Ending my blog

I've decided to call it a day for Material Girl.

I've completed A Creative Approach (the course I set the blog up for) and I want to give myself a chance to make a better presentation.  This blog was set  up  in such a rush and I've never really fully explored it's possibilities.

I'm starting Exploring Ideas shortly and I plan to start a completely new blog for it.

http://exploringib.blogspot.co.uk/

If you've dropped in to Material Girl I think it will be more of the same really.

Thanks for looking.

Wire weaving with Helen Meakin

I've looked forward to this workshop ever since I saw Helen's work at the Dome in Buxton earlier in the summer and I wasn't disappointed.

Helen weaves in wire and yarns and uses beads and sequins as embellishments.

https://www.google.co.uk/#fp=238ebefbc6aa347e&q=helen+meakin+textile+artist

A friend and I shared a day long workshop and in the morning we both had a look at what a dobby loom is all about (I understood just a little) and made a sample using our chosen color scheme.  I chose blues, lilacs, dark grey and cream yarns of various textures.  I used a pale pink pearl bead along with a clear larger bead and a pale blue ribbon. All this went onto a .02 mm brown wire warp.  There were many, many more warp threads than I'm used to. The loom was set up to work in a six row cycle - one open weave and one much closer that gave a satin finish.  This can be seen clearly on the cream boucle yarn. The lower rows are open and the top much closer together.

My sample

I decided that I needed some pizzaz in there so my final piece included a deep plum ribbon

After a good lunch at the Wharf Cafe we each took about an hour to make our weaving.  It grew quickly but only because I welcomed help every step of the way.

My finished piece is 20 x 45 cm 

Showing the variety of yarns and the way the beads separate the warp and add extra texture

The inclusion of the dark red makes such a difference

I can't see a way that I could use wire warp with my Kromski harp loom but I could use a wire weft and see what happens.

I had a lovely day and I think I produced something really worth framing.  Thanks Helen.

More weaving

I worked this in cotton and silk.  The cotton was a selection of  Wendy Supreme 100% luxury cotton DK and the silk was a lovely variegated yarn in roughly the same colours.  I chose to do a plain weave so I got lots of tension practise.

I warped up using multi colours and for the weft used my yarns doubled (two colours).

I inserted some merino tops for a bit of variety.

The finished piece measures  87cm x 29cm and will make a lovely table runner.

This is anything but boring because of the array of colours.  Variety was achieved  with the multicoloured warp and the decision to use two colours of thread for the weft.

The space between courses

My loom

Sending off my final piece of work felt like a real milestone but it left a gap that being the person I am I have had to fill.  And I've missed writing in my blog; it's become something of a habit. Yes, I know I have to prepare for assessment but I have become the proud owner of a 24" Kromski Harp loom so I have been having a play. Whilst it's not exactly course connected I think it's worth recording. 

My 29cm x 67cm sample

Considering the problems I had with tension on my tapestry work I'm quite pleased that the width of this is much the same throughout.

I warped up with some 4 ply wool and found it very stretchy and I had to keep tightening the warp threads or the heddle fell down constantly.  I have used several types of yarn in the weft; more four ply wool, some chunky synthetic yarn (some variegated) and a small amount of cotton.  As with my tapestry I found the weft showed best with the chunky yarns.  I have the Ashford Book of Heddle Loom Weaving (Hart, 2002) and I have used this as a guide.  As ever, I'm impatient to get a good result so I wasn't happy with my first rows.

Difficulty with turning - it got better

Various yarns and patterns

"Bronson" as described in my book

All in all I pleased with what I have made.  However, I'm itching to use a few more adventurous yarns and see what happens.  Running before I can walk again.

Warping up the second time was easier

My husband fashioned a lovely oak stand and this has made life easier because I am more comfortably positioned.

Masson Mill

I spent a lovely day in the White Peak.  The aim was to show Richard Masson Mill which I visited a few weeks ago.  He brought his engineer perspective to the Museum and was as fascinated as I knew he would be.  For me it was a chance to take more photos which have generated some ideas.

