Blog Profile Image

I have decided to complete this piece of work by using this as my profile image, rather than developing it into a promotional card. I have added a black border to refer back to my original inspiration of photo booth images and added  some white stitching to suggest a t shirt and add texture to the background. To develope this work I would now like to explore more expressive self portraits.

Promotional Card Ideas

A stitched portrait with a floral background

I have desaturated the image and added some type to create an idea for a promotional card

My stitched portraits

Small portraits with fabric backgrounds based on the photo strip I created below. I like the second and third portraits best.

this is the back of the sample above,

This is a larger portrait on calico. Some of the paper stencil has not washed out of the fabric and the printer ink has run a bit, making some of the fines more dense and black

This is the back of the above sample. The quality of line is quite different because there is less tension on the thread at the back and I have not trimmed the threads. 

This is a 10cm portrait, using  dark blue thread with a fabric background.

 Here I have tried to work in the style of Caroline Kirton, by using applique and drawing the whole figure. I think that my free machining technique is more effective when working more densely into the image. I do not like the quality of the line in this image.

 Here is the back of the above piece. I like the inclusion of the loose threads and think that it makes the whole image more interesting.

Artist reference

Lousie Baldwin's work uses found fabrics, applique, couching, sequins, fraying and free embroidery. She creates images by working on top of patterned fabrics.

Caroline Kirton creates applique and machine embroidered snapshots of her teenage daughters and friends, exploring issues which affect this age group. www.carolinekirton.blogspot.com

Rosie James uses machine stitch to create linear drawings based on the human figure.

Bernie Leahey is a prominent textile artist from Dublin. Her work focusses on fibre art as line. Her beautiful portraits are created by a combination of hand and free machine stitch.

Photo Booth Christmas Card

I produced this photo booth style of portraits for our family Christmas card and like the look of the strip of images.

Self Portraiture Project

I asked the talented Richard Radnidge to take some studio shots of me today for my last coursework project. Here is an edited sample of images.

Felt Final Piece

 I would like my felt bowls to be presented in a glass bowl with lighting from underneath which can be turned on or off. Here I have shown this effect by photographing the bowls on a lightbox.

I think that this piece could be improved by adding more bowls to the collection, so that they fill the space more densely.

Artist reference

Ceramic Piece by Jo Corbett from RWA Autumn Exhibition

In this piece which I saw at the RWA autumn exhibition the artist has created small ceramic pots glazed in yellow and red and displayed them in a mirror triangle. The shapes are similar to the felt bowls that I have made and a similar efect is created because the glaze is seen both inside and outside the vessel. I will try using mirrors to present by piece.


Matryoshka Stones by Margaret Oomen

 I really love these felted and crocheted stones by Margaret Oomen. The combination of textures of the felt, thread and stone are really appealing and the use of monochromatic colours emphasises the textural qualities. She says of her use of the term matryoshka to describe the stones,

 " I am using that word not in the literal sense of a stone within a stone within a stone but more in the sense of layers each with a different tactile emotional response."


resurrectionfern.typepad.com/resurrection_fern/2009/10/

A collection of felt bowls

I have finished making the small felt pots and now I am starting to think about how to display them. Here they placed in a regimented way with all the holes facing up wards

I think that they work well here, more randomly arranged in a glass bowl.

 When held up to the light the colours inside glow. To achieve this effect they could be hung up or displayed on a light box.

Felting

I have made a range of felt bowls and small pieces in the past and I have always liked the contrast between the colours on the outside of the bowl with the much darker tones seen inside. 

I have an excess of cream fleece and so I started to make bowls with cream on the outside and colours in the middle. As you felt the fleece the colours start to combine making tints of the colour. In the final pieces the centres are filled with intense colours and the outsides are mottles with subtle tints. These pieces are about 6 com wide and are variable in shape and size. While I like the effect I am not very happy with the finish of these pieces, they are too irregular and the colours are too strong.

 In this second set I started to make smaller bowls with more regular size holes at the top. Each individual piece is more attractive and I have used more neutral colours which I feel work well. As I worked on these bowls I started to use less and less coloured fleece inside and became interested in the way that just small amounts of colour can effect the tints and tones within the whole piece.

To develop this piece I intent to continue to make a range of these small bowls, experimenting with colour in each. I would like to make a final installation by attaching the bowls together to form an interesting and tactile surface.