Videos from On My Mother's Knee exhibition

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Knitting Machine Repair

Following my knitting machine saga for the Sharpe's Pottery Museum exhibition work, I have today started looking for a place to get mine repaired.  It doesn't help that I don't have the name of the machine to hand so I will bring it home from college tomorrow.   Whilst searching for repair man/woman, I found a knitting machine club in Lichfield which could be a useful resource for learning how to use my machine.  

Three Spires Machine Knitting Club

Viv Denham, 01543 676186

1.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m on Wednesday (1st and 3rd of month) | Every two weeks

The Three Spires Machine Knitting Club welcome everyone who is interested in machine knitting, whether you are a beginner, someone more experienced, or perhaps someone returning to machine knitting after a few years’ break.  Hand knitters are also most welcome.
Meetings incorporate demonstrations of knitting techniques, displays of recently knitted garments, and visiting Speakers.  We also put on regular coach trips to various knitting venues.
Our meetings have a friendly atmosphere and give members the chance to discuss knitting (and non-knitting) related topics over a cup of tea with like-minded people.

New members are always welcome - do come along and join us! 

As my knitted work has been given high praise from my tutors, I am thinking about using it in my final project in some way.   

On My Mother's Knee exhibition - research

http://www.lgac.org.uk/Current.html

Through Facebook, I became aware of an exhibition titled On My Mother’s Knee which is a textiles exhibition with a couple of ladies from the 62 Group and also others not in the 62 Group.

I left it until the last possible day to go!  I kept thinking I will go but then it got to last week and I thought I really want to go, but didn’t have funds to get there unless we got paid on Saturday so I contacted Llantarnam Grange and asked as it’s a touring exhibition, is it likely to be going somewhere this year and the response was if you want to see it, probably best to go while it’s on.   So I did.  I got up Saturday morning, checked the bank balance for student funds (!!) and booked a train for 9.50 am to Cwmbran.   Whilst on the train I was able to do some research for the self- employment assignment.

The venue was only 5 minutes from the train station and has a lovely welcoming atmosphere.   The exhibition was set over 2 rooms and there were 8 female exhibitors and it was pure textiles.   Two of my favourite artists Caren Garfen and Julie Arkell were what really drew me to it.  I’ve seen only small pieces of Caren’s work close up and I’ve only seen Julie’s work in books or on screen.  

I did my own video as I went around the exhibition for the second time, complete with my own brief commentary.  I also took photographs.   I felt inspired by what I saw.  Not just inspired though.  All the work there is work that I could do.   Some of it infact I have already done.   Heat transfer, hand embroidery, trapunto, mark making with stitch and simple sewn items.   There was lots of vintage about the exhibition mainly because the exhibition is about the artists’ experience of what they learnt as a child from parents and grandparents about textiles.  Many of the artists indeed had a parent who was in the creative industry. 

Louise Frances Evans’ work using heat transfer on vintage clothing and shoes was imaginative.  She had heat transferred images into the insole of the shoe and onto vintage blouse and apron and 2 old dolls.   Black and white images against a dusky pink shoe added to the vintage look.  

Kirsty Anderson had used vintage fabrics, recreating a bird mobile using string and I suspect a hoola hoop and had created birds which were suspended, creating a shadow against the white wall.  

Julie Arkell and her stunning paper mache people – just one on display today but it was enough!   It stood about 10/12 inches tall and was painted vivid red.   Her accompany bonnet, again in red, made me think about my knitting.   So far I have received fantastic comments about my knitted hats but seeing Julie’s hat in an exhibition has given me thoughts on using my knitting in my work which I haven’t really done to date other than the Sharpe’s project.

  Kate Jenkins created an amazing bold crocheted heart, complete with arteries and veins.    She is known  as a crocheting genius and I can’t disagree after viewing her work!  Her work wasn’t really to my personal taste, I could appreciate the work that had gone into it.   She did a series of pictures using crochet and sequins, all food related.   They reminded me of some of the work in the Haitian exhibition last year at the Nottingham Contemporary – it was the sequins that reminded me of this work.

