I am currently up to module three of a 10 module course, & have less than 2 years in which to fully complete this course, as sadly Chris will be retiring at the end of 2010. I am getting there slowly, but surely. Lets just hope I can finish in time.
Here is my progress so far.
Module1 Lesson1 Sample1
In this lesson we looked at colour, & had to produce a primary, secondary & tertiary colour wheel. I found the primary colours red, blue & yellow, quite dark. And was a little nervous about mixing the colours. Here is my sample.
Sample2 of this same lesson saw us having to either add white to the colour wheel or water it down. I did both. The next two photos will show you the results.
Sample3 of the same lesson saw us doing the same colour wheel again only this time we added black. We had to take the back & slowly add small amounts of the colour to it. At first I thought that this sample had not worked, as the colours were not showing. But once the paint had dried I saw that it had worked. Unfortunately I do not have a photo for this sample as the photo comes out too black.
I went one step further in this lesson, by doing the same process over. Only this time I used the process colour chart. I found that I liked the process colours more than the primary colours. The samples are as follows.
Lesson2 Analogous/Complimentary
Sample1
In this lesson we were asked to create collages of the Analogous colours. Colours that are of the same hue. For the first collage I chose the Blue/blue-green colour combination. The second, I chose Yellow/yellow green, & the third, was Red/Red violet.
For these collages I collected lots of paint samples & fabrics in the colours that I needed. Plus I also went through countless amounts of magazines to look for pictures, in the colour schemes that I was working with. Once I was happy with the background of the collages, I then set about looking through my stash at what threads, beads, buttons & so on that I may have had in these colours. (It is funny the things you find when doing an excersise like this.) Once I was happy with my finds I set to & put some of them onto the collages. What ever was left over I have now put into, its own container in its colour way.
Below are the photos of my work.
Sample2
In this sample we had to use the complimentary colours to create our collages. I have chosen Red/Green for the first one. For this particular sample I took lots of photos of the plants in my garden. Because for some reason we seem to be able to grow red & green plants better than any other colour. The second sample was of Blue/Orange, again I was able to take photos of the plants around me. Then Yellow/Violet for the last sample. Again I had a lot of fun collecting all of the bits & bots for this lesson. And am now starting to get a good selection of containers with the individual colours in them. It is great when you are looking for one colour in particular. No more pulling the whole house apart of just one colour :-) Below are the results of my work with complimentary colours.
It is amazing how much colour can be found in nature, if we only take the time to stop & look. These collages have been a great way for me to stop & look around me. I did not know just how much colour was in my garden, until I started to look.
Lesson3 Colour File
In this lesson we were asked to create a colour file. And in that file we had to show the colours Religious & Cultural significance. We had to make collages of the colour & have fabric samples & colour swatches. All in all it had to be visually appealing.
For this I chose the colour Red.
Red is a very provocative colour. It prevokes the most physiological responses.
I chose the colour red also because it is the base colour for my favourite colour "PINK" Everyone that knows me, knows that Pink is my colour.
There are so many colour variations of Red that it is mind blowing. Both natural & Chemical, red is a very powerful colour. When I think of the colour red, these are the thoughts & feelings that I have. Love, Heart, Warmth, Stop, Danger, Power, fire, earth, Christmas, Roses, blood, apples, & debt. Just to name a few. Australian native flowers that are Red, are: Warrata, Bottle brush, Flowering gums, Kangaroo Paw, & the Sturt Desert Pea. There are many other flowers that are Red, Red is everywhere in nature.
For this lesson I have not added photos as I used many samples. Like photos, swatches, fabrics threads & even paints & drawings.
How many things around you are Red?
Lesson4 Tints & Tones
Sample1: This sample saw us taking our colour from our colour file & showing the many tints & tones. We had to start with white then slowly add small amounts of red to it. Each time painting a swatch of that (tint) colour. When we had reached the pure hue of the red again, we then had to start adding black to create tones. Again for this sample there are no photos as the size of the piece is quite large.
Sample2: This sample saw us just using black & white & creating many shades of grey.
Lesson5 Warm & cool combinations
Sample 1.1; In this sample we had to illustrate in a technique of our own choosing the advance/recede aspect of using warm & cool colour combinations. For the first sample that I did I used the blue & orange colour combination. I drew a blue square with an orange circle, then an orange square with a blue circle. I did both of these using coloured pencils. When you look at the orange circle in the blue square, it looks bigger & stands out more. But when you look at the blue circle in the orange square it looks smaller & more oval in shape. Both are the same size squares & circles.
