Hello! Wow, I did not expect my pigeon jumper to be so popular. As I mentioned in my initial post, it was part of a general project where I documented my daily experiences with textiles, so I want to talk a bit about that because I like demystifying art-making.
My idea started with an afternoon on the Heath, a place I love because of the TOTALLY NOT HAUNTED MOUND, all the nature, and many good birb. I saw pigeons just casually chilling out with all the water birds; it was funny because it provided a new context to animals that I see every day, and I wondered if I could be their friend if I pretended to be a pigeonā¦
(pls understand i am an artist w 2 brain cells. if u actually want to make friends w birb here is a guide. it was weighing on my conscience to not say this. thanks,)
I started myĀ Textiles as Documentation projectĀ because I wanted to test the idea that you could describe your experiences of the world using various textile hand skills (e.g. knitting, embroidery, weaving) in the same way other artists use drawing and painting, particularly in a way that isnāt strict observational drawing (drawing a thing that very much looks like the thing). My project coveredĀ 2 Ā½ weeks. So in that time, I designed, tested, made, and staged/documented the pigeon jumperā¦ plusĀ a collection of hand-sized weavings on cardboards looms. I state the timeframe not only to flex, but to emphasise my interest in tracking, Ā recording, spending time on tasks.
Inspired by Sheila Hicksā minimes, I made one small weaving a day, sometimes on location. I am following the same rule as for my pigeon jumper: I am taking what I think of as the essential colours of my subject and playing with shape and line. Iām also limited by different things: the jumper has to work as a jumper, and the grid format of each loom restricts what I can physically make.
As you can see, the pigeon jumper did start with a colourwork chart, but it quickly became more of a guide than a strict pattern. I knit this jumper with yarn from my LYS plus duplicate stitch in transitional hues and iridescent/metallic threads.Ā For the weaving, the main materials I used was embroidery thread from my mother, who had to give up textile work because of chronic pain. Since she kindly gave this un-used material to me, I wanted to represent everyday things beautifully every day, rather than saving this material for something correspondingly special and never using it. I also used materials like cut up printed paper, cleaning cloths, rubber gloves, moss, and a button I found on the way to the Heathāanything that could be worked into the warp. Thereās also some of my handspun yarn in some of the weavings that can also be seen on the shelf.
In the studio, the pigeon jumper was appreciated for its handiwork and staging, particularly from design students; what got the most positive attention from tutors and fine art-oriented peers were the daily weavings. And now here, on tumblr, the pigeon jumper is getting some attention. People like birb! I am glad that my design and my documentation worked for some viewers; for me, the act of trying to introduce the jumper and myself to actual pigeons and spending time with them was all a part of the work.Ā
