Assignment 4 - Action Points and Thoughts From Tutor Feedback

The tutor feedback has been very useful, in some cases confirming issues I had already identified such as the weight of the warp and the need to sample more carefully, but also in suggesting ways in which issues arising from some of the pieces could be avoided or resolved. For example the use of thinner strips of materials and plastics would allow me still to use material but in a way that is more effective.

Project 8: Exploring structures
Weaves:
I struggled with creating alternative weave structures and the tutor has made some excellent suggestions. Having done some research, I have a clearer picture of what was being asked for in this exercise and have found some useful suggestions for future projects. In particular, I have been looking at willow weaving, weaving in floral arrangements and woven wire structures that I may revisit.

Braids and ropes:
I enjoyed creating the braids and ropes and, having read the tutor's suggestions and seen some of the amazing wire work of Walter Oltmann (see above) I am very keen to explore wire as a means of creating fabrics and 3-dimensional sculptural pieces.

Project 9: Woven Structures
Weavettes and God's eyes
Having used the small carboard looms to produce quick samples it would have been sensible to repeat this for the larger samples. A useful point to consider for future projects.

Mexican God's eyes are very pretty. It would be fun to do more of these with different materials and to explore different sizes.

Woven samples
Very valid points raised by the tutor and some of the points raised I have identified however the tutor has offered some very useful ideas on how to resolve (and prevent) these issues.

Project 9: Experimenting with different materials
Bleak piece
The tutor has offered some useful food for thought on interpreting images into weave. I can see that there is significant potential to go beyond simply interpreting colours and textures but also to think about shapes and how a whole image can be used as the basis for a weave not just a selected element of it.

Autumn piece 1
The tutor's comments came as no surprise and I agree wholeheartedly with the observations made. I need to sample more carefully and consider the warp as much as the weft! With more experience and practice I will hopefully be able to predict more accurately what will happen to a weave once it is removed from the loom and avoid this issue by addressing the suitability of the warp for the materials, the weight and density of the materials and their arrangement in the piece. More sampling would have been useful here and is a lesson learned.

Autumn piece 2
Having been determined to crack the open warp problem I thought I had handled this better in this piece by stiffening the warp with starch and pva. However, there was still the issue of the bottom-heaviness of the piece. I am finding it difficult to translate from the wrap to the weave but should have picked up this issue earlier on in the process and changed tack. This is something I need to work on and if something isn't working, go back to the drawing board and re-think before continuing.

Assignment 3 - Action Points and Thoughts From Tutor Feedback

I was pleased with the tutor feedback and felt that there were some very useful pointers and some observations that I hadn't appreciated but which, looking back having not seen the work for a little while, I can now see.

This of itself raises an interesting question about viewing one's own work. Often I am finding that I get can evaluate a project much more objectively if I put it to one side periodically and let it "rest" for a couple of days. I see things differently when the work has been out of sight for a little while. Perhaps this is because I see it more as a third party would and it becomes divorced from the work that went into it? I also find that photographing my work and viewing it from photographs gives me another perspective. The camera sometimes picks up aspects in a way that the eye does not. I think that this may be to do with light and shade as our eyes are very efficient at adjusting to light and shade whereas a camera is much more limited so seeks to balance out nuances in lighting. It may simply be that a photograph further distances me from the work, giving me the opportunity to view it more impartially and critically.

Onto the specifics:
Project 6 - Stage 3

Cut back applique - a good point here about the cut-back areas. I was struggling with the available area for cutting so I think if I were to repeat this exercise (which would be interesting), I would need to work on a much larger scale. I do struggle with working on larger pieces but am appreciating the value of the smaller piece as a sample/test for a larger work.

Blue and Pink Swiggles - I had a lot of fun with this piece, experimenting with free machine embroidery was really quite liberating.

Project 6 - Stage 4

The expanding print medium was quite unexpected - more difficult to use than I thought but very useful for texturing. Something to play with further.

I agree with the tutor about the interlaced green and yellow weave. It was infuriatingly difficult to get the fabric to disintegrate with the devore paste, perhaps because it was a furnishing fabric so intended to withstand a lot of punishment. A useful lesson in selecting the right technique for the right fabric.

