Learning Log: Assignment 5. Final Reflections and Part 6 A Design Project

FINAL REFLECTIONS

The hopes I expressed on starting out...

• to enjoy it 
• to learn ...and to develop
•  my own personal imagery and visual vocabulary
•  an energised and personal approach to design 
• an effective and enjoyable working method 
• an understanding and appreciation of the textile world 
• to have my work assessed towards a Degree 
• to relish the creative journey and find my voice.

 Looking back at ''my hopes, I think some of them were quite results focussed and expressed more what I would hope to have achieved on completing the overall degree rather than what I expected to get from the Creative Approach module itself.

 Having completed this first step, my attitude has shifted and I recognise that the important thing is not to get the course finished and done, rather the value is in being open to the richness of the experience and learning along the way.

l've also learned a lot of valuable lessons:

• I learn best by doing 
• I'm happiest when creating 
• Failure is still a step forward 
• Have the confidence to be inspired, not intimidated, by the work of others.
• Have faith in yourself : close your eyes, jump in, enjoy the swim.

At times during the course I felt emotionally blocked in and found I didn't feel at all spontaneous or creative. Then at the start of this final project, when I was reviewing the work I'd done, I was worried that I hadn't enough to show for my time spent doing the course.

Now, having completed the finished piece, I realise how far I've come and truly appreciate how I've grown in learning and confidence.

I also realise that that I need to strike a balance between working through course material and  allowing myself the freedom to take risks, to play and ultimately to truly express myself.

l relish the next stage of the journey.

Project 10 A Design Project

I've really enjoyed this project and though I took a long and winding road, I'm very happy with where I've ended up.

My finished piece, 'kitchen'', is a little fabric book based on a short poem I wrote.

In Assessment Submission

The core idea is that of the kitchen as a place of loneliness and isolation due to loss and separation.

Rationale

I had experienced this myself, both in my house and my mother's, as she moved through illness to death. When working through my theme book I was struck by how the kitchen is usually portrayed as the happy bustling place of childhood.

I felt that the kitchen can be a whole other place....sometimes the vortex of domestic violence and often a cold and lonely place with the days of the extended family and close community all but gone.

Whereas not too long ago families grew up and settled locally, today many families are scattered with the wind, often leaving the elderly bereft : alone with their memories and fears.

Communities have also become more fragmented with people interacting less and less: nowadays many of us don't know our neighbours and we can be surrounded by people, but have little or no meaningful human contact day to day.

Route

I initially planned and completed a piece called ''I miss you'' which worked around the idea of an old person leaving their solitary cup of tea to peer through the net curtains in the hope they've heard a visitor.

1 was happy with the individual components , but the overall composition just didn't work and didn't capture the feeling I was trying to evoke .

1 had been looking at an OCA video where Pat Maloney reviewed the beautiful work of Jackie Limm. One of the things Jackie said she'd learnt was'' If it really doesn't work out, start again'' ....and that was what l felt I needed to do.

I was reviewing the storyboard to try and see where I went wrong , when I was struck by the poignancy of the stark image and the resonant words.

While trying to get to the essence of what I was trying to capture, I found 1 expressed it best in a poem ''kitchen'' which almost immediately threw up 4 few compelling images, which I developed as stencils.

 I decided to work up a small fabric book which would illustrate the lines of the poem, done in the style of stills from a silent film.

I hope I have succeeded.

REVIEW OF THE PROCESS

Progression

Though I took a circuitous route, I can see a clear line of progression from my theme book through to the finished piece. The original image provided the idea for the stencils and my thinking around my theme book prompted the core idea and the poem, giving me plenty to sustain me.

Choices/ Decisions

I feel I made the right choices eventually after my initial false start.

In restarting I was very conscious of trying to avoid over- complication, which certainly had caused problems with my first attempt.

I had wanted to try combining print and stitch and like how the stark flat prints contrast with the textured stitched pages. I lfeel the crazy stitching conveys the underlying distress  of loneliness.

 I also enjoyed working up a series.
 Finally, I'm really happy that I tried a new format by doing a book : it is tactile and stimulates visually, mentally and emotionally . I love being able to hold and touch the finished piece.

Other Ideas

I came up with lots of different ideas when working through my theme book. Some are at a very early stage, but I there is one I really liked and plan to work on later : a 3D textile possibly woven in metal wool if that's feasible.

 I'd have liked to try it for my final piece, but had no luck when I researched possible approaches in my books and on the internet. 1'll have to dig deeper and have included a print out in the final section of my folder.

Most exciting / difficult stages     

I found the stage where I came up with the concept and format most exciting. I also really enjoyed translating these into something concrete : designing  and printing the stencils and painting and stitching the text pages.

For my finished piece, I found the tidying up the hardest: getting the folds to match, lining up text etc. This took much longer than I had expected and I need to get better at this.
 I also had terrible difficulty just printing the text...I tried a number of approaches...eg.letter stamps, bondaweb, but none worked. I finally used carbon paper to transfer the writing onto white cotton and ironed it to fix it - some was quite faint so I had to trace over it..hence the wobbly effect in places. I'll have to come up with a better solution for the future.

 I also found the storyboard difficult: it took me a good while to come up with a layout which gave the required information succinctly.

In Assessment Submission

In the case of the first piece where I tried I tried and failed, the most difficult part was when the components which seemed to work individually, just didn't work as a composition when put together and I couldn't find any way out.

Feelings  about my finished piece

I really like my little book:

 Strengths : the format*, the tone, the contrast in colour and texture between the visuals and the text pages, the fact that it appeals on a number of levels ( can be held and read.)

Note: * I planned to stitch the pages together but have decided to use fasteners instead because  I also like it stretched out as a panel.

Extract from book as a panel.

