My Review of Formative Feedback

Before undertaking Project 1 Part 5 I am reviewing my Tutor’s Formative Feedback for Assignments 1,2, and 3   so that I can build on this material together with other research and the recent feedback for Assignment 4.

My new notes below are based on my rereading and further reflecting on selected areas on my Tutor’s Formative Feedback  on Assignment One resulting in what I think is important to me now.  I have only areas of the feedback that I feel I still should be developing further or need to reflect on further to make sure I have improved.

Assignment One

Demonstration of Technical and visual skills, quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity

• a thorough exploration by drawing and redrawing an object helps to find shapes, forms and textures to inspire me
• collage – good to add
• responded to Research material and used further e.g. Rosanna Wells

TO CONSIDER

Have I looked hard at other practitioners work and fed that into my own practice?

ACTION REQUIRED

Given my work is on a Blog I need to print out my Research material and put it in a folder to make sure I am actually remembering to write material up.  I suspect not.  I read about textile artists and view textiles every day on websites, Instagram, Facebook, SAQA (I am a member), magazines (I subscribe to Selvedge, Upper case I buy when I can find it, Embroidery (UK), digital copy of Surface Design(USA). Need to analyse add my own thoughts and ideas about the work selected by me for documentation e.g. materials, techniques, colour palette and composition.  This will help me to develop my own ideas and style.

Drawing – Tutor comments Assign 1

• Drawing – practice, practice, practice – keep drawing materials loose by not holding the pencil/pen too tightly
• try holding the pencil/pen in different places to achieve different marks
• don’t worry if drawing does not appear to represent the object drawn.  Each drawing will be an improvement on the next
• draw regularly in range of mediums also A3 and A2
• use a range of surfaces to draw onto and use different thicknesses of paper
• do close ups of work on Blog
• consider what has the artist done well, what have they achieved e.g. materials, colours, composition

TO CONSIDER/DO

Make sure drawing with a range of mediums – needs more work

Recommended Reading and my Update

Steal like an Artist (have a copy now have looked through –  reread)

Weareoca – ‘So what is Research'(printed out and read but need to reread)

Slow Stitch – Claire Wellesley-Smith ( have a copy now and have read I love this book)

Mark Making in Textile Art – Helen Parrott (have copy now and have read)

Drawn to Stitch – Gwen Hedley (had a copy before commenced course have read )

Assignment Two 

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis

Learning Log

Include photographs of all pages of my sketchbook/workbook.

Include photographs of drawing work.

Include images of work in progress.

Research

Include more general research material – Selvedge, Crafts, Galleries etc

Demonstration of technical and Visual skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity

Part 2 Surface and Stitch

Continue to explore new materials including those not mentioned in my course material.

Drawing

Use more watercolours, water-soluble crayons and inks

Use Quirky tools e.g. long twigs, feathers

Use my analytical skills to make judgements about my drawing, giving myself constructive feedback on how to continue my development.

Book

Kyra Cane ‘Making and Drawing’ – have a copy reading

Assignment Three

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis

Learning Log

Take the work further be more adventurous in my creative practice.

Develop language that expresses what I see and how I feel about the work I make. Think in terms of colour balance, scales, tones, placement, composition, texture, surface etc. Explore how well things work together and what you can develop also have links to my research material e.g. a technique or colour palette by someone else

Research

Why was I attracted to a particular piece of work and how can I use this in my own work?

Reading

Critical Thinking Skills by Stella Cottrell (well covered by me in later work)

 

 

 

 

 

 

NERAM Exhibitions March 2017

Last week I was in the New England Region of New South Wales and went to look at the Exhibitions being held at the New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale(a University town on the NE Tablelands).

The major Exhibition was “Cloth: from seeds to bloom”.  Julie Paterson, Britsh born artist and designer, draws inspiration from the Australian bush and creates fabulous fabrics in a range of colours, floral forms and patterns.  The Exhibition features original artworks, sketches and drawings, fabrics and furnishings taken through the late 1990s to 2014. Julie is a leading textile designer in Australia and works from her Studio in Blackheath in the NSW Blue Mountains.

The two main galleries were filled with metres of handprinted fabric with sketchbook work or stylised room settings.  This piece is typical of the native bush in the Blue Mountains I could almost smell the ‘bush smells’ and hear the bellbirds when I look at this piece of work.  The screen print is a great image with the detail and shading.

This is a closeup of a piece one can see the coarseness of the linen and the bright colour of the orange print, the scale which is larger than lifelike and also the finer line detail of the print.  It to me represents the Australian bush well it is bold, colourful and has scratchy type foliage.

