Assignment Review:
Can you see a clear line of progression from source material through to finished piece? Was there enough information in your source material to stimulate your imagination and sustain your enthusiasm?
Yes, I feel there is a clear line of progression from the start point to the outcome. I have a long-standing interest in rocks, rockpools, algae, sea plants and so on as well as the waste we produce and discard without a thought. So I had no trouble maintaining my focus and enthusiasm for this project.
Do you feel you made the right choices and decisions when selecting at each stage of the project? If not, what would you change and how would it alter the outcome?
My choices were definitely not correct first time round. I made three sets of cords and three different colours of felt balls before I felt comfortable applying them to the project. Much trial and error was undertaken and big changes had to be made when the flower foot machine attachment broke. If I could change anything it would be to add more stitched circles, cut them out and leave holes in the felt and the base fabric. This wasn’t done because without the flower foot I was unable to make accurate small satin stitch circles. The ones I’ve done and filled with the felt domes and put other pieces of felt behind are OK but, on close inspection, obviously can be seen to be inaccurate and a little wobbly.
Are there more ideas that you would like to pursue that have come out of this project? Are they similar in feeling to the direction you took, or different? Note them down for future use.
To be honest, my mind has been fully engaged with this project and I really haven’t focussed on new ideas but as I have often looked at ground cover or similar themes over the last few years I’m sure that it will come up again. My inspirational material shows some of the pieces I have previously made which relate in some way or another to these kind of ideas.
Which stage did you find the most exciting? Which stage was most arduous and difficult to get through?
I really enjoyed Stage 5 and all the sampling. Trying out the different materials, adjusting to see what would work, deciding what to incorporate and what to leave out, choosing the colour scheme and so on. I’m a very hands on person.
I didn’t find any of it arduous or difficult to get through.
Do you like your finished textile? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
Yes, I like my finished piece. The textile interpretation reflects the theme sufficiently for the message to be understood whilst still maintaining an abstract quality.
The strengths I see are that it has achieved a balanced integrated finish with proportions that suit the subject matter and a colour scheme that engages. A weakness may be that it is not considered sufficiently unique or radical as an art piece.
TactualTextiles 