PE TASK

Contextual references to me are of great importance within any project that I produce, whether it is inspiring my ideas, drawings, sketchbook, samples or final piece. I think that without this research and inspiration my work would not be as successful as it is, as it would be lacking in focus and drive due to not being inspired by things I have seen.

Jeremy Wood.
My drawings for this Sampling project based on Data, have been heavily focussed on line quality and negative space.  One of my main inspirations for these drawings and further work was Jeremy Wood. Wood is an artist and map maker who pioneered GPS drawing too investigate the expressive qualities of tracing his daily movement digitally. The imagery that Wood creates from this process are so interesting and unusual, and the main attraction for me to his work was the inverted look of some of the imagery. Rather than being traditional black drawings on white background, he makes use of white drawings on a black background which look so effective. Also, the idea of a drawing being the outcome itself is something I find inspiring as a student, as drawing to me is very important and my main drive through a project.

Negative space map drawing.

Christine Mauersberger.

Another important contextual reference within the unit of work for me was the artist Christine Mauersberger. As I have said previously on my blog, installation art is something which I find really appealing and inspiring, and is definitely something I would love to do in future work. I think that if we were to create final outcomes of this project would progress into large scale pieces of embroidered fabric, rather than a garment or interior piece.  Mauersberger’s use of line and fabric is what attracted me too her work, as my samples and drawings have been heavily focussed on line and mark and the impact these have on a piece of fabric or paper. I love the way that her pieces look quite simple and plain at first glance, but at full scale they are beautifully embroidered and well thought out and composed.

Tailor tacking sample with satin zig zag stitch lines.

Karen M O'Leary

Artist Karen M O’Leary’s paper cut maps have also been a big source of inspiration to me in this unit of work. Mark making has been a big focus within the drawings I have produced from start too end of this project, after a drawing workshop at the beginning of the unit I realised that mark making with objects not always associated with drawing is a very useful way of creating drawings filled with unusual marks and textures relating to ideas and themes we already have in mind. It was the use of colour blocks and the filling of negative space in O’Learys work that attracted me too her work, as use of negative space and filling or drawing with negative space has been the theme of my drawings and sampling for this unit.

Mark making drawing- map lines.

Embroidery: machine stitch week three.

This final week in machine embroidery has been spent using 3 different sizes of pin tuck feet, developing samples and sketchbook work, along with choosing 25 samples out of both my hand and machine embroidery samples too mount as final samples.

Pin tuck background with tailor tack stitch- map lines.

Of my samples this week, this is my most successful. I think that pin tucking the fabric all over to use as a background worked really well as something too work on top of, and then adding the tailor tacked lines inspired by the lines of my map drawings made the sample come too life. The addition of the white filling some of the negative space between the lines also adds too the success of the sample.

Pin tuck background with satin stitched pin tuck map-like lines on either side of fabric.

If I was too improve a sample that I have done this week, I would choose this cream with black stitched pin tucks. I think that the cream cotton doesn't give the look that I'd like it too, and this is because my research and drawings are heavily focussed on black and white and so the addition of cream doesn't look success. 

Pin tuck- avoiding mapped out lines.

My most unsuccessful sample of the week is this simple pin tuck sample, filling in negative space to create lines. Although this idea of creating a drawing my stitching around the lines has made some of the most successful samples of this project over the last few weeks with use of the other machine feet, the pin tuck foot on this fabric has distorted and made unusual lines and marks which do not look as successful as my other samples.

Embroidery: machine stitch week two.

This week in machine embroidery, I have been using both the tailor tack foot and zipper foot with the hairpin technique (making use of the end of an old coat hanger too wrap a thick yarn around then sew too fabric).

Both of these feet allowed me too develop my ideas and theme with more interesting and unusual samples rather than just normal stitch into fabric.

Tailor tack tucks from the back- negative space line drawing.

