Module Two - Chapter One

My husband thought I was quite mad when I jumped up and down and squeeled like an excited 6 year old.  All because I had received Module 2 from Distant Stitch.  The module is amazing and I am so excited about what I am going to learn! 

Collecting Resources, Looking at Shape and Form – Page 3-7

Very enjoyable and ongoing activity.  A lot of shapes and forms share their characteristics e.g. you can have a rounded yet spiked form.  My main sources are magazines and books.  Need to get out and take more photos though.  David Hockney was on the TV a few weeks ago talking about colour in the landscape and now I can’t go out for a walk without asking the question “What colour is that hedge/ flower/patch of grass?”  Going to see his exhibition early February so should be fabulous.

 Here is a small sample of what I have collected.

To Draw or not to Draw – Page 8

I made four attempts at drawing a simple flower shape.  The fourth attempt was definitely my best one.  Tried to remember that the exercise was not about how good at drawing I was but about finding shape and form.  It was helpful to remember that.  I still enjoyed the drawing however, and bought a book about how I could improve my drawing – just to have a go.



First attempt at drawing a flower as per Chapter One, page 8




Third go at drawing

Fourth go at drawing flower

Adding to your Drawing – Page 9

After a few attempts at trying to capture the shape and form of the poppy I was quite pleased with the drawing.  I was very pleased with the free embroidery I think I captured the shape of the poppy quite well.

Print, drawing and stitching of poppy as per Chapter One, page 9
"Adding to Your Drawing"



Inspiration from the Artists – Page 10-14

Cefyn Burgess

I have never heard of this artist before.  At first I wasn’t sure about his work but when I looked at several more pieces of his work on the Internet they were very moving.  I’m not sure how he uses stitch to get the effect he does, but it looks like a pencil drawing.  Heavier and lighter use of the thread indicates shape, form and movement of the plants.  His work is very beautiful because it is so naturalistic.  It’s like standing in a field of wild flowers.

Drawing with your Needle-Page10-11

Cefyn Burgess Style

I amazed myself at my three drawings of hedgerow flowers.  I have an old book of illustrated wild flowers which inspired me to draw.  It took a few attempts but finally so pleased with the results.  I just took my time and concentrated quite hard.   I also feel very pleased with the stitching, again just concentrated very hard and took my time.  I see that Cefyn Burgess has stitched words into his work and looking back now wished I had written something, even just the names of the plants.  But it could be an idea for later maybe.



Picture of stitching by Cefyn Burgess





Drawing in style of Cefyn Burgess for stitching as below




First piece of stitching in style of Cefyn Burgess




Second piece of stitching in style of Cefyn Burgess



Third piece of stitching in the style of Cefyn Burgess

 

Grinling Gibbons

Another artist I haven’t heard of.  Although his work is amazing I can’t quite empathise with it.  The carvings are amazing and very life like but don’t appear very natural.  Capturing the downloaded image in a drawing was much more difficult than my drawings of wild flowers.  It took a few attempts again, but I think I have managed it.

I couldn’t find any artificial flowers or seed heads.  However, I found a picture of Arum lilies in a gardening book, so used these with their leaves and a picture of poppy seed head to compose my drawing.  My stitching isn’t too bad, but again I found this more difficult than the smaller wild flowers done previously.  It was difficult finding the right place to start and making the first stitch is always the hardest.  Overall though I am pleased with what I have done.

An example of the carving of Grinling Gibbons



First attempt at drawing from Grinling Gibbons piece above



Drawing from carving of Grinling Gibbons

Drawing of what I will stitch as per Chapter One, page 13

Final stitched piece - Chapter One page 14

Creating Voids
Page 15

I loved doing this because it involved different techniques.  It was difficult finding enough jugs/vases to create a composition.  Unfortunately I didn’t have any tall vessels only short stubby ones, so the composition isn’t great.  I think I draw flowers better than jugs, but “practice makes perfect.”

The difficulty I had with this exercise was determining which lines to leave out when doing the tracing.  It wasn’t until I was half way through stitching that I wished I had left other lines out and other lines in.  Another difficulty was concentration on the stitching.  Granite stitch is very intense and repetitive.  There was also a lot of space to fill in with the stitching and so it was easy to become unfocused and letting the needle jump about.  I noticed my shoulders and wrists aching too, so had to discipline myself to stop stitching now and again and relax my shoulders.

Initial sketch to be stitched to create voids

Final tracing with coloured areas for stitching



Piece stitched in granite stitch



Self Assessment

Module Two, Chapter One

In conclusion, I feel that I have

•  Developed a liking for collecting things.  (I am not a hoarder and throw everything out regularly!)
• Developed an interest in and improved my drawing. 
•  Developed an awareness of shape and form by using different styles of stitching such as in the style of Cefyn Burgess and Grinling Gibbons. 
• Creating voids in order to demonstrate other shapes and forms.
• Improved my skills at free machine embroidery.