Caren Gafen – what can I say.   Absolutely amazing.  Two identical designed dresses with written word hand stitched on of the twins’ experience as a child.   I kept looking at the dresses thinking there’s no way someone could stich that accurately but she does.   Caren’s work generally is very crisp and clean

Jessica Chorley likes to new life to old things and her work showed this.  From old fabric to old nik naks (can’t think of a better phrase) she collated items into painted up second hand frames.   There was a large stitched piece of work and I couldn’t tell whether it was hand stitched or done by machine.   It was different to Caren Garfen’s stitching in that this was almost dirty and old looking compared to Caren’s crisp clean white.    In my work, I identify more with Jessica’s style which is not as precise as Caren’s.  

hand stitched embroidery 

this was a picture in a frame that was made up of some lace, drawing/painting, safety pin and other nik naks 

Lynn Setterton had created one piece of work which was about 6 x 4 foot and it was actually a piece of work that she started about 30 years ago and it was recently found when clearing out her mother’s house.   It was a series of houses in a multitude of fabrics.   It didn’t really do anything for me I have to say other than make me see that the stitching wasn’t perfect and yet was still hung in a gallery!   I have a great tendency to be very critical of my work so I have seen today that actually, the quality of my work is pretty good. 

Ruth Singer had created pieces based on what her grandfather had in his sheds.   She had hand stitched onto white fabrics including cotton items such as gardening tools.  She had also used trapunto creating tear shapes which she had embroidered around.    I found this work quite simple and pleasing.

After seeing this exhibitions I I know it is textiles I want to focus on.  I have the skills that are on display at the exhibition I have seen today I just need to put them into a project, refine them and build on them rather than looking for new techniques and skills to learn.   

trapunto 

Reflection .............

This time 2 years ago I was unable to make the decision to go to university!  I was so fearful of making the wrong decision that I didn't make any.   What a difference 2 years makes.   Today I have completed my application and there is no "wrong decision" to be made; I believe that if I am meant to continue studying then I will be offered a place somewhere.

I think my favourite course is still mixed media textiles at Bath Spa but I still get fearful of the thought of moving away and that's ok.  I will be giving up my flat which is my security and also my network of support.
I am happy though that I have completed the application and now need to start doing some work on my portfolio.   The first thing I need to do is get some clear pockets for my portfolio which I obtained during the foundation diploma.   I need to investigate the Silverlight ones discussed at college today and whether I would actually use this or whether I will use a box file.   I will talk to other people who have gone before so get some ideas.

I am very proud of my achievements todate since taking the plunge into full time education.   Until I thought today about 2 years ago, I think I forgot where I have come from.  

Sharpe's Pottery Museum

On Thursday 9th January I had the opportunity to be involved in the live project for Sharpe's Pottery Museum.   The project was to create a final exhibition in a series of 3, this last one being about the future of swadlincote and it's heritage. 

I had to come up with a plan and maket for my ideas.   I had the idea of something relating to the ski centre specifically the spiral of the tobagan run which can be clearly seen from various directions in Swadlincote.   Along with this, I thought of an exhibition I had seen at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park last year which was of a curtain made by Juame Plensa.   This came to mind when we were discussing suspending things from the ceiling of the display case shown below (http://mikesm-sheffield.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/jaume-plensa-yorkshire-sculpture-park.html).

I started off doing a sketch as shown below which shows the curve i had in mind of the toboggan and the vertical lines were the influence of the steel curtain by Juame Plensa.   I then made a maket using

• cling film to represent the seed of a tree
• silver "fabric" which I cut into long strips and curled using a pair of scissors as you would for ribbon - the spirals were relating to the toboggan and the way it twists
• brown sticky tape which I scrunched to make a tree
• cream canvas fabric
• chicken wire - cut off a small section and the shape that was made automatically was curved exactly like the toboggan 

I put all these pieces together to try to create an image of what I envisaged as shown below

I suggested using the knitting machine to create large knitted pieces to drape over the chicken wire or to create trees with.

The other ideas that my fellow students had and had made makets for included

bin liners moulded onto chicken wire and sprayed - very effective and fitted with the idea of the mountain
perspex layers which you could look through the layers showing different maps of Swadlincote over the years

The group decision was to create a mountain with a road/path running around/through it with layers of maps and perspex !

I set about sourcing natural earthy coloured wools to run by the group and then knit with them.   Emma showed me how to set up the knitting machine but this was being temperamental that day, so I thought about knitting by hand.   Just as I was about to start I thought I'd go home and fetch my knitting machine which I've had for about a year but couldn't use as I'd threaded it up once and it didn't move as it should.   So I brought it into college and Emma went through setting it up and mine too was not working as it should.   The pins that hold the wool were not performing as they should.   So it was back to the hand knitting idea.   I created a sample and showed this to the group/tutors.  Mark said it worked well against the bin liners.   I asked what width it should be as I had created a sample piece that was about 1 foot wide and it was decided it should be about 10 cm.

