Chapter 10: Design into Embroidery / Samples

Hi Sian, here is a record of my sampling... but first here is a photo of  Beachwatch, the Marine Conservation Society's annual beach clean up which I  helped with on a blazing September morning...

Collecting and recording marine litter, North Beach, Lowestoft. I'm in the blue baseball cap

We collected so many tiny bits of paper and lots and lots of sweet wrappings that I began to wonder if there was a way to use some of the rubbish in my samples but first it needed a wash...

A bag of marine rubbish ready for washing

and then a sterilize. I put some Milton tablets in the water...

Rubbish soaking in Milton after a thorough hosing

A reminder of my design

Dyed tissue paper on cellophane

The papers were first rubbed with oil pastel and gold markel over nylon twine collected from the beach. Some were stamped with bits of plastic as in my research drawings. It was these marks and rubbings I wanted to translate.

Sample A uses a V stamp and silver acrylic paint. I used the V stamp in my research drawings. It was inspired by 'V for vegetarian' on some waste packaging collected from the beach during my initial research..

Sample A1: Mousseline bonded to stamped muslin with bonded snippets of rubbish

Sample A2: Detail with added whip and zig-zag stitching

I had thought to cut this into smaller pieces but the end result was too floppy so I didn't take this any further. I realised that rather than translating the papers individually, I would need to sample constructing the shapes on a grid so that I could work out which water soluble fabric to use.

Sample B was an attempt to work directly with the rubbish. I sandwiched pieces between Aquabond and Avalon and then added free machine stitching in straight stitch. I tried to match up the thread to the colour of the rubbings.

Sample B1: Stitched rubbish sandwiched between Aquabond and Avalon

After I had soaked the Aquabond and Avalon away, I dried the pieces then cut some shapes from the rubbish using the tracing paper templates I had made for my paper design. 

Sample B2: Cut shape with free straight stitching

I was intrigued by the light shining through the stitch holes. This piece was quite fragile so I did a few experiments with Acrylic Wax and Bronze Powders to see if I could add strength and muted colour to the shapes.

Sample B3: Experiments with Acrylic Wax and Bronze Powders

The Acrylic Wax made the orange really bright and the bronze powders were muddy so I wasn't enthusiastic about this effect. The plasticized bits of rubbish didn't need any strengthening.

I then sandwiched the individual pieces between Aquabond and Avalon again. I stitched an invisible grid to secure them before dissolving the water soluble fabric.

Sample B4: Marine waste on an invisible grid

To be honest, I thought this looked like exactly what it is, bits of rubbish, and did not go anywhere near translating my initial design or having enough stitch in it. What I did like though were the quirky bits of text, eg the caption on the bear piece says, 'biscuits for out and about'.

So, back to basics and a more literal translation of my design. Here it is again...

Sample C. I traced the centre of the design onto Romeo and stitched a circle round it with an invisible thread grid of 1cm squares inside. I secured the Romeo in a hoop and stitched the grid in stages.

Sample C1: Invisible thread grid on Romeo with design ready for stitching

Next, I gathered a palette of machine embroidery threads to match the colours of the papers and stitched round each shape before filling them with straight stitch, just like colouring-in. 

Sample C2: Coloured-in shapes using free machine straight stitch

The shapes look quite dense in this photo, but actually light filters through the stitching as I was trying to capture some of the delicacy of the tissue paper.

Next I added the marks from the rubbings and the stamps. After a few trials, I discovered that whip stitch worked well when using coloured thread, and straight stitch was better with the silver and gold. Here is my trial sample for working out how to do the lines...I rather like it.

Sample C3: Working out how to stitch the lines and marks with whip stitch and straight stitch

I top-stitched the lines and marks onto the coloured-in shapes using my initial design as a guide. This was pinned to the wall in front of my machine as I stitched.

Sample C4: With added whip and straight stitch

I cut away the surplus Romeo and dissolved the sample in warm water...

Sample C5: Dissolving in warm water

So far so good, a larger piece would need a bath or a paddling pool! 

Next I pinned the sample to dry over layers of blanket protected by plastic and covered with a towel. This made a nice easy surface to pin into and should be easy enough to replicate with a larger piece.

