I frequently did illustrate the words but also continuing to further develop the concept by first illustrataing the word but subsequently continuing to develop it further along with intuition or enjoyment.
Words describing a very wide range of materials create a mindset that opens up. I feel that a textile interpretation can include any of the mentioned materials, provided there is no limit as to how the interpretation is supposed to be used. In case a piece of a wearable interpretation a few of these materials would come out as difficult – such as copper and possible wax, paper depending on what paper and how it has been treated. I have myself experimented with news cuttings, backed by fusible
In case the intended interpretation is planned for a wall there are no limitations – and if the intended piece of work is to be placed outside, there have to be considerations – but no limitations – depending on how you can treat your material in advance.
My chosen words
DENSITY - my mindmap words were pleated, covered, layered, bricks, plastic, padded, felt, knots, together
I decided to make a dense layered brick like a “stacked” patchwork” from a huge number of patches of fabric – to make a firm brick which could be cut or “sawed” through. I used three different fabrics, warm brown, sharp turquoise and a dark blue-green/turquoise (a colour combination I like). They were very thin – they were of lining quality and I sprayed textile glue on them before I stacked them and continued to stack until I had a pile of 1,5-2cm thickness. It was difficult to cut through without distorting the cut surface and in the end I used a scalpel. I managed to produce one small brick and one large and what was interesting was that the shine of the brown fabric could be seen in the cut-through surface! I think I managed to really make a “dense” construction from textile – a real brick. The darker turquoise/blue did not really contrast enough compared to the lighter turquoise. On the other hand the band of light turqoise opposed the concept of density - however underlined the dense impression of the rest of the "stack".
DELICACY – my mindmap words were thin, transparent, disappear, see-through, holes, net, spiderweb, web, strengthen, caution, knotting
I did choose a polyester organza which has a faint sparkling character and I cut it up in thin ribbons making a “thread/yarn” from it. It did appear still more delicate when seen in these threads. My next task was to strengthen it. I crocheted a long line and became fascinated of how different it was – it had become elastic and one would not be scared of trying to stretch it. However in order to further strengthen it I tied it into loose knots and ended up with a knotted ball – which still has a delicate appearance but it is very strong.
I did not use colour in this experiment – I had initially some plans of colouring sections of the crocheted strand, sections in different colours but lacking proper textile dyes I decided I might just make a mess of this beautiful shimmering ball.
SCULPTURED but it could also be STRUCTURED – My mindmap words were soft, fluid, stiff, padding, hat, jewellery, folds, pleats, raised areas, quilting, bending,
I have always been interested in trying out origami and similar techniques with fabrics – have not done it until now. I have done some experimenting before in a small quilt but that was with soft fabric and this time I decided to use still polyester tulle that I had in store. I mixed it with yellow and turquoise lining fabric nd delieberately used black contouring not only to safeguard edges but also to make a couple of decorative seams. I wanted the black to break up the very “pretty, pretty” impression and give it a twist. The figures, flowers perhaps could be translated into larger or smaller soft chiffon creations either in colours or – in black on white, black on black or white on black, I can see a large chiffon scarf or even shawl with a rich decoration of this kind of crations. I can also see it in stiff creations as collars together with stiff pleated parts or as “overlarge” decorations on evening dresses.
LACE – my mind-map words were holes, filled holes, see-through, ornaments, sheer, bold, thread, wire, pattern, pearls, cut outs, mesh, web, net,
After some thought I chose to use a “winter” wool in brown with a tint towards olive and to make a bold lace, filled with contrasting colours. I cut out circles and squares and used a dark turqoise/blue thread to edge the pieces, but also used a lighter brown/beige thread for other edges. I entered both a warm shiny lining fabic as well as a dark bluish/turquoise fabric for a different type of contrast. In a piece of work of this kind, it is difficult to achieve a finish at high level. My lining fabric has bubbled and the contours are not perfect but the piece shows the idea and a way it can be done with appropriate fabrics. I could very well think of this kind of decoration on the back of a jacked or as an edging border of something.
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