⋐ Kat Ellis ⋑

MA Fashion and Textile Design student at Heriot Watt University in Galashiels, Scottish Borders

[katrinaweaves]

Let’s chat about Pom Poms • 3rd November 2017

It has been a hot minute since I updated y’all on my MA progress. I appear to have blinked and landed in November - only one month until my first submission.

I have been grinding away in the studio. And the most exciting progress I have made is undoubtedly establishing a way of creating and developing pom poms as part of my practice.

As the majority of my primary work comes from photography, it can be challenging to find a way of translating digital forms into physical textile experimentation. 

Using pompom development to explore colour, texture and fibres has been both a practical step, and a personally satisfying activity. I can use information extracted from source and apply it through various methods to produce a physical outcome for development. 

Plus... Who doesn’t love a pompom?!  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Photoset • Duthie Park Winter Gardens, Aberdeen • 21st October 2017

(original photo creds: Benjy Wilcock) .  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Photoset • Duthie Park Winter Gardens, Aberdeen • 21st October 2017

SO I went on a wee visit to Aberdeen at the weekend and did not take my camera, under the ignorant assumption that there would be nothing to photograph.

I was wrong.

The winter gardens in Duthie Park are unbelievable. There is an abundance of colour, texture and other visual information screaming out through the atmospheric and stuffy greenhouses.

This week’s photoset is courtesy of my iPad camera. Lower quality, and a new square format, but still relative.  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Archive Visit • Heriot Watt University Textile Collection • 19th October 2017

I arranged another appointment to view some of the archive material at the HW Textile Collection, with a particular focus on Bernat Klein (obviously).

Helen, the archivist, presented a selection of woven cloth samples dating back to the 60′s. These were of particular interest due to their evident portrayal of Klein’s unique design approach.

Plus the colours were incredible.

Almost 60 years on and the pinks were as vibrant as I could ever imagine.

A wonderful source of inspo. I have been particularly captured by the structure of the cloth, alongside the incredible colour information.

Figure 1 and 3 perfectly demonstrate how light the fabric is when held up against daylight, yet when placed flat it appears bulky, thick and heavy.

This is yet another deception Klein has created through smart design.  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Museum Visit • Borders Textile Towerhouse • 14th October 2017

Scotland continues to surprise me. Despite relentless drizzle and a rather damp bus ride to Hawick, I found a wealth of vibrant colour and texture to capture.

I had hoped to discover some more Bernat Klein archival material to aid the development of Design Project. The museum are currently exhibiting a jacket, on loan from the HW Textile Collection, that has sparked some exciting ideas.

The item appears to be orange. It looks orange.

Until you look closely. The cloth has been designed with a perfect balance of pink and green yarns, creating the illusion of flat colour.

Although by no means the first artist to work with this concept, I admire Klein’s precision to tone within his textile works. It has inspired me to experiment with my own colour chemistry, analyse colour blends, and research the potential of colour within yarn development.

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[katrinaweaves]

Dressing the loom • 13th October 2017

It’s weave week.

We have finally had our introduction to the weave shed, meaning I could get this warp on a loom.

My first time dressing a dobby. It is SO interesting learning how a different weave shed operates. The end goal will fundamentally always be the same, but there is so much variety within the process.

Let’s get weaving. 〰

[katrinaweaves]

Presentation • 13th October 2017

A snippet of my class presentation for Design Project, taken from the last slide, highlighting my intended material, process and outcome for this body of work.

As mentioned before, my route in to this heritage project has been via textile designer Bernat Klein. I have studied his life and work in the Scottish Borders, and have been inspired by his approach to design.

His meticulous analysis of colour has inspired me. Painted works created from the extraction of visual information formed the foundation for design development. 

Woven cloth, yarns, and rugs were created from an expert interpretation of surrounding inspiration. 

I aim to collate, review and select a method of textile design, inspired and informed by Klein’s own. 

