Lost In Lace

I have just been to Birmingham to see the Craft Council's Exhibition "Lost in Lace" and it was absolutely stunning.  Despite being inspired my lace each of the artists have responded to this by making working which is monumental yet sensitive. The theme of lace is also mirrored in the architecture of the Gas Hall at Birmingham Art Gallery and this is apparent in some of the site specific installations.

Naomi Kobayashi Cosmos Series

I dont think I will ever produce work on this scale but was very inspirational so see how artists are able to respond on this scale to something minute and intricate as lace.

Atelier Manferdini Inverted Crystal Cathedral

Chiharu Shiota After the Dream

Liz Nilsson The latticed edge of memory

Diana Harrison Line

Cornely Stitch Samples

Cornely Stitch Sample from 1920's sample book held in Special Collections at MMU

Thinking back to Indian textiles I have seen in the past I remembered a piece I saw at Platt Hall some years ago and remember being intrigued by the all the chain stitch on it. I now know that this would have been done on the Cornely sewing machine and this is something I can now access.  

Label from book

The Sample book at MMU - full of inspiration.

My research into the Cornely, first led me to the recent book by Jane McKeating and Alice Kettle, 'Machine Stitch Perspectives', which in turn led me to discover the fabric sample books held in the Special Collections at MMU. These books are so inspirational that I will be visiting Special Collections again some time soon to build up a body of research which I can use as a basis for my planned experimentation with this technique.

Indian Fabric Designs

Detail of C18th Indian Print Book -MMU Special Collections

We have been given details of our Lab Project and I am really excited about it as the starting point is the relationship between the cotton industry in Lancashire and India. Although the Lab launch is not until next week I have decided to make a start on the research and this gave me the excuse to visit the Special Collections Department at MMU.

C18th Indian Floral Print. MMU Special Collections

My feedback from the last project was very positive so I have decided to adopt a similar way of working so I have been concentrating on collecting visual research and have been concentrating on the designs used in Indian Fabric in the 18th and early 19th centuries as these inspired designs used my the Lancashire Cotton Industry.

Page from Print Book Special Collections

I am going to use these designs initially as research material for colour and subject matter which will inspire my own experimentation in the screen printing designs on fabric.

Assessment

Tomorrow I have have to put up my work in the Creative Practice Studio for assessment.  Since I have ended up doing the design option for this Unit I have had to come up with ways of visualising  how my samples would be used in context.  I have utilised the images I discovered in the New York  Institute of Fashion on line data base and have manipulated them using photoshop to create a visualisation and a way of mounting the sample. It is quite fortunate as the images I find show Haute Couture Fashions such as Chanel and Dior as this is the market/ context which is relevant to my work.

London

Fabric Shop Window Berwick St

I have just come back from spending a couple of days in London with my friend Taslima who is also a textile enthusiast.

Detail of window Berwick St

We used this opportunity to do some research into the London fabric shops for our respective courses and get some visual inspiration from just being in London.

Ribbons at Liberty

Shop window Knightsbridge

I was surprised to see so much worn fabrics in the shop displays- it is obviously a current trend which I suppose is linked to the current austerity in the country.

V.V Rouleaux Sloan Square

Railing Knightsbridge

Islamic Art V&A

Since I am still thinking about the samples I have been making for what has turned out to be a fashion outcome I kept being drawn to patterns similar to the ones I have been using in my work,

Happy New Year

Fashion Illustrations

Whilst researching on the internet for fashion illustration I have discovered a brilliant collection of vintage illustrations on the Fashion Institute of Technology Department of Special Collections and Archives

I really like these Chanel Illustrations and I can actually visualise the cuffs I have been making on this style of jacket.

These will be an invaluable resource for me as I have to visualise how my embroidered cuffs can be used on garments.