Excercise 4.1 Part 1

I spent a while looking at my previous work to choose some pieces that were inspiring for me in terms of yarn design and linear qualities.  Settling on two pieces I first did some sketch book work and sourced some materials both found and bought to get started on my first 30cm experiments.

My charcoal sketch immediately gave me the thought of using wool so I could get a fuzzy/fluffy edge much like the effect given by the smudged charcoal.   I used balls of mohair yarn and twisted them together for my first 30cm sample.  I then added a 5cm repeat of little balls wrapped around the entwined yarns.  Luckily the mohair was very easily tangled as it is so fluffy so just winding the yarn around was enough o secure it in place.  My second idea from this picture was to use 3 separate pieces of linen thread and then joined by cut felt circles which I stitched on in a 1cm repeat.

Black and green embroidery thread wound around to create a tubular yarn with purple wool stitched and cut in 5cm intervals.

Green and white thread twisted around wire, beads threaded through another piece of wire and then twisted together.

Linen thread joined together by cut felt discs, stitched to the threads in regular intervals.

Finger knitted acrylic yarn with linen thread tied around at 1cm intervals.

Mohair Yarn twisted together with black mohair yarn balls at 5cm intervals.

White cotton muslin with bright pink ribbon tied on and light pink embroidery thread, threaded through the sides.

When working from the stitched paper sample there were so many different shapes and textures I had lots of ideas.  I decided to  separate the sample into sections and create different linear yarns from each one as the textures and shapes in the stitched paper gave me separate ideas.

My first thought was to create a linear form of the flower loops on the paper sample.  I  decided to finger knit some  of the same acrylic yarn to create a looped strand that I could then add black thread to like the black cotton stitched into the centre of the flower.

In my next sample I wanted to recreate the crumpled paper in some way so I cut a strip of cotton muslin, twisted it and tied it with bright pink ribbon then added pale pink embroidery thread entwined down the sides like the embroidered flower petals.

In my other samples I used some different materials including wire and beads to try and achieve texture and different zig zag shapes.  I also used stitched loops of material and then cut them to give the impression of flowers.

These 30cm samples have given me some fantastic ideas of how I want to develop them and create my 1metre long pieces in the next stage, it has also got me thinking about my yarn research.  Although I will be posting research in my online blog I think I also want to create a physical yarn research folder so I can go more in depth and include samples and experimentation alongside the written research.

Cotton

Cotton is a soft fibre that grows in balls around the seeds of cotton plants.  Grown in tropical and sub tropical areas around the world, the fibre is picked and spun into yarn to create soft, breathable textiles.  Cotton is;

• Natural
• Breathable
• Odour Resistant
• Easy Care
• Strong and Tough
• Soft and Absorbant
• No Pilling
• Stretchy (Jersey)

There are many different types of cotton that I found on Cottoninc.com so rather than write them all out here’s a link with a glossary of terms www.thefabricofourlives.com/learn-about-cotton/types-of-cotton

The use of cotton is vast from homewares and fashion to industry and building, where old denim jeans are processed and used for home insulation, (blue jeans go green).  A lot of work has been done recently to make cotton more sustainable by not wasting any by-products and creating packaging, animal feeds and bio fuels.  They have been working on water wastage and land usage and processing to create a more environmentally friendly product because as our consumer appetite has increased for cotton, so has the land and resources needed to cope with it.

 

 

Wool

Wool

• A natural product
• Biodegradable
• An Insulator
• Breathable
• Resilient and Elastic
• Trans Seasonal
• Easy Care*
• Odour Resistant
• Safe
• Provides natural UV Protection

Wool is a protein fibre formed in the skin of a sheep and is 100% natural, it is also renewable, as every year a sheep will produce a new fleece.  The ‘ecological’ properties of this fibre don’t stop there as it also can be returned to the soil and it will decompose in a relatively short space of time, making it a biodegradable product that doesn’t harm the environment.

Wool is a ‘hygroscopic’ fibre, which means as humidity in the air rises and falls, the fibre releases water vapour.  Heat is generated and retained during the absorption pase making it a really good insulator.  The structure of wool fibres are crimped and when they are tightly packed together they form millions of tiny pockets of air.  This structure is what allows it to absorb and release moisture, either from the air or from the perspiration of the wearer – without compromising ts thermal efficiency.  Wool has the capacity to absorb moisture vapour of that up to 30% of its own weight making it extremely breathable.