 I'm trying to come up with a method whereby it could be dual purpose - book or panel depending on my mood, maybe having it tied something like a Roman blind. I appreciate I'd have to cover the back of the pages if I find a folding /extending solution.

Weaknesses: the finishing, the text and possibly the colour scheme - while I like the monochrome effect, and feel the blue heightens the bleakness, I'm not sure the colour I picked is the most effective or appealing for the purpose.


Tutor's Report

Learning Log: Assignment 3: Creating Shapes and 3 D Forms with Fabric and "A Piece of my own"

Project 6 – Manipulating Fabric

Stitched Sample is in Assessment Submission

Stitched Sample is in Assessment Submission

 I really enjoyed this project, though initially I found it difficult to decide what drawings to use as a basis for the fabric collages. Two of these were the basis for project samples: “tulips dancing ” and “birches at night” and I plan to do some further work on the seabirds, perhaps manipulating the background fabric to mimic the seascape and applying fabric and /or yarns for the birds. The drawings were the starting point, but the fabric manipulation took over and the pieces had a life of their own which was great, though the end results were true to the original concepts for both tulips and birches.

I found it helpful to work from drawings for the collages.

Before I did the course I used to love playing around and seeing what resulted… but I could start doing a and end up doing z.

Recently I find I’m not comfortable unless I have a particular aim or task in mind…and I’ve found the same on my drawing course. I think this is because when I started the course I decided I’d need to stick to the syllabus otherwise I could go off on any number of tangents and not cover the material. I find I’m less spontaneous but hope this won’t last once I feel I’ve gotten the hang of things.

I was more comfortable with the applied fabric techniques than with the raised and structured surfaces.

 I bought and tried to use “The Art of Manipulating Fabric” by Colette Wolff and while her book is really practical with detailed instructions and wonderful illustrations for each technique, I found I was intimidated by the sheer perfection of what she produced. I was very interested though in the creative application of the techniques.

I personally didn’t seem to get much in the way of results when I was just trying things out and probably need to relax and play with it more and see what happens.

 I was however happy with my final sample piece "Ghostly tulip" ((Thanks for the title Sarah). I thnk it worked because I let the techniques serve what I was trying to do rather than rigidly trying to follow the set processes.

This is in Assessment Submission

I loved Valerie Campbell Harding's and Maggie Grey's "Layers of Stitch". The first chapter on backgrounds has some really interesting suggestions eg using bondaweb , nappy liners or vanishing muslin.The palette they use appeals strongly to me and the expressive pieces are a far cry from the duck quilts that sping to mind when I think of applique.

The machining is at a much higher level than I'm capable of....I'm just learning free machine embroidery from a very able tutor, Arlene Shawcross, but this will provide some powerful inspiration.

I preferred working with fabric and stitch than with stitch alone. I loved the textures and forms that resulted and felt that the pieces had more energy than my purely stitched pieces , but stitch was a still a large component with my final samples being a combination of techniques.

I was pleased with the shapes and movement in my final samples for both appliqué and fabric manipulation, but I need to get more comfortable with the fabric manipulation techniques and be more open to where they can be used.
I really enjoyed the quilting and slashing in "Birches at Night".In my ignorance I stitched this onto paper for support, which was problematic...next time I'll use viylene (thank you Arlene).
I found the applied fabric techniques dovetailed nicely with the classes I’ve been taking in free machine embroidery – hence the frenzy of stitching in “tulips dancing”.

PART 4 : Project 7 – A Piece of My Own.

 The piece I did was a silk wall panel called “Relics", which I put into the Cork Textile Networks “Crafting” exhibition.

It involved

This is in Assessment Submission

• tie dying and then painting the silk with silk paints
• drawing the main form using gutta
•  leaf prints from a lino block I used in an earlier exercise
• free machine stitching using metallic threads and watersoluble fabric
• beading on the leaf prints

There was a very strong thread of development from the initial drawings to the final designs, and while there was a lot of work involved, I’m not sure if the piece has sufficient depth.

I’m pleased that I developed and executed the concept and finished it in time for the exhibition, but I’m not very excited by the piece itself.

 I did interpret my ideas well within the techniques and materials I’d chosen : there is a lovely contrast between the soft sheen of the silk and the textured metallic stitching . Also the richness of the stitching and beading is true to the intention of recalling something that is a beautiful remnant of what was once living.

However while the piece is coherent as a whole, I feel it’s not particularly inventive and not at all thought provoking.
Post script....probably overdid the use of metallics...again !

Problem Area - Sketchbook

As before, I had difficulty deciding which of my sketches to use…this is a recurring problem for me.

I have started the “Drawing Skills” course and while this is helping to develop my basic skills I’m still not sketching comfortably for textile purposes.

I did the sketchbook workshop in early March, but it was too short for me : most of the people attending were already using sketchbooks and had developed a process, whereas I felt very much at sea.

I've gone through "Creating Sketchbooks for Embroiderers and Textile Artists"’ by Kay Greenlees a number of times. While everything she says makes perfect sense, I just get confused and panic and don't know where to begin.

I've bought a copy of “Finding Your Own Visual Language”  by Jane Dunnewold, Claire Benn and Leslie Morgan. I’m hoping that working through some of this might help get rid of the mental block I’ve developed when there’s a mention of using drawings as a basis for design.

Positive : Free Machine Stitching .

I took seven classes on Monday mornings and have improved no end.

I really enjoy the free machine embroidery and want to explore how I can apply it appropriately in what I do. In the long term I’d like to see it as a component of rather than the focus of what I do.

Recommended Reading

I loved the Henry Moore studies for textiles eg Three Standing Figures - I love how the crayony texture is magnified when printed large on fabric. Have tried to uplaod pics but am going wrong somewhere.


Tutor's Report