Assignment 1: Drawing Folio

Assignment 1 compiles all of the work carried out in the Introductory Project and Projects 1, 2 and 3.

Part One: Introductory Project

In this exercise, I was asked to collect, observe and record a group of textiles and materials. Then create 10 to 15 drawings that capture the qualities of the item I select. The task was to divide the brief into two stages: first, gather materials: second, take time to rearrange and record them through drawing.

Stage 1:

Once I had gathered materials for my chosen theme, I had to take photographs as a record of the collection. Paying attention to how the objects and materials sit next to each other. Some arrangements work better than others and I photographed them all to show the thought process behind it. They needed to be spaced out rather than cluttered to portray the calm theme.

Stage 2:

In stage 2, the task was to focus more on the qualities and properties of the items I’d gathered using different sizes and types of paper and media. I only did 4 different drawings because it took me a while gathering resources and I didn’t want to spend too long on the introductory task. I used tracing paper and A3, the A3 pushed me out of my comfort zone a little because I dont usually draw on large paper. I spent a little more time on the pen sketch. As you can see, I added details of the fabric into the drawing. Looking back, I definitely should have spent more time on this task and try to produce some more drawings.

Project 1:

Project 1 involved selecting and identifying items from a textile archive. The aim was to consider what type of textiles I’d like to look at and then choose three pieces I was specifically drawn to. I was not able to access an archive around me so I picked three from an online archive and then chose an archived textiles within my house. Luckily, I had a 100 year old piece that I could work from. Once I had selected the three pieces I wish to explore, I was given the task to research further. What can I find out about this artwork? What is it made from? where does the textile originate from? Does this piece tell a story? This is to gain a better understanding of each item and build a full picture.

Project 2:

This project required me to gain close knowledge of each item, their materials and construction, and any signs of patina. The first exercise in this project was to generate a folio of mark making and drawing for each selected item. It was a challenge to say the least because I couldn’t physically feel the three items from online so I worked with the pattern and the frayed edges on some. I made three drawings of each archival piece varying the types of marks I use. You can see the difference in the physical textiles compared to the online version. The last three photos is where I tried to portray the material in terms of drape.

The second exercise of this project was to develop my observation and recording skills further by focusing on the different qualities of lines. This helps to build an experimental approach to my drawings. I considered a variety of lines such as fine and chunky, continuous line, fuzzy, dotted, dashed. I compared the drawing between my left and right hand and tried drawing with my eyes closed. This exercise pushed me to be experimental and challenge myself to create a varied folio of drawing.

The third exercise aimed to expand my means of drawing by using paper to capture further aspects of the chosen pieces. I used an old magazine and some newspaper to create a collage. The magazine worked well for the coloured piece with the frayed edge, however, I focused more on the archived piece from my home so that I could create the drape to work from. I used different parts of the newspaper to portray the shaded parts and the words of the newspaper to represent the tatting technique used for the border of the textile. I folded parts of the newspaper to create the folds and drapes in the fabric.

The final exercise of this project required me to look even closer and capture the finest qualities of the textiles items I chose. I was keen to get started with this one because I love drawing in detail and I feel like this is my strongest skill. I used my archive piece from my home because I could manipulate it better than the online pieces. I decided that my sources should be dropped fabric and folded fabric and then zoomed in versions of both to give a variety.

Project 3:

In this project, I chose a new visual source to work from. The first exercise in this project was to collect flowers, leaves or plants that I’d like to draw from. This was fairly easy for me considering my house is full of plants and my partner works in a garden centre. The aim was to work from life and not from photographs, this is to capture the true wealth of visual information from its many angles. I had to decide on the media I would use to create the drawings and I wanted to be experimental again so I decided to do some digital drawings that Id never done before.

The second and final exercise was to portray the new visual source through drawing. I had planned out what resources I was going to need in the previous exercise so that meant I could get straight into it. I wanted to play around with colour because I feel that I hadn’t done that in a while. I used colour pens and watercolour and they all came out great. I do feel like I could have spent more time on this, however, it felt as though time was running out.

Written Reflection

The first section of this project was a challenge for me. I struggled to get going and my brain put up a wall that stopped me from doing the work, which was frustrating because I wanted to do it. I almost gave up and withdrew from the course but I didn’t want to give up.

Some exercises were more of a struggle than others. I enjoyed the introductory project because balance and harmony resonated with me. I had many objects in the house that relates to that theme, therefore I had many opportunities to work from. Another exercise that I enjoyed would be the collages and drawing in detail. As I said in my assignment, drawing in detail is one of my strongest skill sets. I have played around with collages before, so it was fun to get stuck in.

Exercise 1:1 felt like a hurdle that I couldn’t get over. Finding a local archive was difficult because I live in such a rural area and travelling to cities wasn’t always an option. I managed to go to one place but you needed an appointment to access the archive and that meant planning it all over again and with limited travel, this was hard. However, I used what resources I had and managed to get the ball rolling.

One thing I have learnt and will take away from this is to stop being a perfectionist. Being self-critical is a great tool to have but being over-critical can be a recipe for disaster. I always feel like I could do something better so I start again, forgetting that actually, these pieces can be used as a learning resource. I can look back and learn what to do and what not to do.

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