Module 5 "Touching Texture"

Module 5: "Touching Texture"

A study based on textured surfaces in landscape.

Friday 9 July 2010

Chapter 11: First Steps

Playing with Ideas

This is the bit I find most fun. I started with the exercise to cut up squares of paper in increasing levels of disintegration. After the cutting and pasting, I photographed the results then had even more fun playing around with the images on Photoshop.


Cutting and Pasting:



Four purple squares, each successive square disintegrated a bit more.



Disintegrating outwards from the centre.




In the left hand column the purple bird is growing while the green square is disintegrating more. In the right hand column the dark green bird is growing, the purple square is disintegrating and the light green scraps are growing.



Repeating Patterns:


I decided to try making repeated patterns from some of the shapes and I could then disrupt these with Photoshop using layers.













Disintegrating patterns:


In each of these examples, I have used mostly the same basic method. I have layered two patterns and then used the background eraser to disrupt portions of the pattern and show areas of the contrasting pattern underneath. I've played around with the size and hardness of the eraser to get different effects. I like how, as one pattern is disintegrating, the one below is growing.


This was a slightly different method. I used the patch tool and clone stamp tool to replace sections with other patterns.








I intend to try to translate some of these ideas to fabric. If I layer a pattern printed onto synthetic fibre on top of one printed onto natural fabric, then I should be able to use a heat gun and/or soldering iron to disintegrate the top pattern and show the one underneath. Some stitching could emphasise some of the shapes once they are layered but before the disintegration.


Notes for future experiments:


  • try other colours

  • experiment with printing onto Bubblejet coated fabrics ironed onto freezer paper