Book Making Workshop

This Monday I had an amazing workshop with Marian Eliot learning about different forms of book making and book arts. Starting with an informative power-point I was shown a range of different books, giving an introduction to the basics of book making. During this workshop I got to make four different books. I learnt a pamphlet bind to stitch together folded sheets. I tried this with long envelopes and different sizes of pages. I thought the envelopes were a very interesting addition to the book, making pockets in some of the pages. Second I revisited the flower or star fold I had learnt from a workshop last year with Becky Adams and explored vigorously when looking at paper manipulation. When making this flower folded book I put thought into the types of papers and the formation of colours together. After making the three books I found I had made a series of different books that all shared a similar colour scheme. After making my books I requested for a demonstration on how to bind single sheets as I had an ideas for my sketchbook. Before I was struggling to work in a sketchbook as whenever I thought of it I paniced about the formation of pages and just didn't do anything. After this workshop I had the idea to work on separate sheets and to then bind them together at the end. This demonstration showed us how to stab bind sheets that I now plan to use for my sketchbook at the end of my project to bind together my sketchbook pages. These books were made without a purpose and more to look nice on their own without any thought about the content but with these new binding skills I can put a lot more thought into book making.

Wally Gilbert

Today we had a gravity lecture from Wally Gilbert. I wasn't to interested in the process of jewellery making and how complicated it must be to make it but I really liked the patterns he made in his work. I specifically liked the natural shapes in some of this work. I was quite interested how he had touched on so many different areas, whether it was print making or iron casting. I really liked his unique style that you can see in each piece of his work. I also liked in the lecture how he mentioned all the people he'd met on his journey of being a maker and the places he had visited. I thought that was quite nice and sentimental.

Anne Gibbs

Yet again another lecture from a ceramics artist. I wasn't too interested in her ceramic work I found it a bit plain with not a lot happening. I liked the idea of having a collection of items together but I found Anne's collection uninteresting. I liked the places Anne visited whilst on her artist residential  I would find these places very inspirational. Her lecture showed me what artist residentials could entail giving me a better idea of what they are and give you.

Illustrator workshop

Today I had my first workshop in using illustrator to use the laser cutter or vinyl cutter but mostly for the laser cutter. I found it to be a refresh on what I'd already learnt in a introduction in foundation.

Quilting

Carrying on from my dyed fabrics I had decided to cut them up into hexagons and stitch them together on a fabric backing giving a quilted effect. I really like this but I feel like this needs adding to but it's certainly my favorite sample yet. I could use a different shape to hexagon and try segments of leaves

Tutorial: Claire

Since I talk to Kate about my 3DSP and DD work, I have been so worried about whether my sample are DD or 3DSP. Unable to work out for myself which was what I need to find help. I discussed my problem with Claire and cleared it all out for me that if I when I was making it was new and to try out then it's 3DSP but then if I were to then explore that process with my DD themes then It'd be classed as DD. I found it really difficult to differentiate between the two as I had used elements of DD as subjects when testing processes as I had no other images to use.
Afterwards we talked about how my DD is coming along and I got an interesting idea to add messages within my textile pieces but they don't have to be seen.

Bev Milward

Again we had a ceramicist lecture, this time from Bev Milward. I'd seen Bev Milward's work before at craft fairs around Hereford and Rather liked it's sentimental element. What I liked about Bev's work was how it was all self narrated and changes as her life moves and changes. You can certainly see a development that has changed with her drawing/mark making in the work that always add more to the images she creates. I very much like her style of drawing and colour choice that make it very much her own. I also liked how she kept a similar style that she knows works like "two figures and a landscape".

Tutorial: Kate

I am scared of my sketchbook and I've only just realized it and had to talk to someone about it or I'd never input into it. During my tutorial Kate told me that it doesn't matter on the presentation and to keep it solely on the quality of the content. I still can't decided whether to be putting my 2D samples in my sketchbook or photos of them in. I'm tempted to put them in my sketchbook like I did on my foundation which I was happy with and I might not need to be so concerned with how my sketchbook looks.

Also I need to differ between my 3DSP and my DD as my samples have been very much the same. I need to get into the textile workshop to start weaving. I think I now know what I'm going to do for my weave by looking at more patterns rather then seeing what I can weave with.

Natural Fabric Dyes

I spent my morning boiling the most unusual foods in an attempt to dye fabrics with natural dyes. I was surprised to see how it worked so well. I got some really strong colours and some weak. This is my first great addition to my 3DSP. I think i may need to redo some of the ones that didn't turn out so well but it was a good first attempt.

Fabric Dying

I skipped cultural studies because I was having too much fun in the textile workshop playing with fabric dyes. I took the colours from my colour scheme from the plants at Berrington Hall and autumn leaves. I'm going to then cut them up and stitch them together in a quilt form. I could try to recreate the the shapes in the segmented leaf I painted or reuse my theme of hexagons. Oh an idea I could create leaves out of them with stitch. I'm going to try that after I've done patches.

Textile Mark Making

I joined the first years today int he textiles workshop for some mark making. I wanted to try these processes for 3DSP anyway so it was good that I got the chance to tag along.

I revisited dysperse dyes again as a resist with photocopied images. Where the photocopied image was on the sheet it wouldn't pick up the dye. I experimented with my hexagon prints and layering.

I also got to return to procion dyes as well but by painting it onto screen and using binder to transfer the image onto a fabrics or paper.

I tried emulsion printing that I've been waiting to attempt for a little while now. Printing onto fabric or paper using emulsion paint as a transfer. I reused my hexagon photocopies and looked at how different colours effected it.

I'd like to try some of these techniques again but with my own drawings of leaves.

Batik

After doing reliefs with dysperse dying I got the idea to try batik. I started just testing how the wax worked with different shapes and the procion dyes for 3DSP. I then tested using metal shapes from the metal workshop to make perfect squares and circles.

Once I'd got the idea for how it works I created leaf shapes and played with different layers and colours to get autumn leaf effects. I really liked how it turned out I'd like to do some more and work out some of the kinks. Try mixing up some colours and make it darker.

Digital Print and Stitch

I was certainly looking forward to this in digital print and stitch workshop for a while now. With a digitally prepared image we were able to transfer it using the software onto fabric using the special fabric print. Very much like when I photocopied onto fabric in foundation, except this time it'll be way more permanent. I had mine printed on assitate which made the image really faint. I should have probably picked silk.

After trying printing we got to have a go on the digital stitch sewing machine. The machine was instantly able to stitch text so we each had a word stitched out. I could think of a word relevant to my work yet so I just had my name stitched. It was the most beautiful text ever. My name should always be written out in stitch.