Ideas for Weave

As I am hoping to get a place in the weave workshop for my specialist area, I have began to think about researching some weavers that work in a similar way to which I would eventually like to work. I found some great examples and thought I would post on here a couple of the ones that I thought also were producing work that linked to my current concept.

Catharine Ellis

 

Hiroko Takeda

 

Ismini Samandou

 

Pat Mink

 

Pauline Verbeek

 

 

 

Visual Research

During week one I have started to gather my initial visual research, I began this by taking some photographs. As it would not be practical to upload every photograph that I have taken, these are a few of my favourites.

 

From my photographs I feel that I have decided upon my colour palette for my work, I will use a mass of dark, "dull", mundane colours (greys, browns etc) and will introduce an impacting green or orange to contrast with these. For now my idea is to create some drawings from these photographs using paint, inks, and using mark making. I may even decide to edit my photographs slightly on photoshop with layering and excentuating colours to experiement with them.

Visual Research

I had a look through some more of my photographs from my summer project to see if there were any more that were relevant to my concept. I found quite a few, here are my favourite.

 

I took these photos whilst I was in Cornwall over the summer, the colours really inspire me and I believe that they are perfect to include in my visual research. I will use these photographs to inspire me to find more sources closer to home to photograph.

Developing a concept..

This is my first draft of my concept:

Proportion and Opposites

This project will explore opposites in small proportions. This may be small amounts of intense colour against a mass of mundane tones. Reflective vs non-reflective and light vs dark will also be considered as ongoing themes. The main idea for the initial visual research is the extremity  of the proportion of the “opposite”. Research sources will mainly be natural but could also be from my surrounding man-made environment. Visual research will consist of drawings (mark making, collage, paint etc) and photographs.

Initial ideas will be transferred from visual research into the weave workshop, focusing on composition and tactile qualities, exploration of colour, texture and experimenting with non-traditional “yarns” or objects to be included in weave samples. Initial ideas:

·         Mirrors and beads

·         Trapped objects and the use of pockets

·         Lights or glow in the dark fibres/paints/dyes

·         Combining varying weights of yarns

·         Including my digital skills from first year by either scanning/photographing samples and manipulating/weaving back into samples.

·         Loops in weft threads to create textures surfaces or tying threads onto weft threads

·         Treating the fabric once it has been taken off the loom e.g. “woven shibori”

Samples will be made with the view of an exhibition or interior context, still unsure.

I will add to this draft throughout the project as my work develops, and I may even reconsider the title depending on how my work turns out. However, I feel that I have described my ideas thoroughly at this point in time.

Starting Point

I chose this photograph from my summer project as my starting point for Intentions.

From this photograph I began to list the main things I like about it which were:

• The tactile qualities
• Colour palette
• Natural source
• The small quantities of the lichen
• The contrast of the colour of the lichen against the stone

From this I decided that these would be running themes for my concept. The main idea that I came to was the ratio of lichen to stone, this difference in proportion really interests me. I came to the conclusion that this would drive my work, not necessarily just looking at lichen, but any source that shows this extreme proportion of opposites.

Bodies Revealed

Over the summer I visited a number of exhibitions and one that will resinate with me for quite some time was in Liverpool called "Bodies Revealed". Although I am a textiles student, I am very interested in human anatomy and the science involved with our inner workings. I would like to incorporate this genuine interest in some of my future work. I was very dissapointed to be told that photography was strictly prohibited, therefore images I have included in this post have been found on the internet, however they are the same specimens displayed at the exhibition.

The exhibition was comprised of over 200 human body specimens, whole and partial preserved through the revolutionary technique called polymer preservation. This technique replaces all bodily fluids with a silicone based substance, permenantly preserving the body. When asked by a curious young girl, one of the tour guides described the muscles of a preserved body to feel like "the rubber tyres of a car". The extraordinary and educational anatomical journey allows you to explore the intricate functions deep inside the human body. Accompanying the exhibits, a thorough explanation of the workings of all systems of the human body; Skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive, endocrine, and circulatory.

"Bodies Revealed " offers an intimate and informative view into the human body. As well as offering a stimulating and inspiring insight into how the human body works, the exhibition also promotes healthy life choices by demonstrating the effects of desease and unhealthy lifestyles on the human body. These examples can be seen throughout the exhibition, one that resinnated in my mind was the juxstaposition of a healthy lung next to a smoker's lung. You can see cancer and liver desease in their true form, as well as looking at the inside of human bones and see the nervous system before your very eyes.

 

 

 

I was overwhelmed by the exhibition which was both shocking and macabre, yet at the same time thought provoking. At the time of viewing the exhibition it was easy to lose sight of the fact that the "specimens" were once people with families, friends and futures; yet here they were stripped bare. These people have donated their bodies to science allowing future generations to learn. It was quite difficult to digest the fact that in all honesty, this is all we humans are, bone, muscle and miscellaneous tissue, vunerable to the way we lead our lives. Although these human artefacts were in every sense 'real' it quickly became apparent to me that they held no essence of what really makes us human. 

Start of 2nd Year

I am eagerly anticipating the start of my second year of university. Slightly worried that my organisation skills will slip however confident that I will improve my basics and push myself further than last year.

Reflecting on my summer project, I have most probably left it a little bit late (oops) but I feel that my research has really left me inspired for the oncoming year! Today I thought I would post a couple of the most inspiring images that I have found over the summer that I have not been as confident with working from in my sketchbook.

Firstly I would like to show this image:

 

 

I found this image whilst browsing the internet, they were an idea for halloween decorations found on a blog (inspiringpretty.com) but I love this image not just for halloween. I like the transparency of the "ghost dresses" and the way that you can see the folds in "fabric" even though they are made from chicken wire. There is a great contrast between what you see and what it is actually made of. The "ghist dresses" in the background look particularly soft even though we know they aren't. This image has inspired me to think about branching out on materials rather than sticking to fabrics every time.

 

Here are some more thought provoking images that have me raring to go for future work of my own:

 

 

 

Just a small sample of some of the images from my research file. Looking forward to Monday 17th and finding out what we will do with this research!