AIMS:
Employ colour and mood translation in materials and yarn sourcing and yarn
development
Explore, re-invent and re-interpret an approach to building structures as small- and large-scale design concepts
Research and keep technical notes on your making processes.
I referred back to my Old Master and the yarn wraps I produced in response to it, referring also to the reference notes I made on the source of the different yarns and ribbons used:
I also did some online research into making methods for the three techniques I thought I would utilise here:
Plaiting
Knotting
Crochet.
Plaiting experiments with single type of yarn:
Plaiting using flat ribbons, plaiting/weaving through paper and with multiple yarns of different textures and thicknesses, :
Freeform knotting experiments:
Knotting experiments, following instructions from YouTube:
Here are some of the videos on YouTube that I used to learn about knotting:
Crochet and knotting technique research:
Crochet experiments using soft and crunchy materials, thickness of yarn, number of strands, single and double, freeform and regular:
I created a number of yarns using plying, or crocheting multiple strands together at the same time, in order to recreate and reinterpret the tones and atmosphere of the Old Master. Materials included cords, ribbons, threads and yarns from the original yarns wraps, to which I added strips of navy linen, bronze-coloured jewellery wire, both of which drew out additional aspects of the painting in terms of texture and tone:
I was really interested in the way the bronze jewellery wire combined with different yarns, beads and ribbons in different ways, lending structure, making them elasticity and creating spirals:
Inspired by this OCA blog post https://weareoca.com/tag/material/ featuring the wirework of Celia Smith, I attempted to crochet the jewellery wire first into a circle, and then into a ball, reminiscent of the pearl (polished tin?) earring whose spherical form draws the eye in my chosen Old Master:
I then created some further yarns, concentrating on the combination of yellow and blue hues that I found so uplifting in the painting. With these I created a small series of crocheted forms. both rectangular and circular:
I reviewed and reflected on some of my samples by sketching them:
Reflective commentary
I built on my successes by combining yarns into crocheted yarns and yarns to crochet with, particularly using the bronze coloured jewellery wire, in order to use the natural tendency of the material to form spirals to create interesting yarns and increasingly complex and interesting linear structures.
I also built on successful yarn construction techniques used in previous exercises, such as plying several yarns together to use optical mixing to reinterpret the colour and mood of the original Old Master and the yarn wraps stemming from it.
From my failures I learnt about which profiles of yarns were best suited to the techniques I chose to explore. For instance, when knotting, my first attempt using piping cord was not very successful, as the visible plying of the cord distracted from the design of the knot, as did more fluffy knitting wools. So for the next sample I used a nylon cord with a smoother circular profile when in cross-section, which made the knot designs stand out more, creating a more pleasing effect.
I also learnt that knotting is by far the most 'masculine' craft that I have come across in my studies so far! There were mainly male proponents and experts, if their hands and voices on the YouTube videos were anything to go by. I don't know why this surprised me, but it was interesting, even if some of the techniques they were demonstrating seemed very similar to knitting and crochet techniques and the rhythmic repetitive movements necessary in making the Snake Knot in particular produced the same soothing effect on me that knitting or crochet does.
I used the chosen technique of crochet as a way both to make the yarns and to use yarns I had made. I pushed this technique by combining the range of materials I had in different ways and by creating a range of crocheted forms that I felt were indicated by the source material.
I reinvented and reinterpreted the imagery, colour and yarns from Exercise 3.2, by using and extending the range of materials I used for the yarn wraps, choosing certain aspects of the colour palette and textures in the painting to represent and exaggerate, in order to come to a new response to a source used for the earlier exercise.