EDAM Term 2: Drawing with manipulated paper and stitch

Most of the  drawing  projects  of  EDAM  course  so far have really pushed me out of my comfort zone, trying  new techniques, media and approaches.  But  part of the benefit of  that is that I've not been afraid  to try things out, to experiment , to be prepared to fail.  So I was really looking forward  to the  2 sessions with Ruth Brison  on drawing with manipulated paper and stitch  as textiles are my favourite medium.  In  many ways though it was the most difficult so far , knowing so much  about the subject , it was really  hard to try and put aside my experience and knowledge and look at the techniques with fresh eyes and try something new. 

Ruth has explored using paper and stitch a lot   in  fine art drawing  with links to sculpture and textiles," developing the idea of using the fluidity of paper as structure and seeing stitch as a link or a line  to draw, divine. mould, trace or forge a commentary or idea about something" 

 Many of the artists she mentioned  I was familiar with : Alice Fox; Gwen Hedley; Ian McKeever.  Ones new to me included Noami Kobayashi; Heather Tribe ; Mia Pearlman;  Kate Ward . Work by Ines Siedel I found particularly exciting.    

 The first morning was about exploring the process , choosing methods  to make  several paper structures  and practicing ways to use sewing machine and/or hand stitch. Resources included a variety of papers, acetate , string  etc and   lots of ideas for paper manipulation ,layering with collage , stitching and linking  with pins, staples, tapes. 

 I mainly concentrated on  sewing  tubes of paper and scrunching them  around  cardboard  tubes  in a similar method to  the what I use for indigo shibori)   and  tearing paper  where it was perforated from stitching.  I also  stitched layers of  pages from 'Time Out'   and cut through them in 'faux chenille' effect  ( much quicker than using fabric! )   

 The sewing machines provided were sturdy mechanical  Bernina's and although  not exactly the same as my machines, I was familiar with the threading etc so  was able to assist several people when they  were having problems with tension etc. Other peoples work where they were new to the techniques seemed much more exciting than my efforts .  I rescued  a piece of  stitched drawing that Asli had thrown in the bin  as the  loops  on the underside   where the tension had  gone wrong  produced wonderful marks! As a novice she had persevered in stitching whereas I would have realised there was a problem straight away and corrected it  (  she abandoned using the machine and produced some lovely work using hand stitch ) 

 Back of Asli's drawing with looped stitches

At home , I took photos of some the pieces I produced against the background of Asli's  'failed' drawing:   stitching on acetate ( above) has possibilities ( I had tension issues too!) ;  crumpled 'shibori' paper (below) 

 In the afternoon of the  first session  we were encouraged to  choose a direction  developed in the morning leading to a sculptural drawing, hanging  or mobile  choosing  2-3 key areas of interest , creating a mind map .

 Following up the idea of vessels  from my tutorial with Ute , I used  some of the  stitched papers from the morning to construct some 3D structures.

 Then at home  in the evening   for my daily drawing in sketchbook,  to record my day I explored layering with torn stitched paper, rubbings on colour catchers and tracing paper ( below)

The second session  the following week was devoted to developing  a single theme or idea  from drawings , sketchbook work , photographic information or found materials.  Given my usual  problem of having too many ideas, I decided to return to the subject material of limpet shells  which I've used  several times before  ( eg in Large Scale Sketchbook)  but so far not satisfactorily.  Plus I had some new ones in my collection thanks to my visit to Birchington -on- Sea! 

 I used my time on the train profitably  in recording the   paper structures I'd made the week before ( above)   and in making a 'mind map'  of what methods I might  explore ( below) .  

And here are some of the results: 

Pleated and gathered photocopy of thread monoprint  ( from session on bookmaking ) 

  Cone  of  textured khadi paper  wrapped with linen thread 

 Disc of grey watercolour paper, ink lines, wrapped  with variegated crochet thread 

 In my daily drawing sketchbook I repeated  some of these ideas, drawing on a disc of paper, gluing it on sketchbook page and cutting out hole  then stitching and wrapping linen thread  around it. Interesting from the back too, with glimpses of the page  below ( lessons from Large Scale Sketchbook   if on an A6 scale ! ) 

With a plan, concentrating on  exploring just one idea and the beginnings of understanding mind maps  , it was a far more relaxed , productive session  with time to have a long  discussion with Ruth  and talk with others  about their ideas for the project next term on the theme of 'meanwhile'. 

