Written Reflection Part Two

Throughout part two of the course I feel like I now have more of an idea of how the design process works.  I have experimented a great deal in this section and this has fed ideas into the work that followed.  I hadn’t previously really used a sketchbook but I can see how useful it is to develop ideas and keep a record of my experimentation so I am able to see how my ideas and skills are growing and also perhaps be able go back and use an earlier idea with the hindsight of what works and what doesn’t.  I have also learnt new processes both in stitching and embroidery, fabric manipulation and the use of different threads and materials which I will be able to apply to future projects.  I really enjoyed learning new techniques, in particular free machine embroidery which I would like to pursue further.  I enjoyed using the textile paints to create coloured backgrounds so would like to learn more about dying and printing to create surface pattern that can be stitched into and also manipulating the fabric to create shape and texture.

I have a new found strength and confidence in exploring ideas after this section of the course without the fear of ‘being wrong’ as mistakes can sometimes be just as valuable, and am eager to increase my knowledge of skills that I have touched upon.  I think one of my weaknesses in the past was to rush and not explore topics thoroughly enough and I feel like I am progressing with this.  However I think I need to create an appropriate timetable and take into account the time needed to complete each task to help me to further improve with this.

 

 

2.4 Developed and Composed Samples

After laying out all of my paper samples and drawings on the table and selecting the pieces and methods I wanted to develop I decided to explore some ideas in my sketchbook.

There were so many different aspects of the samples of work that I wanted to explore and found it difficult to narrow it down, however I really enjoyed working with the origami inspired tessellated and crumpled papers so I decided to move forward with these ideas for now and perhaps come back and revisit some of the others later.

I have created two really different experimental pieces. This first piece was based around a tessellated texture with both machine and hand stitching on top.  I stitched first and manipulated the paper afterwards as I wanted to see the effect the tessellation had on the patterns on the paper.

The machine stitching gave the piece a graphic quality, and I like the way it exaggerates the tessellated texture especially when viewed from the side.  The paper was hard to manipulate after stitching, especially with the hand stitched motif on top.  I like the idea of perhaps using a different decorative top stitching on this texture, small individual stitches to accentuate the shape rather than a large motif like I have used here.

For my next sample I wanted to add some colour based on my original drawing.  As I was working with tissue paper I found online a method of bleeding the colours of tissue paper and also fusing them together to create one piece of paper, so I experimented with this in my sketchbook.  I decided to layer sheets of white with colours in between and then fuse them together with water.  Some of the colours bled into each other which gave a great effect and because I had layered the paper, it had more strength for stitching into, which was a problem I encountered with my earlier samples.  I decided to manipulate the paper texture before stitching onto this sample.

Fusing the paper together with water.

This sample in particular has given me some great ideas to explore for Assignment 2.  I want to develop some ideas in my sketchbook with particular focus on stitch, drape and texture. I would like to produce some soft crumpled textures and also some more defined and structured pieces based around this piece and my original Flower drawing. I am not sure yet whether to try and use one fabric source and try and push it to do different things or whether to explore three different fabric types, so I can use a variety of materials to stitch with?

Louise Nichols

Trying to translate my drawings into stitch has been quite challenging, but I was fortunate enough at the weekend to meet a Textile Artist who creates beautiful stitched prints.  Her work really seemed to connect for me at this current stage of using stitch to create lines shape and texture.

With the artists permission I was able to take some photos of the work she had on display and post it here for you to see.

Artwork by Louise Nichols

Artwork by Louise Nichols

Artwork by Louise Nichols

Artwork by Louise Nichols

I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the artist and she spoke of her love and fascination for pattern and also of all of the different avenues she has explored through work to get her to this point.

Aswell as running workshops and creating her own pieces, Louise also writes for ‘Sew’ magazine, creating projects for the readers.

I came away, enthusiastic to get home and do some more work! You can find more information on Louise Nichols and her workshops at this link http://www.louisenichols.com

 

Stitching on to Paper Textures

It’s been a while since my last post as I have been busy stitching on to my textured paper samples.  I have found this very challenging, not only trying to translate my selected drawings into stitch but also the different weights of paper and card have each brought with them a variety of problems.  the lighter papers such as tissue were prone to ripping, especially if the stitching or yarn was too heavy which meant some samples were beyond repair.  The thicker paper and card however needed a larger needle to punch through and was brittle at times, I did manage to break a machine needle on one sample!  I tried to use a variety of stitching techniques and wanted to try with both the sewing machine and hand stitching.  The biggest problem I have encountered is the length of time it has taken to create these pieces, so moving forward I have to be more aware of this!

Original Drawing used to inspire textures and stitching

Crumpled Tissue with stitching using different yarn types

Cow Parsley flowers on tissue with white cotton.

Previous image with light added behind.

