My initial expectations
of this project were to analyse the idea of opposites and apply the idea of
absence and presence to this. My initial idea was to take an image that in my
view reflected this idea of absence and presence; I chose an image of the piles
of spectacles that are preserved at Auschwitz. My ideas were quite direct at
first and my drawings an stitch work were based on this particular image,
although as I progressed through the
project I began to think more about the idea of something that is small in size
but is arranged on a mass scale.
Certain aspects of my
practice that I have improved during this project is my approach to scale, and I
have attempted to project something that I would usually present quite small in
scale and think about how it could still remain quite small but if it is
presented on a larger surface area, then it can be viewed in a entirely new
way. I think I still need to pay more attention to my use of colour, during
this project I have used very subtle light blue tones, and I still would have
liked to explore much darker tones, greys and blues.
For the machine
embroidery workshop I selected a variety of materials to work with. I thought
about the opposite’s element and related the materials I chose to this; I used
shiny against matte materials and dark and light materials.
I realised during my project that I was too dependent
on one image for all my ideas and so in order to edit what I had done already I
decided I needed I wider range of ideas and processes. One of the workshops I
attended helped greatly in editing and categorizing my ideas, my work seemed so
much easier to understand once it was categorized in a particular way.
During this project I
have used my sketchbook developing images and applying them to stitch. I think
I could have used it more effectively by being more disciplined in applying my
sketches to larger scale pieces. During this project I have learnt a great deal
in the qualities of media, by applying it to different processes you can get a completely
different effect. In particular I have experimented with the use of gesso and
the different thicknesses you can apply it to, and how it can be more effective
on certain fabrics or materials than others. I intend to continue to explore
the uses of this particular materials in future projects, perhaps looking into
what happens if colour was added.
I have decided to
develop the samples that I have one towards the end of the project, exploring
mass and mark making of the fabrics; I think that it will be a good start to my
next workshop by exploring these techniques. I think that by presenting my
samples on a larger scale, it is more obvious and clearer to see the types of techniques
I have used in my work, and they are sure to make a bigger impact on the eye.
If i were to begin the
project again I would have made certain changes, I would have restricted myself
less with my choice of images. My contextual references helped me develop my
own ideas; it made me think about the historic references of the object and how
to portray them in a sensitive way. From this project I have realised that I shouldn’t
be so hesitant to project this on a larger scale, and to explore the use of
scale more. I’m unsure if my work has any relationship to the work of others in
the group; it is perhaps similar in terms of scale to those in the machine
workshop as I’ve noticed that we don’t work on a particularly large scale. I
think there can be much learnt from comparing your work with others, I can be a
way of motivation and seeing how other peopleview your own work.
