#textiles in practice

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Exploring within Fabric

Since moving into fabric I have created some very aesthetically pleasing samples with the use of hand embroidery on the organza. However I have been struggling with finding an appropriate machine technique to incorporate into my work. I have also been facing the same issue as in my drawings of being able to find a medium ground between my samples being abstract and representative of the context. In the group tutorial this week Amelia, one of the other students in the group, suggested experimenting with the new heat transfer in the A4 & more store, in order to transfer the name places that I had been using in my latest drawings. Although the finished affect on the fabric worked in the samples unfortunately the problem I came across with the heat transfer was that only synthetic fabrics worked and the organza I had previously been using was natural. I experimented with a few different synthetic fabrics with similar properties to the organza but unfortunately none of them had the same overall finish as the natural organza. With more time I would ideally continue experimenting with different synthetic fabrics to find one that was similar enough however for now I have decided not to use the heat transfer within my future samples. During the group tutorial Lynn suggested that bringing in the road lines found in my maps would be a good way of creating more of a link between my samples and their content without loosing the anonymity and mystery of the images. In order to find a machine technique that worked best to achieve this I went to see Sue (the embroidery technician) and ask her for advice. Although Sue said the...would be a good option she also mentioned that it may not work with the material I was using and that it can be a bit difficult to control when using cord rather than ribbon. She also suggested using the cording foot on the Bernina machines but we both agreed that it would be difficult to get the curved lines of the roads using this foot. Sue then suggested a foot that has not been used within the Art School yet; the free-hand cording foot. Although the foot was a little difficult to use at first once I had experimented with it a little I achieved the effect I was hoping for. The curving and winding lines of the roads created with cord worked in contrast with the rigid hand embroidered shapes created by the markings. 

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Moving into Fabric

After the tutorial last Friday I decided that I first needed to find myself a more relevant and definite colour scheme to work with. As my only visual reference point for my drawings was maps I decided to use this as a starting point for finding my colour scheme. Initially I used the picker tool on photoshop to use original colours from the maps I have been using however as they were all primary colours I found these to be a bit too boring for my work. I then decided to manipulate the colours  on the map using photoshop and pick colours from the distorted colours. Using this technique I created 5 different colour samples along with the original unchanged colours of the map. I then cut this down to 3 which I would like to use within my work, and began exploring with these colours in my drawings.

After exploring my colour scheme further I moved back to attempting to find the in-between of representative and abstract within my drawings but unfortunately found myself a bit lost. In my drawings I have moved away from using cartridge paper as a media and began exploring tracing paper as I like the translucency of it as a base. Although these drawings are still very similar to my original abstract drawings I have been using labelling to give more content and background to the drawings. As I have been slightly stuck with my drawings I have decided that now is the best time to move into fabric and start exploring within a completely new material. As I want to imitate the aesthetic of the most recent drawings using tracing paper I decided to use organza as my base material, this gives the same translucency as the tracing paper but is also more rigid than some other fabric options that I looked into. For now my plan is to begin exploring and ‘playing’ with my fabric samples using mainly hand stitch as I am unsure of what I wish the final outcome to be at this time. 

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Group Tutorial

In our first group tutorial I had a chance to reflect on my work so far and also have an insight into other students work within my group. After meeting with Lynn in my individual tutorial last week I decided to continue exploring my drawings and develop them further before moving onto fabric based samples. In my feedback Lynn said that I needed to explore more representational drawings as well as the already abstract drawings I had created. I have been struggling with this all week as personally I was aiming to create anonymity in the drawings and mystery. However I began exploring the use of collaged maps as a media within my drawings. Although I was happy with several of these drawings, many of them did not create the final effect that I was searching for within my work. 

