Developing work for unit X

This unit I am going to develop some of the techniques inspired by my work for Gawthorpe Hall. I have created some more drawings based on research into old/traditional embroidery techniques, combined with my unique use of colour, inspired by my research into combating colour blindness and chromophobia. I am choosing specifically to focus more on patterns found in traditional darning and needleweaving.

Embroidered by Marie Terese Fourbisseur found in the Cooper Hewitt Collection: http://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18489513/

Because my work is based on colour, my tutor thought it would be appropriate to enter me into the International Colour Competition run by the Society of Dying and Colourists. This was an absolutely amazing experience, and forced me to address how I present my work. I had very little time to throw together four boards that explained my samples. I also had to show that my work could be applied to a fashion context. This meant doing some visualisations and showing the process to reach them. I also had to make some executive decisions about the best way to present my boards. After some discussion with a few tutors we came to the conclusion it would be best to present my work onto a grey background instead of white because of the nature of my samples.

Not only did I enjoy a dye workshop and an excellent lecture on colour theory, but I also came away with a certificate of High Commendation from the judges as they we impressed with time, intricacy and detail that had gone into my work.

Although I think the techniques I used for Gawthorpe are very effective and create something really unique, the process is truly painstakingly slow. After a bit of fabric exploration I've found a handful of fabrics that have just the right weave, that I can snip out the weft. This speeds up the process slightly without losing the intricacy.

I have also entered some of my samples from the practice unit to be displayed as part of the TIP in Progress show in the art school. Although the brief for this show is large scale pieces, it is good they have offered to show smaller samples also. I hope my samples will be picked, they work well as a small collection so that might give them an edge.

Evaluation

I have really enjoyed this unit. I feel like I started with a really strong concept that I was able to keep producing new and original visual research for. I have also enjoyed creating work without the restrictions of context to dictate my fabric decisions allowing to really focus on developing my aesthetic for my samples. Although I have enjoyed this freedom by designing a collection of samples, I feel like next unit it would be interesting to make a range of final products. It would be interesting to make some fashion or interiors products and see how that dictates what fabrics I use and the decision making process. I also feel like I have become more open-minded to seeing my work as exhibition pieces and really look forward to the opportunity to exhibit my work in two exhibitions. This is a direction I’ve never really considered before but I have enjoyed working this way. 
I really enjoyed producing a body of visual research, which is often something I struggle with so I’m glad I have improved in this area. I feel like all the work I have created is linked and has an obvious progression. 
Gawthorpe Hall has probably been my favourite part of this unit and I’m really proud of the samples I’ve produced. I think this is because I was reacting to visual stimulus as well as basing my work around a concept. I also just find textile archives absolutely fascinating so it was quite exciting to get to do a project on one. I hope to carry this project forward to unit X and hope my work is chosen by the curators at Gawthorpe. 
I also feel like next unit it would be really interesting to develop my darning technique. I think the old fashioned technique has so many variations and it would be interesting to see how far I could push it, perhaps changing the scale and experimenting with different materials. 
I would also like to expand my concept slightly to look more into the science behind how we see colours, the idea of chromophobia and I would like to do some research into colour forecasting. I feel like these would be appropriate steps forward and could lead to some really interesting projects. 

Self-Initiated: Refining Samples

To continue with my self-initiated brief I have taken forward samples created from my triangle drawing and tried to pay attention to colour matching and getting the right materials. My first samples used a pink that was slightly too red-y: 

After these I managed to find a more purple-y pink to match my drawings better and created some more samples using similar techniques (aplique and machine stitch): 

I also attempted to recreate a sample or two on the brand new quilter machine, although I’m quite pleased with the way the sample has turned out, I felt like I was using a very big and complex machine to do something very small and detailed piece of work, and not using it very efficiently. I would like to try the quilter again but perhaps if I were to upscale my work. 

Gawthorpe Hall: Refining Samples

This week I’m looking to take two main samples forward and really refine them. I have been experimenting with needle weave in different fabrics and in different scales.

