Level 2, Module 3, Chapter 5, Finishes.
Tabs, Sample 1
Page 68
Hand dyed scrim with calico backing. Machine embroidered with decorative stitches, the edges left frayed intentionally.
A second rectangle, larger than the first of scrim only was then sewn wrong sides together and turned through. Horizontal lines of stitching in keeping were sewn. The stitched length was then cut into three and each piece folded in half and joined to the main worked piece with the decorative stitch at the top.
Lastly, a thick length of macrame was pulled through and knotted each side to finish.
Tassels and Fringes
Sample 2 & 3
Page 69
Sample 4 & 5
Page 70
Sample 6
&
Tiny Tassels
Sample 7
Page 71
A list of recent visits to Art exhibitions, museums, workshops, books and websites;
Art Galleries visited in the last 8 years;
Uffezzi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Van Gogh at the Amsterdam Gallery
Leonardo da Vinci, immersion 3d experience, Venice
Guggenheim Gallery, Venice
V & A London, Van Gogh exhibition
Tate Modern - Magdalena Abakanowicz, Textile Artist 11/3/23
London Museum of Fashion - Kaffe Fassett Exhibition 11/3/23
Artists books;
Van Gogh
Kandinsky
Pollock
Louise Bourgois
Kaffe Fassett
Textile Art / Other Books;
Valerie Campbell Harding
Julie Triston and Rachael Lombard
Surface to Stitch, Gwen Hedley
Cas Holmes, several books
Quilters Dictionary
Stitch Dictionary
The Tao of Watercolours
Oil painting books
Art Hnadbooks
Macrame
Mosaics
Websites /Face Book Following:
Cas Holmes -
Gwen Hedley
Workshops Completed at Distant Stitch Summer Schools;
Julie Tristan
Gwen Hedley
Exhibition pieces;
I entered the Corsham Arts Christmas Exhibition 2019 with a piece of hand painted and printed Tyvec film, free machine embroidery sewn and heat distressed. The framed piece is below. The influence for this piece was experimenting with the use of Tyvec film from Gwen Hedleys book "Surface to Stitch". Also her workshop where we used printing techniques and mark making.
Chapter 5,
My first Designer / Maker;
"Fabric Works" by Louise Bourgois
1923 - 2010
Image taken in 1991
I attended a Louise Bourgois exhibition a few years ago with my Sister who is an Artist.
Louise Bourgois' prolific career spans over 70 years.
She was born of a French weaving family and her work crosses such a wide spectrum using so many different methods and materials.
My five image selections are as follows;
1) Ode a La Bievre
Ode to the River
Page 72
This was made by her as an embroidered book from fragments of cloth.
In the book she reminisces through images and text about the impact the River had on her from her childhood living near to it.
Years later when Bourgois was to go back to the house with her own family, the river had gone.
Only the trees that her Father planted along its edge remained.
~
The individual blocks are interesting because they do not need to be any "thing" to look like a River or part of its bank but looking closer you can imagine all sorts of reasons why they are indeed there.
Colours are muted, her use of lines and shape create their own interest in each one.
The shapes are strong and varied.
Images to look at;
1) The triangular type hills block with it's negative outline in white is a powerful image with its subtle tones of blues and greys. It has everything form, line, shape colour. perhaps lacking in texture?
Surprising from something so simple.
2) The block to its left with 2 / 3rds orange with the opposite colour blue creating two mounds close to the bottom.
The orange is powerful and jumps out at you from the page.
Again its lines are simple but there using the orange subtle difference in colour and the mounds in blue.
It is difficult to see much in the way of texture?
3) The strongest block in terms of texture to my mind is the second down from the left the "woven" blues and greys, with the peach band at the bottom.
This has it all, line, form shape and texture because of the woven fabrics, not the fabric itself.
4) The second up from the right. The grey block with what looks like couched threads?
The lines are strong in the linear image they create. The colours are so pale and yet stand out. The texture is created by the lines this time?
5) The "wave" block. I am guessing the waves are appliqued onto the background so form both line and texture, the colours are muted, very pale green, grey and blue with the cream waves, this would be not something I particularly like.. the lines are strong though produced by the waves and therefore movement is created.
6) I had to include this and several other pieces of her work to show her diversity.
I love this piece of work. It is stunning in the book and has an abundance of everything, the strong lines created by the grid, The weave along with the delicacy of the net squares in 3d form attached - they are see through and create such added interest. This is right up my street!
I adore the colourways as they are so muted and delicate.
Page 72
7) "Spider", 2007, also the cover photo for her book.
Page 73
I hate spiders but I appreciate this piece of work for its beautiful woven 3d form, its texture from the woven fabrics and the frayed edges, also, the unfinished raw edges. The line from the linear freedom of the legs, the colours, really beautiful subtle tones in pastels - the opposite of a brown / black spider. Apparently her mother loved spiders, this is one way she showed love for her Mother. Very deep.
~
Designer / Makers 2, Valerie Campbell - Harding,
Edges and Finishes in Machine Embroidery
I choose this designer because I see so much of what she creates, her methods, her use of colour, the shapes, the finishes, the textures that I love in her work. I deliberately did not use the book along side the course work, now looking back I can clearly see how much more I could have done. Her braids and fringe page is stunning, her use of buttonholes for example is beautiful.