Module One - Chapter Ten

Stitching Colours, Line and Texture
Stitch and a Blob
Stitch and Squiggle
Stitch and Round Backwards and Forwards
Page 81 - 84

Very enjoyable activity using all my favourite shapes and movements.  I enjoyed using all the colours suggested, particularly the purple and silver. 

Drawn blobs, squiggles and rounds

Stitched blobs, squiggles and rounds

Doodle and Stitch
Page 84
I'm afraid I ran out of ideas for this.  Strange but true.  I'm not much of a doodler so found it difficult to not think about what I was drawing which defeats the idea of doodling I think.  Also having drawn the above exercise with all the loops and circles etc. I found that these are the shapes I would naturally draw anyway.  However, I did have a go but the results are not very exciting.  I wouldn't choose to add any of these to the resolved sample, although I think some of the shapes could be used in other things.  The orange, red and yellow star explosion shape is the most exciting and I quite like the yellow, red and orange blobs on stalks at the left of the piece of felt.  This came from looking at my tea mug which had an Orla Keily design on it.

Doodle and stitch

Shapes and Colours for Resolved Sample
Page 85 - 86
Had a go at drawing some shapes from photographs I'd taken.  I love the Rennie Macintosh shapes on page 85.  I looked at some William Morris designs but they are a bit too fussy.

Idea for a wall hanging or similar from the twisted tree trunk below





This has line and enclosed spaces taken  from the wood panel below

Patrick Caulfield's 'Pottery'

Page 86

(Sorry, about the alingment here (I don't know what's going on))!

I found a copy of the 'Pottery' painting on the Tate Gallery website where they had a lovely downloadable 'educators pack' for the artist.  I'm not sure if the colours are 'true'.  I think there about 10 basic shapes all with curved lines.  The colours that are represented from my printout show, browny orange and oranges, greens, blues, yellows and violet or purple.  The colours are strong and vivid.  The arrangement of colours helps to make each pot stand out - as an individual from the others yet completely linked to the other pots. There is a quote from Caulfield on the Tate Gallery's educators pack which says "One's always been taught in art school that all relationships and colours should blend, affected by one light.  But that can make for a very dull painting.  Does nature blend?"

Here is the my design and stitching for the final resolved piece in Chapter Ten

Materials used are black felt with stabiliser, purple/pink, orange, green, yellow and blue Gutterman and Madeira rayon 40 thread. I have mixed feelings about this piece of work.  I kept leaving it and going back to it, thinking I might just start again but then thinking I don't know what's wrong with it.  I like the design on paper, but when it came to stitching I realised that the spaces I wanted to fill were not wide enough so it wasn't easy to sew.  I decided to stay with the suggested size but would have liked it to have been much bigger.  I had a lot of 'skill' issues with my free machine embroidery, particularly going over the black bobbing thread on the front.  I probably rushed doing this part in order to get on with the stitching.  I know I could have done a better job.  I like the colours I have chosen and I think the best bits are the pink and orange colours with the circular stitches.  I think I have achieved a balance with the design of the shapes, colours and stitches. 

I have now reached the end of Module One which I have enjoyed very much.  I have also learnt a great deal.  Not just about colour and design but my skills which have improved a lot.  I have also learnt a lot about myself and how I approach different tasks which will definitely help when I embark on the next exciting part of the journey in Module Two.





Module One - Chapter Nine

Playing with Colours, Building Layers
Exercise 1 & 2 Page 74

The top piece is stitching the three primary colours, red, blue and yellow using various widths and lengths of zig-zag stitch.  I think each colour stands alone with no blending in.  The dominant colours are red and yellow, possibly because the stitching is closer together with these colours.  The blue is quite sparsely done.  I don't feel the stitching is particulary exciting all though they are vivid, it does not do anything for me.  I think the stitching is 'informative' and clear, bright but unimaginative.

The bottom piece has be stitched using the same primary colours as the first piece but with automatic patterns.  This has added a little more movement to the stitching.  I prefer the smaller stitches achieved by altering stitch width and length.  This piece of stitching is a little bit more interesting though again, does not use my favourite colour scheme.

Embroidery with Secondary Colours

Exercise 3 page 75



This piece has been stitched on Razzle Dazzle fabric using primary and secondary colours with automatic patterns and changing widths and lengths of stitch.  The chosen fabric helps to add more vibrancy as well as the use of secondary colours.  It is more interesting, textural and vibrant.

