Module 4 Artist Study

I am continuing to collect notes and images of interesting artists.  For this exercise, I thought it would be interesting to compare two textile artists who have used a similar process and starting point, and whose work relates to my theme of industrial landscape.  Both Michelle Loughlin and Clare Lane take photographs of urban decay, print them on fabric and add stitch, but their motivations and the resulting work are very different.

The photographs in this post show the notes in my sketchbook; images of each artist's work can be seen at the links given under references.

Michelle Loughlin

Michelle Loughlin is an American textile artist who  made a series of work using hand stitching on photographs in 2007/2008.  Urban Weavings is a collection that celebrates the urban landscape in her home city New Jersey City, NJ, using photos of sites that are interesting historically or important to the community.  These could be demolished or abandoned buildings, or buildings being redeveloped all of which Michelle recorded before they changed as the area became gentrified.  Her motivation was personal, a reaction to feeling helpless in the face of rapid redevelopment of the place she lives in and knows well.

 

These are small works, less than 20cm square, and mounted very simply.  The photograph is printed onto cross-stitch fabric and then stitched freely, with bright threads adding colour, texture and life.    Rather than simply recording the scene, she responds to it and uses the stitches to complete the picture, to make it more beautiful and vital.  She has said of the building that inspired her piece 410 Bergen Lafayette that she 'would drive by and think how can I make that prettier?' Her stitches have a boldness and simplicity to them, as if doodling with crayons, highlighting selected areas; a stitched intervention into the street scene.  

References

Home Sweet Home, Embroidery Jan/Feb 2009

http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/25395-michelle-loughlin

Clare Lane

I first heard of Clare Lane when I visited her solo exhibition at the Stroud textile Festival in 2008, and  I was immediately taken by her hyper-realistic  images of urban and industrial sites in decay ; I was struck too by the emptiness, the absence of people. 

The stretched canvases on show were large, over a metre each way, displayed unframed, and showed photographs that had been digitally manipulated, simplifying the colours into chunky blocks.  These had then been stitched in some areas with matching threads, creating a change of texture and depth.

Clare describes what she does as 'unashamedly process driven', starting with walking the streets and taking hundreds of photographs.    The next stage is to work with the images in Photoshop.  She may use a single image or create a montage, cutting elements from several photographs to create her composition.  She may also add layers of scanned images, for example drawings, painted backgrounds, paper cut-outs, text, and apply a variety of filters.  The key part of the process is digitally overpainting the whole picture, concentrating on colour and shape and working at such a high level of detail that she may spend hours on a tiny part of the image, looking at it as an abstract arrangement of colour and shape.  Because of the size of the finished canvases, she cannot see the final  effect until it has been printed on fabric.  Then comes the stitching, using an Irish machine to fill in solid blocks of colour on parts of the image, which relieves the flatness of the digital print.  This is so subtle that on first glance you may not realise it is there, and it is not always apparent in photographs of her work.

Clare Lane came from a background in architecture and surveying before studying for a textile degree, and her inspiration comes from urban dereliction, our contemporary ruins, which are rarely looked upon as kindly as those that are hundreds of years old, yet they hold the same stories. She describes how she is interested in the 'visual cacophony' of the urban landscape, the way that buildings are surrounded by all sorts of other things that are there without an overall design - rubbish, street signs, road markings.  

  

References

Urban Fabrication,Clare Lane,  Design-It issue 76 (Computer Textile Design Group),2011.

Toil and Rubble,  Jo Hall,  Embroidery July/August 2008.

Stroudwater International Textile Festival Catalogue 2008.

www.urban-fabric.co.uk Clare Lane's website.

 

Finishing off Module 4

Just the artist's study left to do (which I am working on) so to finish off the module, here are my additional notes on health and safety when feltmaking.

Wet Felting

• Ensure a safe working area by mopping up any water from the floor immediately.
• Be aware of your hands becoming sensitive to prolonged exposure to soap/detergents and choose products with care.
• Felting is a physical activity - be careful when rolling the felt to avoid strains to your back and wrists from repetitive movements and take regular breaks.

Needlefelting

• The needles are very sharp, take additional care to keep your fingers clear from the points.
• Store hand felting needles with the barbs covered (eg with a small piece of foam) to avoid cutting your hands.
• Use the guard on the machine and ensure it is adjusted correctly each time.
• Stop the machine as soon as you feel any unusual resistance and clear out the lint regularly.
• As with any machining, watch your posture and take regular stretch breaks.

