Gallery of past work

Monday, 6 January 2014

A tale of two ideas

Today's post is a tale of two lines of thought unexpectedly coming together - in a fashion not at all planned but suddenly seeming to be the right thing to do - and maybe it's the benefit of putting things aside and into the sub-conscious when you're not sure what you should do ...

Sometime last autumn, I completed a small group of weaving experiments, making strips of my own cloth into which I stitched with the now familiar wandering lines to represent patterns in landscape. Since then I've gone off in a slightly different direction and weaving has been temporarily left alone.

Recently, I've been edging myself towards working in 3D. This morning, at my local art group, I played with shapes and the use of Möbius strips (sorry this link gets very mathematical!). It's a fun shape and I had seen it in C. June Barnes' lovely book Exploring Dimension in Quilt Art.

I played with strips of paper in different sizes and lengths and the shapes produced seemed to have a link to my thoughts about landscape and wandering lines ...

I then came home and looked at my woven strips, twisted one and produced this little form about 5" high ...

It's a tight little form, very different from the Möbius strips I made this morning or those shown in June Barnes' book but I liked the gentle contrast between the two surfaces of the weaving so I stitched it to hold it in place. Suddenly the back wasn't just the reverse but had a validity all its own and offered a pleasing contrast.

I will post the other strip when it's sewn in place ... and later this week the paper form I made this morning - a maquette for a very different piece, though I think its origins will be recognisable ...

10 comments:

  1. It's lovely when different kinds of experiments find a life together. I look forward to seeing how you pursue this further.

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    1. I've had plans for a larger piece of weaving for some time. Maybe now I know how it might develop ...?

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  2. Your shape is amazing! I love it when random ideas come together and create something wonderful.

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    1. Very many thanks, Nora - this was definitely serendipity ... I could just do with more of it!

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  3. Love how the 'what ifs' lead into something so interesting.

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    1. 'What ifs' are the greatest things, aren't they?

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  4. Thank you for the visit at my place today! I've enjoyed seeing some of your work here and love what you have done with this weaving! I now have you in my feed and will keenly follow what develops. I have great fondness for textile and weaving work - in another life it would have been my direction.

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    1. Very many thanks for visiting and for your comments.
      I am a late-comer to all things textile and it's giving me great pleasure and satisfaction - so it's never too late!

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  5. Love the 3D shapes....how exciting, I do love all things textile and tactile!
    And did you notice, in the bottom pic, no doubt a trick of the light, but yet another thought, that there is a face within the weavings??? Could be another possible angle to pursue!!!

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    1. Gosh it's so fascinating how other people view things - a face - that would certainly be a completely new angle for me. I seem to be so hooked on landscape at the moment ...

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