Building Layers with Primary and Complimentary Colours

Exercise 4 page 76

The first piece is using primary colour yellow with it's complimentary colour purple.  I like the colour combination very much as it seems subtle and blends together in a pleasing way.  I also like the automatic patter I have chosen.  Again, I have used different widths and lengths of the same stitch.

The middle piece has been stitched using red and it's complimentary colour green.  This is a very bright piece and contrasts with the first as it is not very subtle.  It looks very Christmassy.  I have not used varying widths or lengths of stitch.

The third piece has used blue with it's complimentary colour orange.  The colours blend in a more subtle but stronger way than the first piece.  I used altering lengths and widths of the same stitch.

I have loved stitching these and enabled me to see the possibilities that stitch on stitch and colour on colour can create. 

More Experimenting

Exercise 5 - page 76

This was great to do.  It was good to think of an idea and follow it through.  The middle section is a mixture of red, orange and yellow and the side pieces are purple,blue and green.  The I like the way the design and the colour have added movement to it all. 

Colour Grading

Exercise 6 - page 77



This was horrible, and a let down after getting on with the last piece.  It felt like taking a step back.  Arrgghh.

Monet Colour

Exercise 7 - page 78

This is Monet's House of Parliament, painted in 1904 and I have chosen to depict the vivid central piece in the picture.  The colours I can pick out are pale blue, mid blue, yellow, amber, burnt orange, bright orange, gold, dark pink, mid pink, red, violet and indigo.

This is my attempt at capturing the colours

Exercise 8 - page 79

This is stitched on black felt with a black felt stabiliser.  I like the automatic pattern I have chosen as it helps to blend the colours together.  I chose not to use free embroidery.  The black felt adds to the dramatic effect of the colours.  I started with layers of blue and green, then yellow, oranges, pinks, violets and indigo.  Sometimes I used two threads in the same needle.  I started trying to be systematic in layering the colours but ended up just going with what felt right rather than looking at the picture.  Looking at it now I can see it needs more orangey yellow in the centre.

This has been stitched on Razzle Dazzle fabric and using the same colours and stitch selection as the piece on black felt.  I prefer the piece on black felt as it helps provide the atmosphere created in Monet's painting by bringing the colours alive.

Finally I have tried to use primary colour and secondary colours, using 2 threads in the same needle and a little bit of black with some of the red to create a different purple.  Unfortunately I used a straight pink absentmindedly. 

This has been a great chapter which I have really enjoyed and got a lot from.

Module One Chapter Eight

Lines - photos
I am trying to remember to take a camera around with me but not having been much of a picture taker in the past it requires a bit of thought and discipline on my part.  Anyway here are a few pictures of line structures.



Trees at Athelhampton House Dorset - I love the cool effect of the leaf cover, the silver grey colour of the tree trunks and the idea that all the trunks are part of a group of trees, yet each stands alone.



Block of office Windows Oslo - I Like the simplicity of this design

Helsingbourg Castle Wall Sweden - Great steely blue/grey



Helsingbourg Castle Sweden - beautiful shape

 

Inside the Logia at Great Dixter - inspires me to do a very natural piece of work with natural materials



Pathway section Great Dixter - Intricate and intitmate



Tree Trunk Athelhampton House Dorset - Old and mysterious and great texture.

Taking a Line for a Walk

Taking a line for a walk drawn



Taking a line for a walk stitched using free machine embroidery and hoop.



Taking a line for a dance drawn

Taking a line for a dance stitched using free machine embroidery and hoop.




Mark Making
Having gathered together several articles such as kitchen whisks, spoons, coils, nuts, seed heads I have been very disappointed with my results.  I'm afraid I got into a horrible inky mess, with ink running up and down my arms and heaven knows where, so I ended up cutting this exercise short.  I had more satisfaction from tying to make marks with a felt pen and a crayon.  Some of the marks I've made with a grass seed head remind me of Jackson Pollack, who I like a lot.

More felt tip pen marks

Using all sides of a black wax crayon

Coat of Arms

Marks using  black felt pen

More 'Jackson Pollock' using seed heads and black ink

Marks using bottle washer spiral brush and black ink

Felt tip pen marks



Marks made with black in and pastry cutter - the unintentionl blobs of ink seem to have become butterfly shaped.



This is my 'Jackson Pollock' with seed head and end of paint brush marks with black ink

Emotions

Drawn emotions, anger,calm, lust, happy, sad and envy.  The more negative emotions such as anger are tighter in sytle whilst the more relaxed emotion are more open in shape.

The stitched example of the drawing above.  Free machine embroidery.  I didn't use a hoop with this as there wasn't enough space to move the fabric around with a hoop. 

I'm not sure what emotions are expressed in the examples you have stitched on page 72, however the first set of stitching is close and tight so could be anger or another strong negative emotion.  The second sample is more open in structure, but also angular, so could be angry again or maybe sad.