Inspirations Workshop reflection

Today we started the new year with a group critique session of our summer work in which we each made a small presentation of our sketchbooks and then gave feedback to one another. I found the session helpful and got some positive feedback which was encouraging as I wasn't completely confident about the work I had done over summer.

My mark making and more detailed studies were particularly successful. I was really taken with the variety and detail of wild grasses and experimented with a range of media to capture their qualities. 

(Ink on scratchboard)

(mark making with grasses, ink)

My sketchbook was mostly inspired by the natural environment with quite a bright and vibrant colour palette, the group picked up on this contrast (which I hadn't previously given much thought to) and suggested it as something to run with and develop.

(Ink on watercolour paper)

An area to improve on is to use a wider range of media and consider the surfaces I am working on to give my drawings more depth. The group also suggested to research more creative practitioners that work in a similar way to how I do. 
    

Influences part 2- Textiles

Wool and the Gang is a cooperative knitwear company/ fashion movement. The garments are all knitted by hand, either by yourself (you buy the yarn and pattern) or by "the gang"; there is no large scale production and different designers collaborate on designs with them. I really like this approach to fashion, its very interactive and encourages people to get knitting and think about how their clothes are made.

(Giles X wool and the gang hats)

https://www.woolandthegang.com/our-story

In the Wool Shed produces hand dyed yarn from British wool, using natural dyes. Emma Price's workshop is based on the farm in Warwickshire where she runs workshops in spinning and natural dyeing. I visited her during the Warwickshire open studios and was really inspired by her work. The yarns have a lovely rich colour which changes subtly in different lights and each batch comes out a bit differently due to the unpredictable nature of the natural dyes. This process gives unique and interesting qualities that couldn't be achieved with conventional methods.

(fingerless gloves knitted in indigo dyed yarn from 'in the wool shed')

I also had a spinning workshop with her which has given me ideas for a whole other side of textiles to experiment with. I really enjoyed the experience of creating my own yarn and the possibilities of fibre and colour combinations are incredibly exciting.

(examples of my hand spinning)

http://www.inthewoolshed.com


Johan Ku. This Taiwanese designer uses a self developed yarn that glows in the dark!! I'm interested to find out more about his work, the innovative design and use of materials is really intriguing and is something I would love to explore myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-me652rGnU

Natsai Audrey is a designer I stumbled across whilst on the Inspirational Design blog (thanks Julie). I am particularly in awe of her "Faber Futures: The Fold" series, a collection of stunning silk scarves patterned by living bacteria. Natsai is another original thinking designer, and like her and Johan Ku I aspire to push the boudoirs with my work as to what can be achieved.

http://www.natsaiaudrey.co.uk/FABER-FUTURES-The-Fold

Shauna Richardson. I have become much more interested by large installations and community projects this summer, leaving me slightly torn as to what I want to be doing. I like the subversive nature of Richardson's work and The Lion Heart project is particularly remarkable and audacious, taking two years and 36 miles of wool to crochet. I didn't see them when they toured the country as part of the cultural olympiad but I wish I had.

http://www.lionheartproject.com/welcome/

On a similar note I have come across several "guerrilla" knitting installations this summer. I have no idea who they are by (I think thats the point) but I think they are quite inspiring. It would be new territory for me but I love the idea of creating something for everyone to see and using textiles to make a statement.

 ("yarn bombing" in Geneva)

(A knitted bicycle as part of Market Harborough Arts Fresco)

Influences

Rebecca Louise Law is a London based artist who works with dried flowers to create installations and compositions. I spotted a curtain of flowers in the window of her shop/ studio on Columbia road and was drawn in for a closer look. Rebecca L.L has worked on many commissions for various fashion houses and events, her larger scale installations have a spectacular impact. I admire her ambitious use of materials and I really like the idea of working with flowers and natural objects.

http://www.rebeccalouiselaw.com

Ibrahim El- Salahi is a Sudanese artist who I first came across last summer at a retrospective of his work at the Tate Modern. He uses inks and watercolour a lot, creating lively and expressive marks in his work, which I think would translate well into textiles. I have been experimenting with different methods of using inks and watercolour, inspired by Salahi. 

http://ibrahimsalahi.com/project/tate-modern-exhibition/

Paul Cummins. Whilst in London I went to see the poppy installation, under construction at the Tower of London, I found the impact of it quite moving, the deep red colour is just right, it really is like a sea of blood. I think this is a very intelligent project. Each crafted poppy is fragile and unique and in multiple they are visually stunning. 

