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.
