How strange it is to be blown 'out there', facing the great wide world and masses of new exciting challenges.
The M.A. journey has been tough, especially the final year. I chose to explore the making of silk disks from the backs of road tankers. These were to be large, starting at about 12 ft diameter and were to have silk 'contents' pouring to the ground and cascading over the floor all in one piece of printed silk. This trail was to be about 20 ft long. After crashing and corrupting so many files and computers, I realised they had to be smaller - and smaller, which really defeated the object, and something which was to take me a couple of months turned into a mission for the year. The making was a nightmare, a challenge indeed and I had forgotten the small issue of working within the width of the cloth; there was huge shrinkage in the warp which meant I ended up with ovals and then there was the struggle with sewing a tunnel round a circle! Such frustration. Such despair. Ultimately, the main disk evolved into an Ellsworth Kellyesque simple hanging. I am working on 'huge' in a different way, having created the 'trails' and I will recreate my 3D pieces.
My favourite piece 'Journey to the Sun', was like a butterfly, something I could neither capture or hold on to. So when I finally sent the image to the printer, I was delighted with it - but when it came back, it had also suffered from warp shrinkage. I had to 'sew round its tail' and make a tunnel round the circle for the metal hoop. It was a nightmare being taut on the warp and loose in the weft and it is definitely a one off. All future silk pieces will be hangings!!!! It was created from a sketch of the back of a tanker and I love it, finding it very meditative. I love the fact that almost everyone sees something different in it; a dandelion clock, a ball of energy, a ball of fire, a monkey on the moon, Autumn with the leaves falling, dancers and Cornwall ('the energy going through the Cornish soil into the centre of the Earth'
I love a sense of humour in my work and some of my final pieces amused me, hangings, where piles of stainless steel tanker backs turned into space ships with little people falling from them, and rusty mild steel ends turned into a tanker sun hanging.
I fought with the digital technology, having not worked with it before the M.A. I can't wait to work with my new digital Design Collection (mostly from road tanker imagery). Being greatly influenced by Art Deco, I look forward to creating jackets with matching assessories, and Art Deco inspired decor. The course has opened my vision into 3D, using other skills to complete my work, i.e. metal and wood workers. I am looking for an opportunity to perfect my sewing skills.
Firstly, I must try to find a gallery to show my Tanker Art.
Thank you to Whale Tankers for their support. I have laughed so much, chasing road tankers for pictures and talking to drivers about acid, bitumen, flour to make Cornish Pasties, liquid chocolate and other contents, a new world for me to explore. It has been a great project. I hope to visit Crossland Tankers, in Burnley soon. It will be such a long journey.
I must also thank my tutors, Andy Harbert, Katie Bunnell and Dr. Simon Clarke also Di Downs for their constant support and help.
I am now the proud possessor of a Master of Arts Degree. The sun shines and each day at home, I am inspired by my future missions and reorganising and repainting my studio.
For now, I am still in a glass box, blinking at my freedom, enjoying the simple things. I have been home for two days, all very strange after studying for so long and overcoming daily hurdles and the despair when designs just didn't work. Looking back, I find it hard to believe the stress I put myself under, often working until 3 am. Now, the Joy I feel is wonderful. It is amazing to be home with Mel and I feel very, very proud of myself. The M.A. is a major part of an inspiring ongoing journey.
In its present form, the 'M.A's.in Design' course at Falmouth has been cut from the curriculum and we are the last. I wish my great group, now completing their 2nd year, all the very best of luck. See the pictures of our show on Facebook.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Thursday, 12 August 2010
MORE DISK RESEARCH
And that was only the beginning!
Continuing with my research into creating large disk hangings, I have since been delighted with the print quality received from The Print Bureau
I had designs printed on the Mimake printer at college and they were not too bad considering there was a large amount of flat black in the images. I washed these in my studio, being nervous of throwing them into the washing machine, as is done here. On pressing them, I was horrified to find that a small 26 inch disk design was 26 inches on the weft but only 22 inches on the warp, meaning that in 26 inches, there was a 4 inch shrinkage. Thus I find myself with oval images.
