Planning the arts project

I am nearing the end of unit one of my gold arts award and unit two involves the arts project. This entails me planning, doing and reviewing an arts project which must be some sort of workshop or event to teach your skill to the world. I have decided to do a one day workshop in feltmaking.  My aim of this workshop is to successfully teach feltmaking to a group of students and give them enough knowledge for them to go away knowing exactly how feltmaking is done. I am aiming for the outcome to be, the students enjoyed the day, they went away with all the knowledge they need and that their expectations were met. In order for me to take the most out of the day I have come up with a feedback form. I will ask the students to complete the first half at the start of the morning, asking them what they hope to achieve out of the day. The second half I will then ask them to complete at the end of the day asking whether their expectations have been met. Below is a timetable of how the day will pan out.

The morning explained

1.       Introduce myself and explain the purpose of the day.  Hand out a form for people to complete on what they would like to achieve during the day as a learning outcome. Your pieces, when finished, will be exhibited at this museum as a display of an ancient craft, all of which have been inspired by pieces currently in the museum.

2.       Ashort tour round the museum for inspiration for their felt piece. Try and find a favourite piece with which to inspire your piece. Explain how felmaking is an old craft to link in with the museum. Felt is the oldest textile known to man. Stories suggest that felt was first discovered when a man was walking through a desert a long time ago. His shoes were starting to rub so he grabbed a handful of fleece from his sheep he was carrying and stuffed it under his foot to give him padding. Due to the constant friction the fleece was under coupled with the heat and the sweat, the fleece became a solid piece of fabric known as felt. Felt is now used in all walks of life, particularly in Central Asia, where is it used for everything from hats to carpets. Caps of thick, solid felt from the early bronze age, are preserved at the National Museum of Copenhagen, and date back some three and a half thousand years.

3.       Purpose of the day is to make a piece of wet felt in the morning, which will take approx. 2 hours including setting up.  Then to use barbed needles to needlefelt into the piece made in the afternoon to produce a piece of art/picture.  Show a piece of art and a wall hanging  made from wet felt.  At this stage give a break down of how the morning will be done.  Summary of each part is in brackets.

a.        Explain what happens to make wet felt

b.      Sketch design for piece.  (Sketch piece)

c.       Choose colours of fleece to be used in 3 layers.  Middle layer will be white, then bottom and top will end up being different colours. This gives the option of using whichever side you like the best when it turns out (it is not an exact science). If you don’t want two different sides, use the same in the first and third layer.  (Choose colours)

d.      Demonstrate how the fleece is inter layered in different directions for each layer, to maximise bonding.  (Maximise bonding)

e.      Then demonstrate how the wet felt is made. (Demonstration)

f.        Finally get going making the background piece. (Making session)

4.       Explain the process of feltmaking in principle, in that fibres are wet and rubbed together whereby they bond and make a fabric.  As wool is mostly air, when they bond, the air is pushed out, so that the overall piece of felt is much smaller than the original fleece used.

5.       I will produce some books for people to look at for possible ideas for what to make, and they spend 15 minutes sketching what they would like to achieve.  Whilst people are doing this, prepare the hot soap solution.  

            

6.       Demonstration of how wet felt is made.

7.                  7-     Students prepare their fleece for wetting, then get started.

8.                       8-  After the wet felt is made it is rinsed well to remove all soap, and dried on a towel, as thoroughly as                           possible.

       The Afternoon explained

1.       Explain the afternoon.  Using the sketch that was created earlier in the day, choose fleece colours to use the morning piece of fabric, to needle felt into.

2.       Demonstrate how this is done.  Explain how fragile the needles are, and that the barbing at the end of the needle is pushing and pulling fibres through back and forth, to “embellish” and  the top layer of dry felt into the under layer.  The needles are extremely sharp, and must be treated with care.  Explain how each person must not use any one elses, and they will take home the needle.  This is health and safety.

