Tif Challenge for May: What do I call myself?

Well, I have finished the challenge, as I said before in the previous post on the challenge below, I have based my idea around the idea that artists often have other angles to the things that they do. I chose Seurat as he was often described as a scientist of colour. There are other artist's like this, look at Leonardo for instance. How could he be described? Artist/? Engineer? Biologist perhaps?

Well, anyway, back to my challenge.

I have used monotone to show that there are other ways to analyse. I think that this is one thing that makes me an artist, I analyse what I do and see. Seurat analysed the picture in terms of colour using pointellist techniques. I have analysed his picture in tone using the play of light and shade to indicate forms. There are no unnecessary details in his work or my piece that was inspired by it. I admit I used the computer to turn the picture to grayscale before I made the work. This is a first time use of the computer to inspire my textile work so that's a new techinique in itself. Here are a couple of close ups of the finished work.

I hope that I have also managed to show that paint is not the only medium that can be used in an impressionistic manner.

Well, I hope you like the work and understand the theory behind it's making. Bye for now Tricia

Tif Challenge - What do I call myself

Ok, so I've been thinking about this for quite a few years so I am probably ahead of this Challenge. The way to portray it may sound a little cryptic but it isn't really.
I call myself a textile artist, not only because that is what I earned as a title when I studied for my honours degree but also because that is very much how I feel. I studied art before I chose my specialist area. I did a two year pre foundation and a years foundation course. It is from this art background that I look mostly for my inspiration. Yes I dabble in all sorts of crafts but I do believe that this dabbling informs my more serious work, not to denegrate the craft aspect in any way but I often see it as a way to experiment, this is only my point of view.
The visual means of this challenge has inspired me to think and look at a great artist that I am sure many people know, his name is Seurat. I am going to analyse ( an important word here, which I will come back to.) one of his best known paintings: Please look at the following link: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/S/seurat/jatte.jpg.html
Seurat used scientific principles to paint this picture, does this make him a scientist or an artist? I use this question to help in understanding what it is I actually do. Now, back to that word analyse. I think that on the whole this is what generally helps me to see myself as an artist. Like Seurat I tend to analyse what it is I do. I also use research in much of my work, for instance I have read a considerable amount about symbolism and also about Celtic Art amongst others subjects. It is this research and interest in my subject that I believe tells me I am an artist.
Well, on to the image, I am almost finished but I will not post it until it is properly presented. The image I have chosen is of course the one that can be found at the link above: Sunday Afternoon at the Grande Jatte.
I am taking a small section of this and I have turned it to Grayscale. My intention was to analyse Seurat's picture not in colour as he has but to analyse it in tone, form, shape. I was quite surprised how many of the shapes of the figures seem to be repeated throughout this work. I have been fascinated by the outline of the figures and by the costumes of the time. These seem more obvious when the colour has gone.
Well, I will post my finished work soon. I have only just discovered this new way of working with needlefelt, that is to work in monochrome, I found this when working the last challenge and felt it was quite an appropriate transition for this next challenge. Same materials different subject. Well, I hope all will become clear when you see the finished work. Till then, feel free to ask questions if you are unsure what I actually mean in this post. Good luck to everyone else in your challenge.

TIF Challenge April - The way I see change

Well, here are the different views/studies that I made from the picture to insert into the wheel. I know that they don't look much on their own but once they go between the spokes of the cart wheel, I believe they come together as a whole.

I had to start with the horses head at the top of the wheel.

I know that the studies of the people in the picture are not really portraits, in other words I couldn't get their likenesses but it's on such a small scale and it is felt after all, not making excuses though, I just wanted the essence of the picture.

The bow top wagon is in the picture but only a little is showing behind my grand mother so I have looked at other images, it is only a simple study.

The picture of my Grand mother here, I was only trying to capture a little of the period dress, they always wore pinny's on top of their clothes in those days,

I couldn't get a likeness here either but I have tried to capture my grandfathers swathy/darker complexion with a darker, natural fleece.

Ok, this was not in the picture but I did research from a book I have and it is such an iconic symbol for the travelling way of life, I added/lit the fire after adding this element to the wheel.

This was just a scene from the same book as above.

I had to include this figure, with his cloth cap, even though I don't know who he is.

The finished piece I beleive works well, and I am so pleased that I chose to keep to the monochrome as I have been promising myself I would see what was possible with natural fleece colours. I have give the piece a wavy edge with blanket stitch as it reminds me of the mud that would be picked up on the wheel as it travels. Below are a few close ups.

I have really enjoyed doing this challenge, especially as it means somuch to me and I expect that it is a piece of work that one of my children will enjoy in the future to remind them of their travelling heritage.

One more close up here

Well Sharon, I am waiting for May now to see what you will come up with, I hope it will inspire me the same way this has. Thanks for a great challenge, keep it up.

TIF Challenge for April

The TIF Challenge for April is "How do I see change" Well, whether this is good or bad it is debateable but I see change as moving house, not staying in one place as I rarely have. I think that travelling is in the blood. My mothers parents were from Ireland but although my Grand mother was what you would expect from a true Celt, my grandfather's side were romany people. I don't draw very often from my head because I nearly always use symbols in my thought processes but it was a starting place. The wheel is a very strong Romany symbol which is often used by the travellers so it was an obvious choice. I then thought of the people walking besides the wagon and also the idea of putting down or pulling up roots.

I was going to work with Sun dye as this changes the fabric. However, we don't have much sun here in Britain at present and I was not completely happy with the way that all this was going.

Then purely by chance I came across this old photo of my Grand Parents and
my mother. The back ground is, My Grand dad who is sitting in the foreground, his mother came from Spain and they were horse people. My Great Grand dad on that side was a horse doctor and bearing in mind this takes you back many years to the time of the great famine in Ireland, he was quite an important rural visitor as he would travel around all the farms and help to cure the livestock with his herbal cures. They lived in bow top wagons. Well, because of the potatoe famine my Great Grandparents came over to England in the mid 1800's. There have certainly been many changes since their time, there have also been extreme changes even since my mother's time. She was born in a wagon in 1921 around the time of the great depression, times were very hard but they were survivors or I wouldn't be here. The two gents in the rear of the picture I believe were just friends of the family. My Grand dad who is sitting in the front of the picture died just after the picture was taken. I believe he died of the effects of mustard gas he had inhaled during the first world war. My Grand mother is also sitting in the front and my poor mum who looks thoroughly fed up is standing in the picture, she is only 7 years old. I suppose they had to stand still for a while in those days for pictures to be taken. The picture was taken, I believe, because they had just won a race with one of their horses, I think that there is some sort of trophy on the table. Well, this is where my challenge starts:

I have decided to work in monochrome as the original picture is and it seems so appropriate to show yet another change in the way we look at photos today. This piece I have needle felted in natural sheep wool colours.

My idea is to take parts of this picture and place these in the wheel. Look back to see how I get on.