Overall I feel that I've learned a lot about the way I work that I wouldn't have found out otherwise, for example in machine I was comfortable translating images from photographs directly into material samples with no intermediate drawing stage. I also really liked the immediacy of machine stitch and the range of effects and drawn quality you can get with the machine work which I didn't expect. I was really happy with the final batch of machine samples I produced, the choice of materials and layering effects worked well. With practice the level of finish could be improved, and I could incorporate new materials.
My initial drawing style was representational, as I enjoy mark making in that way, but I was too slow to translate that into more abstract patterns or marks when it came to hand stitching. I felt that I should draw representationally with stitch, and it didn't work as well as I thought it would; I need to find a style that emphasises the texture and feel of wool and thread and the feel of the images while being more free with mark making, as I was with machine. Also I would like to practice combining different combinations of drawings, prints, photos/images, materials and threads; I think this will be a challenging process and take time to get right, but would be worth the time spent as it would make more interesting pieces.
The construct day was really fun, and wish I had had more time to go back and draw from the samples I made; putting them together created interesting patterns and made it easier to imagine my images being re-created on a larger scale. Also if the material links to the project, as the Shreddies did with Journeys, then it could be incorporated into a 3D piece, which again sounds exciting.
Looking back, I feel that I could have been more motivated through these projects. I really got stuck in to the Journeys project from the start, but when we started working with machine embroidery I felt like that project had to be put on hold, because of time constraints, and because we were doing something new the Journeys project was no longer my focus. I did try to incorporate images from Journeys into machine work, and felt like in the last week things were clicking into place. However, we were then moved on to hand stitch, so again my focus again had to shift to something new. There was more time available in this unit to carry on with Journeys, but I still felt divided, and wanted to focus more.
I found it difficult working without knowing what was going to be happening the next day or next week; I am usually very organised so found it difficult not being able to properly plan what I could do at home or what materials to bring for a day in the studio. It was also hard to work without a set end point; knowing that I wasn't working towards a final piece meant that my research kept cycling around, and going off in different directions; this wasn't helped by moving from drawing to machine to stitch. I just wanted to get my teeth into the Journeys project, and I only felt that that happened at 2 points; at the end of the first 2 weeks of drawing and at the end of hand stitch.
I think I got frustrated with the set up partially because it was not what I expected; I was given the impression from open days that on the degree you are left to get on with it yourself, and you sign up for workshops and tutorials separately. I thought that we would have one project that would last all term, and when we did workshops we would use images from Journeys to work from. I didn't react well to being told so explicitly what to do for so long, and felt like I was being distracted from the initial project we had been set, which I had really enjoyed.
Next time this occurs I will try to realise what's happening, be more flexible in my approach and try not to get frustrated; we need technical workshops to learn the skills, and sometimes the set projects are really helpful, for example in machine most things were new to me, so working in black and white meant I didn't have to split my focus too much in that area.
Hopefully, when I start the Print unit I will have a better idea of what to expect, which will help me to slot in to the right way of working more quickly. I think that it will still feel like we are chopping and changing what we are doing too quickly, but speaking to people in print and seeing their work has given me a better idea of what will happen over the whole block.
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