Bright mohair, chunky wool, tapestry weaving, rya knots and bold fashion are all themes on the brain. Time to hone in and focus. 〰

[katrinaweaves]

Photoset • 11th October 2017

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[katrinaweaves]

Photoset • 7th October 2017

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[katrinaweaves]

Photoset • 6th October 2017

The first collection of photographs captured in Galashiels. 

I intend to extract colour information from these initial images to inform my development of work for Design Project. 

I have been inspired by the methodology of local textile hero, Bernat Klein, to source inspiration from the Scottish Borders. I will adapt and evolve practices seen throughout various aspects of his vast career in the textile industry. 

Plus my studio used to be his studio, which is quite a sweet underlying narrative for this project. 〰

[katrinaweaves]

Colour Composition • 3rd October 2017 

The first happy accident of my postgraduate degree has happened. 

I've been spending some time gathering materials and journaling. As colour seems to be heavy on the agenda at the moment, I have been painting gouache colour swatches from various visual sources of inspiration. 

After curating perfect strips of colour for the intended page in my sketchbook I was left with these off cuts. (Spoiler: the best work I create is usually completely unintentionally). 

It got me inspired to play around with colour and composition. I aim to use this method to create options for design and pattern, with a woven cloth outcome in mind.  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Photoset • 30th September 2017

This week’s photoset features a rather delicious trip to ‘Ginger Twist Studio’, a yarn store on London Rd, selling a plethora of hand selected (and a collection of hand dyed) wool. Aka heaven on earth.

The intense colour story extracted from today has inspired me. 

I have been spending the last few weeks experimenting with creating photosets from individual days. What if I used this as a method of generating primary inspiration?

I love the idea of extracting visual information direct from an instant source. My photographs are spontaneous, often captured by taking advantage of the composition available in one single moment. (i.e. I rarely ‘stage’ my images, except maybe one or two oat milk flat whites in artisan coffee shops...)

Collectively, these photosets provide singular sources of inspiration. Each one creates a narrative. By organising and analysing each ‘story’ by date, I have a systematic way of collating design information.  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Colour Study • 29th September 2017

A long, but worthwhile day of staring at Adobe Capture through my cracked iPad mini screen.

I have amassed a collection of colour palettes, directly extracted from my most recent original photography.

I like to keep sources of inspiration as fresh as possible. Perhaps this is why I love exploring the relationship between photography and weave.

Capturing a photo is instant, spontaneous. Weave takes time, a lot of consideration, and even more patience. 

The balance between the two fascinates me. Ideas and concepts drawn from something I photographed instantly may take months to develop into a physical woven cloth.

But for now, I am really digging some of these shades that are popping up.

(Someone tell undergrad me that I end up obsessed with bright colours)  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Gallery Visit • Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh • 23rd September 2017

Another Saturday in the capital. 

Today I met with Adel, who is also part of this years HW Postgrad cohort, to do some more exploring of this beautiful city.

Both of us live by a similar rule in life - if somewhere has a botanical garden, you should always, always visit.

Inverleith House Gallery has an incredible exhibition: Plant Scenery of the World, open until 29th October. A fantastic source of visual inspiration, the gallery is bursting with colour and shape and light. 

Really pleased with today’s photoset. Who doesn’t love nature and art tied up in one captivating package? 〰

[katrinaweaves]

Making a warp • 22nd September 2017

Used the last of my super fine wool to make my first warp at HW. I mainly wanted to practice using the warping frames here in the weave shed, but I’ll also thread this baby up and have a weave play this week.

Oh, and next time I try and make a funky video of my warping, I should probably make sure I have enough yarn left on the cone.  〰

[katrinaweaves]

Archive Visit • Heriot Watt University Textile Collection • 21st September 2017

The Textile Collection at HW is essentially every weavers dream.

Archives of cloth dating back to the 1800′s, historical hand woven tartans, and incredible colour studies by local textile God, Bernat Klein.

My brain has gone into inspiration overdrive. The perfect starting point for Semester 1′s heritage design project. 〰

[katrinaweaves]

Gallery Visit • The Fruitmarket Gallery • 16th September 2017

Jac Leirner, Crossing Colours, 2012.  〰