Sample C6: Pinned to dry for 24 hours

The lilac shape to the centre left of the photo, disintegrated a little in the process and some of the stitching lost it's clarity. I liked this effect and rubbed the shapes to purposely distress them as a lot of the bits of rubbish I collected were very worn and faded.

I attached some invisible thread  to the top of the circle and suspended it from my pegs...(not shown)

Sample C7: Suspended sample with cast shadows

Sample C8: Detail showing whip stitch and straight stitch lines and marks and distressed stitching

I was happy with the overall effect but thought the blue and green too dark and overall the sample a little bland... and there was no actual rubbish in the piece. I went back to my quirky bits of text and appliquéd words and phrases on to some of the shapes with gold and silver thread...eg chewy, fruity pops, double lollie, plastic bottle widely recyled etc

Sample C9: Quirky text appliqued to shapes and also showing strong cast shadows

The shapes are a little stiff making it possible to manipulate them...

Sample C10: Detail with 'chewy' and 'double lollie' text and showing manipulated shapes and cast shadows

Ages ago I bought some little turtle beads and couldn't resist! Turtles often get tangled up in all the plastic floating about in the oceans...

Sample C11: With tangled turtle and 'fruity pops' text

So there you have it Sian, my thought at the moment is to go with the above but adjust the green and blue colours to something a little brighter.

I'm mindful of your comment on my original design, '...the bright childlike colours belie the ugly effect they have on the seas'.

I'll wait to hear from you before pressing on...

Thank you as always.

Nicky

Decorated Papers and A3 Design Work

Hi Sian, I've enlarged my design of shapes to A3 and offer three possible ways to interpret it. 

Decorated Papers

First I prepared white tissue paper for inking by crumpling it and making oil pastels and gold markel twine rubbings.

I then inked the papers using Brusho powders then further worked into some of them using gold, silver and umber stamp pads and printing with the red and green plastic items below. I also used bleach.

The 'V' stamp is from one of my drawings of packaging which had a V for vegetarian logo. 

The polystyrene and pin stamp block was also inspired by one of my drawings of the dimples in a plastic cracker, also from packaging.

Items used for resist rubbings and stamping

A selection of inked and stamped papers

A3 Design Work

My original design enlarged to A3

 Three possible ways of making:-

1. Display: slightly away from the wall. 
Technique: Free machine stitch on dissolvable fabric on an invisible thread grid, adding more shapes to fill an A1 space.

2.  Display: Hang from the ceiling so can be viewed from both sides (or does this make it 3D?)
Technique: Cut applique on transparent fabric, eg organdie, chiffon or fine net, adding more shapes to fill an A1 space.

3. This idea is a bit weirder. More of an interactive touchy feely piece. Enlarge the pattern pieces to fill an A1 space. 

Technique:The base would be a stitched piece, possibly lightly quilted with the pattern shapes. The pattern pieces would be loose, like jigsaw pieces and the viewer could play with them and fit them into the shapes on the quilt. (see below)

 Jigsaw quilt

I also played around making plastic prints (see below) but did not use the printed paper in the design work. However, I liked the complex print which belies the simple method used to make it. Perhaps it could be part of the labelling of the piece which I may call either 'soup' (from the phrase 'an endless plastic soup of waste') or 'nurdles' (the raw material of plastic production)

Thank you Sian, I will wait to hear your thoughts before I start to sample.

Chapter 8 Research for Conservation Theme-Fishing for Litter

Hi Sian, There are four designs (to be whittled down to 3) which I think could be enlarged to A3. I've put A3 possibility in red at the beginning of the caption with a few thoughts beside. Marine waste is my theme. I have used tissue paper for the colour designs. Many thanks, Nicky

Fishing for Litter

20,000 tonnes of litter is dumped into the North Sea alone every year. Fishing for Litter is a simple scheme that provides fishing boats with large bags to collect their marine sourced litter.

When full, these bags are taken to the quayside for collection and disposal. This reduces the volume of rubbish washed up on our beaches and the amount of time fishermen spend untangling their nets. 

The initiative not only involves the direct removal of litter from the sea, but also raises awareness of the significance of the problem amongst each community. The project started with a pilot scheme in the Netherlands and now runs in the UK and beyond.