Module 4 Chapter 8

For this chapter, I have made a few samples of slips created from digital images.  I decided to use two methods - printing onto printer-ready fabrics and using Ario transfer paper.
I started with one of my flower drawings from an earlier chapter and tried combining lots of copies, coming up with the image in photo 1.

Photo 1

 I printed this onto cotton  - it came out in lovely clear colours but didn't seem to lend itself to being cut up for slips.  I liked it so much as a piece of fabric that I reworked the image into a pattern repeat, uploaded it to Spoonflower for printing and ordered a sample.  It will be a couple of weeks before it arrives but I am hoping it will be a cheerful summer print.

 

Photo 2

Photo 2 Here I used single copies of the flower printed onto silk which gives much more faded colours.  I found that the act of cutting them out gave a hard edge that I thought spoilt the drawing so  I tried to overcome this. On the left, I have free machined  over the slip colouring in the flower and going over the edge.  On the right, I used an embellisher to attach and distress the flowers.  The background for both samples are some embellisher samples from my collection.  I chose these to suggest flowers on a trellis or stake, continuing the theme from some of the chapter 5 samples.

Photo 3 For the next two samples, I used as backgrounds some monoprints I made last summer  (featured in this blog post).  2p coin in the corner for scale.

Photo 3

 Some of the flower head images from earlier work printed onto transfer paper and ironed onto scraps of printed fabric which were then stitched onto a printed silk background - I thought the pattern reminiscent of a winding path and trellis.  I added a few painted details to the flowers after transferring.

Photo 4

Photo 4

 For this one, I thought it would be fun to combine the 'flowers on a trellis' theme with my course theme of 'machinery and industrial landscape.'  I printed small copies of one of my pylon photos from module 1 and transferred them onto more monoprinted scraps.  The stitching they are trapped in is layers of a digitised version of the same photo - something I had played with a while ago but not used.  Photo 5 is a close up to show the stitching more clearly.

Photo 5

Photo 6 Back to flowers - this time using unaltered photos.  The flower head is double-sided - on the outside rose petals and inside the unidentified flower I used in chapter 3.  I transferred the images onto some stiff fabric that can be manipulated when wet and retains it shape, then bonded them together and moulded the shape over a fingertip.  Underneath is the same image transferred onto a drinks can - it came out indistinctly but I liked the grungy effect enough to keep it.  I mounted the two pieces onto some mulberry bark and a dressmaking remnant backed with pelmet vilene, and stitched them down with french knots.

 

Photo 6

  Photo 7 is a sideways on shot to show the outside of the flower.

Module 4 Chapters 4 to 6 Part 2

For the next stage, I made two pieces of fabric from which to cut slips.  These are both made from layers of assorted sheers backed on felt.  I free-machined in looping petal shapes to reflect the shapes printed on my decorated papers from the previous chapter (images 13 and 14 in the Dec 5th post), and  used the same two colour schemes.

The next two pictures show how I applied the slips cut from these surfaces to new backgrounds and also added some of the earlier ones.  10p coins are included to give the scale.

Photo 1

Photo 1

The background is a piece of dyed silk backed with felt stitiched with a digitised knotwork motif designed as a sample in module 2.  I repeated the motif many times, letting it overlap and changing colours randomly, giving an overall trellis effect to complement the flowers.  The slips have been attached as follows (numbers on the photo)

1. Added another layer of sorbello stitches which carry on into the background.
2. Placed the slip on the background and repeated the knotwork motif over and around it.
3. These are two slips made on the embellisher using little snippets of thread on felt to reflect the softness of the pastels (image 12 in the Dec 5th post).  These are dangling freely from loops of thread.
4. A couched thread makes a more definite edge.
5. Rows of herringbone stitches encroaching on the slip.

Photo 2

Photo 2

Background is dyed silk backed with felt and painted with Markal sticks, again using shapes from strapwork studies in module 2.  In this case, the angles contrast with the rounded slips.

1. Slip attached by couching another colour around the outline of the flower head.
2. Slits cut in the silk and the slips attached at one end to the felt underneath.
3. Attached using beads at the centre.
4. Handstitched lines added to the design and carried over into the background.
5. Held down by two large pearl-headed pins (like a butterfly).
6. Not sure the photo shows this very well - I have used a stiff thread to attach groups of beads to points around the edge.  The thread stands up in loops above the slip to echo the petal shapes stitched on it

Module 4 Chapters 4 to 6 Part 1

For chapter 4, here is my worksheet of ideas for making slips based on the decorated papers and flower shape from chapter 3.  I realised afterwards that as I have written in pencil, it is very hard to read, so below I have clarified the notes starting from the top and working clockwise around the paper flowers:

• Build up colour using optical mixing. Try some of the trellis stitches or battlement couching.
• Experiment with digitising - surface patterns (add hand stitch), colour changes,light stitching repeated and offset, try woolly thread and brushing afterwards.
• Bold handstitches - threads or string loosely strung over solid edge (wire?)
• Soft fluffy stitching - velvet stitch, victorian tufting, tailor tack on machine.
• Carrier bags - collect colours; fuse and cut with soldering iron.
• Layers of sheers plus soldering iron - solid colour layers or scraps; stitch on each layer to give colour changes.
• Lace effects - lutradur or felt burnt through, solubles.
• Metal backed with pelmet vilene, paint and stitch.
• Couched thread on fabric, cut from fabric made from scattered threads on soluble, satin stitch lines.
• Transfer image from decorated papers to fabric - TAP, other methods, direct printing - stitch on top.
• Solubles - create slip from stitch alone machine or lots of handstitch.

Notes by the drawings:

•  imitate the rose petal effect - could be lines of stitch
• raised padded areas
• layers of light fabric secured in centre so edges flap freely
• scrumpled fabric (or paper) built up in layers.

Thoughts on textures

• momigami
• scrumple paper on pelmet vilene and cut out
• shrinking thread
• shrinking fabric

Thoughts on edges

• turned
• burnt
• frayed
• hanging threads
• continue stitch into background
• corded
• satin stitch
• stitch around and nibble into slip.

Here are the sample slips so far, the 10p coin in the picture gives scale and the slips are described by number underneath.  Click on the photo to enlarge.

1. Bayeux stitch on cotton
2. Digitised stitch - drawn directly into the software
3. As 2 using fast pen strokes
4. Digitised stitch - open filling repeated three times in different colours and slightly offset.
5. Digitised stitch - solid filling with contrasting top layer
6. Digitised stitch - solid spiralling filling (will do something else with this)
7. As 4 making each layer smaller than the last
8. Threads captured in layers of soluble fabric, digitised openwork pattern.
9. As 8 but just stitching outline which was then whipped by hand.
10. As 8 but just stitching outline then filling with layers of sorbello stitch.

As Christmas intervened, I packed away the sewing machine but I jumped ahead and tried one of the exercises from chapter 6.

 This is made from layers of crystal organza and chiffon in honey, gold, pink and blue (the photo looks a bit washed out).  I used a stencil cutter to cut out the flower shapes.  At the bottom, one has been left attached by one edge, cut into layers and folded back.  The flowers were then distressed with a heat gun.  The fabrics reacted by shrinking different amounts, sticking together and curling up.  I really like these, they look and feel like dried up petals.  I have mounted the fabric with the negative shapes onto a piece from the 'failed samples' pile which has similar blue/green colours and some stitching of a pylon drawing.  I thought this would stop the pastel colours from being too pretty and add to the grungy worn-out look.  I have flipped over the petals and attached them with just one or two stitches as if they had been blown by the wind (around a desolate industrial site perhaps).

Exhibition Pictures

So, at last here it is in situ under the church tower.  I decided to call it 'Glimpsing the Storm' to make the connection with St Nicholas as patron saint of sailors. I rather like the way it has no visible support from the front as the pole is hidden.

You can also see 'Cogitation' on a low stand and other pieces hanging on boards - you may remember some of these from earlier posts.  And the good news is that one of the collages has sold.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition Mon August 9th to Sat August 14th

St Nicholas church, Westgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2PG

I will be showing my hanging and some other pieces, there is also a quilt exhibition called 'Quilted Jewels' and engravings by Sarah van Niekerk.  The church is very near the cathedral and will be open 10:30am to 4:00pm each day and admission is free, however it is being used for a lecture on Monday 9th at 1.30pm and  a concert on Weds 11th at 2.00pm.  This exhibition is part of Three Choirs Plus running alongside the Three Choirs Festival so there will be lots going on in Gloucester all week - well worth a day trip if you are in the area.  See http://www.3choirs.org for more info

Still no pics of the finished item  - somehow whenever it is not raining (or threatening to rain) it is really windy so I can't get the hanging to keep still.  I will try and get some good shots in situ.  Meanwhile, back to double and triple-checking everything is ready.