I liked the colour and texture contrasts here

Spools

We also had a walk.  We parked in Winster and took in farmland, moor, woods and almost anything else you can think of.  Again I was looking for opportunities for photos with possibilities.

Debris at the quarry

Cat Rock.  I love the carved initials.

If I imagined that the end of my course was going to provide a holiday I need to re-evaluate.  The looking and thinking I've been encouraged to do over the past year has got into my bones and its influence pervades throughout my life.  I'm reminded of my therapy training - you can't "un know".

Hart, R. (2002) The Ashford Book of Rigid Heddel Weaving.  Ashford Handicrafts Ltd.  New Zealand.

Assignment 5

Reflective commentary

My reflection has been done at regular times throughout the course so it will be no surprise that I’m overjoyed at what has happened for me over the last months.  I'm excited by everything I've tried.  I have developed a short memory – I always like the thing I’ve just done the best!

I’m happy with the way the course has taught me new skills and gently guided me into being able to create from scratch.  What I’ve been able to achieve in such a short time has amazed me.  Only the best courses can do that.

As I've said in previous reflections I’ve learned lots about myself.  I’m a pretty contained sort of person but I have been learning to let go through this process of creativity.  I’ve referred before to my unwillingness to be “lost” but I’m finding if I lose my way creatively good things can fall out it.

I have appreciated the way the course is itself open to interpretation.  I have found that if I make a good enough case most interests can be accommodated.  This is very liberating.

I’ve even upped my game with IT – but there’s still a way to go there I’m afraid.

With specific reference to the course material I still think Part 2 should be split into 2 parts.  As a complete beginner this was such a lengthy stretch without tutor input. If I was going to drop out this would have been the point where it would have happened..  I hope this doesn’t sound too negative; it’s meant to be constructive.

My Theme Book

My Theme book hasn’t changed at all since the end of Part 4.  Instead all my Part 5 work has been done in my big sketch book even though it has developed from my Theme book.  It didn’t really occur to me that Part 5 should continue in my Theme Book.

Assessment criteria points

Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills

Part 5 has given me the opportunity to bring together both the practical and theoretical elements of the course in a creative way. I am now on the way to knowing with some certainty what will look good visually even if I’m not always quite sure why.  The technical skills I have learned have opened my eyes to the wealth of skill both past and present.  Whilst I’ve always admired art/craft I’m now much better informed to make my own judgements.

Quality of Outcome

My new skills base gives me a far greater repertoire from which to select and I think I’m starting to apply them in context.

I like to be organised and this sometimes conflicts with the apparent chaos of not being sure where I’m going.  I’m learning to cope with it..

I think my work shows quality.

Demonstration of Creativity

I'm much more comfortable taking creative risks than I expected and I’m feeling more confident that I “can do”.  I’m starting to think of alternatives if the first idea doesn’t work.  It helps having a bigger repertoire.

I’m learning to let things unravel a bit.  I’ve found that in the tangle little gems can lurk.

I'm constantly surprised at what I can do.

Context

I have been extending my knowledge base by visiting several fairs, exhibitions and courses.  I am becoming more discriminating.

I need to go to some more exhibitions.

I am placing value on my work.

I still find it hard to identify my strength and weaknesses.      

My hopes - reviewed

At the start of this course I listed my hopes.  I have referred to this list occasionally but it's crunch time; now I have to check if I've managed to fulfil my hopes.  This is what I wrote with my comments in blue

I hope:

to learn all I can

Yes this has been fulfilled  The course has given me the opportunity to become acquainted with new skills and develop old ones in new ways.  There has also been the option to go  a bit further with things I'm particularly interested in...

to become more confident in my creative ability

Another yes. I am much happier that I "can" rather than being diffident.  I have yet to sort out the difference between confidence and arrogance.

to be able to follow through from inspiration to finished piece in a mindful and consistent way

Yes again.  I have learned that ideas have to be developed from somewhere, they don't just happen.  Project 10 gave me the opportunity draw everything together to create a design from start to finish and I think what I made is cohesive.

to find fulfilment in what I produce

Yes, yes, yes.  I'm addicted and I'm told there's no known cure

to receive knowledgeable feedback so that I have the opportunity to improve

After making the very hard decision to change my tutor at the end of Stage one I have felt confident and happy with the balance of the feedback I've received.  I got a lot out of the asides my tutor has sent, the book suggestions, articles and so on.  I've not met her or even spoken to her but I feel she knows me pretty well.  Thanks Liz.

to develop my skills base

There's no doubt about it I'm much more skillful and much more aware of so many new things

to be proud of my achievements

I'm learning to recognise when my work is good.  I'm proud of the distance I've travelled and the work I've produced.

