Frances Bailey Visual Literature
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Pg.3 About Keshiki Silk Pg.4 Exhibition Context Pg.5 Research - Other Practitioners Pg.6 Research - Books & Journals Pg.7 Research - Pinterest Pg.8 Research - Online Tutorials Pg.9 Research - Exhibitions Pg.10 Research - Getting Outside Pg.11 Development - Eco-Printing Pg.12 Development - Hapa-Zome Pg.15 Development - Roll-Hemming Silk Pg.16 Development - Lino Printing Pg.17 Development - Packaging Pg.18 Development - Audience Feedback Pg.19 Reflection - Successes Pg.20 Reflection - Less Successful Pg.21 Reflection - Going Forward Pg.22 Bibliography
Contents Visual Literature 2
About Keshiki Silk Visual Literature
Keshiki Silk is a collection of silk scarves designed using a printing process called Hapa-Zome. What is Hapa-Zome? Hapa-Zome is a Japanese printing method which involves beating plant material into cloth. A hammer is often used with a piece of cloth acting as a barrier, however after experimentation I discovered a rubber mallet was a more successful tool. This is because the surface area of the impact was greater; resulting in a quicker working method, as well as a smaller risk of over-beating the plant, which was common using a conventional hammer. I also found using clear plastic as a barrier between the mallet and the cloth was better because the working area was more visible, and therefore each strike was more precise. Bruising of the plant also becomes visible, which meant that it was clear when the colour had come out of the leaves, whilst minimising the risk of over-beating. The Subject Matter When reflecting on my original aims, I acheived what I wanted the get out of this project. I initially created dyes out of vegetables, however after only achieving a limited colour pallet and unable to successfully screen print using the dyes I moved on (thickening the dyes only weakened the colour and screen-printing didn’t allow enough contact time with the fabric to dye). I moved back into the research phase and discovered eco-printing. I experimented with all kinds of ecoprinting methods and felt the hapa-zome method really worked the best for me. I was inspired by Henry Moore and traditional Polish folk art, in that I wanted the visual quality to be informed by the working process, and Hapa-Zome 3
lends itself to that. I initially experimented with stenciling and using plants purely for colour. I also tried layering plant matter. But at the end of the day I found leaves in their simplest form to be the most beautiful. I then experimented with mapping nature from different locations. I loved the idea of capturing the fleeting beauty of nature. However Hapa-Zome on really works with specific types of plants, so ended up with more failures than successes on this journey. I returned back to basics and worked with the plant that I found worked the best through my experiments - the Poinsettia, or the Christmas plant! Capturing the beauty of this plant and it’s differences in colour for me, was powerful enough. People began to look at the beauty in the details of the leaves, which may have been taken for granted or even ignored before. But capturing this onto cloth, giving it a new platform for expression reignited it’s beauty for many people. Because of this I achieved my goal; reminding people of the beauty and colour of nature around them, in a world where it is quickly becoming forgotten.
Exhibition Context Visual Literature
I was really happy with how my work looked at the exhibition, and added some colour to an area with lots on monochrome
I was inspired to hang the scarves when seeing how light passes through them when I hung them to dry after printing
For the exhibition I wanted to capture what I described earlier as being the goal for my work. It was important that the viewer was reminded of the beauty of nature around them.
Because of limitations with the exhibition space at The Tetley, I began to worry that this final display wouldn’t be possible, as there wasn’t a lot of places suitable for hanging things from the ceiling.
I considered a few methods of displaying the scarves.
I arrived at my final plan, which was to use a single larger branch, hang this, and then drape the scarves over it. Using a found branch enhanced the natural element of the scarves, and worked as a way of replacing the leaves back onto the tree. I also felt it helped to demonstrate the use of natural materials in the creation of the prints, before confirmation when the viewer reads the tags.
• Displaying them as scarves in some way • Displaying them in bundles • Hanging the scarves almost like tapestries, one in front of the other
The exhibition was great, and I am proud to have been involved with the curatorial team. We worked well and efficiently together.
I decided that I didn’t want to display these obviously as scarves as I didn’t want the initial response to be that they were fashion pieces, because to me that’s not what they are about. I then considered bundles because I like how the silk looked when it’s layered on top of one another, it adds interest. However I still felt this way of display wasn’t quite right.
We received some excellent feedback regarding the show, and I got many complements for my own work. People were often surprised how the prints were produced and amazed at how much colour leaves can hold.
I arrived at hanging the scarves on in front of the other. I like how this method would include the layering of the fabric, and would also incorporate movement of the silk. I considered hanging the scarves from and weighing down with small branches.
The leader of the social enterprise Slate, Frances, who we will be working with for the Tetley Feast told me about a lady she works with who makes dens outside with children and does nature inspired craft projects with them. She was keen for us to be introduced to share ideas which was really exciting. 4
Research Other Practitioners
Eco Printed Dress by Monika Lamacka
Angie Lewin - textile designer and printmaker
Garry Fabian Miller ‘Split Thorn, the Last Leaves, the Last Branch, the Cuts, the Scars, the Wounding. A Gathering In for the Healing.’ (1987-88)
at something growing in the gutter’. I love the simple geometric shapes used in her patterns and the gorgeous colour palettes she works in. Garry Fabian Miller is a photographer, and the work above is a piece which has captured the leaves from fallen trees during the great storm of 15–16 October 1987 that hit southern England where 18 people were killed and hundreds of trees were damaged.