3.       Again show the picture to show the different things that can be done.  How small bits of fleece are better added at a time rather than a huge amount, which is more difficult to barb together.  However, it is more precise than wet felting, because you can place the fleece exactly where you want.

4.       Show how, if a mistake is made, the fleece can be removed.  Then allow people to start needle felting their pictures.  During this period, continue demonstrating techniques for others to take a break and look at, and walking round helping people achieve what they wanted to at the start of the course.  Talk about colour blending and how different colours react to being put together.  At this stage, it is about one to one help in ensuring students are using the needles properly and are progressing with their piece of work.  Talk about how these techniques can be used to produce other types of work.

To finish, ask people to complete the last part of the form, as to whether their expectations have been met, and how they would have like things done differently if applicable.  Collect all forms together.

My budget for my arts project is £60, this must cover all the fleece I need, needle felting needles, olive soap and sponges. I have also made and equipment list so I know exactly what to take on the day. 

Sponges

Needles

Natural fleece

Colour fleece

Blend fleece

Towels

Olive soap

Jug

Shetland locks

Feedback forms

How to wet felt sheet

My plan

Dishes for fleece

Grater

Pens

Camera

Wall hanging

Needle felted picture

Paper

Pencils

Small carders

Quite a lengthy post today folks.

Speak soon 

Meghan

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

I have very exciting news, I have been talking to the museum of archaeology and anthropology (which I shall now call MAA); they have been looking at my arts project idea and I now have a date for my feltmaking workshop at MAA. It will take place on 18th August, the link is below.
http://maa.cam.ac.uk/home/index.php?a=15&b=Feltmaking+Workshop&c=21
There are still places left if any of you are interested, MAA is in Cambridge.
I am really looking forward to doing this workshop and I will let you know how it goes after.
Speak soon
Meghan

Feedback from exhibition

CHUMS!!! hello once more

As you all know I took part in the exhibition at Wysing Arts Centre earlier this year to exhibit my final exhibition piece.

At the end of the exhibition all the young artists commented on our piece as to what they thought. The comments left on my piece are below.

The snowflakes work really well and I like the theme of seasons. Also the layering.


The snowflakes look really nice, I like how these are a backdrop to the chair and lamp and I think the photo of the rose behind on the wall works very well.


The seasons are well represented in the piece and the snowflakes are really pretty and I like them.


I love the way the snowflakes appear to float in mid air and the lamp is absolutely superb!


Very esthetically pleasing, seems cozy and comfy :)


The floating snowflakes are brilliant and I love the layout and positioning of the instalation.


Apparently people liked the snowflakes???
Lovely speaking to you again my chums.
Speak soon
Meggie

Feedback on Wysing

As all of you know I took part in the Wysing program for young artists. Part of the arts award requires me to be actively involved in the art world which is, of course, my program at Wysing. During the program I learnt new techniques, met new artists and gained inspiration for future pieces of work. I now have a reference from the program leader which I will use for feedback from my active involvement in the arts world.

Meghan took part in a six month programme, Wysing Young Artists, for 14 - 19 year olds at Wysing Arts Centre between October 2011 and March 2012 including attending a series of monthly workshop sessions with professional artists. During this time Meghan demonstrated an excellent level of commitment to the course and began work on her Gold Arts Award showing strong organisational skills. For their final exhibition Meghan was very inventive with materials and demonstrated her ability to think spatially. A selection of her work was also displayed alongside other young artists work in an exhibition at South Cambridgeshire District Council's Celebrate Arts Showcase and Awards.

Thank you for reading my arty friends

Speak soon

Meggie

Interview Questions Part II

A couple of posts ago I posted the interview questions kindly answered by Louise Stebbings, the second instalment involves a weaver friend of mine, Melanie Venes.
Melanie has been a weaver for 35 years and a weaving teacher for 40 years. She is incredibly experienced and this is what she had to say.

How long have you had a career as a weaver/teacher?

40 years teaching, 35 years weaving, 25 years teaching weaving.

When did you first realise your passion for weaving and how did you discover it originally?