Of this weeks samples, I think that this is one of my most successful ones. Created by using the tailor tacking foot on a folded edge of the fabric, then opening it out. It is much more interesting on the underneath rather than the tucked side. Again i used the drawing from negative space technique by stitching around lines I mapped out on the under side- creating a drawing from the not stitched space.

Hairpin technique with zipper foot overlayed with satin zig zag stitch- map line drawings.

A sample which I think would be better with improvement is this hair pinned and stitched over one. Although I like the idea of having this background of pile like yarns too stitch over, I think that if I was too do it again, I would improve it by hair pinning the yarn closer together too avoid gaps and give it a bit more substance. I would also stitch much more over the top too add more line and structure.

Hairpin technique and satin set pattern 6. - negative space drawing,

My least successful of the samples I have done this week would be this sample.This is because it didn't work out like I expected it too. The parts that are "hair pinned" look too "thrown on" against the black background and variable thread stitch. I'd like it to have been much softer and that it flowed better than it does.

Embroidery: machine stitch week one.

Week one of machine embroidery- spent developing the ideas I have been exploring through hand embroidery with machine techniques using machine feet 6 & 21.

set pattern 6 with machine foot no6- negative space drawing.

My most successful samples of the week would be this negative space piece, done simply with different kinds of stitches using the number 6 foot. The success of this sample is due to the way I've drawn around lines/shapes in the negative space too create a drawing, rather than simply stitching lines too represent lines. I think this technique could be developed a lot further with all techniques I'll be learning in machine embroidery.

Satin stitch with foot no6- negative space drawing.

Although this samples is a nice idea and the fabric i have create with the satin stitch feels and looks nice on the chequered fabric, I think that too improve on this, I should re-do it but instead of leaving the squares, draw around lines inspired by my map drawings as I have with the above sample. I think this will make it much more interesting and express my ideas and theme.

Cording with foot no26  and straight stitch with foot no6- mapping lines on sheer.

The least successful piece of the week, is this chiffon sample with cording. The marks and lines that the different stitch types and threads/yarns have created in this piece don't look effective enough, however I think that the folds the stitches have made are quite interesting and this idea could be explored in other samples.

Contextual Reference: Christine Mauersberger.

Artist Christine Mauresberger's "mind map installation" work instantly reminded me of some of the samples I have already done in this project, especially within machine embroidery. I love the importance of line, thread and fabric choice in these pieces as that's also of key importance in my work. Installation art is something that I have always had a keen interest in, because as a textiles student I see myself as much more of an artist than a designer. I always see my work as more one off pieces than something that would be mass produced.

Embroidery: hand stitch week three.

In this final week of hand embroidery, I have been continuing with sample development, learning and moving on from last weeks successes and failings. A group critic with the machine group has been very helpful in preparing my  thoughts and ideas for machine stitch and showed me the possibilities for progressing my work into machine stitch.

Squared hand stitch samples- mapping line drawings and inverted maps.

Inspired by some mark making drawings which I did relating to map imagery, these two samples have been really successful. Again I like the inverted look these samples have of each other, and also the marks and lines look very effective and interesting. They also relate well too both my drawings and research, and I think that techniques in machine stitch will allow me too develop these ideas much further.

Running and wide ladder stitch- map lines & filling negative space.

I also think this samples is very successful,I like the way the long stretched ladder stitch fills up the blocks of black, as without this the sample would not be as effective or interesting as it is. I also think the thread colour choice in this sample makes it so successful, as the white really stands out against the black and the grey gives it good tone.

Running and ladder stitch- compact map lines.

Due to the simplicity and lack of detailed sections in this sample, compared too the other samples I have done this week it is not as successful. This is because it shows much less development and structure like the others.

Overall, I have really enjoyed hand stitch over the past three weeks, and I'm really looking forward to be able too expand my knowledge of techniques as well as samples and ideas through machine stitch. I think that machine stitch will give me the opportunity to push my project much further and create new exciting samples.