M4 CHAPTER 4: PAPER MAKING

This chapter starts with basic paper making and then describes some experiments  to explore various techniques for adding interest to the paper surface.

The basic technique followed that described in the course notes. In addition I used the following reference book as a source of ideas and additional instructions: “Paper Making” by Marion Elliot, Henry Holt & Co, Inc, 1994.

I made a series of wire frames by removing canvas from cheap frames bought at a $2 shop and then stapling wire over the top. These worked OK for the purposes of these trials. If I was going to do a lot of paper making I would probably explore some other purpose-built options for the frames.

1. First Attempts

This photo shows some of my early efforts. After making each pulp I added some coloured ink or dye to tint the paper. This was taken up differentially by the various types of paper used for the pulp. The inks tended to give more delicate colours. It took about 3 attempts to start to produce reasonable paper. My first paper (pale green) was very thin and tore easily, probably because I had the pulp too thin and watery. However it could be interesting to use for some applications. The second lot (pale pink) was much thicker and stiffer because I deliberately made the pulp thicker and lumpier. I got some nice colour effects by using torn up brown paper as part of the pulp.  The stiffness of this paper will limit its usefulness for later work. The third attempt (mauve) gave the best overall result as the paper was of medium thickness and moderately flexible.

2. Embedding

This photo shows some papers with added items embedded into them This was done by casting the pulp onto the frame, then sprinkling the items over and pressing them into the surface. Some of the things I tried were (1) Slithers of paper and ribbon (2)Threads and petals (3) Strands of wool tops  (4) Strands of silk tops. Note that the wool and silk tops these were white but took up the ink more strongly. As I really liked the texture gained by using the wool or silk strands, I decided to try making some silk paper as well (see section 7).

3. Fringing and Laminating

The two examples here show the interesting surface effects that can be obtained by (5) burying longer threads in the pulp and then pulling them out completely or partially when the paper is dry  (6) burying some scraps of a lacy fabric into the pulp, then partly scraping away the paper when it is dry. These both have possibilities for future work,for example by using the threads to deliberately write letters or words or using the lace scraps to make various shapes.

4. Letters

This shows some ways of combining shapes or letters with paper making. (7) Negative shape - the letter shape can be removed by placing a wire cut out under the pulp and then lifting it up while the pulp is damp (8). This works best of the letter is a continuous line and does not have holes like the letter R. The pulp spread on the removed cut out can be dried in situ to give a positive letter shape.  The word Rose has been spelled out by casting pulp onto pieces of wire cut into the shapes of the letters (9). This gave the clearest results and was the easiest to do.

5. Embossing

I experimented with a few ways of making an imprint in the surface of the paper.  Unfortunately none of the results photographed particularly well, but I think they give the idea. The trick seemed to be to use an object which was heavy enough to make a  strong indentation in the paper but not so heavy that it went all the way through and tore. Example 10 shows the effect of pressing the letter R cut from some fairly heavy plastic sheet into the cast pulp. I thought this was reasonably successful.  I also tried getting some lacy patterns imprinted onto the paper  by pressing  small pieces of guipure lace or a lacy fabric onto the wet surface and removing the shapes when the paper was almost dry (11, 12). These were also reasonably successful, but the lace needs to be of a medium to heavy weight to make a good imprint.  I also tried a couple of times to incorporate a watermark into the paper by attaching a wire shape to the surface of the frame and then casting the pulp over the top so that some of the paper was thinner than the rest. None of these attempts was very satisfactory, even though I tried to thin down the paper pulp for a second attempt(13). There is definitely an art to getting good results with this technique.

6. Experiments with Two Colours

Although the colours I ended up with here were not exactly as intended (the brown was meant to be pinker), they are adequate for illustrating the point that some interesting effects can be achieved by combining different coloured pulps in the one sheet of paper. The first sheet (14) shows the two colours applied in random blocks. The others (15 & 16) show two stylised attempts at lettering made by placing the coloured pulps in different shapes. I found that the easiest way to apply the different colours was with a slotted spoon or soup ladle.

