MA TEXTILE DESIGN - the first term…
What has Lucy been up to on her MA? It’s about time I filled you in on the excitement of my first term at Norwich University of the Arts!
Embarking on an MA in Textile Design has been brilliant - to be on the other side of education and to have the luxury of being guided, nurtured and listened to (!) for a change has been a joy. The learning experience is extremely varied with an interdisciplinary approach at the university that means in one day I could be life drawing, then going to a lecture on gaming, followed by a textiles workshop and then ending the day with a lecture on sustainable design - wowsers, my (woman-of-a-certain-age) brain is just about keeping up.
So how has my work evolved?
Some of you may wonder why I am studying Textile Design rather than Fine Art - I thought long and hard about which direction to go in but the overwhelming need to ‘make’ and my love of pattern won the day. Being interdisciplinary, I still paint and produce fine art work on the course and really there is no restriction, only possibilities!
Mixed media painting exploring colours experienced in autumn.
I started the course with a sketchbook filled with experimental drawings and paintings of late summer blooms and moved on to autumn foliage - investigations ranged from en plein air sketches made on my walks and at Bressingham Gardens, gelli plate printing, painting on fabric, stitched leaves, photography, colour mixing, laser cut silk and fused plastic. In tutorials I found myself talking about colour and light, being in nature, looking up, fleeting and ephemeral moments outside and experimenting with materials. These wonderful conversations with fellow students and my lecturers pushed me forwards and encouraged me to focus on light and on textile processes. I created a body of work which is on display in university this week in the MA Fine Art and Textile Design Work In Progress exhibition - the formal crit is tomorrow - I am eagerly anticipating seeing the whole show and everyone’s work.
Machine embroidery acer leaves forming a sculptural lampshade.
We had an open brief for the show itself which was to interpret the written word in our work - I read Derek Jarman’s Chroma - I can't believe I hadn’t come across it before, an artist’s perspective of colour through fact, philosophy, science and experience - and it’s this last aspect, Jarman’s collection of memories that struck me the most. Jarman wrote Chroma in ill health and as his eyesight was failing. He writes about colour as emotion, evocation, memory, a sense in its own right.
Jarman recalls and describes moments from his life through experiences of colour, logging moments in time when colour has been significant, present, integral - I feel like he is producing his own aide memoire, banking colour in his mind as his eyesight fails and the physical sense of colour will be lost - but its emotive charge will remain in his written words and in his mind’s eye.
My work seeks to ‘bank’ colours and patterns from the time I spend in nature. Moments when the sun catches fluttering forms in a leaf filled crown, when autumn leaves are illuminated or back lit in the golden hour and when nature’s hues are supercharged by the power of the sun on a crisp, bright day. Colours are intense and forms are silhouetted.
Laser cut silk - repeat design of leaves from sketches made at Bressingham Gardens.
My display in the exhibition includes laser cut silk (above - which is beyond gorgeous and to be explored further!), a small mixed media painting, two pieces of devoré (below - I am blown away by this process: on a Wednesday in December I had two pieces of white fabric, by the Friday I had cross-dyed them, screen printed them with a repeat pattern using devoré paste and heat pressed them to remove the ‘printed’ fibres thereby creating these vibrant fabrics with translucent leaves tumbling through them) and to complete the collection, a ‘lampshade’ constructed from wire leaves and individually machine embroidered acer leaves.
Devoré fabrics with repeat patterns.
Moving forward I am interested in developing more work that interacts with light sources - from lampshades to installations and projections - they seem to make sense with my preoccupation with the play of sunlight and shadows in nature. I also feel that exciting 3D elements for these installations could be informed by exploring how couture techniques could be used to make lighting structures - boning, ruching, pleating, etc. as well as exploring how decorative techniques such as beading, cutwork, applique, etc. can interplay with the light source. I am also looking at Howard Hodgkin and how he recalls places he has been to and the colour he has experienced in them, in his work.
So the excitement of the MA course continues and there will be even more to get involved in this Spring term including a project with the V&A which you may already know is one of my most favourite places.
Overall, the experience has reminded me how important it is to have the opportunity to explore your own ideas in a supportive environment with like-minded souls - to be able to vocalise what you are thinking, feeling, seeking, experiencing creatively is essential for the process to flow. I hope to set up a monthly mentoring session at my studio, starting in February for a group of just four artists - a session to share and to evolve with support from me as an experienced art education professional and practising artist. Having a safe, non judgemental space to feel understood, nurtured and to receive practical support is essential - if you are interested in taking part in this please get in touch.