#studio practice one

[minswelwin]

PUNCH NEEDLE // TUFTING // STARTS So after like a week, with some days not punching here and there. I have finished this tufted thing. 42cm x 54cm this was kind of a big piece to start punch needle, and I won't lie, doing this on the floor in my bedroom became physically demanding, sounds ridiculous but my legs and back are a bit dead. I think with more regular streching and maybe a better setup I'll be able to figure it out . I learnt a lot about punching needle whilst actually making the work, my conclusion is that its just like sewing, you need to make sure everything is taught, the tension is right and that you're going in the right direction. I believe tufting works the same way somewhat, but we'll figure that out when we get there. Anyways, overall I feel good about this thing, its physical, I know i can do this now. I just feel confident in my ideas of taking my work into textiles. Although I'm not so happy about the actual image I made, but it isn't bad for a practice/ first attempt.

[minswelwin]

PENCIL IDEAS. I drew these imagess onto some note paper, I was planning an image to tuft. I like the idea of having weaponary images but using soft textile medium and i've got a few ideas on how to translate this visually. anyways im still developing my range of imagery , i should push it more, i want more narrative ( is this the right word) within my work .

[minswelwin]

TRACING PAPER DOODLES I got some tracing paper to print onto but it was way too thin to go through the printer. I’ve been drawing on it instead. I like the idea of monkeys, my mum had a monkey given to her when she still lived in Myanmar, they had to give it to the zoo though, im not sure on the whole story, thats just my mums memory. south east asia is full of monkey and they’re all over the temples and pagodas, theyre naughty and cute at the same time. its funny . I also have a really vivid memory of visiting my godmother in singapore when i was in year 4 and everyday at lunch we had to make sure all the windows and doors were shut because the monkeys would come and try to take food from the houses. Also a lot of old south east asian manuscripts are full of monkeys, monkeys have always been prominent in the history of south east asia. I should research this more. They’re always depicted as their own tribe, wearing traditional garments and going into war or being around palaces and things etc. 
Rabin Shaw is a good artist to look at for East Asian folklore type art . 
anyways thats why i wanted to draw a monkey character, I think it would be fun to develop, even if just to develop my illustrative skills .

[minswelwin]

ryo/light/rei // more edits I want to push my image making skills further, I don't know how its going, I think I have a thing where I layer too much and lose what I was aiming for . I like the ideas and ability to make images that are playing with photos in a non realistic way though . The variation of edits above have like 20-30 layers, which even though it doesn't look like it there are so many things that are seperate, in comparison to the first edits I did I am still unsure about these edits, do they show what I want them to ? maybe i just have to push forward with it and see where i go The images, including the previous extremely layered images are all part of what im putting under the 'RYO' heading ( this heading may change. The images and character are not an alter ego, i'm trying to convery a certain side of my personality that ressonates with characters in popular culture, or is traits of popular culture characters that a past or different part of my personality resonate with. These characters are Ryo from devilman crybaby, Light Yagami from death note and Rei Ayaname from Neon Genesis Evangelion. All of which are japanese manga/anime characters . .

[minswelwin]

🦕v v yellow pictures ahhhhh sorry // punch needle wip

So after the afternoon disaster that was my not so great painting ¿ I decided to start on some punch needle work and actually punch needle and tufting is something I have been planning and researching to do for over a month now . I think my work would really work well in textiles. I think although I’m enjoying my ups and downs of painting I just think that tufted work 1.looks super cool 2. Is very sensory which appeals to me a lot and 3. I think would add liveliness to my images . I think maybe my painting style can be a little bit stagnant , idk I need to develop it a lot more but I just want to make tufted works haha 😬 that’s the v long no sense made explanation

Anyways I though to do everything on my own because I got interested in textile again during summer so I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos with tufting artists and people like Tim Eads. A tufting gun, to me is just a big sewing machine , it has its own specific way of working but it’s kind of straight forward and a punch needle is just a manual tufting gun . I guess 👍🏽👍🏽

Hannah Epstein is a textile artist who works in textile (punch needle) and digital medium , I found her on Instagram a few months ago and I thought her way of working was super cool and full of life . (Blog post about her will be separate :3

After my painting mind block I think it’s been good to go into punch needle with no real aim other than to see what happens . I think it’s challenging but I’ve researched a lot about punching and tufting and I’ve got the hang of it almost . Doing has been harder than just reading and watching obviously but I really like the process , it’s kind of repetitive but at some point you leave your mind and just go into auto .

I have not finished this yet , I want to fill the whole piece of monks cloth , probably just with a simple backdrop but for my first attempt at punch needle I am really excited , I think for months I have been planning and thinking but to actually do and see how things go it’s really great . Also I feel confident now that this can be a real thing , it’s hard to see things happening atm especially when all I see everyday is my bedroom walls 😬👨🏼‍🌾

[minswelwin]

something .. anything !

So after maybe a week of just research and thinking which I still need to post // I have started a 103cmx109cm acrylic/gouache image .

I guess I’m just experimenting , I totally stole the composition from Aya Takano but I’m trying to make it my own , it’s like a big experiment .

Ahhh wow so after a lot of thought I’ve decided that I actually really do not like this at all , I would finish it and see how it turns out but I’m just feeling overwhelmed . So I think I’ll probably put an emulsion coat over this and start over .

My approach to acrylic paints is not really what I guess an art student should approach it like idk . I really don’t know . I prefer to use acrylic paint like a paint by numbers situation almost ? I’m not interested in blending and focusing on where the light is coming from , Brenda there is not light coming from anywhere it’s paint on paper 😂

Anyways that’s just me , I guess my aim is more illustrative , I’ll leave it and come back to it to demolish and start over later 🌈🍡