Wk 19 - Textiles and Embroidery

Using UoD’s Create Space Embroidery Machine to create embroidered designs from scratch, converting them to vector files, embroidery files and materialising my designs for My Vice Presidency Role for UoD Handcraft Society. My knowledge has since built up enough for it to be part of my job position at Carnoustie Golf Links.

I took an immediate interest as my time in Finland got me incredibly attached to the concept of patches which are used and sewn onto your overalls to record your progress or attendance to social events. The more you gather, the more of your uni experience you have built up and can show off. Momentos of moments that I continue to collect and sew throughout my artistic career.

I made test pieces for myself but thought I could get more experiencing by offering my knowledge of the machine to others. I thought my volunteering as an art teacher at Dudhope, Dundee’s Young Patient’s psychiatric unit would be a good place to offer a creative relief for the kids whilst showing them they can get something tangable and positive out of their experience. 

Below are some test pieces exploring the options I had with the machine including a full image of a pigeon digitised and embroidered from a sketch of my own

I wanted to do much MUCH more work on this but unfortunately the create space is very poorly maintained currently so when the machines are working something is broken so most of my time is spent repairing equipment - as for the software the keys are often missing to access so it is 50/50 as to whether it is actually worth trying to use. This is something I am working to resolve - the machinery shouldn’t be accessed without basic knowledge of how it works.

However I won’t give up. I want to incorporate my skill into larger pieces or more finished works such as my pigeon piece shown above - or start sewing into canvas and adding an extra dimension to mixed media work / paintings

I looked to Merideth  Wouldnough (above) - An embroidery artist who specialises in embroidered artworks that are free from textile backings. I tried my own hand at this with the materials I had on hand and got some mixed results but most of which can be found in my small sketchbook in my final space. Some of the process and less successful results I have documented here -

2023 GSA graduate - Amanda Seibaek worked on fine gauze canvases and even though her painting style severely differs from my own there’s something that intrigues me to go out of my comfort zone. I found her work in Tatha Gallery last year whilst working at The Newport last year

Another textile skill I’ve learned and not yet implemented into my practice on the larger scale is “backstrap weaving”. A method of hand weaving on a portable “loom” that is grounded by a pole, your foot, a chair, etc. and the other end with a strap around your back - see below. I Laser cut a heddle to adjust my Warp Strings to create patterns with my (also laser cut) weft strings.

Weaving is something I learnt about in Finland but on a much greater scale - back strap weaving is more of a niche in weaving but holds great ties to Sami culture through an item called shoe straps - a type of shoelace that holds great traditional and cultural significance (Shown below) - I am still learning how to tie heddles to create distinct patterns but am building confidence quickly.

In another mixed media experimentation I’m learning how to create Enamelled Ceramics with the pattern of the Sami shoe tie. I used the help of the workshop guide to ceramics pictured below.

In order to develop my weaving I want to invest in the book below by Sami Craftswoman Susan J Foulkes to build my skills