Certificate Module 4, Chapter 5: Drawn Thread Work–first steps

 

I started by colouring some evenweave fabric.  Up to now I hadn’t yet chosen a colour scheme and so I decided that I would use the pale yellowish brown of the brown wrapping paper and the blue/black of Quink ink.

 

4.5.1  My first coloured fabrics…

 

4.5.2  … and now some more.

 

First Exercise

The first exercise we were asked to do was to withdraw threads in different quantities to make different patterns.

At first, I tried using evenweave linen but I found it too fine to see properly what I was doing and very hard not to make mistakes.  It was also difficult to remove the threads without the whole fabric distorting.  I therefore tried some loosely woven scrim and this made it much easier.

 

At this point, I did stall completely and no amount of will-power could enable me to continue with the work and so I decided to have a complete break for a month (or more!) and return to my coursework, hopefully refreshed.  This has happened and, as I’ve been looking at other students’ work, I have been inspired to continue.  My first task, which I have now completed, was to draw together all the bits and pieces of work I’d been doing and post it on my blog.  Now I am ready to continue with the rest of chapter 5.

Certificate Module 4, Chapters 3 and 4

 

It’s been some time since I last posted on my blog.  I have been doing little bits of work here and there, cherry picking though chapters 3,4 and 5.  However, it is now time to try to pull it all together and post what I’ve done.

 

Chapter 3 Grids

It was quite fun searching for (and making) examples of grids.

3.3.1 Some examples of grids

 

Chapter 4 Paper Making

4.4.1 My first paper samples.  I had been having a clear out of old papers and recycled some of my shredded documents.  I quite liked the pale grey colour of the resulting paper.  I had tried making hand-made paper before, but never with a deckle and I found that if gave a much neater result.

 

4.4.2  Next I tried adding colour and texture to the paper.  I tried adding a torn up red paper napkin to the pulp.  When I did this, there were still some flowers blooming in the garden and so I added some petals to the mix.  This picture shows the papers laid out to dry.

 

4.4.3  I also tried shredding up some teabags and adding it to the pulp.  It made a thick but fragile paper with a lovely tea smell. 

 

4.4.4  Next I tried embedding things in the paper pulp by laying them on the couched sheet of paper before couching another, thinner sheet on top.  This sample shows leaves embedded in the tea paper with red napkin colouring.

 

4.4.5.  This one has individual petals embedded in the paper.  It gives a very subtle effect.

 

4.4.6  Another petal embedded paper, this time photographed close up.

 

4.4.7 A yellow vegetable net is embedded in the paper.  You can just see it peeping out at the edges.

 

4.4.8  Flower petals again, but laid on top and not covered up.

 

4.4.9  All my papers so far.

 

4.4.10  When I went back to paper making later, I tried some more embedding, this time with some autumn leaves.

 

4.4.11 Various types of netting embedded in the paper and tea leaves sprinkled on top.

 

4.4.12 Laminating a letter shape on to a different colour of paper, this time a positive image…

 

4.4.13 …and then negative.

 

At this time, due to family circumstances (two bereavements and family illness), I was finding it hard to get motivated to work regularly and thought I might stall completely as I was getting tired of papermaking and so I decided that I would go on to the next chapter and re-visit papermaking once I had a clearer idea of what I wanted to use the paper for.