Materials

Exercise 3.1: Researching your theme

The be quite honest I wasn’t sure how to start this assignment. I went through my photos looking for pictures that depicted ‘bulbous and inflates’ or ‘stacked and layered’ and didn’t really come up with very much. A lot of cats maybe – but even they didn’t really fit the ‘fibrous and hairy!’

I had very little time to complete this assignment and so I did most of my research on line and from my ever increasing pile of books. I also looked at V&A and Tate magazines.

I began by looking through the list of artists suggested in the course material and have compiled a montage of images in my research pages. This can be accessed via the drop down menu.

Exercise 3.2: Sample ranges

Because time was very much against me on this one I have only worked with two materials – denim and plastic. I will be revisiting these exercises again and would like to create more sample ranges using other materials from the list – even though these won’t be assessed.

I haven’t exactly created samples following the suggested themes, although I think they represent ‘stacked and layered’ rather loosely. I did create a range of small samples using some of the techniques – slash, tear and cut; punch and perforate (I used a whole punch); plaiting; interlacing and pleating/folding.

Whilst working with the denim I worked up some of my ‘thumb-nail’ ideas into larger samples. I decided to thread net and feathers through the woven pieces to create extra interest.

The piece to the left was inspired by the works of Fiona Hutchison.

In this range of samples I layered different fabrics together – organza and net and incorporated copper wire into one of the pieces. The textile artist Clare Tough incorporates metal into some of her textile designs.

My samples developed in as much as whilst I was working on one I’d be thinking – I wonder what would happen if…

This final piece is made up from snippets of fabric and wool kept in place by a piece of black chiffon and then sewn in a lattice pattern. I have started to sew golden thread over the top of the design.

My second material that I decided to work with was plastic.

I decided to cut plastic bags into strips and began by knitting and crocheting two sample pieces. I appreciate there isn’t anything original in this idea but I really liked the outcomes.

I also crocheted a piece – incorporating beads – which was inspired by a piece by Machiko Agano.

This piece was created using straws, nylon thread and beads. I threaded the beads onto the nylon thread and created a crocheted chain stitch. I then pressed some of the straws between paper using a hot iron. Finally I used the chain stitch to weave the straws together.

I actually liked the way the light came through the piece when it was help up so I decided to present it in a frame rather than on a solid piece of card.

This piece was inspired by the work of Hsiao-Chi-Tsai. I particularly like the vibrant colours used in these designs and artworks.

This piece was inspired by Julia Triston’s artwork – Trapping Samples – which is published in the book How to Create Textile Art by Julia Triston and Rachel Lombard.

I found this book very interesting and would like to go back and explore more of the techniques demonstrated.

For this piece I plaited strips of plastic and then wove then together. I was rather pleased with the way these pieces worked out. (I have just discovered the braided piece in my studio which obviously means it didn’t make it into my portfolio which is rather unfortunate. Perhaps it can be incorporated into a future assignment!)

This final piece was created using the packaging from a mail order delivery. I was drawn to the black and white images on the packaging and created the pieces by applying heat using a heat-gun and then layering them together. They have been fixed in place using double sided tape.

As I have said, I had very little time to get this assignment completed and although anything produced now won’t be submitted for assessment, I will continue to experiment with other materials and record the results in my learning journal.

But for now – I am very excited by the next assignment and am determined to give this the time that it deserves. I shall also be paying close attention to the feedback I have received so far in the hope that I can continue to improve my style.