Sunday 5 February 2017

Chapters 10,11,12 and 13

Today I am going to post the final four chapters of module 2, chapters 10,11,12 and 13.  Starting with chapter 13 my artist studies and finishing with chapter 10. The pictures are taken directly from my sketchbook so I hope they are readable.

Chapter 13 - Artist studies.
Hans Holbein the elder and younger.  Holbein painted embroidery on his sitters' garments in minute detail
study these and find out about the Holbein stitch, a common blackwork stitch.

Bridget Riley.  Find out about Bridget Rileys' 1960's OP-ART paintings done in mainly black and white and how she gave the illusion of a 2D image appearing 3D.



Artist of my own choice.  -   Colleen Atwood.
The artist I chose to look at for my third artist study is a costume designer called Colleen Atwood.
I looked at some theatrical costume designers when I first started to think about making a collar for my final piece and I felt drawn to Colleen Atwood because of her bird inspired costumes.







Chapter 12 - The final design and design pages for my three dimensional functional item.

 

Here are my design pages for my collar, I was already thinking about making something quite dramatic as I looked at feather collar displays on birds, Elizabethan collars and tribal collars and what they might represent. I started to play around with layers and what I might have on each layer. I tried putting various sample layers together to see how they looked and to make decisions about what I wanted to put together.
I started to think about having a layer that appeared to be taking off and experimented with putting wire inside cords so I could bend and shape parts of the cord to appear raised.

I cut some discs out of paper to try out sizes for the collar.

The Final Piece - My bird inspired Collar.





Chapter 11 - Further design exercises leading to fabric samples.

Design exercises looking at a number of different ways in which you can arrange different paper strips together and cut up and rearrange into different patterns.



Stitched fabric samples based on your ideas.
Make a series of samples to translate any of these more complex designs created earlier in this chapter.
You Must incorporate these ideas within your samples.
Add stitching to your fabrics before the cutting and seaming stages.  Stitch lines in different directions and not always parallel to each other.
Use your decorated fabrics with the emphasis on the use of stitchery, both on plain fabrics as well as your own decorated fabrics.
Where there is a single line of machine stitching, add at least 4,5,6 or 7 more on top of and along side.  These could be exactly the same as the existing one or they could be variations.
Place as many of the seams as possible towards the front.
Make a dominant decorative feature of at least one of the final forward-facing seams.


Above is sample A turned over so you can see the other side.

Chapter 10 - Piecing - A method of cutting and seaming.
This designing method is based on the traditional Seminole patchwork method. It is done first in paper and then in fabric. You start with one black and one white strip and keep cutting, rearranging and re-piecing.  To make new and exciting patterns. Or in the case of fabric more exciting texture.

Monday 20 June 2016

Chapters 8 and 9 of module 2

Today I am posting chapters 8 and 9 of module 2, starting from the end of chapter 9 backwards to the beginning of chapter 8.

The golden section.
Below is my paper experiment from page 45 of my sketchbook, arranging a series of patterned paper squares using the formula of the golden section.  Fibonacci series pages 39 to 45 about 8 to 9 hours work.


The golden section and the following design exercises are all based on the Fibonacci sequence.
Exercise 10, make a block of 5 tonal strips in the Fibonacci sequence and cut into 45 degree diagonal strips, arrange these strips into a pattern.






I quite like the last pattern, bottom right, as it reminds of wings.

Exercise 9, page 43 of my sketchbook. " Make a block of 5 tonal strips in the Fibonacci sequence and cut into strips to make a square design in the same formation as log cabin patchwork".  I admit I struggled with this one as I was working from the diagram and found it hard to see where the strips were going.


Page 42 of my sketchbook shows design exercises 7 and 8.
7. Make two blocks of tonal strips placed in the Fibonacci sequence, place them opposite each other.
8. Cut the opposing tonal blocks into strips and move alternate strips slightly to form a fractured design.


The image below shows exercises 5 and 6 on page 41 of my sketchbook.
5. Cut two blocks in the Fibonacci sequence, one in plain paper and one in decorated paper and arrange alternately.  Cut these again into strips at right angles from the last in the Fibonacci sequence and arrange on a plain background. I messed up a bit here because they were supposed to be laid out with gaps in the Fibonacci sequence and I forgot to do this.

6. Flip alternate strips to create a sort of woven looking design.


Below are the first 4 design exercises in the Fibonacci sequence.

1. Collect 4 patterned papers and grade into a gradual tonal column, Fibonacci series 1,2,3,5...
2. Divide the pattern into Fibonacci series at right angles to previous column.  Arrange with a slight gap between each strip.
3. Cut more strips from this same sequence in Fibonacci ratio and rearrange in a different way.
4. Choose one patterned and one plain paper and cut both into strips using Fibonacci sequence. Arrange alternately.


Page 39 is a short research and introduction page for chapter 9.  The Fibonacci sequence and the golden section.


Pages 37 and 38 are the last pages of chapter 8, "Not what it seams".  On page 37 I have displayed my ribbons.  Some are just single strips of fabric that I have looked back at previous samples for inspiration with the sewing machine stitch settings, thinking about feather patterns.  Some have layered fabrics with decorative stitches.  On page 38 I have displayed the cords and toggles that I have made from strips of fabric and threads that could be used to make decorative trimmings and finishes for my functional 3D item.