Large Scale Sketchbook Week 8 and Conclusions.

It's nearly 4 weeks since the  final session of Large Scale Sketchbook  but with so much going on there hasn't been time to report  on it and record  my thoughts ( tho'  I made sure I wrote up  my notes  in my notebook straight away)  .  At the end of the session I brought my  the sketchbook home , which entailed a taxi from the station it was so heavy. Tomorrow, a couple of  artist friends are coming round to view it so I thought it was about time I wrote about it here!

After Week  7, I'd run out of ideas  about what I wanted to do with work based on the cast courts , mainly  because the subject matter itself didn't inspire.  The night before the final session  I had a brainwave ( or so I thought....) The lines of stairs and curves of the sculpture in contrast to the surrounding architecture  reminded me of the work  I'd done on shells a ( mussels and limpets) in the advanced painting course in  2016. 

 At the time , I concentrated on developing the mussel paintings  set in context of surroundings ( influenced by the work of Paul Nash)  and hadn't done much with the limpets.  I'd been influenced   by the 'Circle' exhibition at Margate Turner Contemporary  , particularly the pile of black discs by Edmund de Waal,  and had drawn and photographed   a stack of limpets , delicately balanced  and carried out  work in Photoshop  combining it with prints of the Fleet  done during   a printmaking course. 

I gave Tony a whole lot of photos of my sketches/photos to photocopy to A3 size  and while I was waiting,  starting several pages  in,  I assembled a pile of limpets  and drew it large scale  using charcoal  ( which gave interesting marks on the previous page).  I then carried out a number of different approaches using photocopies; graphite and rubber; sanguine pen; coloured pencils;  and cutting out holes through several layers. 

 I was enjoying   applying what  I'd learnt  to new material but a lot  of what I produced wasn't really working.  Luckily at that point it was my turn to discuss my work with Tony.  He was a bit  surprised I'd discontinued with what I was doing in previous weeks when it had been going so well  while applauding the idea of using my own material to try out  what I'd learnt from earlier lessons ( "the Ideal Student" !) . 

The main reason the shells weren't working  as well was because they were on the whole  central on the page and retaining identifiable structure of existing images  and therefore weren't so exciting.  The danger with using material we care about  is that you have to work harder as not so inclined to experiment  or try things out . 

Looking back  at the earlier weeks when we'd been working with still life  with random objects

 and to some extent the Cast Courts  where it wouldn't have been my first choice of subject , I was more prepared to experiment, fragment images, as I was  looking at the shapes and lines  rather than the subject matter.  Looking with  Tony at previous  pages ,  the most exciting  were when I'd left a lot of space , repeated ideas over several pages ( copies of copies of copies)  and made good use of the edge of pages rather than placing images centrally. 

He made suggestions on extending marks over drawings and copies  ( including  use of the negative shapes left when cutting out)   and putting objects at the edge of the page.  Also to be even more radical  with my cutting, removing items completely.  

 This was more like it ! 

My final intervention  was to go back to the last spread from the cast courts  and cut out the fine lines of the stairs , and extend the line with graphite.  With the negative shapes from around the limpet stack pasted  in , there  was now a link between the  two areas of subject matter.

We  cleared up early  in order to look at everyone' s sketchbook  briefly ( although it still took an extra hour - I missed my train and had to get a later one) . Well worth it though - they were so diverse in approach and content considering we'd all  begun with the same  subject material!
Didn't  make notes at the time but these stuck in my mind:
- finely folded/pleated  paper ( like tiny steps)
- transparent fabric inserts ( also tracing paper and acetate)
- exploded shapes reassembled, photocopies cut into strips and expanded
- images torn up and collaged back ( in some cases just a few tiny pieces)
- layers  of subtle colour  under cutouts
-  images wrapped around edge of page ( so just see a glimpse)
- foldouts
- extreme cutting ( a fine lace-like network).

