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  Sampling Week 5 and 6:   Knit Rotation I was stuck at first looking for contextual research that would suit the knit rotation and my knitting experience. I was hugely influenced by rag tassels on the costumes worn by the Morris dancers and Mummers of Stroud (Mummers' plays are folk performances by troupes of amateur actors). From my initial yarn wraps and knitted samples, I realised firstly that my general knitting wasn’t very good, needing a lot of practise, and that I wanted to add the colour teal to my colour swatches. I visualised adding the teal into my colour pallet by using Photoshop on a Lino prints of welsh fans to create a pattern, I thought the colour matched the pallet really well and continued using teal in my samples. My knit research was very in depth, I looked into artists displaying their work in Weven, a local folk crafts shop, particularly finding myself interested by Wevens co-owner and Knitwear designer Mila Harris-Mussi. Her work with naturally dyed ...
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  Week 4: Drawing 3D Structures (BLOG TASK) I enjoyed week four because I learnt so many new techniques! For my 3D structure I decided to embrace Stroud’s textile and agricultural heritage by reviving the traditional craft of wheat weaving. Sadly, I discovered that many arts and crafts are facing extinction since they rely on oral transmission - there are very few instructional videos on YouTube, blogs and books were hard to find and I had to rely on intuitive learning and perseverance. I gathered contextual research into my folk theme onto a mood-board - these included photos of Bisley Saxon cross, Bisley well carvings, the Clypping at Painswick Church and Stroud cemetery gravestones to develop a cross shape.  The outcome was a success and I believe the wheat weaving was successful because the plaiting is neat, the design is detailed and the overall aesthetic fits with my folkloric theme. The woven cross has really inspired me to create more prints and I think that replica...
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Sampling Week 4:  Photos from 3D structures task
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 Sampling Weeks 2 and 3: Print Rotation ·          For print rotation, I have decided my print motifs and designs will be inspired by folk quilted blankets. During CP1 I came across the American Folk-Art Museum, who have a abundant archive of quilted blankets. I wanted to mirror these to create a quilt like print with simplified symbols from my woven tapestry. I also experimented with natural dyes, through walks in the Stroud area I collected metal pieces like car parts and nails to rust dye with and plants to sketch motifs from and to use in contact printing.   Overall, I was happy with how my rust dyeing onto Calico went, finding that I could achieve a blue colour if I sprinkled tea leaves on top of the metal. However, my contact dyeing didn’t go to plan. I think I need to use the plants dipped in a metal mordant to get a good print, but I was worried about ventilation and poisoning hazards. In the future I would like to try this again...
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 Sampling Week 1 continued:  Mark Making: ·         During the first drawing week I decided on my ‘On location’ theme, I wanted to explore the folklore and customs found in my hometown Stroud. This is a continuation of my CP1 essay Thread-lore: Exploring the interwoven relationship of British Textiles and Folklore. I identified the main customs and practices still taking place in Stroud mostly through books, my favourites being ‘Discovering English customs and Traditions’ by Margaret Gascoigne and ‘Gloucestershire Folk tales’ by Anthony Nanson. From my research I was able to weave a tapestry, embroidering symbols relating to each tradition, from left to right: Morris dancing, Mummers plays, Clypping Painswick’s church, Bisley Well dressing, The Minchinhampton Longstone, Stroud Wassail, Pagan hill Maypole, Randwick Wap and Hetty Pegler’s Tump.   Later, in the week I went Mud-larking along the banks of the River Severn (A mudlark is someone who scavenges...
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  Sampling Week 1: Drawing week: For my mark making I used materials foraged from my favourite walk along the ridgeway by Uffington White horse. The tools are a collection of lichen, chalk, flint, wild grasses, burs, golden-rods and thistles. Using the mediums acrylic paint, clay and Indian ink I experimented with applying different pressures, speeds of marking and accuracy by attaching the tools to my fingers. Through trialling these techniques, I created 20 drawings. I found of the drawing’s variety went well especially appreciating the clay textures and ink lines created by the grasses. However, I found that I couldn’t control the amount of medium on the tools, my main problems being that the ink would either spread out too much or the acrylic paint would clump the tools.  
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 Self Evaluation for the Origins Project  During this unit I have developed a range of skills: my main successes have been the detail achieved on the sustained drawings, learning how to manipulate designs with Photoshop and understanding weave notation by practising different structures.  Completing the weave rotation online was challenging: I simulated an eight-shaft loom using a basic tapestry loom to create two final woven samples. I managed to replicate the inlay technique by hand embroidering motifs over the weave.  These woven samples were my favourite part of the project - I would like to experiment with this method again and I am even considering weave and embroidery as my chosen discipline. I decided to add yellow to the pallet because my visual resource, Common Orange Lichen, Xanthoria Parietina, varies in yellow/orange shades. The introduction of this colour palette complemented my sampling - in both embroidery, when imitating foliose and fruit-bodies shap...
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