The strength of wool fibres mean that it is very resilient and resistant to tearing.  They are able to be bent back on themselves up to 20,000 times without breaking.  Due to the crimped structure of the fibres it has the ability to stretch comfortably and return to shape so can be worn without sagging and wrinkling.  It also retains liquids well so is great for dyeing and rich colours can be produced which are colourfast.

The waxy coating on wool fibres make them stain resistant and anti-static (less dust) and *recent innovations mean that some products can be machine washed and tumble dried making them very easy care.

The Campaign for Wool is a global initiative to raise awareness of wool in all its forms and its usefulness and renewable benefits in fashion, homeware and the textile industry.  Patron HRH The Prince of Wales.

www.campaignforwool.org

#LoveWool

The Wool Lab is a seasonal guide to new trends in the best wool fabrics and yarns available in the world.  It showcases samples of fabrics commercially available for the textile industry.  Its aims are to inspire and influence emerging artists, fashions and trends.  Presented at trade shows and created alongside some of the worlds best spinners and weavers fusing tradition with contemporary practice it is produced seasonally Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer.  Taking the form of mood boards with samples, photography and colour swatches it aims to promote the latest innovations in Merino Wool.

• Wool products that feel soft on the skin
• UV protection
• Aromatherapy
• Merino Touch ( luxury at a fraction of the cost )
• Casualisation of fashion trends

Merino Wool is extremely hardwearing so a perfect choice for home interiors, including upholstery, carpets, floor coverings, curtains aswell as sleepwear, blankets, cushions and throws.  Due to its beautiful next to skin softness and drape when a product is produced it is a fabulous fibre for fashion designers and the high end luxury market.  It also has great elasticity so can be knitted or woven for statement pieces and fashion garments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection Notes

Demonstration of Technical & Visual Skills-  I think I have shown good observational skills and awareness in terms of colour and pattern.  The design and composition of my Colour Resource Book and its contents has resulted in a positive outcome and shown my capabilities are improving.

Quality of Outcome – I have tried to choose the best of my work to be presented in my Resource Book and put them together in a coherent manner that translates well.  I think my overall I present my work well and communicate my ideas.

Demonstration of Creativity – In my resource book I have used the work I have produced to experiment with different ideas and inspire moods and feelings with extra textile based mini projects and words.  I feel like I have been given the freedom to create my own personal style with this project.

Context –  My Blog helps me to reflect on what I feel I have done well or struggled with and I find that writing about the projects helps me to focus on what I need to improve upon.  I have been researching different making techniques for books and pin loom weaving but I need to remember to also add this research to my blog.

Reflection on Colour Studies – Assignment 3

I feel like I have learnt so much during this section of the course but still only scratched the surface in real terms.  Having not really attempted colour mixing with paints etc. before, I now feel much more confident in trying out new mediums for my mark making and drawings which can only be a good thing as I have had a tendency to play it safe.  I have a greater understanding of colour schemes and the different effects and moods that can be created by utilising these methods with projects and will now put this knowledge to use when creating new pieces of work.

I particularly enjoyed working with the fabrics and yarns and feel that this was where I had the most successful outcomes and also gave me the most inspiration.  I found the watercolours quite difficult to get to grips with but I really liked the softness of colour quality that was achieved so would like to delve more into trying to improve my skills in this.

I found the collage exercises interesting and saw the value in completing the different colour schemes.  Although not my favourite medium, it did increase my understanding through practical application and it was a good way of creating inspiration for new projects from a perhaps overlooked source.

The making of the Colour Resource Book was by far my most enjoyable project so far, and I would definitely like to make some more books.  Originally I wanted to create a fabric cover for my book, but after experimenting with primary colours and paper paste I decided on the latter.  This is definitely something I would like to revisit, ad perhaps utilise for future assignment submissions.

Colour Resource Book

I was really excited to get started on this assignment and start experimenting with book designs and covers.  I have seen and been researching different book binding and covering techniques.  Because the work I will be including in the book will sometimes be bulky I need to create a binding technique that will allow the pages to take this.  Japanese book binding seems to be the best idea for me as it will allow the pages to take bulkier materials.  I wanted to experiment with different types of covering for the front of my book, based around the theme of colour.  For me the biggest thing I have learnt through my work on colour studies is colour mixing and it has been a real eye opener. I want my front cover to be based around the primary triad and the mixing of the colours and I would like to incorporate some stitch, perhaps some free machine embroidery but I am undecided yet as to what materials to use.  I am going to experiment with paste papers and also having been inspired by the photo of the wallcovering from earlier research with layers of painted fabric stitched together so the different layers can effect the colours beneath.

