Some differing approaches to design

This post first appeared on Traverse Textile Art.

There are many ways of approaching design work for textiles and mixed media pieces.  I thought we might look at the various ways I have tried in the past - often on workshops.

Counterchange

I attended a Gillian Travis workshop where we worked on counterchange. This is where you cut out shapes - in this example circles in paper squares - and exchange them so that the colours are in different places.  I continued with the large heart and then the small heart.

Working in fabric I only changed one heart with another but started with several different coloured squares.

In this version there were three different pear shapes.

Taking a shape
Another way to play with design is to take a shape and cut into it and expand it.

In the examples above the shapes cut out were glued down on the outside of the original shape.  In the example below the rectangle was cut into different shapes and glued down with different intervals to expand the shape.

You can see the quilts made by Claire Higgott using this method on her website.  Click on Split Shapes in her Portfolio.


Drawing
You can take part of a photograph or part of your own drawing and make a physical stamp or digital stamp and produce various patterns.

This can lead to a piece of stitched textile.

I went on a Jean Draper workshop where we drew a small object and then expanded it on a photocopier.  This can inform structures, work on paper and fabric.  I wrote about this on my blog.

Non-visual inspiration for design
Not all inspiration has to be visual.  You could use a poem or a piece of music to inspire your work.  Earlier this year I used the poem 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost to produce a concertina book.  My starting point was the text and unusually for me through various stages of the design process I ended up with this:

Playing
Of course, there's always just letting the fabric 'speak' to you and coming up with a piece of work that results from playing with ideas without planning.  Just go with the flow and see where it takes you.

Some of my Venice pieces came from playing. I printed with stamps and thermofax screens randomly on a large piece of cotton using thickened dyes and fabric paints.

I played again with stencils and screens to make a further piece of fabric which eventually became this set of 9 Venice Tiles.

And finally in this post,  there's thinking!

Thinking
Lots of textile artists use sketchbooks and workbooks, experiment and make samples, I tend to think.  Instead of making several samples I think through what each once might be, ask the 'what if ...' questions and then disregard the ideas.  I might write a list of all the possibilities so that I have the capacity to think through each option - rather than hold the list in my head.  Maybe I miss out on some ideas by not doing samples.  I don't know. What I do  know, is that I produce pieces that work for me and really that's all that counts.

How do you design your work?

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Jean Draper

I recently spent 3 days at Bobby Britnell's studio on a workshop led by Jean Draper.

The course description:
The aim of this workshop will be to begin with the study of examples of small details from natural objects, leading to the development of different personal ideas for work in stitched textiles. Structured experimental drawing and design exercises, investigating the scope offered by changes of scale, tone, texture and colour, together with demonstrations, will encourage students to choose ways to develop their own ideas both 2 and 3 dimensionally. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on making notes and sampling in fabric and thread in order for more resolved work to continue later if wished.

I signed up for this because I really wanted to know how to get from design to stitch.  Even though it meant drawing!

We were asked to take a collection of some natural things and I took some shells.

I chose to draw this one.

I eventually drew something that looked freer but sadly didn't photograph it on its own.  It will appear on my display board later.

Jean asked us to cover a sheet of paper with willow charcoal and then draw using a putty rubber.

The next day we photocopied parts of our various drawings enlarging them as much as we could.  I liked this day.  Lots of paper folding and mark making.

I eventually realised that I didn't have to copy my drawings but could be inspired by them.  I cut shapes out of the photocopy and added black paper.

 I photocopied the piece above and cut away the white on the right and folded it.  I love the shadows.

 I cut into this photocopy and folded the cuts.   The orange paper behind really lights up the holes.

On our last day I did some fabric manipulation and stitching.

Here's the final display board at the end of 3 days.

I'm not sure yet how much these 3 days will influence my textile practice.  I need to process it for a while.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Recording the black & white walk

Last time you will remember that I showed the photos from the walk I did from Kingswood Junction to Lowsonford.

The aim of this sketchbook exercise is to draw what you saw as you walked.  I didn't particularly want to draw things so I filled the pages with text and stencilling. I own a lot of stencils and I thought this would be a great way to use some of them.

The next activity was to isolate areas within the drawings to make 'tiles' which can then be made into stamps.  To be honest using the stencils made this part of the syllabus a bit difficult.

I was reading Jean Draper's book, Stitch and Pattern, where she suggested drawing a stylised leaf and making patterns using that.  I drew a stylised Hawthorn leaf as I had seen Hawthorn  hedges all along the side of the canal.