When I was doing A-levels at school we had an assortment of classes to fill in gaps in the timetable. I was studying needlework & cookery (known at the time as Domestic Science or Home Economics). I understood cloth, so weaving was an obvious choice, especially set against car mechanics or drama. Also, at the time there were local woollen mills and lots of sheep, so I think I was already interested in the process, probably by osmosis.

How did you start off working straight out of college, and then what changed (if any) to make you self employed?

I went directly from teacher training college in 1972 to teach needlework & art in a secondary school. Got sidetracked into special needs (then called ‘remedial education’) so after 3 years moved to a middle school (8 – 12 year olds) to work with ‘under achievers’. Having learned more about weaving through magazines & the London guild, I used weaving and art in the classroom so I changed to part-time teaching in 1981 in order to attend courses. Along the way I picked up Adult Ed. Classes as well as the teaching at Handweaver’s Studio (at one point I was teaching 2 morning, 1 afternoon and 1 evening class plus  3 days a week in a junior school. If there was a course at Handweaver’s as well I’d work 14 days without a break). I resigned from the school in 1995 but continued teaching weaving classes, so I was still an employee until August 2000 when we moved to Norfolk. I became self employed so that I could sell my work as well as teach at home.

Was weaving something you always wanted to do, or was it found through another medium?

I suppose it developed out of sewing skills, but it did seem to come naturally.

Where do you take your inspiration from?

Everywhere! My strongest sense is visual; I have a good visual memory and an interest in surfaces, so that covers colour and texture. I have a great collection of found objects – rusty metal, shells, seed heads, bones – I’ll pick up anything. I love dramatic skies, peeling paint, dried mud and the traces left by the passage of time or people. I also like made objects – particularly, pots, baskets and textiles.

What qualifications have you gained and have they been useful?

I have Certificate of Education (from the days before teaching was an all graduate profession) and the Bradford Diploma in Handloom Weaving.  Both have helped me earn a living.

Only the teacher’s certificate would be considered a recognised qualification, though it wouldn’t help me get a job now. However, I consider the weaving diploma to have been the better educational experience,

 What have you learned from being in business that qualifications did not include?

Neither of my qualifications addressed any aspect of being in business, so I can’t blame them for my mistakes!

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?

I do take part sometimes. Usually London Guild WSD, occasionally the Association of Guilds and have been invited for site specific exhibitions such as Salthouse Church. I only submit work I feel is exhibition quality, or has something different to say/show. The Salthouse exhibition ‘Light and Space’ is a good example. I had to work hard developing the initial concept, submitted a proposal which was accepted, then had to make the piece. It was a leap of faith for both myself and the curator, but in that instance it worked and was probably the most successful ‘art’ textile I have made.  I enjoy working to a set theme, but if I don’t have a strong concept, or sufficient time I won’t submit anything. I will not rummage in the back of a cupboard to find a piece of work that will ‘do’.

Do you attend any form of an artists group and if so which and again what do you gain from attendance?

I used to belong to a group organised by the Crafts Council many years ago. I gained a valuable insight into the wider world of craftsmanship at that time - sometimes challenging, but always stimulating. I miss that. A group that I joined here in Norfolk was a poor substitute.

I don’t think of the Norfolk weaving group in quite the same way. It is very stimulating and sometimes challenging, but the focus is on the projects and interests of a small number of people, so by nature the group is more introspective.

For someone starting out in a career in arts, what advice would you give?

It’s a big world out there keep your eyes and ears open, ask questions.

Never pass up an opportunity.

What future plans do you have for yourself and your work?

I’m currently building up my stock for the fair at Wolterton in September. I’m also developing some ideas with a gallery owner. I will be scaling back my teaching from next year, so I hope to spend more time at the loom. There are a lot of weave structures that I haven’t got around to yet, probably because I still get great pleasure out of weaving very simple fabrics. I would like to try my hand at sampling for the industry, most likely interiors rather than apparel, though a friend has just moved into a job in Saville Row, so you never know.

This concludes Melanie's interview questions, I shall be posting again soon.