I have also been creating more logcabin patchworks so that I can see the full effect of the patches together and the patterns they create. These are the two lines of enquiry I have chosen to explore for Gawthorpe Hall.

I have developed my Gawthorpe Hall samples. I have created two collections, needle woven samples inspired by the beautiful darned pieces from the archive and logcabin. I have taken inspiration from the colour palette of my self-initiated brief and used much finer fabrics and threads to put my own modern twist on these pieces. Until you have sat and repaired a damaged hole in a piece of fabric do you truly appreciate the intricacy of it. We tend to take this for granted these days because of the pace at which technology can produce it.

For my logcabin I have contrasted old recycled sari silk, hand dyed cottons and modern fabrics such as PUC to give this old technique a modern twist. I’ve also modernised the process, using the machine to quickly and roughly patch these pieces together. I enjoy the effect this gives and reminds me of the sample from the Gawthorpe archive marked by Miss Kay “do not do it like this, it is wrong”.

I found this artist who also uses machines for quilting and in a slightly unconventional way that might not be considered traditional:

Krista Jo Mustain Geometric wallhanging/coral quilt 2011/2012

Gawthorpe Hall: Experimenting

This week I have been doing some experimental samples inspired by the pictured I took at Gawthorpe hall and some drawings I have done from them. 

This sample was inspired by some of the samplers, I decided to use the Pfaff to recreate a similar look. 

I like that the same effect could be so easily replicated, however I think as a sample it's not that interesting. I could potentially develop it by sampling using my own colour scheme but it still would not really fit with the theme for the project which is "significcance". 

My next sample was my own colour pallet applied to a darning sample: 

Although I’m very pleased with the effect here, I think I could develop it by working onto a white background and by giving the little sections of darning more space. I feel like these samples will be more relevant to the theme of significance because darning is a means of repairing and we tend to only bother repairing things that carry significance to us. Also it takes an awful lot of patience and time to darn which creates a sense of significance in itself. 

To modernise the logcabin I have pieced new fabrics next to old, in order to create contrast. I have also used only machine stitch to create these logcabin samples: 

I feel like these logcabin samples also fit the theme of significance because they are made from upcycled fabrics that once had other purposes and carry their own meanings. I look forward to making a small collection of these little squares for this brief and perhaps taking them forward into the next project to make a garment or quilted piece.

Gawthorpe Hall

I really enjoyed the trip to gawthorpe hall, the collection was really interesting and inspiring. The collection dated back as early as the 15^th century, it’s absolutely amazing to see what the amazing things people created completely by hand. It was however very frustrating that all of the samples we kept in plastic wallets that meant that all of the photos of samples are very low quality. Also the visit felt it was slightly lacking seeing as we could not feel and have a play with the samples.

I was particularly interested in the all of the impressive old hand techniques: 

I intend to introduce some of these techniques to display my colour palette. I have experimented with logcabin, darning patterns and sampler structures. I have used the Pfaff machine to imitate the sampler stitches, hand-dyed fabrics for the logcabin samples and the Irish machine to help gather threads.  

Dissertation

This week has been slow with practical work due to writing my dissertation. I have found doing research into textiles and wellbeing really interesting and came across a very interesting theory of colour called chromophobia. This has inspired my practical work because I am very aware of my bold colour use and how it could be seen as “too eclectic” or perhaps unprofessional, but chromophobia is the idea that Western society has made colour seem “foreign” or “childish” or “unprofessional”. Reading about this social phenomenon helps me feel more confident in taking risks and challenging these concepts of colour. 

I have also found that doing my essay on wellbeing has been quite relevent to my self-initiated brief because of the gratification I have got from helping someone see a whole new colour. ot only has it contributed to my wellbeing, doing a project to help someone else, I also feel like it's may have helped improve his wellbeing taking time out to consider how he sees colour. 

Finally it all seems relevant to my new live brief based on the Gawthorpe Hall Archives, which is full of amazing intricate hand embroidery done by people who will have used embroidery for the same wellbeing purposes we use it for today.