Part 2 - Research

The textile I chose that has family associations is my mother's wedding dress.

The dress was made in 1949. The pattern for the dress was bought through an advertisement in a newspaper and the dress was made by a local dressmaker.  

The dress is made from satin material that has an all over flower print on it.  It was made by machine. There are covered buttons down the bodice of the dress and on the sleeve cuffs.  The buttons are hand made.  The sleeve cuffs are closed by press studs.  Unfortunately whilst in storage the press studs have rusted and left a few marks on the fabric of the dress.  

Looking at the way the dress has been made and the seams are finished I think it shows that the dressmaker was a very experienced one.  I think the fact that the dress was made from a pattern that was on sale through a newspaper of the time shows that it was a very up to date style.

Sketchbook

I am continuing to work in my sketchbook.  I work in an A4 and I have an A6 that I keep in my handbag so that I have a book to draw and make notes in whenever I want to.  I am trying to be more experimental in the way I work in my sketchbook and am colouring the pages before I work on them or adding papers so that there is more texture to my design work.  I am enjoying doing this.  I also work on separate backgrounds and then stick them in the sketchbook when I have finished them.  I am trying not to be too 'precious' about the work I do in my book and feel that I am now using it in a way to express ideas that I have and to experiment more in it.

In the A6 book that I carry around with me I tend to draw in pen in it as this is usually the only drawing tool I have in my bag.  I like to draw in pen as I don't get the desire to want to rub away any mistakes I just go for it more with pen than with pencil.  I recently went on a train journey and decided that I would make a list of everything I saw for an hour of the journey.  I started just listing things I saw but then as I got into the exercise more I started to describe them making quick notes on colour and texture.  I really enjoyed doing this and was eventually able to make little quick sketches alongside the lists.  It really made me see and not give everything a cursory glance.  For the future I want to make quick sketches first and add notes.  I am also getting over the embarrassment of working in a sketchbook in public and this will help me when I go to view exhibitions and visit museums.

Part 2 Stage 4 A Larger Sample

For the larger sample I decided to work on a piece of fabric about 40cm square.  After reviewing my printing samples and designs in my sketchbook I chose to work with a pattern that I had developed from North American pottery.  I decided that it would look good as a repeat in a line.  I used fabric paint and printed onto dyed cotton fabric.

I do like this design and think that the sample is successful.  I wanted to use this block as a repeat in a line as I think it makes the pattern flow across the fabric and as I have repeated the rows I like the obvious internal edges.  I like the contrast of the negative space between the rows of printing which I think enhance the background colour that shows through the negative spaces from the block print.

Part 2 Project 5 Printing and Painting on Fabric

I chose plain fabrics from my collection.  I worked on a variety of fabrics including cotton, linen and felt. I also used some wool batting.  I began by using Brusho watercolour paints to paint the fabric.  As I worked the colours started to merge together in a way I liked so I did several samples using Brusho painting on the different fabrics being interested to see how they would look when they were dry.  The cottons faded slightly as they dried but still giving a nice background to print on.  I printed onto the cotton with a block made from polystyrene using fabric paint.  I also stencilled through a piece of lace using a permanent ink pen and drew a pattern using the same pen.  I quite like the stencil.  I think it is better than my attempts in the previous exercises at stencilling.  I didn't like drawing on the fabric.  I didn't feel as free as I do when I am painting on fabric.

I liked printing with fabric paint using a polystyrene block.  I left the background fabric crumpled to see how the print would look.  I like the texture.

I painted pieces of bondaweb with metallic acrylic paint and Brusho watercolour paints.  When dry I then ironed the bondaweb onto pieces of cotton and linen.  All the pieces were successful and gave lovely textured backgrounds to work on.  When the bondaweb was applied to the linen it became almost plastic in texture but still soft enough to work into.  On the piece of cotton I took a rubbing from a block made from card.  I used fabric paint.  This wasn't as successful as I would have wished but does give an interesting background. The bondaweb painted with Brusho was applied to cotton and gave a very textured more delicate looking background.  I sponged on to this in places with fabric paint.  I think this was the most successful.

I really liked painting the fabrics with the Brusho and seeing how some fabrics remained very vibrant in colour and on others the colours became muted when dry. The silk noil in particular kept the colours very well. I liked printing on these backgrounds with fabric paint.  I used polystyrene blocks, blocks made from card and anything I could get my hands on such as forks and bottle tops. 

Experiments with Printing and Painting

To begin the printing exercises I decided to use some designs I had done from patterns on Native American pottery.  First I cut patterns into pieces of polystyrene sheet.  I used fabric paints mixing them to get the colours I wanted.  I printed onto papers I have previously painted.  It took me a while to judge the correct amount of paint to put to the block and then to apply the correct pressure to get a good clear print.  I realise that when printing a fabric piece a lot of practising would have to be done to get the technique correct.

I repeated the patterns turning the block at intervals lacing the images close to one another.  I also printed the patterns with space in between.  I can see that certain patterns work well when repeatedly printed close together.  Others look much better in isolation.

I made a relief block on card by gluing cut pieces of card onto the block.  This I printed onto plain paper.  I like the veins of colour that appeared on each printed section.  I used fabric paint for this.  When dry I printed over the first print in a different colour to build up the layers.  The image was then printed over with a different pattern using a polystyrene block.  When dry the page was washed with diluted ink.

I printed the card relief block onto a piece of calico that I had first painted and bonded some shapes on to it that had been made with painted bondaweb.  I think this piece will lend itself to stitching being done on it.

I cut pattern into lino and printed these onto painted tissue.  I used printing ink to print.  I continued to take prints until there wasn't any ink left on the block.  I like the effect of the prints after the first print was taken.  I also printed onto vilene.  Again I liked the prints taken after the initial one.

