Handle workshop

We had a really different and interesting session with Grainne and Jill this week. It was called a handling session where we got to handle, touch and explore a wide range of textiles. All the work was kindly donated and passed down to the uni by artists and designers. It was a really great experienced which allowed us to explore and learn about the pieces of work and the artist or designer who created them. We took part in exercises to teach us different approaches to viewing work and reflecting on it. The first exercise was to walk around the collection of laid out work and view each piece in silence with no discussion. We was not allowed to touch the work with our hands and could only view the work with our eyes. We were then asked to stand by a piece of work we either liked the most or related to the most. The collage piece below is the item I chose first. It instantly caught my eye when I was walking around and was the piece I found related to myself as well as my practise. The use of collage in the piece is an obvious relation to my work and is a method of drawing I have used a lot in this project. The element of stitch is another key way of drawing I have or will be using in my project. I really liked the mood and feel of the piece, presenting a fun and playful approach to the work. The almost random placement of each subject matter makes the piece more personal to the artists which to me, makes it more endearing and sentimental. 

Here is a close up of the collage work which I was really drawn too. I like the very minimalistic and neutral background of the piece which allows the foreground elements to standout. 

This photo below is the back of the piece. I find the back just as interesting as the front. I love the combination of delicate hand stitching and the busy, denser machine stitch.