textile design workshop

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For my final project, I wanted to create something that can be shared by my community and I wanted to try a textile technique that I was unfamiliar with, to challenge myself to find the resources to learn a new skill on my own. 

My own research and studies have focused primarily on museum education. While I love museums, I also recognize that they are frequently places that are not welcoming to everyone. I’ve become interested in the spaces that people have created that are open and free to anyone interested- namely, libraries and community gardens. These spaces have given me so much, both as a student and as a human being, so I wanted to make something that would give back to the space a little bit. 

I chose to crochet little flowers because crochet has been one needle craft that has always mystified me. I watched youtube tutorials, found instructions online, looked closely at crochet work that other people had created, and, perhaps mot importantly, tried to embrace the imperfection that comes with learning something new. These flowers are kind of strange, not perfectly symmetrical, but they are brightly colored and eye catching. After all, flowers that grow are not all perfectly proportioned so there is no reason why my crafted ones should be. 

I attached my crocheted flowers to a banner on which I appliquéd the words “flowers for all” and sewed on buttons. All of my materials were from thrift stores of creative re-use stores. I also attached a small jar to the banner and put seed bombs, made from recycled newspaper and pollinator friendly wildflower seeds. Passersby could grab a seed bomb and throw it somewhere in the neighborhood and with sunlight, water, and a bit of luck, wildflowers will begin to grow. 

I’m glad that I was able to make something that can be shared. One thing that seems to connect all of the textile practices that we have learned over the course of the year is the communal aspect of making, using, and giving. These projects are meant to be shared and to provide warmth, comfort, and spots of brightness for the people in our lives. 

An update: I went back to this garden three days after I installed my piece. All of the seed bombs were gone, so I am going to be refilling them over the summer. 

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Hibiscus tea dye on linen  hanging to dry 

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Dye bath from beet root

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Linen dyed with focus flowers from my yard- an experiment 

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In My Own Words (Gu Xiong) and Creative expression, creative education; creativity as a primary rationale for education (Robert Kelly Carl Leggo)

I found Gu Xiong's article interesting and thought provoking. The works presented all have to do with ideas of community, culture, identity, and location. While I can't relate directly with the experience of being an immigrant from a non-English speaking country, I think it is incredibly powerful to have someone create work which invites readers to empathize with being in such a vulnerable position. Within my own artistic practice and expression, I want to try to present work from a more vulnerable, personal position. 

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A History of Felting

I think that it's amazing that people have been making felted things for as long as wooly animals have been domesticated. It's also amazing that archaeologists have found examples of ancient felt! And the process really hasn't seemed to have changed much- though ancient people didn't use Dr. Bronner's soap, they did get the wool wet and squish it around until it became solid and strong. The history of felt is also so connected to the history of trading- Chinese, Greek. and Roman traders brought back felt from Mongolia and Turkey, and with it brought the process of felting. 39 shops in Pompeii were selling woolen things! That's amazing, and it's amazing that we can know that!

I also really liked the way that the artist in the video about the art of rug making poured water over a bouquet of dried plants, and then shook droplets from the plants onto the felt. I tried using a similar technique, sprinkling drops of water from my fingers instead of pouring from a bowl, and it made it much easier to control how much water the felt was taking in.

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I've been inspired recently by folk tales and noticing the subtle changes in the seasons. I wanted to create something like a witches broom or wand which celebrates this late winter/early spring time period- my least favorite time of year. To create this project I gathered sticker and twigs from laneways around my house. I found a lot of branches that had been blown to the round after a recent rainstorm and several smaller dried plants. Through this creation I started to notice how beautiful this time of year can be. In the future, I would like to create some sort of natural weaving every month, or at least every season, and spend time reflecting and celebrating the different plants that I find myself sharing a space with.

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Response to Deborah Sparrow and related Salish Weaving videos and readings

The notions of craft, culture, and identity remind me of the process of weaving itself. They are concepts which can stand alone-but when they are combined, interwoven, they all become stronger and create a fuller sense of self. They influence each other and are shaped by one another. These videos and articles all deal with a reclaiming of all of these notions after a history of imperialism and colonization, where there was an attempt to completely erase culture and identity. Deborah Sparrow speaks of reclaiming these notions through her craft of weaving in her beautiful essay.