Why?
Image no 1) page 62, Stitched Edges, (Joining).
Page 74
Sorry the image is not perfect.
The colours, blues and oranges are very strong together with the pop of yellow, pink and turquoise just creates a piece that works beautifully.
The texture - is the background wool pulled apart to create the fraying edges? It could be hand dyed.
The lines are the beautifully joined threads between each piece in the grid and to create the loose lace edge. They are also in the centre of each square in the built up pieces.
The lines also create the lovely negative lines and spaces in between.
The form and shape are the 9 pieces with the central rectangles and the loose spidery shape in between each square.
Stitches used are in the background lines of free motion, spidery running stitch through and around the grids and edges.
The foreground pieces look very heavily stitched, possibly couched threads too.
The message of this piece is joining shapes, patches and using stitch to join and finish edges.
~
Image no 2 Large Tassels, (Page 41 from her book - Edges and Finishes
Page 75
The colours are vibrant - a lovely combination of the purple and green secondary colours along with the pink work magically together.
The lines are flowing and delicate making soft shaped edges and the tassel itself has a lovely curve.
The texture is the sheer mesh chiffon petals sewn delicately and the couched cording used for the stamens. also the tufts at the very bottom of the tassel.
The form and shape are the 3 d and twisted turned petals with the flowing lines form the stamen and tassel.
The message is a beautiful balance of delicate texture, colour, line and form to produce a tassel.
Stitches, the fushia tassel with organza petals and wire stiffened stamens are satin stitched.
~
Page 76
I have chosen this piece as a finished, decorative, useable piece of textile art.
The colours used are more tones of grey and black with a hint of peachy / orange and lots of copper. Cool colours alongside warmer colours to compliment.
The lines are in the main body of the work in the stitch form and then in the prairie point edge and in the tassels fringes.
The texture is in the knots and the built up layers of the prairie points. Also the rolled wired beads at the top of the bag.
The shape and form is in the strong triangular look with the triangles at the bottom edge in the form of the prairie points and the knots and tassels to flow off the bottom of the bag.
The message is a real item with definite consideration of form and function with the edges and finish a really important part of the piece.
Stitch is a in the long lines of free motion running stitch on the background of stitched silk and paper. In the prairie points really bold cross stitch is used and satin stitch on the corded knots.
~
Image no 4, Burnt or Melted Edges (P21).
Page 77
Is the style of the work Antique, with text, letters, symbols - unsure.
The colours are gold, blues and black giving it that antique, aged look.
Line is in the letters in the layers in the bookmark as a symbol and in the tassel as threads and stitch.
Texture is the layered burnt papers, chiffon, calico and tissue paper used for the structure, in the tassel for its feathery quality and in the bookmark in those symbols.
Shape and form is the rectangular base piece of layered and sewn work folded and made into the book with the bookmark and tassel.
The message is the texture that can be achieved using these built up distressed layers in order to fold and produce a strong enough structure to make the book cover.
The stitch is free machine embroidery to create the pattern lines, running, zig zag, satin and decorative stitch on the book mark.
~
Image no 5, Burnt or Melted Edges, P22
Page 78
The style is very similar to my previous image, though I had not realised it until this point.
Interestingly I like burnt and melted edges but often shy away from the heat gun.
The colours are monotone with the addition of gold - also love gold!
The lines in this are very strong from the cut out letters in the foreground with their thick outline in black to the background printed fabric and stitched lines.
The texture is from the background built up layers of printed fabric, with the addition of chiffon burnt away at the edges to the foreground to the stitched and applied letters.
The form and shape is the strong text - the shapes jump out at you.
The message is texture, layers, and the unfinished edges to make an interesting piece of work that make you want to look further into it to see how it was done.
~
My third Designer -
Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1930 - 2017 "Every Tangle of Thread and Rope."
Tate Modern, London 11/3/23
This is a Polish Artist who as "Bourgois" came from a weaving background, born in 1930.
She creates large woven sculptures using sisal fibre from ropes that she dyes to weave her huge hanging pieces in the exhibition.
Shape and Form
She appears to use these gigantic pieces to represent the human form and I can show you her very dark inky blue / black woven piece with what look like trees but I believe also represents the lungs.
She seems to cross over her love of the Polish landscape, forests and trees and incorporate that with the human body.
Line and Texture
I saw the beauty in the woven work, she pulls through and leaves areas of strands and fibres to add texture and her way of layering and adding more loops and leaving the background open and bare where the fibres hang loose create extra texture and depth to some of the pieces edges were completely in line with what I think this Chapter is about. So this I loved.
Colour
There were three pieces at the end of the exhibition which were my favorites and I have photographs of them here. The beauty of the turmeric, orange and red pieces were stunning. that was a tiny part of the entire show and they came at the end.
Summing up
I really love and appreciate how she has made these pieces interesting in basically one colour, using the tones achieved by dyeing her fibres along with her use of building and layering and the interesting edges and negative spaces she achieved.
But, subject content and the overall darkness of her pieces seem a little overwhelming and sad.
End of the Chapter.