Meghan

Review of my arts award pieces

The time has come to review a particular part of my gold arts award; my arts award pieces.
As you have probably seen in my last posts I created four pieces of art for my gold arts award combining textiles, photography and art.
Photography and Art Piece

My Photography/Art Piece

Overall I am pleased with how this piece turned out. I really enjoyed improving my painting skills with this piece and although my painting skills are improved from the start of this arts award I do feel that painting is the one skill that I wish to advance my knowledge in. Going back to the piece, I did really enjoy doing the whole piece and I was truly thrilled when the photo matched up perfectly with my painting.

Textile and Art Piece

My Textile/Art Piece

This was the first of the four pieces I completed. My inspiration came from an art structure within Wysing grounds. I am very pleased with how this piece finished up. This piece was one of those rare occassions when before I started the piece I planned it and formed a picture of the finished product in my head and the finished product has turned out to be almost exactly what I had pictured. I feel that this piece made me realise the potential of felt and how it can be made into art as opposed to a practical thing.

Textile and Photography Piece

My Textile/Photography Piece

This piece was, again, inspired by a tree in the grounds of Wysing. I took this photo in autumn and printed it onto fabric and then embellished/highlighted parts of the tree. What I loved about this piece was turning a simple photo and making it not only a piece of art but something so different from just a 10x6 photo print. The main thing I learnt from this piece was how textile can be encorporated into everything if you look for a way.

The all rounder

The all rounder combining textiles, photgraphy and art.

I enjoyed this piece so much as it combined all three of my favourite art forms in one piece. This piece taught me that any art forms can be brought together in any manner and they will complement each other no matter what.

This now concludes my review, I'll speak soon me old chums.
Meghan

Exhibition day is here

The time has come for me to tell you all about the exhibition which all my work has been for. All the young artists went down to Wysing on thursday evening to curate our exhibition, the space was truly brilliant. After spending a while planning where everyones work would go we got to work. Unfortunately, after planning where everyone's work would go there was very little time left for me to put my pieces up so I left instructions for Kirsten to finish my installation on the following day.

The exhibition was on over the weekend from 12 till 5pm.  The young artists had arranged a drinks reception for family and friends at midday to open the exhibition. We all really enjoyed the formality of this occasion and the fact that it signalled the start of exhibiting all our hard work.

Everything went well over the whole weekend, people loved all the pieces. A total of nine artists exhibited work in the exhibition, every one of which was truly brilliant. Some of the photos of my pieces are displayed below.

My four seasons piece 

My felted piece inspired by art in the grounds of wysing

My beach huts

Fish

Textile tree

All in all the exhibition went well and my three arts award pieces were taken to another exhibition in Cambridge. Its called Celebrate South Cambridgeshire Arts Awards. However, even though the exhibition went well, the setting up process didn't. As I mentioned earlier, I had left instructions for how to finish my installation as I couldn't make it on Friday night. When I arrived on Saturday morning, an hour before the launch as requested, I was shocked to find that none of my pieces had been put up. The reason for this was that the curators had wanted to change the way the installation was being displayed, and show the pieces off differently to how I had requested.  This left me very little time to make a decision and actually install my work.  I would have liked to try displaying it both their way and mine, but did not have the time.  Unfortunately they also wanted me to add an extra piece to the final exhibition, which was in fact one of the gold arts pieces.  I was already upset about how much time I had to get the piece up, so this was really the final straw, and I stuck to my guns, saying the piece they wanted to include, was NOT part of the final exhibition piece, and indeed did not fit in.  It was a bit of a battle, but on this point they conceded.  The experience made me feel - I don't know any other word to use, than bullied.  I think, and hope, I am stronger because of this experience, but unimpressed with how it was handled on their part.

Needless to say, the final exhibition pieces were in place as they wanted, at the end of the hour, but I was left with no choice in how it was done.  Do I think it was better their way - probably yes.  Having no choice in looking at both ways - not good.
Thats all for now 

Meghan