I looked at a broad range of practitioners. They all work in different media but use nature as their inspiration. The above were the most inspirational artists from my research. Monika Lamacka is a Scottish eco-printmaker who uses found materials to produce absolutely beautiful garments. She has truly mastered the craft of eco printing! Angie Lewin is a textile designer who studies the architecture of the plant, and will always stop to ‘look 5
Research Books & Journals
Article on Polish folk art in ‘Textile Forum’
‘Eco Colour - Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles’ by India Flint
‘Americal Craft’ Journal
unhappy with how my vegetable dyes were coming on I felt like I wouldn’t be able to move forward. I had borrowed this book from the library a couple of weeks before but hadn’t read it yet. I looked through it for hours and discovered a new lease of live for my work. I used this book as a reference throughout the rest of the module and was reluctant to let it go. I also fed my passion for magazines and journals without the expense, by discovering the amazing amount of them not only in the library but available for free online too.
Books and journals were a great source of information throughout this project. Journals from the library and internet sources like issuu.com contained such a wealth of information and works of different practitioners. I was inspired by the Polish folk art in Textile Forum, and how the designs were inspired by the processes of making the designs themselves. This became a pivotal part of my work and how I settled on the designs in that the leaves were used to make the colour, therefore the leaves should inform the pattern. ‘Eco Colour’ by India Flint became my bible throughout this project. When I became stuck after being 6
Making mood boards on Pinterest was really useful to get my mind working visually, picking out things I am naturally drawn to, and get me really thinking about my work.
Research Pinterest
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Research Online Tutorials
Using tutorials online was really useful. People out there have tried and tested various techniques and have identified best practice. Sharing information like this online is wonderful and really enhances the maker community. Comments on tutorials can also be really helpful too, people often ask questions which get answered, or get stuck with
something and help is given. Unsurprisingly they are all questions and problems I faced too! Without the tutorials online I wouldn’t have been able to learn to roll hem silk, after being turned away and refused help from the fashion department.
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Research Exhibitions
I went to a few exhibitions and craft fairs over the course of this module. Craft fairs were really inspiring as they were full of items that people had made lovingly by hand. I discovered jewelry by Diana Lambert who uses leaves as her muse for silver rings and necklaces. It was great to see nature inspiring other makers too and their responses to it. The most powerful exhibition for me in this module was the Cloth & Memory Exhibition at Salts Mill, in particular the work of Yasuko Fujino, a female tapestry artist from Japan. The layers of print within the silk reflects memories new and old, fading and remade. These layers are inspiring. Building a print over time after fading is a beautiful way if capturing memories and creating a piece of fabric which is an extension of the human mind and life.
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Research Getting Outside
I found one of the best ways to research for this module was by just simply going outside! Just looking at, and feeling nature. This was a great time to think about and reflect on my project. Going for a walk and being outside was a valuable part of my research and development.
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Development Eco Printing
was tied with acting as a resist. This produced a nice effect but I still wasn’t completely happy with the outcomes. The third image is silk organza eco printed with poinsettia leaves. Again I was still unhappy with the effects and decided to move on.
I started the second half of this module developing my skills with eco printing. I was really keen to capture the memory of a time and place through printing with the plants found there. However I the problem I faced was that winter was soon upon us, and suitable plants for this process were becoming more and more unavailable. Most where too dry, like in the first image, to leave a print. The second image is cotton eco dyed using dye made from red onions skins, with the yarn in which it 11
Development Hapa-Zome
After successful experiments with Hapa-Zome I decided to move back to that technique. I was still keen to capture the memory of various locations, so headed to Hall Park in Horsforth to collect material for
my hapa-zome prints. The colours were beautiful, particularly in the Japanese garden. I collected lots of leaves in all shades of colours and took them home to print with right away. I gathered fallen leaves
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rather than leaves straight from the trees as I had discovered this is when the leaves hold the most colour.
Development Hapa-Zome
I had started working with silk by this point proving more successful in earlier experiments. The lighter nature of the fabric needed less colour from the plants to make a print. The plants were really hit
and miss in terms of how successful the prints were which was really frustrating. Like eco printing the plants need a certain quality to print successfully, and the time of year caused most of the plants to be too
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dry yet again. The prints were too faint. It was delicate and suited the fabric but I will still not 100% happy with the effects.
Development Hapa-Zome
I decided to work with what I had learned during my hapa-zome experiments. Poinsettia leaves had work much better than another leaves that I had been experimenting with. I really wanted my scarves to have a high visual quality to them, and to acheive this I had to
carefully select to plant material rather than relying on found material to work well every time. I decided that the plants used were not important if all I wanted to acheive though this project is to remind people about the beauty of nature around us. Poinsettia plants also
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worked well in that green and red leaves demonstrates the transition of plants throughout autumn, and thus the fleeting beauty of nature. It is also a strong, successful method of printmaking using natural materials, which was the main goal in my initial proposal.
