Assignment 5: Learning Log

Feedback from Assignment 4

In my tutorial we discussed the domestic setting of a quilt and how it fits in with different cultures, Rebecca sent me some really interesting links to follow up.

Particularly the Day Joyce Sheet. The sheet was produced in a Hong Kong prison camp in WWII over two years by Day Joyce who was interned there. It contains signatures, symbols and coded messages and has created a unique insight in to life at the prison camp. Joyce used scraps of material and thread she could find to stitch in to the sheet and after liberation it was brought back to England, now hanging in the Imperial War Museum. To me this shows how something created for a very personal reason can have a huge effect on others, this may not be known just how much effect at the time of being produced.

The Day Joyce Sheet - copyright Imperial War Museum

 

 

 

Researching the history of quilts and coverlets gave me much more of an understanding about how often they were created for loved ones to help with comfort from a physical perspective for warmth, but also for remembrance. The narrative they held could be one of struggle through adversity, celebration of a culture or challenging a thought in society.

I also researched the Quilters' Guild and the Festival of Quilts to look at contemporary work to immerse myself more in this type of making. To my surprise and a bit of relief I realised that quilts did not always have to be uniform and in perfect symmetry. This made me feel able to continue in the way I was approaching the quilt with meaning full sections added in different sizes, shapes and materials. The organic nature of my quilt felt much more personal to me.

A recent inspiration to me is Faith Ringgold with both her paintings and quilts she has created such a strong voice to break down taboos. I also am in awe of her tenacity and strength to continue telling her story about race and gender inequality whilst celebrating her culture through day to day events. She takes both the negative and positives which is something I want to develop on through my work.

 

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

Rebecca also gave me a good pointer to look at the People's History Museum in Manchester, unfortunately due to lockdown I couldn't visit however their website is good. This museum has a great collection of artifacts telling the history of democracy with banners and signs used by many different groups and societies to get their messages heard.

There is even a fun quiz to see which 'Radical' you may be - I turned out to be Sylvia Pankhurst - well I am on the right track then !

The banners and posters in this museum contain messages which are often using words but not always. The conveying of messages through visual meaning rather than words is something that I am constantly reviewing. A visual image can be more immediate and reach a larger audience however it does have to convey the message in the correct way. Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry often use words within their work to strengthen their imagery so this is not something I will rule out in the future but I want to be sure I use it in my own way or style which will be something for me to develop.

Below shows a commemorative plate for the Equal Pay Act in 1970 and painting of a women looking through a microscope painted by Cliff Rowe in 1966. Rowe is described as a 'polictically active artist' by the People's History Museum due to his ability to equalise the importance of all jobs in society through his paintings. They give strong visual look at work in the UK without glamour.

I also looked further in to quilt making and how to actually approach this, for this the Quilter's Museum and videos on You Tube had some good tips. I did use a rather unconventional way to progress with the quilts as the basis is an old duvet cover dyed to match my colour palette. By taking this approach I was using the duvet cover almost like my canvas and the other pieces were to be displayed within it. This isn't really conventional and going forward it would be a good exercise for me to look at creating some sections of a quilt in a more traditional way just to challenge and see the making. 

However there were tips from other makers which did help me with putting it together and also advice from my fellow students on how to hang the finished piece which actually fits in with the domesticity of the work. I have used a rail from an old wooden clothes dryer to allow me to hang this up and take my photos and videos.

Interestingly when I placed the wood rail inside and move it it feels like a banner.

I have been calling my final piece a quilt it isn't strictly a quilt it is a coverlet. I was feeling conflicted about having night sweats in which I through my bed clothes off to get cooler and creating something as thick as a quilt. So again researching how I could do this I discovered that many early quilts did not have wadding inside and they were called coverlets - therefore my final piece became the Menopause Coverlet.

The Festival of Quilts which didn't go ahead this year, did however put out information on social media prior to cancelling the exhibition which gave me an insight in to displaying quilts and how they would look as hangings in a gallery or exhibition. My coverlet does not have anything on the back so would be able to be hung against a wall for display but in the future I will be creating work with front and back so will need to be visible from both sides.

Refining and Resolving

I have become more confident in reviewing my work and ideas and self-critiquing what and where I should go with it. From simply laying out the samples on the main body of the quilt and moving them around to see how they fitted together to asking other (non-textile artists) about how they feel about the work and understand what I am trying to achieve.

I devised a small scale questionnaire to review and link with my work, to consider the opinions of others and see how I can portray images which will resonate and mean something to others. This helped me step back and think about how others feel about the menopause. Whilst I have been working to a very personal view point I find strength that others can relate to what I am doing and why

Below are notes from the feedback and questionnaire in my sketchbook.

Due to the confidential nature of the questionnaire I am using extracting information in different ways ensuring that anonymity is kept.