I knitted 1.5 metres in one night, and then went into college the following day to meet with the rest of the group who were doing their part of the project including spraying the mountain white and sewing onto tracing paper.   I knitted into the piece short strips of cream canvas to give more texture and interest to the piece.  I also left sections dangling as the plan was to suspend it from a height so I felt this would add interest.    I showed the 1.5 metre piece to Mark and he advised it needed to be about the same length again.   I finished this but did not cast off as I knew that we had discussed embedding some bin liners to give the effect that the road had come from the mountain so I knitted 3 whole rows of bin liner only and no wool before casting off with the wool, just in time to go to Sharpe's to install it.

the sample of wool on the chicken wire.  The initial idea was to cover the whole chicken wire with the wool but it was suggested that we actually just use the knitted piece which could then be suspended 

On arrival at Sharpe's Pottery Museum, the group set up the exhibition.   We had two mountains, one 3 metre road and 6 maps of Swadlincote on tracing paper, layered and stitched into.  One piece of the mountain was put inside the glass case we had to display the work in and then we set about suspending fishing wire from the top of the case.   I attached two pieces of fishing wire to the end of the road to see how it would hang and the effect of having it suspended.   As a group, we worked efficiently, cohesively, thoroughly and have created a visual installation that was created in one and half days.

Challenges we faced today included getting the fishing wire through the top of the case - we required something very narrow i.e. tweezers to retrieve the wire.  We asked one of the museum employees and he produced a pair of long nose pliers which did the job nicely.   Dan seemed to have the knack of threading the wire and he did the first few and then we all actually took a turn to do some.   It was awkward, hurt the knees and arms and frustratingly slow at times.   We took a decision to remove the mountain and started to hang Lotty's maps as they were going to give a bit of structure to the knitted road road.  We then started to put up more wire on the route that the road was going to be.  We decided that we may not suspend all the road and when we actually put in the larger mountain, we lay the road on it, draping it around the mountain, going around Lotty's maps and we all said it looked good against the mountain.   It wasn't necessary to suspend it all and it wouldn't have fitted with the maps.   We suspended the end of the road and one more part of it and the rest was laid on the mountain with the black bin liner end at the front.  

Dan/Tom made sure no chicken wire was on show around the bottom of the mountains and they were installed in the glass case.   The road was installed but we had about a foot of carpet on show at the front of the case.   We added 3 more black bags but they looked like they had been stuffed in (which they had) because they were not sprayed so we took them outside, sprayed them, and putt them back.

Dan/Tom (don't know which one is which - it's like Ant and Dec - no matter how many times someone tells me who is who.....) wiped smears off the glass with wipes from the staff at the museum.

We checked all round the glass case to ensure it all looked tidy and we moved any debis we could that was left.

We tidied up the area where we had been working, throwing away rubbish and giving back tools and wipes. The museum staff gave us each a drink after we cheekily asked (well not WE but Dan/Tom asked).   Very much appreciated.

We sought feedback from the Curator at the museum seemed happy with the finished exhibit.   She took a photograph of the group for their Fcebook page (it's not there yet!).

I have thoroughly enjoyed this live project.   It was short, and a result was needed within a day (or two).  I got on with producing an idea (usual self doubt) and I presented this to the group.   I feel I fed into the project with ideas and I worked with initiative to produce a sample, I tried to find a work around the college knitting machine by fetching my own, and then was happy to produce a hand knitted piece.   It was suggested that rather than knit a piece we wrap wool around the chicken wire but this just looked wrong and ineffective.   I knew I could knit quickly and I knew that on large pins, it wouldn't take long.   I used 10mm needles and 3 strands of different colour and thickness of wool .    The finished piece of knitting I didn't savage with my usual self doubt as the feedback I had previously received on knitting I have done, but very positive and complimentary.

I feel I worked well as part of the team, I enjoyed working with the team today.  I asked Gracie if she would take photographs/video the installation and she has produced all the photographs and the video on this blog. Very satisfying project.  Would I change anything?   No.

All the photographs and videos are shown below.

nearly finished