Continuing with my research into creating large disk hangings, I have since been delighted with the print quality received from The Print Bureau
I had designs printed on the Mimake printer at college and they were not too bad considering there was a large amount of flat black in the images. I washed these in my studio, being nervous of throwing them into the washing machine, as is done here. On pressing them, I was horrified to find that a small 26 inch disk design was 26 inches on the weft but only 22 inches on the warp, meaning that in 26 inches, there was a 4 inch shrinkage. Thus I find myself with oval images.
Creating a tunnel for the hoop around the disks was so difficult. I managed to break the industrial over locking sewing machine at college. Ooops! One problem with the industrial machines is that they are designed to be used in manufacturing workshops and so are fast. There is no means to stitch slowly so practicing slowly was not an option. Mr. Weeks serviced my Bernina in 24 hrs, a special favour and Mrs. Weeks, an experienced sewing lady, showed me how to use my own over locker. So much more controllable. After considerable practicing, and working very slowly, I eventually managed to sew a tunnel around the disk. What I hadn't realised was that it had suffered for enormous shrinkage in the warp only. This meant that the hoop was extremely tight in the warp and loose on the weft. So very frustrating.
In my screen printed versions, I may be able to overcome this problem by washing the silk first. The fabric goes through a finishing process when it is commercially printed or created. During washing and drying, the fabric shrinks. It then moves through a machine and the pins on either side grip the fabric and restretch it to the size it should be. (Thus the pinholes down the sides of furnishing fabric). Of course, once reprinted and washed, or just washed, it suffers shrinkage again.
In my screen printed versions, I may be able to overcome this problem by washing the silk first. The fabric goes through a finishing process when it is commercially printed or created. During washing and drying, the fabric shrinks. It then moves through a machine and the pins on either side grip the fabric and restretch it to the size it should be. (Thus the pinholes down the sides of furnishing fabric). Of course, once reprinted and washed, or just washed, it suffers shrinkage again.
'Journey to the Moon'
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
TANKER DISK HANGINGS
Creating Disk Hangings.
Little did I know the difficulties before me when I decided to create large disk hangings.
The idea was to create disk designs based on the size of the back of a tanker, with designs of the many contents I had discovered on my travels - hazardous waste, oil, flour to make Cornish Pasties, milk, acid, bitumen, and I was delighted to find that tankers carry liquid chocolate – pouring out as a silk design, tumbling to the ground and pooling over the floor. These are now approximately 5 ft across with 3 or 4 m trails.
My first issue was how to create such a large piece. How much space do I have at my show? I decided I had to lower my sights and create smaller pieces than I had initially wanted. But that was the least of my concerns.
My mission was to create the large disk piece and the ‘trail’ all in one print. This was much too large to be screen printed, unless I created the design in sections. Or I could paint the piece. But as I wanted to master digital printing, this seemed to be the most challenging and hopefully successful option.
Firstly, I have been bound by my technical ignorance
The files were enormous. At college, there was a file size maximum of 80 mb.for the digital fabric printer. Mine were much larger than this. (over 400 mb). To ‘make them fit’, I reduced the resolution and size thinking I could send them as smaller files and that they could be ‘blown up’ in situ. Alas, once reduced the resolution could never be regained. All of my work was wasted. I would have to do it all again.
My computer crashed with the large files. The designs corrupted and became irretrievable. Was I any closer to realising my desire? Despair set in. I felt like giving up. It seemed so simple but was difficult at every stage.
During my 'making' trials I discovered so many difficulties. It was incredibly hard to simply sew a seam around a circle. Thankfully Di has shown me how. I am absolutely sold on the industrial sewing machine. It is so easy to sew a controlled seam with. (unlike my Bernina which is so difficult to control).
Eventually, I sent my huge designs, samples really, to The Silk Bureau (who has no size limit), to see what they would do with the designs. I had decided to take a sample slice from the disks but having had so much trouble, I decided to ‘go for it’ and send the complete disks. After all, it was only money!! The designs were too large for a CD or a DVD. I managed to clean off a 4GB memory stick and sent that along with a CD of repeat fabric samples.
And still I have not worked out how to get the design for the trail incorporated into the disk design.