My first step was to make up some paste for my paste papers.  I made a simple paste from cornflour and water then added acrylic paint to form my three primary colours.  I experimented with sponges, and combs homemade from old store cards and worked on trying to create patterns that blended the colours.  The comb gave a really nice textured effect but didn’t blend the colours as much as I’d hoped, however using a flat edge and applying the paste in a different way I found that I could get a lovely blend from one colour to the next.

Primary Colours painted onto Paper then patterned with home made comb

Paper paste manipulated with old credit card

I really loved the effect I got with the old credit card by blobbing paper paste onto paper then swirling with mixtures of red, yellow and blue.  I did some further experiments with this technique before I got something that I was happy with for the cover of my book.

I started the construction of my book by cutting grey board pieces then covering with plain black paper for the spine and my paste paper for the front.

I wanted to make sure the paper inside was strong enough to hold my work so decided to go for white card, which I knew was going to be quite difficult to stitch and work with but other heavy papers that might have been easier weren’t bright white which was what I wanted.  Before binding my book together I wanted to make sure I had a nice stitch pattern that I’d practised so I did a few designs on white card and played around with the technique first.  I found a nice multicolour embroidery thread that I thought I’d like to use, but as it tends to split quite easily I waxed it first before starting to combine the cover and pages together.

After reviewing my work in Colour Studies and choosing pieces to go in my book I decided to create some further work to demonstrate what I have learnt both through the projects and other research that I have done.  Some of the research I have done has been textile based so I wanted to include these pieces in my book as they relate to the projects, and how my understanding of colour has developed.  I began looking at each piece of work that I had created and decided on the order they should go in and how I would communicate the colours and ideas in each piece.  I wanted to show the work I had done in Gouache Studies, learning about colour mixing so I decided to create a colour wheel and greyscale to include at the beginning of the book as it seemed a suitable introduction to a colour resource book.  My subsequent pages have taken the form of mood boards that hopefully communicate the colour and feeling of the pieces of work and also offer further inspiration.  My woven textile piece in Gouache Studies was really interesting as it was a combination of different strands but woven together to create colours instead of for instance mixing paint to create the same effect.  I decided to have a little experimentation with this technique so I made a little pin loom and used some wools and fibres I had to make a woven rectangle.  I also played around with the difference in colour effects when dark backgrounds or light background are used with woven/knotted embroidery threads.

Moving on to my next pages I had a better idea of the style I wanted my layouts to take.  I wanted each page to form almost a mood board, both showing the work I had completed and also representing the colour schemes, thoughts and ideas; a kind of reference or ‘resource for me to use in the future.  Which I suppose, is the general idea!

 

 

Collage – A Messy Corner

It wasn’t difficult to find a messy corner to take a photograph of as inspiration for this collage exercise, they seem to be everywhere!  Once I had a picture I printed it off and went on the hunt for coloured papers to match the colours in the photograph.  My local Art Shop has a wealth of different handmade papers and patterned papers and I also had some bits and pieces already so soon had enough to start creating.

My first project was to make a simple collage based on my photograph.  I thought the best way to do this was to simplify the shapes first.  The picture was easily split up into blocks so then all I had to do was simplify the colours so that only  the most prominent were used.  I split the photograph into sections and picked out colours in each section to use.

Photograph of a ‘Messy Corner’

Simple Collage

My next project was to create a collage with an unusual colour scheme.  My initial thoughts were to put colours together that wouldn’t necessarily go together or in other words clashed and gave a sense of unease when placed next to each other.  I liked the idea of keeping the dimensions and style of block shapes, I felt like I would be able to control the colour more easily that way.  I used colours that were already present in the original photograph including the use of metallic.

Unusual Colour Scheme

Complex Colour Scheme

The final collage in this series of three was ‘Complex’.  I pondered this for a while, thinking about what could constitute a complex collage/colour scheme.  I thought about the picture in its original form and thought that this in itself was complex as it was messy and unstructured.  I thought I could introduce some different patterned paper as well to make a more complex piece.  I decided to use the structure of the photograph in more detail to create this collage and as you can see, and also added newspaper print to give it another dimension.  I’m pleased with the effect of the Complex Collage, adding the different shapes to create the shadow and reflections of the plastic in the original photo I think worked really well.

The next phase of Collage Studies involved choosing one of my previous pieces and making a further three collages, including Monochrome, Black and White, and Multicolour.  I wanted to be able to recreate these quite simply but also see the effect of changing to monochrome and black and white would have on the composition, so I decided to go with my unusual colour scheme collage.

