As you are aware, I have recently started doing my gold arts award. Part A asks me to undertake an artistic challenge. This requires me to develop a new art skill in a variety of pieces after undergoing training in that particular field. I wish to combing several skills in a variety of pieces. Below is a list of all the skills I can do and the skill which I wish to progress further.
My current skills
Textiles
- weaving
- feltmaking
- crocheting
- dyeing
- spinning
- carding
Photography
The artistic skill in which I shall be starting from scratch is fine art. I have no previous knowledge in fine art but I have wanted to learn about it for a while.
In order for me to develop my fine art skills, I have applied for Wysing Arts Centre Young Artists Programme. This programme will enable me to develop my fine art skills by working with Wysing's artists in residence, aswell as learning from the other young artists.
I have also signed on to join an art class with a local artist Louise Stebbings which will again help me develop my fine art skills. The art class is a weekly class on a thursday afternoon for two hours and the opportunity to work with a professional artist will help me greatly at the side of Wysing.
Thats all for now
Meghan
Thursday 20 September 2012
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Campaign for wool feedback, Take II
I have just had another reply to my opinion on the campaign for wool, this time from talented weaver Alex Glen. This is what she had to say.
I fully agree with the comment that the Campaign for Wool is a really good idea. I am not sure that the farmers will get a better price for their wool unless there is increased demand for wool and/or an improvement in quality of the wool being produced. (Until there is a better price for wool the farmers are not motivated to improve the quality of the wool of course, as in the past at least it has cost more to shear the sheep than they get for the wool) So my thought would be that the more wool can be promoted and advertised to consumers and manufacturers the better with no upper limit to stop at. I am no expert on how market forces and prices behave but I do not think the product can be over promoted.
Thank you very much to Alex Glen for kindly giving her opinion on the campaign for wool.
Thats all for now
Meghan
Tuesday 11 September 2012
Cambridge Museums
Recently I went to Cambridge on a day trip particularly to explore the museums. I'll start with the Fitzwilliam Museum. I have been to the Fitz several times before but unless you write off a whole day to just the Fitz, you can't possibly take it all in. What I usually like to do when visiting the Fitz is to focus on one particular part of the museum that I would like to see and accept that I won't see much else. This particular time I decided to focus on Italian religious art.
Really there were too many stunning paintings to tell you about all of them but there was one that caught my eye. It was a long rectangular painting telling the story of Jesus, split into two parts. The painting technique from a distance looked almost a block colour, modern style painting, which is what drew me to it in the first place. However, when you get closer to the painting you start to notice the subtle detail the artist included in his painting and how although the painting itself looks fairly simple, that for me was its beauty. It stood out from the rest as being different, something that you can imagine may have been a completely new painting style in its time, something that wasn't following the regular pattern of the time of detailed, realistic depictions of exactly what the artists is seeing.
Moving onto the other museum I visited, the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology (MAA). I visited this museum because I have of course met Sarah-Jane Harknett at this museum and I therefore wanted to get an idea of some of the pieces in their exhibitions as my plan for the workshop was for the students to create a piece which has been inspired by a piece in the museum.
I wasn't looking closely at the pieces in MAA, but more at the colour combinations in anticipation of me buying the correct colours of fleece for my workshop. I found that the mains colours, aswell as the natural colours, consisted of blues, reds, yellows and greens. I found this very useful to me as I needed the right colours in order for my students to be able to recreate their chosen pattern.
Thats all for now, if any of you are ever in Cambridge, I can't recommend these two museums enough.
Meghan
Really there were too many stunning paintings to tell you about all of them but there was one that caught my eye. It was a long rectangular painting telling the story of Jesus, split into two parts. The painting technique from a distance looked almost a block colour, modern style painting, which is what drew me to it in the first place. However, when you get closer to the painting you start to notice the subtle detail the artist included in his painting and how although the painting itself looks fairly simple, that for me was its beauty. It stood out from the rest as being different, something that you can imagine may have been a completely new painting style in its time, something that wasn't following the regular pattern of the time of detailed, realistic depictions of exactly what the artists is seeing.
Moving onto the other museum I visited, the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology (MAA). I visited this museum because I have of course met Sarah-Jane Harknett at this museum and I therefore wanted to get an idea of some of the pieces in their exhibitions as my plan for the workshop was for the students to create a piece which has been inspired by a piece in the museum.
I wasn't looking closely at the pieces in MAA, but more at the colour combinations in anticipation of me buying the correct colours of fleece for my workshop. I found that the mains colours, aswell as the natural colours, consisted of blues, reds, yellows and greens. I found this very useful to me as I needed the right colours in order for my students to be able to recreate their chosen pattern.
Thats all for now, if any of you are ever in Cambridge, I can't recommend these two museums enough.
Meghan
The Museum of Broken Relationships
Recently the National Centre for Craft and Design in Sleaford (NCCD), staged an exhibition called the Museum of Broken Relationships. It consisted of a collection of pieces donated by the public, all of which reminded them of a relationship that had failed some how. These pieces ranged from pictures and books to all sorts of pieces which to anyone else would mean nothing at all.
For each piece there was a short story written by the owner of the piece as too why the piece means so much to them and what originally happened to make this piece a symbol of their broken relationship. These stories were not only an interesting read, but varied from the trivial to the down right heart break and betrayal.
Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me when I was there so I don't have any photos for you this time. However, if you go to the link below, there is a bit more information about the exhibition and some photos of the pieces.
http://www.nationalcraftanddesign.org.uk/exhibitions/Museumofbrokenrelationships
All in all I found the exhibition interesting. It was certainly interesting to read about the story behind these objects and why they meant so much to individuals. I wouldn't say its the best exhibition I've seen at NCCD, that would probably be Gabriel Dawe, but it wasn't the worst either. Definitely worth going too once but not necessarily twice.
Thats all for now
Meghan
For each piece there was a short story written by the owner of the piece as too why the piece means so much to them and what originally happened to make this piece a symbol of their broken relationship. These stories were not only an interesting read, but varied from the trivial to the down right heart break and betrayal.
Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me when I was there so I don't have any photos for you this time. However, if you go to the link below, there is a bit more information about the exhibition and some photos of the pieces.
http://www.nationalcraftanddesign.org.uk/exhibitions/Museumofbrokenrelationships
All in all I found the exhibition interesting. It was certainly interesting to read about the story behind these objects and why they meant so much to individuals. I wouldn't say its the best exhibition I've seen at NCCD, that would probably be Gabriel Dawe, but it wasn't the worst either. Definitely worth going too once but not necessarily twice.
Thats all for now
Meghan
Campaign for Wool Feedback
As you have seen in my previous posts, I have done some research into the campaign for wool and I have formed a view on the campaign for wool. As part of the gold arts award I needed to share my view on the campaign for wool with others and take a note of their feedback. I have had three responses in total and below is what they had to say.
Meghan
Meghan
Your post on the Campaign for Wool was certainly thought provoking. I am very keen that farmers become more aware of what a brilliant product they have and therefore do not burn or dispose of sheep's fleece as if they are worthless. However, the idea that wool becomes a real luxury product, instead of one available to us all, is concerning. The wool board pay only about £1 per fleece for the wool they buy to turn into carpets etc. An artisan wanting a specialist fleece (say for spinning) is prepared to pay a lot more than that, and willingly. But I don't think we should kid ourselves that all sheep's fleece is worthy of the artisan market. Only some of them make lovely soft yarn for the clothing industry. So your comment on being sensible in the price of wool in the future is correct, in a broad sense. However, I hope that in moving forward, we can find a balance that allows farmers to get a fair price for good fleece, that will still allow artisans and the fashion industry, to afford to make products that are available to every one.
Thank you for bringing the campaign to others attention. It is important that we are made more aware of the struggle over wool in this country and the wider community.
May I wish you all the best in your gold arts
Michelle Johnson
Hi Meghan
Best wishes
It's really great that you are wholeheartedly behind the Campaign for Wool and I agree that there is a danger of wool pricing it's self out of the market. However, given that the National Clip has drastically reduced over a number of years and that there are still a number of farms who burn their clip rather than sell to the wool marketing board, because they can't get a decent price, the more the Campaign is needed to raise wool's profile.
Maybe more farmers will be induced to rear sheep, not just for meat, but for the fleece in the hope that they will get a decent price for it, then the price/demand will balance at a more realistic level for all.
Alison Daykin
Meghan
I did not have a particular opinion about wool before I read your post. However, I am aware that many of the clothes I wear have wool in them. My main problem, and where I agree with you, is in wool becoming so expensive that it can no longer be used in everyday products. I feel that there are enough things that have been priced out of the market, and beyond people's purses. Therefore, never having heard of the campaign for wool before reading your post, I am glad I am now aware of the issues, and I hope, like you, that it continues to be a force for good in opening people's eyes to the farmers plight.
I have looked at their website, and am very impressed by it. Thank you for taking the time to explain it!
