Photoshoot

As part of my course at uni, we have an exhibition catalogue which goes alongside the final degree show. As part of the process we take part in a professional photoshoot.

I was given 45 minutes to set up my work, followed by a 45 minute shoot. The experience was fantastic! I’ve never done anything like that before so it was a really useful experience.

Before the shoot I looked at my studio space and the way I worked and displayed my work around me. I saw that I had quite a busy space with lots of layering going on and with draped fabrics.

I thought about how I could use some of these ideas for my photoshoot, knowing that the venue would not allow us to pin our work into the walls. I thought about finding some form of batton or pole to drape my fabrics over and experimented with this idea by making use of the piping running along the studio walls.

After discussing ideas for the photoshoot with my tutor I decided that because I want to work on commissions it might be a good idea to present my shoot as though I was having a meeting with a client. I could lay my designs out on their dining table as if to say, “Look, this is what I am capable of.”

So then I went off and looked at tables. Firstly, it had to be something I could easily get hold of for an afternoon. Secondly, it would have to fit in a car. Thirdly, I wanted it to look like a dining table, but not a cheap looking one – something that was old, and loved and you might find in the house of my clients. Based on the fact that my work is so detailed and time-consuming, my clients would need to have a large disposable income. Therefore, I felt this should come across in the table.

Now I had a look at two tables in particular, the old dining table from home which I now use as a desk. This table has been passed on through three generations so I expect it is quite valuable. This was the table I envisaged using when I first had the idea of using a table. However, I had to consider whether it would fit in a car in order to get it to Huddersfield for the shoot.

The next table I looked at was one belonging to my grandma. It’s a gate-leg table so I knew it would fit into a car.

I settled on using the first table from home. So on the day of the shoot, my Dad drove over to Huddersfield with the table and a chair. I found a suitable place in the room to set up my table beneath a window. In the room we were using for the shoot I found a pin-board which just fit into the window frame – perfect! I used the board to pin fabrics to and recreated my studio space.

Each student was assigned a second year student to help us. I asked Clair to take photographs for me as we went along putting up my work and throughout the shoot. I was very lucky in that I had my Dad at the shoot too so I asked him to bring his camera and take photos. Between the three of us I ended up with over 200 photos!

Here are some of the shots from the day...

'Embroidered Gardens'

These are some of my final samples from my ‘Embroidered Gardens’ project from before Christmas. These samples have been inspired by some of the drawings from the previous post.

'Embroidered Garden' - Texture

'Embroidered Garden' - Texture [Detail]

'Embroidered Garden' - Pleated Leather [Detail]

'Embroidered Garden' - Sculpted Leather

'Embroidered Garden' - Sculpted Leather [Detail]

'Embroidered Garden' - Formal Garden

'Embroidered Garden' - Formal Garden [Detail]

'Embroidered Garden' - Quilted Rocks

'Embroidered Garden' - Layer

'Embroidered Garden' - Layer [Detail]

  

'Embroidered Garden' - Layer [Detail]

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]

What is contemporary about my work?

In my monograph module, we were asked to think about what makes our own work contemporary...

·         Quilting – non-traditional.

·         Influenced by other contemporary practitioners:

o   Claire Coles

o   Pauline Burbidge

o   Alice Kettle

o   Val Jackson

·         Use of technology:

o   Amaya (Computerised sewing machine)

o   CAD (Photoshop, Illustrator, Design OS, Amaya OS)

o   Laser-cutter

o   Digital Photography

Considering Val Jackson’s applique…

HOCKING, 2010, Photograph

I have adjusted this photograph of Val Jackson’s work to grayscale in order for me to appreciate the technique used.

Jackson’s use of stitch gives plain sections of fabric texture and depth with her pattern creating stitch. These patterns vary greatly from simplistic circular forms to swirls, flowers, and wavy lines.

By combining reverse applique with pattern creating stitch, Jackson forms some lovely sections of floral fabrics. This is a technique I would like to use in my own work.

I will be referring to this image throughout the project for technique ideas.

Currently…

My current project is still finding it’s feet and so am I.

My summer project was inspired by a field trip to London last academic year in which there was a visit to the Herbarium at Kew Gardens to study the library of specimens. So my project was based on gardens; flowers, plants and garden features such as gates, archways and rockeries. I drew from three separate gardens: my own, the holiday home I stayed at in France, and National Trust property Shugborough, in Staffordshire. These were all just initial drawings/sketches mainly working monochromatically in pencil or biro.

However, when I returned to uni in September with my three sketchbooks full of initial drawings I hit a block. I couldn’t develop them. It just was not working for me at all. It wasn’t until my first tutorial when I was prompted to think back to my strengths of last year that it hit me. What I had been doing was far too literal and involved very little texture. My strengths of last year were texture, quilting, and white work. In fact, the theme of my work was never obvious at all.

So it was back to the drawing board for me.

I went back to my gardens sketchbooks & picked out four key drawings, which I thought I could develop. Each involved texture and pattern. ..

Kew Gardens

France

Shugborough

My next step was to go to the library and research contemporary gardens, looking for images involving pattern and texture. It was from this research that I discovered the link between formal garden designs and interiors in particular wallpaper, architectural features, and carpet designs.

Mader, G. & Neubert-Mader, L. 1997, p.86



Fleming, L. & Gore, A. 1979, p.74



Mader, G. & Neubert-Mader, L. 1997, p.88

Mader, G. & Neubert-Mader, L. 1997, p.163

Wallpapers:

References:
Fleming, L. & Gore, A. (1979) The English Garden, Michael Joseph Ltd, London.
Mader, G. & Neubert-Mader, L. (1997) The English Formal Garden, Aurum Press Ltd, London.

Where to begin?

So I want my blog to be a place to document my current drawing and embroidery work as well as feature designers I like, new inspiration, fashion and items of general interest to me be it a magazine article, a radio feature, something I've seen or heard.

Enjoy J