Combining Embroidery

This week I have been trying to pull all the areas of my project together by combining the surface I am developing with my earlier traditional embroidery samples. I have been overlaying my samples with embroidery to tell stories of my memories and create surfaces that appear abstract at first glance.

I have also started to add colour into my samples. I have been keeping the colour pallet simple adding in touches of green to reflect upon the green nature of New Zealand.

I can feel my project coming together now, however I don't feel as though I have arrived at the final outcome yet. I need to carefully consider my choice of materials and how I can combine embroidery with the material experiments I have done in order to create a visual representation of my memories.

Symbolism within Embroidery

As part of my learning agreement, I want to explore how traditional hand embroidery techniques can be used to show contemporary ideas. I have undertaken stitch research to explore how simple decorative stitches can be manipulated into a code that has relevance to the meaning. My earlier samples have also helped me to develop a code, as I was using simple embroidery stitches to respond to the environment.

Bondaweb

This week I have been experimenting further with using Bondaweb. Bondaweb has a glue like surface to it that when applied to silk, creates a flat finish. The effect almost looks like a slice has been taken from the fabric. I have found silk to be the most effective in this technique due to its delicacy and natural fibre content. As the glue heats up, the silk melts into it making a 3D surface appear flat.

Here I have gathered the silk before layering Bondaweb over the top. The effect shows a flat gathered surface with a smooth finish. I want to explore how changes in manipulation of materials can alter the tactile qualities of the surface.

Here I printed a bonded surface over a series of gathers and then pulled the fabric back to its original size. The surface left behind shows which bits were melted leaving a rough and patchy surface. I prefer the smooth surface as it feels like something I can work into. This sample feels disjointed and accidental.

I have begun to use a circle shape for the glue as this creates a negative space around the object where the reaction of glue can be seen and measured. I like how there is an unaltered area of the silk by which the reaction of two materials can be directly seen. Gathering into the circle, creates a surface surrounding it that could also be manipulated.

Next I want to experiment with how I can use this surface in relation to my previous work in the project. I am still interested in coding and Aboriginal works, so I want to explore how I can combine the surface with my concept so far.

Exploring Materials

This week I have been experimenting with materials and how this can inform my embroidery. I have to think carefully about how the materials I use have relevance. Over the past few weeks I have been collecting bark. Bark is used heavily by the Aboriginal tribes in place of canvas, however the bark I have collected isn't large enough to use on its own so I need to find a way to join it. The properties of bark from different trees varies hugely, so it has been a challenge to figure out how I can make the most of this fragile material.

Here I have stitched the pieces together. It is too fragile to continue to sew into as bits of bark kept breaking away. I tried to make the structure 3D, but the fragility did not allow me to do this.

I used Bondaweb to join these strips of Birch together. I was intending on using the smooth side as I liked the quality of the birch. However when I peeled the Bondaweb backing away, a surface of glue was left behind.

This surface looks like frost, capturing the bark and preserving it in time. I want to explore how this reaction can differ across a range of materials. The slice of bark becomes a 2D surface, yet since it has been bound together, it also leaves room for me to explore the 3D. Next week I am going to explore materials further and see how far I can take this technique.

Cartography

This last week I have been researching further into the process of mapping and documenting data. Cartography is the study of making maps. It uses a combination of science, aesthetics and technique. Recently, cartography has become a computer driven discipline and there is an increasing number of practising artists beginning to use the process as influence of their own work.

David Endleman, Line Drops 1997

This is a visualisation of hundreds of underwater pipelines that draws oil from a reservoir. It is a display of visual data from an unseen landscape, created using geological modelling software. I like the composition and the abstraction.

Kate Mclean Smell Map 2013

This map shows the data of smells in Amsterdam. Mclean walked around the city documenting what smells were most prevalent to her and then turned the data into this visual map. Without the key to this work, it is totally unclear what is happening yet once I read more, the marks begin to make sense. 

I now need to begin to figure out how I can use this concept of a visual language within my own work.

Aboriginal Coding

In the last week I have been researching further into symbolism and story-telling within Aboriginal artwork. I have discovered online a series of images that could be used to decode the stories within the work. Using this, I can begin to develop my own experiences into stories. I have been experimenting further with drawing to develop the composition of my samples, into my own form of abstraction. I really like how without the code my drawings and samples will look meaningless yet to me there is a great deal of personal relevance.

This mark represents a journey line and the circles represent significant stops.

A walk I went along the pancake rocks in New Zealand.

This represents an evening I spent making a bonfire on the beach with some friends. The circle with lines coming out represents a meeting point. Circular lines in the middle represent smoke. U/N shapes represent women/men. Contour lines on the outside show the shape of the land around.

Composition developments from my initial sketch.

I like the shape and form that is beginning to take place. Next I want to move onto developing my own code that will run consistently throughout so that my journey will be documented. I can see myself looking to 3D and investigating alternative grounds for embroidery.

