Unit X Blog Post One

R E S E A R C H

The beginning of Unit X has been extremely busy and the end of week three has come around very quickly. Unit X has been surprising, when we began with the speed dating task in week one, it really opened my eyes up to what the unit was about and it was both exciting and nerve racking. The self initiated collaborative task, allowed me to think about what it was that I wanted to collaborate on, as well as what I could offer to other people. I surprised myself by being able to explain (within just a few minutes) what my skills were and how they could be adapted/transferred to collaborate within another language of design.(e.g. 3D Design)

Unfortunately, it was a bit frustrating at the beginning of the unit, as being a weaver, I had to go straight onto the loom as the looms are on a strict timetable. Because of this, even though I wanted to collaborate directly with a 3D student, I knew it would be very difficult to achieve this for at least the first three weeks of Unit X. Due to the weaving weeks being so intense, it has lead to very little research and no time at all for collaboration apart from a few conversations. However, despite these small set backs, I am still looking forward to the possibility of collaborating further into the project. I have two ideas, firstly to collaborate on a project with a 3D student, and secondly to collaborate with the other weavers, as we are all in a similar position.

Due to our very tight timetable, I went to visit Tatton Park the day before the trip. I found it useful to get a feel for the place, and to do some market research in the shop. Initially, I didn't find the trip very inspiring as I usually like to take inspiration from bright colours, architecture,
, culture and urban landscapes. So in terms of inspiration; I felt slightly out of my comfort zone, but that is what Unit X is about after all. To begin sampling I selected a colour palette to enable me to design my warp. I was feeling a bit lost with choosing my colours as it was so early on in the project and I had  done so little research, and so on a whim I researched 'National Trust Colours' and I found a collaboration between the National Trust and Fired Earth; a paint company. The palette compromises 36 subtle and timeless colours, and has been inspired by revisiting the organic earth shades of the past. From these shades, I selected a few that I liked and chose to use silk as it is a natural fibre.

From Left to Right: Paint from the Fired Earth Collection.  Warp Colours. Weft colour palette. 

The key influences to my work so far have been the colour palette and some of the images I have been focusing on in order to design the patterns on my brocade. I have taken inspiration from a book by a photographer who takes close up shots of the Japanese Gardens at Tatton Park. From the photographs, I have then done some small drawings and managed to explore these drawings using Scot weave. In terms of context, I am aiming to create samples to produce something which could be sold in the National Trust shop or on the 'Handmade in Britain' website. I am passionate about hand crafting here in the UK so I think that is the direction I will go in now, and in the future where possible.

Woven interpretation of the Japanese Gardens and architecture owned by the National Trust 

Now that I have finished my time on the loom, I am going to continue with my inspiration from my samples and the Japanese garden and work collaboratively in various ways to develop these further. As mentioned above, I would like to possibly collaborate on a 3D project, and as well as this collaborate with a small group of weavers. As we have mostly used similar inspiration for the project, we are intending to look at other sources of inspiration from Japan and craft them here in Britain. The samples I have produced and the research so far, have lead me to think about craft and its importance and has made me determined to continue hand making. Due to this, we have collectively decided to learn a few new skills over the course of the unit which relate to our practice and which will enable us develop our work further. These skills will include crafts such as temari weaving, weaving off of a loom, passamenterie, tassel making and possibly japanese book binding. These skills will all come in useful in the future of my practice, as they are very hands on and may expand my knowledge of weaving and different techniques and processes.

