Virtual and Visual

Lost In Lace

2012-01-27T17:42:00.001Z

I have just been to Birmingham to see the Craft Council's Exhibition "Lost in Lace" and it was absolutely stunning. Despite being inspired my lace each of the artists have responded to this by making working which is monumental yet sensitive. The theme of lace is also mirrored in the architecture of the Gas Hall at Birmingham Art Gallery and this is apparent in some of the site specific installations.

Naomi Kobayashi Cosmos Series

I dont think I will ever produce work on this scale but was very inspirational so see how artists are able to respond on this scale to something minute and intricate as lace.

Atelier Manferdini Inverted Crystal Cathedral

Chiharu Shiota After the Dream

Liz Nilsson The latticed edge of memory

Diana Harrison Line

Cornely Stitch Samples

2012-01-24T18:13:00.000Z

Cornely Stitch Sample from 1920's sample book held in Special Collections at MMU

Thinking back to Indian textiles I have seen in the past I remembered a piece I saw at Platt Hall some years ago and remember being intrigued by the all the chain stitch on it. I now know that this would have been done on the Cornely sewing machine and this is something I can now access.

Label from book

The Sample book at MMU - full of inspiration.

My research into the Cornely, first led me to the recent book by Jane McKeating and Alice Kettle, 'Machine Stitch Perspectives', which in turn led me to discover the fabric sample books held in the Special Collections at MMU. These books are so inspirational that I will be visiting Special Collections again some time soon to build up a body of research which I can use as a basis for my planned experimentation with this technique.

Indian Fabric Designs

2012-01-23T18:02:00.000Z

Detail of C18th Indian Print Book -MMU Special Collections

We have been given details of our Lab Project and I am really excited about it as the starting point is the relationship between the cotton industry in Lancashire and India. Although the Lab launch is not until next week I have decided to make a start on the research and this gave me the excuse to visit the Special Collections Department at MMU.

C18th Indian Floral Print. MMU Special Collections

My feedback from the last project was very positive so I have decided to adopt a similar way of working so I have been concentrating on collecting visual research and have been concentrating on the designs used in Indian Fabric in the 18th and early 19th centuries as these inspired designs used my the Lancashire Cotton Industry.

Page from Print Book Special Collections

I am going to use these designs initially as research material for colour and subject matter which will inspire my own experimentation in the screen printing designs on fabric.

Assessment

2012-01-15T17:39:00.001Z

Tomorrow I have have to put up my work in the Creative Practice Studio for assessment. Since I have ended up doing the design option for this Unit I have had to come up with ways of visualising how my samples would be used in context. I have utilised the images I discovered in the New York Institute of Fashion on line data base and have manipulated them using photoshop to create a visualisation and a way of mounting the sample. It is quite fortunate as the images I find show Haute Couture Fashions such as Chanel and Dior as this is the market/ context which is relevant to my work.

London

2012-01-10T19:07:00.000Z

Fabric Shop Window Berwick St

I have just come back from spending a couple of days in London with my friend Taslima who is also a textile enthusiast.

Detail of window Berwick St

We used this opportunity to do some research into the London fabric shops for our respective courses and get some visual inspiration from just being in London.

Ribbons at Liberty

Shop window Knightsbridge

I was surprised to see so much worn fabrics in the shop displays- it is obviously a current trend which I suppose is linked to the current austerity in the country.

V.V Rouleaux Sloan Square

Railing Knightsbridge

Islamic Art V&A

Since I am still thinking about the samples I have been making for what has turned out to be a fashion outcome I kept being drawn to patterns similar to the ones I have been using in my work,

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T18:35:00.002Z

Fashion Illustrations

2011-12-30T21:58:00.000Z

Whilst researching on the internet for fashion illustration I have discovered a brilliant collection of vintage illustrations on the Fashion Institute of Technology Department of Special Collections and Archives

I really like these Chanel Illustrations and I can actually visualise the cuffs I have been making on this style of jacket.

These will be an invaluable resource for me as I have to visualise how my embroidered cuffs can be used on garments.

Beaded Cuff

2011-12-27T17:44:00.000Z

My latest sample cuff definitely has a historical feel to it. The addition of the beads and french knots have given it an opulent feel and a great surface quality.

Cuff made from needle felted fabric embellished with french knots and beads

I have found the process of creating, distressing, beading and embroidering extremely therapeutic and it is very satisfying making something beautiful from scrap fabric.

Close up of beaded cuff

Close up of french knots

Embroider the cuffs to prevent wear

2011-12-21T20:24:00.000Z

Cuff made for strips of fabric , distressed and embroidered using text

Last week I picked up a book from the library called "Stitching for Victory" by Suzanne Griffith which documents the role of stitch in the second war. I found it interesting that whilst embroidery was banned on clothes being produced under the Civilian Clothing Order of 1942 , at home items were embroidered to prevent wear. Collars and cuffs were turned, refaced and patched! I was also surprised to learn that a dressmaker was arrested in 1948 for selling underwear which had flowers embroidered onto it.

Inspired by this I made this cuff by refacing a cuff from one of my deconstructed shirts using strips of fabrics which I have appliqued and then distressed to represent wear. I have then used the preset text of the Pfaff Sewing machine to embroider the sentence 'embroider the cuffs to prevent wear' all over it. I have also included a few embroidered flowers in memory of the dressmaker.

Bespoke Cuffs

2011-12-13T15:40:00.000Z

My recent samples have become increasingly decorative even though they have been inspired by mending and darning. Preparing for my tutorial on Monday I came to the conclusion that my idea of making a craft/ fine art installation based on cuffs was not really going to work as I could not visualise its installation. The samples I am producing are all quite different and would not work together as a whole. During my tutorial with the full time embroidery students I had an eureka moment and realised that what I was making at the moment actually lends itself to a fashion outcome- designing bespoke cuffs for garments. This did come as a bit of a shock to me because for the past three years it has been important to me that my work has a meaning and a narrative. However I have decided to embrace this idea and relish the freedom it has given me to be influenced by the materials and explore pattern and surface qualities.
I have started to produce a number of samples of cuff using different materials but relating them back to the 'Austerity Housewife' mood board.

Hessian and silk

Willow Pattern design using felt and silk, French knots added to background to simulate signs of wear

Reconstructing

2011-12-09T20:01:00.000Z

I have set myself a challenge of totally deconstructing a very worn,white, polyester cotton shirt and then reconstructing it in different ways. (But with cuffs in mind)

The fabric has worn very thin so I have started by manipulating the fabric into swirls and have sewn them together to make a cuff.

I have used one of the cuffs from the old shirt and have layered a mixture of fabric on top of it. When I have cut it back to expose the gold fabric it gives an opulent yet worn effect.

London

2011-12-06T17:33:00.000Z

I have managed to get down to London for a couple of nights . In between installing my daughter into her new accommodation I managed to get to see a few exhibition and visit the fabric shops on Berwick St.

"A Charmed Life" Wellcome Gallery.

I really enjoyed visiting this exhibition as the magical and evocative powers of objects and charms is a subject I am interested in and has in the past fed into my artistic practice. ( In fact I was surprised to see how many of the charms I actually own). My favourite piece was this sovereign size charm inscribed with the Lords Prayer which was later taken into battle by a World War 1 soldier.

I would have got a lot more out of the exhibition if I had visited it earlier , its theme is so relevant to the concept of Protection that I am sure I would have found inspiration to base my current project on something I have seen here.

The tomb of the unknown craftsman - Grayson Perry British Museum

Grayson Perry's glazed ceramic pot 'You Are Here' is displayed at The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman exhibition at the British Museum on October 5, 2011 in London, England. British artsist Grayson Perry has created this exhibition to showcase his new works alongside objects made by unknown men and women throughout history from the British Museum's collections.(October 4, 2011 - Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Europe)

I have always liked the way Grayson Perry uses craft as a vehicle for his narrative and his ironic sense of humour, although I do find some of his ideas around the position of Alan Measles in his work, a little difficult to appreciate. Last year I listened to the 'History of the World in 100 objects' series on Radio 4 , and was struck by the realisation that most of the objects were made by unknown makers.

The Art of Making at the V&A

Large scale knitting at The Art of Making

Unfortunately this exhibition was really crowded when I visited so I could get to see the smaller items .

This is the piece that caught my eye due to the immense scale of the knitting.

Cornely and Fagotter Inductions

2011-12-04T18:47:00.000Z

Although it is almost the end of term I am still having inductions on the various industrial machines. I have always wanted to be able to use the cornely machine as it produces a lovely chain stitch effect. However it was a lot harder to use than I had evisaged. You control the direction of the stitch with a lever which is under the machine. I am not the most co-ordinated person ( it took me ages to master driving a car) so I think I will have to practice a lot on it.

First attempt on Cornely- you can just about make out my name

Second session still not very controlled but have stitched on a layer of fabrics which I have cut back and frayed.

One of the full time students told me that the best way to learn is to take in some patterened fabric and try to follow the design.

Skeleton Shirts

2011-12-02T18:41:00.001Z

Homage to Jean Shin - Skeleton Shirts

Deconstructed Men's Shirts

Short Sleeved Shirt

I have been deconstructing these men's shirts and using the fabric for darning and sampling, so I thought I would take the opportunity to pin the 'skeletons' to the white studio walls. The shirts have taken on an eerie appearance. They are like disembodied representations of their previous owners. I could be more playful with them and have them adopting poses on the wall. I have had fun with these but they are a dead end as far as my project is concerned and has brought home to me that installations such as these can only really be done once.

Multi-head Machine

2011-11-27T18:13:00.001Z

Alongside working towards an outcome for my project I have also been attending inductions to the various sewing machines and also the laser cutter.
I found the multi-head machine quite complicated and it took me quite a time to work our the process of 'punching' the design onto the computer using the ethos software. I completely messed up the first session and had to book another session, where working on my own, I found I was able to complete a design. I have used this drawing I did of a knife and fork as I could not think of one which was more appropriate to my project at the current time.
The session for stitching out the design was also complicated but I think it will be easier next time now I have been through the complete process. I have only managed to produce one sample and I don't think that I have really pushed this technique. This is something I will have to do in the next unit as I do not have time to now as I have more inductions booked.

More Samples

2011-11-23T17:39:00.000Z

I have also been experimenting with brushing the fabric with a wire brush to create a frayed worn effect on reverse applique samples.

A technique I further developed by combing it with cutting and slashing, and applying the fabric strips made from deconstructed shirts.

Whilst I was in the machine room I have been experimenting with the tailors tacking foot.

I have been experimenting with the surface quality of fabric and am trying to develop ways in which to create signs of ageing on fabric.

Review of sampling experiments

2011-11-22T17:04:00.000Z

Alongside my research I have been experimenting and producing samples. One of the areas I am investigating is deconstructing garments. I have chosen to deconstruct men's shirts as they are in plentiful supply in charity shops and have managed to obtain some of my husbands old one and from friends. As they are worn everyday they often show more signs of wear than womens' clothes and are often made from 100% cotton,

I have deconstructed the shirt by cutting the fabric away from the seams and I do intend to create an installation similar to that of Jean Shin. I don't really know where this will lead to but would like to do it anyway and view it as a drawing which may move my work in another direction.

Alongside this I have been experimenting with creating distressed surfaces referencing patching and piecing. I have found that the use of the embellisher is ideal for distressing fabric and giving it an aged look

Developing from my research into worn fabrics I have been experimenting with layering fabrics and cutting the top layers back to reveal the layers underneath. I have tried to create a worn fabric reminiscent of Willam Morris

Embroiderers' Guild Collection

2011-11-18T16:18:00.000Z

An historic exhibition of some of the pieces from the embroiderers' guild collection took place in Preston . It was the first time ever pieces from the collection have been exhibited outside London. I took this opportunity to look at examples of darning, signs of wear and garments as part of my research for this project.

