In this section of the course there is a choice of working sample 1 or sample 2 from visual ideas. After reading the information on sample 1 and 2 I decided to work sample 1. This was because I felt the guidance given for sample 1 was more suited for my way of working and my ideas.
I found it difficult from the start. First, I had a hard time choosing my visual source material. It wasn't that I couldn't find any I think it was was I had too much choice and could see good and bad in all the ideas. I finally went back to the first picture that had attracted me. It is a postcard that I had in my collection and I have always been drawn to the colours and texture of the photograph. At first glance the colours seem just to be a variety of neutral ones of the stonework with the dark contrast of the wooden doors. On closer inspection there were other colours - oranges and a turquoise that is in the grey stone.
I gathered together threads and yarns that I thought reflected the colours well. At this point I was panicking slightly because I had not a great deal of the threads I had chosen. I wrapped these around a piece of card as closely to the proportions in a section of the postcard that I had windowed off. I felt quite settled with these choices and then followed the instructions in the course guide as to marking horizontal lines on graph paper in the proportions of the colours in the picture. I then coloured between these lines with watercolour pencils as close to the colours as I could. So far so good.
I decided to warp up my frame with a fine perle cotton in a neutral colour. I also decided that I would not make the warp too wide as I was concerned about the amount of thread and yarn I had to weave with. As I worked it quickly became apparent to me that I was just copying the thread card I had made. I thought that was alright as I was also working from the graph paper. I looked again at the guidance in the coursebook. I had read this over many times and thought I had interpreted these correctly but as I worked and looked again I began to wonder whether I was supposed to work the threads as the section of the picture and not in horizontal lines. Should I have drawn sections on the graph paper within the horizontal lines. I really found this unclear.
In hindsight I think I should have drawn and coloured sections on the graph paper although I feel my weaving is a good interpretation of the colours and textures of the picture. I would say that it is not as free as the samples worked in Stages 2 and 3. I prefer the samples I did in Stages 2 and 3 because I did not feel as restricted and I enjoyed working more intuitively.
Update after Tutor Feedback
After receiving my tutor's feedback on this assignment I decided to go back to this piece of weaving. My tutor had said that perhaps I could go back to the picture and section off two other areas and make two more weavings. I was a bit sceptical about doing this at first as I had thought this piece of work too small. Previously I had said that I preferred my other samples that were worked more freely but I have to say that I enjoyed going back to this part of the exercise and liked working smaller. I liked analysing the picture for the colours and think that the two new weavings complement the first one very well. When speaking to my tutor the last time we discussed the sizing of samples and she put my mind at rest that the size could be small. I now realise that I can work samples any size it is what is working for me at that time. Taking note of what my tutor has said and going back to this piece of work has made me realise that I can see a piece of work in a new light and that work can be added to or reworked and take work in a different direction.
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