Hand Embroidery

This week I wanted to explore hand embroidery and see how I can use techniques to enhance my work, but still keep it relevant to the project. I prefer hand embroidery although it can be time consuming. I have been using hand to reflect upon my work as well as enhance it.

In this sample I have used bullion knots to try and emulate the splatter patterns of a Boom Bip sample. I love the back just as much as the front as it shows a map of the song.

I want to keep going with this process and experimentation in order to select my work down to my most successful samples. Next I am going to play around with machine embroidery.

Playing with First Prints

I began to experiment with my samples to bring Embroidery into the mix. I initially played around with decorating the images using the tools I learnt from the embroidery workshop. Using multiples and buzzwords to enhance the images I photographed the experiments.

I want to continue playing around with being as experimental as possible to create interesting samples that reflect the mood of the songs. I want to decorate the samples, print over prints and see where the project can go.

Photoshop Workshop

Today I had a workshop in photoshop. I already have a basic knowledge of the software so it was a positive experience to gain further knowledge and shortcuts to help me to improve. I produced this image in the workshop. It is a manipulation of one of my cling films. I like this composition as I feel I can use it to inspire a sample

Third Tutorial

Feedback today has helped me to think about how I can use my sketchbook research in my samples

• Think about how to translate irregular shapes and composition from sketchbook to embroidery.
• Badly dye thread to tell story possibly?
• Use rhythm and freedom to create structure from unstructured.

I want to use my sketchbook research within my work more as I don't feel at the moment I am using it enough to influence my samples. I want to prepare surfaces before printing to make a repetition in the surface and more irregularities. By enlarging sections of my work already I am able to visualise the areas I like the most but now I need to translate these areas within my work better.

Influences - India Flint

India Flint has developed a dye method which she calls Ecoprint.
It is an ecologically sound sustainable dye process that transfers colours to cloth using direct contact.
The idea of direct contact inspires me as it leaves a print that directly reflects the memory. This si something that I have been using within my project, using sound to create drawings. Using a strong system of working like what Flint has created can help my process of drawing with music.

I really like the colours used and the display of sections of her work. I want to edit and select down my work to show the most interesting parts but still tell the story of the song. 

I can use this style of methodology within my practice in the future also. Having a strong method motivates me to produce more work which in turn I can build upon to take risks with.

Printing on Fabric

After experimenting on paper, I turned my attention to fabric. I gathered a variety of fabrics to initially experiment with how the paint and ink would react on different surfaces. The results I got were massively varied. It has also become clearer here to see the differences in pattern for the two songs.

Boom Bip - Roads Must Roll

I love the variation in mark dependant on the qualities of the fabric used. Above I have used plain cotton which has absorbed the ink, whilst on the right I have used a cheap blind material which due to the weave, has absorbed the paint in a completely different way.

This is the front and back of a piece of blind material. I used the other side of the fabric to the above print which allows the gouache to soak through to the other side leaving an equally as interesting mark.

Daft Punk - The Game Has Changed

I have also been thinking about colour more in terms of representing the two songs. The Daft Punk song represents more colder tones to me. I see a lot of deep blues and greens coming through in my drawings to the music. 

I am really happy with these experiments and now I want to see how I can incorporate embroidery into the experiments to enhance the mood of the two songs.

Progression Of Images

After experimenting with using the speakers to draw from, I played with the images to try and inform my embroidery. I played around with enlarging sections of the images to find the most interesting parts and documented this process in my sketchbook so I have a lot of inspiration to work from.

I like how the gouche creates a surface that seems to change with time. Using ink, makes the print bleed out in another colour. This is an interesting quality that I want to take further.

These are prints from the pieces of cling film that I allowed to dry. I am interested to investigate what I can do with these in terms of embroidery. They each have interesting qualities that I would like to explore. The last image is from the photocopier. It was originally all red, but the colours became obscured. I love this effect, even though I'm not quite sure how it happened.

