Just Do Something

Body Project

Nicki — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 20:13:03 +0000

For this project I wanted to look at the brain, in particular how to visualise OCD, I wanted to show non sufferers how OCD thoughts can feel. I wanted to explore this in fibre, for this project I chose to work with ‘non standard’ fibres, viscose, milk protein, silk noil, angelina fibre using wool (Swaledale) to blend the fibres together. I also wanted to experiment using non standard dyes, I chose to use food colouring. Following a discussion with a lady I met at the Wingham Wool weekend who explained how fibres can be dyed using Wiltons food colouring as the dyes are unstable in hot water various colours can be achieved.

Soaked Mixed Fibres – white wine vinegar/water Dye Vat – Blue Wiltons food colouring (entire bottle)

Mixed Fibres straight out of dye bath Mixed Fibres after rinsing (see ****)

******* Mixed fibres were placed in the dye bath at the same time, each fibre type colour varied dependant on colour absorption.

Fibres blended on drum carder to create bats Large pile of bats – ready to spin

Examples of spun yarn

Images showing yarn in context

Learning to take forward……………

Continue to experiment and explore…….

Yarn sample file to be continued – this enabled appropriate choice of fibres for this project

Develop use of unusual materials

BA7: Pechua Kucha, Learning Agreement

Nicki — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 14:00:01 +0000

This is my first unit of my last year at NUA, I am now a year 3 student … Oh dear I am not sure what I want to do in my last year, I spent the first week thinking what was I going to do, I wanted to spend this last term developing skills and doing something I enjoy but what there is so much I want to do !! We have been asked to create a presentation to show our ideas and planning strategies for this term to the rest of our class. Initial thoughts oh dear (again, there was a lot of this during the first few weeks) OK decision time , I decided to create a list of all the things I wanted to do, reflect on my recent creative activities what had I enjoyed ; Spinning and crochet ! A whole term doing something I really enjoyed hurrah ! This also fed into my ideas for my dissertation I wanted to look at how craft activities could improve well being.

Part of the presentation process was to include a gant chart to show planning for the term to enable all of the required work to created and finished in the allocated time. I found the process of creating a gant chart really helpful as it enabled me to visualise where and when work was required, I also set my self deadlines for finishing projects and to finish my dissertation before Christmas.

The presentation went well it enabled me to externalise my creative ideas for the term, the feed back from the rest of the class was also very helpful and positive.

Learning to take forward …

Gant charts are great … to try and transfer and develop this skill base into my personal life , also to be realistic when planning allowing for work and home life.

UPDATE -3rd January 2016

Gant chart must have worked as my dissertation was submitted 4 days before the deadline all of the practical work was completed before Christmas Hurrah ….

Reflecting on my slides for the Pecha Kucha I am able to see that my personal project is completely different to my original idea, but I feel my actual project shows lateral thinking with abstract outcomes ,which I want to investigate and develop. This can be seen in the post for Personal Project / Oblique Strategies.

Writing this update has enabled me to understand and to visualise the amount of learning I have achieved this term. I feel proud of my achievements’ and I am very pleased with the work I have produced.

Woolly Workshop Day

Nicki — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 12:50:18 +0000

Woolly workshop at Designer Makers @ 21 in Diss, with Kim and Kally Davidson , the day was spent trying out woolly craft techniques.

We were asked to choses 10 different types of yarn to spin together to create a new yarn, I had spun before but I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the process of spinning, also I had never created yarn from old yarn !!

My new yarn on the spinning wheel. The colours of the yarn are impressive, it had not occurred to me to mix very random yarns together, a single horrible yarn once mixed is transformed. …. To develop this idea further ….

We then spent some time creating freeform crochet using any material we wanted to try, I really enjoyed this, freedom to create anything using any material also using a non conventional crochet hook a stick with a notch carved in it. I was very pleased with the results.

My choice of materials can’t be fully appreciated in this photo, the blue is nylon bailer twine, the red yarn pencil roving of merino a beautifully soft yarn, I find the juxtaposition of material surfaces very interesting, making a very tactile object. I want to explore surface texture in greater detail throughout this unit.