Close up of Work by Audrey Walker showing hand darning technique

19th Baby's Shawl

Baby Smock

Indian textile showing signs of wear

Stains

2011-11-16T16:35:00.000Z

At my last tutorial one of the full time embroidery students introduced me to the work of the artist Nava Lubelski . Her work explores the contradiction between the impulse to destroy and the compulsion to mend.

Nava Lubelski Ruin

In this work ' Ruin' she has hand stitched over stains on a table cloth. The initial marks are found on linens or are created by cutting and staining.

Nava Lubelski Ruin

I have been hunting charity shops for garments with obvious signs of wear and I have begun to realise that they are becoming increasing difficult to find, so have come to the conclusion that I will have to create the signs of wear myself.

Textile Designer Elvis Robertson has also done some beautiful work based on stains.

Elvis Robertson

By using metallic paint and silver threads on old french linen she has turned the stain into something beautiful.

Stains - Elvis Robertson

Deconstructing Garments

2011-11-15T14:23:00.000Z

I have been doing some more research into deconstructing garments and have discovered these images of work by Jean Shin. She has deconstructed mens's shirts to make these installations- just leaving the skeleton of the shirt as represented by the seams.

Jean Shin

I have seen other work similar to this. in particular Caroline Broadhead who has also used the outlines of garments to make installations.

Caroline Broadhead

Jean Shin has also created an installation made from the fabric remaining when trousers are shortened. This installation , entitled "Alterations' is made up of hundreds of cylindrical forms , representing " the body in absence' which is a concept I have an interest in, through my previous work with baby dresses.

Trouser Hems by Jean Shin

This research has inspired me to experiment in the following areas:- deconstructing garments, creating worn surfaces, darning , strengthening. I like the idea of using the cuff as a vehicle to experiment with the view to creating an installation made up of multiples, but as Fiona said in my tutorial, I shouldn't be jumping ahead to thinking of outcomes at this stage , but rather be experimenting with different techniques. materials and scales.

Protection

2011-11-08T13:16:00.000Z

The embroidery brief has taken a new turn and we have now been asked to work towards producing a more coherent body of work based on the theme of Protection building on the body of research we have developed in the first half of the project.
I have decided to go back to the work I started for the holiday project and develop that further using the theme of 'the austerity housewife'. I am particularly interested in the concept of wear and tear of fabrics and clothes and the process of mending and darning as a way a mother protects her family.

I have done another mood board using the Harold Harvey Painting- 'My Kitchen' as my inspiration for this brief and my colour story

Austerity Housewife

The ‘below stairs’ way of life as epitomised in popular TVserials such as Downton Abbey and the Forsyth Saga has inspired this austeritytrend, which is all to do with celebrating good old fashioned, working classvalues, housework, thrift and mending. Definitely located in the first half ofthe twentieth century this trend references natural fabrics such as woollenblankets, linen, cotton and lace. The blue and white colour scheme underpinsthis trend along with accents of orange, green , yellow and ochre. Frayed fabrics , showing signs of wear aremixed with darning, patching and hand embroidery. Machine stitches tend to beutilitarian such as button holes. The kitchen is the main source of inspiration for this trend so think ofitems such as wooden clothes pegs, irons, copper pans , jelly moulds and willowpattern pottery.

I am also interested in the idea of deconstructing old and worn garments and I have been looking at the work of Naoko Yoshimoto, in particular her collaborative work with Jeanette Appleton for the Exhibition 'Through the Surface' in 2003.

Both Jeanette Appleton and Naoko Yoshimoto use second hand clothing to introduce the concept of memory into their work and talk about cloth being 'soaked with memory'.

Alice Kettle - Extending the Line

2011-11-01T10:40:00.000Z

Alice Kettle- detail

I was very inspired by this new piece of work by Alice Kettle which is on display at the Holden Gallery. The scale of the work is monumental as it hangs from the ceiling, but the work itself has been inspired by the small and intricately patterned Madhubani drawings

Alice Kettle - The complete hanging

Detail of Alice Kettle's work showing range of marking making using machine embroidery.

I really admire Alice's mark making techniques using the sewing machine and her design skills. I find it hard to translate my designs to large scale work, although this is the type of work I aspire to....

Handstitching

2011-10-30T17:43:00.000Z

The brief this week was to research embroidery stitch, chose two and produce samples using a variety of materials. On Monday, the full time embroidery students had seen samples belonging to Lynn Settrington and they were stitching into all types of materials and objects and some were working on a very large scale.

During the weekend I have been creating quite a few samples using french knot ,running stitch and a bit of buttonhole stitch. I set out with the intention of stitching into all types of surfaces- bin bags, bubble wrap, a tea strainer- but something stopped me. I think it was the realisation that I have done all this before- I know I have to be experimental but it also need to reflect my practice. Hence I have been experimental within limits- I have used materials which are compatible with my practice- natural materials, found papers, metals, buttons etc, and because of time constraints I have chosen to make my samples fairly small.

The stitches I have chosen reflect my interest in the utilitarian aspects of sewing; making and repairing clothes and darning. The texture created by French Knots resembles the signs of age on clothes.

Catching Breath...

2011-10-28T22:27:00.000+01:00

I have had such a busy week that I feel I need one day to take stock and one to catch up.
I had a full day at Uni on Monday and had my induction in the sewing machine room so now I am able to use the machines at Uni. My hand stitching project did not go so well as the materials I took in were not 'experimental' enough. I don't really mind though as long as I am only one week behind.

detail of Millefleurs hanging I have been working on with Chelford Young Embroiderers'' Group

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday working with children, providing workshops. Tuesday was my regular 'Young Embroiderers' Group' which meets five times a year at Chelford Village Hall. We did printing this session, printing leaves to add to the "Millefleurs Hanging" and making printing blocks to decorate fabric to make bunting. On Wednesday I attended an event to publicise our group at Knutsford and organised drop in children's workshops. During the day we had about 30 children aged between 4 to 12, and each one made a brooch out of a suffolk puff which was decorated with a button. I gain a lot of pleasure from sharing my skills with other people, both young and old. This is an important part of my practice and one which I would like to develop.
I am also asked to share my work with groups by giving talk and they always come in groups. I was asked a year ago to talk to the Solihull Embroiderers' Guild and I am going next Tuesday. Since I was booked I have done all the work for the Lightfoot Letters Exhibition so I am planning on talking about this. I usually just take my work to show, but this time I am planning on making it more professional by having a slideshow to show the detail of my work. Since all my work is recent it is all stored digitally and I do not have a digital projector and neither do most groups as they are expensive. I have managed to borrow a digital projector from uni and picked it up on Thursday so I can practice with it over the weekend.

Thread Wraps

2011-10-23T12:16:00.002+01:00

I have done thread wraps before but the concept of wrapping a 3D object to create a thread wrap is new to me. Think back to last year when I work with slate, I have chosen to wrap pieces of slate with the threads from the 'eco foraging' colour story I wrote.

The use of this material is entirely appropriate to the colour story as I have used images of slate.

The only problem is that the slate pieces are small so I have had to make up 'mini stories' for each piece of slate. This one is a pile of wood.

This one is berry picking in the hedgerows.

The complete story to date.

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

2011-10-22T20:28:00.000+01:00

Paper Sculptures by Jennifer Collier

On Friday I went to the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair at Manchester. I have always found the fair really inspirational in the past but this year I felt that nothing really stood out for me. This may have been because I have now attended for three consecutive years and a lot of the exhibitors were there last year. As usual jewellery dominated the show, with ceramics coming second and very few textile artists, especially embroidery. This year it moved to a new venue, instead of being in one big room it was in an office suite of three smaller rooms. The space allocated to the graduate show case had also been reduced so there was a smaller number of graduate work to look at, although the work that was there was of a high standard. Discussing this with my friends, we have come to the conclusion that perhaps we need to go down to Origin in London next year as perhaps the Manchester one is too provincial.

Dark Matters The Whitworth Art Gallery

2011-10-19T15:08:00.000+01:00

Whilst visiting the Whitworth art Gallery I took the opportunity to view the Dark Matters Exhibition. Although the work in this exhibition is quite far removed from my own practice, and in some instances relied heavily on a technology which is very impressive, I found the exhibition very exciting and inspirational. My favourite piece was this piece by Brass Art it relied on a very simple technology to produce an amazing effect. Based on the concept of Shadow Theatre. The installation in the centre of the room had been constructed out of a selection of transparent objects, some crudely constructed out of sellophane. A light moved around the objects which projected their images around the large room. It was such a simple concept but the effect was amazing,

Shadow Installation by Brass Art
Courtesy of The Whitworth Gallery

Still Life No.1 (new commission)
(3D objects in acrylic polymer, light source, table in black box environment.Dimensions variable)

Brass Art are Chara Lewis, Kristin Mojsiewicz and Anneke Pettican. They have worked together since 1998 and have exhibited widely throughout Europe, the USA and Australia. Brass Art explore the potential of combining old and new media through strategies of proto-cinematic optical illusion and cutting edge digital technologies.For Dark Matters, Brass Art have been commissioned to create a new installation for the Whitworth’s imposing Mezzanine Court. Looming figures and monstrous fusions invoke an immediate affiliation with the nineteenth century phantasmagoria. A simple, travelling light source casts a slowly spinning cavalcade of shadow around the walls and ceiling. Central to the piece, entitled Still Life No. 1, is a table bearing an arrangement of museum specimens, tiny figurines and cellophane – their varying opacities against the bare bulb producing the silhouettes and glimmers which create the play of forms. The tiny figures upon the table are three dimensional representations of the artists themselves, rendered using the latest digital techniques. Through basic tricks of the light they become players in a complex narrative of animal, human and geological interaction.

Snow Mirror, 2006 (Silk, projector, video camera, custom software, computer, black box environment. Dimensions variable) Edition of 6. Photo by John Berens.

Behind the Scenes Whitworth Archive

2011-10-18T16:18:00.000+01:00

Detail from a embroidered Lampshade

Detail from a 19th century man's waistcoat.

We had a visit 'behind the scenes' in the Textile Archive at the Whitworth Art Gallery. The curator has got out a selection of mainly British Textiles dating from the 17th Century for us to look at and study.

The purpose of this visit was to familiarise us with this resource as small groups are able to book sessions to study specific items.

sample by Colette Gilmartin from Tactile Collection

I did already know about the archive as I had visited years ago to study a selection of embroideries from Foreign Countries on a previous course, but as this was about fifteen years ago I had forgotten all about it. I did not know, however, about the items from the 'Tactile Collection". These are boxes of samples and research which have been commissioned from a selection of textile artists. These pieces can be handled and offer an unique insight into the working methods of the artist.

As well as taking photographs of the pieces, I did manage to do a bit of drawing although I really should have taken my reading glasses.

Tutorial

2011-10-15T14:59:00.000+01:00

Reviewing the work I have done so far this term and the holiday homework I have produced over the summer with my tutor was a useful at this stage as it helped me to identify aspects of my work and practice which I intend to develop and expand this year.

Over the summer I have started to look at frayed edges and natural dyeing to achieve a palette of nostalgic colours. My tutor has suggested that I could look at deconstructing fabric and garments which is something that does appeal to me and does fit into my area of interest: the memory of cloth. She has recommended I look at the work of Jeannette Appleton in a project she took part in called Crossing Boundaries.

Reviewing the drawing I have done to date has made me realise that I have not been experimental enough. Although I often draw left handed to create a quirky effect to my work I have tend to work small and use only fine liners of propelling pencils. I do not achieve a varied quality of line and this is something that I meed to work at. By increasing the scale I work at and using a variety of media would force me to adopt a looser style of drawing.

I usually like my work to be representational and I have decided to try to move away from this so a more abstract way of working this year as an experiment. I will then me able to review the results.

Colour Stories and Mood Boards

2011-10-15T14:44:00.000+01:00

I have done colour and mood boards before but have never come across the concept of 'Colour Stories". These are standard practice across the design industry and are a way of allowing designers to work individually on a common theme.

