The passionate textile artist
A response to recent discussions with face to face students, concerning Passion in Textiles – in all its guises
Often students start a Textiles course because they’re passionate about making. They may already have indepth knowledge of sewing, knitting and so on, perfected over years in their spare time and come to love the techniques. But some of the best students have little or no prior knowledge of textile techniques. They come with new eyes, no preconceptions of how things “ought” to be done. They see and use textile techniques as another form of expressive media, accepting more risk, and risk is what leads to exciting and passionate work. If you’re willing to learn and let yourself go, this is possible, whatever level you’re at. How many times have I heard a student say their life has been changed in this way, designing textiles has taken over, become their passion in life?
Pebbles, Francoise Tellier-loumagne, the feel and shape of pebbles caught with one simple stitch
This attitude echoes the design process itself, letting go of preconceptions and taking risks leads to growth and development. Don’t set yourself limits by deciding what to make too early on (unless you’re asked to make a specific functional item). Do lots and lots of drawing, see what happens, play with ideas in a open ended way – one drawing may suggest a new shape, which in turn may suggest what to make. Follow where these ideas go and see what happens, don’t stop at three drawings, do nine or nineteen, even if they only take ten minutes each. A student once remarked to me, that the penny had dropped, she felt designing was like – “good sex, a mixture of having control, but letting go at the same time”.
Waking with You, Joetta Maue hand embroidered, appliquéd, and painted re-appropriated linen, and queen size bed, 60in x 80in. x 15in
In much the same way, put your passions into what you do. I often get asked to suggest a suitable subject for a Theme Book. The pitfall is to go for the obvious, because it feels like an acceptable subject. I’ve lost count of the number of Theme Books covering Leaves or The Seasons, or The Sea. Yes, these subjects are picturesque, but is this really what rocks your boat? What do you dream about in your spare moments? Chocolate bars, ice cream, handbags, going swimming, going shopping, mountain climbing, hang-gliding or just slobbing out? What do you find yourself discussing with friends and family, what do you get really steamed up about – the war in Iraq, the state of the nation, the financial crisis, not getting that operation quickly enough, the weeds in your garden? Make it your work, take ownership by putting yourself into it. Good making skills are only ever half the equation, the other half is having something you want to say and saying it loud and clear. If you have a keen sense of humour, make it funny, if you tend to be pessimistic about the world, make the work sombre and black. As a visiting lecturer once said to me, ” put your passions and commitments in your work, let it reflect who you are at your core”.
One Peugeot, Two Persians and Paddy, Paddy Killer – drawing, painting, marbling & machine embroidery on silk with a painted wood frame,71×50cm
Trisha Goodwin, Textiles Tutor.
Postscript from Trisha- (apologies, gremlins in the works today and unable to post a comment)
Thanks for the kind comments. Yes, the book refered to in the article, called Push: Stitchery, is wonderful, it really does what it says on the tin and pushes the boundaries of stitched textiles. Would recommend it to all textiles students. Also the website – www.mrxstitch.com is great too, very wacky but has some great ideas and well worth following.
There has been a massive resurgence in interest in making things in the last few years, coming from ground level upwards – which is also having the effect of getting more people onto textile courses too. I think this is a natural rebellion at long last -against all the cheap mass produced stuff and the designer labels at the other end, towards something more thought provoking and individual at the same time.
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This sounds like good advice, whatever discipline…
There’s a nice link on the Guardian website today entitled ‘edgy embroidery’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2011/nov/02/edgy-embroidery-in-pictures#/?picture=381245106&index=0
There are some fascinating pieces in the Guardian Gallery Marmalade, but one of the things I find fascinating is the links on the right hand side. It is clear that there is a real revival in making things. At the same time, yesterday’s Guardian reported research that showed we are buying less stuff – and the peak was actually well before the current recession.
It is interesting to speculate on why and whether these phenomena are linked. If much of our history has been concerned with ‘I need…’ food, clothes, shelter, etc and much of the rush since the 1950’s has been driven by ‘I want…’ 2 cars, 3 holidays a year, etc, I remain hopeful that we could be entering an era of ‘I can…’ That is we derive our sense of self worth from what we are able to make or express.
A very interesting article…I can’t quite believe we peaked in our consumption ten years ago…with no obvious rationale as to why. Could it really be ebay that has turned us in to recycling environmentalists? I do wonder whether ‘globalisation’ has led to consumer fatigue. High streets up and down the country are carbon-copies of each other and there has definitely been a resurgence in local distinctiveness, local craft and farm produce etc.
The unsettling aspect I guess is that we are a developed nation and if, as it suggests, the way to be greener is to be richer, it would mean our global demands will increase massively before they dip until the developing nations catch up. And given there are now 7 billion and one of us (and increasing), it will require radical behaviourial change or a very long time, which we haven’t got!
As you say Gareth, nearer to home the recession may ‘encourage’ us to become more frugal, make-doers and can-makers which can’t be a bad thing for the environment….sadly we have lost a lot of skills and darning a sock is beyond most of us (well, speaking for myself)!! Anyway going way off topic here, I’ll finish by blaming Thatcherism…it always the Government’s fault!!
Trisha’s article, the passionate textile artist was indeed excellent advice and very helpful.
Interesting article from Trish and also from all commenters. The consumerism piece is fascinating ( and surprising).
I am struck by how the latest revival for a make do and mend culture is nevertheless part of mainstream consumerism. In trend at the moment are items to buy (at high prices) that appear as if handmade, but are actually mass produced in folksy style ( eg the Kath Kidstone merchandising empire http://www.cathkidston.co.uk/default.aspx?cm_mmc=Google+-_-Brand-Broad-_-Brand-_-PPC+&gclid=CN3WzMmzm6wCFUtB4QodlVeQ-w).
I think this ditsy style appeals to people’s boredom with the shiny sleekness of our digital gadgets (etc) and it provides a contrast to the mystery question ‘i wonder how they made that.’ which we probably all feel when we see iPads and smartphones etc etc. it is easy to see how these ‘as if handmade’ things are created and the simplicity is appealing. But at the same time a lot of this stuff, the ‘mass produced but pretending not to be’ stuff is now a part of the whole globalised mass production machine.
I think that maybe making, designing, crafting and creating can also be a consumer activity and that it is difficult in our society to do things that are not in some way tied to consumer culture.
In doing the graphic design course I will aim to do as Trish suggests – but I think it is a huge challenge to find a new way of doing something. Imitation is pretty hard to avoid I suspect.
Thanks Trisha! Your advice on passion and risk taking and on letting art reflect who we are is very potent whether working in textiles or other media. If we are told just to ‘put more passion into our work’ we are left wondering how to go about it -but you help with this problem, and likewise with knowing how to go about putting who we are into our work.