Studio Practice

EXPERIMENTATION Lab

Practise-led research requires an artist to use the work as research. In the reflection pages I will be giving my honest thoughts and feelings about my practise. Looking at the strengths and weakness of each work will drive my practise to new forms of creativity.

Crochet mat

The Crochet Mat is a collaboration between the artist and her mum. The mat started as way to protect the Critters from the floor. The straight edges of any pre-made mats clashed with the Critters. Whatever mat or surface the critters sat on would need to be part of the work. The kidney bean shape…

Yarn Bowls

Over the course of the last two weeks, I have been making these yarn bowls, with the help of the wet labs staff. The purpose of these bowls helps to keep the yarn in place as you’re crocheting or knitting. They are useful tools I now use regularly in my practice. The time and effort…

Finishing my first ever project

Throughout my journey as a fiber artist, I have often thought about the first time I learnt how to knit. I remember my dad telling me the first and only thing he ever knitted was a scarf for his teddy bear. I wanted to be just like him and knit a scarf for one of…

Talk Week

Talk week was an interesting experience. I really enjoyed exhibiting my work to other people outside my studio class. Tyson Campbell was an amazing guest to have in my group, alongside Chris Braddock and host Janine Randerson. A few things that stood out to me where the disconnect between the wall and floor. Both types…

Reflection: Critters – Second generation

Apon reflection of the first Critters I wanted to simplify these ones. I wanted to focus on the actual shape and how to play with texture through changing yarn throughout. All three are smaller than the first generation. Unconsciously I made them smaller to avoid less dead space/plainer parts. However, I really like the triangle…

Thicker Yarn – Kumihimo Braiding

To create new textures and speed up the process of making I have been looking into techniques of turning thin yarn into thicker yarn. I used the technique of Kumihimo braiding to create a braid that could then be used as yarn for crochet. The idea of creating thicker yarn is to cut down on…

Reflections: Critters – First Generation

The creation of these critters was a form of experimentation and exploration. The shape and size where decided in the moment as they were being made. They are a self portrait. I have never felt a connection between traditional stuffed toys and myself. The regular normalcy felt too perfect and disconnected with myself. Each Critter…

Reflection: Micro & Macro – Blue Yellow

The idea behind this work is to create works that incorporate both the micro and macro concept. The Micro works can be very busy and need space between them to breath. But this work has a smaller center, filled with detail. The edges of the work are the same technique used for the puffs (crochet…

3D forms

I create 3D forms by changing the number of stitches as I crochet in a circle. First, I create a flat circle based on the size I want the shape to be. Then I continue doing singe crochet. As the number of stitches is not increasing the circle stayed the same size and starts to…

Depth & Dimension

Part of my experimental surfaces class was creating a surface that had played around with depth and dimension. These works are relevant as they have influenced my thinking and many of my ideas that pertain to my current studio work. The mini blanket, on the left, uses a combination of crochet techniques. The base is…

Asymmetry

The core idea of these puffs was to create organic looking shapes that resemble loosely resemble organisms. In order to create a bridge between the familiar and unfamiliar. However, it was pointed out that these puffs have a finished look to them; they look self-contained. Adding small sections of crochet to the edges of some…

Reflection: Cluster Puffs

The clusters Puffs are a way of grouping different Puffs together to create organic shapes. I decided to play with size by making some larger Puffs, like the big red one, and some smaller ones. I also played around with the layers by making some Puffs with only two layers. Having one less layer means…

Reflections: Vetiera

In the eco-systems reflections I had mentioned that untitled 4 felt unfinished. I used that piece as a base and turned it into Vetiera. The blending of colours and depths worked so well that it was a shame to leave this unfinished. The additions where subtle but enough to avoid the circle. I realised while…

Reflections: Moarno

The focus for this piece was to exaggerate opposite sides and branch away form the initial circle. The overall shape works well. There is only one section at the bottom right where the circle is more obvious. The difference in depth and texture in the centre of this work is missing. The needle punk worked…

Reflections: Aurouh

The main idea I wanted to explore in this work was changing the final shape. The eco-systems stay with in the circular Petri dish but I wanted to expand and bring in a more organic feel. The centre was created on my embroidery hoop then stretched round a metal ring. This allows for the needle…

Breaking Circles

Although I enjoy the speed and ease of my eco system series I’m sick of seeing circles. I want to experiment by breaking outside of the regular shape. With my latest work I added new structures to the already existing work to break from the circular shape. I like how the edge feels fluid with…

Securing and finishing

In my previous works I have been sticking a circle of paper to the back of my work. The glue secures the needle punch and embroidery making the piece more robust. however when the work is stretched around a hoop and finished the hoop can be seen creating a dark line around the work. To…

Reflections: Puffs

To begin with these puffs where an experiment with scaling up the smaller circles I has made for the eco-systems. The outer layer is predominantly made with very textured yarn that stands out. The next two layers made with smaller yarn. The layers and the button in the centre draw in the eye. It feels…

Puffs

After I learnt how to make a circle I wanted to play around with the flouncy shapes. I started by making them bigger and testing if the very chunky yarn could hold the same shapes. From these experiments I created what I call Puffs. I combined these shapes with layering. I really like how the…

Knitting stitches

Recently I have been experimenting with different knitting stitches in different combinations. By changing the stitch at different times I’m able to create different textures throughout my work. There are two basic knitting stitches, the first is a knit and the second is a purl. The image above is the pattern created when you alternate…

Reflections: eco system series

The eco-system series has been a way to play with shape and texture with in a confined space. The use of a circle was deliberate, as it reflects the curved and wavy aspects with in the work itself. These works are my own variation of old bio art. The circle acting like a Petri dish…

Circles

I have been trying to teach myself how to crochet a circle. I began by making a small circle and building out from that in layers. I noticed that as I continued to work outwards I needed to add more stitches. My first attempts ended up looking like small domes. I needed to add more…