I have done two quite different mood boards to accompany the following colour stories. I have adapted the Eco Garden Foraging one from an example provided by the tutor and I have written the Old Fashioned Sweetshop one myself and have taken my inspiration from a handful on sweets. Luckily I have a lot of fabric and old magazines in my loft.

Eco Garden Foraging

Increased awareness of issues of sustainability and ecologyfor the basis for this autumn/ winter trend which draws its inspiration fromnatural materials . Think of autumnfires, foraging in the hedgerows for brightly coloured berries, National Trustvegetable gardens and traditional crafts. Firmly rooted in the country, thinkof tweeds, willow baskets, chalky terracotta plant pots, garden twine,blackberries, copper and slate plant labels and fragments of blue and whitepottery.

The nostalgia and yearning for a simpler way of life meansthat materials are all natural: wools, linens, hessians, tweeds, cottons,accented with silks. Colours are soft earthytones of mauve, pink, brown, ochre,beige and sage green, accented with splashes of rosehip red and cobalt blue,and may be produced from natural dyes. Trimmings will come from nature and thegarden and may involve an exciting juxtaposition of wood, bone, raffia, hemp,leather and twine mixed with jewel-like glass buttons.

Old Fashioned Sweet Shop

Memories of the sweetshop from our childhood are key to thisnostalgic, summery trend. Unashamedly feminine, think of fruit sherbets, candysticks, rustling foils, nets and sheers all in the colours of summer fruits. Jars of sweets lined up on lace trimmedshelves, alongside buttons and beads. Sugary treats as an anecdote toausterity, reminiscent of visits to the seaside for candyfloss and stacks ofrock. Or picnic at the village fete sitting under the bunting. Colours are fruity,zesty and summery. Citrus orange,yellows and pink contrasted sometimes with a touch of turquoise. Think partydresses worn by little girls. Fabrics are light sheer and summery, netting,organza, bows and sequins or perhaps cotton ginghams, vintage prints and candystripes.

Collage

2011-10-08T14:26:00.000+01:00

I was not very productive at the collage session of this module as drawing using collage is not a technique that I use in my work, although I do like drawing on collaged surfaces. I spent the whole session trying to do something and only ended up producing one small textured sample which is inspired by a pine cone. However when I have photographed my collage using a macro lens I have discovered a rich textural surface which was not apparent to me as I was creating it. This has reminded me of the samples I produced last year in three dimensional design.

Drawing on different surfaces

2011-10-04T11:40:00.000+01:00

Drawn with ink using a stick on a map

I have had a 'play day' at home where I have collected together lots of objects, backgrounds and media . I have tried to re-create the energy the studio at uni and was did actually produce a lot of samples. I enjoyed the freedom of experimenting which is something I have not really done recently.

Drawn with ink on fabric painted with emulsion paint with a stick

pen and ink on page of a book

Drawn ono collaged and gessoed background using pen, ink and watercolour pencils

Pencil and oil pastel on sandpaper

Scraped in to wet gesso painted over a black background.

Drawing Natural and Artificial Objects

2011-10-02T14:11:00.000+01:00

Drawing of a group of objects

The first session back at Uni was spent experimenting with different drawing techniques using the natural and artificial objects we had to bring in from home. Its is good to re-visit old techniques such as drawing quickly, drawing with the less dominant less, drawing without looking and ( a new one for me) drawing with a blindfold through touching the object. It is good to have a day in the workshop for this type of drawing as there is a real buzz and lots of work is produced. There is definitely an energy created which is hard to re-create at home.

Blindfold drawing of a cowbell

Different Qualities of line

Introducing different media

Drawing a peacock feather using my left hand

Experimenting with Shading

Developing Personal Methodologies

2011-09-26T18:34:00.000+01:00

Detail of large scale drawing

A new year has started at MMU and I am enrolled on the embroidery pathway this year. I am still recovering from my exhibition over the summer, so it has good to be part of a large group doing a structured programme. Although there are only two of us now in the fourth year on the embroidery pathway, we are with the larger third year group so Creative Practice has quite a large presence.
In a similar way to last year, the module I am currently doing, developing personal methodologies, is concerned with experimentation and exploration of different ways of responding creatively.

Distressed Fabrics

2011-09-15T17:14:00.000+01:00

I have been doing some stitched samples using the photograph I took of my worn blue and white tea towel for inspiration. It has only recently struck me that perhaps one of the reasons I was attracted to the image by Harold Harvey was my love of blue and white fabric and pottery.

I have used my embellisher to distress a strips of blue and white fabric which I had stitched to a felt background. I then cut these up into small pieces to represent fragments.

Whilst I was stitching the pieces of embellished fabric on to a another background serendipity struck . I had reduced the tension to zero as I was using a freestyle satin stitch to hold the pieces on place. My pfaff machine didn't like it and started to create a looped effect on the back of the fabric. I decided to utilise this mistake and turn the work over to create a loopy, frayed effect around my fragments,

New Studio

2011-09-14T18:21:00.000+01:00

I don't really have a studio as such. but work in the smallest bedroom of my house. Recently I got fed up of having to sew on a smallish desk and perch my laptop on a cheap Ikea table. It is only a small room so a corner desk wont fit so DH did some research and found a 2 office tables that would fit together in the space like to create a L-shaped work area. The only problem when they were delivered we realised that we would have to empty the complete room to get them in.

That's when I realised how much stuff I have in my room

It took from 10am to 8pm to empty it , put in the new furniture and put all my stuff back.

My Kitchen

2011-09-12T17:11:00.001+01:00

I have just been up to Gallery Oldham to look at this picture my Harold Harvey as it is very similar to the one I have chosen. In fact the same blue and white textile appears in both paintings. The picture is currently not on display, but I was able to make an appointment with the curator and go into the store to view it. I took some close-up photographs of the depictions of the textiles depicted into the painting which I am going to use as part of my research.

Artists' Talk and Private View

2011-09-10T16:25:00.000+01:00

Artists' Talk and Private View

We had to hold the Private View and artists' talk towards the end of the exhibition because of holidays . However holding it in september meant that it was really well attended. There were about 50 people, some of whom had been earlier and others had waited until the private view to come. Angela and I did a talk which was mainly about the story surrounding the letters and how we had met. I talked a bit about my work but since the gallery was full I was not able to do a tour of the exhibits. Angela read some of her poems.

We have received some really positive feed back about the exhibition, here are some comments I have received.

Hi Maria.
Just wanted to say hello having just been to see your Lightfoot Letters
exhibition at the Brindley in Runcorn. It was all a bit of a chance
visit - my friend had spotted the listing in Embroidery magazine and
remembering that I was in Runcorn for a few days for my dad's wedding
mentioned it to me.
I'm so glad I had the chance to see it. Your work is so beautiful and
is a real inspiration.
I have even purchased one of the pieces as a small treat to myself (the
small framed piece entitled Scissors).
It is only a shame the wedding is on Saturday otherwise I would have
come to your talk!
All the best,
Gemma Rathbone

What a star you are! Took my artist friend to see your exhibition at the Brindley and boy were we both impressed - it was beautiful. The whole concept of it was very emotional and that came across in the pieces.June bought a number of postcards to send to friends as she said she was transported back to her childhood with so many aspects of the exhibition. Look forward to your next joint venture.

Well done both of you.

Love

Ann

I have just been to the most amazing exhibition at The brindley, 'The Lightfoot Letters', by textile artist Maria Walker in collaboration with poet Angela Topping. The background story of the letters and the family was both moving and spellbinding. All the pieces were intricately made with great attention to detail and worked closely with the narrative. Although I have seen some of the work before, as it was produced before the collaboration, it all fitted in well and gelled together perfectly. The curation was extremely professional and had just the right mix of poetry, 2D pieces and mini installations. My particular favourites were the washing line of tiny dresses and the cut words floating from the typewriter. The poem about the glove was beautiful.
Congratulations and very well done Maria; you have set the bar high and we have much to aspire to!
With Very Best Wishes,
Jackie

ps. could you forward this to the curator at the Brindley as I don't know her details, and I think she did an amazing job!

Dyeing with beetroot

2011-09-07T20:21:00.002+01:00

I bought a bunch of beetroot from the supermarket and decided to have a go at doing some natural dyeing at home. I had already prepared some of the beetroot for a salad and my hands were left bright red so I thought it would produce a good colour on cotton and silk without a mordant.

Remembering my tie- dyeing workshops I prepared a couple of pieces of cotton lawn and also got together some other pieces of cotton and silk. I soaked these in hot water for about 1 hour while I was also boiling the chopped up beetroot in a pan of water.

After 1 hour I strained the beetroot and added the fabric to the bright red liquid and then proceeded to simmer it for a further hour.

After an hout I removed the fabric and was very excited with the initial result- what a lovely bright pink!

However when I rinsed the fabric I was very disappointed as most of the colour washed out and I was left with a pale pink

It was interesting that the silk took on a very different colour to the cotton.

Now the fabric is dry it is even paler. The cotton hardly looks like it has spent an hour boiling away in beetroot juice,/ However the silk has become a nice antique colour. Perhaps I should go back to using silk paints!

Prevaricating

2011-09-05T17:02:00.000+01:00

As usual I am enjoying the process of research and drawing. I feel that I have done enough reflective work for the time being and now need to start sampling as the brief definitely states that I have to be experimental and playful. " ......it is essential that you now extend your understanding of process as a means of developing work that is both distinctive and personal to you"
I have to stop prevaricating now and start to produce some samples which can then fee back into my research.

Washing Line Drawings

2011-09-05T16:47:00.002+01:00

I did these quick drawings of the washing line I set up yesterday. I am going to use them as a basis for my fabric samples. In order to experiment with moving my work along I plan to use the shapes and line as inspiration for sampling rather that looking at the garment itself.

Creative Writing-"Aunty Pat's Kitchen"

2011-09-05T14:15:00.004+01:00

This painting has transported me back to my Aunty Pat's kitchen, which I visited as a child.

Aunty Pat’s Kitchen.

I am sitting in my Aunty Pat’s kitchen with my cousin Rowena, in her house on Alport Grove in Sheffield. It is a Sunday in 1969 and I am eight.

We are in the kitchen which on a Sunday is a 'women only' room. Rowena’s four older brothers and her father are sprawled out in the lounge, basking on black vinyl settees, bathing in the glow from their new colour television.

The kitchen is large and bright, and has a scrubbed pine table large enough to seat the whole family. The ceiling is high and suspended from it, is a wooden clothes airer, complete with rope and pulley. ( My own mother is too house proud to have one of these in our modern semi-detached).

It is mid morning. Aunty Pat is doing her washing using her top loading, single tub Hotpoint washing machine. which she has pulled out into the middle of the floor from its usual resting place under the stairs, and filled it with hot water from her kitchen tap using a rubber hose. The washing machine has an electric mangle which slots into the top and comes off for storage. Rowena and I help Aunty Pat by handing her the warm, wet items to be put through the mangle. Aunty Pat feeds them through the mangle and they come out flat as pancakes, needing to be shaken before being hung out to dry on the line. The smaller items such as socks, underwear and tea towels are not hung on the line. but as hung on the dryer, which when it is full, is hoisted up to its vantage point close to the kitchen ceiling.

Her kitchen is warm and has become steamy with the heat of the water. The fresh smell of the washing powder mingles with the stale smell of onions from last nights stew and now combines with the ‘wet dog’ smell of damp woollens. The washing on the dryer does not talk long to dry in this warm room.

