Module 2
Brown, P. (2001). The Encyclopaedia of Embroidery Techniques. England: Search Press Ltd
Gostelow, M. (1976). Blackwork. London: B T Batsford Ltd
Gostelow, M. (1978). Coats Book of Embroidery. Canada: David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd
Hemingway, K. (ed.) (2002). The Essential Guide to Embroidery. London: Murdoch Books
Howard, C. (ed.) (1978). Textile Crafts. London: Pitman Publishing
First I began by experimenting with some black yarn on a piece of canvas trying out different thicknesses (of the same yarn) and some pattern overlapping to build up a little confidence.
Image 1 – Practice canvas:
Image 2 – close up of practice canvas:
I wanted to try white under black – to fill the canvas holes.
Image 3 – black over white:
With some practice done to build up a bit of confidence I set to it. Here’s my final sample:
Image 4 – tone by stitch:
Images 5/6/7 – close ups
Image 8 – Sian suggested looking at the reverse of the piece and I really rather like the effect (I think the haphazard stitching on the reverse, especially the black stitches over the white to the left, is interesting):
Images 9/10 – Close up of the reverse:
I tried out 12 tonal columns (8x21cm) and particularly enjoyed using pen and ink the most.
Image 1 & 2 - Pen and ink lines:
Image 3 & 4 – White hole punches on black paper and an electoral newspaper cutting:
Images 5 & 6 – White paint layers built up firstly as smooth layers and secondly stamped and smudged; both on black paper, letting each layer dry between applications:
Images 7 & 8 – White paint stamped onto black paper using a ‘bubblewrap’ stamp and black marker pen on white paper:
Images 9 & 10 - Handmade line stamp (from string wrapped evenly around a cassette tape case) firstly black paint on white paper and then white paint stamped on black paper. In Image 10 some black lines were lastly stamped at the bottom:
Images 11 & 12: White oil pastel on black paper and charcoal pencil on white paper:
These are all mounted into my sketchbook and the last two have a protective layer of baking paper between the pages to stop them smearing all over the opposite page.
So to begin with I started gathering images of animal markings and made a few word lists. I decided for this module I’d try using a sketchbook for some things. At the end of module 1 I ended up with a large bundle of papers and many samples etc and whilst that’s great I want to think ahead to almost after the course when I’ll be drawing on this work for inspiration. Looking through the work I did towards the C&G level 2 (I did this a few years ago with the then Opus School of Textile Arts) I learnt that some things are good in a sketchbook, other things are not. So when I’m not sure what to do with something it’s going to get pinned in. That way I can whip it out again if I change my mind!
When I was hunting out images from my existing stash I took a look at the image ‘sourcebook’ I produced for the Level 2 C&G. I came across some interesting pages so I pulled them out (eek!) and entered them into my sketchbook as useful source pages. I’ll add more images as I come across them.
Image 1 - Inside front cover of sketchbook with image and word list:
Image 2 – Page taken from C&G L2 ‘Sourcebook’ for images:
Image 3 – Page taken from C&G L2 ‘Sourcebook’ for images:
Image 4 – Page taken from C&G L2 ‘Sourcebook’ for images:
Image 5 – Page taken from C&G L2 ‘Sourcebook’ for images:
Image 6 – Page taken from C&G L2 ‘Sourcebook’ for images:
Image 7 – Page taken from C&G L2 ‘Sourcebook’ for images:
Image 8 – Page taken from C&G L2 ‘Sourcebook’ for images:
Image 9 – Image with word list:
Image 10 – Image with word list. It’s not clear from this image but this iguana has some incredible textures and I’ll investigate them further for chapter 4:
Image 11 – Image with word list:
Image 12 – The patterns in the wings here are super:
Rebecca Crompton (was Soar) was born on 7th August 1895 in Derby. She studied drawing and design at Derby School of Art and became a teacher of ‘embroidery and women’s crafts’ and Northampton School of Art. Rebecca went on to teach embroidery and dress design at Croydon School of Art and by 1930 had become an examiner for the Industrial Design examination in Embroidery and Women’s Crafts set by the Board of Education. Rebecca was also an examiner in Embroidery for other institutions and was involved in the City and Guilds of London Institute. She also lectured at the Royal College of Art.
In 1935 Rebecca retired from teaching to focus on her own work and published ‘Modern Design in Embroidery’ the following year. A major exhibition of her work at the Batsford Gallery and the Derby Art Gallery accompanied the book.
Rebecca spent a lot of time with the Embroidery Department of the Singer sewing machine company between 1937 and 1939 and developed designs that were machine stitched by Dorothy Benson. Here Rebecca learnt about the relatively unexplored machine embroidery.
Above: Adam and Eve. Hand embroidery. Acquired by Derby Museums and Art Gallery in 1971. Source: www.derby.gov.uk (click on image to open direct source)
Rebecca was deeply affected by the Second World War (1939-1945) and sadly suffered a complete breakdown. She died in August 1947.
Rebecca has been credited with revolutionising the traditional craft of embroidery and taking it into the 20th century, using bright (often clashing) colours and patterns and using non-traditional fabrics (e.g gauze).
References
Derby City Council: http://www.derby.gov.uk/LeisureCulture/MuseumsGalleries/ArtTreasureRebeccaCromptonCollection.htm
Craft Council: http://collection.britishcouncil.org/collection/artist/5/18861
Tucker, D., 1994. Embroidered Pictures. London: A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd.
