FIGUR E BY RAGNAR RAEL
EXPERIMENTAL TEXTILE DESIGN FALL 2016 AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARTS, DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
FIGUR E BY RAGNAR RAEL
INTRODUCTION I ended up making a plastic bag. So yeah, I had ideas to make big pieces with detailed texture and interesting structure. My mood board was inspired by lava, nature, animals, disfigured human shapes, power and movement. It was a very flowy and a detailed selection of what I was aiming for. I knew from the start that I wanted to incorporate natural mechanics, for example solidified lava, wind and the behaviour of fur into my collection. To achieve this effect I thought about stiff and sort of solid materials that would be easy to shape. I started with plastic and experimented with melting and assembling it with threads. It gave a positive but not a pleasing result. The material just didn’t feel right. I discovered that I’m not a big fan of plastic, well at least not for this project. It doesn’t feel good on the skin and it’s less sustainable. So I went through different options. One of them was to use a solution made of hardening chemicals that would give the fabric a stiffer and moldable structure. A friend of mine Tia Lagus suggested to use beeswax. It worked and it smells like honey which is an added bonus, yay! Using beeswax gives me a more sustainable and nature friendly way to achieve the effects and structure that I’m searching for. So I soaked reindeer skin, silk, wool and a silk/ viscous blend materials one by one in the wax. The outcome is an eco friendly and high quality moldable material to work with. It’s by no means meant for a practical clothing or textile design since the wax loses its structure with a certain amount of warmth. For me it’s an inspiring material to make into a sculpture or a conceptual and visual piece.
MOOD BOARD AND INSPIRATION
WORK PROCESS
IDEAS FOR THE LEATHER
IDEAS FOR THE SILK
CONCLUSION Is the waxing a waste of high quality material? In the name of experimenting, no. Can it be used in normal day to day life? Quite possibly not but in a way the textile is an experience: smell, touch, melting and texture. Beeswax is so far mainly used as an ingredient for candles, to storage food and conserve fabrics. It gives other materials longer life and protection. I love that idea and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such a beautiful material to work with. In the future I want to work more with recycled materials and apply beeswax on it to form a structure and texture that I desire. I see it as a material to use for sculptures and different kind of art projects where the visual sense done with good conscience is the most important thing for me. All materials were purchased from: Eurokangas and Hobby Point. Equipment used: A sewing machine, an oven and a spatula. Assistance and support by Tia Lagus, thank you Tia <3
Mood board and inspiration photos are all materials borrowed from various Pinterest users and Wikimedia Commons and this publication is only meant for the course Experimental Textile Design and will not be used for any commercial purposes.