Sunday 27 March 2011

It's been a while...

I haven’t blogged for months! I’m terrible! So I’m going to quickly update you on what’s been going on in my textiles.
My project before Christmas was inspired by natural forms and textures with a strong focus on gardens. I combined this with patterns found within formal garden design.
Below are some of my initial observation sketches, which I used to create digitalised stitch designs.





I used some new drawing techniques in this project using the Elmo scanner, a 3D scanner to help me. I would project my small-scale sketchbook works onto A2 & A1 paper as well as lengths of wallpaper. The scanner allowed me to zoom into various parts of my drawings creating an entirely new piece of work. I also scanned parts of my embroidery to draw from as well.
The image above shows me working from the projection of a drawing.


This image shows me working from the projection of a fabric on the left-hand page. On the right-hand page, I am working from the print left behind from a dyed fabric whilst drying.



I'm really pleased with my drawings from this project. I really developed my own style and learnt to draw on a larger scale. I’ve always preferred to work small-scale which is why I tend to work in little sketchbooks. The Elmo projection technique was a massive help. I think that because the projection leaves marks on a page, when you actually make the first physical mark, it seems a lot less daunting. “The white paper, usually of large dimensions, was threatening. The nervousness of making the first mark on the blank surface…” (Ionascu, 2006)


IONASCU, A. (2006) Drawing Lines – Ambiguous Surfaces, [Online] Available at:
www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ac/tracey/ambi/images/ionascu.pdf [Accessed 14.12.2010]