Colour Palette
I wanted to utilise all my colour palette techniques I have learnt to create along this course. I began by looking over my collection of drawings and picking out the images with the more colour present. I chose to work with 3 different images, with all slightly different natural tones and browns.
The first thing I observed was how different to pictures looked in photographs than the colours that were present in person. So much so that when I put one of the images into Adobe Colour to pull a colour palette from, it displayed the white and a light blue.
I chose to use Adobe Color again on all three pictures to capturing a palette for each picture, for each page of the sketchbook. I also wanted to use water colour and gouache to create stripes and chips, as the consistency of the mediums would produce a different selection of colour palettes, which I have documented in my sketchbook.
I found the yarn wraps really useful, observing the pieces and wrapping the yarns to replicate to the amount of colour seen and the placement of the yarn. The watercolour stripes worked in a similar way, but I found it more difficult to get exact colours. The chips were more accurate to capture the colour with as it was easier to see the colours I had mixed in the palette to create the chip.
I feel my colour palette work has been really successful, with a great bank of colour work to develop on with.
Amanda Cobbett
I had come across Amanda Cobbett's work during my work on the foundation course. Once I had chosen to work with mushrooms, I was automatically thought of her work. Amanda creates makes sculptures of fungus, moss and other items you would find on a woodland floor. Using free machine embroidery to build up the shape and texture, using a variety of colours to achieve a more realistic colour and surface.
She searches the forest floor looking for hidden treasure, photographing and collecting fallen debris, this something I often find myself doing whilst on walks. Often I end up with a pocket full of pine cones, acorns and leaves.
https://www.textilecurator.com/home-default/home-2-2/amanda-cobbett-2/
Amanda draws with the sewing machine, using the needle like a pencil, using dissolvable fabric as her paper. I also love how something normally passed by on a walk, yet so beautiful if the time was spent to look and admire it. Well Amanda draws your attention to it, creating it and displaying her work in a beautiful Victorian style case. This make it look special like a bit of treasure found and makes you appreciate how beautiful nature is.
https://www.textileartist.org/amanda-cobbett-stitching-the-forest-floor/
Sue Hotchkis
I came across Sue Hotchkis whilst looking for textile artists who use texture as part of their work. What caught my attention was how much texture was captured in her work. Sue experiments with materials and uses a variety of media such as, print and stitch.
Reading about Sue's work I found out that her work was strongly influenced by Wabi-Sabi. Wabi-sabi is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection, this would fit in well with my mushrooms theme. None of the mushrooms are the same and seen as a fungus, but in their ugliness I see beauty.
https://www.textileartist.org/sue-hotchkis-interview-free-motion-machine-embroidery-and-print/
Sue dyes and hand paints fabrics, layering up the cloth to add texture. She then manipulates the fabric with stitches.
https://www.artweb.com/artwork/818931_ortigia-2
What really inspired me was how organic and natural her pieces are, they look like they have mosses, fungus, growing from the material that has been left to decay. Her work also makes you want to touch it even though it looks delicate, just to feel the texture on the fabric. This is what I want to capture within my own work.
Develop Textile Concepts
Reflecting back on the key words form part two, I want to
use this as my starting point. Use these words for inspiration and then began to
sketch ideas in my sketchbook. I originally misunderstood the brief and had not
thought to include stitch work in my pieces. This made me go back and revisit my
ideas and my already created pieces. Looking to see what could be added to
develop the pieces but also making me think of new interesting ideas.
What I enjoyed about this part of the process was the
experimentation. I’m not sure my family feel the same way, with paper soaking
in thing, bits drying around the house and the smell of burning as I heat up
materials.
I found once I had the material in my hands in made think of
new ideas, or once I’d developed one sample this then led to another. With me
wondering, I wonder what would happen if I did this. Yes, somewhere more successful
than others. And I think some might work better with different materials, but
they gave me a basis for developing these ideas further.
I began by gathering materials, papers, tracing paper, mulberry
paper, hand made paper. I also wanted to work with softer more transparent
material. Oddly enough what came to mind was not the conventional material but
served the purpose and was a lot cheaper. I sourced fleecing that is used to
keep plants safe from frost. I did not know how it would work. But I found it
incredibly interesting to work with and could be used layered or as a single layer.
My sketchbook was definitely a key part of my process of making my samples. As ideas popped in my head I would quickly sketch them down. It became an ever developing process and would sit next to me whilst I worked. I began with the surface sketches and then onto stitch ideas, as you can see in my sketchbook.
I then began using different techniques to create my different surfaces to add stitch to, or even just leaving the surface as the main sample. Using the manipulation of the material as the subject piece.
I used layering different paper types, whilst slashing into the layers. Some were more successful than others. My first attempt of the paper with the button shape in it was a failure as I submerged the paper resulting in it disintegrating. The second attempt I chose to spray the water onto the paper once the buttons were wrap in place. This resulted in the paper again being to wet and creating
Surfaces
Cut corrugated cardboard on, on cartridge paper stained with coffeeBrown parcel paper textured with gouache paint, applied with crumpled up foil
Wax resist applied to paper and then water colour paint applied
Crumpled brown parcel paper, with gouache applied to the creases
layered ripped lengths of various types of paper
Buttons wrapped in paper and spayed with water. Tea added to button area to highlight
Layered fleecing and tea bags, stitched together by machine
Machine stitched lines, stitched into layers of fleecing and then cutting through the layers
Stitch
With my stitches I wanted to capture the essence of the images they were based on as well as creating texture. Using machine and hand stitch to create these samples.
