Another experiment today saw another lesson learned; that by adding dye to damp fabric, the dye spreads (this much we already knew) but by then adding salt on top of the dye, the dye retracts as the salt absorbs the moisture. The outcome is amazing with exquisite patterns appearing in the dye...

Playing!

Here are a couple of snaps of some of the fabrics I've been playing with today and also some of my shopping so I can carry on playing!

Apparently felt doesn't dye... lesson one learned!

Looks like another shopping trip for some more yummy dyes now I know how they work.

Photo number 2 is 100% cotton and photo 3 is polycotton. The colour on the cotton is far more vibrant than on the polycotton. Lesson two learned!

I tried to make some patterns with the 100% cotton and I love how the dye gets lighter the closer towards the middle of the roll it got. Now to do something with my fabrics.

I'm going to keep my palette warm; mainly reds, pinks and oranges, just because I can :)

Personal Project

Over the summer I have been tasked with a Personal Project; a project which I have to self direct and choose the topic of which to base it on. The spectrum is so wide and varied. I have decided to explore purely process - stitch, dyeing, folding and manipulating fabrics and understanding the materials I love working with.

My aim for when I return to university in September is to have a swatch book and sketchbook exploding with tests and experiments. For now I am concentrating on technique and process forgetting about ideas and meaning. Sometimes the pressure of giving my work meaning destroys what I can achieve. I would also like to look at Japanese crafts and craft techniques should I find enough time :D

I will keep a research file and will post my findings weekly to compare and contrast notes and techniques.

I have been on a shopping trip to a local haberdashery and am armed with materials galore! Now for the fun bit of exploring....

Furniture Design

For my personal project, I have decided to focus on furniture decoration. These pieces were found in a department store in Madrid and really inspired me to continue one of my interests even though I have no prior experience of doing anything like this. I like working on surfaces rather than in my sketchbook and this has been particularly apparent in recent projects. It is daunting as many things could go wrong but if I could pull it off I think that it will be a really rewarding project. It also has an element of entrepreneurship about it where I could sell the pieces on afterwards.

Research

Time for some niceties!

I listed in the things that I am inspired by: Textile design, and in particular Marit Fujiwara. Marit graduated in 2009 with a truly amazing collection. I can only guess at the time and effort she put in to produce such adoringly beautiful work. It may seem a little odd that I am inspired by a textile design, but I am inspired by her hard work and efforts. Everything is practiced with precision, if a single hair is out of place she comes across as the type of person who would start all over again. I admire her use of colour, her use of fabrics and her sketches are pretty damn good too! Get a glance at these beauts...

It's photo time!

Here are some of the photographs I took whilst out and about in Madrid. I have to say that it is a very pretty city (although after exhausting the shops there wasn't much else to occupy our time with!). These photos are of a building which had some delicate paintings of figures on them. It must have made for pain staking work up on a ladder for the amount of time they must have taken to complete!

The building can be found in Plaza Mayor in the old part of Madrid. Little boutiques, restaurants and cafes line the square making a very attractive destination for a spot of lunch and afternoon shopping.