Best wishes
Edward Bowling-Johnson
I want to thank all the people who have taken the time to get back to me with their opinion, it is greatly appreciated.
Michelle Johnson has a very interesting website which is definitely worth a look http://www.handwoventextiles.co.uk/
Alison Daykin also has a brilliant website
Thats all for now
Meghan
Thursday 6 September 2012
Combining three mediums
This post is all about my final artistic challenge piece, a piece to combine textiles, photography and art. I decided that the best way to go about doing this would be to use a series of pieces in one overarching piece. I decided to create nine different fish which will all be hung from the wall. All the fish will have a backing of ply wood and each will be decorated in a different way. Three will be decorated with textiles, three with photographs and three with art.
Well, good news I have finished all the fish and assembled them in their final place. There are three columns of three fish with all of them hanging at different levels.
Going through the fish from left to right in the top row you have, a photograph of a breaking wave, a blend of watercolours and a photography of the sky and sea.
Well, good news I have finished all the fish and assembled them in their final place. There are three columns of three fish with all of them hanging at different levels.
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| The finished piece |
In the middle row you have a fish decorated in wet felt, an ink drawing which was then "coloured " with various blue pastels, and various pieces of paper which were scrunched up and a pastel run along the very tips.
On the bottom row you have a photography of the sea and sand, a fish covered in white fleecy fabric and a blue lacey bow, and a fish covered in rosettes of hand dyed fleece.
This completes my artistic challenge, speak soon.
Meghan
Textile Photography Piece
This post is all about my piece combining textiles and photography.
The plan for this piece was to take a photo for the backdrop which would be printed onto fabric and then using textiles, highlight certain parts. I decided on a photo I took in the grounds at Wysing Arts Centre.
After the photo had been printed onto fabric I stretched in across a wooden frame and stapled it at the back. When that was finished it was time to add the textile highlights. This included sewing rug wool onto the fence, stitching yarn up the branches and attaching golden leaves to the branches.
The plan for this piece was to take a photo for the backdrop which would be printed onto fabric and then using textiles, highlight certain parts. I decided on a photo I took in the grounds at Wysing Arts Centre.
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| The photo I will use |
After the photo had been printed onto fabric I stretched in across a wooden frame and stapled it at the back. When that was finished it was time to add the textile highlights. This included sewing rug wool onto the fence, stitching yarn up the branches and attaching golden leaves to the branches.
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| The finished product |
The textile/photography piece is now ready along with the textile/art piece and the photography/art piece. Only a combination of all three mediums to go.
Meghan
Alla Moda
I recently posted about stewarding at Kings Lynn Arts Centre (KLAC), in the Alla Moda exhibition. I thought you might like to know a little more about the exhibition.
Alla Moda is an exhibition of Italian ceramics from the 1950's-1970's. The exhibition is a collection of these ceramics from the Graham Cooley Collection, collected by Graham Cooley and Mark Hill. The exhibition compromised of over 300 pieces in striking and bold colours and shapes.
Of course while I was stewarding, I had an opportunity to view the exhibition and hence form an opinion. The pieces were truly stunning, I don't think anyone can argue that, and having over 300 of these specimens in one place added to their beauty. I must admit, although on a whole the pieces were stunning, looking closer I found quite a few which didn't truly inspire me or appeal much. This isn't to say that they were all like this, on the contrary, the colour combinations gave me enough inspiration for dozens of artistic pieces.
Overall I enjoyed viewing the exhibition, they were certainly interesting to look at and the history on some of the pieces was amazing. Is it the best exhibition I've been to?; definitely not, but its not the worst either. To sum it up in one sentence it would probably be, interesting and informative pieces but not something I would visit a second time.
Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take any photos in the exhibition so I can't show you any of the pieces. I think this concludes this post.
Meghan
Alla Moda is an exhibition of Italian ceramics from the 1950's-1970's. The exhibition is a collection of these ceramics from the Graham Cooley Collection, collected by Graham Cooley and Mark Hill. The exhibition compromised of over 300 pieces in striking and bold colours and shapes.
Of course while I was stewarding, I had an opportunity to view the exhibition and hence form an opinion. The pieces were truly stunning, I don't think anyone can argue that, and having over 300 of these specimens in one place added to their beauty. I must admit, although on a whole the pieces were stunning, looking closer I found quite a few which didn't truly inspire me or appeal much. This isn't to say that they were all like this, on the contrary, the colour combinations gave me enough inspiration for dozens of artistic pieces.
Overall I enjoyed viewing the exhibition, they were certainly interesting to look at and the history on some of the pieces was amazing. Is it the best exhibition I've been to?; definitely not, but its not the worst either. To sum it up in one sentence it would probably be, interesting and informative pieces but not something I would visit a second time.
Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take any photos in the exhibition so I can't show you any of the pieces. I think this concludes this post.
Meghan
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Conclusion
Well, I am nearing the end of my gold arts award and I felt it time to bring the gold arts award to a close. I have loved every minute of this gold arts award. Looking back I realised that before I started this arts award I was starting to drift away from textiles, it was no longer something I wanted to do. One year on and the arts award had brought me back to textiles and made me realise that this is what I want to be in life, a textile designer. If the gold arts award has done nothing else its this. I now know that I want to study art and design at college to take me onto a textile design degree (maybe at UCA Farnham if I'm lucky.)
This whole thing, of course, started with me enrolling on the Wysing Young Artists programme last September. Wysing gave me a brilliant opportunity to undertake my gold arts award and gave me opportunities to work with and alongside artists and young artists. Something that appealed to me right from the start with Wysing was the opportunity to take part in an exhibition, something that people of my age never get the chance to take part in.
Wysing, of course came with the opportunity to complete my gold arts award which followed on from my silver arts award. The first thing I wanted to achieve in my gold arts was completing the artistic challenge. This of course consisted of four pieces combining textiles, photography and art. Not only did I enjoy doing these pieces, but I also felt that it led me in a different direction and made me realise the potential of these three mediums if you take them outside their comfort zone.
Following on from completing my artistic challenge, I started to look at the other component parts of the arts award. I loved coming up with the interview questions for the three different artists. This not only gave me an insight into how I might go about making a career of the arts, but it also was extremely interesting to hear about what these artists had achieved, and what they have had to put up with, to get to this point.
Moving on from this I came to my arts project which took the form of a feltmaking workshop at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. For me this was such a unique opportunity to not only work with a museum in Cambridge, but also to be able to teach a group of students was a massive learning curve. Teaching is definitely something I would like to do again, wherever that may be.
I believe this concludes my conclusion. I have thoroughly loved the whole journey and although I'll miss it, I am looking forward to taking what I have learnt and using it to improve my future work.
Its not over yet though, there is still the moderation to blog about so you'll be hearing from me again soon.
However, thats all for now.
Meghan
This whole thing, of course, started with me enrolling on the Wysing Young Artists programme last September. Wysing gave me a brilliant opportunity to undertake my gold arts award and gave me opportunities to work with and alongside artists and young artists. Something that appealed to me right from the start with Wysing was the opportunity to take part in an exhibition, something that people of my age never get the chance to take part in.
Wysing, of course came with the opportunity to complete my gold arts award which followed on from my silver arts award. The first thing I wanted to achieve in my gold arts was completing the artistic challenge. This of course consisted of four pieces combining textiles, photography and art. Not only did I enjoy doing these pieces, but I also felt that it led me in a different direction and made me realise the potential of these three mediums if you take them outside their comfort zone.
Following on from completing my artistic challenge, I started to look at the other component parts of the arts award. I loved coming up with the interview questions for the three different artists. This not only gave me an insight into how I might go about making a career of the arts, but it also was extremely interesting to hear about what these artists had achieved, and what they have had to put up with, to get to this point.
Moving on from this I came to my arts project which took the form of a feltmaking workshop at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. For me this was such a unique opportunity to not only work with a museum in Cambridge, but also to be able to teach a group of students was a massive learning curve. Teaching is definitely something I would like to do again, wherever that may be.
I believe this concludes my conclusion. I have thoroughly loved the whole journey and although I'll miss it, I am looking forward to taking what I have learnt and using it to improve my future work.
Its not over yet though, there is still the moderation to blog about so you'll be hearing from me again soon.
However, thats all for now.
Meghan
Thursday 30 August 2012
Organisations that support the textile field
There are many organisations that support the textile industry. May that be a Yahoo group for the public to join or a charity organisation designed to raise awareness on specific parts of the textile industry, these organisations are endless.
I could say that there is a main organisation which dominates the rest but I'd be lying. Each organisation supports a different part of the textile field and each one has their own aims and goals. One of the bigger groups around is the Guild for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. This comes in two forms, the online guild and the land guilds'.