Final piece

I  had done drawn samples for this project and had played around extensively with the layout (there is lots more to explain this here and here). As I only had limited quantities of certain materials I was limited as to the amount of stitched sampling I could do (the downside of using reclaimed materials!).
Looking at it again, I can see that the gold mesh is quite dominant. The intention was to capture the idea of the machinery being seen through a metal grille but perhaps this didn't work as well as I had hoped.

Although the tutor makes reference to the use of found images, often I start from a sketch but take a photograph of the same setting for future reference. As I often don't have a lot of time to sit and do detailed sketching or use paints etc. I frequently do quick sketches and then take a photograph so that I can contextualise the sketch, pick up colour and textural detail etc. as required. So my work is based on a combination of sketches, some photography and some found images.

Assignment 2 - Action points and thoughts from tutor feedback

The tutor comments were, I feel, a fair reflection of the content of the assignment. I would highlight the following specific areas:

Project 3

Emotional response to colour
In particular I was interested to read the explanation of the reason for exploring the emotional response to colour and mark making. I am aware that there is both scientific and much anecdotal research to support the link between colour and how it influences emotions and reactions (hospitals were often painted green as this was considered to be a calming colour, for example). Red is often associated with sexuality but also with danger. This article in Psychology Today offers an interesting analysis of this concept. With this in mind, I can see how the use of colour in my work could be exploited both to express my own emotional response and also to invoke a particular response in those who may see my work.

Use of different threads/weights of thread in stitched samples
This was something of a surprise as the samples in stage 5 used a number of different materials - ribbon, wool, embroidery thread, lurex thread, viscose twist thread. However, it would be interesting to repeat this exercise with a range of hand-dyed threads/materials dyed in the same bath.

Poppy seed head
I felt that this design started well but did lose its way and I agree that the finished design is a little flat. However, I did use exactly the threads in the wrap so I am puzzled that the tutor thought I did not. Perhaps the wraps were not large enough to see the individual sections.

Project 4
I did find that image manipulation in photoshop was a very interesting, quick way of testing techniques and exploring patterns, orientation, combinations, re-colouring and filtering. I agree with the tutor's comments that some of the designs, whilst very attractive in photoshop, would be very difficult if not impossible to replicate in a textile medium. I think this could be good practice for me in simplifying and focussing on the important aspects of an image, really honing in on the important parts and removing the distracting elements. There can be, too, a sterility in computer-generated design. This may be in part due to my lack of technical expertise but there is necessarily a flatness and lack of textural quality in an image. There is no opportunity for exploiting surface texture for light reflection and shadow or, of course, encouraging people to engage in other ways such as by touch, feel etc.Touch is such an important part of the textile experience for me.

The printing was lots of fun and I have since done lots more printing using a gelli plate, screen prints, lino cuts and simple foam prints. I am also exploring different print media - acrylics, thickened dyes, print resists (wax, starch pastes etc.) and different substrates as can be seen in project 5 and 6.

Project 5
It was difficult to choose my favourite piece from this project and I took the cautious option, choosing the print which was technically the most successful. However, the tutor raises some very interesting points about the other prints, in particular the interaction between the printing and the background which is something I'll be factoring into future projects. I too liked the typographical prints as I find fonts can be turned into many different shapes and forms.

Pointers for the next assignment
Following discussion with my tutor I understand her concerns and have decided to revise my theme book topic to the ocean. At this stage I haven't narrowed my theme down further than that as I want to explore the wider theme and see where it takes me, bearing in mind the work done so far for other assignments and how this could build into the final assignment piece.

My personal targets in light of the tutor feedback

For the next assignment I am setting myself a target to continue to explore emotional responses to my environment, imagery and colours and to reflect this more in my work. I plan to continue my experiments with printing and to explore how printing could be combined with stitching. I have a number of ideas for using quilting, applique and free-machine embroidery to further develop prints into three-dimensional textile projects.

I will be making a concerted effort to gather research material, sketches etc. for my theme book and to consolidate this into a strong theme for my final project.

 

Assignment One - Action points and thoughts on tutor feedback

Thanks to Pat for her feedback on Assignment One. Really useful pointers, suggestions and recommendations. All positive, the overriding messages being what you've done is ok but you need to do more of it! More sketching, more sampling and more observing the world.

I'm already working on Assignment Two and plan to take all Pat's suggestions on board, starting with more extensive sampling and setting myself a challenge of  doing some sketching every day, even if it's just a little bit.

Onwards and upwards!