Embroidery

Figure 1: Machine stitch

I enjoy selecting subject matter out of the city landscape and focus on them. During the process I have discover a new machine feet that I have never came across to – Drawing feet. With free stitch machine feet, I am able to draw through the sewing machine.

For in the past I am only familiar with straight stitch, now I find it much easier to draw with the machine.

I had some positive feedback from my tutor, she has pointed out in my drawings I had the similar atmosphere as Hopper’s work.

I think it is important to always look at other artists work for inspirations, as I was inspired by Hopper’s work, it made me think about a different approach in urban landscape.

Figure 2: Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, 1942.

I enjoy drawing in a sense of space, I like to give my audience room to imagine. For I like to imagining myself.



Figure 3: Landscape drawing.

Leaving space for the imaginative and transferring the drawings onto fabric, using a sewing machine.

Figure 4: Machine stitch.

 

For development I started bringing colours to highlight the object to show what subject matter that I am interesting in. Using my drawing as a blue print for me in order to move on to working with embroidery as always been a helpful way for me to work with. This is an imaginary scene based on the colours and textures I have observed from my drawings.

To continue working in the flow, I must carry on drawing as well as working with embroidery, for I get bored with the same subject matter very easily. I must remain focussed and narrow down my ideas after I have explored large subject matters to find the one that is the most suitable for myself and myself only.

 

 

My hand stamp.

During the process of this unit, I have found that I need to be constantly being inspired, for I am a snacker, constantly fed up with my own work, thinking it is not good enough and asking what else I can do. 

I have been asking myself where am I in this project, where and what is my hand stamp?

Well, I have come to realize that my strength is in embroidery, and with embroidery when I combine everything (different machine stitch and handstitch) that’s my handstamp.   

Figure 1, Personal image. Overlapping with embroidery and drawings.

I have introduced flowers within the theme ‘fairground’. The reason for this was that I enjoy drawing natural objects, and I was making the connection between the fairground rides and flower structures, with my way of working, my strength is using found objects, therefore I have started to use found fabrics as the ground.

 I think I have finally come to realized that I have a good eye when combining things together – collaging. Therefore, this led to layering.

Figure 2, personal image, machine stitch and drawing.

I have been to a lecture by an illustrator talking about her ways of working and not being able to draw photographic drawings.

The talk was very inspiring, because I was frustrated at myself of not being able to draw on to fabric, meaning that I did a really good drawing in my sketchbook, then I wanted to transfer this onto fabric by using a sewing machine to draw, and yet it didn’t come out as what I had in mind.

However, I came to realize that less is more, by using a few lines to suggest what it is, it turned out actually better than drawing every little detail in. I realize I can work with line drawings, which I never thought was possible before.

I enjoy using line drawing to draw, because I think it really gives my work my touch. So I have been experimenting  with the idea of collaging and overlapping with drawings and embroidery. See figure 1 and 2, of my collaging.

I like the feeling of busy within my work, because I think it gives a lively feeling, for I am a lively person, and my work should reflect my personality  - colourful and fun.

Figure 3, personal image. My working area.

I have come to love my working space, because it does really help me with my working process for I come in the studio, look at my wall, and straight away, yes, I know what I need to do next.

Embroidery

I have started to use line drawings as my template for embroidery and overlapping my drawings with tracing paper to get an interesting composition. See figure 1.

 



Figure 1: personal image, line drawing, overlapping with tracing paper.

 

 

Figure 2: personal image, using sewing machine to draw. The front and the back of the fabric.

I have started to use the sewing machine as a tool to draw, but I find it difficult to get the details, for example, the hands and toes.

 

Figure 3: Personal image, second attempt at drawing with machine stitch.

I am much preferring the result in figure 3 than in my first attempt, see figure 2. With more colours involved within my work, this gives a different mood to it, I think colours are the key to my next stage of development.   

Drawing, Distort and Warp

On Friday (17/1/14)  ‘drawing, distort and warp’ really helped me to understand the process of print making, because the task was to develop an awareness of colour and composition by observing with no tonal drawing. I brought my seashell for still life drawing, because it related to data, the way a seashell grows in a spiral. I drew it from different perspectives. 

Then I used gouache paint to fill in the drawing. If I looked at my drawing from a printer point of view, black and white, I would be able to see where the colours transferred onto the fabric. I have been trying to do this.

Although at first it seems that I am still using paint to draw lines, as I go on, it becomes clearer where the negatives and where the positives are, the balance between black and white. Then I used photocopying to help create collages. 

I used this new process to help me to look back on my drawings that I have done for my motif designs, then I used sharpies to fill in any areas where colour would be. It is a bit like colouring, because I used a pencil as a guide line, then used a fine-liner to draw continuous line drawing on top. Overlapping these two I get the positive, then I use a sharpie to fill in any areas that I want to be negative. I think, in print, you have to be able to see where the balance is. On my first attempt there was too much positive and not enough negative. Also, I need to think ahead, to be able to transfer positive and negative space the other way round, because I think in print, everything is backward.

 

 

I had another go at the flat colours (the bottom image above), but I was having difficulty in getting the flat colours, using flat colours is a bit like pop art, no blending. I thought of using the photocopier to photocopy my painting then using a pen knife to cut out the flat colour bits and representing these in a collage way. I thought this would be another way of working around it, in a way that I am most comfortable with.