The Online Guild for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (OLG) is a yahoo group which was set up for people who are weavers, spinners and dyers. Each day every member is sent a forum email with all the discussions currently occuring on the group. Members can then view all discussions and conversations going on and take part in them and voice their opinion. The OLG is also used regularly for members to post their dilemmas/questions and other members who may have already had their dilemma can post back and help them out. The website address is http://www.onlineguildwsd.org.uk/
The Land Guilds' for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (LG) are exactly like the OLG but there are hundreds around the country and the difference is that local weavers, spinners and dyers attend these land guilds and go to regular meetings with the other members. The LG works exactly the same as the OLG in that people help other people with their textile related problems. The LG have individual websites for every guild.
The Weave Shed is a website launched earlier this year set up for professional weavers. The website includes advice on everything from business prospects to technical weave structures all aimed towards professional/master weavers. The website also includes information such as education and research, publication and press and suppliers and services. The website address is http://www.theweaveshed.org/
The Textile Society is a website for the study of the history, art and design of textiles. The textile society is a forum set up for textile professionals and enthusiasts. The society also publishes an annual publication called TEXT, it contains educational resources, articles and information on exhibitions and conferences. The textile society was set up in 1982 as an educational charity to provide and share information for the textile world.
These are just a few examples of textile organisations, there are many many more out there.
Meghan
I could say that there is a main organisation which dominates the rest but I'd be lying. Each organisation supports a different part of the textile field and each one has their own aims and goals. One of the bigger groups around is the Guild for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. This comes in two forms, the online guild and the land guilds'.
The Online Guild for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (OLG) is a yahoo group which was set up for people who are weavers, spinners and dyers. Each day every member is sent a forum email with all the discussions currently occuring on the group. Members can then view all discussions and conversations going on and take part in them and voice their opinion. The OLG is also used regularly for members to post their dilemmas/questions and other members who may have already had their dilemma can post back and help them out. The website address is http://www.onlineguildwsd.org.uk/
The Land Guilds' for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (LG) are exactly like the OLG but there are hundreds around the country and the difference is that local weavers, spinners and dyers attend these land guilds and go to regular meetings with the other members. The LG works exactly the same as the OLG in that people help other people with their textile related problems. The LG have individual websites for every guild.
The Weave Shed is a website launched earlier this year set up for professional weavers. The website includes advice on everything from business prospects to technical weave structures all aimed towards professional/master weavers. The website also includes information such as education and research, publication and press and suppliers and services. The website address is http://www.theweaveshed.org/
The Textile Society is a website for the study of the history, art and design of textiles. The textile society is a forum set up for textile professionals and enthusiasts. The society also publishes an annual publication called TEXT, it contains educational resources, articles and information on exhibitions and conferences. The textile society was set up in 1982 as an educational charity to provide and share information for the textile world.
These are just a few examples of textile organisations, there are many many more out there.
Meghan
Tuesday 28 August 2012
Universities
I recently spent some time researching universities as too what entry requirements they have and what courses they offer. Something my gold arts award helped me realise is that I want my career to be in textiles and therefore I want to study textiles/weaving at degree level. I did a bit of research into textile degrees around the country. The top university in the country for textiles is UCA Farnham so that was of course my first port of call. Aside from the fact that the course looks amazing, the university looks gorgeous. The whole university is focused on art courses in different forms, this appeals as I would be surrounded by arty people. Exciting!!
The options are endless as too what uni to attend, somewhere like the University of the Arts London also offers a BA (Honours) Textile Design. I do have plenty of time to decide which uni to attend but I do know that I want to do a textile design degree. As I said my arts award has helped me realise that. Before I started my silver arts award I was starting to drift away from textiles, I was starting to get bored. My arts awards' made me realise that textiles isn't something thats going away any time soon. I'm really pleased that the arts awards' made me realise this and I am now more excited than ever about discovering new techniques and designs.
Thats all for now
Meghan
The options are endless as too what uni to attend, somewhere like the University of the Arts London also offers a BA (Honours) Textile Design. I do have plenty of time to decide which uni to attend but I do know that I want to do a textile design degree. As I said my arts award has helped me realise that. Before I started my silver arts award I was starting to drift away from textiles, I was starting to get bored. My arts awards' made me realise that textiles isn't something thats going away any time soon. I'm really pleased that the arts awards' made me realise this and I am now more excited than ever about discovering new techniques and designs.
Thats all for now
Meghan
Gabriel Dawe Exhibition
I don't know if any of you have heard of it, but there is an arts centre in Sleaford called the National Centre for Craft and Design (NCCD). Well, I recently went to an exhibition there by a wonderful artist called Gabriel Dawe. He experiments with light and colour.
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| Threads |
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| A close up shot of the threads |
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| Threads again |
Of course for me, this was the most amazing photo opportunity, and the photos above are just a couple of the ones I took (and there are loads, I just couldn't stop). I have been thinking whilst writing this post if there is anything bad I can say about it but no matter how hard I try, nothing is coming. I quite simply loved it. I must admit, I hadn't heard of Gabriel Dawe before this exhibition but now; I am a huge fan.
Now that I have finished gushing, its time for me to depart my trusty laptop and get on with other arty pursuits. Goodbye for now. Just as a final thought, if any of you readers have a twitter account my account is @meggiesdesign I will be updating my twitter account when ever I publish a new post.
Meghan
Making day at Wysing 2
Its time to tell you about my second making day at Wysing. When we arrived we were introduced to our artist. The artist was Jackie, who we worked with last time. We started with filling out a form for a session each of one to one time with Caroline to discuss our ideas. I was up first. I talked to Caroline and she really liked my ideas, she had a couple of suggestions which I found really helpful.
After finishing my session with Caroline, I went back into the white room. As we were working with Jackie, I decided to focus on photography. I started with taking a photo of a tree in Wysing grounds which I thought would be perfect for my PT piece.
After taking photos of the tree I decided to take photos around the site. Below is a selection of what I took.
Meghan
After finishing my session with Caroline, I went back into the white room. As we were working with Jackie, I decided to focus on photography. I started with taking a photo of a tree in Wysing grounds which I thought would be perfect for my PT piece.
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| This is the photo I am going to get printed onto fabric |
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| This is a handmade house made entirely from recycled bits |
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| The beehive skyscraper |
Meghan
Textile Art Piece
Good news, I have completed my textile art piece.
I started with making the felt in various shades of oranges and reds as I had discussed with you before but when searching through my stack of fleece I came across a orange and red blend with a small amount of white silk. I thought this would be ideal so I have also used along with the oranges and reds planned.
Now that the felt is done, its time to paint the canvas. I have found a canvas which is roughly a bit bigger than an A4 piece of paper. I have painted it fully red and then used a dry brush to paint highlights with orange.
Then I cut the pieces out of the felt and put them together the way I want them to look. I then put gold paper fasteners in all the visible corners. After putting it on the canvas, my TA piece is done, what do you think.
I started with making the felt in various shades of oranges and reds as I had discussed with you before but when searching through my stack of fleece I came across a orange and red blend with a small amount of white silk. I thought this would be ideal so I have also used along with the oranges and reds planned.
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| Me felting the felt I need for my TA piece |
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| The finished piece of felt |
Then I cut the pieces out of the felt and put them together the way I want them to look. I then put gold paper fasteners in all the visible corners. After putting it on the canvas, my TA piece is done, what do you think.
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| The finished piece |
Meghan
Final Exhibition Piece
This post is about the exhibition that the young artists and I have the opportunity to take part in at the end of the five month programme, for this I need to create a final exhibition piece. This can be any art form, anything we want to do. I have been thinking about what I want to do and I have come up with an idea. I have decided to create a little "room", consisting of a chair, a lamp, a photo and a hanging. The whole piece will be inspired by the four seasons.
The chair is a gold banquet chair which I am going to re upholster in a very rustic beige fabric. The fabric I have in mind has also got a deep red design on it. The chair will represent autumn.
The lamp is a silver tall corner lamp and the shade is square and cream. I intend to use a lemon gingham check fabric and cut out four squares of the fabric, one for each side. As a bonus, each side of the lamp shade will have a different sized hole cut in it, starting with a small hole and ending up a big diamond. This lamp will represent spring and the holes represent how a flower grows in spring. I would also like some sort of lime green detail but I am not sure what yet.
The hanging is going to be ten pieces of fishing wire with hand crocheted white circles hanging off. The circles represent snowflakes. There will be five snowflakes on each piece of wire and ten pieces of wire hung on the wall. I will also use fishing wire tie backs to take it back a little in the middle to create a wall space free. This hanging represents winter.
The photo is going to be a close up photo of a rose. This will be mounted in a frame and I intend to "decorate" the frame with orange lace ribbon. This photo will be placed in the parting of the hanging. This photo will represent summer.
As a final thought, there will be a set of headphones which will be playing Vivaldi Four Seasons.
Meghan
The chair is a gold banquet chair which I am going to re upholster in a very rustic beige fabric. The fabric I have in mind has also got a deep red design on it. The chair will represent autumn.
The lamp is a silver tall corner lamp and the shade is square and cream. I intend to use a lemon gingham check fabric and cut out four squares of the fabric, one for each side. As a bonus, each side of the lamp shade will have a different sized hole cut in it, starting with a small hole and ending up a big diamond. This lamp will represent spring and the holes represent how a flower grows in spring. I would also like some sort of lime green detail but I am not sure what yet.
