Stitch and Structure

AN APPROACH TO MAKING EXPERIMENTAL STITCHED TEXTILES

Recording information about structure for translation into stitch. Drawing with a purpose. Compiling your own database of knowledge for informing your work.

Detail of pastel drawing recording dramatic, twisted tree structures remaining after a wild fire.

While the main focus of this book is the exploration of structure through stitch, alongside this I have tried to demonstrate the working process of developing ideas by gathering and simplifying information, translating this information into stitch through sampling, which leads eventually to resolved stitched textiles. I hope that my drawings, extensive sampling of ideas and examples of finished work, will show you that making work is not so much a mystical procedure but a sound practical system that is ongoing and develops gradually over a period of time; a way of working that can be adopted by most dedicated makers. Ideas for work do not have to be separate and distinct but they develop little by little, one from another; sometimes there is only a small step between them. This should be evident by the related nature of some of the work shown here.

My work process could be simplified under the following headings:

Looking/Recording/Learning

Experimental Sampling

Resolved Work.

But, in fact, the path is never a straightforward one and I find that I constantly need to switch back and forth between the different activities, perhaps when I find I do not have enough information about my subject, or when the methods and materials I am using do not allow me to resolve work satisfactorily.

Even though knowledge and practice of method is invaluable, it is my belief that the strongest work in stitched textiles does not begin with technique alone but with an imaginative eye for inspirational subject matter. As suggested in the previous chapter, it is important to develop an interested and informed way of looking at things that surround us, noticing specific details such as colour, texture, pattern and shape. The emotional response experienced to a particular aspect of our surroundings, and the motivation to express something about it, can lead to the most exciting and individual work.

The process of looking, gathering and recording information by drawing, photography, making notes, reading and making samples is crucial. This research leads to greater understanding of subject matter and the gradual release and generation of more and more ideas. It is enormously beneficial to have your own personal reference material that can be constantly consulted and also updated as more is learned and discovered.

Your source material will not only provide direct visual information to inspire your work, but (specially important for structure), it will show how parts connect, join and support each other to make sustainable forms, as described in the last chapter. Using this information helps in the successful practical construction of work as well as providing ideas that can help create an attractive appearance. You will need this in order to help you construct your pieces with strength and style.

Pastel drawing of fallen and leaning trees left after a wild fire in the American southwest.

Complete drawing from which the detail on here was taken.

LOOKING AND RECORDING

In a recent interview, the artist David Hockney said that we have to learn to look. Then, in order to understand what we are looking at, we have to ask ourselves the right questions. It is only then that we can begin to engage with our subject and record our interpretation of it. In this section I shall try to describe my approach to this process.

PHOTOGRAPHS

For many people, photographs are possibly the most immediate source of inspiration. In fact, some subject matter (for example, microscopic or biological structures as described in the previous chapter) can often only be sourced through photographs in books or perhaps on the Internet. But photographs alone do not tell the whole story and, although I frequently use photographs, I like to use them in conjunction with drawing and making notes.

I prefer not to attempt to copy a photograph but, instead, to use it as a starting point for my own interpretation of the subject matter. Drawing a small section of the photograph, enlarging it, enhancing parts that interest you particularly, all lead to more individual results. Working this way, perhaps cutting up the photographic image, also enables us to break away from the regular, recognizable proportion and format.

Rather than taking many photographs in an indiscriminate manner, it is an advantage to be selective and to use the camera with great care, in conjunction with careful looking.

A small notebook/sketchbook, with plain paper, is an essential piece of equipment that goes everywhere with me and I would be lost if it went missing. I use this book at odd times, wherever I am, to jot down my reaction to things that interest me, or thoughts about subject matter. I often begin with words and brief phrases to describe what I am seeing and also to embed the most important points in my mind. These notes make the connection between what I am seeing around me and my own ongoing work. I usually make swift drawings - a form of visual note taking - in the same book. I sometimes add cuttings, photographs and other bits of relevant information. I can then go on to make more considered drawings at a later time.

If you do not already keep notes and drawings, I can only strongly urge you to do so because by recording in words, drawings, diagrams and also photographs, you are essentially assembling a vocabulary, or database, of information necessary for your work.

In order to demonstrate that there are many ways to approach drawing, those shown throughout this book, from my sketchbooks, are purposely selected to show the use of a variety of drawing media and styles. As already explained, my drawing, gathering of information and making processes are intertwined so it is impossible, and not necessarily relevant, to place every drawing alongside a piece of work. I hope that you will be able to recognise the connections between the drawings in various parts of the book, the emphasis on certain subject matter and finished work illustrated.

Photograph of a double-page spread in a notebook/sketchbook showing a combination of drawings, stitching and wrapped sticks, recording ideas for the development of structured surfaces.

DRAWING WITH A PURPOSE

Some people are nervous of drawing, but I encourage everyone to try. If you study something carefully enough to draw it, perhaps diagrammatically, you will notice much more than a glance or even a photograph will reveal and you will gain and retain much more information to help you with design.

Should you feel reluctant to draw because you feel that you lack the skill to do it well, it is worth reminding yourself that you are drawing with a particular purpose in mind - that of gathering information for your own use, rather than attempting to create masterpieces to be framed. You do not need to show your drawings, or explain them, to other people: they are for you alone, to jog your memory about something you have seen that might possibly form the starting point of work in stitched textiles.

It is often unnecessary to attempt to represent the whole object or shape unless it is of particular interest. Instead, I suggest you concentrate on the details that interest you. Try making several small studies of what you see within the object, concentrating on details of lines, shapes, textures and structure. Rather than just one drawing leading to an individual piece of work, my many small investigative drawings help to establish and confirm characteristic structures, shapes and rhythms in the object.

Looking hard and drawing is an intense process requiring concentration, and to help I often ask myself questions. Examples of my internal dialogue may be seen in the list of points at the end of this chapter (see here).

By making small studies in this way, I almost immediately see possibilities for translation into fabric and thread and I think you will do so too. Of course, you will not see actual stitches, but you will probably see marks and shapes that remind you of certain stitches and methods and certainly suggest the weight and thickness of thread you might use.

Work then gradually evolves from the collection of information that has been absorbed.

Pen-and-wash drawings of cacti, informing threads in Chapter 3 and other cacti structures.

Group of drawings showing stitch ideas suggested by natural structures.

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES

Most of the techniques explored in this book are traditional ones that I have altered by changing the usual scale associated with them, by working them more freely and, in some cases, experimenting with new and different materials. Although I believe it is always important to make well-crafted work, the expressive, sculptural approach I have adopted for a while now often necessitates abandoning regularity and the generally accepted size of stitching as shown in most stitch dictionaries and method books. I have learned not to think of 'right' or 'wrong' but to ask myself if I am achieving the effect I am striving for in the interpretation of my design ideas and if the manner of working is acceptable in finish.

TAKING RISKS

Alongside...