Yesterday was Labour Day, so I did roughly half a day of schooling. I would have done a full day but I wanted to spend some time with my husband, who doesn't get a lot of days off. So there was some decidedly not-working going on.
I started with the warm-up, as usual. It didn't go anywhere, which is becoming more frequent. The assignment was to get some sort of a box and put my "collection" in there, as a field journal. The problem was that I a) didn't have the type of box mentioned and b) that I don't have a collection. So that was that.
Next, I listened to my podcast as I wove. On the weaving front, my project is nearly finished! It will probably be a very short scarf as I don't think I factored in loom waste when I did my calculations. I may have mentioned that calculations are not my strong point. Anyway, the podcast was a continuation of the previous two day's podcasts, talking about Indian fabrics (mostly cotton) and their impact around the world). Eventually chintz got passe, because everyone had it, so no person of fashion would wear it. The next big thing in Indian cotton was Bengali muslin. At the time, Europeans could not make muslin, because they couldn't replicate the very finely spun thread used in muslin. It was apparently very difficult to weave because the thread was so fine. Muslin appeared in dresses with high waists (now known as Empire waists), because it looked like the clothes that ancient Grecian women wore in the art from that period. Since muslin is very fine, critics said that women were trying to replicate Grecian undress. Also fashionable at that time were cashmere shawls, with very beautiful patterns. In the beginning they tended to have a large plain field in the center and a decorated edge. Over time, the decoration came to take up most of the shawl. These could be draped around the shoulders in such a way that complemented the folds in the muslin dresses. These shawls were very expensive and it took a long time for them to go out of fashion. They were still fashionable in the Victorian period, where they became very long to coordinate with the silhouette of the day.
For my drawing assignment, I decided to draw a ball of fine yarn. Holy cow. When I try to draw stuff like this, it reminds me how far my drawing actually has to go. It was very frustrating and so far, looks nothing like a ball of yarn. It didn't help that I was looking at art magazines over the weekend with photorealistic drawings in them. I have to keep in mind that drawing isn't my ultimate medium and photorealism isn't my means of expression. That being said, I don't want to be an artist that can't draw so that's why I choose challenging projects like this. My last project was too easy and I finished it in 15 minutes. I suppose I could have made it more detailed, but I think I actually hit my limit of what I can currently do with my drawing. Drawing will be my next major subject after design, I think.
After that, I did surface design. Well, "did" is a relative term. I spent a lot of my time looking at the projects of the past few days trying to figure out what's next. I still haven't figured it out. Maybe they are finished. They are currently hanging in my dining room, where I can look at them and try to decide things. I also spent a fair amount of time flipping through my book, reading about different techniques that I might try. I decided to avoid discharges for the time being because you need a respirator, and I just don't feel like doing art that requires a respirator right now! I decided to do a resist with Elmer's school glue on some new pieces of cloth. However, when I got out my Elmer's glue, I saw that it was not school glue, and that it in fact would not work as a resist because it wouldn't wash out of the fabric. So I'll keep my eyes peeled for some cheap school glue when I go out today.
I skipped business study, although my husband and I discussed how I might do some more internet sales, and that I should think about what I want to sell online. I have a few items in my Etsy shop (none of them currently listed) and I think I will try to sell those again, but they need better photos and it's not the kind of stuff I want to spend the rest of my life making. I might start a new shop in conjunction with my current one. But first I have to find my camera parts!
My design study was a bit all over the place. I started by finishing the previous chapter on form. I actually didn't have much left in that chapter, so now I think it's odd that I stopped what I did. I read about form in three dimensional design, much of which is the same as two-dimensional design. Balance is a little different because things have to look balanced from all different directions. Asymmetrical balance is most common. The scale of 3-D work is important-- it could be a tiny thing that could be held in the palm of the hand, or it could be large enough to be walked on, or so incredibly huge it can be seen from far away. Movement can be quite different because kinetic sculpture is possible. The next section that I started on (but didn't get very far in) was about line. I am quite excited about this chapter, as I am really interested in how line can be used in surface design. The characteristics of line are measure (the length and width of the line), type (straight, curved, or angular), direction (which way the line moves on the surface; for example, you could have a zig-zag line that curved over the surface of the work), and location (where on the surface the line is, and how that affects our perception of space, perspective, and so on.) That's as far as I have gotten.
In my personal projects, I have started to knit a scarf for a birthday present for my stepmom. I had a pattern, tried it, scrunched it up and threw it away, and made my own pattern. It's my first lace pattern, and I am pretty impressed with myself considering that I have only made 1 1/2 lace projects before. I can't post the photos yet because my stepmom might be reading this, but after she receives it I will post them.