The hanging is going to be ten pieces of fishing wire with hand crocheted white circles hanging off. The circles represent snowflakes. There will be five snowflakes on each piece of wire and ten pieces of wire hung on the wall. I will also use fishing wire tie backs to take it back a little in the middle to create a wall space free. This hanging represents winter.
The photo is going to be a close up photo of a rose. This will be mounted in a frame and I intend to "decorate" the frame with orange lace ribbon. This photo will be placed in the parting of the hanging. This photo will represent summer.
As a final thought, there will be a set of headphones which will be playing Vivaldi Four Seasons.
Meghan
Ideas for Arts Award
I am just buzzing after my day at Wysing. Ideas are just constantly floating about in my head and I just have to share them with you.
For my arts award I have been thinking what I want my art challenge to be. I have decided my challenge will be to combine my three areas of interest in a number of pieces. My ideas so far are the following:
One piece that combines Textiles and Art
One piece that combines Art and Photography
One piece that combines Photography and Textiles
One piece that combines all three
I am thinking that the Textile Art piece (which from now on I will call the TA piece), could be inspired by the musical boulder in the grounds of Wysing. Its exterior is several rectangles of metal abstractly placed on top of one another to form a really amazing design. I would like to recreate this with felt. My thinking is that I make 2 big pieces of felt in oranges and reds and cut it in rectangles and lay them on top of one another to create the same effect. As this piece combines textiles and art, the art side will be the canvas that I put the pieces on. I will paint the canvas red and then very lightly do highlights of orange.
I am quite excited about my idea for the Art Photography piece (PA piece). My idea is that I take a photo of a stunning landscape of some sort, maybe something on the beach, and then draw and paint the photo the exact same size. I then cut a portion of the photo out and line it up, hopefully exactly, with my drawing. If it works I am really looking forward to seeing this piece.
My idea for the Photography Textiles piece (PT piece) is that I take a photo of a tree and crop it so only the tree is visible and no foreground. I then highlight certain parts of the tree with various textile, eg- felt, fabric etc. I will also make a couple of leaves to highlight that part of the tree.
My final idea needs to combine all three art forms (this will be called the PAT piece). My idea is that I create a piece of wood with four pieces of dowelling sticking out. I will then hang nine fish from the dowelling using fishing wire. The fish will be cut out of mdf board, I will then cover three in textiles (felt, fabric and something else I haven't decided on yet), three in photos (one of the sky and sea, one of the sea and one of the sea and sand), and three in art ( one pastels, one watercolours and one pen and ink).
I have chosen this arts challenge because I already have a good knowledge in textiles and photography and art is my new skill. I really loved the idea of combining two art forms that I am comfortable in with one that I'm not comfortable in. Textiles is the art form which I have the most experience in and it seems a good idea to broaden my horizons as too its potential.
Thats all for now, sorry I've rambled on a bit, I just had to write my ideas down somewhere.
Thanks for reading
Meggie
For my arts award I have been thinking what I want my art challenge to be. I have decided my challenge will be to combine my three areas of interest in a number of pieces. My ideas so far are the following:
One piece that combines Textiles and Art
One piece that combines Art and Photography
One piece that combines Photography and Textiles
One piece that combines all three
I am thinking that the Textile Art piece (which from now on I will call the TA piece), could be inspired by the musical boulder in the grounds of Wysing. Its exterior is several rectangles of metal abstractly placed on top of one another to form a really amazing design. I would like to recreate this with felt. My thinking is that I make 2 big pieces of felt in oranges and reds and cut it in rectangles and lay them on top of one another to create the same effect. As this piece combines textiles and art, the art side will be the canvas that I put the pieces on. I will paint the canvas red and then very lightly do highlights of orange.
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| The inspiration, musical boulder |
I am quite excited about my idea for the Art Photography piece (PA piece). My idea is that I take a photo of a stunning landscape of some sort, maybe something on the beach, and then draw and paint the photo the exact same size. I then cut a portion of the photo out and line it up, hopefully exactly, with my drawing. If it works I am really looking forward to seeing this piece.
My idea for the Photography Textiles piece (PT piece) is that I take a photo of a tree and crop it so only the tree is visible and no foreground. I then highlight certain parts of the tree with various textile, eg- felt, fabric etc. I will also make a couple of leaves to highlight that part of the tree.
My final idea needs to combine all three art forms (this will be called the PAT piece). My idea is that I create a piece of wood with four pieces of dowelling sticking out. I will then hang nine fish from the dowelling using fishing wire. The fish will be cut out of mdf board, I will then cover three in textiles (felt, fabric and something else I haven't decided on yet), three in photos (one of the sky and sea, one of the sea and one of the sea and sand), and three in art ( one pastels, one watercolours and one pen and ink).
I have chosen this arts challenge because I already have a good knowledge in textiles and photography and art is my new skill. I really loved the idea of combining two art forms that I am comfortable in with one that I'm not comfortable in. Textiles is the art form which I have the most experience in and it seems a good idea to broaden my horizons as too its potential.
Thats all for now, sorry I've rambled on a bit, I just had to write my ideas down somewhere.
Thanks for reading
Meggie
First making day at Wysing
I'm sure you are all aware, I have completed the three taster days at Wysing, next its making days and arts award sessions. I am here to tell you about one such event.
November 19th
So, this is my first making day at Wysing. This morning is a making half day and this afternoon is an arts award session. Lets start with this morning.
Basically, these making days are for us to use all the materials at Wysing to make anything we want and to talk about our ideas so far for if we want any input. I decided to use a sheet of A2 paper and paint on the word austerity in big, bold letters.
In the afternoon, it was the arts award session. This involved Kirsten explaining to us about all the different units involved in a gold arts award. This is basically what is involved.
Unit 1
Part A
This part involves working with artists to create various pieces of art. This is the art challenge.
Part B
This part involves getting involved in your local art world. You need to research different occupations and courses involving art in your local area.
Part C
This part involves you going to and reviewing various exhibitions and events.
Part D
This part involves forming and communicating a view on something going on in the arts world.
Unit 2
Part A
This part involves planning an arts project. This could be anything from a workshop to an intensive course in your chosen subject.
Part B
This part involves delivering the planned arts project.
Part C
This part involves reviewing the project, how it went, anything you would change etc.
This pretty much sums up my day at Wysing.
Au Revoir blogees
Meggie
November 19th
So, this is my first making day at Wysing. This morning is a making half day and this afternoon is an arts award session. Lets start with this morning.
Basically, these making days are for us to use all the materials at Wysing to make anything we want and to talk about our ideas so far for if we want any input. I decided to use a sheet of A2 paper and paint on the word austerity in big, bold letters.
In the afternoon, it was the arts award session. This involved Kirsten explaining to us about all the different units involved in a gold arts award. This is basically what is involved.
Unit 1
Part A
This part involves working with artists to create various pieces of art. This is the art challenge.
Part B
This part involves getting involved in your local art world. You need to research different occupations and courses involving art in your local area.
Part C
This part involves you going to and reviewing various exhibitions and events.
Part D
This part involves forming and communicating a view on something going on in the arts world.
Unit 2
Part A
This part involves planning an arts project. This could be anything from a workshop to an intensive course in your chosen subject.
Part B
This part involves delivering the planned arts project.
Part C
This part involves reviewing the project, how it went, anything you would change etc.
This pretty much sums up my day at Wysing.
Au Revoir blogees
Meggie
Wysing Day 3
Today I wanted to fill you in on my third training day at Wysing.
Day 3
Its my last taster day at Wysing, really excited to see what we have in store today. We were introduced to our artist for the morning, Jackie Chettur. Jackie is a photographer amongst other things which I was really excited about as photography is one of my favourite art forms, to look at and to pursue myself. Jackie firstly took us all to her studio to have a look at the project she was currently working on.
After looking at her fabulous work, we went to our very own HQ, yes you guessed it , the white room. In there she explained what we would be doing today. We were going to create a scene in a particular colour scheme which we could then photograph. We together decided that the colour scheme would be a majority of red with a sky blue and a darker blue as accents. We all got to work. I worked on the backdrop which was literally painting a curtain red. It wasn't going too well as the curtain was creasing up and printing paint onto another side so I decided to do a paper backdrop. So, starting again, I painted a large piece of paper red which was tremendous fun as I could just basically splash paint on the entire thing.
When we had all finished, we assembled the scene and took photos of it. We were all pleased with it, we had made a strange looking house style structure with the most exquisite wire bird nesting on top. To the right we had a small backdrop scene with a cardboard house in front. Really amazing team effort. We all got our cameras out and took photos from all different angles possible. Jackie was also aware that I was particularly interested in photography so I stayed behind after and she gave me a couple of amazing books to look at over lunch. Awesome morning.
