13.5.21 - Mandrake Final Version

 

Now that I’m working towards my final piece, I want to make further developed versions of the sewn images that I made before, which involves incorporating a variety of coloured threads and beads, using embroidery techniques such as silk stitch, and layering different fabrics up to make a more textured and detailed piece.

Earlier in my blog I said I wanted to become more of a sustainable artist by using what is already available to me when possible, instead of always buying new materials. For this piece, I used various inherited fabrics that belonged to my Grandma including some old velvety curtains (which were also in my Comfort Zone final piece), white mesh from a possible wedding veil project, calico, and some hessian. All the embroidery threads were also passed down. The hessian was a good find because I have previously written on my blog about how I associate it with harvest and ‘The Wicker Man’ so for me it strengthens the folk aesthetic. The use of vintage fabric is also partly inspired by 'Bagpuss' which have written a separate post about.

I like how this has turned out because the different surfaces of the fabrics are interesting to see and feel, it also looks more considered than my first one while keeping the sketchy untidy style. I included an image of them side by side to compare and show how it evolved.

My plan is to continue making improved versions of all the other creatures I have looked at so far (eg. crows, bats, frogs) and then they will be part of larger piece - a quilt or duvet cover that I apply them to.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

29.1.21 - Objects in the Bath and Shower

Image
One of the first things that came to mind when I got the re-arrangement brief was to do something with my collection of beanies. Because they are so colourful, I decided they should go against a plain background, so I cleaned the bath out and started filling it with the animals.  The first set of photos shows the animals in a random arrangement where I photographed them from different angles... For these close up images I placed the camera in the bath with the animals and blindly took the photographs, not knowing what the results would be. The flash came on for these pictures which makes the in-focus areas appear very sharp with a clear representation of the animals' surface textures. They also remind me of claw machines in arcades, which gives the images a nostalgic feel - all of these beanies were manufactured in the 1990's and early 2000's. This is the thing that opens and closes the plughole in the bath, and it created some strange reflections of the beanies which look
Read more

'Shades of Green' exhibition at St Mary's Church

Image
'Shades of Green' is a Nottingham city artists studio group exhibition, with various works about the longing to be in green spaces during lockdown and the artists reactions to isolation. My favourite was Karl Wilby's 3D piece with the whales and flowers. I think it's really clever how they seem to be floating in the air and are feeding from the flowers like humming birds, it's also really interesting to see whales represented in such a small scale, it's quite surreal and endearing. I like the contrast between the reflective coppery metal flowers and the matt turquoise whales which suggest the colour of oxidised copper, showing a transition from new to old - shiny to rusty - maybe also alluding to the endangerment of the species. There seems to be quite a strong connection between this piece and our fabricated nature project because of how naturalistic the whales are, when in fact they have been made through 3D printing which is as artificial as it gets. The meta
Read more

Mike Kelley Style Photoshoot

Image
  Mike Kelley's 'Ahh... Youth' piece inspired me to make my own version using old teddies from home, including some from my parent's childhood and some from my own - plus a recently acquired 90's troll doll from a car boot sale. I set up the studio lighting in a way that would reduce shadows behind the objects and used a white background like Kelley's image, which gives a professional atmosphere that  elevates them from being worn-out old creatures to something special and celebrity-like. I used a tripod so that they are all to scale with each other, and I like the empty space around them, it's like they have room to breathe and think. I also had to adjust the ISO, white balance and shutter speed on the camera to suit the light and conditions of the space, then I used manual focus to get the sharpness that allows you to see all the details and textures. After uploading the photos to the computer, I cropped them on photoshop and classified them into two separ
Read more