7. Silk Paper

I tried making silk paper as well, because I really like its streaky textured appearance. It is delicate yet strong at the same time. I based my method on the one described in the book “Handmade Silk Paper” by Kath Russon, Search Press, 1999. However instead of using wallpaper paste to adhere the fibres, I used  Jo Sogna’s Textile Medium diluted about 50/50 with water, which was recommended to me by a friend. I also did not dye the silk tops before use, but rather, I dissolved some Brusho ink powder in the aqueous textile medium. The silk fibres took up the ink very rapidly and strongly, as shown in the photo below. I am keen to find some uses for silk paper in my work.

M4, CHAPTER 3: GRIDS

 

Definition of a grid : A grating of crossed bars; a network of horizontal and vertical lines designed to give fixed points of reference (from Macquarie Dictionary). However this definition is a bit narrow as many grids are not restricted to horizontal and vertical lines. In their book “Grids to Stitch”, Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn extend the definition to include asymmetrical arrangements of crossing lines and organic structures (Double Trouble Enterprises, 2006).

Examples of Grids for Stitching

Sheets 1 & 2 show examples of grids I have collected. “Grids 1” shows a collection of different types of fabrics, illustrating  the diverse range of of textiles which can be used as the base for withdrawn thread and other embroidery.

Key: A Coarsely woven canvas; B Curtain scrim with mixture of fine and coarse weaves; C Fine double stranded canvas; D Section of  a place mat woven from plant fibre (probably sisal); E dress fabric; F even weave linen used for Hardanger embroidery; G synthetic net with metallic thread; K 24 count linen; I synthetic lacy fabric; J hessian; K cheesecloth.

The second sheet, “Grids 2” shows examples of non-traditional grids made from a broad range of materials which could also be considered for experimental work.

Key: L sequin waste; M coarsely woven sinamay hat fabric; N plastic coated fly wire mesh; O polyester mesh used for a laundry bag; P foam mesh used to transport delicate pieces of fruit; Q synthetic mesh from an onion bag; R plastic gutter guard; S synthetic moulding mesh.

Constructed Grids

I have tried two techniques for constructing my own grids. The first involved taking a piece of felt and cutting out squares. I think this could be embellished by machine and hand in later work.

The second method was based on a method suggested by Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn in “Grids to Stitch”, page 2 (Double Trouble Enterprises, 2006) where a grid is constructed by machining over a framework of ribbons, threads etc. A plastic film is used to stabilise the framework while it is stitched. Instead of the sticky film Aquabond that they suggested, I used a heavy water soluble film called Romeo, suggested by one of my Australian on-line suppliers (Punch with Judy). This film was dampened slightly to make it a bit sticky, and then strands of variegated green/gold ribbon were laid down in a grid pattern. A second layer of Romeo slightly damp was placed on top to hold the ribbons in place. The “sandwich” was then attached to a rectangular wooden frame using double sided tape, ready for stitching.

The grid was  stitched on the machine along each vertical and horizontal bar, to hold it together.  Then a circular mesh was worked by machine in each of the holes to form the decorative pattern in pink and red. Care was taken to make sure all the stitching overlapped so it would not fall apart when the film was removed.

The film was dissolved by pinning the stitched sandwich to a flat piece of  plastic foam  and then running luke warm water over it. I  found it necessary to immerse the foam in a tray of water for about an hour to remove the final remnants of the film. The stitched ribbon grid  was left pinned to the foam until it dried to maintain its shape. The final piece is shown below. Considering it was my first attempt at anything like this, I was quite pleased with the finished item, which reminded me of roses growing on a trellis. I intend to try some more experiments later in the module.

M4, Chapter 2: Lettering Designs

I used the word “rose” to experiment with different drawing tools, media and lettering styles.

1. DRAWING METHODS

1.1 Using Commercial Inks

I used some commercial inks (mainly “Brusho” and india ink) and experimented with a variety of paper backgrounds – envelopes, brown paper, tissue paper, pages torn from a phone book. In some cases I did an ink wash over the paper and then wrote the words in a different colour over the top using a variety of tools and lettering styles.