After a lunch break, we came back into the white room to be introduced to our artist for the afternoon. Solveig Settemsdal. She had told us before hand to bring in an item to draw that was interesting in shape and texture. I brought a Tibetan bottle. We had to not be able to see the paper but we could see the item and draw it as best as we could. When we had all finished drawing our items we were given really strong wire and we had to mould our drawing in a 3D form with the wire.
We were then given clay to form around the wire. The point wasn't to cover the wire, it was to make the wire part of the sculpture and use the clay in certain places. The finished result wasn't to bad at all. All our sculptures looked quite good together. So after photographing our pieces we had finished our three taster days at Wysing.
They have been truly brilliant and I am very happy with what I have done. It is now time to start thinking about the exhibition, how exciting.
Meghan
Day 3
Its my last taster day at Wysing, really excited to see what we have in store today. We were introduced to our artist for the morning, Jackie Chettur. Jackie is a photographer amongst other things which I was really excited about as photography is one of my favourite art forms, to look at and to pursue myself. Jackie firstly took us all to her studio to have a look at the project she was currently working on.
After looking at her fabulous work, we went to our very own HQ, yes you guessed it , the white room. In there she explained what we would be doing today. We were going to create a scene in a particular colour scheme which we could then photograph. We together decided that the colour scheme would be a majority of red with a sky blue and a darker blue as accents. We all got to work. I worked on the backdrop which was literally painting a curtain red. It wasn't going too well as the curtain was creasing up and printing paint onto another side so I decided to do a paper backdrop. So, starting again, I painted a large piece of paper red which was tremendous fun as I could just basically splash paint on the entire thing.
When we had all finished, we assembled the scene and took photos of it. We were all pleased with it, we had made a strange looking house style structure with the most exquisite wire bird nesting on top. To the right we had a small backdrop scene with a cardboard house in front. Really amazing team effort. We all got our cameras out and took photos from all different angles possible. Jackie was also aware that I was particularly interested in photography so I stayed behind after and she gave me a couple of amazing books to look at over lunch. Awesome morning.
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| The red and blue scene |
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| A gorgeous little house |
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| Really exquisite wire bird |
After a lunch break, we came back into the white room to be introduced to our artist for the afternoon. Solveig Settemsdal. She had told us before hand to bring in an item to draw that was interesting in shape and texture. I brought a Tibetan bottle. We had to not be able to see the paper but we could see the item and draw it as best as we could. When we had all finished drawing our items we were given really strong wire and we had to mould our drawing in a 3D form with the wire.
We were then given clay to form around the wire. The point wasn't to cover the wire, it was to make the wire part of the sculpture and use the clay in certain places. The finished result wasn't to bad at all. All our sculptures looked quite good together. So after photographing our pieces we had finished our three taster days at Wysing.
They have been truly brilliant and I am very happy with what I have done. It is now time to start thinking about the exhibition, how exciting.
Meghan
Wysing Day 2
Its time to tell you all about my second training day at Wysing.
Day 2
When I arrived on my second day at Wysing, we were introduced to the artist we would be working with in the morning. Caroline Wendling. After the introductions, Caroline explained a little about what we would be doing this morning. She wanted us to have a short walk around the site, in silent, really taking in everything that was around us. We would then go back to the white room, as I like to call it, and express this walk in any piece of art we wish.
So, we went for a walk. The things that I noticed most were the colours and pieces of art around the site. For me, the colours were a prodomenence of greens and blues with streaks of colour. When we returned to the white room, we were all given an A2 sized piece of paper and told we could use any materials we wanted to depict what we saw. I decided to draw a couple of pieces of art around the site which will be intertwined with green and blue pastels with streaks of colour to represent flowers. The two pieces of art which I decided to draw were the skyscraper beehive and what I like to call the musical boulder. I found it really interesting to see everyone else's depictions of the exact same walk.
After a lunch break we returned to the white room to be introduced to our artist for the afternoon, Elena Cologni. Elena had brought with her a variety of different pieces of furniture including a desk, a chair, a lamp and a box. We then had to arrange these pieces to form a scene for us to draw. When we had arranged the pieces in the strangest way possible we all took a chair and picked a view to draw from. We had to memorise our view and go away and draw it.
It was such a lovely day that we decided to draw outside. In the end all of us didn't do too badly in remembering the set up.
So that was the end of my second day at Wysing. Really enjoyed it, just as good as the first day. Really looking forward to day 3.
Meghan
Day 2
When I arrived on my second day at Wysing, we were introduced to the artist we would be working with in the morning. Caroline Wendling. After the introductions, Caroline explained a little about what we would be doing this morning. She wanted us to have a short walk around the site, in silent, really taking in everything that was around us. We would then go back to the white room, as I like to call it, and express this walk in any piece of art we wish.
So, we went for a walk. The things that I noticed most were the colours and pieces of art around the site. For me, the colours were a prodomenence of greens and blues with streaks of colour. When we returned to the white room, we were all given an A2 sized piece of paper and told we could use any materials we wanted to depict what we saw. I decided to draw a couple of pieces of art around the site which will be intertwined with green and blue pastels with streaks of colour to represent flowers. The two pieces of art which I decided to draw were the skyscraper beehive and what I like to call the musical boulder. I found it really interesting to see everyone else's depictions of the exact same walk.
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| My depiction of the walk |
After a lunch break we returned to the white room to be introduced to our artist for the afternoon, Elena Cologni. Elena had brought with her a variety of different pieces of furniture including a desk, a chair, a lamp and a box. We then had to arrange these pieces to form a scene for us to draw. When we had arranged the pieces in the strangest way possible we all took a chair and picked a view to draw from. We had to memorise our view and go away and draw it.
It was such a lovely day that we decided to draw outside. In the end all of us didn't do too badly in remembering the set up.
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| My half decent attempt at remembering my angle of the set up |
So that was the end of my second day at Wysing. Really enjoyed it, just as good as the first day. Really looking forward to day 3.
Meghan
Wysing Day 1
Today I wanted to tell you about the first day of training at Wysing Arts Centre. I first discovered Wysing Arts Centre Young Artists Programme a couple of months before the programme was due to start, I discovered it when I was looking for something art related that I could go out and do. I was looking for something to improve my arts skills and advance me in a drawing sense, its fair to say that Wysing was the most amazing opportunity to come across. I went along to a day a few weeks ago at Wysing Arts Centre and got to meet Kirsten Bicknell. Kirsten is the course director and me and the other young artists will work closely with her in developing our portfolios over the course of the programme and helping us with our gold arts award. At the start of the programme we get to work with a variety of artists over a period of three days to introduce us to different art forms. I am now going to tell you all about the three days.
Day 1
The first day at Wysing, really exciting. After the introductions we were introduced to the artist we would be working with that day, Caroline Wright. We started off with splitting into pairs and doing a couple of little exercises. These included one person holding the top of a pencil and the other person holding the bottom and drawing something together. This resulted in several laughs as something that was supposed to look like a car, ended up looking like a scribble of lead on paper.
We then went on to all eight of us kneeling on the floor around a large piece of paper. We all chose our desired drawing tool and Caroline played us roughly a minute of a piece of music. In that minute we had to draw on the paper "doodles" which were influenced by the music playing. In total we heard 10 pieces of music ranging from pop to classical. We ended up with a really amazing, artistic piece of art which had each of our interpretations of the music on.
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| Cake drawing |
Then it was time for a lunch break. After lunch, we all went into the exhibition space at the arts centre, which at the time wasn't being used. We got into pairs and spent the afternoon building a sculpture out of any materials available. Me and my partner decided to make the inspiration of our sculpture a piece of art in the grounds of Wysing. A beehive skyscraper. So we set to work making our interpretation of the skyscraper beehive. We ended up creating a strange but in certain ways artistic sculpture.
When we had all finished our sculptures, we all talked about them and the inspiration behind them. Me and my partner decided to put a statement on the front of our sculpture. "Its art if it can't be explained" This comment sparked quite a debate. What are your thoughts, do you agree with this statement? If you have and opinion, feel free to leave a comment.
So that was my first experience day at Wysing, eventful, fantastic and truly brilliant. Bring on day 2
Meghan
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Louise Stebbings Art Class
This post is all about the art class I attend with artist Louise Stebbings. (If the name sounds familiar its because she kindly answered the first part of my interview questions, post title Interview Questions Part II.) For two terms now I have been attending an arts class with her on a thursday afternoon.
The art class focuses on drawing and painting skills for beginners. When I started attending this class my knowledge of drawing skills was literally nil. I had always wanted to be able to draw but had never gotten round to learning. After one term working with Louise I had already started to improve and I was happy with where I was after one term. After a second term we had started to work more with paints, pastels and colours yet still improving drawing skills.
I am really enjoying working with Louise, something I want to go onto study at university is textile design and art and design is needed. Improving my drawing skills has really benefitted me now and in the future. I look forward to continuing working with Louise to create an even better portfolio for me to have to apply to uni in the future. The techniques I have learnt from Louise are endless, each week I come away with something else to improve with and she is constantly giving tips on how to improve a piece or how to effectively draw something to make it look right.
