MODULE TWO - INTRODUCTION

COLLECTING VISUAL INFORMATION

MY CHOICE OF ANIMAL FOR THIS MODULE IS THE AUSTRALIAN FRILL NECK LIZARD

Page 2.Intro.1

A selection of pictures of the Frill Neck Lizard in various poses and some words to describe its physical features and behavioural characteristics.

Page 2.Intro.2

RESOLVED SAMPLE

 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON RESOLVED SAMPLE

I have given quite a bit of consideration to your comments about doing additional stitching on my resolved sample. I did think initially about doing a few rows of hand stitching, but then I decided that I was trying to demonstrate the idea of disintegration by two means; reducing the stars in size and cutting into segments which are placed further and further apart. So my final thoughts are that I do not want to add extra hand stitching because that would be adding another detail which I didn’t think was necessary. But of course I am happy to hear further from you about that.

PRESENTATION

Thank you for your suggestion for the presentation of my resolved sample. I had to order some pelmet Vilene and I have cut out the shape out now, but I have to get some foam board. I think I will be able to get that at the local framer so I will be doing that this week.

HEALTH AND SAFETY RULES OBSERVED

· I used a rotary cutter for cutting fabric during this module and I always ensured that the blade was retracted once I had finished cutting my fabric.

· I also used a paper cutter which has a covered blade which is safer than using a knife such as a Stanley knife.

· When using inks and paints I covered the table I was using with a sheet of plastic to protect the table top. The floor in the workshop I use when I am using paints or inks etc has an unsealed floor and it is not really an issue if paint or ink is dropped on that, although I obviously try to prevent spills.

· In relation to machine sewing I took the usual precautions ensuring that I was sitting comfortably at my sewing table, and that I had sufficient light.

· Similarly, when hand sewing I ensured that I had sufficient light, and I usually have a plastic coated magnet next to where I am working so I do not lose my small embroidery scissors or my needles.

STORAGE OF COMPLETED WORK, MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT

· I have my sewing materials and tools stored in a large walk in cupboard in my sewing room which has floor to ceiling shelving. On these shelves I store items in large plastic storage boxes with labels on them, so I can (usually!) find what I am looking for quite easily. Papers I store flat on shelves.

· I also have another workshop room available to me where I have paints, inks, dyes etc. stored in a desk with drawers and also in plastic boxes. Again this keeps them safely stored but also enables me to locate items easily.

· The samples I have completed for Module one were originally glued on pages in an A4 Journal, but as time went on the Journal began to bulge and it was more difficult to scan pages easily. I have therefore removed all the pages from the journal, punched holes in the left hand edges and filed them in a large white ring binder folder which keeps them protected but also easily accessible.

· My resolved sampler is mounted on white pelmet Vilene and will be glued on white foam board and then wrapped in white acid free tissue paper. It will then stand on one of my shelves.

TIME LOG

I kept good records on my time log for the first 6 chapters of the module and then I became slack and did not keep a complete record. I have learnt my lesson and am keeping much better records for Module 2.

I have therefore calculated an estimate of between 150 and 180 hours in total for Module one which I have based on my good record for the first 6 chapters and my limited records for the balance.

COSTING OF MATERIALS

I kept a Material Cost Sheet for this module and the total amount I spent was A$216.70. I will endeavour to keep better records in this regard also for future Modules because although I have most items included I did not keep details of all the dates in the second half of the module.  I can scan a copy of my list to you if you wish.

Module One – Chapter 12 (3)

RESOLVED SAMPLE

 

I have completed my resolved sample and although it didn’t turn out quite as I had wanted I think it still demonstrates the process of disintegration. I have not embroidered outline stars in the background as we discussed in our emails. Part of my reasoning in relation to that is that my stars ended up larger than I had initially planned and therefore I wasn’t sure that they were necessary. However, I am certainly happy for feedback from you about that. The stars are larger because in my planning and paper design I overlooked the fact that I would be cutting on the outside of the stitching!  A basic error I know!