A Hanging - but is it finished?

I've spent the last week attacking the hanging with pin tucks.  I laid it on the floor to see how it was going and took a photo.

Photo 1

 

 

 

Then I put it on the table to start sewing - it was scrumpled up to keep it from hanging over the edge and I realised it looked much better like that, so I played with it on the floor and decided I prefer the way it looks  - see below.

Photo 2

OK not really like a crack but nice and stormy.  Does it still count as a hanging if I display it on the floor?  It is a lot shorter like this - about 1.5m.  Not sure if it is finished so I am going to put it aside for now - I will be seeing Sian at summer school and get her advice.

A quick plug for anyone who doesn't already know - the Urchfont Manor open day is on Sunday 4th July and there will be exhibitions of work from the various textile courses there, including Distant Stitch students as well as traders.  I will be there all day so come and say hello.  The manor is set in its own grounds in  the village of Urchfont near Devizes, Wiltshire and is a lovely place for a day out especially if the sun is shining.

Thoughts on Colour

I had been thinking for a while that there was not enough difference in the tones of the colours on the hanging, so yesterday I used Markal sticks to lighten the large pale patch and touch up other areas and then carried on stitching.  The pictures below show in greyscale the untouched fabric and its current state - not a huge difference but a bit more contrast.  It also shows how the shadows from the tucks are adding darker areas - for now, I am leaving the lighter part untouched.

Untouched fabric

 

After painting  and some tucks.

Brief for Site Specific Hanging

The Brief

To produce a hanging for an exhibition at St Nicholas Church, Gloucester as part of the Three Choirs Festival in August 2010.

The Site

St Nicholas is a church located in the centre of Gloucester, a short walk from the cathedral, and dates back to the 12^th century. It is no longer used for services but remains consecrated and is open to the public in spring and summer, frequently hosting art exhibitions. The church is noted for its pronounced lean which can be clearly seen when you stand in the nave – the pillars on the north side lean outwards as does the archway. During the week-long festival, there will be an exhibition of quilts in the centre nave and other artwork under the tower, along the north wall and on pews - this is where the hanging will be. The church will also be used for a number of music workshops and concerts.

Special Considerations

As this is an historic building, there can be no alteration or damage to the fabric of the church i.e. it is not possible to attach hooks or nails to the walls, although anything already there can be used. However, the curator is happy to tie items around the pillars, throw lines over beams or existing cables or hang very large artworks from the tower. In addition, there is a hinged pair of six foot hanging screens available and items can be placed on the floor under the tower, propped against walls and placed on pews.

The building is consecrated so although artwork need not be religious, it must not be offensive or disrespectful of the Christian faith.

St Nicholas Church from Westgate street.

Floor Plan

South window

West Window

My proposal is to place the hanging under the west window - the distance from the windowsill to the floor is 3m - so that it can be seen from the nave.  As I mentioned before, I am hoping it will resemble a crack showing the storm/chaos outside.  The next picture has been reproduced with permission from stnicholaschurchuk.webs.com/ and I have superimposed an image of the hanging to show how it might look.  When I met the curator, we discussed draping it from the windowsill and tying to a hook that is already there but as an alternative if this doesn't look right, I have a telescopic pole which will support it without showing (the kind you see at festivals with banners or windsocks on).

Mock-up of hanging in situ.

Following on from my earlier posts, I have decided to pursue the idea of using tucks to emphasise the design.   As it would be difficult to back the hanging after it has been distorted, I tried another sample with a dark backing to see that the effect with two layers is still what I want.  It does make the tucks appear softer, so in the sample shown below I tried slashing them to add some drama.  You can also see in the lighter section that I experimented with kantha stitching but felt it was too organised

Sample showing slashed tucks on left.

The last picture shows how I have started adding tucks to the bottom half of the hanging  - even with only a few in, you can see how it is starting to change shape.  When I have done some more, I will decide whether to slash some or all and possibly add more colour behind to show through in places.

Thinking Aloud - Ideas for Hanging Part 2

Photo 1

My alternative idea for the hanging involves manipulating the long length of fabric.  Sian suggested looking at gathering or pin tucks so photo 1 shows two trials of gathering with deliberately uneven rows of stitching pulled up tightly. The top one is an offcut with the stitches running vertically, the bottom is one end of a 'spare' full length with stitches running horizontally.  I like the effect but it has two problems - 1) drastically reduces the size and 2) could be any randomly dyed fabric.