 I also have a list  of what I like in my own sketchbook  and ideas for future work.
Finally,  as is usual on City Lit courses, there were suggestions about what courses we might want to do next ( printmaking from the images produced  was one).
In my case , I'd  enrolled and paid for Extended Drawing for Artists  and Makers (EDAM)  that morning.   So a year  of experimenting  lies ahead!  

Exhibitions: Picasso at Tate Modern and CityLit Advanced Printmaking

 3 Weeks ago, in the morning before my 'Large Scale Sketchbook' course , I combined a visit to Tate Modern for the Picasso 1932  with seeing the exhibition  of  the City Lit Advanced Printmaking course  'Pressing Time'  at RK Burt Gallery in Southwark.  Walking in between these venues, apart from popping into CAA and  coveting earrings   by Joanna Veevers,   I went via the Jerwood Space , admiring the wonderful dynamic murals ( above).  

 My favourites from the Picasso  were those in room 8: charcoal drawings on canvas  with rubbings, erasures and over drawings.

It was intriguing to see how the same images/sketches  had been developed in different ways: in the beach scenes ( above) and particularly in the series of drawings inspired by Grunewald's 'Isenheim Altarpiece' :  use of different media; fine drawings v looser raw ink sketches; the progression from shaded sculptural forms to simplified line. I'd go back just to look more closely at these. 

 An interesting array of  artists books  in the window at RK Burt enticed you in - you can just about make out the monoprint of a kayak   by Patricia Gaudron suspended from the ceiling. I'd seen one laid out in the corridor at City Lit  so was intrigued to see how she's fitted one in a box! 

Melody  Clark 

Patti Taylor 

Michelle Dow 

Extended drawing for artists and makers

I was keen to see the exhibition the following week from the year-long 'EDAM' course  as I was considering applying  for  it but unfortunately the show  finished on the Thursday.  Nevertheless , with sharp  intake of breathe I submitted my application ,was accepted and have now enrolled !  I realise I can't do much else  next year  but  it seemed like the logical next step from the doing shorter courses. A bit daunted  but excited. 

Large Scale Sketchbook Week 7: Adding detail and more cutting

 The first half of  last weeks 'Large Scale Sketchbook' was spent looking at each others  sketchbooks so far. While it took longer than anticipated to go round everybody, it was such a valuable exercise  not only  to look at the very varied work, hear about their inspiration  but also to receive feedback about progress so far and what to do next. 

Some of the approaches  taken or suggested  included:

- leaving more space ( small items on a page) 

- cutting through several pages 

- contrast of large scale dark areas with detailed drawings

- repetition of shapes ( on 1 page and over several pages)

- drawing/ working  from toy figures (or jelly babies!) as alternatives to sculptural figures

- adding colour: in paint and acetate  

 While I was mulling over what to do, I took a page out the back of the sketchbook and did a 'frottage' rubbing of the collaged 'figure' on the righthand side of spread above from the previous week , then inserting the page. It looks even more mournful than the original!

Having given Tony photos of the details I'd identified I wanted to work with to photocopy,  I pasted some of the resulting photocopies into the book and started cutting through the pages. 

 The photo below is the page beneath the page shown above

 The shape I used to cut through several pages was the sculpture of Madonna and Child.

 I then  outlined the shapes cut out in different ways : with marker pens and fine lines

Several people commented on how dynamic my  sketchbook was. With so many cut-throughs and changes to the pages when sections are flipped over or seen through the holes, it's very difficult to take photos that demonstrate  this.  

Tony had already  suggested filming an animation and this was reinforced by comments from others. That will have to wait until after next week when I finally bring the book home. In the last few minutes  after clearing up, I attempted a few shots  holding pages up to  give a flavour of how that might work.