Summary so far...

               My expectations at the beginning of this project was too just create a variety of samples that related to my chosen words of singular and repetition. As I started my project I did have a lot of samples but some of them were just experimental and didn't really relate to my chosen words but did influence colour choice or other elements.

               My experimental skills have definately improved in this project, I've used a variety of techniques and played around with them creating different combinations. The techniques I used were:- Gathering, Suffolk Puffs, Shibori, Starch resist, dyeing and Indigo dyeing, I also used the heat press and experimented with different resist techniques using pegs, clips, elastic bands and clamps. I found the sampling part of this project was time too just be experimental.

               Choosing the dye workshop was really all about being able to work with colour and to be able to apply colour without the samples looking tacky. I didn't stick to a certain material I explored this area too by using a varity of materials including:- scrim, cotton, calico etc.    

Cancelling down to certain materials and techniques was challenging for me because I think I used such a large range that choosing one that was better than the others was difficult. I narrowed down to using printed bricks because I think that it fitted in really well with my chosen words and architecture in which I was looking at.
              My sketchbook became like a photofile of all my samples, using my sketchbook gave me the areas to reflect on each sample. I think using a sketchbook is a good way of presenting my ideas in a thoughtful process which is clear, I hope.
              Using media's and materials in this project became an aspect of my ideas, each sample used different materials to show changes in the quality of the material. I dyed some materials in the same dye vat just to see which material took to the dye better. I found this project very experimental because it required samples and I did this to the best of my ability.

I have definately preferred this project to my last because my ideas were more continous but making decisions seemed more challenging on this one because there was a lot more to chose from. My ideas chose themselves, I tend to go with the ideas I feel more comfortable in and the ones I think have worked better than others. I developed samples which turned out well but needed pushing further- this I applied to my indigo samples.
                If I was too start the project again I think I would have took a lot more specific photos that would have linked into my samples alot more. I would have also narrowed down the amount of samples so it wouldn't be so confusing and difficult to highlight the appropriate/better ideas.
               I would have definately explored more artists in my research. The bits I did I find really helped (the hanging suffolk puff experiment influenced by Susie Macmurrays work).

During this project I've realised that experimenting in areas that don't always relate can still be useful in some ways whether it is just the colour. I have also learn't that some experiments that don't work lead onto the ideas that do work.
              Looking at other people's work theres always something you find that interests you, that can also relate to your work. Some people in my dye workshop have worked a lot smaller than me and there work is so precise where as mine was more experimental and is all about sampling and producing samples that I find relevant and interesting. What surprised me from my work to other peoples work out of my class was the colour difference, my colours were really vibrant yet worked for me but otheres was neutral or either indigo like some of mine were too.

Wildcards

 Once everyone had taken their pictures we was asked to pin them up so they was altogether and take photographs of the pictures as a whole. The photograph was mean't to be looked at as a whole and to be used as a wildcard in one of my stories.

Photograph exercise

 This was a specific exercise set for my group, we was given a list of 5 things that we had to photograph. I found this exercise interesting especially when putting my work in a setting.
1) An ariel view of something that relates to my project

 2) Double yellow lines

 3) Doorways

 4) A piece of colourful litter

5) One of my samples photographed on location

Starch Resistance

 This was mean't to have a starch resist line that was in the shape of suffolk puffs all joined and connected together. This experiment didn't work but I think this was because the starch paste I used was really thick so most of it broke off straight away when going in the Indigo vat.

 This experiment was mean't to show suffolk puffs individually drew on with a thick starch paste, this experiment isn't clear at all but if you look deeper into it, I can make out where the suffolk puffs were.

This is probably the most successful experiment out of all 3 and I think this is because the starch paste I used was abit thinner and the lines I made were alot thicker. I'll remember this for next time I'm doing starch resist.

Indigo dyeing further experiments

 All these indigo experiments were created to see how bricks can be made and whether each material works with the indigo.

Stories

 In my Monday workshop we was asked to bring in everything we had from this project and the last. We was then told to find connections in some of the areas that we would not normally find related. This exercise was good to connect experiements with theories or patterns in my case which I would never have seen otherwise.

 After speaking toone of my tutors, they told me to not look at the obvous connections but to start replacing elements with elements that I wouldn't normally see connecting. Once I did this the connections became relevant that my experiments focused mainly on pattern, the placing of patterns, gathering and bricks- this was repeated throughout.

This was my first story that I had put together, looking at it now I think the purple suffolk puff experiment stands out alot, mainly because of the colour choice. The layout of the suffolk puffs are very similar to the layouts found in bricked buildings.

Printed brick organza experiments

 This is the smallest sample out of the 3 and it is made up of 4 different coloured organza strips that have been sewn together. This experiment has the organza strips positioned randomly and had a brick colour printed on top of it using a foam letter. Gathering up this material was fairly simple like the technique itself, this technique creates a repeated pattern with the material, it gives the material volume and movement.

 This experiment was made up of 7 organza strips that are attached together in order of the colours- from light to dark. The printed bricks were just one brick colour. I like the change in background of the organza strips it creates extra pattern and gives this sample detail.