I made a sponge leaf, 2 funky foam leaves and 2 lino cut leaves.  These are the stamped images.

I made these into digital stamps and spent quite a lot of time producing pages of various versions of repeat patterns.

The spaces between the printed leaves interested me and I traced that and made another set of digital stamps and printed out repeat patterns for my sketchbook.

I also made yet another set of funky foam stamps using this shape.  I printed with a variety of the stamps on fabric.

The first set or prints are with Formusol - a discharge paste - which removes the colour from black fabric.

The formusol was spread on some plastic and then pressed onto the fabric.

White acrylic fabric paint on black fabric

Black acrylic fabric paint on white fabric

I have lots of ideas whirling around in my head but need to settle down to making 12 samples as a way of working to my final piece.

In the meantime I have a Jean Draper 3 day workshop to attend at Bobby Britnell's studio and a one day with Caroline Merrell.  This is on experimental inkjet printing learning how to transfer my favourite images that I have taken onto silk and then proceed to add fibres to nuno felt.  I will of course be using a photo from my canal walk, to use as one of my samples.

There will of course be blog posts to let you know how I get on.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Oops! I've done it again

You may remember that at the beginning of 2018 I told myself to stop signing up for online classes and only do in person workshops.  And mostly I kept to that!  Although I did do rather a lot of in person workshops despite having to cancel a few because of my hand.

By the end of 2018 I felt that for 2019 I should cut back on in person workshops and concentrate on my own work.

Let's see how that worked out!!!!

January
Cas Holmes: From the Land
A mixed media workshop introducing the student to approaches to using paper, textile, print, dye and stitch to create pieces based on the ‘land’ and landscape or a subject of your choice. A focus will be placed on stitching as an extension of mark making and drawing, and various means of layering. We will use photocopies, and build up images, textures and mix materials. The workshop is experimental and intended to provide students with different ideas for development based on the artist’s own practice.

My work from a previous Cas Holmes workshop

January/February
Unlocking the Mystery of Creative Play
‘How do I make better work?’ We will look at simple language and principles of design found in the physical world. Working from a personal starting point, discover tools to create contrast and harmony using colour, value, size, shape, and texture. Bring your curiosity to discover what you like and how to achieve the elements you need to work with your theme and create effective compositions.

Triptych Wallhanging
Three panels that will be mounted on a canvas that can be attached together or presented adjoining each other. Each panel will be a different felting technique and you will be encouraged to use an array of mixed media, metal, stone, fabric, gold leaf for added interest and surface texture, stenciling paints. Cutting and revealing hidden surfaces to building up 3 dimensional tassels, tubes or multiple level craters

May
Eco Dyeing and Botanical Prints
n this course we will cover;
•fabric preparation with mordants in order to develop the richest colour, an essential foundation
•immerse dyeing to achieve beautiful colours and shades
•modifying and enhancing shades and tones
•botanical print direct leaf contact transferring colour from leaf to cloth
•solar dyeing, an effective way to simply allow colour to transfer to fabric
•happa-zome, a quick and satisfying experience of creating pattern and print

In Detail: Inspiration for stitching from sources hardly noticed
Many wonderful inspirational design opportunities exist around us if we take time to discover them. The aim of this workshop will be to begin with the study of examples of small details from natural objects, leading to the development of different personal ideas for work in stitched textiles. Structured experimental design exercises, investigating the scope offered by changes of scale, tone, texture and colour, together with demonstrations, will encourage students to choose ways to develop their ideas both 2 and 3 dimensionally.  Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on making notes and sampling in fabric and thread in order for work to continue later if wished

June
Tactile Notebooks and the Written Word
This workshop will help you to find your own living language through the creation of a vibrant notebook practice. Motivated by ‘haptic’ considerations we will use the sense of touch to stimulate and awaken perception to guide the making process, and to revive sensitivity to the way we communicate both visually and verbally.

July
Leah Higgins: Breakdown Your Palette
This five-day, focussed, workshop combines an in-depth exploration of breakdown printing and the study of colour to create a palette of beautiful, co-ordinated cloth. Working from your own inspirational images or objects you will extract colours to use as you work with a range of breakdown printing techniques. We will also investigate the use of discharge paste in breakdown and how your printed fabrics can be enhanced by other surface design techniques.

Breakdown printing from a Committed to Cloth workshop

So that's 7 major 2,3 or 5 day workshops booked into the first 6 months of 2019.   Not to mention the on going Art Textile Group at Littleheath Barn,  the exhibitions with Traverse and the Master Practitioner course.

It's just as well I'm retired, have no dependants and never do housework!

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice