Weaving Samples

After the process of preparing the loom, I started to weave last week. Today I finished my sample piece  and tomorrow I shall complete one smaller final sample. In this sample I was learning weaving techniques and processes, and playing with colours and compositional ideas for my final sample.

I really like the 'Crater' pattern shown above and below. I also like using floats in the weave as this creates a surface that can be cut. This reflects my journeys project through photographs and sketches that I have done based upon architecture. 

My Final Weaving Sample

 

I finished my final sample using the left available warp threads. I thought a lot about composition and colour when working this sample. I was especially thinking about the contrast of light and dark as well as creating shapes to reflect my drawings.

Next I want to play around with finishing the sample. I want to investigate the results of washing and steaming on the yarn.

Weave Workshop

Today has been the third day that I have been weaving for. I have selected a colour pallet for my warp and am being experimental with my weft to produce a surface upon my weave that reflects that of my journeys project. I have been doing this by playing with different weave techniques as well as a variety of yarn types. This is still an ongoing process and I hope by the end of the week to have 4yrds of woven samples to inform my project.

A Travel Without Visual Experience

From looking into light, tone and colour pallet, I began to think of examples of an artists work that could reflect this and to which I could be inspired from to move my project on.
I looked back upon the trip to the Liverpool Bienniel, now that I have more context to my project for inspiration of how I can move forward.

A Travel Without Visual Experience, Pak Sheung Chuen.
I documented this work in the Tate Liverpool. The project was a very unusual experience, the room was totally dark inside and we were encouraged to take flash photography in order to view the images on the wall.
I enjoyed how when taking a photo you saw a flash of the art, but not the whole thing. Only when I came home and reviewed the photographs did I see in detail what was on the wall. I love this idea as i think it is simplistic in its execution, yet highly thought provoking.  The artist was on a trip in Malaysia, where she covered her eyes to experience the trip 'blind' yet documented the entire journey through photographs.
This is another way of looking at how simple it can be to use light to change meanings, thoughts, and the context of an image. Light is such a powerful tool and manipulation is something that I am keen to investigate further.

Hand Knitting

After my sunset study, I began to think about how I could document the research visually. These two hand knits show some of the colours that I saw in the first image before the sun set. 

I chose to document these images by hand knitting because I had just joined the weaving group and I had enjoyed knitting so much that I wanted to develop it further within my sketchbook.

Sunset Study

I decided to look into the idea of light and colour changes in more detail.

Yesterday I documented the sun setting by taking one photo every minute for a period of 42 minutes. I did this study looking out of the 4th floor of Cavendish South building at 4.30 on 3/11/2012. 

I really enjoyed this study, because I was looking through a window, as the light got darker outside, more of the room became visible. I really liked how the image outside faded away gradually until it was almost un recognisable.

I have then created this animation using iMovie and the app for mac, Gif Animator, so that the process is more visible and its clearer to see the changes that happened.

These are the first and last images of the study. I love the light and tonal changes as it shows how much of a change happens in a short space of time. You can see elements of my colour pallet coming through in the final image, where as the colours of the first image are much more grey and blue.