It was also interesting to note in the article from CBC how widely dispersed the coastal blankets were. Weavings were on loan from as far away as Finland and were being returned to the land where they originated. It makes me think of imperialism and museums- how culture is erased while the craft is preserved. By reclaiming identity through craft making, the work that these contemporary weavers are doing is decolonizing, anti-imperialist, and personally transformative.

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Why Impermanence Matters

This article gave voice to a lot of thoughts that I have had around my own making and as an educator. I've worked as an art instructor in a variety of places- namely, an art museum and a creative re-use studio. In both of these places, I noticed how the materials urged young makers to seek perfection. This was less the case at the re-use studio, where we made things from recycled materials, but even then there was a sense of permanence and perfection, or an underlying worry of what would happen if the art was no longer useful or beautiful to the artist. While I love teaching art and working with young people, and encouraging experimentation, it can be a very wasteful practice and I find it hard to balance encouraging experimentation and happy mistakes in art with my growing fears of eco-disaster.

This chapter, though, was beautiful and enlightening. I love the way that art here is connected to community and to the natural world (also a part of community, though an often overlooked part). I was particularly drawn to the notion that art made from these natural materials that are inherently impermanent encourages imperfection. If we aren't creating things to last forever, how does the way we see them change? If the things we make are created using materials from our environment, does that encourage us to care more about the place we live? I want to incorporate more discovery and experimentation with natural materials in my artwork and in my work as a teacher, and this essay felt like the gentle push that I needed to get started.

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Natural vs. Synthetic Dye

a) Synthetic dye:

Advantages - consistency, permanence, can hold colour/be brighter, efficient (in terms of time spent gathering), easier process if doing a home project

Disadvantages - pollution, toxic to wearer and environment

Natural dye:

Advantages - better for environment/ wearer, cheaper (in terms of money but not time)

Disadvantages - foraging plant matter out of one area could be costly on eco system, takes time to collect, not as long lasting, less predictable, more room for error

b) Our preference would depend on the specific goals of the project. We also think, however, natural dyes are more exciting than synthetic dyes because there is a little more mystery involved.

Monty, Megan, Sophie

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Close up image of one side of my quilt sample- I used an Ohio Star pattern and fabrics that I had dyed with black beans, turmeric, beet root, and blueberry. 

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I used fabrics that I had dyed for my quilt sample. On one side, I made an Ohio Star pattern and liked the way that the design looked like the sun with the turmeric dye in the center, so I decided to make the other side of the sample it's opposite, and used paper piecing appliqué to create a circular full moon. I made my "quilt sandwich" using a piece of sturdy fabric that I had left over from a different project- I wanted my sample to be light weight so I could use is as a wall hanging. I still have to bind the edges. This project has taught me a lot about patience and I have a renewed respect for quilters and artists who worked before the age of sewing machines.

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Experiencing the Quilt - Remembering the Aids Quilt (Charles Morris) and Contemporary Native Quilt Artists - in To Honor and Comfort (MacDowell & Dewhurst)

Quilting has a long history in creating community and carrying meaning. A quilt can be a way of re-using fabrics and giving new life to old things. They can hold specific meaning for both the creators and the users. Quilts hung in windows in the United States in the 1800s held secret symbols which told members of the Underground Railroad where to go and how to stay safe. During the AIDS epidemic, quilts were used as a way of both grieving for lost loved ones and as a way of protesting the governments inaction. Something associated with home and safety was subverted to represent tragedy  and anger.

Quilting offers makers a chance to reflect individually and to create community. While making a quilt, a person can reflect on the associations the materials bring to their mind and think about how they quilt will be used and by whom. Quilting also offers the chance to build community. One of my mother's best friends is a member of the African American Quilter's Association in California where I grew up, and I was lucky enough to be invited to some of their events. It's amazing how quilting can sew a group of people together.

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first experiment with the Shibori technique and fabric dyed with beet root

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black bean and turmeric dye on cotton fabric and yarn 

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black bean dye on cotton cloth and yarn- with no mordant! 

I love these blue grey stormy ocean colors 

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Second weaving- made with yarn scraps and a chopstick on a canvas stretcher loom