It was fascinating to watch the team of volunteers "planting" the poppies, I think there is something special about a collective effort and I look forward to seeing the end result. 

http://www.paulcumminsceramics.com

Henri Matisee. Another source of inspiration from my trip to London was the Matisee cut-outs at the Tate. I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity and diversity that Matisee achieved with the limited materials of paper and scissors. I was particularly struck by this study for a stained glass window, "The Bees". It made me think more about abstraction, by refining the subject and capturing its essence the image can become more powerful, I think and still instantly recognisable. I have explored cut-out forms and silhouettes in my summer drawing. It was also interesting to see the way Matisse worked in his studio, how he pinned the elements of his drawings to the walls and played with the composition.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/henri-matisse-cut-outs

Inspirations- Drawing with a camera

This summer, as well as sketching, I have taken a lot of photos; snapping anything and everything that I found interesting.  I have noticed themes developing of what I am naturally drawn to and so have grouped some of my best images into pinterest boards to start to make sense of them. I have found I am mostly inspired by the natural environment.

Edible Imagery

http://www.pinterest.com/bphippswardle/edible-imagery-fruit-n-veg/

Natural Textures and Patterns

http://www.pinterest.com/bphippswardle/natural-textures/

Colour- Combinations and Tonal Qualities

http://www.pinterest.com/bphippswardle/interesting-colours/

The Sow-Sew Flax Project

I have had a great opportunity to exhibit some work as part of Merci Mill's sow-sew project. It has involved using a flax yarn which has been grown on wasteland just outside manchester and dyed using natural dyes. The experimental project has been about producing a sustainable, local material with a potential to develop it further in the future.

I was keen to try knitting with the flax yarn as this is what I intend to specialise in next year;  I had to ply it with another yarn for strength but I think this has provided a lovely mottled colour.  I decided to be quite free with my samples and mostly play around with textures.

http://www.merci.org.uk/sow-sew

The final week- Design development

During this last week i have been bringing together my ideas and working on a collection of harmonious samples, drawing on all i have learnt to produce a range of sophisticated, refined ideas.

I have been using my weaves to develop designs for embroidery as they have some really good qualities in them but i have found the embroidery techniques more engaging and appropriate to my project.

(sketchbook collage)

I used shorter bits of fabric to create stripes in this pleated sample. It has a lovely fluid feeling to it that reflects my ideas and sketches.

I picked out the most intriguing bits from my weaves and did quite a bit of "drawing" with the pfaff machine to try out different patterns. I really like the sequencing tool to make my own designs and found i could achieve similar details to my weaves. 

(sketchbook page: deconstructing photos)

I feel these are good examples of the aesthetic of my project, combining structure and pattern. I assembled the different fabrics and stitch to try and reflect the complex layers and conflicting elements i had observed in my research.

To make an interesting collection i played with geometric pleat shapes as well as the more flowing and loose. Having quite small, targeted detail that is perhaps a bit hidden, draws you in even more i think. A reoccurring theme throughout has been contrast, between the light and dark aspects of a fairground and structurally in the architecture. I think i have managed to convey this (somewhat subtly) in my samples through combining heavy and light fabrics, textures and detail. I have also been thinking about how my samples might be displayed to show their sculptural qualities, the piece on the left for example could be suspended.   

I feel have progressed well over this unit, i have enjoyed the freedom that embroidery gives to be quite experimental and use different materials. I think my work has a much more confident style which has been helped by looking at other designers/ artists work and taking on board advice from tutors to select an idea and run with it. One thing that would have been good to pursue if i had time is combining the weave and embroidery as it could produce exciting results. I am pleased with my outcomes and would be interested to see how they could be used collaboratively with others work as trims and details as i think this would really bring them to life.