My Aunty Pat is dressed for housework, not church. Instead of a hat she has tied her hair up in a headscarf to cover her rollers, (every Sunday evening she goes to the working man’s club with Uncle Jim for a night out). She is struggling to cope with the amount of washing her family creates, as well as working full time during the week for the Council. As a consequence her laundry is not as pristine as my mothers, who segregates her wash religiously. Her washing is more unruly, coloured socks hide in white shirts, and as a result a lot of her laundry is a dingy grey, which even a dose of bleach won’t restore. to their former brilliance. Similarly her towels and table linen are also worn and faded with holes that have remained undarned and ladders that have not been sewn up.

I love coming to Aunty Pat’s house for although it is shabby compared to my own house, I feel happy and relaxed. I am allowed to keep on my outside shoes, unless they are muddy, as the kitchen floor in tiled and cold underfoot. I am dressed in my Sunday Best (my mother will not let me go out unless I am dressed up like a doll, even at the age of eight). Soon I will be playing outside with Rowena in the dirt on the wasteland, which borders her house. Soon our clothes will be dirty and my Aunty Pat makes no attempt to tidy me up before I am collected by my dad to go home.

Washing Day

2011-09-05T12:40:00.001+01:00

I have managed to tie a washing line between two trees in my garden and as it was a lovely sunny day I set up a washing line full of some of the vintage garments Lesley lent me for my last project. I have photographed them and did some quick drawings. It was a breezy day so the garments kept moving which led to some interesting drawings. I have realised that my drawing skills are a bit rusty as I had a period when I didn't do any, so I am trying to do some everyday.

Natural Dyeing

2011-09-05T12:33:00.000+01:00

I have been on a natural dyeing workshop with Carol Mowl from Beetlefelt. I have never really liked dyeing apart for my favourite tea staining) as I find it complicated, messy and I don't like using chemicals. Also a lot of the colours obtained using dyes are quite vivid and do not fit into my work.
I did however like natural dyeing as it was just like cooking. Apart from the 'mordants' which you can use to get brighter colours, all of the ingredients are natural so I don't have to worry about poisoning my family if I do it at home. Theses colours were obtained using onion skins, damson, eldberberry and logwood. Carol's method is also very simple: about a 1lb ingredient in a pan of water and boil for 1 hour. I can cope with that level of complexity.
I have just bought some beetroot and am planning having a go dyeing with that.

Drawings

2011-09-05T12:23:00.001+01:00

I have been making some quick line drawings from some old baby clothes. I intend to concentrate on the detail and use these drawings as inspiration for stitched samples ( when I get time to do them)

Doing the Laundry

2011-09-04T23:31:00.001+01:00

Doing the laundry is central to the Harold Harvey image and this activity links today's women with those living in the 1920's. I have taken some photographs of one of my ironing to provide me with some images to get me started.

Harold Harvey - Holiday Homework

2011-09-03T20:49:00.000+01:00

'A Kitchen Interior' Harold Harvey 1918 ( Brighton and Hove Galleries)

Now my exhibition is underway my thoughts have turned to the holiday homework we have been set by the embroidery department. Our brief is to identify ONE particular painting that contains a depiction of cloth that reverberates with me and must prompt me to consider and reflect on cloth.

'My kitchen' 1923 Harold Harvey (Oldham Galleries)

I have chosen this image entitled ' A kitchen Interior' by Harold Harvey. I first came across this image as it was used by Persephone Books on their catalogue last year. The picture is owned by Brighton and Hove Galleries but I won't be able to go down to see it. However there is a similar picture by Harold Harvey, entitled 'My Kitchen' which is owned by Oldham Gallery but not on display. I have made an appointment with the curator to view the picture next week. I can take photographs so I am going to take some close up details of the fabric.

Publicity

2011-08-25T16:05:00.000+01:00

The exhibition has been included in the local press it is interesting to see that they have used the press release I sent them.

Working class life in Widnes preserved in family correspondence

5:21pm Tuesday 6th September 2011

By Barbara Jordan »

RECENTLY unearthed, personal letters which turned out to be remarkable historical documents, are on display at The Brindley, until September 24. The thought-provoking Lightfoot Letters provide a detailed portrait of working class life in Widnes in 1923.

Textile artist Maria Walker bought the bundle of old letters in an antique shop. Five years later, she met poet, Angela Topping and discovered they had been written by her grandparents. The pair teamed up to produce an exhibition of textiles, poetry and art.

The letters were written by the Lightfoots to their daughter, Frances, who had moved to live with an aunt in Manchester.

Using a combination of photographs, letters, books, garments and drawings, Maria’s textile artwork explores the narrative in the correspondence.Each of her pieces tells a story, using lines from the letters or Angela’s poetry.

the art room plant: Maria Walker

2011-08-24T20:41:00.001+01:00

My work has been featured on the art room plant blog, which is a blog kept by Hazel Terry as a resource for students at Adam Smith College. The blog has lots of hit ( 200,000 to date) so this will be good publicity for me.

the art room plant: Maria Walker:

These works are part of a current exhibition of textiles and poetry at the Brindley Arts Centre, Runcorn by Maria Walker. They are based around a bundle of discarded letters that Maria bought in an antiques shop 'the Lightfoot Letters'. Maria was so enchanted and inspired by these documents of a families life that she made a body of artworks around them. In turn this led to her meeting and collaborating with poet Angela Topping, who by some unique and bizarre coincidence is the daughter of one of the letter writers Peter Lightfoot. How lovely it is, when stories come together and jigsaw pieces of life fit so perfectly.

2011-08-24T19:40:00.000+01:00

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Maria Walker

Maria Walker is an artist who invests her work with memories choosing to use materials with a history of people including, letters, photographs and here she uses old clothes. Using textiles that have already had a former life with someone means that they have that persons personality and being worked through their very fibre, their smell, their wear and tear and stretching. Here Maria has been experimenting with using text with the garments to illustrate found letters. I thought these samples were very interesting and such techniques could be used in fashion design.

The Lightfoot Letters Installations

2011-08-24T19:15:00.002+01:00

Apart from all the wall mounted work I have done for this exhibition I have had lots of fun making installations around objects and garments I have collected. I have always been interested in the way old objects have a past life and I am interested in finding a way to convey that narrativeThis old suitcase of Anji's has been filled with artefacts from our collections. It has been put together to represent the suitcase Frances might have taken with her when she went to stay with her Aunt and Uncle in Mossley.

. I have included this little iron in Frances' suitcase installation, but felt that I need to add a label with her mother's words on it.
This is a tiny baby's gown, so tiny that at first I thought it was a doll's dress. This seemed to be ideal to pay homage to baby Peter Lightfoot who only lived for a few hours. I usually avoid using sad themes for my work but I felt that this was so poignant I could not ignore it.

On a lighter note I found these old ice skates on ebay and thought they would be ideal to represent Peter's skating antics on the frozen pond at the Brickfield.
I bought this beautiful old typewriter many years ago and it looks really well with my screen printed homage to the working woman.

The Lightfoot Letters Gallery Shots

2011-08-24T18:51:00.003+01:00

Small Room, showing Ada's Apron and corsets- this room as a decidedly feminine feel about it

'Frances's Apron and "A woman's work is never done" in the small room.

View from entrance of large room

Looking towards entrance of large room

"Women of Widnes" Installation in window- each bow is embroidered with the name of a woman from the letters of living in Widnes at that time.

"Frances's Apron" Screen Printed Apron

Gallery Shot showing how the work has been spaced our. Some of the letters were printed onto large pieces of canvas.

Typewriter Installation

2011-08-24T18:49:00.000+01:00

Of all the pieces in the exhibition I am the most pleased with how this one looks. The typewriter installation is a main feature of the exhibition as the textile poem grows out of the vintage typewriter and is suspended from the ceiling. I am so glad that I came up with the idea of using the typewriter as part of the installation as it gives it another layer of meaning. The installation is next to the poem itself, which has been applied to the wall using vinyl lettering.

Seeing my work installed in an exhibition setting has made me reflect on the aspects of it that are sucessful, which apart from the narrative and collaborative aspect to my work must also be the combination of textile and artefact.

The Lightfoot Letters Exhibition

2011-08-24T18:37:00.004+01:00

The first glimpse of the exhibition makes it look enticing

Finally my exhibition has opened at the Brindley. I have been working on putting on this exhibition since January, not only the exhibits but also framing, cataloging, mirror plating, publicity etc and it was a relief to deliver it all to Louise at the Brindley last week. She has spent the past week installing the exhibition in the space and although I have taken photographs and provided instructions as to how I see the work, the final decision was up to her. I know she has not used all the work I have provided and I must admit that I was surprised that some of the pieces where not included as I felt that they were a couple of my favourites.

However when I saw the exhibition I could fully understand why they had not been included- it was all to do with the gallery layout and the available space. If I had curated the exhibition myself I would have tried to fit everything this- Louise's concern was how the exhibition looked as a whole.

Detail of organza dress

Detail of pinafore

Barrow coat showing cut out lettering.

Ada's Washing Line from inside the gallery

The first thing you see when you arrive at the Brindley is "Ada's Washing Line" which is installed across a window with mine and Angela's name on the window- fame at last.

Marie Antoinette's Corset: Grandma's Button Box

2011-07-14T19:15:00.000+01:00

Marie Antoinette's Corset: Grandma's Button Box: "I am running a workshop at the Brindley on the 13th August called Grandma's Button Box. In the morning you will be exploring memories evoke..."

Alison Gardiner Glyndwr Uni Degree Show

2011-06-20T19:35:00.004+01:00

Alison's workspace showing her drawings of her hens.

I have been going round the degree shows recently and thought I would share the work of Alison Gardiner on this blog. Alison is a ceramicist who combines her skills as a ceramicist with her love of drawing. She lives in the Cheshire countryside and draws things that she sees around her, in this case the hens she keeps for eggs. The quality of her sketches is translated into her fabulous ceramic sculptures. She has just finished her 3 year degree at Glyndwr University and is off to the new designers show in London. I wish her well for her future as a ceramicist.

Vintage Baby Clothes

2011-05-05T14:19:00.006+01:00

I have been buying vintage baby clothes and now have a small collection. I bought them originally to draw and to use as pattern templates for making replica garments but have recently thought that I could possibly use them as part of the installation and intersperse them with the garments I am making. I do not want to alter these garments at the moment but thought that I could attach little labels to them containing lines from the letters to do with clothes or the washing.

Cottage Pinafore

2011-05-03T18:21:00.006+01:00

I have based this piece on a pattern for a cottage style pinafore which is in the Elzabeth Rosevear Book. I have started off with the simplest of the patterns. I have tried to use the type of fabric recommended in the book, hence I have used a 'vintage' cotton fabric from an old sheet which is a lovely cream colour. I have deliberately kept the wording on the garment quite simple but have decorated the garment with a 'lace' edging I have crocheted using a fine copper wire which I have then burnt to patinate.
I am making these garments to form part of an installation and it is my intention that the garments are a metaphor for the activity of " doing the washing" which was a trial for Ada. In addition the use of text is important for me as it is my intention that they "speak out' to the viewer in Ada's voice, by using lines from her letters on them. In some ways I feel that the use of text is making the meaning explicit but I feel that the direct link to the past is an important element of my work for this project.

Text Sampler

2011-05-03T18:16:00.004+01:00

Up to now I have used the same technique throughout the sample, so in order to move my work on I have experimented with combining a few of the techniques I have used in the past to see what the end result would look like. I have also added some writing using copper wire, although. I do not think the colour of the copper wire looks well with the neutral fabrics.
I think this technique would work well on a piece which had text as its primary attribute. In fact this would work well on a large-scale piece which concentrated on one of the poems.
In the case if garments with text on them, this technique is too distracting. In the case of garments the text need to be applied with more sensitivity.
I now intend to take my work forward in two directions : firstly a large scale hanging using the text from one of Angela's poems , and secondly continue making garments . or pattern pieces with lines from Ada'a letters about washing.

