In this assignment I have tried to pull together everything I’ve learned through the whole module, that is, the process of moving from inspiration and observation through drawing, sampling, surface and stitch, colour work and yarn development, towards final composed and developed pieces. I selected artists to research who related to the work I was doing with flowers, colours and pattern repeats. I drew on the vintage textiles I saw at the V&A Fashioned from Nature exhibition to consider how tulip motifs had been used previously. I took the energy from the experimental sketchbook day and applied that to the surface and sampling work I was doing. I worked on colour palettes using both digital and analogue resources, reworking and refining these until I established the palette for the collection. I then considered how I could use this palette in different proportions in the collection, especially by varying the amount of black in each piece.
I am extremely proud of my final collection and the work that went in to developing each sample from the original drawings through to the final piece. While these are still clearly samples, I can see how each could be developed further, either into fabrics for fashion or home, or into artwork in their own right.
Woven with wool, cotton and synthetic yarns, including fancy yarns.
This would make wonderful cushion covers, for example.
Machine embroidered on black cotton
I’d love to see this developed into a fashion fabric and then used to make a full skirt or perhaps a blouse.
Rosie Sanders describes how she wants people to respond to her work by feeling the passion and excitement that she does. She sees the flowers she paints as sensual, erotic and voluptuous.
I wanted to create textile pieces with a similar effect. I think my final samples do feel sensual and voluptuous. They all work at a larger scale than the original flowers, and some at a very much larger scale, which helps to create that generous, overflowing feel. There is a variety of textures, including silks and velvets, which invite the viewer to stroke and touch, experiencing the sensations of stroking the tulip petals.
Silk velvet patched background, with machine appliqued organza fabric and satin ribbons.
I think that precision and skill is not always my greatest strength in my textile work, and that while raw edges and rough stitching can sometimes be used to great effect, the technical making of the work may occasionally let down the concept. I want to work harder at developing these skills so that I can make informed choices about how my work should be finished.
Textile collage cut up and hand appliqued to a black cotton background.
This collaged piece, for example, could have been cut and stitched with greater precision to follow the outline as I drew it, which would have made the curves more sinuous and avoided some of the uneven black lines.
I feel that this module has established a clear process for the development of textile work and I am looking forward to refining and enhancing this more as I continue with the course. I still feel like I am at the very beginning of finding my voice, and I want to continue to experiment with as many techniques and concepts as possible.
Textile Vocab 