Postscript to drawing of a textile

I can’t resist showing you a few more ideas so here are some ways of developing your drawings based on your textile study which I’m sure you’ve been busy with over the last couple of weeks!

The first two ideas are only for the brave!

First idea – Take a rubbing or an area of your textile. Arrange a single layer (if possible) of the textile onto a hard surface. This not quite such a risky operation if you choose a strong paper such as tissuetex which is a reinforced tissue paper used in brass rubbings (available for Art Van Go). The rubbing below was made over the border area of my child’s dress, using a candle and then inking over with black ink – after the dress had been moved far away!

Second idea – take a print of a relief surface of your textile. This needs a lot of care and perhaps shouldn’t be attempted if the textile is precious. My print below was done by holding my breath and I’m pleased to say that I didn’t get any marks on the dress, only on the paper.

To see how this printing process was done, please continue over onto the Distant Stitch website.

This print was used on the inside cover of an exhibition brochure by the Textile Study Group called ‘Not What it Seams’. You can see this brochure on the TSG website.

Judith Aylett sent me this link of the work by Mandy Pattullo. She presses textiles into thick, damp paper – and this looks such an interesting idea, I must try it, but, oh for a proper printing press.

http://mandypattullo.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-07-10T04%3A09%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

Another brilliant idea from Judith is the work of Ruth Lee. Take a look at the incredible knitted structures on this link. - http://www.webs-of-intrigue.co.uk/gallery.htm. You can see Ruth, some of her work and buy her super book at her stand at the Knitting and Stitching Shows. If you are reading this Ruth – “looking forward to seeing you soon at Ally Pally”.

I also remembered the work of Susie Needham, a Somerset artist whose work I admire and thought you might like to take a look at some examples here. She calls her process ‘photograms’. She doesn’t seem to have a website but is included in many other website so you should be able to find more of her work.

Just for fun, inspired by Susie’s images, I decided to change my dress print into a negative and created even more ideas for drawing from this!

See you in October with a brand new drawing theme. In the meantime, continue enjoying your textile and be encouraged to try some of this less conventional drawing ideas. I’m looking forward to seeing exciting stuff on your blogs – please leave me a message there to let me know. www.stitchloop.blogspot.com

Come and have a chat

I shall be at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally next month, so if you’re going to be there, please find me to introduce yourself and have a chat.

You will find me mainly at the Textile Study Group exhibition space. The show plan isn’t available yet so I can’t give you a reference number for the space, but it will be big, bright and called ‘Individual and Collective’. As well as stewarding at this exhibition, I shall be doing some teaching workshops in the ‘Learning Curve’. You can come and chat at either place so if I’m not at one I’ll be at the other.

You can book a place on one of my workshops, called ‘Letting Your Stitches Flower’ on the Knitting and Stitching Show website. This image might give you a clue as to what the workshop is about -----

 

Dates at Alexandra Palace, London

Thursday (6th October) from lunchtime onwards

All day Friday and Saturday (7th and 8th October)

Looking forward to seeing you if you can make it!

A pleasurable few days

Distant Stitch students who met Susan and Eila at Summer School last July will remember that they only just got to the UK from New Zealand in the nick of time to join us after a flight change due to ‘volcanoe dust’. They have been travelling throughout the UK, Eire, Germany and France during the summer and we met up for a few days when they passed through Somerset this week. We visited the spectacular gardens, designed by Edward Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll at Hestercombe and enjoyed a jolly steam train ride to Minehead.

Susan and Eila have now continued their journey with a walk around the south west coastal foot path, a canal boat trip over the famous viaduct at Llangollen and finally a few days at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ali Pally. How many of us will have done so much or seen so much of the UK since Summer School!

Susan, Eila, Siân at Hestercombe Garden

A close-up of one of the wonderful clusters of Gladioli, placed at each angle of the formal border shapes – to send best wishes to from us all at the Distant Stitch Summer School to cheer Evelyne who is poorly at the moment.

September Drawing Project – Textile Detail

This drawing project is a study of a textile; all the little details rather than the whole piece – that will come later.

I chose to study two textiles - the details on this little dress (see 20th August , titled ‘Drawing Project Plan’). The stitching is done by machine so perhaps dates it at the end of the 19th century (Anne, you might be able to correct me?) And my second choice is an old silk fan (given to me by Constance Howard as I had just made my piece – ‘Fan Fair’ way back in the 1980’s.

 

This project will be divided into two sections and posted separately. The first section is called ‘Slow Drawing’ making controlled, careful study drawings. The second section will involve development of these detail drawings, using other media to convey the effects in your drawings – a bit more of a free spirit!

The start of this Project is posted here on my blog – then continue by looking at the Distant Stitch website.

Enjoy your weeks of drawing textiles. I’m looking forward to seeing your drawings on your own blog. Keep a look out for ideas for developing your drawings in a few weeks time. Happy drawing – remember that a small something each day will build up a large body of wonderful work!

Drawing Project Plan

I hope you’ve had a bit of time to catch up with the 30 day sketchbook tasks! I promised I’d let you know my plans for a future drawing project so here it is -

A monthly Drawing Project, starting at the beginning of September.