 

I thought this information was valuable as it gives insight into how Julie works. It reinforces to me the need to carry the small sketchbook everywhere and to make sketches.  I tend to use my iPhone camera to record items or scenes that interest me but need to get more into the habit of drawing too.

The second Exhibition I want to write up was “Of things Unconventional”: Hayley Ward.  Hayley uses found materials like old books, discarded fabrics, patterns and old clothes and uses her way of stitching the pieces together into new objects leaning on the practice of Boro and the concept of Wabi-Sabi.  Hayley uses encaustic wax paint to capture each piece in a moment of time and this prevents further decay or development. Her aim is to focus the eye on the overlooked beauty of worn and discarded objects and to encourage people to reassess the throwaway culture.  The artist is a graduate of University of New England and Monash University and has been exhibiting since 1990.

I found the work interesting but perhaps a little repetitive.  The wax was applied thickly as you can see from the last photo and I would have preferred a thinner coating so that I could see more of the bottom layers.

Selvedge Magazine #75 – Yarn File

The latest UK Selvedge Magazine (#75) magazine arrived today and there are several articles relevant to my Yarn File.

The first is “Old Blue Jeans”(p7) which deals with sustainability.  A Guatamalan company Iris Textiles is using scraps of denim that would otherwise be rubbish to give a second life by transforming them into new fabric.  The denim waste is ground down for its fibres and then respun to create fine yarns which are converted into rejuvenated cotton.  This rejuvenated cotton is used for bedding, shoes, bags and clothing. I thought this was a tremendous project and making a contribution to zero waste. http://www.thenewdenimproject.com

Another interesting article in the magazine is “Linenopolis”(p46) which discusses breathing new life into Irish Linen.  The mechanisation of Irish linen was centred in Belfast, Irelands ‘Linenopolis’ in the 1860s.  With synthetic fabrics and rising cost of manufacture Irish Linen has been reduced to a handful of mills.  The article describes  a small mill called Derrylane Flax-Mills near Limavady in County Derry which is a linen weaving mill producing good quality cloth.  Hermann Bauer and Marion Baur came to Ireland in 1989 and renovated a 250 year old flax scutching mill which now produces machine and handwoven linen.  Some of the flax is grown in Ireland and the rest in Europe.

The Derryland Flax-Mills product is finished nearby at William Clark and Sons linen finished mill at Maghera.  This company produces digital printed linen and is Ireland’s last producer of beetled linen which gives the linen a lustrous sheen.

 

Cas Holmes – Mote Tree 8 collage

As suggested by my Tutor I should be recording my exploration of the work of others so in this post I am discussing a collage piece I have acquired  by Cas Holmes called “Mote Tree 8”.  An image of the piece is below:

The subject of the piece attracted me first I am inspired and attracted to trees as subjects for textile work.  It is so interesting to see a small piece like this up front.  There is a mixture of paper and fabric for the background.  The paper includes a contour map segment.  Scrim is also used along with fine cotton or silk.  This background is all very subtle and the combination of colours is well matched with the pale green up in the right hand corner adding interest.  This was a lesson for me as I like working in collage but mine have been bright and the pieces more regular and the results have not always been successful.  So much detail when you really look at the combinations of background materials and thought process in Cas’s piece.

The other item that really struck me was the use of dark green cotton to machine draw the tree.  So many pieces I have seen use black but the dark green is very successful and works well with the background colours.  The machine stitching itself is interesting with single lines in some places and several lines of stitch for example on the left side of the trunk which to me suggests shade and texture on the trunk.

This piece is valuable for me as inspiration for  my further collage work.

Follow Up Debbie Lyddon book

As suggested by my Tutor in her feedback for Assignment Four I am going to review two images from Debbie Lyddon’s book “Moments of Being”(2016) and discuss what I see, the materials, the techniques and the colours and my feelings and learnings.