Organza Dress

2011-05-01T20:13:00.007+01:00

As the sample I did when I stitched onto synthetic organza worked so well, I decided that one of the garments I would make for the installation would be a organza dress made out a fabric which was entirely made up of text which had been cut out. I have been inspired by .... in this respect and thought it would be really interesting to have a go a making something on a smaller scale.
I have started to collect so vintage baby garments and have based my pattern on one of my recent purchases. I have stitched the text onto the Organza as this was the only way I could think of doing at home, although it was very time consuming and quite 'stressful' on my sewing machine. I stitched onto a single piece of organza, without using any backing fabric,and I did not use a hoop, which meant that I have to keep the fabric taut by hand to prevent it from getting chewed up in the bobbin mechanism.
I used a synthetic organza for the skirt of the garment as I was then able to cut into the text using a heated stencil cutter. I have used a silk organza for the bodice as this fabric is a lot easier to work with.
I am really pleased with the way the text on the garment has turned out. As there is so much writing the actual meaning has become obscured and you can just make out the occasional word, The shape of the garment is also intriguing.

Text on Organza

2011-04-28T14:29:00.003+01:00

I have been playing around with stitching text onto organza to see what the results will be. I have used a silk organza which does not burn away easily with a heated stencil cutter so I had have to cut it away with scissors. I like the effect of the writing on the organza before it is cut away as well but it does look a lot better if the light is behind it, which will not always be possible. I am going to try a similar sample using a synthetic organza which I will be able to burn away.

Barrow Coat

2011-04-25T18:19:00.006+01:00

My previous attempts at cutting out text using fabric were not all that successful so I have been doing some research into the technique I need to use and have looked at the master of paper cutting, Rob Ryan. By studying his work I have come to conclusion that ideally the letters all need to be the same size and it works better if they are placed between ( not necessary parallel) lines to hold them in place. This means that the text does look somewhat stylised and I will not be able to reproduce the lovely curving script of the Lightfoot Letters.
It has taken me two days to make this baby's Barrow Coat using a cream felt fabric which I intended to cut away with the stencil cutter but since this did not work very well, I cut it all out by hand, using sharp pointed scissors. The text is taken from one of Ada's letters where she is writing about the baby, Dorothy. I have made up the pattern from a photograph I took of a similar garment at the Antique Textile Fair,

Letter from Frances

2011-04-23T20:00:00.005+01:00

I have been thinking about writing an imaginary letter from Frances for a bit and the purchase of the old typewriter has spurred me on to write one. I have written the letter as if Frances has typed it out at night school ( as there is something in the letters to suggest that Frances was thinking about going to night school in Mossley to learn typing and bookkeeping). Frances's letters to the family are often referred to in their replies so it easy to imagine the sort of things she was writing. I have typed the letter and then enlarged it to A4 size and have digitally printed it onto silk.

Lettering

2011-04-21T11:58:00.006+01:00

I have been doing some samples of lettering on fabric with a view to creating some work for the exhibition. My initial plan is to use the pattern pieces from the Elizabeth Rosevear book and put some of the text from the letters onto them. I like the idea of cutting the letters out of the fabric and up to know I have experimented with using felt and organdie which can be cut away with a soldering iron and cotton which has to be cut with scissors.

Let skates speed you

2011-04-13T16:31:00.006+01:00

I have been struggling to do something in response to the poem Angela has written about young Peter skating on the pond. I have spent a long time researching images of people skating, I have found the location of the brickfield where he was skating on a map and I have researched what skates he would have used. I have have a real mental block with this yet I felt I needed to respond in some way, as Angela is planning on having lines from this poem printed onto the wall in the exhibition.
Part of the reason I have struggled with this is because I have trying to be too literal. I have used by artist license and have done some line drawings of a pair of old skates we have. This process helped me to free up and I have made this work using a scan of a screen-printed map which I have digitally printed onto fabric.
I do not think that this is the best piece of work I have down, but I felt that my previous inability to come up with anything has been causing a creative blockage. I can now put this behind me and get on with other projects.

Typewriter

2011-04-10T10:11:00.006+01:00

I bought this old typewriter last week from an antique centre in Northwich. I have been wanting an attractive one like this for ages and I was able to justify purchasing it as I have a use for it in my exhibition.
I have been playing with the idea of writing an imaginary letter from Frances back to her family, for although we only have one side of the letters, there are plenty of references to what she has written in her previous letters. I particularly like the references to the 'funny fish and chip shop with a river running under it'. She must also have mentioned in one of her letters about going to evening school to learn typing and bookkeeping
Following on from the previous post, this is an example of my addition to collecting objects which I find evocative. This typewriter reminds me of one which me father brought home for me from work, when I was about 6. It was larger and heavier than this one and I loved playing 'offices' with it.

"The Object No Longer There"

2011-04-09T20:54:00.005+01:00

I have spent the past couple of days getting my research file together and completing my 1000 words for Historical and Contextual Studies. I have hated the fact that this has been hanging over me and I was really glad when I submitted it to JISC today. This is not because I have found this boring: actually I have found the lectures on "Living with Postmodernity" very stimulating and I have appreciated the fact that there is a close link between my research and my practice. I have based my research on the relationship between objects and photographs, and our memories and recollections. I been able to use the observations I made during the Reminiscence Workshops as primary research and I am beginning to see a clear link between theory and practice. I have written it as a literature review, which is something I have only learnt to do this year as I result of proof reading my daughter's MSc Dissertation, which goes to prove that they do have their uses.

The Object No Longer There : the Role of Possessions and Images in Narrating the Past.

The role played by old garments, objects and photographs in the evocation of memories and reminiscences, is an area I have explored in my practice, either in relation to objects I have kept from my past, to explore my own memories, or found objects, which I use to create imagined narratives. I have become increasingly aware that some pieces of my work are particularly powerful in evoking memories, as is described in this anonymous quote in my exhibition visitors’ book.

" Very evocative- the memories stirring in the draught makes me think of my own childhood memories and how they drift into consciousness unbidden, moved by ?.........,"

This research looks at, what makes some objects more evocative than others, and the interrelationship of objects with our memories and emotions, I have used a combination of primary research; visiting exhibitions; researching academic literature in books and journals; and drawing on my own personal experience. Based on my observations of the use of photographic images by older people in a reminiscence- based art project, I give the photograph separate consideration as a vehicle for re-creating our past and have taken this concept further, by researching whether the process of re-assessing passed experiences, has a therapeutic value for older people vis-à-vis reminiscence interventions and oral history. Finally I have looked at the way in which some artists use this ambiguity in their practice.

The relationship human beings have with their possessions is the starting point for this research, in particular the concepts of hau , and “fetish” , where inanimate objects become an integral part and sometimes indistinguishable from the person. Walter Benjamin describes the “spring tide of memories which surges towards any collector as he contemplates his collection,” as a defining feature of the relationship between human being and objects they have collected.

Why some objects are more powerful in evoking memories than others, is an area that has been the subject of much research. The capacity of objects to “serve as traces of authentic experience,” is explored by Susan Stewart in relation to the souvenir , and Shelly Turkle’s own experience of searching through old objects for traces of her absent father, provides a real life example . The relationship between the objects we amass and our sense as social beings is explored by Daniel Miller: the contrast between the portrait of George, whose home is devoid of possessions and that of the Clarke’s which is full of objects collected during the course of a full family life, raises questions but does not provide answers .

The role of objects is defining our sense of identity becomes apparent when looking at the “transitional objects” people chose to take with them when they are forced to flee from their homes. Apart from taking items which serve a defined purpose people also take with them small personal items, that serve no utilitarian purpose but are used to “re-establish or re-define personal and collective origins” . This is also the case with Nan who has created a history of her life described by the objects she has collected. .

The unique position of the photograph as an ‘object of memory’ has been given separate consideration. Roland Barthes considers that the photograph is unique in that it blurs the distinction between subject and object. By its very nature the subject of a photograph becomes part of photograph itself, an object, once it is developed . In his desire to understand the photograph, Barthes states that the photograph “actually blocks memory, quickly becoming a counter memory,” , and this is re-iterated by Elizabeth Edwards who argues that this characteristic is integral to the photograph as it is created with the sole purpose of recording the past: a “frozen moment in time,” .

Additionally, photographs also become objects of remembrance and commemoration, an example of which is the shrine-like embroidered photographic memorial to George Young who was killed in the First World War .

During the primary research I carried out on the use of personal photographs (and other images) by older people, in January and February 2011, I kept a diary and made observations on the way in which the participants chose and used their photographs, and the relationship between these images and verbal recollections. The majority of the participants chose to use images of themselves as children or young women, and only one person chose to create a ‘shrine’ to her brother.

Stewart comments of the ability of the photograph to allow us to be a “tourist of one’s own life” , which leads into consideration of whether our own past is real, or a hyper-reality brought about by “the meticulous reduplication of the real,..through…photography,” .

Joanna Bornat has observed that oral history and reminiscences are important for older people, as they give them the opportunity to legitimise the telling of stories of the past, allowing the narrator the benefit of hindsight. She also argues that there is empirical evidence that older people may benefit from this re-assessment of their life, by reaffirming the positive aspects.

Contemporary artists have made use of the ambiguity of memory in their work, in a number of ways. Susan Hiller uses photography ,as well as objects, to create archives or mise-en-scenes, inviting the viewer to use bring their own experiences into the interpretation of the work . Other artists, such as Jo Spence and Nan Goldin, have experimented with the reconstruction of their own past, through the use of photography .

The research I have undertaken to date has been extremely relevant to my current artistic practice, and is providing me with a deeper understanding. Further research is required into contemporary artists practicing in this area and it would be beneficial if I were able to carry out further primary research, both with older and younger people. I could also expand the scope of my research to look at the role of garments as a metaphor for the body no longer there.

April 2011

Digital Printing

2011-04-05T20:22:00.004+01:00

Because the room at the Brindley is so large I have decided to have some of the letters printed onto canvas at college. I have gone for almost the maximum size of print. I have had my favourite letter printed out which is the one from the father in which he says he would rather have a spoon.
I am afraid that I did not do a test print as I felt I was running out of time and I decided that it did not really matter what the exact colours were, so I opted to have it printed with a RGB profile. I am please with the resulting print, it is very large and quite stunning. Also it does not requite much additional work from me other that hemming and attaching to a baton. I feel that fro a cost of £28 this is good value for money.

Hardly any dishes left

2011-03-25T13:51:00.003Z

This is the second of the samples I reworked to bring to a conclusion. I have reworked this earlier sample by wrapping the pottery fragments in thread and added buttons as a metaphor for mending, which gives the piece more depth of meaning. I have also created the stitching using free machine stitching copying the original style of writing which also gives the piece a more finished appearance.

Reworking samples

2011-03-24T19:36:00.002Z

"For this family no precious objects,
collections to be loaned to museums
or passes down as heirlooms."

Lines from poem by Angela Topping

I have recently started to get worried as the exhibition is getting closer and I have not actually produced any new work. I have been busy researching and sampling and also the reminiscence work I have been doing has taken up a lot of my time and energy. Today I have managed to clear this blockage and have rework a couple of old samples which I had previously thought would fit into the theme of this exhibition. I usually find that once I start working I do become quite productive today I have managed to produce two pieces of work for the exhibition and clear some space in my 'studio'.
The first piece, entitled 'No Heirlooms' has been inspired by the lines from one of Angela's poems. I actually did the sample last year and it based on a drawing I did of a jug which belongs to one of my friends and which she inherited from her mother-in law.
The artwork will go into a frame which is 8ins by 10 ins, which is quite small for the size of the room. In order to make an impact I am working towards producing multiples, in order that the work can be hung together as a block. I have now got 5 framed pieces of this size and one spare frame.

Journal Summary

2011-03-22T19:27:00.003Z

This blog forms my Reflective Journal which this year it is being assessed at the end of March. I am summarising it now, even though I have not come to a conclusion with this current LAB brief, in order to get it printed and bound. The blog/ journal will continue as usual.