 

I have scanned the finished piece in 2 parts because of it’s length and also photographed it to show its full length.

 

This was a sample I did for the lines of stitching. It is hard to see in the scan on the dark fabric but not as hard to see on the actual fabric.




This is a scan of the finished sample in 2 pieces because it's too big for the scanner. Overall I think the process of disintegration is demonstrated.






I took this photo of the whole piece but the colour reproduction is not very good. The colours in the scan are correct, but this photo looks a bit washed out and bluish. I will retry a photo tomorrow and post it because I should be able to get it to look better than this.

 

 And here I am working on my resolved sample (with my Japanese embroidery stand behind me although that hasn't had much work done on it since I started this course!).

 

 

Module One – Chapter 13

 

CHAPTER 13

Herta Puls

I had seen a few pictures of this type of applique but hadn’t realised where it originated from or the intricacies of the designs. It was difficult to chose one to illustrate an example of Mola embroidery, but I decided to select two with an animal motif and two with a geometric motif as they are each commonly occurring themes:-

 

Kandinsky

Again I didn’t know much about Kandinsky. I was intrigued to see the variation in his works with some being almost traditional scenery and landscapes and others being quite abstract. There were a number of works which demonstrated the overlaying of shapes to create a sense of movement and depth. The following examples I felt were some examples of this:-

In the Black Square 1923

Composition VIII 1923

Unequal 1932

Several Circles 1926

Artist of my Choice – Jennifer Bowker (1948 – )

Jennifer Bowker is a quilt maker and textile artist who now lives in Canberra, Australia. However, she is married to a diplomat for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the Australian Federal Government and has lived in Syria, New Guinea, Western Samoa, Malaysia, Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem and Egypt. As she says on her website this “has influenced my subject matter and much of my work reflects my love of the Middle East.”

Jennifer’s original background was in science, but in 1997 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Visual) with First Class Honours from the Australian National University in Canberra. She has had a number of solo exhibitions of her quilts, won a number of awards and enjoys passing on her skills to students.

I do not know Jennifer personally and first became aware of her work recently when a series of pieces she had made for the Centenary celebrations in Canberra were featured in an Australian magazine, Textile Fibre Forum.

Her web site address is www.jennybowker.com.

I think her work is fascinating with such amazing detail and clever use of colour. Some of the quilts feature patchwork but a number are made using applique and other piecing methods.

I looked at the quilts she had featured on her website and thought that some of them appeared to have applique techniques used in them. Because the pictures were not very large and the detail was not clear enough when I enlarged them, I sent her an email and she confirmed that the following quilts feature applique:-

Abu Ali and the Gilded chairs

Ittayer and the Friday market in the City of the Dead

Mohamed Sa’ad Caretaker of the Mosque

Sandstorm over the White Desert

Snapshots in the Palmetum

Hassan and the Glass

Module One – Chapter 12 (2)

 

RESOLVED SAMPLE (Part 2)

I have now done some more work on my thoughts for the resolved sample.

I can see what you meant about starting with a larger star for the first one which I can see makes the contrast greater as they reduce in size.

I also did a second sample as you suggested for Chapter 9 where I cut the fabric on the outside of the sewn line and I have added that to Chapter 9. I think that would make a good star to use for this sample because it would enable me to sew the first two directly on to the background, and then make the others as whole stars on a calico background and cut them up and apply each of the separate pieces to the background.

I have done a paper sample using this idea. It is 46cm long and so I have had to scan it in 2 pieces.

I think I would do the the background rows of stitching by hand in a running stitch with a medium thickness thread. If there is a piece of calico behind the fabric I think there would be an impression of low level quilting.

I would also use a background fabric with a small amount of pattern so it does not detract from the star design. This piece I’ve used is very plain but it was the only green piece I had which was large enough.