The first image is from The Sluice Creek Cloths:

Debbie Lyddon image from “Masts and Halyards 1” – Sluice Creek Cloth

Debbie Lynddon “Marsh Shadows”- Sluice Creek Cloth

The Sluice Creek Cloths are a series of seven that are aimed to represent the movement and change of natural process in space and over time.  In the first image selected Masts and Halyards 1 I was drawn to the holes and the space through the holes – the emptiness.   I really liked the shape that Debbie has used and the way she has used two layers of shapes – larger and smaller and different sizes and the effect this creates – the dimension.  The texture created in the work attracts me with the roughness of the canvas linen and the raised surface of the holes.  The surroundings of the holes are made of wire which has been overcast with thread. One can see that the wire has rusted and given the location it would be caused by the putting of the Cloth into the sea to create the rust. This illustrates to me the degeneration of the cloth and makes me wonder about the background to this effect. The movement of the sea could be a factor and the rawness to me of the pounding of the sea.  The sound of the sea and the wildness of the sea are important.  A halyard is a line for hoisting or lowering a sail so to me that uses energy and that is also reflected in the Cloth piece.   The colours Debbie has chosen I think reflect the colour of the sea and the creek in that area.

The second image is from the “Marshscapes Collage #3/16” in ‘Moments of Being’

I like the subtle colours used in this piece but with the small bright yellow which gives life. The shapes are simple but strong.  The pale colour at the top suggests light that is also reflected in part of the foreground.  Texture is created with the stitching with the straight lines at the top and the wonderful loops in middle and foreground.  The different shades of grey, black and white in the loops creates interest and energy.  The fabric used is linen with wax used in places with scratching. I really like the ruggedness of these collage pieces and the combination of shapes, colour and stitch and I can see me being influenced by Debbie’s work in my own work but in my own context and natural surroundings which are very different.

 

Tutor Feedback Assignment Four

I received my feedback from my Tutor Rebecca a week ago.  I was very happy with the comments made.  I have reread the feedback document and made notes concerning my strengths and areas for improvement.

Overall Comments

This was the first actual work I have sent to my Tutor(all the rest has been digital) and she was pleased to receive. In summary my Tutor said : My work was well organised and interesting with evidence of investigation.  My learning log was easy to navigate and informative with evidence of both reflective and critical thinking.  I had a level of engagement with the Weareoca.com blog posts  and I had put effort into looking and thinking about my creativity and the creativity of others.

My Comment

Was pleased to see that my efforts to really understand reflective and critical thinking are well placed.

Engagement with textile techniques

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity.

In general I showed evidence of purposefully using work from previous sections of the course to develop ideas.  My Tutor enjoyed looking at my experimental materials and my willingness to look outside conventional textile materials. It was suggested that I could have gone further with the tape and eyelet example and to make into a small series. The comment was made that I used a wide colour palter with striking bright tones to subtle neutrals.  It was suggested I continue to investigate materials, techniques and colour and aim to push what I already know to discover new ways of creating textiles.

My Comments

I will take the tape and eyelet example further I think that will be fun.  As mentioned on my blog I will continue to gather research and to experiment with new ways of creating textiles.

Drawing

Demonstration of technical and visual skills, Demonstration of creativity.

I did not provide evidence of fresh observational drawing for the assignment.  It was suggested I draw regularly and use sketching to study the yarns I have made from my assignment to help develop my drawing skills.  I should do this in a wide range of media including ink, charcoal and pastels in a variety of scales from small to very large at least A3.

My Comment

I seem to be all to organise myself with my textile work and reflective and critical thinking but with my drawing I do bits on pieces on sketch paper I have a load of sketchbooks and art materials but my approach is disorganised and adhoc.  My approach is I would like to draw a subject e.g. leaves  but then think does that fit in with my current assignment material and the moment is lost.  I really liked my Tutor’s suggestion to sketch my yarns and will do when my folder arrives back here.  I need to use more widely some of my art material supplies.

Research 

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis

In this area I have not documented my research into other practitioners which I do almost daily but fail to put in my learning Blog.  Suggestions have been made into how I should approach documenting my investigation and images  as well as look at the OCA textiles Pinterest page.

My Comments

Need to get to work on this I just read and follow textile practitioners as a matter of course but I can now clearly see the gap in my documentation! I appreciate the suggestions made on documenting and analysing this work. I do look at the OCA textiles Pinterest page regularly but once again I have not documented this activity.

Learning Log

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis

Tutor happy I am really getting to grips with reflective and critical thinking.  Rebecca thought my framework “A Structured Approach to Reflective Thinking contains excellent prompts. She also thought that my reflective writing was beginning to be more purposeful in the way I look at my own work and the processes I use.  Tutor thinks this is excellent and it is suggested I continue to develop these thinking skills

My Comments

Really pleased with this feedback and I will continue to develop my academic thinking skills.

Pointers for the next Assignment (from Tutor)

• Reflect on this feedback in your learning log
• maintain an investigative approach to your creativity
• use observational drawing as part of the reflective process by drawing your outcomes
• use research to inspire and influence the direction of your work
• continue to develop your academic thinking skills

My To Do List from this Feedback.