Machine stitched lines of varying lengths through the layered paper of mulberry paper and tracing paper. The tracing paper was painted with watered down gouache to create the correct colour palette, basing this sample on the image below.
Black embroidery thread in, creating large single stitches through the mulberry paper finished off with French knots. The mulberry paper was soaked and then laid on a cooling rack to create the ridges. Using the stitches to replicate the image below.
Ripped circles of baking paper, stitched into a spiral shape with brown wool. Again sticking to the colour palette of my original images. Using the image below as inspiration.
Drawing two circular shapes shapes, then using mohair as I felt the texture of yarn captured the essence of the soft and delicate inside of the mushroom. I used brown parcel paper with a burnt hole, using the delicate burnt edges to frame the middle. The burning of the paper look several attempt as the paper caught fire easily. The image this sample was based on was the image below.
Taking lengths of brown paper and twisting them, then wrapping wire around the ends of the strips to join the lengths together. Entwinning lengths of yarn in the colour palette of the mushroom images. Wrapping them in a chaotic manner like the quickly drawn lines in the images below.
Ripping lengths of paper from the colour palette, layering them in a diagonal pattern. Using black embroidery thread in various stitches to create lines. This sample was based on the lines from the image below.
Taking lengths on textured yarns, sewing them into a fan shapes, using a colour palette to compliment the mushroom.
Using brown card with a layer tracing paper, concertinaing the layers to create a fan shape. I held this shape in place with brown yarn, pulling the stitches tighter at the bottom and becoming more lose the further up the fan shape. Capturing the curved angle of the mushrooms. Using the dark yarn to resemble the inside of the mushroom and the lighter yarn to resemble the outside of the mushroom.
Using the fleecing material to base my free motion embroidery, Using a continuous stitch to draw out the mushrooms. Drawing inspiration from the image below.
My final two samples were based from the same image but achieved two completely different outcomes. My first sample saw me taking lengths of layered up fleece and stitching down the centre of the length and creating ruffles. When touching the mushrooms and gently running my finger tip over the mushroom, ruffles had come to mind, creating a similar texture as the mushroom itself.
For my second sample, I went back to machine embroidery, using a single layer of fleece and white thread creating a sweeping motion. Drawing with the needle whilst looking at the image and trying to recreate the shape.
I think I have achieved a very varied collection of samples which will give me a good starting point to develop onto my next pieces. Although varied there are several that could be linked together to create a collection.
After I started my yarn work, I then had another idea spring to mind. Using some of the yarn to make a print of the gills of the mushroom. And printing it onto brown paper, this could be developed onto fabrics, layering the print and/or adding stitches.
Develop yarn and linear concepts
I began by gathering together yarns that would fit the colour palettes I had created from my original images.
I then reviewed my original source images and began to create ideas in my sketchbook.
**SKWTCHBOOK**
Taking lengths of frayed edge trimming, tightly wrapped around and stitched into place. The fluffy black balls reminded me of the gills of the mushroom. Then taking a length of sari silk ribbon, I chose to use this material as the soft smooth fabric reminded me of the outside of the mushroom.
Taking 7 lengths of yarn from my the colour palette of and producing a plaited base for my next design. Using the braiding star a tool a discovered from the previous unit. Then taking textured handmade and brown paper cutting them into circles to depict a basic form of the mushroom. Using buttons to embellish the circles.
My next design stemmed from me finding small red berries I had purchased at some point as I thought they might be useful for a project. When I came across them whilst looking for other items I realised how much they reminded me small bunch of mushrooms I had captured in my original images. Of course the red would not work so I painted the berries brown. I then took a length of felting wool and wrapped packaging string around the felting wool. At random intervals wrapping the wired berries around the wool and entwinned with yarn.
My next yarn was focused on texture choosing a selection of yarns with different textures, Then taking the yarn zig zagging up a base yarn, using a colour palette to replicate the inside of the a mushroom.
With this yarn I went back to one of the techniques I learnt in the last unit again. I wanted to create a thick yarn and felt that French knitting would create the correct thickness. I had the idea of threading wire through the yarn to make the yarn stiff but movable. I wanted to create a 3D structure with the yarn, merging 3 colours in an ombre effect up the spiral.
I enjoyed making this yarn it involved learning the technique of macramé. I found a technique that created semi-circles, using this to create a base yarn. I then took small wooden hoops and originally had a couple of ideas on how I would do this as per my sketched ideas. These were not very successful but I did come across a macramé technique that involved hoops. This was much more successful, making the hoops look like the inside of the mushroom. I feel like the macramé hoops are something I can take forward and develop. Using techniques learnt from the following clip:
With this yarn idea, it was based on the small bunch of mushrooms again, taken wooden beads of varying sizes to represent the head of the mushrooms. Using yarn wrapped around the larger wooden beads. Dropping the beads down in lengths to look like a bunch of mushrooms. With the beads at varying lengths like what was visually captured in my drawing.
My final yarn was inspired by one of the artists I have researched during this project, Amanda Cobbett. Using machine embroidery creating a textured yarn with zigzag line horizontally and vertically. Stitching into a dissolving fabric, once the fabric it changed the firmness of the yarn it became firmer yet still movable. I choose to do the sample in brown but it could be made with an array of colours from the colour palette.
I have great selection of ideas, from fabric manipulation, stitch, to yarns. I am going to spend some time reviewing this piece to develop a collection of work. There are a few areas I'd like to see if I can develop further. Exploring different materials and techniques, I would also like to explore using natural dyes in my work. I feel it would work well with this collection. Now I just need to get all of these ideas down in my sketchbook.
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