Using Music to Draw

I have been really keen to experiment with using the music to create the drawings. I want to do this method to experiment the differences in marks that two different songs will create.

I have chosen to do this with Boom Bip and Daft Punk songs.

I created my own contraption for creating this mark. I began by layering cling film over the speaker and photographing the paint move around on the surface.

This produced an interesting effect that I want to turn into animations if I have enough time to document the process fully.

I also did an experiment using rice to see how it could move with the music.

I like what is happening here but I want to create prints with the songs so I layered a piece of paper over the top. As the music causes the speakers to vibrate, the paint bounces up and creates a drawing. The marks I got were really interesting. I was really pleased with the differences in marks between the two songs.

Roads Must Roll - Boom Bip

The Game Has Changed - Daft Punk

I love how the two different songs create such different splatter patterns. The marks vary from materials, but the basic shapes are individual to the song. This is something that I want to investigate further through materials. 

I am going to compare the differences in marks between the music.

Next I want to play around with printing on to fabric and see where that can take me.

Seba Kurtis

A few months ago, I visited the Cornerhouse for a show and tell workshop. This involved various artists from around the world coming in and having a brief chat, telling the audience about their current projects ideas. I went along mainly for something interesting to do on a Saturday afternoon and to get out of the rain, but was filled with surprise and knowledge and brilliant references for the future and my work.

One of the artists was named Seba Kurtis. He is a photographer from Argentina. He chooses to focus his work on immigration and particularly illegal immigration and what length people will go to to find a better life for themselves and family. 

The images that he showed to us interested me from how abstract they were. He explained his reasons for not showing figurative images is because, he can shoot a roll of film, and every image can be seen and shown to the world. However, most the subjects of his photographs don't make it to the next country, they don't find salvage and therefore his whole roll of film misrepresents the subjects. He chooses to damage the roll of film after he has shot it, and in that way few or little images will be seen reflecting upon the hardship of many people in the world finding refuge. 

Here is a link to a video which shows the ways in which film was distressed.

Drowned from seba kurtis on Vimeo.

Here are two images that came were produced from the project, both enhanced in photoshop after.

I feel like these images are similar to the ones I am trying to create. I love how the subject is distorted, and merely suggested to. I also love the thought process and the artists research to get to this stage. I want to experiment with this idea of distortion and loss, within my work. I want to use this type of distortion and mark making within my visual research.

Second Tutorial

Feedback that I have gained from todays tutorial has helped me to think further about how I can move the project further.

• Film myself drawing
• Think about a more personal response to the music (in terms of colour and scale)
• Possibility of using wax, mark that is reflected in the drawings.

This week I want to play around with using the music to create drawings. I will layer ink and paint and other wet materials over a speaker and see what marks could bounce upon to a piece of paper layered on top.

I am looking forward to this experiment I am keen to see the hopefully interesting marks that could appear.

Manipulation

I love the effect that has happened here when the Boom Bip sketch was enlarged. Although this wasn't what I intended to happen, the grainy distorted colours that have appeared really reflect the mood of the song and the nature of the image that I wanted to produce. 

I found this was less successful on my sketch of The Game Has Changed. Although some areas of solid paint came out well, I do not like the image as a whole. However I feel like this is helping me think into the future about materials that I could use. This one reminds me of a velvet or other pile fabric. The smooth nature and blend of colours remind me of the qualities of velvet. 

Bigger Drawings

These are more enlargements of some of the larger drawings that I did in response to the music. I wanted to get out of my sketchbook in the hope that I would be able to create more detailed drawings that weren't limited by size. I am happy with my results and especially the enlargements. I can see some delicate areas coming through within my work and am starting to visualise compositions and how I can translate these drawings into embroidery.

After creating an order and organisation within my drawings, I have edited down some of my images. I noticed that I liked the cut off areas arranged on the table. I wanted to document this serendipity and repetition as I feel like I can use this for inspiration for a sample later.