I scanned the image into the computer first and changed the colours to a greyscale image so I could get a sense of tone.  I managed to find some nice papers to create my black and white image with but wanted to get a more accurate tonal quality to my Monochrome collage so decided to paint papers to use in that piece.

Black & White Collage

Monochrome Collage

It was quite interesting to see how some hues were so close together in value and saturation when painted in monochrome.

My final collage was to be Multicolour, able to use patterned papers and given some freedom from the original form.  As I had been using geometric shapes and cutting with scissors for all of my previous collages I decided to try ripping my papers instead and create something based around the original structure but with a totally new dimension.  I found some lovely floral papers with texture designs on them that I found interesting so based my Collage on flowers in a hedge.

I wanted to keep the dimensions and shapes identifiable from the original but not have it so regimented into blocks and give it a wild hedgerow feeling.  I kept the colour palette simple as there is already a lot going on.

This is the last project before I start my Colour Resource Book.  After working through all of the projects I have loads of ideas about experimenting and exploring further, so I can add content to my book.  I feel like I have learnt a huge amount about colour but that it is only a very small beginning to my studies.

 

 

Watercolour Studies

I was excited to try watercolours as it is a medium I don’t have very much experience of. I gathered a variety of glass bottles and jars with different shapes, colours and textures and started to play around with the composition.  I opted to have a totally white background for the objects so that I could focus entirely on the colours coming from the glass.  I took photographs of the different layouts, but I feel that they don’t really look the same as they did whilst looking at them due to the shadows cast by indoor lighting at this time of year!  I’m not going to post any photos yet as I am waiting to mount my work inside my colour resource book so will add some images then.

I found it quite easy to achieve the colours I needed by colour mixing, I played around with the paints a little first to get used to the medium.  I found it more tricky to be accurate with the composition of my stripe designs – where there was colour and where there was not.  In retrospect I think I have included too much colour in some places, and an absence of colour or space is needed.  I’m pleased with the designs though, and I have tried to be creative using different layouts for the stripes by looking at the composition in different ways.  The overall colour palette that the glass compositions created was pleasing so I am going to produce some colour chips to go alongside my designs in my colour resource book.

Creating Colour swatches for line designs

Still Life Glass Composition

Getting used to using watercolours!

Yarn Wraps – Colour Studies

My brief was to find an Old Masters painting and create a series of yarn wraps to convey the balance of colours in different sections of the piece and their relationships with one another.

I was quite excited to start this piece of work and get my hands on some fabrics again. I trawled the internet to try and find a painting that I found interesting in both colour and composition.  The term ‘Old Master’ is generally attributed to artists that were significant before the start of the 1800’s and although I appreciated the beauty and technical abilities of many of the paintings I couldn’t find anything that was right for me to use in this project.  Then I came across Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  Strictly speaking he is not pre 1800 but from what I can gather he is classed as an Old Master.  I thought his paintings had a purity to them but also quite a Bohemian feel.  The vibrancy of his use of colours and the composition of his paintings connected with me. There were a few paintings that I shortlisted before making my final choice.

The Roman Widow

Monna Vanna

A Christmas Carol

Persephone

I finally made the decision to use ‘A Christmas Carol’ as I felt it had a nice mix of colours and I liked the rich regal tones.  It felt a bit odd working on something festive in January but I thought I would be able to produce some beautiful yarn wraps from it.

I went to my local art and craft shop with my printed copy of the painting and chose several different yarns, ribbons and cords that I thought matched the colours and qualities in the picture. I came out with a very big bag full, some were the same colour but different thicknesses, textures and opacity, as I wasn’t sure which would ultimately be the best so I experimented with different combinations before I completed each wrap.

 

I decided to start with a yarn wrap that represented the whole painting so thought the best way was to slowly work my way from the bottom of the picture to the top so I could get all the colours in.  As with all of the yarn wraps I have done, I tried different thicknesses and textures of yarns and ribbons and did little practice runs before securing them down to the card.  My other yarn wraps are based on the face and neck, the woman’s coat, the musical instrument and the wallcovering in the background.

Looking at the picture this closely has really opened my eyes to the different depths of colour in each little area, trying to recreate these small but important details was challenging. In some cases I used very fine thread to add a little colour to try and recreate the effect in the painting, whilst still keeping the overall balance of colours correct.  I’m pleased with the results and think the richness of colours comes across well.