Sample1.2 The combination of the Yellow/Orange against the Purple makes the flower look as though it is leaping of the page.
Lesson6 Simultaneous Contrast
We were asked to choose a colour & make tiny squares, then lay the squares on top of other colours to see the colour changes.
Sample1: For this excercise I have chosen to use the primary red, as my small squares. I have glued each one onto a different coloured piece of paper. On the pinky mauve coloured paper, the red square appears brighter & quite larger. On the orange, the red also seems bigger, but a little darker. On the light blue, the red looks smaller, but very dark. on the violet, the red seems smaller & also brighter. On the green, again the red seems smaller & brighter. On the Dark blue, the red seems smaller but not as bright as the others.
On the Magenta/process red, the red appears very dark & is almost lost in the brightness of the magenta. On the yellow, the red looks bigger & darker, & just a little muddy. And on the black, the red looks dark, but bright.
Lesson7 Tools
In this lesson we looked at the needles we use in embroidery. And had to say what our preferred needles for the job, where. I personally like to use a crewel NO:10 for most of my embroidery, as it is a small needle with a relatively big eye. There are many kinds of needles. And in stumpwork embroidery you get to use quite a lot of them.
Lesson8 History
For this lesson we were asked to do research on the history of stumpwork/raised embroidery. Stumpwork flourished for many decades in the 17th Century, & then for a time died off. But now in the 21st Century, it has made a come back.
Lesson9 Satin stitch & Long & Short stitch.
Now we get down to the fun stuff embroidery. In the next two samples we had to do, samples of the satin stitch, & also the long & short. For many years I had never quite liked long & short stitch as I could never get it right. Until now, doing this course has shown me where I was going wrong. It is only the first row of stitches in the long & short stitch that have to actually be that, long & short. The rest are all the same length.
Once we had mastered the stitches, we then had to make a flower, using these stitches, & seeing which stitch best suited the flower. As you will see from the flower samples the long & short stitch works the best.
Lesson 10 Wire work
In this lesson we had to show that we could effectively work with wire & that we could cover it with stitches to be cut out & mounted onto our work. First we had to do a square, then a circle, then a shape of our choosing. I chose a leaf. With the square I used Buttonhole stitch to cover the wire. With the circle I used a close satin stitch, & with the leaf I used a combination of both buttonhole & satin stitch.
And for the fourth sample we had to use the pansey design from before & make it up in a wired piece. I have changed the size slightly & have also changed the shape.
Lesson11 Modern Flower Interpretation
For this lesson I have chosen to make a lilly, using pale pink Georgette & white voile. I couched the paper covered wire down the center of each petal, & then coloured the threads afterwards. I also highlighted the petals with some of the dye. Once the petals were dry I then added some stitching to highlight the petals. I also coloured some extra wire for the stamens as well. When all was dry I then assembled the flower.
Lesson12 More Flowers (Done with ribbon)
In this lesson we had to make a raised embroidered flower, but this time, instead of using threads to fill in the shape we had to use silk ribbons. I did not particularly like this technique. But was happy for the experience.
Lesson13 A Link to the past
In this lesson we had to find an historical piece & design our own embroidery from it.
I chose a design from an historical piece that I found in the Embroiderers guild collection. The piece was photographed by Julia Hedgecoe. The piece is an early 17th century panel, in rich needle lace stitching.
I how ever used Satin stitch, long & short stitching & whipped Chain stitch to achieve the result that I was after. I have only chosen a small section of the piece to replicate. The piece that I have chosen was one of the Carnations, done in a roundel shape. I very much enjoyed doing this piece.
Lesson14 Detached Buttonhole
In this lesson we experimented with needle lace. First we did a square piece, then we had to do a round piece. We also had to use different types of threads as well. To see what the effects would be like. In the following samples I have used Pearl NO:5, Pearl NO 12 & a 100% silk stranded thread. Only using one strand.
Lesson15 Butterflies
In this lesson we had to choose two insects, & using the stitches that we had just learned, we had to embroider the insects. I also added a few different stitches to finish off the insects. see the samples below.
Lesson16 Coming together
This is the final part of module one. The coming together of what we have learned. Not only did we habe to combine colour, but also stitches & showing that we could use wire work.
I have chosen to do a Dragonfly, as they are my favourite insect. I have done it in blue on a green background, & have used satin stitch for the head. Then have beaded the body. For the wings I have buttonhole stitched around paper covered wire, on a blue organza. Then carefully cut them out & mounted them on the main piece of work.
I do like this last piece, & if I ever make it again I think that I will use smaller beads,, & do a different wing underneath.
Finished November 2007
