Project 2 Wrapping Exercise 1 Straight wrapping with threads

I began by wrapping the wooden spoon freely with chenille thread leaving arts of the spoon showing. I then wrapped areas more densely in parts.  

Next I wrapped the spoon with strips of silk fabric again leaving space between the wrapping fabric.  I then wrapped it more densely along the handle.

I then used sari thread and paper thread to wrap tightly and densely along the spoon.  The sari thread changes of colour make bands of colour especially on the spoon head.  The tight dense wrapping gives the spoon a very tactile surface and the shine of the silk contrasts well against the matt of the paper thread.

I next wrapped with pieces of braid I had made from torn strips of fabric.  This gave a heavier looking surface.  

I decided to wrap the spoon with thick strips of scrim.  I then wrapped this first with paper thread which I pulled tightly so that the twists of the scrim stood out.  Next I wrapped the scrim with ribbon which I did with an even tension.  The purple ribbon stands out against the scrim I think because of the contrast of its colour against the colour of the scrim.  

I then wrapped the wooden spoon with a silk cap covering it all over and wrapped this with jewellery making wire.  I chose the colour of the wire so that it would stand out against the orange silk.  I wrapped quite tightly so that the fibres would stand out to make a tactile surface.  This works well I think because the wire is thin and easily manipulated against the thick softness of the fibres.  

Lastly, I wrapped the spoon with knitting yarn finishing the edge along the head of the spoon with very loose buttonhole stitch.  This does not show up very well unless looked at very closely where the yarn loops along one of the edges. Around the handle I wrapped with strips of wool slip knotting them onto the handle with the addition of strips of orange coloured scrim.  These were slip knotted onto the handle.  The orange scrim stands out well against the yarn because of the contrasting colours and the weave of the fabric as against the twist of the yarn.

Wrapped with space dyed chenille thread

Back view of above

Wrapping with strips of torn silk fabric

Back view of above

Some of materials used to wrap wooden spoon

Silk cap/scrim/chenille thread/torn silk/silk sari thread

Wrapped tightly with silk sari thread

Wrapped tightly with silk sari thread and paper thread

Back view of above

Wrapped with braids made from strips of torn fabric

Back view of above

Close up of braid wrapping

Close up of braid wrapping

Wrapped with dyed scrim 

Wrapped with dyed scrim and paper thread

Wrapped with dyed scrim and ribbon

Close up of section of above

Wrapped with silk cap and wire

Close up of section of above

Wrapped with wool and strips of torn scrim

Close up of section of above

Project 2 Wrapping Exercise 2 Wrapping with materials and threads

For this exercise I decided to wrap a mug with different materials and threads.  The threads enabled me to change the tension whilst wrapping but I found this harder to do with the pipe cleaners.  I like the tissue and chenille thread wrapping because the tissue paper give the piece a delicate look although it is actually hard and quite heavy.

The wrapping with scrim and ratstail thread has been successful I think because I have been able to retain the shape as I did with the tissue paper but it has a lovely surface texture.  I think I wrapped the thread in a better way than the chenille thread because the crossing of the thread has given different sized sections of the scrim from tiny squares to larger ones in the middle.  I think this piece asks to be picked up and touched because of the softness of the scrim. The contrast of the thread against the scrim makes this softness stand out.

I wrapped the mug with kitchen roll that I had used to wipe paintbrushes.  The paper was not as manageable as the tissue paper and scrim.  This did not allow me to hold the shape of the mug as much.  Wrapping the kitchen roll with pipe cleaners was difficult because they would not stay in place.  It became easier once I had a few pieces of the pipecleaners attached to each other.  I am not as pleased with this wrapping.  I do not think it is attractive although the pipecleaners have made an interesting pattern.  This is mainly because of the way I had to fix them together so that the paper would not become undone rather than me actually thinking where to place them.  Perhaps this has been a success then in that it was more intuitive.

 Mug wrapped with scrunched tissue paper and chenille thread

 Mug wrapped with dyed scrim and ratstail thread

 Close up detail of scrim and ratstail thread wrapping

 Mug wrapped with kitchen roll used to dry paint brushes and pipe cleaners

 Close up of kitchen roll and pipe cleaner wrapping

Sketchbook Work Continuing

Sketchbook work is continuing and I am feeling that I am freeing up when recording my observations.  I think this has been helped whilst working on Project 1 and 2 Joining and Wrapping because I have found it pleasurable and easy to sketch my samples.  Looking through the pages I think that I need to experiment more with different art materials perhaps collage and more colour in my work.  I do like to use the black ink pen for quick recordings.  I find it enables me to make quick light strokes across the page.  I feel there is no going back which is what I tend to do when using pencils.  I will go back and go over drawings - I am resisting this temptation now but think the brush pen allows me to give quick free expression in my drawings.

Project 1 Stage 3 Recording outcomes

Photographs of further samples for Project 1 Joining exercises are in separate posts headed for the different exercises.   

For exercise 1 I began with paper and card joining the edges with washi tape of differing lengths.  Following on from this I began to use thread to join paper and then paper to card. 

 I like the rag paper stitched with linen thread because first I like to handstitch and particularly like the effect the stitches given on top of the edge.  I think the size of the stitches are right for the piece.  Ay smaller and I think the look I wanted would be lost.  Any larger and the stitches would dominate too much.