1.  Expand tape and eyelet example into a small series. Continue to research and experiment with approaches to creating textiles
2. Drawing more systematic and focused approach.  Sketch my yarns. Use more varied materials.
3. Write up research into other practitioners. Follow suggested method of analysing images for Debbie Lyddon book and other materials.
4. Think about schematically(flow diagram) how these activities all relate to each other so I do not miss doing critical parts.

 

 

Book “Steal like an Artist” notes

I have been reading again the book “Steal like an Artist”by Austin Kleon and have decided this time to make some relevant notes for myself.

• Nothing is original  – if we are free from trying to be completely original we can embrace influence instead of running away from it
• Collect good ideas – the more good ideas the more you can choose to be influenced by
• Climb your own family tree – look at one artist really love and study then find three people that artist loved and find out everything about them and repeat as many times as can. Once you build your tree time to start own branch! Have work of favourite artist in Studio (I have work by some well known textile artists) you can kind of be their apprentice you can learn from them the lesson plan is in their work.
• School yourself – google, look up references, go deeper than anybody else.  Always be reading, go to Library, collect books (even if you do not plan on reading them right away.  Nothing is more important than an unread library. Search
• Carry a notebook and pen everywhere and record. Keep a ‘swipe’ file of stuff you like either digitally or in a scrapbook. Use it as an inspiration/ideas file.
• Start copying – do not steal the style steal the thinking behind the style. Steal to get a glimpse into their minds.  Need to understand where they are coming from or work will never be more than a just a copy. Look at many artist; credit; transform; remix; honour; study.  What is it that makes you different? Amplify this and transform into your own work.
• Practice productive procrastination – play; have lots of projects going at once so can bounce between them (I sure do this).  Need time to sit and do nothing too.
• Do not throw any of yourself away – if you have two or three real passions do not feel like you have to choose between them.  It is so important to have a hobby – something that is creative just for you maybe only you see it. “What unifies your work is the fact that you made it”.
• Make stuff every day – put stuff on the internet.
• Build your own world – surround yourself with books objects that really like and tape things on the wall – create your own world without leaving home.  Enjoy alone time if  travelling for example.
• Stand next to talent – follow the best people online
• Get a Calendar – plan, have concrete goals and stay on track – break work down to daily chunks.  Fill the boxes.
• Keep a log book – list the things you do every day – ask yourself what is the BEST thing that happened today
• Choose what to leave out – place some constraints on yourself – make things with the time, space and materials you have right now.

Glenys Mann – Textile Artist – Research

As part of my upskilling in terms of LOOKING at textiles – see my previous blogpost. I have chosen to consider a textile piece by Glenys Mann of Victoria Australia which was the only Australian entry chosen for the World of Threads exhibition in Ontario.  Glenys’ piece os titled “Waiting #1:Remembrance, Women’s Loss”. I have only seen photos of this piece.

In terms of the Framework of Elements suggested by Rebecca Fairley in the recent OCA blog post I have examined and researched the quilt to see how it was made.

It is a single bed woollen blanket, with red wool yarn, with french knot stitching.  I do not know the dimensions of the piece. I assume it is only one thickness (e.g. a textile piece not a traditional quilt of three layers).

I like the choice of colours and the scale of the knots.  The drape of the piece suggests the softness of the wool with the contrast of the texture of the french knots. You can see the blanket is old by the staining on the sides.

In terms of the subject I look at the piece and see war and loss.  Maybe the french knots represent soldiers who died.  There is a cross formed from the centre out and this reinforces these thoughts.  The colour of the wool thread chosen for the french knots – red – also suggests to me blood and dying.

Glenys has a website with more interesting work http://www.glenysmann.jigsy.com

 

 

Part 5 – Reflection -How to look at textiles

I have read the blog post of 2 March 2017 by Rebecca Fairley (https://weareoca.com/textiles/how-to-look-at-textiles) titled “How to look at Textiles”.  I found this post very important to my textile studies.

My notes from the Blog Article are:

Why – is LOOKING important?

• ‘To gain a depth of understanding of individual textile pieces’ which is vital to my academic thinking and a vital component of my study at degree level.  I will gain knowledge and see that there are certain qualities in textiles and thus be more able to consider a range of textiles
• I will be able to use my knowledge gained and build up and inform my own work in a more meaningful and engaging way.

Where to START?