The numbered items show words written using the following:

1) Large letters made with a plastic credit card with the edge chopped off with pinking shears.  2)  A stick on a tinted page of the telephone book. 3)  A coarse brush on tinted tissue paper. 4) Edge of a piece of cardboard pressed onto an envelope. 5) Tile grouter dipped in ink used to make background pattern and writing over the top. 6) Flat end of chopstick pressed onto tinted tissue paper. 7) Pointed end of satay stick used to write on  tinted page of the telephone book. 8) Feather used to write on brown paper.

1.2 With a black calligraphy pen

I then experimented with a black calligraphy pen as shown below, sometimes adding a colour as well. Torn envelopes were washed with green ink before starting to write.  I extended this to experiment with effects that could be achieved with blocks of writing.

 

1) Same word in different font styles. 2)  Word in columns with the starting letter highlighted in pink as a feature.  3) Different sizes and spacing of letters, with one large pink letter as a highlight over the top.  4) Small words written in blocks in different directions to give a chequerboard effect. 5) Red words written in regular lines with a satay stick dipped in ink, but some lines were upside down, so that the rhythm of the lettering was more important than the actual word. Then a large version of the word rose was written over the top in green – actually made up by writing the word several times in small letters.

1.3 Bleach, overlapping letters & doodling

This photo shows a range of effects that were created as follows:

1) Paper washed with pink ink and then words written randomly with a cotton bud dipped in bleach. 2) Paper washed with green ink, then small words overwritten using a stick dipped in pink ink and larger words written with a cotton bud dipped in bleach ( this unexpectedly produced a rather nice blue colour). 3) Words written as mirror images and overlapping two different colours, using a coarse brush. 4) Letters written in purplish pink with a brush, then extra outline added in a paler tinted paint. Then green hatching added to selected areas of the letters with a finer brush. By this time the word rose seemed far less definite because the viewer's perception was affected by the added embellishment. 5) Words written in crayon using different sizes of lettering and starting diagonally from each corner. Where they joined,  the word was written in a large stylised manner in the centre diamond (hard to recognise as the word rose) and then flowers and leaves were added in the spaces. 6) Paper folded in a fan shape at various angles and the words written across the folds in red or green, to give a rather distorted effect to the writing.

1.4 Rubbings and collage

In this section a glue gun was used to pipe the word rose onto the paper and designs developed from there.

1) This shows the effect of rubbing crayon over the glue letters to give them colour, and adding further emphasis with outlines. The contrasting background was achieved by roughly colouring in with a water soluble crayon and then roughly painting it with water. 2) This shows how a glue template was prepared for nos. 3 & 4 by piping hot glue onto the shaped letters and allowing it to cool. 3) The template shown in no. 2 was placed under the paper and the top surface rubbed with a crayon to bring up the letters. The words were placed in alternating rows of one or two words to form a pattern. 4) This shows a composite collage made by folding the paper in different ways and writing the word rose with either green or red ink, then unfolding to give a grid made by the letters (i.e. the word has been broken up). Then a rubbing similar  to number 3 was cut into small squares and these letters were placed in some of the grid spaces, alternating with other small squares of creamy yellow paper. If you look hard you can make out all the letters of the word rose.

2. PATTERN MAKING USING THE COMPUTER

As with the exercises using inks shown above, it is possible to make an infinite variety of lettering patterns using the computer. One can select programmed fonts or draw freehand. Colours, font size and orientation of letters can be varied, as well as overlaying words on top of each other. The central image in this page shows words overlaid on a freehand drawing. Another feature  of the computer generated images is the ability to generate very regular, attractive patterns such as those on the top right and bottom left by repeating words or letters and then varying colour, font size etc.

 

3. LETTERING ON FABRIC

I popped this in as an extra as it is relevant to this section. I recently took part in a challenge with one of my Australian embroidery groups on the theme ‘What’s in a name?’ This arose from the fact that the group calls itself tba (to be advised) because some years ago the members could not agree on a name. My piece was based on the Shakespearian quote from Romeo & Juliet “A rose by another name ….”