If any of you are interested in Louise's work the website address is http://www.skylarkstudios.co.uk/
On her website is some of her work and the opportunity to attend some of her art classes.
Thats all for now
Meghan
The art class focuses on drawing and painting skills for beginners. When I started attending this class my knowledge of drawing skills was literally nil. I had always wanted to be able to draw but had never gotten round to learning. After one term working with Louise I had already started to improve and I was happy with where I was after one term. After a second term we had started to work more with paints, pastels and colours yet still improving drawing skills.
I am really enjoying working with Louise, something I want to go onto study at university is textile design and art and design is needed. Improving my drawing skills has really benefitted me now and in the future. I look forward to continuing working with Louise to create an even better portfolio for me to have to apply to uni in the future. The techniques I have learnt from Louise are endless, each week I come away with something else to improve with and she is constantly giving tips on how to improve a piece or how to effectively draw something to make it look right.
If any of you are interested in Louise's work the website address is http://www.skylarkstudios.co.uk/
On her website is some of her work and the opportunity to attend some of her art classes.
Thats all for now
Meghan
Stewarding at Kings Lynn Arts Centre
I wanted to tell you all about a volunteering opportunity I took part in recently at Kings Lynn (KL) Arts Centre. KL Arts Centre needed a group of people to take on the role of stewards during an exhibition they had on called Alla Moda. The exhibition is of italian ceramics from 1950's to 70's. I put myself forward for stewarding at this exhibition.
I was a steward in two slots in total. One on Friday 10th August at 4-5pm in the Red Barn and the other was on Saturday 11th August at 12-2pm in the Shakespeare Barn.
I really enjoyed stewarding at KL Arts Centre, it was an opportunity that I have never had before and I must say I thouroughly loved it. As I said the exhibition was of italian ceramics and, in between visitors, I managed to have a look around. Some of the ceramics were truly exquisite, the detail was amazing and the whole collection span over two exhibition spaces which gives you an idea of the scale of it.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any photos in the exhibition so I'm not able to show you some of the pieces. Whilst I was stewarding I was able to put my name down for a project the arts centre are doing for the second year running. Its called the Bigger Picture 2. It involves a group of artists from the area being handed a square of ply wood and a square of photo, the photo is a small part of a "bigger picture" which none of the artists know of. All the artists must copy their square of photo exactly and a revealing will be made with all the piece in place to reveal the bigger picture.
I am very much looking forward to taking part in this event and am very excited to see the finished product.
Meghan
I was a steward in two slots in total. One on Friday 10th August at 4-5pm in the Red Barn and the other was on Saturday 11th August at 12-2pm in the Shakespeare Barn.
I really enjoyed stewarding at KL Arts Centre, it was an opportunity that I have never had before and I must say I thouroughly loved it. As I said the exhibition was of italian ceramics and, in between visitors, I managed to have a look around. Some of the ceramics were truly exquisite, the detail was amazing and the whole collection span over two exhibition spaces which gives you an idea of the scale of it.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any photos in the exhibition so I'm not able to show you some of the pieces. Whilst I was stewarding I was able to put my name down for a project the arts centre are doing for the second year running. Its called the Bigger Picture 2. It involves a group of artists from the area being handed a square of ply wood and a square of photo, the photo is a small part of a "bigger picture" which none of the artists know of. All the artists must copy their square of photo exactly and a revealing will be made with all the piece in place to reveal the bigger picture.
I am very much looking forward to taking part in this event and am very excited to see the finished product.
Meghan
Wingham Wool Work
I have exciting news, I went to wingham wool works at the weekend to purchase all the materials I need for my feltmaking workshop. If any of my fellow bloggers have ever visited wingham you will understand my excited nature. Wingham is the fibre nut's heaven, surrounded by fibre, equipment, books and other "fibrey" things. If any of you out there haven't been then you must make it your top priority to visit asap. The website address is http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk/index.php
Anyway, back to the matter in hand. As I said earlier, the purpose of my trip was to purchase the equipment needed for my workshop, for the workshop I needed natural fleece, coloured fleece, blended fleece, needle felting needles and plain white merino. Whilst I was there I did, of course, look for myself and got some truly stunning blends with which I intend to spin with.
I am pleased to report that wingham didn't fail yet again and I managed to get all the equipment I needed. This means that I am now fully ready for my workshop.
Meghan
Anyway, back to the matter in hand. As I said earlier, the purpose of my trip was to purchase the equipment needed for my workshop, for the workshop I needed natural fleece, coloured fleece, blended fleece, needle felting needles and plain white merino. Whilst I was there I did, of course, look for myself and got some truly stunning blends with which I intend to spin with.
I am pleased to report that wingham didn't fail yet again and I managed to get all the equipment I needed. This means that I am now fully ready for my workshop.
Meghan
Meeting Sarah-Jane
I wanted to tell you about a very interesting meeting I had with Sarah-Jane Harknett from the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. The second unit of my arts award requires me plan, deliver and review an arts project. The arts project must be a workshop, event or exhibition of some kind. I have decided to go with a workshop and my plan is for a feltmaking workshop.
Wysing Arts Centre put me in touch with Sarah-Jane and I went to meet with her to discuss my idea. Sarah-Jane was very interested in my idea and said she would like me to do the workshop at the museum. (Excited face)
Whilst I was there I made a pitch to her about my workshop and the plan for the day. After showing her a few examples of the work I was hoping the students would produce, Sarah-Jane took me to see the space I would be working in. The room was plenty spacious and I could easily teach up to eight students in there.
The whole meeting went very well and this means I can now start planning my workshop with the view of a date in mind. Sarah-Jane has posted on the museum's website my event so feel free to take a look, the address is http://maa.cam.ac.uk/home/index.php?a=15&b=Feltmaking+Workshop&c=21
Meghan
Wysing Arts Centre put me in touch with Sarah-Jane and I went to meet with her to discuss my idea. Sarah-Jane was very interested in my idea and said she would like me to do the workshop at the museum. (Excited face)
Whilst I was there I made a pitch to her about my workshop and the plan for the day. After showing her a few examples of the work I was hoping the students would produce, Sarah-Jane took me to see the space I would be working in. The room was plenty spacious and I could easily teach up to eight students in there.
The whole meeting went very well and this means I can now start planning my workshop with the view of a date in mind. Sarah-Jane has posted on the museum's website my event so feel free to take a look, the address is http://maa.cam.ac.uk/home/index.php?a=15&b=Feltmaking+Workshop&c=21
Meghan
Reviewing the arts project
As you saw in my last post I felt that the feltmaking workshop I ran in Cambridge went well. It is now time for me to do an in depth review of how I think it went, how the students felt it went and what I would do differently.
Lets start with how I thought it went. Overall I am very pleased with how it went, I was pleased that everyone went away with a felted piece of wall art, which was my intention. I was also pleased that the whole day ran smoothly and no major incidents occured. I did feel however that my instructions towards the beginning of the workshop could have been clearer and I think the students agreed.
Now lets move onto how the students thought it went. As you know I asked all the students to fill out a feedback form I had prepared, here's what they had to say.
All the students at the start of the course expected to learn how to make felt and to come away with a piece of wall art. At the end of the day all the students said their expectations had been met. In answer to the question Were your expectations met? one student replied "Yes, I am looking forward to going home and making more felt items, really useful and fun!"
All of the students also agreed that there wasn't anything else they would have liked to learn in the day and all of them also agreed that the tutor was knowledgable about the subject. One student commented that they would have liked a little more time to complete her piece in the afternoon.
The final question on the form was, Do you have any further comments on how the course was run? Most of the students agreed that they would have liked an overview of the day at the start of the course and to have been given a better idea of the finished piece. "It would have been helpful to start with a quick overview of the process."
Finally lets move onto what I have learned and what I would change the next time I do a similiar course. For me the main thing that I can take away from this workshop was to be clearer with my instructions at the start of the course and make sure everyone understands the task in hand. To achieve this I plan to start with an introduction and then do an overview of the whole day and show examples of the finished piece at that point. I also think that in order to make everyone understand I should explain the finished size of the piece so people have and idea of what size to make the pattern.
At the start I felt I should have also explained a little about needle felting. Although this isn't until the aftenoon, it seems it would have been helpful for people to know what they were doing so as to choose a pattern with which to inspire their piece that they felt they could achieve with their level of ability.
A couple of little points for next time would be; grater the olive soap beforehand in order to save time; bring more towels as they get very wet very quickly and make very sure the fleece is fully wet before allowing them to start felting.
Thats all for now, having said all of this I am pleased with how it went but I am glad that I can come away with a few pointers for next time.
Speak soon
Meghan
Lets start with how I thought it went. Overall I am very pleased with how it went, I was pleased that everyone went away with a felted piece of wall art, which was my intention. I was also pleased that the whole day ran smoothly and no major incidents occured. I did feel however that my instructions towards the beginning of the workshop could have been clearer and I think the students agreed.