Another problem I have had is with my ‘scale’ designs mentioned earlier. I put a sketch of the back of a tanker through Live Trace, Inked Drawing in Illustrator and attempted to blow that up into a 50 inch disk. The exciting thing for me was that apparently the software reconfigures the image when it is expanded over a certain size. This elusive image seems to revert if I work on it at all. I find this difficult to understand. Surely any image acquired must be stable. The more difficult the image was to hold on to, the more I wanted to print it. Frustrating! So frustrating. Just when I thought I had captured the image it would disappear and revert to an Inked Drawing image. Does this mean that the image I have, the one I want to print is so elusive that it would not normally be seen. Most projects would not want to create a design of such a size. This seems to fit in so well with my project which is all about scale – the scale of the tanker. I am thinking of an immediate error. I did not draw a circular line around the design which has a broken edge. As I will have to add a strip of fabric around the disk, it is going to be difficult for me to establish an absolute circle.
The fabric has been crucial. Which fabric? Any silk is see through. Once I have the actual size of the silk disks, I will have disks made out of iron bar. This seems to fit in really well with the fact that the tankers are made out of steel. I don’t mind the metal showing through the silk disks.
I also have two 6 ft. disks made out of layered ply. These are 5 inches deep. Luckily one disk is divided into two pieces, thus enabling me to print this in two pieces which will fit on to the 54 inch wide fabric. The second disk is over 58 inches wide, too wide for the maximum width fabric. This disk will have to be screen printed and painted on something like cotton sheeting.
Once I have a disk printed with its trail, I then have to face the problem of how to fix the fabric to the hoops. Will the trail pull the disk fabric down if it comes from the centre of the disk? Will they work as art objects? I thought elastic was excellent. It allows for easy removal for cleaning. However, it would not create a beautiful finish to an art work.
Firstly, I must see what the experienced Silk Bureau can do with the images. Once I know that, I can carry on if all is O.K.
Little did I know the difficulties before me when I decided to create large disk hangings.
The idea was to create disk designs based on the size of the back of a tanker, with designs of the many contents I had discovered on my travels - hazardous waste, oil, flour to make Cornish Pasties, milk, acid, bitumen, and I was delighted to find that tankers carry liquid chocolate – pouring out as a silk design, tumbling to the ground and pooling over the floor. These are now approximately 5 ft across with 3 or 4 m trails.
My first issue was how to create such a large piece. How much space do I have at my show? I decided I had to lower my sights and create smaller pieces than I had initially wanted. But that was the least of my concerns.
My mission was to create the large disk piece and the ‘trail’ all in one print. This was much too large to be screen printed, unless I created the design in sections. Or I could paint the piece. But as I wanted to master digital printing, this seemed to be the most challenging and hopefully successful option.
Firstly, I have been bound by my technical ignorance
The files were enormous. At college, there was a file size maximum of 80 mb.for the digital fabric printer. Mine were much larger than this. (over 400 mb). To ‘make them fit’, I reduced the resolution and size thinking I could send them as smaller files and that they could be ‘blown up’ in situ. Alas, once reduced the resolution could never be regained. All of my work was wasted. I would have to do it all again.
My computer crashed with the large files. The designs corrupted and became irretrievable. Was I any closer to realising my desire? Despair set in. I felt like giving up. It seemed so simple but was difficult at every stage.
During my 'making' trials I discovered so many difficulties. It was incredibly hard to simply sew a seam around a circle. Thankfully Di has shown me how. I am absolutely sold on the industrial sewing machine. It is so easy to sew a controlled seam with. (unlike my Bernina which is so difficult to control).
Eventually, I sent my huge designs, samples really, to The Silk Bureau (who has no size limit), to see what they would do with the designs. I had decided to take a sample slice from the disks but having had so much trouble, I decided to ‘go for it’ and send the complete disks. After all, it was only money!! The designs were too large for a CD or a DVD. I managed to clean off a 4GB memory stick and sent that along with a CD of repeat fabric samples.
And still I have not worked out how to get the design for the trail incorporated into the disk design.