I chose a piece of pale green linen for the background, and then decided to add some references to tba in the background to add colour and interest, as well as adding another link to the challenge theme. However I did not want to take away from the principal design by overdoing it. I decided to make a template of the letters “tba”  in string, cover this with mauve paint and stamp it on the fabric in an irregular manner. In the end I used the “wrong” side of the fabric as there was too much paint on the other side and outlined some of the letters with machine stitching. I then decided I needed some colour contrast so placed the string template under the fabric and rubbed over the top with deep pink pastel to give the final multi-coloured background  for the design.

 

The final piece is shown below – it has an appliqued rose, the quote worked in stem stitch, and a cross stitch border over the tba background. This piece was part of our group’s display at a recent exhibition. (Sian you can take this as a compliment that I am looking for ways to make more complex surfaces now, and also using paint, pastel rubbings etc!)

Module 4: Loosely Lettering

CHAPTER 1: Media Research

Inspirations

The word “media” (plural of medium) can have a number of meanings. In the present context it relates to various means of communication that reach or influence people widely (Oxford Dictionary & others). In art, the word “medium” refers to the substance(s) the artist uses to create the artwork (http://arthistory:about.com).

In this module my inspirations are drawn from the use of cards and other  stationery items as a means of communication. This started with the Christmas cards which arrived at my house during December, some Get Well messages I received in January and February and then various items associated with my daughter’s wedding in March – invitations, cards to wish her happiness for the future, thank you cards, place cards, photographs etc. On my travels I also picked up several post cards that were being used to promote community events such as exhibitions, plays, museums & symposia. I was also intrigued by the use of bags as advertising (communication) tools – ranging from the paper bags containing my bread and mushrooms, as well as larger tote bags from places where I bought clothes.

My other inspiration was the art nouveau theme which my daughter used for her wedding in Glasgow, based on the architecture and designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The celebration was at a beautiful Mackintosh-designed house called House for an Art Lover. I would like to to experiment with the theme of the Glasgow rose and Mackintosh era in some of my work. 

The colour scheme I am thinking of using is also loosely drawn from this sources  - rose pink,  leaf green and mauve – but the pink (red)  and green also reminds me of the colours of Christmas where this journey began.

Photos below:

1. Assorted greeting & promotional cards

2. Wedding themed items

3. Assortment of bags

Items of Stationery

My initial idea for my final piece is to create a wedding album/book containing a selection of memorabilia and photographs. The cover will be decorated with something emerging from this module.

There are a huge number of styles and methods that can be used to create and assemble a book. This photo shows a few examples including a traditional leather bound book made 40 years ago by my cousin, a stitched book of cloth and textured paper (which I made recently in my local Embroidery group), a spiral bound sketch book, a book with pages held together with cord, an old concertina file for recipe cards with a cloth cover, and a folding booklet of postcards.

       I also recently purchased  “500 Handmade Books”  (Editor Suzanne JE Tourtillot, Lark Books, 2008), which is a wonderful source of inspiration and design ideas. I will decide later which style to utilise for my final piece, depending on how the design concept evolves.

Lettering Research
a. Font style variation
There are a myriad of styles of lettering/fonts that are used in the media. I started by taking the word ROSE and printing it out in a selection of fonts from my computer. The word  takes on different personalities or moods depending on the style selected – relaxed and free flowing, formal and stiff, bold and brash, flamboyant and fun (see examples below).

My daughter used a Mackintosh style font for her wedding stationery. This gives  interesting  effects because the letters are a mix of elongated  and shortened forms. When they are shortened ( for example the “O” in rose), a dot is added to fill the space. With the letters A, E & H, the cross bar  is moved up so the appearance is not symmetrical. This gives an interesting rhythm when the words are strung together. Mackintosh used similar effects in his furniture designs, for example backs of chairs were often elongated to change the visual impact.

b. Text size & placement

This sheet shows some interesting effects using letters taken from advertising, such as fitting words to a shape, overlapping letters, varying the font size & placing lines close together with colour changes.