Learning to take forward ……

Colour; experiment with different yarns

Create different surface textures…

Saori Weaving

Nicki — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 12:24:47 +0000

Having struggled to get to grips with weaving as I find all the straight lines and edges quite difficult I thought I would try Saori Weaving ,” Saori is hand weaving that emphasises creativity and free expression. No rules, no fear – just pure absorption and immersion into weaving and working with yarn and threads. This ‘non-technique’ is meditative in nature and aims to build self worth from the process and the resulting textile” (Curious Weaver http://curiousweaver.id.au/what-is-saori ). I booked a workshop with Kim at the Saori Studio in Diss. The idea of the workshop was to try Saori weaving and to play with the loom, to experience the freedom of using the loom. The edges are not important hurrah ! Kim explained the history of the Saori loom and showed me lots of samples of her weaving and how she had been able to combine various textile process with her Saroi weaving to create structural garments.

During the workshop we were encouraged to add texture and to experiment with colour, I was quite pleased with the results but am still unsure if weaving is a process I want to develop as I felt restricted by the confinements of the loom, I don’t think this would be improved by using a larger loom, I think the development my weaving skills are restricted by my creative thinking processes, not wanting to be constrained ? However Kim has mentioned a day course she is running next month a Woolly Workshop looking at extreme crocheting, spinning and weaving I have booked my self in…

3D Felting Samples

Nicki — Wed, 20 May 2015 22:28:22 +0000

I decided to experiment felting using vehicle components as formers to create shapes in the felt, I knitted the initial fabric on the knitting machine using 100% lambs wool.

1st felted sample 40 degree machine wash – fabric felted very well – shrinkage approx. 10%

2nd felted sample Yarn used – Lambs wool – using metal washers tied into the knitted fabric

1 washer tore through the felt during the machine wash outcome partially successful

3rd felted sample Yarn used Lambs wool / Viscose thread – metal washer used to create shape

Washers remained in the felt ? addition of viscose created a stronger fabric that prevented the tearing.

4th felted sample Yarn used – Lambs wool – Washers fixed in place with elastic bands 40 degree wash

All washers tore through fabric, created an interesting fabric on the reverse but not suitable for the application. ? The addition of towels to the washing drum caused the problem or the use of elastic bands caused the washers to tear the felt.

5th felted sample Yarn used Lambs wool and Viscose thread – Washers fixed in place with elastic bands -40 degree wash.

Again all washers tore through the felt,? Use of elastic bands or the addition of towels to the washing cycle. Fabric not suitable for application.

Learning to take forward

Continue to experiment with materials

Small changes can cause difficulties during the making process, again reduce the variables by changing 1 thing at a time

Research “Shibori” felting

Research artist using manipulated surfaces

Printing Workshop – Horning Primary School

Nicki — Wed, 20 May 2015 22:04:34 +0000

We enjoyed ourselves so much at the fashion workshop we asked to go back and run another workshop with the years 5 and 6 at Horning Primary School. I contacted the class teacher to find out what the students where working on at the moment – African Art and printing skills we tried to combine the two to create a successful workshop.

The children created an instant display of printed African sunsets for their classroom wall using collage and mono printing techniques.

We also looked at creating images using reductive methods, each student coloured a piece of paper with wax crayon and them painted over the wax crayon with acrylic paint, once dried they were able to scratch through the paint to create their African designs.

Yarn sampling

Nicki — Wed, 20 May 2015 21:14:36 +0000

For this project I wanted to learn how to use the knitting machine and to use wire !! I made it very difficult for myself as I wanted to experiment with all types of yarn and develop new skills at the same time. This was very frustrating as it repeatedly went wrong and the knitting fell of the knitting machine or the yarn wouldn’t knit at all . At first I thought it was my inability to learn to use the machine but with discussion with Liz Clarke I realised it wasn’t me but the yarn, hurrah! Liz suggested I stick to simple yarns to learn the techniques and then to experiment with yarn.

