Sustained Investigation 3

Artist Statement

This piece is the third in my sustained investigation series where I am focusing on one subject using different materials and mediums. For this piece in particular I wanted to try something completely new, so I used my sewing machine, thread, and scraps of fabric. I wanted to create a sort of patchwork blanket or tapestry that imitates the feel of standing in front of the shelf. To try and create this effect I took a picture of my subject and then in photoshop put it into a wide lens effect to almost make the picture feel like it is surrounding you. I wanted to make the piece playful and not at all super realistic so I used the sewing machine like a pen to draw. Sewing is something I personally also enjoy doing in my free time, and it is also something that members of my family do occasionally so I chose to sew as my medium.

At first, I had no idea what I wanted to do for this third piece, however after a bit of sketching I cam up with a basic layout and idea. Next, I took a picture of my subject and altered it in photoshop. I tried a couple of different effects from fish eye to wavy and more, yet I decided on the wide lens. I only had one piece of white fabric left, so I chose that and began to measure and cut the shape. I didn't want to do a classic rectangle so I went with the same shape the wide lens makes as it emphasizes that feeling of actually being surrounded by the subject. After measuring and cutting l started sketching the basic layout of all the major components of the piece. To create balance in the composition I left several elements of the original subject out but also added some to make it more intriguing and playful. At first when I started sewing I was very careful, I cut out each square for chessboard individually and tried to keep the seams clean. However, this took far too long and after about an hour of just sewing, I started to manipulate the machine and thread more like a pen and let the thread do what it needed to do as the whole piece is sort of scrappy. To add contrast I used black thread on the white fabric tp really make the thread stand out. To add value to my piece I cut out strips of black fabric to block out big sections of shadow, I also used the zig zag stich over and over again tp build up value. I used blocks of red fabric to add texture and emphasis to the painting, and to create a balance and not confuse the focal point of the piece I used blue fabric for the chessboard. For the rest of the piece I didn't really have a plan and just sewed over the areas that seemed like they needed thread.

At the beginning of this project, I had no idea, no plan, and no inspiration. It took me a while to find something that I wanted to spend time on, and when I did I decided I wanted to sew, even though originally I wanted to use pen, I was set on using scraps of fabric as well as thread. This was something that I hadn't planned on, yet using the big pieces of fabric saved a lot of time and thread. I definitely experimented with using thread as a method of drawing and also how the different textures the sewing machine makes can add texture and create different lines and shapes. Moving forward, I would like to 'draw' more by sewing because it makes the piece so much more tangible. I will probably also go back and add details to my piece like going over areas with white thread to add more definition.