Now lets move onto how the students thought it went. As you know I asked all the students to fill out a feedback form I had prepared, here's what they had to say.
All the students at the start of the course expected to learn how to make felt and to come away with a piece of wall art. At the end of the day all the students said their expectations had been met. In answer to the question Were your expectations met? one student replied "Yes, I am looking forward to going home and making more felt items, really useful and fun!"
All of the students also agreed that there wasn't anything else they would have liked to learn in the day and all of them also agreed that the tutor was knowledgable about the subject. One student commented that they would have liked a little more time to complete her piece in the afternoon.
The final question on the form was, Do you have any further comments on how the course was run? Most of the students agreed that they would have liked an overview of the day at the start of the course and to have been given a better idea of the finished piece. "It would have been helpful to start with a quick overview of the process."
Finally lets move onto what I have learned and what I would change the next time I do a similiar course. For me the main thing that I can take away from this workshop was to be clearer with my instructions at the start of the course and make sure everyone understands the task in hand. To achieve this I plan to start with an introduction and then do an overview of the whole day and show examples of the finished piece at that point. I also think that in order to make everyone understand I should explain the finished size of the piece so people have and idea of what size to make the pattern.
At the start I felt I should have also explained a little about needle felting. Although this isn't until the aftenoon, it seems it would have been helpful for people to know what they were doing so as to choose a pattern with which to inspire their piece that they felt they could achieve with their level of ability.
A couple of little points for next time would be; grater the olive soap beforehand in order to save time; bring more towels as they get very wet very quickly and make very sure the fleece is fully wet before allowing them to start felting.
Thats all for now, having said all of this I am pleased with how it went but I am glad that I can come away with a few pointers for next time.
Speak soon
Meghan
Delivering the arts project
As some of you know I went into Cambridge on Saturday to run a feltmaking workshop at the Museum of Archeology and Anthropoly. This was of course for my gold arts award in order to complete my arts project. I am pleased to say that it went very well and I am really pleased with the results. As I have mentioned before, Sarah-Jane Harknett has been the one helping me along the way to completing my arts project. She has been a big help and brilliant support in letting me do this workshop at the museum. In the end I ran the workshop for seven people (including Sarah-Jane.) Lets start from the beginning shall we.
The day began with a short introduction and a little about what we were going to achieve in the day. I then asked all the students to complete the first part of a feedback form I had prepared, in order to get a small idea of what people were expecting out of the day. With paper work out of the way it was time to give all the students twenty minutes to explore the museum with the aim of finding a piece with which to inspire their own felted piece. This could have been a pattern, colour combination or shape. Students then sketched their design for what they would like their piece to look like. Below are just a few examples of the sketches the students came up with.
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After all this was done it was time to make a start on felting. The students all layed out their bubble wrap and I explained how to correctly lay out the fleece by pulling small bits off and laying them in a horizontal direction. This then followed another layer of white fleece layed in a vertical direction, followed finally by the first step repeated. The students had then got their three layers of fleece, so I went off to make a soap solution made from grated olive soap.
When everyone's fleece was completely wet I demonstrated how to roll your fleece package up tightly and start vigourously rolling the package putting pressure on it all the time. After 5-10 minutes the students unrolled their package and rotated the felt 90 degrees clockwise and repeated the same procedure. This was repeated four times until, when the felt is pinched in the middle, fibres don't lift up.
It was very important at this point to stress that all the soap must be thoroughly rinsed out of the felt otherwise the soap, over time, will eat away at the felt. The felt must then be wrung as dry as possible. Lunch time!!
After lunch the students felt was dry enough to needle felt into so we got to work. Everyone was given a barbed needle felting needle and I explained that you must never use someone elses needle. With health and safety out of the way I demonstrated how to needle felt a small amount of fleece into the wet felt and explained a few techniques that can be used to create certain effects. Below are a couple of the students hard at work creating their pattern.
The remaining of the afternoon went fairly quickly with everyone trying to recreate their original design and all of them successfully doing so. At the end of the afternoon everyone had a brilliant piece of felted wall art, all of which looked like their original design. The afternoon ended with me taking a photo of everyone individually holding their piece in front of their original inspiration and then asking them to fill in the rest of the feedback forms.
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Overall I am happy with how the day went, I can definitely pick up some pointers for whenever I do this course again, but I am pleased.
Sorry for the lengthy post, I had a lot to say.
Speak soon
Meghan
The day began with a short introduction and a little about what we were going to achieve in the day. I then asked all the students to complete the first part of a feedback form I had prepared, in order to get a small idea of what people were expecting out of the day. With paper work out of the way it was time to give all the students twenty minutes to explore the museum with the aim of finding a piece with which to inspire their own felted piece. This could have been a pattern, colour combination or shape. Students then sketched their design for what they would like their piece to look like. Below are just a few examples of the sketches the students came up with.
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After all this was done it was time to make a start on felting. The students all layed out their bubble wrap and I explained how to correctly lay out the fleece by pulling small bits off and laying them in a horizontal direction. This then followed another layer of white fleece layed in a vertical direction, followed finally by the first step repeated. The students had then got their three layers of fleece, so I went off to make a soap solution made from grated olive soap.
When everyone's fleece was completely wet I demonstrated how to roll your fleece package up tightly and start vigourously rolling the package putting pressure on it all the time. After 5-10 minutes the students unrolled their package and rotated the felt 90 degrees clockwise and repeated the same procedure. This was repeated four times until, when the felt is pinched in the middle, fibres don't lift up.
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| The students hard at work |
It was very important at this point to stress that all the soap must be thoroughly rinsed out of the felt otherwise the soap, over time, will eat away at the felt. The felt must then be wrung as dry as possible. Lunch time!!
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| Ready for stage two |
After lunch the students felt was dry enough to needle felt into so we got to work. Everyone was given a barbed needle felting needle and I explained that you must never use someone elses needle. With health and safety out of the way I demonstrated how to needle felt a small amount of fleece into the wet felt and explained a few techniques that can be used to create certain effects. Below are a couple of the students hard at work creating their pattern.
The remaining of the afternoon went fairly quickly with everyone trying to recreate their original design and all of them successfully doing so. At the end of the afternoon everyone had a brilliant piece of felted wall art, all of which looked like their original design. The afternoon ended with me taking a photo of everyone individually holding their piece in front of their original inspiration and then asking them to fill in the rest of the feedback forms.
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Overall I am happy with how the day went, I can definitely pick up some pointers for whenever I do this course again, but I am pleased.
Sorry for the lengthy post, I had a lot to say.
Speak soon
Meghan
How exhibitions have influenced my work
I felt it was time to look back on some of the exhibitions I have visited and think about how what I have seen may influence my work in the future. For start I wanted to talk about the Gabriel Dawe Exhibition I posted about earlier this year. Just to remind you of his style of work there is a photo for you below.
What I loved most about his work was the colours and how with the volume of threads he had, it played with the light in incredible ways.
Something I wanted to try after seeing this exhibition was playing with colours and patterns to create different effects. A project I am currently in the middle of is a pair of fire cushions, my aim is to attempt to play with the colours of fire in order for them to blend and create a fire look. I haven't yet warped my loom with it so I shall do a blog post in the future as to how they went and give you some pictures.
Looking at other exhibitions, a basketry exhibition I went to last year was truly amazing. The actual basketry exhibition wasn't particularly inspiring but downstairs I came across gold. 5 original Peter Collingwood pieces, I had never seen any of his work before so to see it was amazing. He cleverly used to use a reed for a loom and cut it into pieces, then at certain points in the weaving he would cross the reed bits over one an other to make stunning pieces. If you wish to find out more on Peter Collingwood then put his name into a search engine and photos of his work will definitely be there.
Seeing Peter Collingwood's work made me want to give his style of work a go. Although I haven't got round to it yet I intend to in the near future, just as soon as I work out how to tackle it. I'll keep you updated on that.
Meghan
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| The individual threads installed individually |
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| Just to show you how the light works |
Looking at other exhibitions, a basketry exhibition I went to last year was truly amazing. The actual basketry exhibition wasn't particularly inspiring but downstairs I came across gold. 5 original Peter Collingwood pieces, I had never seen any of his work before so to see it was amazing. He cleverly used to use a reed for a loom and cut it into pieces, then at certain points in the weaving he would cross the reed bits over one an other to make stunning pieces. If you wish to find out more on Peter Collingwood then put his name into a search engine and photos of his work will definitely be there.
Seeing Peter Collingwood's work made me want to give his style of work a go. Although I haven't got round to it yet I intend to in the near future, just as soon as I work out how to tackle it. I'll keep you updated on that.
Meghan
Paralympics
Some of you may be confused by the title of this post and asking yourself what the paralympics has to do with my gold arts award. Well, I shall now put you out of your misery. I recently visited the National Centre for Craft and Design (previously known as the hub). While I was there I had a look at the current exhibition. The main gallery space is currently occupied by a brilliant collection inspired by the up coming paralympics. The exhibition entailed showing how we have progressed over the ages in assisting disabled people lead normal lives.