Another problem I have had is with my ‘scale’ designs mentioned earlier. I put a sketch of the back of a tanker through Live Trace, Inked Drawing in Illustrator and attempted to blow that up into a 50 inch disk. The exciting thing for me was that apparently the software reconfigures the image when it is expanded over a certain size. This elusive image seems to revert if I work on it at all. I find this difficult to understand. Surely any image acquired must be stable. The more difficult the image was to hold on to, the more I wanted to print it. Frustrating! So frustrating. Just when I thought I had captured the image it would disappear and revert to an Inked Drawing image. Does this mean that the image I have, the one I want to print is so elusive that it would not normally be seen. Most projects would not want to create a design of such a size. This seems to fit in so well with my project which is all about scale – the scale of the tanker. I am thinking of an immediate error. I did not draw a circular line around the design which has a broken edge. As I will have to add a strip of fabric around the disk, it is going to be difficult for me to establish an absolute circle.
The fabric has been crucial. Which fabric? Any silk is see through. Once I have the actual size of the silk disks, I will have disks made out of iron bar. This seems to fit in really well with the fact that the tankers are made out of steel. I don’t mind the metal showing through the silk disks.
I also have two 6 ft. disks made out of layered ply. These are 5 inches deep. Luckily one disk is divided into two pieces, thus enabling me to print this in two pieces which will fit on to the 54 inch wide fabric. The second disk is over 58 inches wide, too wide for the maximum width fabric. This disk will have to be screen printed and painted on something like cotton sheeting.
Once I have a disk printed with its trail, I then have to face the problem of how to fix the fabric to the hoops. Will the trail pull the disk fabric down if it comes from the centre of the disk? Will they work as art objects? I thought elastic was excellent. It allows for easy removal for cleaning. However, it would not create a beautiful finish to an art work.
Firstly, I must see what the experienced Silk Bureau can do with the images. Once I know that, I can carry on if all is O.K.
Monday, 7 June 2010
MARC QUINN
Marc Quinn 'Iris' series.
In October 2009, Marc Quinn held an exhibition at the Mary Boone Gallery in Fifth Avenue.
Each work depicts large renditions of the iris of the human eye, spotted and permeated with bright colours.
In October 2009, Marc Quinn held an exhibition at the Mary Boone Gallery in Fifth Avenue.
Each work depicts large renditions of the iris of the human eye, spotted and permeated with bright colours.
He also created the controversial massive marble sculpture of a pregnant Alison Lapper who was born without arms, placed on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square, London and the 'Sphinx' sculpture of Kate Moss.
These round art works resonate with my tanker disks. I just love the vibrancy of the rust colour and the blues.
"These round canvases each depict in gigantic scale, the iris of a human eye - turbulently streaked and spotted, suffused with bright colours, and highly individual. Although photo-realistic, the disembodied images might equally serve as renditions of whirling interstellar space".
These comments have been made about my tanker disks too. What I cannot ascertain is whether these are totally painted or whether they are digital images which have been enhanced with paint.
At first I thought these images were concave disks of perspex or glass, but they are canvases.
This series of work has been considered to be 'interstellar', or 'cosmic'. Since Biblical times, the eyes have been likened to representations of the soul. Quinn considers the eyes to be "doors of perception"
Bayon Sunbow 67
Quinn said, "They are like a leakage of the vivid interior world of the body to the monochrome world of the skin".
I do not share my husband, Mel's, love of flying. On one flight on a beautiful sunny evening when there were masses of puffy cumulus clouds (to be avoided) I was almost swayed. On the clouds was a beautiful round rainbow. The pilot, Jim, placed our shadow in the centre of it. It can be stunning up there, especially above the clouds.
The exhibition at the Mary Boone Gallery, Fifth Avenue, New York.
WHAT IS IT?
Taking a tiny sketch of the back of a tanker, I became interested in scale, in the enormity of the tanker and I wondered what would happen if I increased the size of my sketch considerably. I took the sketch through various live trace facilities in Illustrator and loved the beauty of the imagery.
This image is a vectored Illustrator image which, frustratingly, I cannot print on silk. How to maintain the beautiful smooth line is a problem. In Photoshop (and the image must be a Photoshop tiff to print), the line will pixilate, creating a blur. I have changed the image to a PDF and converted that to a tiff and it seems reasonably smooth. We shall see.