I started with the warm-up, as usual. It didn't go anywhere, which is becoming more frequent. The assignment was to get some sort of a box and put my "collection" in there, as a field journal. The problem was that I a) didn't have the type of box mentioned and b) that I don't have a collection. So that was that.
Next, I listened to my podcast as I wove. On the weaving front, my project is nearly finished! It will probably be a very short scarf as I don't think I factored in loom waste when I did my calculations. I may have mentioned that calculations are not my strong point. Anyway, the podcast was a continuation of the previous two day's podcasts, talking about Indian fabrics (mostly cotton) and their impact around the world). Eventually chintz got passe, because everyone had it, so no person of fashion would wear it. The next big thing in Indian cotton was Bengali muslin. At the time, Europeans could not make muslin, because they couldn't replicate the very finely spun thread used in muslin. It was apparently very difficult to weave because the thread was so fine. Muslin appeared in dresses with high waists (now known as Empire waists), because it looked like the clothes that ancient Grecian women wore in the art from that period. Since muslin is very fine, critics said that women were trying to replicate Grecian undress. Also fashionable at that time were cashmere shawls, with very beautiful patterns. In the beginning they tended to have a large plain field in the center and a decorated edge. Over time, the decoration came to take up most of the shawl. These could be draped around the shoulders in such a way that complemented the folds in the muslin dresses. These shawls were very expensive and it took a long time for them to go out of fashion. They were still fashionable in the Victorian period, where they became very long to coordinate with the silhouette of the day.
For my drawing assignment, I decided to draw a ball of fine yarn. Holy cow. When I try to draw stuff like this, it reminds me how far my drawing actually has to go. It was very frustrating and so far, looks nothing like a ball of yarn. It didn't help that I was looking at art magazines over the weekend with photorealistic drawings in them. I have to keep in mind that drawing isn't my ultimate medium and photorealism isn't my means of expression. That being said, I don't want to be an artist that can't draw so that's why I choose challenging projects like this. My last project was too easy and I finished it in 15 minutes. I suppose I could have made it more detailed, but I think I actually hit my limit of what I can currently do with my drawing. Drawing will be my next major subject after design, I think.
After that, I did surface design. Well, "did" is a relative term. I spent a lot of my time looking at the projects of the past few days trying to figure out what's next. I still haven't figured it out. Maybe they are finished. They are currently hanging in my dining room, where I can look at them and try to decide things. I also spent a fair amount of time flipping through my book, reading about different techniques that I might try. I decided to avoid discharges for the time being because you need a respirator, and I just don't feel like doing art that requires a respirator right now! I decided to do a resist with Elmer's school glue on some new pieces of cloth. However, when I got out my Elmer's glue, I saw that it was not school glue, and that it in fact would not work as a resist because it wouldn't wash out of the fabric. So I'll keep my eyes peeled for some cheap school glue when I go out today.
I skipped business study, although my husband and I discussed how I might do some more internet sales, and that I should think about what I want to sell online. I have a few items in my Etsy shop (none of them currently listed) and I think I will try to sell those again, but they need better photos and it's not the kind of stuff I want to spend the rest of my life making. I might start a new shop in conjunction with my current one. But first I have to find my camera parts!
My design study was a bit all over the place. I started by finishing the previous chapter on form. I actually didn't have much left in that chapter, so now I think it's odd that I stopped what I did. I read about form in three dimensional design, much of which is the same as two-dimensional design. Balance is a little different because things have to look balanced from all different directions. Asymmetrical balance is most common. The scale of 3-D work is important-- it could be a tiny thing that could be held in the palm of the hand, or it could be large enough to be walked on, or so incredibly huge it can be seen from far away. Movement can be quite different because kinetic sculpture is possible. The next section that I started on (but didn't get very far in) was about line. I am quite excited about this chapter, as I am really interested in how line can be used in surface design. The characteristics of line are measure (the length and width of the line), type (straight, curved, or angular), direction (which way the line moves on the surface; for example, you could have a zig-zag line that curved over the surface of the work), and location (where on the surface the line is, and how that affects our perception of space, perspective, and so on.) That's as far as I have gotten.
In my personal projects, I have started to knit a scarf for a birthday present for my stepmom. I had a pattern, tried it, scrunched it up and threw it away, and made my own pattern. It's my first lace pattern, and I am pretty impressed with myself considering that I have only made 1 1/2 lace projects before. I can't post the photos yet because my stepmom might be reading this, but after she receives it I will post them.
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