This section of work refines the design ideas from chapter 9 in preparation for executing the final piece.
1. Shape & Dimensions: After considering a few options I have decided that a rectangular shape with the length longer than the width would suit the types of designs I have in mind. Proposed dimensions 75cm long X 50 cm wide.
I considered making the bottom of the hanging wavy to match the river shape but, after preparing a paper cut out, I decided against it because I thought it looked a bit contrived.
2. Background Fabric: I did some dyeing experiments to finalise my colour choices. I started with a so-called homespun cotton fabric but the dye uptake was weaker than I expected and the cut edges did not fray very easily, so I suspect it was not 100% cotton. I then purchased some “handkerchief linen” which seemed to be a suitable weight & texture for the wall hanging and tried some dye experiments on this, hoping it would be more successful.
I was intending to use a mixture of orange/yellows, blues and greens to reflect the land/water/crops of my theme, so I tried two different blues, three yellow/orange options and one green in 2 strengths.
From this I selected the aubergine, double strength green and yellow ochre colours to dye some larger fabric swatches. This was done in a shallow tray , painting the different colours onto areas of the cloth and allowing them to run together. I sprinkled salt onto the wet fabric to try to enhance the dye effect but this did not do a lot, possibly because the fabric wasn’t flat. I was pleased with the result and plan to use this fabric for my final piece.
3. More samples: I decided to try a few more samples before making my mind up about the final design.
River 1 – extra machine stitching was added to give a more pleasing textured effect of a river in full flow.
River 2 – I inserted a piece of “river” fabric into one of the John Olsen style samples I had worked earlier. I then added some light patches of stitching to the river to simulate sandbanks and dried up areas of water. This was also an interesting result and will look at ways of incorporating this idea.
Flooded river – I tried an alternative idea to give the impression of a flooded river by machining the river outline and then having water “escaping” into the surrounding countryside with bushes & trees engulfed.
I thought this sample also had possibilities depending on the final design selected.
Crops along river – I was interested in the idea of trying to depict crops in paddocks along the river, so tried a couple of extra samples with blocks of stitching in that vein.
I think these also have possibilities depending on the final design.
4. Design Concepts
My intial idea was to have 3 rivers in a vertical design, one in drought, one in flood and one with a healthy flow, with other shapes top and bottom to depict dried up earth (drought) and crops growing. I found it easier to work with a full scale concept, so outlined the final dimensions on the chosen background fabric and then started placing pieces.
A) Rivers: I modified the shape of the rivers so they were more loopy than those presented previously. I still intend to insert them (reverse applique) top & bottom into the background fabric and fray the edges.
I cut out two river shapes of a suitable size, and laid them on the fabric, then assessed various options for filling in the rest of the surface.
When looking at the pictures below you need to keep in mind that the final rivers will be approx 1cm narrower on each side after insertion so they will be less dominant. I added some paint to the river surfaces using a monoprinting technique but have not yet machined them. Therefore the colours are starker than they will be in the final piece. The machining will be similar to the samples in section 3 and will reduce the colour contrasts so they are not so overpowering.
A1: Initially I thought that the middle (flooded) river could be based on the third river sample in section 3. However when I placed this on the background with the other river strips top and bottom it did not seem to fit very well with the rest of the piece, so I gave up on this idea.
I then decided to go forward with just two feature rivers and look at other ways of suggesting flood cycles.
B) Depicting the river cycles: I was keen to achieve a feeling of the river and season cycles in the work. I tried to do this by placing rows of shapes above, below and in between the two feature rivers. The idea was to depict periods of drought, flood and growth.
Concept B1: The first shapes I tried were a mixture of squares and rectangles, which were meant to suggest the paddocks along the river bank. I used a mixture of fabric and photocopied samples for this design work depending on the concept I was trying out.
Concept B2: The second concept I tried was based on rows of alternating segments of the different phases of the river. I thought this was more visually appealing than concept B1.
Concept B3: I returned to another of the ideas I had experimented with in the previous chapter, where the cycles were joined in a wavy strip. I added a flood section to the drought and growth ones. I thought this might give a better impression of the continuity between the different seasons rather than the disjointed effect in B2. I will call these season strips from now on.
I then positioned copies of these season strips above, below and between the rivers. I was very pleased with this result as it conveys the message of both the river and the cyclical nature of its character due ot the seasons. I propose to carry this one forward into the final piece with a bit more refinement.
Although only one configuration of the season strips is shown above, it will be possible to experiment with the wavy shape a bit further and try different colours and placements once I have generated some more strips.
Next steps: I plan to insert the river strips and over-machine them before I work on the season strips, so I can optimise the dimensions and colour contrasts.
I may also add some stitching to the background but will wait and see if this is really necessary after doing the other bits, as I think I should be aiming for balance and simplicity rather than “busyness”.