c. Mixing letters (words) and pictures
This is particularly effective for storytelling. The picture shows 3 examples: a short section of the Bayeux tapestry (c1070 AD) with the text in Latin illustrated extensively with pictures, since a large proportion of the population could not read; a small extract from the Book of Kells c800 AD with decorated letters and other small images which add to the story; a modern advertisement for a bank, where the decorations on the letter A add to the overall promotional message.

d. Other languages, different characters
If you cannot understand the words you tend to just form an impression of the shape and flow (rhythm) of the lettering. The pictures on this sheet sheet show some interesting effects seen with Egyptian hieroglyphics on papyrus, ancient Greek carved into stone, printed Russian text and variations of Arabic script. I particularly like the pattern formed by the printed Russian text where the words are hard to distinguish and the Arabic picture bottom left, where the artist has repeated the characters in different ways across the page.

e. A Rose in different languages
These examples show  combinations of the rose image, the word rose and different languages to give varying effects.

CHAPTER 11: Composite sheet and completed accessory

 

The completed accessory (cuff bracelet) largely followed  the key design elements  described in Chapter 10. However one major modification was made during production. After the beading was completed on the flat surface, and the  external and internal panels were applied to the shaped metal/pelmet vilene support, I decided that there was enough beading already on the item and that more would be overkill. Therefore the idea of adding clustered beads to the gold cord on the edges was dropped. I felt that a simple gold border would be sufficient and more beads  would detract from the impact of the main panel. I think that a heavily beaded edge would be more appropriate if the cuff had  a plainer central panel.

The following photos show the partially completed and completed cuff bracelet (various views, including internal surface), including a picture of it on my arm to show how it fits with its intended purpose.

EVALUATION OF ITEM

How do you feel about the resulting item?

I am pleased with the overall design and visual impact of the piece. I think the colour combination works well and I managed to achieve a brighter result on the painted surface of the final piece compared with the concept samples. This then required careful selection of beads to work with the surface – trying to achieve a balance between the different segments, but allowing some of the underlying painted surface and machine stitching to show through. I also had to decide when enough was enough – hence the change of plan with the beaded edges.

I think the impact of the wavy shape was diluted a bit by the embellishment, but nevertheless I thought it added a nice look to the bracelet on the arm

Is it fit for its purpose - give reasons?

I think the result is suitable for its purpose but could be improved further. The bracelet sits on the arm well and is suitable for evening wear as it is quite glitzy. It is not too heavy and can be adjusted to suit the arm of the wearer. The “baby wipe” fabric used as the base is moderately robust and thus suitable for use in a feature piece like this.

If you were asked to make it again, what changes would you make to the way you designed it and the way you made it?

I really like the idea of these types of bracelets and would like to make more. Whilst I managed to work out a satisfactory bracelet base by using a cut up metal can and pelmet Vilene for this assignment, I think it could be improved to make the base slightly stiffer, yet still flexible . Therefore I would experiment with other materials  and also try out some commercially available blanks (though the shapes are limited). I would like to explore other designs, using more hand stitching and fewer beads on the  main surface and more beads around the edges – there are infinite possibilities.

Specifically, with the current design,  I would have modified the placement of the “spokes” so that I had 3 gold beaded panels, not 2, to achieve a better balance and contrast.

 