In the group the other students said they liked the initial abstract drawings with the use of thread on cartridge paper and the anonymity created by taking away the preconceived idea of a map. Although they liked some of the more recent representational drawings they preferred the aesthetic of the more abstract drawings. Lynn also agreed that some of these drawings had become too representative, and advised I try to find an in-between ground between the initial abstract drawings and the most recent representative drawings. It was also agreed that my colour scheme was a bit lost and this was something that I needed to work on to try and find a colour scheme that had more links with my content. 

In the next week I plan to explore my drawings more finding an in-between to the two drawing methods I have attempted. I also plan to explore a more relevant colour scheme, as currently I was just using colours that were available to me and was not considering how they connected to the content of my drawings.

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Individual Tutorial

Over the summer I began by researching into the homeless crisis in Manchester, from living in Manchester at a young age to moving back for university I have seen the issue of homelessness on Manchester’s streets increase. In recent years it has become increasingly obvious that the council is not doing enough for those in this vulnerable position. During the past few months the council has not only been failing those in need but has been making life more difficult using harassment tactics. Although I wanted to bring awareness to this issue and the people that are affected; I decided that I did not want to be intrusive with my work. I decided to map out locations of homeless camps that have appeared during the last few months along with individual homeless that I have seen around the city. As I developed my drawings they became more abstract taking away the preconception of a map and simply using the markings to create abstract shapes and lines. In these initial drawings I began to explore using thread to create texture in the drawings but continued to work on cartridge paper. 

Once starting the Bradford Textiles Society Brief I decided although I wanted to continue with the aesthetic of my summer work; the political agenda of the work would not be appreciated within the brief as it was within the context of fashion or interiors which I did not believe to be appropriate for the content of the work. Therefore I decided to take the aesthetic direction of my work but concentrate on more personal data. Using life events and personal memories such as; family homes, university options, education etc, I have begun mapping in a similar way to my summer project. During the next week I plan to explore my drawings further and see where I can take them. 

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Advice

My grandmother is a retired special needs, needlework and home economics teacher so whilst at home I decided to take the chance to ask her advice on our plans and resources for the workshop. My mother also began a degree in teaching which unfortunately due to personal reasons she was not able to complete but I also know she is quite knowledgeable within the area. So on Friday I went to visit my grandmother with my mum to go through our workshop plan with them both. They were both very impressed with the ideas but also had lots of tips to give from experience of teaching. My grandmother pointed out that you should never use capitals for an entire word as this makes them harder to process especially for children with dyslexia. When we read words we don’t read every letter; our brain processes it partly by looking at the height of letters so if it is written in capitals this makes it harder for the brain to process. On Wednesday we also discussed having key words around the room for the kids to reference and my gran advised that it is better not to have them on square/rectangular paper but instead cut them into unusual shapes which makes them more noticeable to the children and a lot easier for children with learning difficulties to take in. She also explained that we should have them on coloured paper for the obvious reason of them being more noticeable but also explained that children with learning difficulties often dislike words on white paper (which Brian Frew had also told us). However she also warned that children with Autism often do not like certain colours and I should research which are the best colours to use. My grandmother had a look at the handout 

and said the layout was good but suggested we have the lists in alphabetical order. I had told the group on Thursday that I would talk to my grandmother and ask advice so I posted all of the advice onto the Facebook page to share with the group. As a whole the group agreed with the tips and advice my grandmother had given and I offered to make any changes. I was not aware that there are in fact no children with learning difficulties so one member of the group disagreed with the advice saying it was pointless. However I think that these tips are useful within all children and that it benefits us as a group if we do consider these things, which the majority of the group agreed with me on. That evening I also asked my brother to go through the plans with me as he is closer to the age of the children (15) and could give advise from their point of view. He really liked the idea behind the workshop and thought our plan for the day was good. He said that the activities sounded fun and that he would’ve loved to have a similar workshop when he was in Year9 art. He also agreed with several points my grandmother had made such as putting lists in alphabetical order and said that he preferred this. I gave this feedback to the group through the Facebook group. Unfortunately the group decided to meet again on Friday which as I was in Wales I could obviously not make. I was a bit disappointed to not have been informed of this and to find out afterwards however hopefully I will be able to catch up on anything discussed or changed when we meet as a group on Monday.