The scheme is run by KIMO UKwho work to protect, preserve, and enhance northern Europe’s marine environment.

www.kimointernational.org/FishingforLitter.aspx


Conversations with Fishermen

I work part-time for the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen in Lowestoft, Suffolk. I asked some of the local fishermen what were the strangest things they had ever trawled from the sea. Here are some of their replies:-

A dead horse
Dinosaur bones and teeth, one Captain collects these
Human bones
A torpedo shell
Amber, so large it is now in the Amber Museum in Southwold

The Bethel Ships

Thank you Sian for your suggestion that sails are an interesting shape to consider when designing my wall-hanging. I have therefore included a picture of the Mission’s original Bethel Ships. Ray, my husband has just restored a model of one of these and asked me to make new sails for her.

Artist Study

 I found a link to Georgina Maxwell on the Fishing for Litter website. I’ve got into the habit now of collecting debris when I go for my beach walks.  

Georgina Maxwell www.zhibit.org/ecomarineart

'My art practice draws attention to the suffering and imminent extinction of cetaceans and other marine wildlife within a plastic-profit-driven society.

More than four billion tons of non-biodegradable plastic is dumped in the oceans every year. I have been collecting marine debris from the Cornish coastlines for the past eleven years.

During my research into chemical compounds inherent in plastics, it became apparent that marine pollution is responsible for, not only the ingestion and entanglement, but also the leaching of dioxins causing diseases such as cancer, endocrine disruption, immune system failure and other debilitating, fatal illnesses to innocent, intelligent, sentient marine life.'

Titles of some of Georgina's work which can be seen on her website.

PlasticPlanet; found pens

 Toxic Ocean Blues 4; plastic pellets

 Ode to an Albatross; plastic flowers and other synthetic objects

  Mirror, Mirror on the Wall; aluminium cans

 Visual Reference

Rubbish collected from South Beach, Lowestoft

An albtross mistakes plastic for food for her chicks. Sea turtles become entangled in drifting plastic. Fishermen trawl a dead horse from the sea.

Photos of litter on Lowestoft's blue flag beach and strange things trawled up in fishing nets. 

Verbal Information

endless ‘plastic soup’ of waste
drifting  
sea of rubbish
translucent
below the water's surface
kills more than a million seabirds and 100,000  marine mammals every year
syringes, cigarettes lighters, toothbrushes masquerade as food
46,000 pieces of floating plastic per square mile
hundreds of millions of tiny plastic pellets…


Below links to a photo of a baby albatross who has died from being fed plastic instead of food. It's an upsetting image. This research has caused me to examine my use of plastic and to certainly be aware of how I dispose of it.
                     
                                                   http://boingboing.net/2009/10/19/photos-of-remote-bir.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-tip-t

NB: The above site was my source for this information, the link is currently unavailable.

Drawings, Colours and textures

Abstract Words to Illustrate Theme

choking	collusion
dangerous	destructive
drifting	endless
floating	light
mimic	overflowing
squeezed	suspended
tangled	toxic
translucent	weightless

endless ‘plastic soup’ of waste, translucent

A3 possibility This design is on white paper, but my thought was to  enlarge it on a transparent background. I was thinking that rather than enlarging the shapes, there would just be more of them in a larger space. This could be translated into stitch on dissolvable film as small jewels or treasures, perhaps using organzas to create translucent fragments. I think it illustrates the theme well although I find the shapes jarring and I'm not sure about the circle though it is 'soup in a bowl' shaped.

A3 possibility The background for this is cellophane from a bunch of flowers. I like the dancing sail shapes. The yellow shapes are inspired by dinosaur finger bones. I like the cast shadows on the wall behind.  As above, I was thinking that rather than enlarging the shapes, there would just be more of them in a larger space stitched on soluble film.

 I haven't bonded with this one at all. It actually looks better on the blog than on my wall.

46,000 pieces of floating plastic per square mile

A3 possibility There are 46 squares on this design. I've considered two possibilites for enlarging. Either using  this as a pattern block which could be turned and repeated to to fill a larger space, or creating a tryptych by cutting and flipping the block.

hundreds of millions of tiny plastic pellets…

A3 possibility This is also on a recycled cellophane background.  Dancing sails again with lots of  dots and cast shadows. Could be used as a repeating block. Again my thought was stitch on dissolvable film

I am not inspired by this one

That's it for now Sian, thank you.