Reflect on what you have learned while developing your capsule collection from your work on the projects in this part of the course.
I have learned not to be scared of the sketchbook! I think it really helped for me to view it as a scrapbook initially, not trying to make it a work of art, but a place to collect ideas, reflect on my own work and that of the artists that I used as inspiration, group them in order to make sense of them, make connections, take ideas off in different directions.
I think that my tutor's suggestion of observing and redrawing my own work in my sketchbook was really helpful as a way of generating new ideas, and this really
I found it helpful to gather together and record ideas that were relevant, but that I didn't necessarily have time to develop more fully at the time; the sketchbook became a 'parking' place:
What went well and what went less well?
After thinking quite extensively about the archive item that I would use, I felt that I had made a good choice in the yellow silk robe, as it was a rich source of inspiration, crammed with imagery, motifs, different stitch and material qualities, history, geography and mix of cultures, all in one garment.
I think that some of my initial sketches were good, others less so, but I think that the time I spent with my archive item was well spent, as I used it also to brainstorm my ideas and put these into words, as well as recording the item in drawing, mark-making and photographically.
My mark-making was definitely stronger and therefore probably more useful for my later projects than the more conventional drawing that I did.
I think that letting myself work in a non-linear way for this part of the course - moving forward, but then coming back to earlier stages if necessary - also helped me produce some interesting outcomes.
It was also really helpful to keep in mind the words of Inga Liksaite, in order to stop myself prevaricating if I felt I couldn't progress because I didn't have the right stuff:
I used ordinary fabrics and minimal choices of yarns, paints, and brushes ... I used whatever I could get easily, and the rest was creativity.
https://www.textileartist.org/inga-liksaite-the-language-of-line, accessed 10 October 2019.
I felt that the closer I got to the end of this part of the course and my supposed 'final' collection, the more I worried about the quality of the outcomes, so I really took to heart the part of the course guide that said:
Try not to treat these as ‘final’ in any way; rather, think of them as an opportunity to improve upon your experimental samples, perhaps refining and working towards perfecting techniques and finishes, and extending them into a bigger sample size.
Textiles 1: A Textiles Vocabulary. OCA, 2016; p. 139.
Now that you’ve come to the end of the course, what do you feel the strengths of your work are? What would you like to spend more time addressing?
I think that once I get started on a project I don't have a problem generating ideas, but sometimes find it hard to organise these ideas and know which ones to take forward.
I think that sometimes I tend to jump straight to the textile outcome, missing out intermediate stages, but I am not sure if this is a strength or a weakness.
Where are you going to go from here in your textiles practice?
I am planning to continue my studies and have already enrolled on Mixed Media for Textiles, which I am looking forward to starting soon. I would like to make contact with other artists and craftspeople in my local area and connect with work that others may already be doing. I am still exploring and moving towards defining my areas of interest, but have especially enjoyed printing and working with wire during A Textiles Vocabulary.