This reflective journal element runs from the 29th June 2010 to today. I have included the summer of 2010 in my journal as my practice continues throughout the summer and last year some significant events occurred which are still impacting on my practice.
In the summer of 2010 I was invited to be an ‘artist in residence’ at a creative writing event run by East Cheshire Council. At this event I met a poet with whom I started to collaborate, as we use the same imagery in our work. This collaboration was cemented when we discovered that some old letters, which I had based much of my work on in the past, were written by her grandparents. We subsequently approached and were accepted by the Brindley in Runcorn to stage an exhibition in the summer of 2011. Also stemming from the day's residency I have been working with older people on reminiscence -based workshops: Arts for Health is a area I have been interested in gaining experience in.
In respect of my experience at college, I have, throughout the year, been very uncertain about whether this course was meeting my current needs. This feeling has developed because I felt that I was being encouraged to move away from working with textiles in this area.
I was advised to move out of my comfort zone and go into three-dimensional design as my specialist area. During the first semester,working in the 3D department I did enjoy the process of responding to the materials and worked creatively with materials other than metal. However when the unit was coming to an end and I had to draw my work to a conclusion and come up with an end product, I realised that I was not happy doing this as the work had no meaning for me. However I did discover the technique if crocheting with wire to create a lace-like structure and patinating which is something I will continue in my practice.
In the second semester I have been able to write my own brief and base it around my forthcoming exhibition. The work for this is still ongoing but I am now concluding the research and experimental stage and will start to produce pieces which may form part of the exhibition. In some ways I consider that using this live brief for my assessment will have ‘stifled’ my creativity as I have to ensure that the new work I create sits alongside the existing pieces.
Although this year has been uncertain for me I do feel that I now have clearer understanding of my creative practice. I do see myself as textile artist but I also work with other material, juxtaposing elements to created interest. Including a narrative in my work is important to me and that often means that I use text in it. At the moment narrating the past is important to me- but that might not always be the case. I do not see myself as a maker/seller and selling is not my primary consideration. I want to stage exhibition and engage with the public working with all ages in workshops and community projects. I recognise that I need to develop my skills in this area and I would also like to introduce humour into my work so as not to take it too serious.

Mid Project Review

2011-03-22T18:33:00.006Z

Caroline Bartlett

Julia Griffith Jones

Suzanne Langston Jones Wallflower (detail)

Caroline Broadhead

I have spent the first half of this project doing lots of research to try and find new inspiration to move this project on and I have also been experimenting using screen printing. I really wanted to do screen printing last year but I find that I am often disappointed when I use it. I find the whole process too repetitive and the grid structure too constricting. Last year I created a design made up of several separate design and I was able to be more creative with this by masking off separate elements and rearranging them.
I have printed quite a lot of fabric with the map design and I may be able to use this in my work over the easter holiday.
I have been pleased with the research I have carried out in the Gossages Archive as this has provided me with a lot of visual information. I am also really pleased that I have discovered the book by Elizabeth Rosevear as the idea of using pattern pieces as part of an installation has moved on my idea of having garments hanging from a line.
I have still to do research into shoes and boots and up to now I have not done any drawing, although Lesley has lent me a bag of old children's clothes which intend to photograph and draw.
I have researched other artists working in this area, including Suzanne Langston- Jones, Caroline Broadhead, Caroline Bartlett and Julia Griffith Jones, and I have visited the Susan Hiller exhibition and the Mary Kelly exhibition. I have looked at these artists because of the media they use ( wire and fabric); their use of text; their use of garments; and the narrative content to their work.
I now feel that it is important that I stop researching and experimenting and start to produce some work as the date of the exhibition is getting nearer. I have arranged to have an image of one of the letters digitally printed in the workshop at 100cm by 150cm as this will be a good way of getting some large items on the walls. The cost is £30 for this size so I will probably have another one done before the exhibition. When it is printed I will decide whether to leave it as it is or machine stitch into it.
Since it will be the Easter holiday soon and the workshops will be closed I intend to work at home concentrating on working with wire, machine stitching and digital printing ( either printing up to A3 at hone or using places such as Digitex).

Mapping the Area III

2011-03-22T18:23:00.005Z

I have been experimenting some more with screen printing maps on to backgrounds I have created using writing but the results have been variable. I printed onto paper grounds which I had covered with emulsion paint and then written into. Since dye does not soak into the emulsion paint the image has not come out clear. It is an interesting effect but not one I will be using. The use of blue dye was also not a good idea as the result looks like an architects blueprint which is also not in keeping with the rest of the body of work.

Mapping the Area II

2011-03-19T19:57:00.006Z

I have been experimenting with screen printed maps onto a range of different texture and surfaces as I intend to use screen printing as a technique. I obtained some interesting effects by printing onto recycled artwork from an earlier project, especially those where I overprinted onto images and handwritten text. Also I found that printing onto a texture fabric also produced some interesting results.

Reminiscence and Reflection

2011-03-19T09:35:00.004Z

Reminiscence
Yesterday saw the exhibition of the reminiscence artwork workshop produced by the residents of Heath View in Congleton. The exhibition was a two hour event held in Congleton Town Hall, the artwork was on display, there was a photographer and the local press was present. Whilst the venue was not ideal for an art exhibition as everything had to be attached to screens using velcro, surprisingly it did look good, as each of the pictures could be displayed separately on a board of its own.In terms of aesthetics for the exhibition I was not happy with the colour of the display boards, but this something that was out of my control. However this method of display meant the that artwork could be taken down easily and taken to the artists to be photographed. ( something that the photographer was pleased about).
The event was designed both as a celebration of the completion of the project for the participants and also as an event to publicise the work being down in the Borough. I had to give a short speech to introduce the work and talk about the project. I felt I did this OK at the time but now looking back I wished I had been given time to prepare something as I realise that there were important things I left about. What I really felt uncomfortable with was being interviewed and filmed at the same time. I have never liked appearing and speaking on videos. I did not have much warning and time to prepare and if I were to do it again I would want to agree the questions in advance and have thought about how I was going to edit and present the information I was presenting.This is an area where I definitely could do with some tuition - unless I just avoid it in future.

Reflectiion
Now this is over, and the artwork has been given back to the participants, I feel a sense of relief. Although I have really enjoyed working on a project like this, it was been a steep learning curve and it has taken up a lot of my time. I have learnt that I do have an aptitude for working with older people which is something I did not know beforehand, as I have only worked with children and adults in the past, and taking part in a project like this will enhance my CV. I do feel that now I need a period of reflection to decide whether this is an area I want to pursue but more importantly I need to now concentrate all my energy and resources on producing work for the Letters exhibition and satisfy the assessment requirements of my degree, of which this blog forms a part.

Mary Kelly Habitus

2011-03-17T19:00:00.004Z

There is a stunning exhibition of Mary Kelly's work on at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.
In a similar vein to the Susan Hiller Exhibition I saw at the Tate, this exhibition contains most of Mary Kelly's pivotal artworks.
Having only recently seen the Susan Hiller exhibition I am surprised at the similar way both of these artist's approach their work. Both have a 'almost obsessional' approach to collecting and documenting. I was familiar with some of the works of Mary Kelly, such as Post-Partum Document and Corpus, through researching her in art books so it was good to see the work in real life as some of it was a lot bigger than I had imagined. Her recent work 'Habitus", which is a collaboration with Ray Barrie was intriguing as I am still struggling with the term from the "Living with post-modernity" lectures I have been attending.

Amy Senogles

2011-03-14T20:22:00.006Z

I attended a talk by Amy Senogles this week and was interested to see that she using the shape of a garment pattern piece as a vehicle to present her work. Amy graduated from the BA Embroidery Course at MMU in 2008 and this was the work she made for degree show. Her work challenges the built in obsolescence in todays high street fashion by using recycled fabric and embroidery. Although she is not currently making garments she has presented her work as a collection of two-demnsional garments pieces and sleeves to provide a reference for the viewer.
Since I have recently come up with the idea to create a collection of textile work inspired by the pattern shapes I have discovered in the Elizabeth Rosevear Book it was really interesting to see another interpretation of this method of display, although my work will not have such a tailored finish.

Elizabeth Rosevear Pattern Cutting

2011-03-11T19:38:00.006Z

Book on pattern cutting from the 1920's by Elizabeth Rosevere

Garment for baby

Whist attending the antique textile fair in Manchester last Sunday I met Sarah Thursfield whose specialism in making clothes from authentic patterns. Some of the garments for babies that she had on her stall intrigued me as they were designed to be wrapped around the body so when laid flat the garment was two-dimensional and unusual which I thought would abstract my idea of contructing garments for a washing line. Sarah introduced me to a book by Elizabeth Rosevere on pattern cutting which the MMU library has in its reserve stock and I have also found the book online.
I have spent a lot of time researching and planning this exhibition and up to now I have not started to experiment and make things, It is quite hard to do any work at uni this term as I have a 3 hour lecture in the morning and tutorials in the afternoon. I am planning on doing some screen printing onto fabric and to do this I will have to come in on some other days which has not been possible up to now. I need to start the screen printing next week as I do not have many weeks left until the Easter Holidays. In retrospect I should have done this a couple of weeks ago but I was not really at the stage of knowing what design to do as I had not done all of the research. In terms of time management once it is the easter holiday I will have to work with techniques that I can do at home such as digital printing, transfer printing and stitching. This is a problem of being on a part time course: using techniques that can only be done at Uni does create problems.

Visiting the Gossages Archive

2011-03-10T18:53:00.006Z

One aspect of the letters which I have been interested in, is the references to Gossages Soap Factory where the father Peter worked and the references to 'Restu' Dry Soap. In the letters Peter refers to making "Restu" at Gossages and that it made his nose 'as bright as a berry". Ada's letters are full of descriptions of washing and she also used "Restu" but found it hard to use as it made holes in her fingers. I have tried to find advertisements for 'Restu" on the internet to no avail. However whilst researching I discovered that the building of the old Gossages Soap Factory is now the Catalyst Museum in Widnes and that they have the Gossages archive which people can make an appointment to view.
Having made an appointment I went along to day and spent 5 hours going through their collection of factory magazines from this period and their photographs. I was able to scan pages from the magazine and was given digital copies of some of the images.
Researching the archives in this way is an experience which was new to me as usually rely on using what is available on line and I found the experience really satisfying. The staff there were really helpful and were very interested in the exhibition we are staging and said that we would be able to use some of their artefacts in our exhibition as long as they were displayed in a secure environment. One thing i would ne interested in was a packet of the 'Restu' soap which has never been opened. I feel that it will be very apt to create an installation based on washing using a washing line with abstracted garments. The themes of washing, soap and work , runs through the letters, and I will be able to use the images and text I have obtained today on this work perhaps by screen- printing or digital printing.

Mapping the Area

2011-03-09T20:10:00.006Z

I have been expanding my research to look at old maps of Farnworth and Widnes in the 1920's partly to develop another aspect to bring into my work and partly to develop more of an understanding of life in Widnes in the 1920's. I am aware, that when creating art based on the past, I will be creating a construct based on my own experiences and ideas. However obtaining old maps of the area has allowed me to get a glimpse into the world where they lived. I have been able to identify the house where they lived, the frozen pond where Peter and Willie skated in the winter of 1923, and I can hazard a guess at the journey to work the father would have taken to Gossages. The Halton Photographic Archive has allowed me to see images of the street scenes from this period in time, with people frozen on the image in the clothes they wore at the time.
This is a marvellous resource and I have to stop myself from getting distracted by the historical research and keep reminding myself that this is an art project.
By experimenting with ways of using the map I have been able to identify several ways I might be able to use them in my work.:
- As a design for a screen print, which I can print onto fabric and then use to make ' garments,
- Metal work. The experimental piece I have shown above has been made using stitch on acetate, It gives the effect of wirework and this might be something I could develop either on its own or in conjunction with fabric to give it a support,
- To tell a narrative, I have been able to map out Peter's journey to work in the 1920's and this is an idea I am developing for a piece of work. I am being influenced by the Susan Hiller exhibition I saw last week and one idea I have is to try and do the journey now and take photographs of the street sign and buildings which would have been there in the 1920's to document this journey. Widnes has changed a lot in the past 90 years and I do not know how much of the original streets exist today. I am also worried that this is going too far way from the existing body of work. Another idea , which is more rooted in nostalgia, is to obtain archive images of the streets as they were in the 1920's and layer the map on top of these perhaps using organza.