I feel like I do at the end of a good book - I don't want it to end because I've enjoyed it so much.  Good job there's a sequel.

At

Project 10 Stage 4 reflections

For me this project has been about the process and I've learned so much.  My tutor sent me a most useful article about the creative process and it helped enormously as I struggled towards an idea.  It's by Gilkey (2008) and this is how it starts;

We’ve known for a long time that the creative process can be broken down into four distinct processes, most of which can be fostered and augmented. The processes are:

Preparation

Incubation

Illumination

Implementation

Importantly for me it says that the "preparation" stage may not be enjoyable.  I really found starting my project hard especially with life events at the time.  It was very marked, and can be seen clearly in my work, that as I felt better so my work started to develop again.

My topic of "water melon" took me to many places and I can see the way the design was born very clearly.  Even the tricky bits played their part. This must be the "incubation" period I think.  

Once I had the basis of my design my major initial decisions were sound.  For instance felt was a good choice because  it's waterproof qualities were useful, it is strong and can be made to look very attractive.  My decision to use confetti applique worked well as just  a little bit of glitz on a utility item.

Less successful were initial thoughts about decoration.  I was intending to decorate everything but it pretty soon became apparent that not only would I be wasting my time (it would be over fussy) it would look awful as well.  

I ended up by scrapping lots of work because I wasn't happy. It's not that it was bad, just not good enough.  Currently this seems to be part of my process. Fortunately my course manual indicates that as work progresses there is often the need to change so I'll take comfort in that.

I feel my interpretation worked well.  I wanted to stick loosely with the watermelon colours because they are so beautiful but the rest is only recognisable if you follow my process through.  But that's not a problem.  I was surprised that my rope handle didn't work, the yarn looked so good initially.  

I like the mix of techniques and the way there are few rights and wrongs if ideas can be justified.

I suppose in the grand scheme of things this work isn't inventive, it's just a bag.  However, the process I have been through has made me think about the practical application of some of the things I have been learning; it has made me "invent".  How to attach the pieces together or how to fasten the bag for instance.

I said earlier that I saw this work as the equivalent of a prototype. If I was wanting to produce this bag as something marketable I would now be in quite an informed position regarding what is feasible if a profit was needed.

http://www.productiveflourishing.com/demystifying-the-creative-process/

Project 10 Stage 4

Making my bag

After my practise run last week I'm ready to make my felt.  Originally I thought that I would make the the back and the flap (the green and pink) in one piece but in reality it would have made it too big for either my equipment or me to handle.  Instead I made three separate pieces.

After a bit of reading I anticipated that my work would shrink about one third and I worked on that assumption.

The back and the front were made in an identical way
This is stage one

Complete

I took a note of the measurements as I started the green so I could repeat the process as nearly as possible.

Fibres laid                    47cm x 35cm both pieces

After rolling                40cm x 32cm  first piece
                                    38cm x 30cm  second piece

At 2 minutes fulling   34cm x 29cm first piece
                                   34cm x 29cm second piece

At 4 minutes fulling   31cm x 27cm first piece
                                    30cm x 27cm second piece

After rinsing               30cm x 25cm both pieces

The measurement after rolling alarmed me and I took care to keep checking after that.  The two pieces are now very much the same size and just right for the i Pad.

Two almost identical pieces of felt with the i Pad

The flap was a lot trickier because I wanted it an irregular shape so I could attach the handle in such a way to make a closure.  I forgot to take photos until I was about halfway through the job.

Half way through felting the flap

I wanted it to be quite sturdy as it will take quite a lot of wear.  It ended up looking like this;

Not quite the irregular shape I'd hoped for

But with a bit of judicious cutting it' will be OK

I have one or two options.  I can make standard internal seams (but I think it will be too bulky),  leave the edges wavy as they are now (but that will create difficulties with the flap) or trim everything up and have external seams. No contest.