The prints below are in my sketchbook.  They were done on a variety of papers using polystyrene blocks an lino blocks and fabric paint.  When I was cleaning the lino block I printed repeatedly onto kitchen roll.  The kitchen roll had a circular pattern embossed in it and the lino pattern merged with this and looked quite effective. Something for me to be aware of to look closely at backgrounds before using them for print.  There can be some happy accidents! On the other hand there can be those that are not successful.  I printed onto crumpled brown with a polystyrene block and fabric paint.  The image disappeared because of the texture background.  I did like the highlighted surface though!

My most unsuccessful printing exercises were the stencil exercises.  I found it difficult to choose a design and had difficulty visualising the stencil before making it.  The stencil below is 12cm x 16cm.  I do like the clean lines that you can get with stencils that can contrast with the texture of the painted image.  I will persevere and try some more stenciling in my sketchbook.  I will try some different materials to make the stencils.

Part 2 - Project 4 Developing Design Ideas

Stage 2 - Looking for Shapes and Drawing

What are your thoughts about the drawings you did in Stage 3?

Looking at my drawings at this stage I feel I am beginning to get more of an 'eye' for colour.  At first I found it difficult to make a decision as to areas with relation to shape and size.  In the beginning I worked on a small scale - 3cm square.  When I found a composition I liked I enlarged it and began to feel more confident and comfortable working pieces approximately 12cm x 16cm.  I am becoming more confident with colour combinations and looking for inspiration and judging what elements are interesting and which to leave out.

Were you able to use your drawings successfully as a basis for further work?  Are there any other things you would like to try?

I think the quick 3cm square drawings I did were successful in that they were a good stepping stone for me to see which shapes worked well together and for me to then take these into drawing a larger piece.  The larger drawing drawings enabled me to experiment with texture and colour.  I would like to try drawing on a larger scale.  Obviously this depends on whether the elements I am using suit being worked larger.  From the exercises I have done I can see that working on a small scale is sometimes better than working larger.  When I have looked at some of the drawings I am beginning to feel that certain elements are not working and I am enjoying experimenting with different colour, materials and scale and feeling intuitive about my decisions.

Now that you have a good working method, Do you feel confident that you can carry on working in this way independently?

Yes I do feel I have more confidence to work independently.  
I have enjoyed the work on looking for shapes and drawing and this is giving me the confidence to look for inspiration and play around with shapes more. I feel I am able to interpret this in my own way although I think I could improve on this.  I still wonder if I am doing my work in a right or wrong way but this happens much more infrequently.

Part 2 - Project 3 Colour

Stage 1

To begin I chose to paint a colour wheel so that I could get the feel of the paint and the mixing.  I had painted a colour wheel years ago and thought it would be simple to do.  Of course it wasn't.  I used designer gouach to paint the wheels.  As I began to paint the double ring I felt it was becoming easier and I was getting more of an eye and feel for the paint and colours.  This was a really useful exercise for me and took me right back to basics.  Something I should remember for the future - it is good to get back to basics from time to time.



Stage 3 - Recording Colours Accurately

After painting the colour wheels I felt more confident to try out different paints.  I used gouache, watercolours, acrylics and Koh-I-Noor dyes.  I as used metallic acrylics.  I particularly liked working with the watercolours   felt I was able to judge how much of a different colour to mix with another to get the result I wanted.  As I played with all the different paints I started to get a feel for each one and began to judge more accurately the different amonts needed to mix for a specific colour I wanted.

Exercise 2

This involved choosing an 8cm square of brightly coloured patterned fabric and to paint from the edges of the fabric so that it is not possible to see where the fabric ends and the painting begins.  I found this difficult.  I am not sure whether the piece of fabric I chose was suitable but I persevered with it.  Looking at it now  see I have not got the tone quite right and would mix the paints differently.  I used designers gouache.

Exercise 3

The postcard I chose to use for this exercise I had had for a long time and have always liked it first for the colours and then the textures that can be seen on it.  I masked a 5cm square area where I thought the colours were particularly interesting.  Again it was difficult to get the mix of paints to copy the colours on the postcard.  Looking at the exercise again I feel I interpreted the colours closer on this than on the fabric exercise.  I also used a picture from a magazine of some flowers.  Again I masked off a 5cm square and recorded the colours.  I feel this was successful.

Stage 5 - Coloured Stitches

Exercise 1

I chose to work on a black background so chose a black cotton fabric to stitch on.  The most successful sample I feel is the french knot sample that I worked in reds and yellows.  Admittedly it is a favourite stitch of mine.  I stitched the knots in a range f threads - cotton perle, stranded cotton (using 2 strands and 6 strands) chenille, knitting ribbon, ribbon and silk thread.  I really like the area where the reds and yellows are stitched close together as it shows how the colours can change and then as the stitches become thinner and the black background is shown some of the stitches become jewel like.

I stitched a sample in pastel colours on a black cotton background fabric.  I used a variety of stitches - french knots, bullion stitch, fly stitch and couched threads.  This I think was not as successful as the red and yellow sample.  I stitched the bullion stitches closely together using variegated threads and like the way the colours flow.  I am not pleased with the couching.  Looking at it now I think I could have used more threads in different tones and seen how the colours played against each other.  I will do another sample at a later stage.  The fly stitch worked quite well as the colours changed when the stitch was sewn on top of each other - the pink merged into the background and the green was more visible.

Thinking about this exercise I realise I found working on a plain dark background quite challenging.  I prefer painted backgrounds and I like subtle colours.  I felt the colour exercises in Stage 5 were not as successfl as the paint exercises.  I found both very enjoyable and would like to develop stitch in relation to colour.  Also I will try these exercises in machine stitch.  I want to do a combination of hand and machine stitching.