Exploring the dark side, images of work from my studio.

I really enjoy making books especially junk books there's something satisfying about upcycling bits and pieces and ending up with something completely different and unique, give it a whirl you know you want to!

This little beauty is from www.dneese.blogspot.com 

There is nothing like returning
to a place that remains unchanged
to find ways in which
you yourself have altered.

--- Nelson Mandela

Have a great weekend

Midweek meander, Armel Barraud.

Continuing the theme for this week looking at wire drawings, the work of french artist Armel Barraud.

Armel makes her work with a technique similar to bobbin lace, beautiful and interesting work.

To see more www.armelbarraud.com  

Drawing with a sewing machine.

First session of  'Drawing with a sewing machine' last Friday and I couldn't have asked for a better day. As the course involves drawing and most people are scared of this especially in front of other people, I had been wracking my brain for the right approach. I wanted them to, 1, get rid of their fears, 2, loosen up their drawing style and enjoy the results and 3, understand the concept of a continuous line drawing. This is what I decided to do, firstly get rid of the visual fears of 'oo' that is no good, it doesn't look right'. I had asked them to bring along a scarf and I had bought some items from home, without seeing the items, they first donned their blindfolds ie scarves (apprehension was palpable). I then placed the items in front of them and asked them to draw what they could feel with their hands and not what they knew. Results, wow!

Next they began drawing things that they were really familiar with, now drawing with their eyes closed. After that and gaining in confidence I asked them to draw as if they were drawing with wire, resolving the issue of getting from A to B in a continuous line. Finally I asked them to draw with the opposite hand that they used for writing. These are a few of the results, wonderful, wonderful drawings. None of them had had any drawing experience and all of them were pleased and amazed with the results, here are a few of the images.

I hope that you agree, lively expressive drawings and there are many, many more like this, to many to post I'm afraid.

After lunch and a little chat about the why's and wherefore's of sewing machine drawing, and feeling confident about the drawing side of things, they launched into their first stitched images, and here they are.

Great fun aren't they?

I will be posting more results in a few weeks time. Some interesting things came up in the feedback session at the end, I asked them if they would have still come if they had known in advance that they would be asked to draw, answer NO, did they know that they could draw like this and produce these results, answer NO, had they grown in confidence about their drawing abilities and was they exercise useful, answer YES. Finally, would you have stitched these type of images if you had started sewing without doing these drawing exercises, NO definitely not. Have a go yourself if you feel intimidated by drawing you never know until you try!

Lastly a big thank you to, Lucinda, Margaret, Janice, Val and Jane for allowing me to use their images. Have fun.

Looking at texture and stitch.

Texture in stitch adds a extra dimension to a piece of work, mixing up different thicknesses of thread and chunky stitches gives wonderful surfaces. This week I have been looking at images showing the different approaches that people take to raise the surface of stitch.

Both of these lovely pieces of work are by Stevie Walker. Nature captured in a very expressive and individual way.

Beautiful and inspiring work from Gavin Fry.

Erin Endicott. Inventive use of stitch.

Erin Endicott. Detail of Healing Sutra 10.

Detail of Coral Wall. Artist Unknown. Wonderful, expressive texture and colour.

Artist Lindsey Woolsey. Gentle and quiet.

Artist unknown.

Artist unknown. The beading on this textured surface bring the work to life.

In making we see.



Drawing with a sewing machine.

Hi, I'm teaching a stitched drawings workshop which is coming up in a couple of weeks so with this in mind I thought that I would show you some of  the ways that artists are using this technique. I find drawing with stitch very satisfying as a way of working, it has a freedom and quirkiness to it that gives individual results to everybody.If you enjoy textiles or mixed media this technique lends itself to being used in various ways.

This is a beautiful contemporary piece of work, to see more www.gerdiary.blogspot.com

Fun and funky, artist unknown.

The quirky work of Rachel Colman titled 'Rabbit'.

Another interesting piece of work, a little stitched book. It is by Cathy Cullis, to see more visit www.cathycullis.blogstop.com

A detail of a larger piece of work with an interesting use of fabric and stitch, by Debbie Bates.

Moving House. Rachel Howard.

Finally pure drawing. 'Somewhere Else' Bernie Leahy. Fantastic.'

www.efibreart.com

What could you do? Go on give it a go.

Midweek meander.

Aoyama Window Cloth, detail.

Today I thought that we would look at the wonderful work of Matthew Harris.

Aoyama Window Cloth, detail.

Matthew Harris is a graduate of the textile course at Goldsmiths College and has been working with textiles since 2000, having for the previous ten years made and exhibited drawings and works on paper. He has shown in a number of group and solo exhibitions throughout the U.K, Ireland and Japan.

Ayoama window notebook. Mixed media on stitched paper, 

Design development drawings - cartoon for cloth.

Matthew Harris makes work that employs dying, cutting and hand stitching. It is concerned primarily with abstract imagery and the translation of drawn marks into cloth. By making work that is pieced, patched and assembled, he aims to create pieces that explore repetition, pattern and the disrupted or dissonant journey of line and image across and through the surface of cloth.

Echo Cloth. 96x67cm.

Dyed, cut and hand hand stitched cloth.

Echo Cloth. 96x67cm.

Dyed, cut and hand stitched cloth.

For me the appeal of Matthews cloths are the loose painterly marks, the colour choices and the way that the cloths are pieced together. The type of stitching is used as another layer of mark making and the constant re cutting and piecing results in complex works of art, I think the work also  helps us to better understand the making process. His cloths have so much life within them and every piece has considered thought in both design and process. Matthews sketchbooks are beautiful pieces within their own right and his mark making makes me want to get out my inks and start to draw and create.

To see more of this work www.matthewharriscloth.co.uk you can also find more work on flickr in Hatthew Harris and Gary Breeze photostream, enjoy.

 

Edgeing and details.

I have been working on some small samples which I can layer together in different combinations to see how they look and how they would work in different contexts. I make them individually and keep them fairly neutral as a way of giving me various permutations, its an easy way of visualizing the 'what if' concept without actually tying it to a specific piece of work.

Tacked folded triangle edging layered into a seam, ric rac and felt balls with embroidery.

Buttons, decorative stitch and paper.

Additions of patchwork and knots.

Making samples and trials in this way generates ideas about how they can be used in a piece of work. By changing the colours, layout , textures and stitch, the additions can be delicate, bold, folksy or contemporary dependant on your need. Mixing and matching techniques is fun and interesting.

 Using this method have a go and see what you can come up with, all of these images are made up using the same set of small samples, I think they all have a different feel to them and that's without changing the fabrics!