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Key Blog Post One

Over the last three weeks I have had a more in-depth insight into education as a career path through my placement at DACA, guest talks and workshops with Clare & Anna. At the start of this project I only had a vague interest in education as a career prospect but from the information and experience so far during this project I have a much bigger interest in a future within education. In this post I will analyse my experience within the unit and look at teaching within the bigger picture to give me a better understanding of whether this is the career path for me.

In Wales we have a different education to here in England, there are no applications to get into either primary or secondary school; all children go to the closest school to them and there are no free schools or academies. Therefore my experience at DACA was very new to me as I knew little about academies and their way of working. After spending the two weeks of placement there I couldn't help but feel disheartened at the attitude held by the school and the way of teaching that was required; it felt as if the teachers (at least in the art department) were limited in how they could help the kids. I think because an academy is technically a business the focus is taken away from teaching and pushed towards targets too much; if the kids pass the exams then the school gets more money. This way of teaching can often leave kids behind who just need a little extra help because the school wants to focus on the pupils who are guaranteed to pass. Not only are children left behind but children don't get taught; they are simply told what to do and how to pass, so even if they leave with the qualification they still don't have the knowledge and experience needed to further their skills within a subject.

I believe that moving the focus away from state schools and creating free schools and academies is a way of avoiding the problems faced within state schools; more children and less room within the classroom and less funding. However free schools and academies are not a long term solution but simply a way of avoiding doing the hard work and finding ways to improve the current state school system. Patrick Wintour writes in the Guardian online that “Only eight out of the 20 academy chains responsible for more than 240 individual schools...are producing above average results at GCSE or equivalent, according to the first systematic government attempt to grade their performance.”. From first hand experience in an academy I have seen that the drive to hit targets and pass exams is too over-emphasised within an academy leading to more children being left behind or loosing interest in a subject. If teachers are given more freedom to teach the subject they are passionate about then children will have more interest in the subject. If a teacher is being pressured to meet targets and push children then they lose their passion for the subject and the children lose interest too. In Darwen and Blackburn out of the 13 secondary schools 5 of those are free schools in some form.

With the general election looming the political parties are giving their ‘promises’ for education if they make it to parliament. Each party has promises that look on the surface that they would aid the education system but how they achieve these promises and whether they would actually improve the education system only the future can tell. Personally I believe the focus of improving the education system needs to be at improving the state school system to ensure there is no need for free schools and academies within education. If England re-adopted the system of children going to the nearest schools scrapping the applications system and improved state schools then all schools would be forced to improve their standards; children would not be at unfair disadvantage depending on their families background and how much influence they had to get into the best school. 

Although I would not want to limit my career options at this early stage I am unsure whether I personally could work within a free school or academy as I believe it would dampen my aims within teaching; to make a difference in children’s lives and inspire them within my subject. Although I am aware that all teachers are controlled by targets and regulations from my personal experience and research I believe these restrictions are stronger within non-state schools. I am also aware that the majority of free schools and academies have a higher pay threshold for their staff which would have to be considered as a practical factor in my decisions in the future. I have a lot to consider in the next few years if I decide to go into education after my degree.

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Unit X - Educator

For Unit X I chose to do the Educator Unit, this unit is focused on discovering more about our practice as artists within an educating environment. This includes primary education, secondary education, education within the community, gallery education and art therapy. The end aim of this unit is to plan and deliver a workshop to a class of secondary students. As part of the unit I will be doing a 2 week placement in a school; DACA. I chose to do this unit because I have always considering going into teaching with my practice but have never been sure. I have also been doubting my ability as an artist recently, and find it hard to have confidence with my work which I believe comes from the lack of encouragement during my secondary education. For this reason I would love to provide the encouragement that I lacked in my education to future generations to avoid them having the same anxiety I feel with my work.