Photo 2

Before leaving the samples, I rubbed Markel sticks over the second one (top in photo 2) and then undid it (photo 3).

.Photo 3

Phot 4 shows how it looks when the fabric has flattened out - you can just see streaks of paint.

Photo 4

This didn't look very impressive but it gave me an idea to try random pintucks as I liked the scrunched up effect before the gathers dropped out.  Photo 5 shows a sample  on the same piece of fabric.  I tried to use the pintucks to emphasise the curves in the design.  I realise I forgot to show the scale in this photo, but the fabric is 34cm wide before stitching and the photo shows about 60cm of the length.  The colours have slipped in this picture, in reality it is more of a green/blue.  Photo 6 shows more of the length with the stitched part at the top.  I think this is my favourite as it keeps the design but makes it more dramatic.  Although it will change the shape, it should be possible to retain the general proportion.  I think the shaped edges will make it look more like a crack in the wall (or floor), contrasting the serenity of a church with the storms and chaos outside.

Photo 5

Photo 6

Thinking Aloud - Ideas for Hanging Part 1

Photo 1

Back in February, I showed pictures of stitching on a small sample of my design that had been printed by Spoonflower.  I was excited by this so I went ahead and ordered a full length, knowing it would take about 2 weeks to arrive.  Because the design is narrow, it was repeated across the width of the fabric and I choose to mirror it so I have the original, a mirror image and about 2/3 of the width of another copy as it didn't quite fit 3 times.  As the image is not an exact multiple of 1 yard, I also have a partial repeat of the top.  Photo 1 shows the design at full size laid out on the floor.  Meanwhile I had got some feedback from Sian who suggested I try to incorporate more texture and take advantage of the dimensional possibilities.

I spent some time (actually rather a lot) in total inaction because I liked the length of fabric just as it was, and I had to convince myself it would be okay to change it.  I finally screwed up my courage and started cutting up the copies, reminding myself that nothing would be wasted as I can always use more patchwork cushions and the sofa is blue, so that's fine.  I know I should probably play in paper and do drawings but it isn't the same.

As I was feeling stuck, I tried two different ideas simultaneously to see where they would take me.  This post follows one and the next post will follow the other (just as soon as I retrieve my camera from being used for a school project by number 2 daughter).  I have also revisited the planned site with the fabric and measured up and taken photos, so I can produce a  room plan and show how it would look.

So - photo 2 mirror image cut into strips.

Photo 2

Photos 3 to 6 strips laid on top of original in different arrangements.

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7 - strips sewn together

Photo 7

Photo 8 - here I cut up the excess fabric into smaller rectangles and laid them on the main design, matching the colours and adding a couple of pieces of bronze painted fabric (see earlier post about adding bronze to represent astronomical instruments).  For scale, there is a 10p coin in the bottom right corner (1" diameter).  This and the following photos are 'sketches' which could be continued up to full size.

Photo 8

Photo 9 - similar to 8 but on a plain background.

Photo 9

Photo 10 - This time I arranged the bits in colour order from dark at the bottom to light at the top, completely breaking up the image, but I think keeping the sense of movement in the fragments.  Could be seen as reaching up to the light. I would need to reintroduce the purple/lavender shades as this bit is just blues shading to charcoal.

Photo 10

Photo 11 - I finger-pleated some of the pieces in different directions to make the surface more interesting.

Photo 11

More Sampling

Photo 1 is a clearer picture of the stitch sample. Most was done with the fabric stretched on a frame; I did a little in the top left corner without a frame to see the difference.

Photo 1

I had one of those mornings when nothing looks right - feeling doubtful about the design I tried some more variations, see photo 2.

From left to right -a) the circle segments I did a few days ago b) similar but with fewer lines c) trying close parallel lines (like the markings on an astrolabe) d) change of tack - would it look better with long straight lines as a contrast to the swirling background? e and f) variations of d.

Photo 2

Finally, I used the offcut of printed fabric to try adding extra colour with Markal sticks in places in case the printed fabric looks a bit flat over a large area. I also used bronze powder in fabric medium to paint the line, which could be enhanced with couching or stitching to imitate the markings around the edge of a mariner's astrolabe ( see this image from Wikipedia). I have laid the offcut over the stitched sample lining up the print to show the difference.

Photo 3