Passamenterie corded necklace. Temari Japanese Weaving. Woven Jewellery- Possible collaboration with a 3D student 

A selection of samples

S A M P L E S  

Weaving

O N    T H E    L O O M    A T     L A S T 

It feels like it has taken me forever to get onto the loom for this project. Unfortunately I have experienced some set backs! As the project has felt quite rushed so far, it has been tricky to organise my chaotic ideas and colour pallet so quickly and this has lead me to be a bit delayed. This week I finally chose to weave a narrow fabric, around 4 inches wide. I also chose to weave using two warps to make a brocade. I was trying to design something that would allow me to try several different things as at this very early point I didn't want any ideas to be set in stone and I wanted to get as much from my warp as possible.
On Monday I began by making my cream warp using a 260's silk, which was easy enough and it only took a couple of hours to wind all 8 yards of it. However, I knew I was going to be rushed for time on the second warp as I had previously arranged to meet Ismini in London on Tuesday for the interview for my placement. When I arrived back Wednesday, the set backs began. I started to wind my black silk warp on and halfway through, the yarn ran out. I then spent the rest of the afternoon and next morning trying to source a yarn of the same thickness and very similar colour. I eventually borrowed the end of another yarn but it ran out yet again. After discussing my plans with the technician, I decided that instead of finding another yarn and wasting more time, I would swap my design around a little bit. In my first warp plan, I had chosen a larger black section and a small blue section, but as the black ran out, I swapped the colours around. After this I moved on to make the third colour of pale turquoise. When I wound yarn on the mill I noticed that it was snapping a little but it was too late to alter my plans again and so I continued. 

Threading up took me 2 days in total. I used two ends through each heddle and 4 through each for my brocade, I decided to design it this way so that my brocade patterns would show up against the background. 

Threading up my loom

Once I had threaded up, the next problem I came across was tying on. I hadn't considered this would be a problem, but because of the different thickness of yarn through each heddle, I needed to do it in tiny sections and make sure it was even. I had to weave a section, test the tension and then re do it a few times until it was flat all the way across the width of my fabric.

Above, attempting to get as much out of the blue brocade as possible, (left) but eventually gave up with the broken ends (right)

After this, samples were going smoothly, until I wove some designs using my blue brocade. The blue warp was a nightmare, it was constantly snapping and I was spending double the time fixing the ends and untangling it than actually weaving. I used all of my three colours for a couple of days, but the broken ends began to test my patience and I ended up cutting out my blue warp. After this, everything ran smoothly again and I caught up on a few samples. 

trip to ismini

Evaluation

E N D   O F   U N I T 

The 'Locating' Unit has been by far the best unit on the TIP course. I have really enjoyed it despite initially thinking how terrible it was going to be, trying to work out two briefs at the same time, whilst also beginning the inevitable process of networking. Having to write my own project has been challenging in more ways than one, I have had to learn how to manage my time effectively whilst thinking independently. In terms of contextualising my practice, I feel I have developed a lot over the course of this project and I feel happier where I am now; heading in some sort of direction rather than feeling a bit of a mess. If I could change anything about the project, I would change the length of weeks we had to complete it, as there are still so many things I want to explore. I am a bit disheartened that the construction of my jewellery took me a long time; time that could have been spent exploring more braiding techniques and sampling. I also wish that I had made my warp 8 yards rather than 6 as I finished it too quickly and got to the end with 4 or 5 samples still planned. In my next project I think I would like to carry on with the same market that I feel I have developed into, both jewellery and bespoke work. I would like to try more things with my warp next time like painting over it, bleaching and I would also like to try weaving using braids and generally being more experimental. 

Professionalism and Employability Task

At the beginning of Level 5 when we were handed this task, I had no idea what I was going to write, but as we have moved through this year I feel that I have really progressed and am beginning to realise things about the way that I work and where I hope to fit into the industry. The first term of Level 5 was very up and down; one minute I thought I knew what I wanted to do and the next minute I had changed my mind again. Its been a time of development and I am learning a lot about myself as a creative person; more and more each day. The ‘Locating’ unit has been the most useful and I feel I know myself so much better. I have found it easier and ideas have come more naturally to me. The chaotic mess I was in last term, seems to have become a little more organised through this unit. I think I have worked out that I like to have some sort of final outcome to work towards, what I haven’t worked out though, is whether or not it has to be something I have set myself or if it can be something that someone else has set for me. I have really enjoyed being able to make up my own brief, and work towards something of my own, and I am beginning to question whether this means I might work better on my own in the future.