This experiment was made up of 10 organza strips that were placed in the order from dark too light only this time so was the printed bricks, as each strip was printed I added extra brown to turn the colour slightly darker. These experiments were purely sampling different ways this could be taken. I like the gathering technique placed with the firmly positioned bricks.

Bricked Sufflok Puffs

 The use of bricks printed on fabric came from a drawing I did in my sketchbook. The prints were made using foam letters, each piece of fabric had different coloured bricks, the bricks are also made out of different paints. The sample above is printed using Gouche paints and organza strips.

 This sample is made out of black organza with watercolour bricks printed on top. The watercolours were too thin to create think undistrubed bricks.

 This is green silk with Gouche bricks printed on top. I think the colours work well togther and the gouche paints give off a thick structure making the brick pattern stand out alot more.

This material is called Tarlatan Cotton and has like a grid like pattern already there, so adding printed bricks out of Acrylic paints made this piece look natural, especially with the grid like pattern already there the bricks look genuine. The colours abit bright but there are buildings out there that show this type of orange. I tried this experiment out on more materails aswell using different combinations of paints. I also tried this out but then made the material into Suffolk Puffs to see if the paint would hold or whether the fabrics would hold there shape with pant on them. I tried this out with my own dyed material too.

Indigo Dyeing

 This piece was made out of calico so I thought it would be thin enough for all the dye to go through but it did not work, only the top layer ended up with dye on it. The top layer created a repeated pattern of square bricks in a pillar format. This repeated would make an interesting pattern but would take time as each piller would have to be dyed seperately.

 I've done this process before but on different material so I expected this outcome. The marks created remind me of bacteria and the inside of a kiwi.

 This piece was created by dipping the shibori set material into the dye and leaving it there for about 2 minutes and then taking it out and leaving it to dry. This technique is called Shibori and is made by wrapping around fabric and pushing it up as tightly as it will go whilst constantly wrapping around string. I love how effective the pattern turns out and how every mark is singular.

This piece was created by folding up a piece of material and applying glass slates on either side, they was held together by a clamp and dipped in the indigo vat. I wanted this piece to create brick like and window shapes and it did, even though the lines weren't as clean cut as I wanted. The reflections make this piece resemble windows even more, they also create there own individual marks.

Suffolk Puffs Hanging

 This piece was largely influenced by one of Susie Macmurray's pieces, in the way the piece hung and the way the seperate shapes hung and held together. My piece is made out of 47 suffolk puffs that were made out of medium calico wide. I chose this material as it natural looking and the colour is neutral.

 If I was to do this again I would rethink how to structure it together so that the piece didn't hang so straight.

Susie Macmurray

 This piece is named 'Echo' and is made out of 10,000 hairnets that contained strands of used violin bow-hair. This piece is site specific as you can see. I like the repetition she has used here and how fragile and delicate each hairnet looks.

This piece is called 'A mixture of Frailites, 2004'. When looking at this piece at first glance I thought it would be made out of delicate fabrics or flowers but once I researched it, it turns out its made out of 1400 household gloves that were turned inside out, it does have an under garment made out of Calico.

Experimenting

 This piece above was created by folding the thin cotton in half and rolling it up, then wrapping elastic bands around. I hoped this experiment would give me a symmetrical pattern and this piece did. It also reminds me of pillars by the way they stand together. What fascinates me about this sample is the change in colour for each pillar, the middle being the lighest and the left hand side one being the darkest.

 This sample was created by rolling the bottom left hand corner to the top right hand corner and then tightening cable ties around it, leaving the same reasonable amount of space inbetween each cable tie. I found that using cable ties gives off a better thickness of line and makes the line more visable.

This sampke was created by folding the thin pink cotton material over 4 times and attaching it altogether with metal paper clips. It isn't the paper clip marks that grab my attention, it's the outline darker areas that reminds me of a window.

Experimenting with elastic bands

 This sample was created by taking a long strip of thick white cotton and rolling it up tight and then wrapping around elastic bands to hold it in place. I made sure that the elastic bands were straight so that the line was thick enough to be seen. The section you can see below is the only part of the material that dyed I think it was because the material was thick and wrapped too tightly. The parts that have been dyes remind me of etchings I've seen on buildings.

 This sample was created by piching up some of the material and tying round elastic bands and repeating this process until there is no more material left. I expected to find white thin lined circles but instaed got this pattern. This pattern immediately made me think of Suffolk puffs but also fruit.

Experimenting with already petterned material dyeing

 This piece of material above was a cut off from an old scarf and the colour I aimed for works really well in conjunction with the silver lining pattern that pre-exists. Even though I like how the material looks it isn't really practical as its flimsy and too light, making it hard for this material to hold a shape.

 I was surprised this material dyed because I didn't do a burn test and the material looked slightly glossy so I thought the dye would run off but it didn't. This material clearly shows the element of repetition and would be a nice material to work with because it holds enough strength to fix a poistion aswell as being flexible.

 This patterned material definately had repeat in it but using this material would be difficlut because it looks too busy and confusing. It definately would not hold a shape because it's too light.

Now this material is definately confusing but it works for me more than the other because of the dye colour.