Photos below show the various types of yarn/thread I tried..

I decided to abandon the use of wire for final samples as I couldn’t get the results I wanted, I have not given up entirely I am sure once I have increased my knitting machine skills I will be able to use wire and create my desired outcomes, but it did force me to look at other types of yarns to enable me to get the effect I wanted, as I was using metallic objects as inspiration I thought initially I should use metal but on a wider search I sourced some viscose from Uppingham yarns giving me the metallic look and very soft fluid texture juxtaposing the metal object.

Learning to take forward..

When learning a new skill keep it simple, reduce the variables by using a consistent material enabling a good skill base to be built , then experiment with materials.

Bio Hacking Workshop

Nicki — Wed, 20 May 2015 19:43:15 +0000

I attended a Bio Hacking Workshop with Raphael Kim a bio hacker – designer, I had no idea what this was but thought it would be interesting. Prior to the workshop I did some research on Raphael and found his work very interesting and thought provoking.

An example of Raphael Kim’s work – Microbial prints of Drachma note close-up

Photo taken from – http://biohackanddesign.com/portfolio/biohack-the-economy/

The workshop was split into 2 sessions in the first session we collected DNA strawberries, the strawberries where crushed, the juice was extracted and chilled neat alcohol was added. The DNA strands could clearly be seen (this was very exciting I had no idea this was possible)

Strawberry DNA in vials Photo showing DNA strands (cloudy area)

Blobs of strawberry DNA

Raphael explained the strawberry DNA could be dried out on a low heat and then harvested, however I think I left mine in the oven for to long and it dried out.

In the second part of the workshop we set out to genetically modify E coli bacteria with genetic material from a jelly fish !!!

The Ecoli bacteria had been special modified to prevent it from causing any health risk if it escaped (it would quickly die in the air). We mixed the E coli with the fluorescent gene from a jelly fish spread the matter onto an agar plate, the plates where incubated overnight.

My agar plate prior to incubation.

In the next session we where able to view our agar plates with microscope made from a web cam, however the webcams would not work properly and we where not able to connect them up to our laptops to take photos , Raphael managed to get his lap top to connect and we where able to view our plates. My plate had grown E coli but did not fluoresce, I had not managed to genetically modify bacteria.

Learning to take forward..

Continue to take up opportunities to learn and explore

Look across a wider range of disciplines for inspiration

Mono Prints – Mechanical Components

Nicki — Wed, 20 May 2015 18:19:42 +0000

For this unit I wanted to create a series of mono prints from mechanical components to develop as textile patterns, I decide to using black and white to emphasis the line but to also emphasis the industrial theme.

Interesting surface textures created by mixing printing ink with PVA and embossing components into the paper.

I found this a very useful exercise to create a series of prints to develop into textile patterns.

Learning to take forward

Ensure mono prints do not become repetitive

? Use of colour ?? Black and white is to repetitive

Liz Clarke – Knitting Machine Workshops

Nicki — Wed, 20 May 2015 17:21:10 +0000

I was very fortunate to be able to attend a series of knitting machine workshops run by Liz Clarke. Liz Clarke is a very experienced machine knitter and tutor. These workshops where very useful and informative, each week we learnt a new technique and where able to have individual short tutorials to discuss our drawings and our knitting samples.

Some of the techniques I found very frustrating as they kept going wrong for example knitting in the round. This took hours of practise to make 1 circle, the photo below shows the development (I haven’t included the samples that completely fell to bits)

However I was very pleased to make 2 complete circles.

We also practised stitch patterns, ladders and holes I was able to create several interesting fabrics using these techniques and combining a variety of yarns.

Acrylic Yarn Nylon filament/Wool 100% Viscose

We also learned how to use punch cards to make a variety of patterns, and how to use multiple strands of yarn.

Lambs wool/ Viscose

Learning to take Forward

Practice ….

Choice of yarn makes a huge difference

I hope these workshops can be repeated in the 3rd Year as I have found them very helpful.