Each project will involve a topic to study and a few ideas of drawing method and technique. You can make this relate to your own current design theme if you wish by combining the two to make use of your time and to expand your personal studies.

The first topic will involve looking at textiles. I have an ulterior motive for this as I am starting a study for a piece of work based on some element of the textile and costume collection at Platt Hall, Manchester. I shall be visiting the Museum next week with my sketchbook and pencil as I have an appointment to take a look at certain samples of their lace collection.

I can’t resist adding an image to this posting. Here is a close up of a little Christening gown a thoughtful friend gave me.

Look forward to seeing you in September!

Sketchbook Day 30–stitch

I made some preliminary drawings of my sunflowers with a pencil as this was the first time I have looked at them closely and didn’t feel I knew the shapes well enough to rush into using stitching. You should do the same thing if you are going to choose a new for this drawing. Alternatively, choose something you have previously drawn. The drawing on the right is the first one and then I drew a much freer version on the left page. This ‘freer’ version was only possible after I had ‘learnt my lines’ in the first drawing and is one I much prefer. In case you think that the left drawing was done by looking at the right drawing – not so – it was done, looking at the sunflowers from the same position and trying not to look down at the page but only at the shapes ahead of me. Try this yourself and see what you get. (I wish I hadn’t done it on the opposite page – see comments in ‘tips’.

TODAY’S TASK –

Choose a hand sewing thread rather than a machine thread. This should be a pale colour and one that will happily accept colour such as a cotton or linen thread. (Wool and synthetics to be avoided for this.)

Make sure to use your thimble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I forgot to take a photo of the stitches before I added the colour – too eager to see what it would look like with colour! So I hope you can see them clearly enough in the image below. I used the same thread throughout, making long straight stitches along the stem lines and loopy chain stitches for the leaves. In hindsight I should have stitched the edges of the sunflower heads and I might well do that later. Looking at my drawing below now I realise that I was probably more interested in the huge droopy leaves!

Add a liquid colour to your stitch drawing such as inks or water colour. I used a pale colour first to act as a background and then added stronger colours to the leaves. It’s interesting to notice how the thread changes to a much stronger colour than the paper and how a stitch has acted as a sort of reservoir for the liquid in places.

Take the opportunity to ‘take a print’ while it is still wet. The printed stitch is a delight and adds lots of ‘oomph’ to my freer drawing on the right.

The two drawings below (scroll down – I had made myself a very long sketchbook!) were done last year on a canal boat holiday in Le Canal du Midi in France. I sat on the browe and drew the view of the canal in front of me each day for a whole week. Each of these drawings were folded in half and the wet paint (from my Kohl-i-Noor paint box) was allowed to print onto the folded half. The top left hand drawing was made using wax resist from a candle and long horizontal stitches. The top right drawing is the reverse side of the left hand. So you can see that one drawing created the base for four others. Further colour was added to the three ‘extra’ drawings of course.

   

Future ideas for stitching for the next few days -

- Add hand stitching in coloured thread to the stage above right and to the print it made on the page behind (see image at the bottom of this blog).

- Use machine stitching instead of the initial hand stitch or add it to one of the prints – the opposite one or the one behind.

TODAY’S TIPS – Leave a clear page opposite and behind if you wish to take a print but don’t want it to risk it covering a drawing.

Make holes in your drawing before you stitch with something easy to hold such as a stiletto or a pin with a large head or even make your own stiletto by (carefully) pressing a needle (eye first) into a wine cork. Place a piece of scrap card behind if you don’t want your holes to go through a few pages.

Take a look at the stitching on the reverse side of your page and also the print this has made. I can see further drawing potential in the print – perhaps adding stitching in coloured thread.

Future Sketchbook plans – I shall continue to add drawing tasks to my blog and thank you for all your encouragement from Distant Stitchers as well as others I don’t yet know.  It will not be on a daily basis but it will have a different format and be at a slower pace, also as a result of your feedback! I have improved my drawing skills by doing something every day and my cat has enjoyed my company as her basket is on my large worktable.

I will post my plan for the next stage in a few days time. This will give you all a chance to ‘catch up’ with the daily tasks and give you an incentive to keeping an eye on my blog. Don’t miss it.

Sketchbook Day of rest – sunflowers but no sun shine!

If you have been trying to leave messages on my blog and been unable to, please know that you are not alone. Here is a message from Catherine via email as I promised to paste it here as well.

"Blogger won't let me post comments on your blog, which I've tried to do throughout.  I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying the project.  I am too far behind to really feel a part of it with everyone else (the pace is hectic - could you post just every second day next year?) but I'll continue with it in my own time.

It has made me determined to keep a small sketchbook all the time now and draw something each day.  Your guidance has given me new ideas and expanded my view of what drawing is.  Thank you for that.

Another great pleasure has been to see your own beautiful drawings as well as those of other students.  I am quite gobsmacked at the talent there is around!  It has been a tremendous amount of work for you, but very much appreciated."
Thank you for your lovely comments Catherine.

I've also been unable to leave messages to several of you. Will try to find time to send a complaint to 'Blogger'.

In the meantime - I've been taking a close look at my sunflowers by doing some line drawings in my sketchbook, ready to do some stitching.