COSTING MATERIALS AND RECORDING TIME: MODULE 3

COSTING FOR CONCEPT SAMPLES & FINISHED ITEM: CUFF BRACELET

Papers

Cartridge paper, 8 sheets @ 30c $2.40

Tracing paper, 1m $0.20

Photocopying

Colour mockups, 12 @ 30c each $3.60

Fabrics

White cotton, 0.3m @ $5.50/m $1.65

Purple fabric 0.5 m @ $6.50/m $3.25

Baby wipes- 1/2 packet $2

Paints

Gold, aqua, purple & white Lumiere paint @ $11.75 each

estimated 1/4 jar each $11.75

Acrylic wax - 1 jar $15.50, used 10% $1.55

Threads

Machine threads ,1 aqua and 1 purple, @ $4.35 $8.70

Gold machine thread $9.50, used approx 30% $2.85

Gold silk for couching, 1 reel $10.20. Used 20% $2.04

Gold metallic threads, 2 types @$3.40 each $6.80

Perl threads, 2 @ $3.95 $7.90

Other threads from stash

Beads

Seed beads, 2 packs @ $4 $8.00

Seed beads, 2 packs @ $2 $4.00

Spangles - Mauve $2.00

Spangles - Gold (Colour streams) $2.45

Spangles Purple $2.20

Gold bugle beads $2.00

Aqua "petals" 30c each X26 $7.80

Aqua & Cobalt balls 10c each X 16 $1.60

Gold/pearl buttons $2.40

Other beads from stash

Miscellaneous

Gold braid, 1 metre $3.35

Pelmet Vilene, 0.3m @ $14.50/m $4.35

Sewing/beading needles, 3 @ 55c $1.65

Machine needles, 2@ 65c $1.30

Reference book (Effie Mitrofanis Tassel & Trimmings) $15.00

______________

TOTAL $112.79

______________

TIMING

Assessment Piece

Date design work started: 20 June 2011

Date design work completed: 27 September 2011

Date when embroidered item was started: 1 October 2011

Date when embroidered item was finished: 24 November 2011

Total number of hours spent on design work: 23 hours

Total number of hours spent on embroidered piece: 16 hours

Module Work

Chapter	Time Spent (hours)
1	11
2	24
3	16
4	23
5	12
6	13
7	16
8	29
9	12
10	23
11	16
12	11

HEALTH AND SAFFTY CONSIDERATIONS

MODULES ONE TO THREE

Paints, Dyeing Fabrics & Discharge Dyeing

· Wear rubber gloves and protective clothing so skin does not come into contact with paints or dyes

· Protect working surfaces with plastic sheeting or newspaper

· Work in a well ventilated area away from food

· Choose an area which can be cleaned readily in case of spills

· Use utensils and containers reserved only for this purpose, not containers which may be used for food

· When measuring concentrated dyes or powders (dyes or paints), wear a mask suitable for preventing inhalation of dust, mist and fumes (e.g. Australian Standard P2GV)

· Dilute waste solutions with lots of water and dispose of in an appropriate manner

Storage of Dyes and Related Chemicals

· Store chemicals in secure area away from children. Ensure containers are tightly closed and stored in a cool place.

· Ensure all containers are clearly labelled with the contents to avoid mistakes.

Safety of Electrical Items

· Iron: Keep unplugged if not in use. May be stored in cupboard if necessary, when cool.

· Sewing machine: Turn off when not in use and cover to protect from dust.

· Ensure loose cords are secured (e.g. by taping to floor with masking tape) so they are not a potential tripping hazard.

Cutting Implements

· Keep scissors and cutting implements in a dry safe place away from children

· Rotary cutting tool - ensure protective guard is engaged when not being used.

· Cut away from you as much as possible to avoid accidental injury.

· Cutting a metal can - Wear safety glasses/goggles to protect the eyes as small metal pieces can fly off. Wear thick rubber gloves to protect the hands while cutting the tin as the edges may be sharp. Carefully cut the tin with kitchen scissors into a shape a bit larger than required, then use some smaller scissors to cut the rough shape into the final shape you require. Carefully smooth the edges with sandpaper so they are no longer sharp and dangerous. Also use the sandpaper to roughen the flat surface of the metal,

Use of Sewing Machine

· Oil regularly and maintain in accordance with instructions in the manual

· Turn off before clearing jams or changing needles to avoid damaging your fingers

· Keep fingers away from sewing line when operating the machine (e.g. place hands at front and back of work)

Hand stitching, Beading & Machining

· Work in a well lit area

· Pay attention to sitting position so that you do not put undue strain on your neck and shoulders

· Take a break to stretch your neck, shoulders and arms every hour or so, or go for a short walk.

AUTHENTICATION

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 10: Design an Accessory

 

 

After receiving Sian’s comments I have prepared two more pieces relating to the cuff bracelet .  Firstly, I have done a more detailed sketch of the final concept.