Susan Hiller at the Tate Britain

2011-03-02T21:14:00.010Z

Susan Hiller is a name that often comes up when I am researching artists as we both take our inspiration from similar sources: collecting, narratives, objects, so it was great to see her work in real life rather than just in books.

I first came across her 'Painting Blocks' as part of her recycled work in which she recycled her painted canvases to make sculptural objects.
The work I particularly wanted to see was "From the Freud Museum". Previously an anthropologist, Hiller brings a methodology to her work which is 'an anthology of materials collected by the artist- personal mementos, private relics and talismans...The boxes contain shards of memory archived in instinctive combinations of meaning. Narratives that may link object, image and text are suggested but not explicit. allowing the audience to add new layers of meaning. From the Freud Museum concentrates on the gaps between the known and the unknown, dream and reality" (Tate, Susan Hiller Exhibition literature, 2011).
Looking at the exhibits in their archive boxes, I intrigued by the juxtaposition of objects, text and images.

Hiller is a compulsive collector, she collects things which intrigue her, she amasses these objects from which she selects those to create a mise-en-scene. I find Hiller's approach to her work, very interesting as it allows her to look at objects as cultural artefacts, she juxtaposes the everyday with the unfamiliar which challenges the viewer and makes them participants in creating meaning.
If I could bring some of this approach into my practice I think my work would really benefit. Although I do not want to make my work too obscure in its meaning I do recognise that some of my work is explicit and I would like to make it more intriguing.

Foundlings Museum- Threads of Feeling

2011-02-27T18:46:00.006Z

As usual with anything to do with the Foundlings Museum there is a real poignancy surrounding the exhibition. The fabric swatches are interesting in themselves but it is the narrative behind them which makes the exhibition so evocative. The combination of fabric and text is one which I find particularly interesting and is a theme I often return to. Asking myself what it is that makes these objects so intriguing for me as the viewer. I have come to the conclusion that it is the gaps that make the work intriguing as we fill those in ourselves.

"Fabric swatches from the 18th century tell stories of mother and babies parting
Threads of Feeling will showcase fabrics never shown before to illustrate the moment of parting as mothers left their babies at the original Foundling Hospital, which continues today as the children’s charity Coram.
In the cases of more than 4,000 babies left between 1741 and 1760, a small object or token, usually a piece of fabric, was kept as an identifying record. The fabric was either provided by the mother or cut from the child’s clothing by the hospital's nurses. Attached to registration forms and bound up into ledgers, these pieces of fabric form the largest collection of everyday textiles surviving in Britain from the 18th Century.
A selection of the textiles and the stories they tell us about individual babies, their mothers and their lives forms the focus of the Threads of Feeling exhibition. The exhibition will also examine artist William Hogarth’s depictions of the clothes, ribbons, embroidery and fabrics worn in the 18th Century as represented by the textile tokens.
John Styles Research Professor in History at the University of Hertfordshire received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to curate the exhibition. John comments: “The process of giving over a baby to the hospital was anonymous. It was a form of adoption, whereby the hospital became the infant’s parent and its previous identity was effaced. The mother’s name was not recorded, but many left personal notes or letters exhorting the hospital to care for their child. Occasionally children were reclaimed. The pieces of fabric in the ledgers were kept, with the expectation that they could be used to identify the child if it was returned to its mother.
The textiles are both beautiful and poignant, embedded in a rich social history. Each swatch reflects the life of a single infant child. But the textiles also tell us about the clothes their mothers wore, because baby clothes were usually made up from worn-out adult clothing. The fabrics reveal how working women struggled to be fashionable in the 18th Century.”

Evaluation of Reminiscence Workshops

2011-02-25T21:06:00.006Z

As part of my evaluation process, I have looked at some of the papers written about Reminiscence work to see if there is empirical evidence that the workshops I ran have been effective in delivering positive benefits for the participants..
These areas have been identified by Pam Scheitzer (http://www.age-exchange.org.uk/projects/past/mappingmemories/reminiscence.html) as providing positive benefits. I observed all of these benefits during the sessions ( with perhaps the exception of the psychological as I do not feel qualified to comment on this area) and the feedback I received from the participants confirmed my observations.

Community building
Sharing memories with others from a similar background generates a strong sense of belonging to a community and having a valued role within it.
Combating isolation
Loss of partners and close friends in later life can lead to isolation and withdrawal. Reminiscence offers a means of inclusion in a desirable social group which shares a common life experience.
Friendship
Pleasurable contact through sharing common memories can become the basis for new friendships between participants in the present.
Finding perspective
Having an opportunity to share and reflect on one's experience of life in a supportive atmosphere increases people's sense of identity, their sense of who they are. It helps people to integrate the different parts of their life into a more meaningful whole.
A sense of history
Sharing stories with people of the same generation or with much younger people helps to develop a sense of oneself as a participant in the great social and historical upheavals of the last century.
Respect
In reminiscence everyone is the expert on his or her own life and is recognised as an individual with unique experience to impart.
Stimulation
Being in a group where the memories are shared can stimulate the recall of long-forgotten experiences and put participants back in touch with parts of their lives which are pleasurable to remember.
Psychological support
Where memories are painful, it can be helpful to find others who can relate to one's own past struggles, so one does not have to feel so alone in suffering.
Creativity
Encouraging people to explore their memories through creative activities is pleasurable for participants and entertaining for anyone with whom they may wish to share their results.
Empowerment
Reminiscence work with people with special needs, and especially older people with dementia, can help to build self-confidence and independence by concentrating on strengths and creating opportunities for success.

In addition to the above I would also add
Physical
Encouraging people to perform simple physical tasks such as cutting, glueing and stitching, can bring about physical improvements.

I concentrated on visual stimulation and did not have time to explore a multi-sensory approach: this is an area I could explore in the future.

Comments from exhibition

2011-02-22T19:16:00.005Z

Beryl's work from reminiscence workshop

Whilst sorting out and cataloguing my existing body of work for my new exhibition I discovered some more visitor comments that I had not seen before as they had been photocopied by Farfield Mill from their book.
I have recorded a few of the more pertinent ones.

"Made me remember Liberty Bodices and takes me back many years to my own childhood - lovely"

'Memories are made of this! So thought provoking and inspiring"

"Delightful- great nostalgia"

'You clever girl- such memories"

Reading these comments has confirmed that my work does has an effect of the viewers. My use of 'old things' such as buttons, lace, images etc prove to be evocative to the viewer as they remind them of the past. Although I do not know for sure I have a feeling that the people who have written these comments probably are of an age that they remember these things from their own childhood and this aspect is very pertinent to the reminiscence work I am doing with older people. Since this is an area which currently is of interest to me I have decided to research this area for my Historical and Contextual Studies assignment, In particular I will be looking at the the role objects have in memory. This is a topic I have negotiated with my tutor Jane Webb under the title " The object no longer there". This will allow me use empirical evidence I have obtained as a result of working with the older people. The piece of work above was created on one of my workshops. It is a photograph of her and her brother before they were separated. The way she has decorated the image is reminiscent of an embroidered photographic "shrine' to George Young ( Elizabeth Edwards in Candlin and Guins, Object Reader, 2001, Page 338), thus making it her own shrine to her brother. I feel that finally things are coming together for me.

LAB February 2011

2011-02-17T11:21:00.005Z

I have had my first tutorial with our new course leader and I came out feeling a lot more positive about the course and where I fit into it that have I done for ages. I noticed a change in emphasis which I think I will find more conducive. I am on the course because I want to develop my practice and I am looking for constructive criticism which will allow me to develop and improve. I have had lots of things going on in my life since christmas and I now the my daughter is in Australia feel that I have space to concentrate on producing work for my forthcoming exhibition. I have written my own brief for this project and that has helped me clarify what I have to do. I was beginning to feel very stressed about the amount of work I have to do and sometimes it really feels as if I am working full time. I have been concerned that since I already have a large body of work to go into the exhibition and my new work must not look out of place, I will not be moving my work on sufficiently for my tutors at Uni. However now I have started to assess what I already have in place , I have been able to identify the gaps and realise that I need to concentrate on making larger-scale work and installations to complement what I already have and in order to respond to the gallery space. I have now started to document what I have already done in my sketch book and put down my ideas as this will help me clarify my thoughts.

Reminiscence Textile workshops

2011-02-08T23:20:00.009Z

Barbara's work from reminisence workshop

As the sessions working with a group of older people are progressing I have introduced the idea of using old photographs and images as inspiration for the artwork they are creating. Some of the participants had brought in photographs and I provided some which they could also use if they did not have any but as the week progress more people are bringing in personal items such as photographs, birthday cards, poems they have written and paintings they have done. As they worked I began to hear reminiscence based conversations starting to develop as they shared memories of their past experiences. I started to research this area and discovered the potency of reminiscence in work with older people in the arts for health field and think is this an area I am interested in developing in the future, but at the moment I have probably enough to do. These workshops do have an added stress factor, which is the fact they they will culminate in an exhibition in March to celebrate the work which has been done with them, both by myself and the poet and to raise the profile of working with older people. This has effected my approach to the sessions as I am having to place more emphasis on the artistic outcome of the sessions as well as considering the needs of the participants. I would like to do more sessions with them after the exhibition in March as I think these will be more relaxed which I would probably have to do these on a voluntary basis.

Specialist Practice 2 Feedback

2011-02-03T19:30:00.002Z

I have definitely improvement at assessing my work against the assessment criteria as I was only out be 1% this time and it was in the right direction. I received a mark of 63% which I think is fair as I did really struggle with the 3D brief (especially in the second half of the project). Working in an unfamiliar area forced me to experiment with the materials and I had made a special effort to record everything I had done in my sketchbook: I received positive comments about this. The 3D brief was designed as a template to encourage experimentation and I intend to keep this in mind for the Lab project.
My journal needs to have more reflective content in it : looking back since so much has been happening to me recently it has become a bit like a diary so this is something I need to address. I find the blog medium conducive to reflecting on my practice as my thoughts are more ordered when I type rather than write by hand, and it is ideal for adding images.

Working with Older People

2011-01-30T11:31:00.006Z

Bernard's work from workshop based on the rainbow poem the group wrote with the poet in 2010

This friday saw my first of five reminiscence-based textile sessions working with older people.
My plan was to base the workshops on their reminiscences using their own old photographs. However, since there has been a 5 week break I didn't know whether the participants would have brought in any photographs and also they would need photocopying, I decided to change my plan for the first session and use one of the poems written collaboratively by the group, exploring the colours of the rainbow and England's countryside, as inspiration for the work.
There were 12 participants, of which two were men, one lady was blind and the rest were either in wheel chairs or had other mobility issues. I asked the participants to each chose a colour and I gave them the lines of the poem and a selection of papers, images, fabrics and ribbons, in order to make an A4 collage which would I would transfer to fabric and they could further embellish. I had intended that the participants would pick the materials themselves but I had not appreciated their mobility issues and the restrictions of the working area. Some participants needed help in arranging their design and with the actual glueing. On participant spent a lot of time arranging the materials but showed no inclination to glue into place. I did go over and do it for him, asking him if it was in keeping with his design. I don't know whether this was the correct course of action. Was I fulfilling my needs to complete the project rather that his needs which were more to do with participation? Having said this there is a plan to stage an exhibition of this artwork in March to publicise the work the Council are doing with older people.
I was also concerned that the participants might be insulted at being asked to do what could be viewed as a childish activity so I found myself reiterating that this was how I approached my artwork,
A few people did bring in their old photographs, paintings and embroideries which I photocopied at the end of the session so next week I will be basing the workshop on old photographs and the work will become more reminiscence- based. I don't think that everyone will have their own images so I intend to bring some of my collection for them to use. The work planned next week will also allow the blind lady to participate as we will be using more tactile material rather that relying on colour.
The experience of the workshop was very challenging as there were a number of unforeseen issues. I have been looking at the literature on the role of reminiscence work with older people and this has given me ideas for future workshops such as bringing in objects (and related images) and using this as inspiration. This is particularly relevant to the HCC lectures I am looking at the link between possessions and memory.