I had done a previous paper sample but I wasn’t happy with it, and the background paper was too detailed and the angle of the curve where the stars were added was too shallow. However, I did use it to cut the top and bottom edges to reflect the curved lines, and I would be interested to know if you think that would be ok in my resolved sample.

Module One – Chapter 12

RESOLVED SAMPLE (Part one)


Some initial thoughts.

I decided to put some ideas on paper to help me think about disintegration of the star shapes I”ve been using. I had 4 initial different ideas and then decided that maybe I could combine the first and second ideas above. So I then took it in a different direction as set out below. I did think 3 above could be done either in a straight line as shown or on a curved line moving the further stars slightly to the right as they reduced in size.

I thought this might work with a green background with red stars using some of the applique techniques from this module. (Again I’ve got a mark on the scanner but I have fixed it now!). I also thought this would enable me to use some of the various techniques from the module.

 

 

Module One – Chapter 11 First and second thoughts

 

 

 

 

RESOLVED SAMPLE – GROWTH AND DISINTEGRATION
FIRST THOUGHTS – PAPER EXPERIMENTS

This is the first page of examples. The top one has been perforated by a hole punch. The second one I used a heated heat tool to make marks which left some holes. The bottom one is cut with scissors but it looks a bit flat now, probably because of being put in the scanner.
 

‘'

The same problem of looking flat applies to the top sample which is cut with crimping scissors round the edges and internally. The second sample (on the right) was a bit of an overexposure to the gas cook top. The third piece is perforated with a metal skewer and the final one I crumpled and ripped.

 

SECOND THOUGHTS – PAPER SHAPES

I did three in this series and ripped each one so it is not very accurate but I wanted to experiment with something that was not as structured and “neat”. I have a tendency to want to be "neat" so this is a challenge for me.

The marks on each one is a mark on the glass of the printer which I didn’t notice until I looked at the scans. I have been having trouble with the scanner working sometimes and not other times, so I haven’t redone them, but I can once I have sorted the problem.

 

Module One – Chapter 11 Third and fourth thoughts

 

THIRD THOUGHTS – FABRIC SHAPES

 

These samples are all made from one of the curtaining samples I bought and they worked quite well in that they frayed well; however, they are a little transparent and so the glue shows where I stuck them onto the black paper to put in my journal. I followed the examples in the Module and was surprised really by the variety of effects that could be achieved by such simple techniques.

On the second sample here I realised when I looked at the scan that I have lost the top right hand square somewhere between sticking it on and scanning it. I have made another one, but now can’t get the scanner to co-operate so it will have to remain lopsided at the moment!

I used the threads from the other samples and little pieces of scrap pieces of fabric from making those samples and ironed them between two layers of Bondaweb. The second sample is the cut out triangles from the first, used to create a negative shape. This made a more interesting sample than I was expecting and would look good embellished with some beads and a small amount of embroidery.

FOURTH THOUGHTS – STITCHED SHAPES

This series of samples began with a simple 4 pointed star bonded to the background fabric. I sewed two rows of straight stitching with the stitches off set from each other. The thread was a variegated cotton thread. I chose this colour thread to try to pick up some of the colours in the background fabric so that the shape looked as thought it was getting smaller and less solid. I photographed the sample after each two rows was finished.

This series started with the same shape and I used the same thread gradually filling the space with French knots. This was intended to create the impression the shape was disintegrating. Again, I photographed the sample after groups of stitches were completed.

These are the two completed samples in my journal with the starting piece at the top.

 

The top one of these samples was sewn with two rows of stitching and then the inside and outside edges frayed to show disintegration.

The second sample is a piece of my printed fabric cut into a star shape and bonded to the background fabric. I then did a lot of single stitches in various lengths in a variegated red thread, again intending to show disintegration.

These three samples are all the same size but for some reason when I scanned them they changed size and I can’t seem to fix it. They are using a cut away applique technique with added lines sewn around the edge of the shape to give the impression that the shape is reducing in size.