Felting is very physical and I'm tired.


Next day.
I have trimmed my felt and made the nerve racking cuts to the pink piece.

The front bag and the flap

This is where I'm going

I scanned the pinned up bag so that I can use the image for placing shapes before I finally commit to the design.




The pink you see here will be hidden behind embroidered purchased felt because it is lighter weight.  The inner flap will be embroidered as well as the front.

Some time later:
That was the theory.  I played with the purchased felt idea and it was far too fussy.  I decided to let the felt speak for itself.  As I'm often told "less is more".

I took long stitches midway through the felt and repeated the idea on the other side.

The back I decided to leave plain but I spent a long time working on the front.

Planning with paper

Velvet with the confetti applique

Mounted on lightweight fabric to get the light green I wanted

I stitched in silk

There was lots of work in this and while it was OK it didn't sing to me so I set about making more felt and began again.

This time it took off so well that I've no photos of it's construction.  Words will have to do.  I took the "arrow" design, left it whole and I filled in the spaces around the edge with angular pieces of fabric.  I accentuated the lines with machine stitching and sari silk and I scavenged some silk ribbon from my abandoned sample to make long stitches to join the top shapes.

The sari silk holds a small surprise.

Joining the pieces together was an exercise in logic which isn't my strong point.

I needed to:
stitch on the flap
attach the handle
sew up the bag seams

I drew a sketch that helped me to decide what to do first.  They aren't very clear but it gives an idea of my thinking.

Showing the way the handle fits onto the back

The handle forms the closure as well

First a word about the handle.  I had intended to use the wool rope I made earlier as a sample.  When I put this against the work it looked so wrong, colours, texture and shape seemed a real mismatch.  I looked at my felt offcuts and tried to make something of them but wasn't happy with that either. This was mainly because I had to reinforce it with lots of machine stitching and it looked bitty.

I ended up doing what I should have done in the first place which is custom making some flet for the handle.  I made it quite hefty and fulled it well so that it is strong enough without reinforcing.  I had to use two overlapping seams to get the length I needed.

I am much happier with this.

Back to construction matters.

I attached the flap to the back with straight machine stitching using an overlap seam.  I left 1cm at both edges so the bag seam didn't go over it.  I left the wavy edge because it mirrors that on the front of the bag.

Before I sewed the seams of the bag I put on the handle.  This felt really awkward but it would have been more awkward to attach the handle after the seams were sewn.

Next the bag seams.  My intention was to use the blanket stitch on my machine because it is neat, decorative and strong.  My machine wouldn't take the thickness of the felt for blanket stitch but it would sew straight so that's what I did.  Afterwards I did a decorative blanket stitch by hand.

The finished bag

It fits!

Two Days Out

We've taken a couple of days out to visit friends in Derbyshire and we did things worth putting into my log.

Masson Mills Museum

This is a working textiles museum that offers demonstrations twice a day.  The mill was built in 1783 by Sir Richard Arkwright and is the best preserved example of an Arkwright cotton mill.  The mill was originally built to take imported bales of cotton and clean and card it ready for weaving elsewhere.  We saw a huge, evil looking machine nicknamed The Devil. The Devil was the first process the cotton went through to get out the bits of vegetation and generally clean it up. 

The Devil had massive "teeth" and was quite capable of taking off an arm or leg or even worse.  If someone was caught in the machine there was little hope of things turning out well as the machine took almost a minute to stop.

The machinery in the museum came from elsewhere in order to preserve it.  There is machinery to cover the whole range of processes and many are demonstrated.  Some of the looms were second hand in 1867 and are still running if rather noisily.

The loom in the foreground of this photo (with the yellow bar) is from the 1940's and is less reliable than the older machines.

An engineer would be fascinated by the complexity of the machines but all I could think about was the conditions the people worked in - the noise, the dust and the oily smells.  The idea of my six year old grandson crawling under the machines whilst they were still running makes my blood run cold.