• “Looking” is a skill so you need to develop it
• TIME- knowledge comes from looking in a range of areas e.g. photograph, piece of cloth, artefact in a museum.  Need to take TIME to really look – meditate not rush!

Framework of ELEMENTS

Three main areas in Framework:

1.   Materials, techniques and processes – how is a work made (I have always been intrigued  by this element and I try hard to figure out a piece)
2.  Qualities – colour, scale, tactileness (if possible), drape, texture
3.  Approach, context and meaning – historical, culturally, contemporary environment e.g. tapa cloth and its contemporary use, influence of the patterns and fine art

Meanings

The hardest one I think.  What do I see?  What meanings does a piece of work convey?

Conclusion

I need to really develop further this skill so I will do a series of examining different textile works and write up on this blog.

 

 

A Structured Approach to Reflective Thinking

Overview

What do I want to gain from critical reflection and what approach will I take to best achieve that outcome?

Working from the key considerations listed by Cottrell(2011,p211) I have posed questions and issues for myself.

Why?

The purpose of undertaking critical reflection of my textile study/work is primarily to determine what went well and built on that outcome. I want to also understand why something did not happen as expected/hoped and what I can learn from that experience. I want to gain insights into  why I think/act in a certain way, for example questions I can ask myself are:  am I playing it too safe?; am I being experimental enough? am I pushing it further?am I allocating quality time to my textile study/work?

Type of Outcome

I need to consider in more detail how to make the best use of my reflections. To take them further not just dumping them down in my blog like journaling but to look at actions or guidelines for myself for my next/future work(I need to look through my course notes on Reflection and see how this can focus me too).

Focus

Given my review of what I have written thus far in my course on Reflection and my Tutor’s feedback I can aim to select a focus that is ‘relatively challenging’ to build on my creating and understanding. For example, I have commenced this with my time allocation to the course and the structure of my available time.

Choose a model of Reflection

Should I use a framework or is my course assessment framework a model, what will stimulate helpful reflections to achieve the outcomes I am looking for?

Method

Should I be writing down thoughts and learnings as they occur while doing course work/textile work? Should I use the same set of questions? What works for arriving at deeper understanding? How will I draw together to gain key insights and conclusions?? Is there research I can tap into to assist in areas of practice or study that I find difficult?

I need to take consideration of what has been happening up to now and impact; why I do what I do; how I can act differently to bring about different outcomes; material I already have in my course blog; tutor feedback and resources and course material and references. I have been doing this but not in as structured a way.

Phase 1: Generating ideas and Raw Content

Cottrell(p218) talks about this aspect as the first phase which includes writing down thoughts and recording e.g. on a blog.  I think I have been doing this Phase adequately.

Phase 2: Analysis and synthesis

This is the aspect that brings more depth to my learning.  I think this is an area for improvement.  Cottrell (p218) talks of the following characteristics of Phase 2:

• holistic – look over the experience or Project or Part as a whole.
• distance – stand back to gain useful perspective
• analytical – analyse reflections critically
• synthesis – bringing varying thoughts and analyses together
• extrapolation – work on teasing out meaning, insights and significance

Engaging in Phase 2 will assist me in understanding how to approach similar coursework/issues in the future. Questions to ask myself include: how good were my skills?how did my process of reflection help my understanding and views? how creative was I?

My Model of Reflection  

I have thought about the material I have presented above and realise it is like to a certain extent when I was in my corporate career where I employed action learning approaches to employee self development and to learnings on corporate issues (e.g.recruitment decisions what worked, what did not, and why did it not?).

I decided to adapt an action research cycle to a model of critical reflection similar to Cottrell (2011,p223) to assist me in my critical reflection for my textile course.

MY STEPS WHICH WOULD BE PRESENTED IN A CONTINUOUS LOOP ARE:

1.  Acting and Experiencing – this means research gathering, collecting textile work undertaken by me  in a Studio Laboratory
2. Reflecting – removal from the experiential situation, analysis of the previous creative experience and current current experience
3. Integration – combining my reflections with ideas and research/other artists developed elsewhere, sifting, recombining and developing new creative approaches
4. Review and Assessment – building on what has been learned, posing new questions, receiving tutor feedback, setting new goals
5. Evaluating – evaluating the entire cycle in terms of its help with my development, the problems and the method

This is my first go at the Model but I will draw it up with its continuous loop and apply to my reflection and see how it works for me.  I will also write up some questions to use as prompts for the model which are relevant to my textile work.

Reference: Cottrell S, 2011, “Critical Thinking Skills”, Palgrave Macmillan