Professional Development

2011-01-30T11:14:00.004Z

Trafford Creative Industries are running a series of professional development workshops- three of which are really relevant to what I am doing at the moment. I have been to a talk given by Kate Butler entitled ' How to Write a Press Release' and a one to one marketing surgery with Natalie Persoglio. The Press Release workshop covered how to format the actual press release, defining and targeting you audience and how to approach journalists so to practice I have written a press release for Textile 21 to publicise its forthcoming exhibition. The one to one marketing surgery with Natalie Persoglio was really useful as she has given me lots of ideas for my exhibition on the summer. I am aware that the Brindley will do some of the marketing but we will have to do some of our own as well , especially where we have own specialist networks.

Book Cover Design

2011-01-30T10:57:00.001Z

Anji has asked me to do the artwork for her poetry book she is bringing out for the exhibition based on the 'Lightfoot Letters'.
Using my newly developed skills in InDesign I have been designing covers for her to choose from. As this is something I have never done before I have been researching book cover design both on the internet and by looking at designs in bookshops. I have recognised that it is important the design of the book cover is important as it need to convey important information to the the reader about the content of the book and also entice them to look beyond the cover.
Out of the dozen or so designs I came up with both Anji and I thought that this one best had the most visual impact.

This has been a steep learning curve for me and I was glad that I had decided to learn how to use use InDesign before christmas as it is better suited than Photoshop for this type of task. Now I just need to learn Illustrator.

Meeting at the Brindley

2011-01-23T19:16:00.003Z

The room at the Brindley is very large.

Although I have been to the Brindley numerous times I was bowled over by the size and possibilities of the room.
Our meeting with Louise the visual arts officer went very well and she is very excited about what we are planning to do in the exhibition. The proposal we submitted was ambitious ( partly because we thought we'd got until 2012) but it was because it was so ambitious that we were accepted, aside from the local interest of the subject matter. Working in collaboration with an artist from a different discipline certainly is proving to be advantageous to both of us, as we each have skills, contacts and proven track records in our own area.
Although the exhibition is to be called the Lightfoot Letters the exhibition will have a broader base. From a practical point of view I do already have a body of work either specifically on this theme or related to it and having had the experience of my Past Lives exhibition at Farfield Mill I know which pieces to include. The space leads itself to some site- specific installations and the gallery will reproduce some of Angela's poems so the artwork can be interspersed with the relevant text. There is also a side room where we can have a video installation combining poetry and art. Its all really exciting but is going to take a lot of hard work and planning.

Specialist Practice 2 Assessment

2011-01-23T18:43:00.004Z

Installation of biscuit-fired ceramic fortune cookies by Laura Negus full time 3D student

The assessment of the Specialist Practice 2 unit was not as fraught as previous ones have been. Maybe it was because there are less of us now so space isn't such an issue; maybe we are better at 'editing' what to put out and what to stack under the table or maybe we're more laid back. From I personal perspective I found that the process of creating a portfolio allowed me to stand back from the work I had done over the last semester, identify trends which were not always obvious, and critically evaluate my work. Although this was not actually required as part of the CP assessment I recognised that for me it would be a useful skill and one which I feel will be useful as I see my creative practice as evolving from 'Designer-Maker' to staging exhibitions and working with the general public on projects and excellent presentation skills are essential.
As far as the assessment goes I am not really expecting a very good mark as I feel that as I was working in a new area and learning new skills a lot of what I was doing was first year level. Although I tried to keep focussed on my own brief I felt that I did not have the skills at the outset so I was unable to build on these. Later I went to look the the work of the full time 3D students and was struck by how much more sleek and professional their work looked by the end of the assessment. This was interesting because at the mid- point of the unit I felt that my work was holding its own alongside the full time students. I was also struck by the fact the the full time students in general had an idea at the outset and worked towards making that idea work i.e really developed their work. Mine is very experimental ! .......
The range of work on display by the rest of Creative Practice was diverse. Some other people had gone into new areas and felt the same as me while others really showed signs of developing their skills in a certain area.

Nearly Leaving......

2011-01-23T18:15:00.005Z

I made a decision over the Christmas holidays that I was going to take a years sabbatical from the course. This decision was prompted by the email I received from the Brindley Arts Centre in Runcorn, telling me that my proposal for a collaborative exhibition centred around the coincidence of the 'Lightfoot Letters' which I had put together with the poet Angela Topping (whose grandparents and father has in fact written the letters) had been accepted and that they were offering us a slot in 2011 ( and not 2012 as they had originally said).
My decision to ask for a sabbatical was partly due to the practical time considerations of getting together an exhibition for the summer, delivering six reminiscence-based textile workshops to the elderly residents of a residential home and producing a separate body of work for my CP assessment and also putting together a research file on "Living with Post Modernity". It was also influenced by the growing realisation that, although I had enjoyed the time I have spent in the 3D department, it was in fact, taking me away from what I really wanted to be exploring-i.e textiles, memory and narrative. Looking back to how I had been advised to 'move out of my comfort zone' and ' ask myself why I wanted to do the course' I began to realise that I currently felt that the course was not really meeting my current needs and perhaps a break would do me good and allow me to pursue my current interests. The meeting was not as I had expected as I received a lot of support and was told that I am able to treat this as a live brief for the next (LAB) project and also for the HCC module "Living with Postmodernity" would inform my practice. I have decided to stay on the course for the present as I recognise that there are many benefits and I would miss the opportunity to use the resources and be in an academic environment.
I recognise that my practice has developed since being on this course and I feel that I have discovered the area that I want to pursue.

Crocheting with wire 2

2011-01-09T17:50:00.003Z

I am very pleased with this technique I have developed recently as I feel it combines several elements that are important to me in my practice and it is something that I will be able to include in future projects, especially my textile work. I will need to practice at crocheting as I am not very experienced at it and I will be able to using crochet as a method of drawing. I particular like this outcome as it references textile but the fact that it is metal challenges the viewers perspective. I have been using a verdigris powder to create an aged patina as this is what I have in my workbox but I am aware that there are many different colours available and I could achieve very different effects depending on which one I use,

Crocheting with wire

2011-01-04T18:20:00.004Z

One interesting development which has come out of this project has been my re-discovery of crocheting and in particular the effects what can be obtained with crocheting with wire. I have been using a really thin copper thread I bought from Maplins and I have discovered that if you burn it with a blow torch it creates a lovely blackened patina. It does give off nasty (toxic?) smoke so I now do my burning outside on the patio and make sure I stand downwind of the smoke.
However the effect is lovely and this in something that I think I will develop as it really seem to fit into my practice.

Coming to a conclusion

2011-01-04T17:53:00.004Z

The christmas holiday has given me time to look back and reflect on the work I have done over the past three months and has also given me time at home to mess around and experiment.
I have had several design disasters with the wearable piece I was experimenting with. The idea of sticking pins into felt balls proved to be not practical- since the piece was one long rope with the elements suspended on transparent thread it all became tangled and in the end I had to cut it apart. In retrospect the idea would work OK as a hanging although even then care would have to be taken not to get it tangled.
I experimented with crocheting with a very thin wire as a means of joining the elements together in a more integrated way but although this was a better method it was still prone to tangling.
In the end 'necessity was the mother of invention' and I realised that I had to impose a structure on the piece and joined shorter strands together to make a wearable for around the neck.
During the christmas period I have also been experimenting with creating a patination effect onto the brass as I felt that the natural colour of brass would be improved by ageing techniques. The patination solution I had bought did not work on brass, but the internet proved to be a source of numerous ideas and I found the vinegar fumes technique extremely effective.
The vinegar fumes create a verdigris effect on the brass and the colour also spreads to the linen threads.
I have not been able to age the copper wire I have been using as I think it has a coating of varnish on it. If I were able to get an untreated wire I would be able to colour it which would be really interesting

Putting together a Portfolio

2010-12-20T14:06:00.007Z

As I thought putting together a portfolio is a really useful part of an artist's practice and one that I will continue to use in the future. By photographing my work and editing it I find that I am able to look at it from a distance and what I realise is that I had some good ideas in the first part of the project when I was experimenting but once the emphasis of the project changed to come up with a final project/ proposal my work has changed as I have been struggling to reach the conclusion required. My work itself is quite small- miniature sculptures like Japanese netsuke- and the close up photographs I have taken are exciting and have a separate existence from the objects. In theory I should be able to take these ideas forward into making something unique but in practice I do not have the skills needed to do this. I have been struggling to produce something as a conclusion to this project and as I result have tried to make sense of what I am doing by introducing a narrative and combining the softness of textiles with the hardness of metal.
I have decided that I will concentrate on working on the portfolio as a first priority as this should enable me to review my work to date and perhaps help me see how to take forward

Portfolio using InDesign

2010-12-14T09:34:00.003Z

The students in the 3D department are required to put together a visual portfolio of their work on this project using InDesign as part of their assessment requirements. Although this is not required as part of my assessment I have decided that it looks like an example of good practice as it seems like an excellent way of communicating ideas and processes in a summarised form.
It it also a good spur to make me learn InDesign which I obtained in September and have not yet used.
I really have no idea what this portfolio should look like other than it is to be A3 and a maximum of 13 pages. However if I put something together over christmas I will be able to take it to the last tutorial and will be able to look at the ones the more experienced 3D students have done and get some feedback on mine.

Wearable Art

2010-12-12T14:13:00.005Z

For my last tutorial before christmas I have managed to make two pins and have suspended the elements I have been developing together to make a 'wearable'.
My idea for the 'wearable' is something that can be pinned to clothing and draped around the body in various ways. I am using invisible thread and crimp beads to attach the elements so they look like they are suspended in mid air.
I am still uncomfortable about the idea of a 'wearable' and would much prefer to make a hanging that can be suspended in front of a window as I am not really sure if this idea works as a three dimensional object.
I am not really sure if I should pursue making a 'wearable' as I am again confused whether I should be following the brief set by the 3D design department as I am creative practice student and I am really unsure about how this fits in with my current practice.

Pins

2010-12-08T13:28:00.006Z

This week I feel that I have made a breakthrough and have actually started to put together the experimental elements I have been creating into some form of coherent whole. I don't know why I have been struggling with this - perhaps it is because I have been out of my comfort zone. Although I got different feedback from the tutorials I had with the 3D tutor and the CP tutor on Monday I have decided to take elements from both and create something that I feel makes sense to me.
The tuesday metal workshop session was extremely useful as I have learned how to melt brass wire to form pin heads and sharpen the end. I find the idea of making handcrafted pins exciting and I am intent on finding ways to incorporate these into my future practice.
After the session I was able to construct my first 'wearable pin' at home using my blowtorch to melt the end. The process of coming up with a design was a combination of visualisation in my sketch book and hands on experimentation. The hook fastener references the ' hook and eye' fasteners used in sewing. The oval was constructed by feeding a brass curtain ring through the rolling mill and imprinting it with a lace pattern. I have come to realise that although I like working with metal it is important to me that I combine different types of metal together and also include other media.
I plan to move this forward by attaching things of it so that it can be worn on the body in different ways but still feels like it is an integral part of the design rather than just being an add on.