Symbolism

This week I have started to introduce colour into my drawing. Most Aboriginal works include a simple colour pallet made up from found materials and the natural environment. I have chosen to start out by using a simple set of colours (black, white, yellow and red). Also this week, I have been looking into Aboriginal symbols and line work and trying to get it down on paper. I have found a few examples online of Aboriginal codes from varying regions.

The interpretations of symbols varies across the culture but it is a starting point to think about how I can create symbols to illustrate my memories.

Dot paintings are symbolic of the bush/food whilst circles represent waterholes/meeting places. I used french knots here to show the Aboriginal influence within embroidery and how I relate the themes into my own practice.

I have also begun to develop my own set of symbols this week using a memory of a day spent at Hot Water Beach. I described the day in detail to another, who wrote notes of what I said. I tried to be as descriptive as possible, then when the notes were read back to me I was able to draw. I found the experience to be useful in helping me to unpick the memory in my mind and to begin to formulate a relevant and personal code.

Chris Ofili & Machine Samples

This week I have been using the domestic sewing machines to analyse how I can use Aboriginal techniques within machine stitch. I don't feel as though I have had a productive week and as though these samples will help me in the long run of this project. It has been interesting to see how the machine can cope with certain stitches but I need to think more carefully before I use the machines, as I felt lost whilst I was working.

I have also been looking into Chris Ofili’s work this week. His work is very personal to him in the way that he uses influences of his family’s culture and eclectic colours to form a narrative.  His collection Afrodizziac (1996) reacts to settling into an alternative culture and how he copes with keeping his traditions alive. I want my work to look fairly abstract yet have a strong personal relevance. I can use Ofili’s ideas as influence in terms of how he uses culture and memory to inform painting.

Chris Ofili Afrodizzia 1996

These are two other examples of Ofili's work. I really like the line work and abstraction here. The stylistic representation of personal memories entices the audience in, and still leaves us wondering what is going on inside his brain.

Aboriginal Artwork

During my time in Australia, I attended a few lectures about Aboriginal Artwork. I became fascinated with the process and symbolism behind it. I love how the traditional works are not interpreted in the same way as we interpret Western art. Traditional Aboriginal works are seen as maps, dreams or memories into journeys, undertaken by previous generations. They are often symbolic of celebrations and the surrounding land. Across the culture, the symbols can vary but each tribe has their own identity within paintings which cannot be unlocked without the code.

Johnny Imaroo Tjapanangka Wallaby Dreaming 1989
Acrylic on Canvas

This painting tells the story of a Wallaby. He was chased by tribesmen, as he moved between waterholes. The circles represent a stop in a journey whilst the lines connecting represent the journey.

Lena Nyadbi Lilmim and Jimbala (Scales and Spearheads) 2002
Ochre on Linen

This tells the story of discovering and hunting fish. The linear shapes in this composition symbolise spearheads whilst the N shapes symbolise scales of barramundi fish.

Ningura Napurrula Untitled 2005
Acrylic on Canvas

This piece comes from a rock hole site east of the Kiwirrkura community in Western Australia. In mythological times, a group of ancestral women camped at this location associated with birth. The lines adjacent to the dark circles symbolise pregnancy whilst the lines around the edge of the painting represent sand hills and a creek.

This concept of coding is something that I am hugely interested in exploring further. I want to analyse the Aboriginal code, and appropriate this into my own work.  I then want to take it further by developing my own code, so that I can document my own experiences and create a visual map of my memories. I want to research more into coding, symbolism and systems within art in order to create a narrative that will run universally across my drawings and embroidery samples.

More Sampling

This week I have been concentrating on decoration and surfaces as well as composition and line work. I have been researching into the work of Alice Kettle. I like her use of repetition on the Irish machine. Kettle tends to cover the whole image with stitch and uses layers to build upon the surface. This ends up creating a surface, just as enticing as the initial image.

I have produced more samples using my drawings as inspiration. I have been varying my grounds more this week and undertaking further stitch research in order to more accurately represent my images.

Further Drawings

Drawing regularly is important to me, it helps to inform my embroidery and keep my ideas fresh. Here are some examples of my last weeks work. I hope to use these as inspiration for some more sampling in the next week or so.

Hand Embroidery

I have been experimenting further with traditional stitch and how I can use my drawings to inform my embroidery. Line work has been a focus of mine this week as I want to find a creative way of translating the landforms into surfaces.

 

I have just been using monochrome and calico before I begin to develop into something more complex. I am interested in surface decoration and pattern and how line work can evolve into something bigger. I am happy with the way these have turned out, especially the sample based upon the Mirror Lakes in Te Anau. I want to produce something that represents my journey. Next I want to continue to concentrate on style, shape and composition and then I can add colour in later.