When thinking about the context of my personal practice, I’m still a little unsure of exactly what path within textiles that I want to go down. There are lots of things I am still keen to experiment with, however, through the last unit I have really enjoyed working towards a final outcome in the textile jewellery area and particularly working towards a bespoke market. Being able to design and make products for this kind of market, has allowed me to think more artistically and less commercially which I have liked doing and I have found it more exciting. At the beginning of the year, I really didn’t know much at all about this area of the market, but my knowledge has greatly expanded and I now know all about the pros and cons of being self employed thanks to some really insightful lectures this term. The key person to really inspire me has been Daniel Heath. I found the experience of Daniel Heath’s lecture really invaluable and it has inspired me to seriously think about pursuing self employment; an avenue which I thought i'd never go down. I gained a lot from his lecture, and I feel like being self employed may be something i’d now consider. One of the key things I took from the lecture, was that each project is new and different from the last one when you are self employed, and I find this aspect appealing as I like change, and I work much better when I am challenged. The other key person to inspire me this term has been Karen Nicol. I found her to be very genuine and she talked openly about her experiences in the industry. One of the key things which I picked up on in Karen’s lecture, was how she was able to work on projects all around the world. I found this so inspiring as bringing culture into my work is important to me and I always look at culture for inspiration. Even though working for myself seems very daunting at the moment, I do think that it may suit both my personality and my creative practice.

As I have already mentioned briefly above, I think that the audience in which I want to work towards, remains in the bespoke high end market area. I don’t think that my practice relates to one age group specifically; its open to anyone in that bracket. I feel like my practice is aimed at this target market because I like to create unique and bespoke pieces which are artistic but still functional as a product. To show an example of this, I haveshown below one of my textile jewellery pieces which I have made recently through ‘Locating’.

I feel that my work is artistic like a bespoke product should be, as well as one off; no piece will be exactly the same  as they are all handmade which means they fit into the bespoke market rather than any other market area. In order to explain the desired audience a little better, I have shown a few examples of other practitioners who are working towards the same area as me. 

The first artist is Erin Considine. Erin is a New York based Jeweler who also works with weave. She makes her products by hand and each one is unique as she crafts her jewellery from found items around New York.  Her jewellery is aimed at a high end market. Other practitioners working towards the same audience as me include Daniel Heath, Claire Ann O’Brien, and Karen Nicol. All of these 
artists are self employed and are designer makers. 

Erin Considine. Lunate Fringe.

In terms of the future of my practice, I have recently put a lot of thought into this. I have decided that if I do want to be self employed, the next best step for me is to get as much work experience as possible with practitioners who are self employed too. After my final year, I then want to continue to gain more experience, and then I would also like to continue to develop my skills and enrol on a MA Textiles degree. I think this will enable me to have enough time, experience and maturity to start thinking about branching out on my own.

Daniel Heath. High-Wire Wallpaper 

I am aware that setting up to work for myself is going to be an extremely challenging process. Between now and then I need to begin thinking about costs, and start researching where I can get possible funding. In order to set up a successful practice of my own, I also believe it will be worthwhile thinking about factors that will affect my practice and I think one of the main factors will be producing my products in an environmentally friendly way. I will               take a leaf out of Erin’s book and use as many natural dyes and pigments as possible.

References:
 Lectures this term
http://erinconsidine.com
http://www.danielheath.co.uk

Jewellery

 A    F E W   S A M P L E S  

Below are three of my five finished jewellery pieces. I am relatively happy with them for my first ever real attempt at making jewellery. After Lesley's last tutorial on Thursday, I took her advice and re developed the fastenings, and I'm pleased with the way they now look. Unfortunately I have not had time to photograph my pieces on a model, however it is something that I am still going to do, but with the fiddly reconstruction of my jewellery as well as mounting, there was no time left for a final photo shoot. After constructing my jewellery pieces, I now think there is one thing that I would change if I were to make them again. If I had time to develop my designs further, I would like to have tried stiffening the back of the woven samples, to enable me to sculpt them into different shapes when placed on the body. This is something that i'd like to experiment with in the next unit.