Exercise 2 joining straight edges with a gap.  The two pieces of canvas joined by linen thread were successful.  The top part of the sample worked particularly well as the gap between the stitching lines make the loose threads in the middle more flexible and I think more interesting.  

Paper joined to canvas with wire.  I found this a difficult piece to work as the wire although quite easy to bend seem to get a life of its own and was hard to control when threading through the canvas and paper.  However, I think that the contrast between the three materials, paper, canvas and wire make an attractive sample and show how very different materials and surfaces can be combined.  Looking at it now I think maybe shorter pieces of wire so that the gap is not so wide may bring the piece together as a whole more. 

I particularly like the piece below because I like the paper I made.  It is tissue paper applied to Tyvek then painted.  I liked how it turned out so much I was very reluctant to cut it into pieces for joining!  The brads work well because although they are small they pick out some of the colour on the paper and the thread adds a sharp contrast.  It reminds me of lacing shoes, laced corsets and winding the thread around the brads reminds me of lacing my ice skates.  I like how memories or something that is done regularly in our lives (I skate every other day) can have an influence on our work.  

I had dried some leaves and wondered how I could join them to something.  I cut a square from canvas and attached the leaf in the middle by sewing with fine cotton thread at four edges of the leaf.  I think this works quite well as the leaf is actually quite stable within the gap of the canvas.  I worked some stitches into one of the sides of the canvas to try to bring together the piece.  I don't think this was needed and I like the smallness of the leaf against the wide sides of the canvas because the sides make the leaf and stitching even more delicate.

Exercise 3 Joining curved edges was an exercise I found quite difficult to do.  The tissue paper joined either side of the silk paper with washi tape was unsuccessful.  I tape looks cumbersome and  perhaps thinner strips would have added more to the delicacy of the tissue and silk paper.  

The corrugated card joined by thread with a gap worked quite well.  The lined texture of the card is a sharp contrast to the insertion stitching with the fine thread.  Again maybe I like this because I like handstitching and stitching into card makes the thread react in a different way to working with fabric.  I think this is because the cardboard is not as flexible as some fabrics.

I dried some orange slices and then knotted them together at all the joining edges with wool yarn.  I like the pattern and the texture of the slices and the loose thread ends of the knots add a softness to their crispness.  I wondered whether I could make a more 3D shape with them so cut the slices in half and stacked them together joining them by sewing through the edges.  I chose a thread colour that was a nice contrast to the burnt orange of the orange peel so that the thread would stand out.  I had been looking at Japanese Samurai armour and the way the pieces of armour are joined together.  This reminded me of the way pieces of the leather armour are joined by braid.

Exercise 4 Overlapping edges gave me more success in my samples.  I particularly like the fabric pieces, the felt and silk noil, that I joined by stitching.  The running stitch piece is best I think because it is simple and gives more of a texture by gathering the fabrics as the stitches are worked.

The circular piece of card with pleated card joined by stitching through punched holes is not a success.  The card was not easy to manipulate around the edges of the disc.  One one side of the disc I tightened the stitches and this made the pleated piece stand up so that the edges had a better join and the piece bent around the circle.  

I cut card that I had had underneath fabric I was painting and as the paint seeped through I think it made lovely patterns and colour combinations.  I cut the card into semi circles and overlapped them by machine stitching in a fan shape.  I like the machine threads on the card because they give a sharp tightness to the pieces and does not detract from the colour of the card.

This piece is painted tissue paper overlapped onto a smaller piece of silk paper.  I snipped holes in two rows through the materials and then to join threaded small pieces of dried lavender sticks that I had collected from my garden.  This is my favourite piece from this exercise.  I like the colour combination of the blues and browns, the smooth texture of the painted tissue paper against the smooth but softer texture of the silk paper and the contrast of the sharp lavender sticks against the other two materials.  I think the lavender sticks are the right length and the holes are a nice distance apart adding to the contrast.

For exercise 5 Forming corners and angles I first made a box by scoring and cutting card then joining the edges with washi tape.  I quite surprised myself as did not think I could make a box as neat as this.  That is how I would describe it as being 'neat' because of the straight lines of the card and tape.

The tissue paper tied at the corners with wool yarn made a softer more rough looking box shape.

Painted and crumpled brown paper was sewn together at two edges with buttonhole stitch.  This made a sharp corner that was a form of pocket.

The samples below were made to try and enlarge the scale of my stitching.  n the first two samples I used torn fabric to stitch/thread through the fabrics.  The second sample worked particularly well as I like the heavy contrast of the torn fabric against the delicate look of the rips of lutrador I had joined together.  This sample also allowed me to try and join the lutrador as pieces are joined in Samurai armour.   

This is a piece of silk paper with a smaller piece of lutrador overlapped on to it.  Large dried lavender plant stalks are used to join the edges and  then threaded torn fabric around the stalks on either side.  There are a few contrast in this piece that I think work well.  The light almost fragile look of the lutrador against the heavier silk paper and the contrast of the colours light against darker.  The lavender stalks look fragile and belie the fact that they are joining and holding the pieces together quite sturdily.  The torn yarn threaded around the stalks add another texture and a patterned contrast to the straight lines of the other materials.  I think this makes the piece interesting and attractive.