Creating 4 paper quarters assembled into a 5 ft disk, I wondered about the scale. How would this piece be viewed from a distance? What would the viewers think it is?
I hung the piece in the galleried foyer of our campus at Tremough and created a questionnaire. The large scale piece created imagery within imagery. Looking at the hanging, one could see more and more 'secret' images, animals, people etc.
WHAT IS IT? I had some wonderful replies.
'Man in the moon'.
'Sperm and egg at the moment of conception'.
'A ball of wool'.
'A tree in a hurricane'.
'A dandelion seed head'.
'A burning ball of fire'.
'Eco advert'
'Earth'.
'From a distance, it looks like the trail of something that went in circles really fast, really slow and then found it's place'
'A flower'
'Paint swirls'.
'A long tailed monkey in a crescent moon'.
'A person on a swing above the trees'.
I am really pleased with this response as I love that which becomes something else, something seen in the eye of the viewer.
I then asked
WHAT WOULD YOU SEE ITS END USE AS?
'Art on a wall'.
'Textiles print'. (Several said this)
Decorative piece/ drawing/print/sculpture'.
WHAT IS YOUR AUTOMATIC RESPONSE TO THE PIECE?
'I want to look closer'.
'I like it'.
'I want to stand back from it'.
'Butterflies in the stomach feeling. I love it'.
'Interest and intrigue. Wanting to know why'?
'Food for thought'.
'Interesting. Curious. Makes me wonder what it is'.
There was some discussion about the 'tail'. Some thought it worked better without.
WITH OR WITHOUT TAIL.
Most said 'with'. (i.e. stalk of the dandelion, end of ball of wool, string.
'Tail could be a fishing rod. Dreamworks? Reminds me of love. Pretty'.
I found these responses wonderful. To look at an art work and be drawn into it, to see other imagery within, to want to look and look into a piece, is to me what art is all about.
I had taken this image through Inked Drawing. I could only arrive at this image by converting the image to a PDF. However, it would not always happen and I was becoming demented. I discovered that, when the image is enlarged over a certain size, the software actually reconfigures. This fits in so well with the concept of the piece, the idea of the scale of the tanker large scale actually creating the change in the imagery.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
DISK RESEARCH
I would not have believed that creating disk hangings could be so diffcult. Firstly, the hoops themselves.
Creating two ply 'hoops' at approximately 150 cms wide and 13 cms deep (previous blog), with the help of my husband gives me the starting point I need. The difficulty, then, is in how to exactly tension the fabric over the disk so that it looks professional. Di has suggested a series of pleats. More sampling needed.
Metal bar, in process. Again, the problem of fixing the fabric to the disk. As the tankers are made from metal, I like this idea. I am hoping to rust the mild steel and seal them, allowing them to show through the silk.
I have ordered fibreglass rod used in kite making to try. This sounds like the best option because I can create a seam around the circular design and thread the hoop around.
I am sampling with embroidery disks and hoola hoops to create small sample disks
What I am trying to do is to create a disk hanging with a printed design where the disk and the 'trail' are one piece of fabric, the 'trail' being the contents of the tanker. This sample on cotton jersey is made just using elastic (easy removel for cleaning). The line of the elastic shows through so I will need to either make the disk a feature or use 2 layers of fabric. I am working on creating smaller disk hangings where the 'contents' flow to the ground and spread out over the floor.
Creating a seam around a circle is so difficult. I discovered that I must stitch a border piece of fabric on to the disk first. Di showed me how to 'notch' the circular piece of fabric, and fit the band of fabric around that, matching the notches. Matching short lengths between the notches ensures that you keep the tension in both pieces of fabric equal, avoiding puckering. I was so impressed with using the industrial sewing machine.
This creates a border 'band' or 'edge'. My problem with this is that the precision needed to make sure that the seam is exactly on the edge of the disk will be so difficult. Otherwise it will look tacky.
Does the fabric need to be stretchy? Silk? (which is what I would like), Does it need to be opaque or translucent? Does it need to be double or single.
My research is ongoing.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
SUCCESS
ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVICE.