Development Roll Hemming Silk
As I mentioned earlier I learned to roll hem silk by hand using a tutorial on YouTube. It was a shame I couldn’t use the machines in fashion, however in hind sight I don’t mind too much as learning to do this by hand meant that the scarves are truly handmade. I had to learn this skill very quickly, as both scarves I made are about 1.5m long each, so it was set to be
very time consuming getting them hemmed and finished in time for the deadline. The technique itself isn’t too difficult, but getting the stitching even and consistent is what takes the time to really get to grips with. The first scarf is OK but is slightly inconsistent in places. By the second scarf I had started to really improve, and this is clear between the two.
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Development Lino Printing
contrasting way. I used this opportunity to learn a new printing method. I drew the leaves onto lino, and cut the lino using lino cutters to create a stamp which could be used across the packaging. I feel this stays with the handmade quality of the scarves but still results in a professional finish to my work.
For the packaging I really wanting something that would add value to the scarf as a salable item, as this is something I have worked hard over and would like to produce more of in the future and sell at craft fairs. With this in mind I decided to create packaging to hand the scarves in for assessment. I wanted to imitate the leaves on the scarf but in a different and
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Development Packaging
For the final packaging I wrapped the scarves in green and white tissue paper. I then bound it with natural yarn I had hand dyed with red onion skins. I then used the lino stamp to decorate the box and
create a label. I decided to name the scarves ‘keshiki silk’. Keshiki is the Japanese word for landscape/scenery. I thought this name was appropriate given that the scarves have been created using a
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Japanese printing method. I also find Japanese words beautiful in how they sound, so it felt right for me to name them this.
Development Audience Feedback
Feedback was a really useful way of pushing my project forward. There were times when I felt like my motivation was dipping, and talking it through with other people was really important. I would speak to my friends and partner about what I was doing; sometimes thinking out loud helps to clarify thoughts and ideas. I found one to one tutorials helpful, but group crits were the most helpful out of all the methods of receiving feedback.
I enjoyed looking at other peoples work and sharing my ideas and opinions, It helped me to reflect on my own work in a different way too. I found in group crits we bounced ideas off of one another, and I took part in really valuable discussions for both my own and other peoples work. The show and tell helped me to think about how I am going to exhibit
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this work. My thoughts on hanging the scarves with branches was well received, and helped my to fine tune the idea into the one I decided to go with. The show and tell also confirmed that including tags detailing information on how the scarves have been produced was helpful. My work has been well received with a good amount of interest throughout which has helped my motivation.
Reflection Successes I found the following to be successful in this module: • I knew what I wanted to do from the beginning as I had thought about it over the summer, this enabled me to hit the ground running. • I remained honest with myself; if I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing I took it as a sign to change direction. This helped me to keep working and procrastinate less. • I fulfilled my original aims in that I made natural dyes, when screen printing didn’t work I explored other printmaking methods. I learned more by doing this, and allowed myself to experiment more than I used to do. • Now I know I enjoy experimenting over getting an idea and going with it, I am more likely to continue doing it in the future. • I learned a wide range of skills including, eco-printing, hapa-zome, knitting, making natural dyes, sewing (mainly roll-hemming), mono-printing, lino printing and more. • My final scarves were strong and had an aesthetic I was happy with. • I got lots of positive feedback and genuine interest from people regarding my final pieces. • My work was unlike that of anyone else. • My work was socially engaging in that it was using nature as a method of printmaking and the final pieces act as a reminder of the natural world around us. • I have improved at blogging and documenting my work. I have established working processes which works more efficiently; using an iPad has helped me to work and make notes from anywhere.
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Reflection Less Successful I found the following to be unsuccessful in this module: • The stitching on my final scarves could have been better with more practice. I had run out of time to practice more as I assumed I could use the sewing machines at uni. Hemming by hand required more skill than I anticipated, however improvement is evident. • Although I am happy with the final scarves, the green scarf was stronger and bolder than my red scarf. This is because the red leaves hold more colour than the green, so bled more into the silk. I am not sure how this could have been prevented. • If my budget had allowed I would have used peace silk to create the scarves. This would have added integrity to the ethics of my work. I planned to purchase peace silk, however I had spent a lot of money on my project, and simply couldn’t spend any more. • My project was expensive. I could have been more confident in asking market traders for skins and old flowers/ plants for free of charge instead of spending as much money. • I did start to move onto a new project by the end of the module, and this effected my motivation to develop my work further. • Hapa-zome has many limitations as to what kind of aesthetic can be produced. • There is also limitations as to what kind of plants can be used. Some of the best plants are not available in the UK, or not in season.
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Reflection Going Forward • I have definitely learned more from this module than any other so far about how I learn and what interests me. • I have become a better learner, but there is still a way to go and I can still improve in this area. • I want to continue to use nature as a theme in my work going forward, I have a realised this is a subject I am very passionate about. • I want to develop my illustration skills more by focusing on drawing things from nature. • I want to continue with printmaking, and look at other methods of printmaking.
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Bibliography Visual Literature
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