Feedback from MA group:
- undid a drawing by folding it over & try to undo it
- deconstructive drawings of architecture - 90's , fragmented aspect, scale up through building from space
- undone it to put it back together
- add order and understand it, through the folding and overlays
- doing & undoing
- motion
- livework evern though still
- 3D objects & archtiecture - a still place where action happens
- made them active with the stictch, using motion,
- a book is an active way to look at images
- paths - books & acetate drawings incorporate media
- print making to scale up - rotation on screen prints
- needle punching and thicker yarn.
- lines seemed physical & real
- images 3 - like pieces of fire wood
- movement - the depth & movement from the work
- motion - up towards sky
- images - 3D quality - the pieces hanging and the light behind
- black & white pieces moving around with them
- 1st image sets tone- influenced the reading
- skyscrapers hectic city life, & the confusion
- the intention and the context how images are shown
- so much is happening
- softely touch one technique and then move on to the next one
- motivation to bring message or process was about energy
- 3D buildings
- squashed buildings -
- abstract objects or sculptures
- large ceramic pieces in a gallery etc
- journey - squash them & remake them in different materials
- 2D drawing give 3D/4D moving through & within the space
- Image 7 - sound reverbation
- asking to be made bigger, 3D or body size
- moving through space - exquisite minimalist eloquence
- edging -framing is important
- how to keep it alive
- vertically or horizontally - both or one?
On the absence of colour:
- makes sense - distraction from how it is processed
- read as diagrams - it would lead to question what the colours represents 'colouring the eyes'
Response to feedbackThe aspect of motion/movement - I was unaware of this but can see it now it has been highlighted. The drawing in to 3D aspirations, scaling up was largely agreed upon and deeper intimacy with techniques rather than the 'light touch' that has happened thus far. Exploring density through embroidery techniques and materials.
H: I love this so much, its starting to do something the white paper didn't do.I think the experiments with colour could also inform density/background.Try drawing with a thick ass Sharpie too. The thickest you can find. Just to see how that changes. 'Weight' on its own has so many possibilities, I'm so curious to see.With the stitches, I feel like I want there to be more density. I know you like the chain stitch, but I suggest going for something with more volume and relief like questions.Some of the drawings are dense in terms of weight & they are so beautiful. They overwhelm sometimes in an amazing way.I feel like that needs to come in with the stitches, I want to see thickness & more aggressive gestures. 
'The fold book' I would bind the papers but not make it a rigid book. The lines are crazy...what if you tried just binding things together in no order, as you write about order vs chaos. What if it doesn't conform to a book form?
The fragmented & reassembled pieces are starting to do that if you bind this way - try it!
Keep layering until you can't layer anymore. Take the chaos to a crazy level... then bring it back.References for density from a simple material: John Chamberlain - the Foam Sculptures,
Image 2: paper collage and acrylic in sketchbook, 21.5cm x 27cm
Referencing Coates embroidery book, considering other stitches... but choose to continue with chain stitch, although changed to reverse chain stitch as the paper was not as flexible as the fabric I usually work with is. Note to look for Tambour needle in Dubai. (UPDATE 30/11/2017: no Tambour needles available, manage to find a Ari needle, this doesn't have a latch to hold the thread in and is super fiddly, will need to practice).
Began with the Japanese 24221 paper. Has a fabric like texture and although looks delicate and translucent it has a sturdy fibrous feel.
The technique created anxiety as I was concerned that the paper would tear while stitching which meant the process was longer than stitching on fabric.It is this physical and mental tension that I find stimulating, linking back to the elements of communities within cities jostling and looking for balance, one slight misalignment and chaos, in a manner, can result. The next piece was the Akashi-Ya paper.This paper was a little more fragile and also more fibrous but not as bonded, hence the fragility.
scissors beneath the paper to show the translucency. paper, cotton, 33cm x 24cm,
This need pre-marking with holes. I've been doing it with the other papers for ease but I could stitch them without punching first, the acetate is tough though. It's ridges and, of course, plastic rather than paper. It's transparency is almost too much though, not providing any muting of a layer beneath, rendering the fractures to be seen on the at the space opacity but with some distance of the layers if spacers are used. Acetate does also come in matte which I believe provides some opacity but the texture at the moment is lost on my. there is no sensuality of the touch, it doesn't bring texture to the fractures, it mimics the slickness of the city. Due to this I will not be using it for future experiments other than as a transfer medium for printing etc. The acetate is also unforgiving because you can see the back of the work, the threads hanging and and the 'temporary' knots that I'm too lazy to stitch in to the work to hide! oops!
scissors beneath to show transparency. acetate, cotton, 33cm x 24cm,
a much thicker paper out of the ones used so far. too thick and large to attach to the embroidery hoop, also this is not helpful as the paper needs to be turned to complete the stitches as it is very difficult to guide the needle through without looking. The 'translucent' term here is slightly misleading as it really isn't particularly translucent, maybe slightly thinner than standard printer paper.
Screen-print testing in the studio on papers. Trials on Japanese papers to see how they respond to the ink before they are stitched. A couple of screens did not expose well as the Japanese papers were not transparent enough/the exposure wasn't long enough. I have exposed with tracing paper and printer paper before but not in this studio so I was reluctant to push the technician out of their comfort zone.
I used black ink and then as it ran out I blended in white to create a variegated effect and eventual subtleness of the print in white on the white paper. Time was limited so I managed 20 pints on the Japanese papers.
I also created 3 'play' prints on standard A3 cartridge paper making noise by moving the screen around the paper haphazardly between print layers, I also did this while the ink was wet so ink was picked up and moved by the screen in the masked areas.
Screen-printing seemed like a natural process for work lead by repetition and meditation. ink, print, repeat. I enjoy the quiet of the process, but also the way it can create visual noise through layering. However the prints themselves feel quite lifeless, flat and uninspiring.
Initial thoughts are for the screen prints to be used a 'noise' or background, perhaps have elements of the fractures drawn out in stitch, embellished or embossed by the thread. Or to use them to create book forms, perhaps fracturing the pattern down further through folding.I opted to use a far more complex fracture for the screen printing, lengthening the process due to time taken to draw out the patterns. Perhaps a better option would be to screen print the simplified fractured patterns as overlays, but this does not sit well at the moment, they feel precious, like they need to be protected... perhaps even... 'elite', higher in status than the other fractured patterns and therefore tended to in a different manner.