This sketch shows the key design elements as follows:

• Monoprinted background, trying to vary the shading for the different segments;
• Medium weight couched gold outlines for the segments (not too thin);
• Vermicelli machine stitched background in each segment;
• Large central beaded feature;
• Two radiating beaded spokes which complement the central feature;
• Lightly scattered random beading in the non-featured segments, most probably a combination of seed beads and spangles;
• Gold cord couched around the edge of the cuff;
• Multicoloured  seed beads clustered around the edge of the cuff.

Secondly, I have done a section of heavier clustered beading around the edge of  the cuff, using  multi-coloured seed beads. I think this effect is far better than either of the earlier samples and I plan to incorporate it into the final piece (thank you Sian for this great suggestion!).

CHAPTER 10: DESIGN AN ACCESSORY

1. Selecting the accessory
After considering various types of accessories, I decided to make a bracelet. This could have taken various forms - a coil, a series of flat decorated panels joined by a cord or elastic, or a cuff (a curved band which wraps around the arm). I decided to make a cuff because it reminded me of a partial spiral in form and it provided a reasonable sized surface to design and embellish. I found a cheap cuff bracelet in a shop which had a nice wavy shape rather than just straight sides and so I decided to try to use this shape for my accessory (left in first photo).

2. Bracelet construction
I have considered three techniques for making the bracelet.
Technique 1: Adhering the decorated textile shape to a preformed metallic base with glue. I investigated whether I could purchase blank metallic shapes for this. They were not readily available in Australia and I did not want to wait for some from overseas. Also, I was not able to find any blanks in the wavy shape I wanted to use. I could have covered the commercial bracelet I had purchased, but it was fairly heavy. I kept this as a fall back option if I could not find anything else that was suitable.
Technique 2: This involved using pelmet Vilene to stiffen the cuff and then sewing artists' wire around the edge to help the bracelet hold its shape. It worked to some degree but the wire was a bit flimsy and deformed easily, so I discarded this approach (centre sample in above photo).
Technique 3: I found an internet site which suggested using a shaped piece of aluminium cut from a soft drink can as a stiffening for cuff bracelets (www.ehow.com/how_5925197_use-aluminum-cans-bracelet-blank). I tried this a piece of soft drink can, sandwiched between two layers of pelmet Vilene, but this was still a bit light and bent fairly easily, so I hunted around for some thicker cans which could still be cut fairly easily but were a bit more rigid. Eventually I settled on a tin used for a brand of canned tomatoes.

Method and OH & S comments: It is important to take care when cutting and shaping an aluminium can. Wear safety glasses/goggles to protect the eyes as small metal pieces can fly off. Wear thick rubber gloves to protect the hands while cutting the tin as the edges may be sharp. Carefully cut the tin with kitchen scissors into a shape a bit larger than required, then use some smaller scissors to cut the rough shape into the final shape you require. Carefully smooth the edges with sandpaper so they are no longer sharp and dangerous. Also use the sandpaper to roughen the flat surface of the metal, then glue a shaped piece of pelmet Vilene to either side of the metal, using PVA glue. Wrap the 'sandwich" around a bottle or other cylindrical object about the diameter of your forearm and hold in place for several hours with masking tape or a wide rubber band, to form the final curved bracelet shape. This can then be covered with your embellished fabric.
Technique 3 was the most successful (sample on right above), apart from purchasing commercial metal blanks. I decided to proceed with this for my piece.

3. Design of Concept 1








I cut a cardboard template with a hole in the shape of the cuff laid flat. I then looked at various samples I have made during the module and laid the template over them. Some of the ones considered as concepts and then discarded, are shown above. I decided to work up a design based on sample 9 (right), which is a root spiral. Forms of it often appear in nature (e.g. ammonite fossil - see Chapter 1, nautilus shell). I chose this because I thought the segments were suited to the shape of the cuff and would allow me to achieve an interesting balance between colour, shape and texture in the piece.

I drew out the selected segment of the design and incorporated some modifications. These included:
- merging some of the segments in the outer circle so that they were larger and less fussy to embellish;
- adding some more lines to complete the inner circle as this seemed to give a better focal point to create something interesting in the centre of the bracelet.
The next photo shows the chosen segment and the simplified line drawing based on it.





















