Unit X - Reflection

Unit X has encouraged me to have a better understanding of taking risks and challenges in experimenting different materials and techniques. It developed my understanding of digging out the meanings behind my samples. This unit also gave me a freedom of discussing my projects with other students and tutors, which not only helped me to prove my project work but also determined me to give a better reflection in my writing work as well.

Thread wrapping  

Whether it's about collaborating in a team or working independently, I think in this unit I have improved a lot because I think I had a better understanding of choosing a theme in unit x.

However, I think this time I have used laser cutting and hand embroidery more than machinery work. In addition, I have tried to develop into one design by using it in different ways - to see the different outcomes of one pattern in different ways as shown down below.

Experimenting different materials by layering them onto each other.

The image on the right side is a back side of my sample. I have done pfaff machine embroidery on this sample. In comparison to the front side, the backside of this sample piece fascinates me more, as it gave me a grid with splashes of green coloured thread on to a white surface. Then, to develop this I have attached some tiny bricks to resemble a brick grid.

The outcome of our group work
'Masonry'

At the beginning of this project, I thought I might be using more green lichen colour from foliose and fruticose colour, but somehow, I ended up in doing more grey and blue lichen colours from crustose lichen. I think this colour pallet maintains a balance with my group colour pallet.

As a group, we all made a booklet for our exhibition and then layered out our samples onto a board, which went quiet assembled together. I think we all have come-up with some interesting outcomes, which included weave, print, knit and embroidery samples.
It was interesting to see the final board; starting from tile and brick making heritage crafts, we all ended up making something different to each other with completely different research and themes, but still linking it with 'Masonry'.

In the beginning, my plan was to experiment with the combination of Cornelly machine and Pfaff machine more than hand stitching, but unfortunately, I have not used Cornelly machine, as I did not feel like using it at all. I am still happy with my samples and the materials that I have used, but still, some of the samples looked unprofessional, but at the end, it is all about trying different things and figuring it out what works and what does not?

I think for the next time I will try to focus on fewer materials and, then I should expand my ideas by using fewer techniques, which will make my work more productive and unique. In addition, it will help me to develop my own style of working.  

As I was having some difficulties in working out the visual research. Therefore, during the final crit day, I looked at different student's sketchbooks to get more ideas of arranging my sketchbook. In conclusion to this, I have found out that I should put more visual research than the writing/research pages, to make my sketchbook look more organized.

Also, I think in this unit, the idea of giving a presentation to a different textile group, 3D students group and different tutors, has pushed me forward to explain my work and, to get advice and ideas from different people around me.

Down below, I have shown an overview of my whole project.

Content 

Concept 

Materials and process

Unit X - Development

 An example of taking inspiration from a photograph

For the development of this project, I have started to take inspiration from my primary images to get my colour theme and designs. I struggled with choosing the right quality of yarns and fabrics. Responding to my feedback, I produced some yarn wraps inspired by my primary research. This has helped me to link the quality of threads with the fabrics, and it  helped me to choose the right colours.

 Sample making

My aim for this project is to focus on how nature takes place over bricks has encouraged me to achieve something that traps the bricks with lichen. As I was looking into my research, I collected a colour palette. At the beginning of this project, I have started to work my samples with red bricks as that was the part of our group colour pallet.

The purpose of trapping the bricks in lichen was to show the movement of lichen over bricks.

Working in different stations is something that makes me feel enthusiastic about the outcome of my work.

Using different materials and tools rather than sticking to one thing, is something that I enjoy more. However, I do challenge myself and take risks to do my work, which sometimes makes me overburdened; sometimes it gives me some exciting and interesting outcomes.

I have started with mark making drawings mostly throughout the project as I love getting quick marks, and it makes me feel motivated as I go along. In addition to this, I have found a book called 'cell book two' by Coo Geller. In this book, I have found some interesting designs of cells and then I developed it with my lichen and bricks research like the image at the bottom is of my own drawing, which I have created with bubbles. 

My primary research shows that lichen usually grows on concrete bricks. Therefore, I have found an artist called Bethany Walker, who works with concrete and yarns to make her pieces. This artist has inspired me to take my sampling a further step and then I created the following pieces.

This piece on the left side reminds me of lichen been trapped in concrete.

Old concrete bricks

I developed my work by taking inspiration from the designers called Michelle Griffiths and Bethany Walker. By looking at their work, I could imagine a human eye can visually see the process of lichen growing through the bricks from before, it, until it comes out and covers the bricks.