The exhibition started with showing you some of the very first wheelchairs created which then lead onto the first artificial limbs. Going round the room you were taken through the ages and show how far we've come. This exhibition has of course come at the perfect time with the paralympics weeks away, the exhibition started with a message from the artist who incorporated the paralympics into his message and to show how inspiring the disabled can be.
Nearing the end of the exhibition you were introduced to the first aerodynamic wheelchair, specifically designed for athletes who still wish to compete in their sport even with a lost limb. I found the whole exhibition inspirational and to see how far we've come with disabled technology was brilliant. This tied in very well with me personally as I have recently been lucky enough to get tickets for the paralympics, and I really can't wait to go. I will post when I have been and tell you all about it.
Thats all for now
Meghan
The exhibition started with showing you some of the very first wheelchairs created which then lead onto the first artificial limbs. Going round the room you were taken through the ages and show how far we've come. This exhibition has of course come at the perfect time with the paralympics weeks away, the exhibition started with a message from the artist who incorporated the paralympics into his message and to show how inspiring the disabled can be.
Nearing the end of the exhibition you were introduced to the first aerodynamic wheelchair, specifically designed for athletes who still wish to compete in their sport even with a lost limb. I found the whole exhibition inspirational and to see how far we've come with disabled technology was brilliant. This tied in very well with me personally as I have recently been lucky enough to get tickets for the paralympics, and I really can't wait to go. I will post when I have been and tell you all about it.
Thats all for now
Meghan
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Campaign for wool
The time has come for me to start on another section of my gold arts award. To complete this section I must form a view of an issue/something going on in the arts world. I have chosen to focus my attention on the Campaign for Wool. For those of you who don't know, the campaign for wool is a charity organisation which was started by HRH the Prince of Wales. HRH is now the patron of the campaign and has given it his full backing.
For those of you who would like to know more about the campaign go to this address http://www.campaignforwool.org/the-campaign/
I first came across the campaign for wool on the Online Guild for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, this was back in 2010, two years after the campaign was set up. All of the research which helped me form my view of the campaign came from the campaign's website (listed above.)
So as I was saying, I have decided to tell the world of my opinion on the campaign for wool as a whole. In this post I intend to present to you my entire view on the campaign for wool. If any of you have an opinion you would like to share or would just like to send me a comment, please feel free to either comment on my blog or contact me on twitter @meggiesdesign
I apologise for such a long post, I hope some of you found it interesting. Thats all for now friends, speak soon.
Meghan
For those of you who would like to know more about the campaign go to this address http://www.campaignforwool.org/the-campaign/
I first came across the campaign for wool on the Online Guild for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, this was back in 2010, two years after the campaign was set up. All of the research which helped me form my view of the campaign came from the campaign's website (listed above.)
So as I was saying, I have decided to tell the world of my opinion on the campaign for wool as a whole. In this post I intend to present to you my entire view on the campaign for wool. If any of you have an opinion you would like to share or would just like to send me a comment, please feel free to either comment on my blog or contact me on twitter @meggiesdesign
Campaign
for wool
I
personally think that the campaign for wool is truly brilliant. HRH the Prince of Wales has
picked a brilliant cause to back and with his help the campaign can really move
forward. I truly love how they are choosing to advertise their campaign, including
the brilliant wool week. The way that the campaign got so many people and
brands involved in wool week was inspirational, the sheep parading down Saville
Row and Selfridges exhibiting yellow sheep outside their store; brilliant! They
have also recently included students from universities across the country in
their campaign by commissioning them to come up with a design for a wool
sweater, then teamed them up with the country’s leading brands. I think this
is, not only a great way to advertise the campaign, but also appeal to the
students to give them an opportunity to work with top brands such as John
Lewis.
There
is of course the obvious aim of this campaign which is to increase the price
farmers get for wool. One big battle they still have on their hands is to make
all farmers everywhere aware of the correct price for their fleece. Once this
is achieved then the wool board will have no choice but to pay this price. I
am, of course, fully behind this cause and will back it 100 percent.
However,
there is one thing which I see as an issue, potentially a big one in the
future. Where do we stop. We do of course want a fair price for farmers but we
do have the danger of pricing wool out of the market for average citizens. We
must remember that we are in a recession and the last thing we want is to make
woollen products unavailable to everyone. As an example, carpet manufacturers
are already starting to make their carpets 80 percent wool 20 percent synthetic
fibres as apposed to the 100 percent wool they used to be. This is simply to
keep their prices the same as before to make the carpets more affordable. No
one can blame them for that.
I
would just like to stress again that I am fully behind this campaign but I do
believe that the campaign needs to stop at a certain point before wool becomes
stupid prices. If wool is priced out of the market then manufacturers of
woollen products will stop purchasing as much wool, the wool board will stop
purchasing as much wool, and then the farmers have no where the sell their
wool. Wool is a truly brilliant product, its natural, its eco, its sustainable
and it can be used in almost everything. In a time such as this when we are not
only in a recession, but global warming is now more prevalent than ever, surely
this is the time to be using the most sustainable and eco products possible.
To
sum up my views I will say again that the campaign for wool has my full
support, and no one can argue that the fact that farmers making a loss on their
fleece is wrong. However, my view also poses the threat of going to far and
pricing it out of the market. I think the campaign is a wonderful thing and
they should all keep working hard and keep aiming to achieve their goal. I just
think they should stop before the price becomes ridiculous and wool is no
longer available to the wider audience. They aren’t there yet by any stretch,
but now is not the time to make other products, especially something like wool,
become too expensive for people to afford.
I apologise for such a long post, I hope some of you found it interesting. Thats all for now friends, speak soon.
Meghan
Saturday 11 August 2012
Interview Questions Part III
As you have probably seen from the title the time has come for interview questions part III.
If the people reading this are avid readers of my blog you will have read parts I and II of the interview questions. Part III of these questions have been kindly answered by weaver and incredibly talented seamstress Lesley Willcock. Here's what she had to say.
What future plans do you
have for yourself and your work?
The website address is http://complex-weavers.org/
Thats all for now, something I learnt from Lesley was that, aiming high is always the best way to start. Also don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something, what's the worst that can happen?
If the people reading this are avid readers of my blog you will have read parts I and II of the interview questions. Part III of these questions have been kindly answered by weaver and incredibly talented seamstress Lesley Willcock. Here's what she had to say.
What would you call
yourself?
A weaver who makes garments
When did you first realise
your passion for weaving and how did you discover it originally?
When I
sat behind a loom at my first weaving lesson I thought
this is where I want to be.
How did you start off
working straight out of college, and then what changed (if any) to make you
self employed?
I went
into retailing and started as a
graduate trainee. Redundancy made
me reassess my future and this was when I became self employed.
Was weaving something you
always wanted to do, or was it found through another medium?
I
didn’t really know hand weaving was an option until I went back to college at
35, when I did a City and Guilds course in Fashion. People take textiles for granted;
they just see a piece of fabric and don’t appreciate what that has gone into
it. I started to understand the opportunities and wanted to produce garments
from hand woven fabrics.
Where do you take your
inspiration from?
Everywhere;
nature, other textiles & weaving, anything can inspire me.
What qualifications have you
gained and have they been useful?
City and
guilds in fashion enabled me to make a career in dressmaking.
I haven't
any formal weaving qualifications but
from the beginning I have done many weaving courses and learnt from other
weavers.
What have you learned from
being in business, that qualifications did not include?
Tenacity;
perseverance; working at something you want to learn, having a goal and ensuring nothing will get in your way.
Do you take part in any
exhibitions and if so where and why – what do you gain from doing so; if not is
there a reason you don’t take part?
Local
exhibitions as well as international exhibitions; I currently have a piece of
work being exhibited in California which will then be exhibited for six
weeks in Washington
Do you attend any form of an
artists group and if so which and again what do you gain from attendance?
Complex
weavers; a current piece called the flame jacket, is on the front page of
complex weavers website
as well as in their
journal. Running on from this piece, I had a commission for the same flame
jacket but in blue, I
called it the gas
flame jacket.
For someone starting out in
a career in arts, what advice would you give?
As I
discovered there are many different routes & I certainly didn’t take a
direct path.
You may
find you’re on the wrong path, so don’t be afraid to reassess & change
direction. Take all opportunities which present themselves - don't close your
mind to any avenue of learning - you can always learn, you can learn something
from everything. Aim high & don’t settle for second best!
To carry
on learning & to continue experimenting with different weave structures
& garments. It is also now time for me to reach out to a wider audience
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| One of Lesley's pieces called the flame jacket, it is currently being displayed on the front page of complex weavers website. |
Thats all for now, something I learnt from Lesley was that, aiming high is always the best way to start. Also don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something, what's the worst that can happen?
Speak soon
Meghan
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