Diploma Module 3 Chapter 11 - Developing an Idea for your Second Assessment Piece

Criteria

Specified

• wall hanging or panel based on design evolved from my Personal Research Topic - 'gulls with an emphasis on shadows'

For this I choose to make a wall hanging - a suspended, 2D textile which drapes softly.

Sources, Stages of Thinking

I have been making these small boro inspired pieces since Module 1, first in layered papers, evolving with three layers of cloth and now with a net backing (see 11-1) after Merill Comeau's workshop at the TextileArtist.org Stitch Club.  

These new pieces are small - approximately 14.5cmWx29cmH.  In Module 3, I started adding knitted sections to them which had relevance to my research subject using stitches reflecting the Manx and Aran knitting traditions - leaf edging, seashore edging, Aran stitch patterns, little birds, berry stitch, grain of wheat stitch, etc. alongside my favourite wonky blocks from one of the cushions in Harry Kelly's cottage at Cregneash, Isle of Man.

11-1    Net backing.

Image 338 - paper lamination with cut out gulls.

Image 250    Design exercise Module 1.

11-2    Cut away design exercise from Module 1 (new)

2-11    Printing from large stitched blocks in Module 2.

12-9    Air dried clay with impressions of stitch from knitted paper sample.

Whilst on the Island I saw an exhibition BC20 FK17 at the Sayle Gallery by four artists, including Ian Coulson.  I kept thinking about his work and found that it had been filmed and was on YouTube, the link of which is given. Ian Coulson's work is all about the fishing out of Peel.

A Cas Holmes workshop inspired MM219.  It incorporated music into my piece, 'A walk to Peel'.  The music is from The King of the Sea, with words by Fred Gill, a Manx National Song.  This is also about Manx herring fishing and contains the line, ' The gannets plunge, the gulls keep watch', a line that I would like to incorporate here.

Proposed Hanging

 I would work as for a small boro inspired piece, scaled up and including,

• design ideas developed in Module 1, design exercises from my research topic 'gulls with an emphasis on shadows' and further development of these ideas in Modules 2 and 3
• neutral/limited palette, with little splashes of colour - blue, natural, grey, rust, white
• use of hand knitted construction techniques alongside more traditional techniques
• gelli printing using hand made blocks from knitted construction techniques, including Aran knitting patterns, playing with scale
• heavily textured hand knitted sections
• cut-out gull sections selected from Image 250 and 11-2
• text (see above)
• use of recycled material, painted or plain
• net backing
• quiet space
• hanging away from the wall on bulldog clips
• handstitched using kantha technique
• non-symmetry
• layers of pattern and shape
• ripped/cut edges
• changes in scale
• quiet space in design - keep it simple
• influence from Japanese boro textiles
• 50cmWx100cmH.