I started constructing Spurn Cloth #2 today. Again, this was a case of laying things out along the floor of the studio and playing about with things until they looked right.
It was good finally to be able to see how all the textures and patterns I've been collecting on these pieces of linen will work together and how they relate to cloth #1.
Joining all these strips together is a quicker process as I'm using the machine for this one. This cloth will hang in a very tall space in the lighthouse where the light levels are relatively low, therefore the detail isn't as important on this one. I've concentrated on creating a cloth with bands of texture that will give an overall effect rather than be viewed up close. There will be time to add more detail before it is shown elsewhere (with better lighting!) after the show at Spurn if needed.
It's been a quieter day at the Mill today with fewer visitors. The weather is still damp and grey, but there was an hour or two of sunshine this afternoon to throw some good light into my studio. I'm also preparing for my talk here tomorrow afternoon, picking out the key images to tell the story of my project.
I started stitching this morning. I have rather a lot of it to do. Of course I knew this, but it is only in actually starting the process and spending a good part of today on it that it is clear just how long it will take me to do it all!
The stitches serve two purposes: they fix the silk pieces to the felt and they add texture and marks to those already in the silk. They can help to blend the different pieces together and accentuate certain areas. I am purposefully keeping some of the creases in the silk as the reflective qualities of these are what give a similar feel to the reflection of water and wet sand. My stitches can help to fix these in place and add reflective qualities of their own. In placing the stitches I am responding to the marks on the silk, using the boundaries of colour already there and thinking about how material is sorted and arranged on the beach.
I'm spending this week at Farfield Mill in Cumbria. I am artist in residence here during that time. Yes I know, surely I can't be 'in residence' in two places at once... But I've brought a bit of Spurn here with me (images, sketches, notes, memories) and I am very much there in spirit. I am using this week to work in a concentrated way on my two big textile pieces, currently called Spurn cloth #1 and Spurn cloth #2... these unromantic titles may change with time but for now they will do.
I have a clean, light space here where I can spread out and work away from the distractions of my home studio. It would be tricky to do this in the lighthouse and while I work here I have people popping in to see what I'm doing so I can tell a different bunch of people about the project.
My first job yesterday, after unpacking my things, was to lay out the roll of felt In using as the base for cloth #1. This is industrial wool felt and will give a strong but flexible base to the piece that is beautiful to stitch into. My roomy studio floor was perfect for laying it out, measuring and cutting it to the size I need. I could then start to arrange my dyed silk on top of it. There then followed a great deal of fiddling, moving, rearranging, considering etc. until I was happy with the arrangement.
I could then begin to pin the pieces in place. This cloth is to hang in the lamp room in the lighthouse, where there is good light and visitors will be able to see the detail of the surface very close. There is a suggestion of a horizon and this work will almost be reflecting back the 360 degree view you get from the top of the lighthouse. But I'm not trying to represent it directly, rather I aim to capture something of the changing tones and marks in sky, sea and sand.
I will be giving an illustrated talk here at Farfield Mill on Friday at 2pm, all about the project.
As well as the fabric wrappings that I left at Spurn to gather marks from the groynes, I have also made bundles at home with rusty things collected on the beach. These are all unwrapped now. The silk practically glows with reflected light and the prints are a curious mix of subtle and strong.
I am planning two large textile pieces for my exhibition, as well as a series of prints on paper. In terms of a space for showing art the lighthouse is pretty challenging: it is large (!) and there are generally low light levels. This means that the subtle shades and natural tones that I am drawn to working in won't have much of an impact. So I must bear this in mind when preparing work to go in the various rooms. The one space that does have good natural light is the lamp room and this is flooded with it, even on a cloudy day. I am going to make the most of that and am planning one of my large pieces for this space, where the viewer will be able to see the work very close and in good light.
I will be using the silk that I've dyed using rust and tea and making a kind of art quilt. I'm going to start putting this together and working on it in earnest next week, when I'm at Farfield Mill. The painted sketches I did last weekend will help guide me when putting this together and I'm really looking forward to having the space to spread my fabrics out and start fitting them together.
