Using light and shade as a tool

During my time in the knitting workshops I made a variety of different samples relating to my sketchbook work on the data project. One particular piece of mine caught my attention when I was looking at it backed onto a white piece of cartridge paper. I was using the paper to experiment with what the large sample of knitting would look like on different coloured backgrounds and whether this would change the 'look' of the piece.

In doing so and holding it up to have a look, the dark yarn made a shadow on the reverse of the white paper creating a rather interesting effect. I love looking at the use of light and shade in pieces like these where the small or larger gaps in the knitting make their own pattern on the paper. It reveals another dimension to your work.

I then thought of another way I could incorporate light and dark into my work and not just through the natural way. So I put a different piece of knitting into my photocopier to see the results. Not only leaving it on the normal colour setting but changing it to black and white and increasing and decreasing the intensity of the light used. This time the knitting sample I was using wasn't only plain knitting at the one before was; it had a change in tension in several parts throughout the piece. This became more prominent once photocopied.

Here are a few photos of my discoveries:

 this is the original piece of plain knitting with deliberate rough holes throughout

 

these two photos above are the shadows produced by the knitting on the other side

left: photocopy of the knitting sample with varying tensions    right: original sample of knitting

Weaving - weeks 1, 2, 3

Throughout the Christmas holidays I had been anxious to start this unit. Although weave is something I had been practicing in my work since I first started textiles, I knew it was going to be nothing like anything I had ever done before. I was excited to learn a new way of producing samples that would reflect the work I had been doing in my sketchbook. In the past I have always done weaving using a hand weave board and a a large darning needle to weave the weft in and out of the warp. Initially I thought it was quite a simple process of lifting the leavers which lifts the different shafts in the loom in order for you to be able to slide the shuttle across the width of the loom weaving the selected yarn in and out of the warp eventually creating a new material and pattern. The more complicated the pattern on the pattern card became, the more difficult I found it to get my head round the mechanics of the looms.

I would say I find it difficult to concentrate for very long periods of time which may be one reason for why I found weave more challenging. The concentration needed for counting the lines of the pattern you'd already done is great and I find getting distracted easily a problem for this. However, being in the right mindset, being done patiently and with care and thought into the pattern, the results can be very professional looking. Although we were primarily focusing on machine weaving, for the possibility of using what we'd learnt in the future; I was still drawn to including some hand weaving into my work to show a diverse way of working as well as being able to use a wider variety of yarns and thickness of yarns.

hand weave sample reflecting my colour palette

Material Cultures - Assignment 2

The assignment for this term is all based upon archives and how they are important to society with how they present a way for us (the public) to be able to look back at the past and to see how things have changed; such as the fashions and to be able to see how they come back around over the years.

As part of this terms assignment we were asked to visit a couple of talks on various different archives that were mainly situated within the university campus. I chose to visit the special collections archive in the MMU All Saints library and the Design Council Slide Collection in the Holden Gallery. I particularly found the latter archive more interesting out of the two.

Here are a couple of photos displaying a selection of slides from the Design Council's Slide Collection;

Irma Frijlink - Textiles Artist

Irma Frijlink is a textiles artist that works primarily using machine stitch. She attended a school for a 'first degree' in textile teaching. This is where she was encouraged to approach art in a non-conformist way. Following this she attended many workshops with well regarded artists for many years. 

The majority of her work is created with a sewing machine. Using painting with acrylic paint and finally embroidering the parts that need most attention. This is what initially attracted me to her work. I love using acrylic paint as a basis for a sample or piece; working on a rigid surface gives a sample some strength behind it. Although, however this is not what is always necessary in a sample.

'Alzheimer 0'

This piece pictured above is the work of Irma's that I found originally. I wasn't necessarily the colours that i was drawn to about this piece, it was the way it has been broken up into different shaped fragments. For me this reminded me of a map with the different fragments as though they were roads and paths crossing over one another. This therefore influenced me to move into looking into maps and mapping further.

Here are a few other pieces of her work where this idea of fragmentation has too been introduced.

'Alzheimer 5'

'Zelfportret 5'

On looking into her way of working more, it made me more interested to further investigate her work. The media she uses really appeals to me and I'd love to work in that way more in the future when returning to embroidery. This piece above I found quite fascinating as it looks like a spin-off of the two others above this one. I particularly love the use of subtle colour that doesn't take the attention away from these interesting jigsaw fragments.

Sampling - data project

Having been given this word ‘data’ as a starting point before Christmas, in groups of 6 we were to mind map out our ideas; such as what we thought the brief meant and how we were to interpret it. First doing this as a group and then we were to use these collective ideas as a starting point to our own discoveries. I found that through playing around with a few ideas, I really liked the randomness and uncontrollability of different coloured inks when blown with a straw.

I found the brief to start with quite confusing as it is a broad topic and can include a multitude of different ideas. However, I felt that I really found my own after thinking about different things related to this idea of ‘data’ and focusing on what my thoughts were on this; as well as experimenting with different media.

Initially I had been looking to work with the idea of maps and mapping, which would have carried on quite nicely from the two weeks of work we did before the Christmas holidays. However, after starting with this idea I found myself drawn to using ink as my primary source of media, in the hope of possibly returning to the use of maps further along in the project.

Below you can see some of the work I have started on in relation to the brief:

Black Windsor & Newton ink blown with straw onto A4 cartridge paper

           Blue Parker ink blown with straw onto A3 cartridge paper          

Mapping and Measuring

This was a two week task we were given as a part of our lead up work preparing for us being introduced to our data project in the 6 weeks after Christmas.

Killing two birds with one stone, I visited the Art Museum along Oxford Road and had a thorough look at the new art work and installations in there at that time before the Christmas break. Whilst I was there, as I was walking from room to room, changing floors I mapped my route.

I really enjoyed these 2 weeks. Being able to do some work at my own leisure; looking round different art galleries and museums as well as exploring the city and mapping my discoveries along the way.

this is a close up of one of the drawings I did as part of these two weeks

Changing Textiles Worlds

For next the next term we will be changing textiles worlds from the ones we are currently coming to the end of. I have definitely enjoyed starting out in the Embroidery textiles world. Learning different techniques and stitches is something that really interests me and would love to possibly return to this at a later time.

For the next two weeks and next term I will be moving to the Construct textiles world. This involves two parts; weave and knit. Ever since I was first taught textiles in school I have had a very keen interest in knitting and weaving and so I am very excited to start this unit and see what new things I can learn.

We have been given the word 'data' to think about over the next few weeks and the Christmas holidays, as this will become the starting point for our 'Sampling project' as our next unit of work. As it is quite a broad subject, focusing it to a smaller area could be quite challenging but I am looking forward to seeing where my starting point will take me.