A couple of years ago, I was fascinated as I listened to a group of successful business men talking on a T.V. show about what makes them successful. Each one encompassed some indefinable quality. Was it passion, or focus, or a total lack of fear, was it wisdom, knowledge of their market place, or the desire to win. It was all of those qualities and more. Richard Branson's mother brought him up to believe that 'there is no such thing as failure'. He borrowed an enormous amount of money to start his business. When the bank demanded he pay the money back, he acquired a loan from another bank, payed the first bank and carried on. As we know, it paid off.
The business men were asked what advice they would give, in one sentence, to others seeking success.
They said:-
1. Keep it SIMPLE
2. Do what you KNOW
3. Do what affects YOU
4. RIDE ON YOUR FEAR
5. BULLSHIT!
6. Make THEM believe it.
7. Its not good enough to have the ideas - MAKE IT HAPPEN.
8. Whatever you are good at - CARRY ON DOING.
And I carry those around with me.
As I was having my hair done last week, I read the magazine 'Marie Claire'. They have collected 17 powerful women and through the Princes Trust are offering mentorships 'Inspire and Mentor', to a Marie Claire reader, to help them be the best they can be, especially to start a small business.
Best advice:
Leona Lewis, " follow your gut instinct", Simon Cowell.
Elle Macpherson, "Have the courage and willingness to explore different mediums of creativity. Do what you love and love what you do, and drink three litres of water every day"
Karren Brady, Businesswoman and vice chairman of West Ham United on qualities she admires. "Communication and integrity. People who are direct and honest".
Ruth Jones Actress. "Her husband said, 'There is not one cake. There is an endless supply of cake that everyone can eat".
Naomie Harris Actress. Said her inspiration was Dawn French who gave her the £80 for her equity card. "Super talented as well as an incredible human being"
How many times do we hear business people, actresses etc. telling tales of incredible luck, of being in the right place at the right time? Is it luck? Is it drive, determination, will, strength which create successful people. Must we have a passion that becomes an obsession? We mustn't forget skill and knowledge, belief in oneself and considerable research
"Feel the fear and do it Anyway". Susan Jeffers.
A couple of years ago, I was fascinated as I listened to a group of successful business men talking on a T.V. show about what makes them successful. Each one encompassed some indefinable quality. Was it passion, or focus, or a total lack of fear, was it wisdom, knowledge of their market place, or the desire to win. It was all of those qualities and more. Richard Branson's mother brought him up to believe that 'there is no such thing as failure'. He borrowed an enormous amount of money to start his business. When the bank demanded he pay the money back, he acquired a loan from another bank, payed the first bank and carried on. As we know, it paid off.
The business men were asked what advice they would give, in one sentence, to others seeking success.
They said:-
1. Keep it SIMPLE
2. Do what you KNOW
3. Do what affects YOU
4. RIDE ON YOUR FEAR
5. BULLSHIT!
6. Make THEM believe it.
7. Its not good enough to have the ideas - MAKE IT HAPPEN.
8. Whatever you are good at - CARRY ON DOING.
And I carry those around with me.
As I was having my hair done last week, I read the magazine 'Marie Claire'. They have collected 17 powerful women and through the Princes Trust are offering mentorships 'Inspire and Mentor', to a Marie Claire reader, to help them be the best they can be, especially to start a small business.
Best advice:
Leona Lewis, " follow your gut instinct", Simon Cowell.
Elle Macpherson, "Have the courage and willingness to explore different mediums of creativity. Do what you love and love what you do, and drink three litres of water every day"
Karren Brady, Businesswoman and vice chairman of West Ham United on qualities she admires. "Communication and integrity. People who are direct and honest".
Ruth Jones Actress. "Her husband said, 'There is not one cake. There is an endless supply of cake that everyone can eat".
Naomie Harris Actress. Said her inspiration was Dawn French who gave her the £80 for her equity card. "Super talented as well as an incredible human being"
How many times do we hear business people, actresses etc. telling tales of incredible luck, of being in the right place at the right time? Is it luck? Is it drive, determination, will, strength which create successful people. Must we have a passion that becomes an obsession? We mustn't forget skill and knowledge, belief in oneself and considerable research
"Feel the fear and do it Anyway". Susan Jeffers.
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