VV Rouleaux- Ribbons and Trims

Towards the beginning of the project Annabel Lewis, founder of V.V Roulaeux came for a "show and tell." Annabel talked really passionately about her business and brought some wonderful examples of what she sells and also her design inspiration. It was really interesting to hear of the many uses for the ribbons and trims that VV Roulaeux sell; from hats and flower arrangements to fireplace decorations and even hip ornaments for horses! A lot of Annabel’s designs come from vintage patterns and passimenterie and it was inspiring to see how she had taken the very traditional and made it more contemporary. 

http://www.vvrouleaux.com/productcart/pc/web_index4.asp

Throughout this project i have been trying to think of what my samples could be. I have been working on narrow, quite detailed and delicate pieces and i quite like them as they are, as ribbons and trims for adorning anything and everything. I was reminded of the fairground/ folk art i had been looking at and the often ornate detailing on everyday items. I like this idea of decoration in surprise places and on utility items. 

(source- pinterest)

I found the pfaff embroidery has quite different effects on different surfaces, (above: satin ribbon and felt.)

(blackpool pleasure beach archive museum)

Pfaff embroidery on wide ribbon, it also adds texture to a surface.

Less is More

Following advice from my tutor and the group feedback session I have reviewed my work so far and worked on selecting the best bits to develop. I went back to my research for fresh ideas and to remind myself of the direction i wanted to take.

(ink, fine liner and pastel)

This is one of the drawings that i have been working from, i feel it was one of my stronger starting points and has interesting qualities to develop.

(pfaff embroidery layered over pleated and dyed silk) 

I wanted to capture the different heaviness of line and pick out the patterns from the structure of my drawing. The embroidery sits really well on the pleated silk, I think layering different textures would give a greater richness to my work as it feels a little flat still. 

I have found some of the most successful samples are where I have used a more limited selection of colour and techniques, this has allowed me to be more creative. I refined my colour palette as well working mostly with blues and red, adding touches of arsenical green and fawn here and there. I think this has let the structure and pattern come through better and just feels cleaner and more confident.

Working from earlier sketches i have been considering compositions, cutting and collaging to generate ideas. Continuing this process in my sampling, I was surprised how sensitive placement of stitch and layering fabrics could be so effective; less is definatley more.

(left- satin stitch with wire and appliqué, right- pleated with pfaff and appliqué)

I have had many complements on this 'teddy bear' yarn, it is very tactile and peculiar; i think it adds the right amount of oddness to my work.

I am much clearer about what i want to achieve now and am heading in the right direction. I feel the two techniques with the most scope are pleating and pfaff embroidery so i will concentrate on exploiting these in the final week to really push what i can achieve.

Refined pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/bphippswardle/unit-x-fairground-frippery/

Artist Focus- Rowland Ricketts

After seeing the lovely effects of dying my pleated samples i started looking at other Shibori and indigo dyeing techniques. Rowland Rickets and his partner Chinami grow their own indigo for dyeing, utilising traditional methods to create contemporary works. The subtlety of the marks is what makes it so special i think and the tonal variations that can be achieved.

http://www.rickettsindigo.com

I have begun to experiment with different ways of folding and pleating fabric to dye. The marks made are really interesting and it is something i would like to explore further at a later date. Re-pleating and manipulating the fabric once it's dyed is also effective.

Pleating and Pfaffing

Fabric manipulation using the read pleater is a technique that caught my interest and I thought would work well for my project. It is quite a simple process but by feeding through different fabrics and layering them, you can get some really interesting effects.

I like the density that can be created from quite a thin fabric, it gives a lovely sumptuous quality. I used copper wire in the sample on the right, it means the piece can hold a shape but also adds a soft, warm colour.

(run down beach huts with lovely worn paintwork)

What I found particularly affective was dying the pleated fabric (simply with some silk paints) and then flattening it out again. The marks made were lovely and gave an interesting surface to work on with a real depth. The random nature of the marks left also gives the impression of a worn surface reflecting some of the deterioration in my research. 

We were also introduced to the Pfaff embroidery machine this week.  I like the detail and precision of it and experimented with layering different stitch designs. I think it works well combined with the read pleating as the more traditional and heavy embroidery technique juxtaposes the contemporary, structural pleats.

I have loved using these ombre threads as they add really nice subtle detail, the blue particularly fits my colour palette.

This is the back of a sample, i think it has a really interesting quality; perhaps my samples could be double sided? Next I would like to explore creating my own sequences with the pfaff machine to achieve designs more unique to my project.