I liked the addition of light to the stitched paper, initially I just held it up to the light to see the stitching as I used a similar neutral colour cotton to try and concentrate on the texture that the stitching produced. I have also used light on another piece of one of my tessellated papers.

Original Referance Piece

Tessellated Paper, Machine Stitched

Previous image with light behind

Hand Stitching on weaved paper

 

Fabric close up with zig zag lines in ink.

Braided tissue paper sample with zig zag machine stitching

Zig Zag tessellation with hand stitched zig zags

Hand stitched crumpled tracing paper

Hand stitched tessellated paper

This was up close on one of the samples. There were tiny needle holes and runs in the fabric and the weave of the silk created wavey lines. I used oil pastels so I could smudge the lines to create the runs and holes in the fabric.

Hand Stitched Acrylic Knitting Wool on crumpled and creased paper

Hand stitched darning thread on cardboard weaving

All of these experimental pieces brought different challenges and created ideas for me to move forward with the next part of the coursework, some larger pieces on paper.  I have started to use my sketchbook to lay out some ideas.  I particularly enjoyed working with the tessellated surfaces because of their 3 dimensional qualities, and I also loved the effect of the crumpled tissue paper so I think this will be the direction I continue to explore.

Vincent Floderer and Origami crumpling

Vincent Floderer is a French artist that uses origami crumpling techniques to produce fantastic pieces of art.  Initially taught the crumpling technique by British Origami Artist Paul Jackson he has taken the artform to further heights.  He is most famous for his origami mushrooms, but you can see some pictures of his various works here; http://www.le-crimp.org/spip.php?page=portefolio2&id_article=2

I wanted to get some crinkled textures for my paper manipulations and stumbled upon his technique whilst researching for my origami tessellations.  There is a video of achieving the crumpling technique on youtube which is the one that I followed. I will leave a link to it at the end of my post.  I loved creating my crumpled pieces, but looking at what can be achieved I would love to know more as the applications for transferring onto fabric would be very interesting.  Below are my attempts at crumpling, can’t wait to try and add stitch to them.

I love the lines created with this technique, and the tissue paper gains almost an elastic memory when pulled apart, so it returns to its newly made form.

Here is the link to the crumpling instruction video with Eric Gjerde. Happy Crumpling! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCVz-JkWaHg

Tessellations

As promised here are the tessellations I have created.  I love the three dimensional aspect of the texture and can’t wait to see how this can translate to fabric.

Zig Zag Tessellation 1

Zig Zag Tessellation 2

Weave Tessellation 2

Weave Tessellation 1

As I have been researching the origami tessellations I have come across a crumpling technique pioneered by Paul Jackson but there is a French artist called Vincent Floderer who has taken the technique and created amazing pieces of work.  I am going to try and create some crumpled textures for my next paper manipulations after finding some suitable papers.  I am thinking of tissue paper and maybe some stiffer papers, but I also thought about plastic bags as you get a really good crumpled texture from them, but I don’t know whether they would be able to hold their own form without assistance.

Tessellation, Crumpling & Paul Jackson

‘A tessellation of a flat surface is the tiling of a plane using one or more geometric shapes called tiles, with no overlaps and no gaps’

On the list of paper manipulation techniques was a word I wasn’t familiar with, ‘Tessellation’ so I decided to do some research and came across the art of Origami tessellation.  I wanted to try and create a simple zig zag pattern so have been following some tutorials on youtube.  I’ve managed to create some great 3D geometric pieces but the simple zig zag seems to be confounding me at the moment!

I have come across a professional origami artisit called Paul Jackson http://www.origami-artist.com/ who creates amazing sculptures, but the area I found most interesting on his website was the ‘pop ups’ and some of the students work for textiles where entire garments were made from paper.  In my expolration on good old google, I also found some techniques for crumpling tissue.  When I saw ‘crumpling’ as a paper manipulation technique I just thought that it meant screwing it up in a ball. How wrong could I have been!

Well I’m going to keep trying to create my perfect zig zag and I think the crumpling techniques will be excellent for creating a surface based on one of my other drawings, so once I get some good ones I’ll post some pictures.  Here are some links to youtube videos that show the techniques I’ve talked about;

Zig zag

Crumpling

Part 2; Surface & Stitch

Laying out all of my drawings from part 1, it was interesting to see how more varied my drawings have become.  I am pleased with my body of work but feel like there are still aspects I would like to explore through further mark making.  When trying to choose six pieces that I found most inspiring to take me through to the next stage of the course I felt that my more experimental mark making pieces, created using line and experimental homemade implements, gave me the most ideas as far as texture and surface are concerned so it was quite easy to pick the ones I wanted to explore further.  I have various types of paper on hand but think I would like to get some handmade paper and tissue to experiment with for the pieces I’ve chosen.

I’ve been particularly inspired by the zig zag pattern on one of my drawings so I am going to research and explore some different paper manipulation techniques that I’m not familiar with to try and create a varied paper texture folio.