Base fabric: I had recently attended a workshop with Isobel Hall and become interested in some of her techniques for creating interesting surfaces from paper (Reference: Isobel Hall and Maggie Grey, Mixed media: new studio techniques, d4daisy books Ltd, 2010)). I decided to experiment with painted woven paper baby wipes as the base fabric for the bracelet surface because they give a surface which is fairly strong but flexible enough to stitch through. One limitation is their size, making them unsuitable for large areas - but in this situation a single wipe was large enough to make one full size bracelet.

Concept 1 (below) was made with one wipe which had paint applied and then some spiral marks in a blue crayon (these tended to blend in a bit after the fixing). After that I painted on a layer of a sealer called "Impasto Medium" (Matisse) which stiffens the fabric. Another option which was also satisfactory was Modge-Podge (Plaid brand). Gold encaustic wax was smudged onto half of the wrinkled surface, so I could decide whether this was worth doing in future or not. I have also included a picture of some other painted samples which I have prepared, which will be considered for the final piece.



















Embellishment: The photo of concept 1 (below)shows several variations that I trialled for embellishing the bracelet surface. First I tacked the design outline from a tissue paper drawing, then added machine stitching to the painted base fabric, experimenting with different metallic and non-metallic threads in purple and gold in different segments of the design. I used a vermicelli pattern as it was small enough for the little segments and not too intrusive. This was important because I wanted to add beads as the main highlight on top of the stitching. I thought the pattern worked well and will probably use a combination of two colours in the final piece.

After the machine stitching I tested two ways of outlining the segments. The first was by couching a purple-blue gimp and the second by couching a gold thread. The gold thread was more effective, but it tended to buckle a little, so in the final piece I will need to use a slightly thicker thread and place the couching stitches closer together.

Finally, I experimented with some beading options for the stitched surface. I decided that the central part of the spiral should be treated as the focal point and found an effective combination of aqua glass droplets with gold bugle beads. The segments which radiate out need less intrusive beading, but also something to link them to the central feature. I tried a few alternatives, and thought that all had possibilities. Using the aqua beads/gold bugle beads at the end of the two large segments that leading to the edges of the bracelet gave some continuity but would not be suitable for the entire piece, so two of the smaller fillings could be used in the other segments to provide balance and contrast.

Edges: This sample shows some variants that could be used as edgings for the bracelet. One was a plain gold cord, the second was a gold cord wrapped with a contrasting thread and the third was small beads added in clusters or singly to the cord. My preference at present is the wrapped gold thread with single beads spaced along it, however a final decision will be taken when the piece is nearing completion.


4. Design of Concept 2: I was not entirely happy with the way Concept 1 looked on the arm, so I decided to experiment with another approach. I realised that the wavy shape made the design more challenging because the centre of the shape was not a true mid-point or focal point for the bracelet and it needed to be divided into thirds which harmonised. Therefore I explored a design which would have 3 embroidered spirals along the length of the bracelet with stronger beading in the centre third and related but less dominant beading leading out to the edges. This came from the 3 spirals in a row on the shibori-dyed fabric in the top picture.


The base fabric used for this sample was a monoprinted baby wipe as before and machine stitching in random spirals was added to give some texture to the background, before adding the hand stitching on top. I think this approach has possibilities, especially the consideration of the design in 3 sections. However I would need to work up the embroidery further for a final sample and perhaps explore using the dyed fabric or a monoprinted fabric with 3 spirals along its length.


5. Final design for accessory
Although I think both designs have possibilities and could result in attractive final pieces, I have decided to revisit concept 1 because I think it is a bit more impactful. However, I will also incorporate some things learnt from concept 2. I plan to enlarge the central feature of the spiral so it roughly occupies the centre third of the design. I will also simplify the "spoke" segments in the outer ring so the design is not too busy and use a heavier weight gold outline for the segments, with the couching stitches placed closer together, so that it will add emphasis and the lines will not distort. I may add some hand stitching if I think it will add to the final impact.

Authentication: Here is a picture showing me working on the selection of beads for concept 1 and also trying concept 2 on my arm before it was embroidered.