the introduction of household dishwashers in the 1950s and
is still a staple in every kitchen today. Only now, rather than just dry the
dishes with them, you may want to frame them and hang them on your wall as well.
The Gilligan Grant Gallery in Collingwood has taken the idea of the tea towel
as an indispensable item one step further. In an exhibition that runs until June
25, 14 artists have created one-off artworks, each depicting things they
consider to be indispensable. The artworks have been created on tea towels, and
unsurprisingly, you will definitely not go anywhere near a wet dish with one of
these.

images in the piece: "You are all sorts of lovely", $22 from Able And Game.
"Knitting" in black, $24 from Maya Muse Textiles. "2011 Calendar" in flame, $22
from Tinker by Printink Studio. "A Double White Line" card, acrylic, synthetic
thread, fabric, acrylic on linen, one-off artwork by Kate McCarthy, $295
from Gilligan Grant Gallery. "Melbourne", $16.95 from Annabel Trends. MIDDLE
ROW, FROM LEFT "My New Coat" acrylic on linen one-off artwork by Fiona Kennedy
Aloft, $290 from Gilligan Grant Gallery. "Stormur" blue heaven, $40 (per pair)
from Designed In Brunswick. "Young People Today" limited edition tea towel by
Tom Polo, $40 from Third Drawer Down. "St Kilda", $19 from Scout. "Beater
Queue", $29.90 from Chickenfoot. "Tweeter", $22 from Tinker by Printink Studio.
BOTTOM ROW, FROM LEFT "Iconic Dairy", $27 from Make Me Iconic. "Melbourne", $22
from Tinker by Printink Studio. "Modern Art" limited edition tea towel, $40 by
Craig Damrauer from Third Drawer Down.