Therefore, I started to look into the movements of old bricks being cracked with the passage of time and the growth of living organisms been grown in a man-made material, which ended up as deterioration.

Taking ideas and feedback from peers and tutors has encouraged me to develop my work furthermore. Therefore, I am thinking to combine the use of pfaff machine with the concept of trapping small textile pieces in concrete. However, this will make my work go together for the exhibition.

Unit X - Research

In this unit, I got a chance to work in a group with students that came from different areas in textiles. As everyone in the group has different knowledge and style of working, it is very exciting for me to work as a team, as we could all experiment with each other's ideas and then come up with an interesting outcome. After, doing some mind maps and discussion about choosing the heritage craft or theme as a group, we all finally agree to choose heritage crafts of bricks and tile making, which inspires us to give a theme for our project called 'Masonry'. We all decided to do heritage craft because it helped each member of the group to choose their own themes.

lichen on bricks from Alexander park Oldham

I begin my research about nature taking over bricks, and how it can make a brick deteriorate. During my research I have found one thing which grabs my attention - I have found-out that lichen is one of those living organisms which grows on bricks and makes the bricks deteriorate. 

                                                                                                                                                          

The structure and cell theory of lichen cell fascinated me; therefore, I have decided to take inspiration from the medulla structure in lichen, which reminds me of making pop-up shapes for my samples. The pop-up shapes could describe the growth of lichen medulla. This reminds me of experimenting with 3-D shibori. 

Therefore, during the shibori workshops, I was delighted with the ties of fabrics before doing shibori. Which makes me think of doing 3D shibori. I have found a shibori artist called Michelle Griffiths, who has inspired me to create some popped-up shapes with fabric, but then it did not work well because the fabric was shrinking and making a stretchy look, which I did not want.

For the primary research of lichen, I went to the Alexander Park in Oldham, where I have collected three types of lichen as shown down below in the image. 

 Crustose, foliose and fruticose lichen from the old bricks and tree barks.

To develop this, I have used these three types of lichen and experimented the dye technique with lichen. I had some interesting results of lichen dye, but it did not work well with all my fabric samples. After dyeing the fabrics with lichen, I have found out that the lighter the fabric is the better the lichen reacts with it. 

In the end, I have found out that the silk creep-line fabric gets the most colour, then others in almost 30 minutes as shown down below. 

Lichen dye onto Silk creep-line 

In addition to this, I have also preserved some mix lichen with water and different fabrics (including silk creep-line) as shown down below. My aim to preserve this is because I wanted to experiment if I can dye the fabric with lichen without oxygen and heat. 

In addition, I have tried the Pfaff machine, which I feel, is an amazing machine to create some glamorous and clean-edged designs. However, now I am thinking to experiment with the Photoshop and Pfaff machine to create my designs/samples furthermore. 

Sampling unit- final evaluation

In this unit, my confidence has grown by experimenting with tools making for drawings and by learning new skills in different machine techniques. I have begun this unit with the 100 object drawings from galleries, museums and my surroundings, in which I have drawn different objects which were completely different from one another. Then I have looked into my mark making drawing skills by looking at my drawings and photos, which helped me to get different colour themes and textures of different objects. 

                                   

In my mark making drawings I have tried to follow the movements of objects and colour balance. I loved doing drawings in different ways, which I had developed furthermore in my drawing sessions and in my development sketchbook e.g. I have experimented by blowing some balloons with paint onto a paper and putting some paint and detergent onto the sink to get a bubbly textured onto a piece of cartridge paper (shown below). 

   

Moreover, the feedback from my tutor really helped me in developing my work. In the beginning, I was really confused and lost about my work. I did not know which direction should follow which I shouldn’t, but after getting the feedbacks almost every week has encouraged me to take challenges and use studios actively in the university.  

I began by picking up some random colours (e.g.1) for sample making from my sketchbook, but then I choose a colour pallet (e.g.2) from my developed sketchbook to follow and develop something which relates together. Then I started to make wrappings for looking into textures and colours of threads – this encourages me to see how threads work together before using them for samples. 

       (1)   

       (2)  

After attending the dye and screen-printing workshops, I have tried to follow the path of mark making drawings with pigments and dye chemicals because I loved doing mark making drawings at the beginning. However, I was not really liking it. Then I had inductions of Cornely machines, big Bernina and different types of technology onto the normal Bernina machines to create different textures. Then I found Cornely machines and tailor tacking foot for normal Bernina machine really interesting. I loved the way these machines create a pop-up texture with a single thread.