Summary Conclusion
The work evolved through my practical work with linocuts as initially I was linking the brief to brain cells but the artworks reminded me of water and waves. This raised thoughts about the closeness of the human form to water. My research took me to the artists shown on Human After All Pt 2 video.
The processes I used were dyes, prints and fabrics such as silk and calico. The textiles reflected the closeness and intimacy which in turn reflects the closeness of water to us both physically in being a large part of the makeup of humans and spiritually in ways like visiting the ocean which is part of our immediate environment but so vast.
At this time, I took part in a Life Drawing course which made me think of the vulnerability of the nude and openness and sensitivity. I used this to reflect on water being both unpredictable in nature and controlled in our close human environment of the home.
I developed my skills in textiles by using new materials to me like silk. I also extended my experimenting with the use of words as in ‘A Day in the Life of Water’ and poetry I created and using clay. Throughout the project I have built on my exploration of clay, creating pieces connected to this theme. They will not be included in my final piece, but I will continue to build on these skills in my future work. As I developed my work, I used photos and lyrics and matched them into a recording relating to water. Filming swans on the water gave me a starting point together with the poem and layered videos. However, editing the sound left me unhappy with the visuals so I used oil-based ink and mixed soap and water and noticed that the residue of the soap gave me the effect I wanted.
I used my skills in editing music to experiment with reversing the track I had created and placing it over the video, but I reverted back to the original as I felt it was less mechanical and digital.
How to present my work to demonstrate the effect I wanted became a challenge. I wanted the fabric to be as close to water as it could be and placed it next to the canal but this looked too ‘neat’ so I took the fabric to a stream where it created the natural feel I wanted as the fabric was pulled by the
current and showed the relationship of the water and the form. This allowed me to refine the music also.
I have learnt to be bolder and to take chance with my work, following instinct. I must remember that I am a tactile person who enjoys being involved with nature.
In the future, I would like to develop this with my interest in foraging and using what we find in nature in our daily lives. I would like to share my love of nature and bring alive nature in my work.