I took several photos with an eye to some sort of future textile work; ironic really.

Old driving belts with mould

Spools

Pirns

Great Dome Art Fair

The Peak district Artisans is an association of artists based in Derbyshire.  There was some truly wonderful work on show at this art fair and it was a real struggle to keep my wallet in my bag.  I am becoming much more aware of the sort of work I like and I have selected just a few for my blog.  Al information and pictures are taken from the artists' own websites.

Keith Wright - Visual Artist
http://www.keith-wright.com/


Keith's work is created from his own collection of photographs and inspired by industrial landscape sand the built environment.  He crops and arranges the images into grids, removing all context, scale and location.  What he ends up with is something really abstract and almost always geometric.  It reminded me of the Matthew Harris work I saw last week and liked so much.

Peak

Louise Jannetta

http://www.louisejannetta.co.uk/

Amongst other things Louise was showing some collograph work and having tried this recently I was very interested.  She was very generous with her advice.  The image above seems to be a recurring one and because it is a plate the variations are incredible.

Steve Elliot
http://www.steveelliott.net/













Steve explained that his style is constantly evolving and recently it has become more abstract.  This was clear to see and I must say that while I love the more literal work I thought the more recent work was amazing.

Hills over Hathersage

Birchen Edge

Helen Meakin
http://www.helenmeakin.com/

Helen uses a variety of textile techniques but my favourites were the weaving using wire warp, multi material weft, sequins and beads to create her original and very attractive  work.  They are very textural and reflect the light.

Using a wire warp

 I finally succumbed and my friend and I organised a one day workshop with Helen in late August.  Can't wait.

Making and Drawing

Harley Gallery

The exhibition just opened is Making and Drawing curated by Kyra Cane to celebrate the publication of her book of the same name.  Kyra is a ceramicist based at the Welbeck Studios so it's a fitting place for the exhibition.  Both the book and the exhibition showcase the more private work of a variety of artists with both their sketch books and completed work on display.  As someone who has struggled with the concept of a sketchbook this came as sweet relief.

I was reassured that sketching can be almost anything that helps the creative process along; collage, photographs, technology as well a pencil and paper.

The exhibition was presented with the same chapter headings as the book and they are worth listing;

drawing as reference
drawing as planning and design
drawing as surface
drawing as making
drawing as thinking
drawing with technology.

This helps my thinking as I realise that all my preparation work is drawing although in the end the majority is rejected.  I also think that all the chapter headings necessarily apply to a piece of work.

Some of the artists were new to me; Simon Carroll was shown in an extraordinary video making huge images in the sand on a Cornish beach. The information said that he was a remarkably gifted "maverick potter"  who died too early.

Drawing in the sand - Simon Carroll

I liked the work of furniture maker Fred Baier.  His work seems to bridge the gap between engineering and art and his drawings show this very clearly.  His use of colour is very much like that of Ptolemy Mann.  In the section devoted to his work we are told

drawing can happen in many different forms, its purpose always being to nourish his work  (Cane 2012)

Staircase by Fred Baier from Drawing and Making by Kyra Cane

From the world of textiles I particularly liked the work of Debbie Smyth.  Her work looks almost like pen and ink drawing.  She uses strategically placed pins to place thread around.  It reminded me of the designs I drew as a child in geometry lessons.

Debbie Smyth from artboom.info

Best of all I was introduced to the work of Matthew Harris.  I loved the understated colours splashed with red and the way marks and patterns litter his work.  Cane's book tells me that sketches, notes and photographs form the basis of his work and he makes many versions of the same source material.  He then selects the best and assembles the parts into an order.

Matthew Harris raggedclothcafe.com 

Upstairs potter Adam Frew had an exhibition  called Drawing and Pots.  It showed Adam's pots alongside his drawings.  Adam has spent time on the Welbeck Estate and absorbed the landscape and woodland around.  His pots are heavily marked and have very rich glazes.  http://www.adamfrew.com/

Adam Frew ceramics

Not all of the artists in the book were on show but there was certainly enough to keep me absorbed for a long time.  And lots to think about afterwards.


Cane, Kyra  2012 , Making and Drawing.  Bloomsbury, London