Below is page 36.  I spent hours on the samples d and e, mainly because I had some design ideas I wanted to try.  I made up 4 fabric panels using strips of the same fabrics.  On two I decorated them with stitch k (setting) in white cotton, sloping the stitch one way on one and the opposite on the other.  On the other two panels I used 3 different stitches f, i and h (settings) in black and white cotton, stitched more randomly. I also hand stitched one strip of black perle thread blackwork with a central bead.  These samples were then cut up and sewn together in a chevron pattern.  In the seams of sample e, fluffy white wool strips were sewn in every other vertical seam.  In sample d, I placed frayed spotty fabric in some horizontal and some vertical seams.  It's amazing how dark sample d is compared to the lightness of sample e, considering I used the same fabrics.
Sample f is an experimental strip made with small off cuts. 
Time spent on samples for pages 35 and 36, around 13 hours.

 

 

 


I felt that these samples were quite successful and did have a birdlike quality about them, so I will bear these ideas in mind for my final design.





























Chapter 7 continued.

Below are pages 33 and 34 of my sketchbook continuing chapter 7, which shows my samples for "practicing the Seminole method".





Tuesday 12 April 2016

My work update.

It's been a while since my last post so I have quite a bit of work to upload.  I am going to post it in order of most recent first so I hope it's not confusing.

The following images are from chapter seven and are experiments moving cut strips and pieces of fabrics on the kitchen table for Seminole designs. Time spent 3hrs.






                                    Above the samples stitched together.


The next images are from my sketch book, most recent first.



The page above left is a research page where I have looked at the origins of Seminole patchwork.  It started with the Seminole native American Indian tribes in Florida making clothing from a patchwork of small pieces of coloured cloth. I have also looked at some Bridget Riley work as a comparison of pattern and to help me with design ideas. The page on the right has my paper experiments of Seminole designs.  
Time spent page 31, 1hr, page 32, 3hrs.



Pages 29 and 30 above have my fabric log cabin patchwork samples attached.  I wished that I had included some more plain pieces of fabric as I think these samples look a bit too busy.
Time spent approx 5 - 6 hrs.

 

On page 27 I made some further patterned fabric experiments mainly due to techniques we were using at the school where I work at the time. I felt that making some examples of my own could be used for my own coursework.  The top piece of fabric is done by batik method.  I made marks on the fabric with hot wax and various tools like a fork, dripping wax with the batik tjanting tool and making wavy lines, using the edge of card and a brush.  Black batik fabric dye was used to wash over these marks and when dry the wax was ironed out between two pieces of sugar paper.  The sample below this is a lino cut print, the design I made from drawings in my sketchbook and printed on white cotton with black acrylic paint and textile medium.
Finally the bottom right print was made by wrapping string around a wooden block and painting with black acrylic and textile medium, printed onto white cotton.
Page 28 contains my decorated paper log cabin samples.  Again I wish I hadn't used so many patterned papers next to each other, I think they look too busy.   Time spent page 27, 5hrs, page 28, 3hrs.



This is two pictures of page 26 so that you can see the middle section folds out to display the write up of how I made the various printed papers.  In case you can't read this very well, top and middle left are done with a wavy roller on to a Gelli plate and black acrylic/ textile medium, top right and bottom left were done by painting black acrylic and textile medium on a Gelli plate and small snippets of paper dropped on top before making the print, middle right was just a silicone hot plate mat painted with black paint/textile medium and bottom right was black paint/textile medium painted onto the Gelli plate and lightly scratched into with a plastic fork.



 Pages 27,26 above and 25 left and below form part of chapter 6
patterning of fabrics using cold water dyes and fabric paints.
The images left and below are all part of the same page 25, I am showing that the small fabric samples on the right of the page pull down to reveal the writing about each sample.
Samples A, Tritik shibori
              B, Tritik shibori spiral
              C, Tritik shibori zigzag
              D, Tritik shibori spiral
              E, Tritik shibori scrunch lines
              F, Tie dye bulldog clip
              G, Tie dye gathered and tied
              H, Bull dog clip pleats
              I, Tied bundle
              J, Tie dye scrunched into a ball and wrapped in elastic
                  bands.
             K, Same as    
                  above.
             L, Arashi
                 shibori.

Time spent approx 4hrs
           











Below are pages 23 and 24, Monoprints on paper in black acrylic.



Page 23, samples A and B, marks were made with a plastic fork, sample C was sponge and cotton bud, D was sponge swirls, samples E and F were made with small pieces of card.
Page 24, sample G was dabbed edge of card, H, edge of card dragged slightly, I, cotton bud dabs, J, painted with a brush  and dabbed with a cotton bud, K, edge of card in zigzag motion, L, edge of card in fan shapes. All prints were done with a Gelli plate.  Time taken approx 1 - 2 hrs.

Above are pages are 21 and 22, Bleach and black tissue experiments part of chapter 5. I only did a few of these with a plastic fork dipped in bleach onto tissue and a cotton bud dipped in bleach. Time spent  approx half an hour during a lunch time at work.

 

Above are the first two pages of chapter 5, pages 19 and 20. Make patterned papers.
Page 19, sample A, wavy roller, B, feather on a stick, C, edge of card and D, triangular eraser tip and feather.
Page 20, E, edge of pencil grip, F, edge of pencil grip and cotton bud, G, piece of card and H, feather lines.
Time spent 1hr.

The images below are all four pages of chapter 4, Drawing patterns from animal markings. Pages 15 to 18.

 

On page 15 I have focused on the feather patterns of the Great Argus pheasant, looking at how the patterns could be interpreted in stitch.
Page 16 is a study of the crow, looking at simplified feather pattern and a print I made from the crows eye shape. I made the smaller bird drawing at the bottom of the page because I liked the feather pattern and thought I could interpret this well with some of my previous sewing machine strips. Pages 15 and 16 time spent approx 8hrs.

 

On pages 17 and 18 above I focused more on the Great Argus pheasant feather patterns.  Here I tried breaking down the pattern using an enlarged photocopy and making a simplified drawing, I then used this design to make prints and stitch samples. Time spent 5hrs.