"Mechanical Drawing"

"Mechanical Drawing"

I was inspired by the book of the exhibition "mechanical drawing" a Turing exhibition originated by the Manchester metropolitan university. The exhibition illustrates the work of textile designers who use the mechine called "The Schiffi".
The work its self was made up from he project called "The Schiffi Project" this was to enable people to see how the production possess of a piece of machinery developed for mass production. The ongoing exhibition shows fifteen practitioners and how they have exploited the "The Schiffi" as well as how the machine has been used to push the boundaries of what has been considered to be a drawing.
This Exhibition and piece of machinery shows how links can be made between contemporary practice, historic traditions and industrial production.

What is this machine ? Taken from the web page www.miriad.mmu.ac.uk

"It is a unique, one hundred year old multi-needle embroidery machine capable of mechanically stitching repeat patterns or images across a two-metre wide piece of cloth. The stitched designs are created by moving a pantograph by hand. Such machines were traditionally used to mass-produce commercial embroidery."

It was interesting to read about and see the out come of the work, I am also at a slight advantage as my close friend is part of the project so its interesting to hear about also.
It got me thinking about how my work could be produced in a much more mainstream mass produced way.
Thinking about my "Wrong Hand" work and the illustrations which I have created and how they could be represented and how it would work.
Looking at the different types of drawing and from the exhibition it has made it seam as if anything could be passable and possible to create on this scale.
I think that I should seriously think of ways which I can incorporate my "Wrong Hand" Illustrations in a similer way.
I have already tried to do so by using a everyday sewing machine's but every piece would turn out different.
"The Schffi" project has mad me see working to a mass production out come is possible.

The Wrong Hand

The Wrong Hand in stitch . . . . .

So If I could Draw with "The Wrong Hand" and have interesting outcomes what would happen if I decided to try and stitch?

I decided to stitch the drawings on to some plain calico with wadding in between to see what effect would happen and just to trigger some new ideas of what it could be.
It was interesting to see if the stitch effect would have the same feel as the drawings, if they would become vulnerable and raw just like the original drawings.
It was also a way of testing myself just to see how i would adapt to doing something that I do regularly but with a disadvantage.


This is what happened . . . . . .


I found that at first it was quite hard to do just by using the wrong hand but I feel the lack of control made it what it became .


I found that the everyday drawings where better to use rather than the thoughts , the drawings that seam more uncontrolled are much more satisfying to look at for me they have the seance of the journey about them.


Some of these Stitched drawings i can se as other things rather than just a sample, things such as a peg bag or a tea towel.


By doing this task I feel that I lets me see the ideas as products which could be sold or seeing it as something which I would buy, I feel that it has given me more potabilities and ideas.
So far this drawing has been my favourite, a retro tape and i have been thinking of other ways this could be used.

The Wrong Hand

I decided to do some mono printing using "The Wrong Hand" I did this by taking the drawings from the sketchbooks and then recreating them in a mono print.



This is the feather mono print, I used blue because I thought that it was a strong colour to mono print with rather thank using yellow.

These are a selection of prints which have all been recreated in a mono print from the sketches in "The Wrong Hand" sketch book.

The Wrong hand

I have been working with the wrong hand now for over a month.
i have put together four sketchbooks and have been doing extra drawings and illustrations, so just experimenting with different mediums.





I have Four so far;
*"The Wrong Hand" part one is the journey of day to day things i do and how I achieve them with one hand in a cast.

*"The Wrong Hand" part two starts of as a journey like part one but i seam to focus more on the drawings of things i find and notes of ideas and thoughts.

*"The Wrong Hand" part three i decided to create a book of thoughts, words lists and poems of things i feel or come across or dreams that I have.

"The Wrong Hand" Part four is a book which is for just things so everyday things that I see each day that I just like to draw.

All the books are done by using the wrong hand; my left hand.

My thoughts to this point!

I felt that because I was almost starting again with the left hand although I had all the relevant information, knowledge and skills it was a good way of just going back to basics.
Drawing what I liked writing how I felt and it become true, honest and meant more than just scribbles.
In some ways its almost going backwards but I felt it was necessary to do so and it made me think about how I could use these thought processes within my design.
So combining what I was doing before and the way I am working now.

The best way for me to understand this was to create a thought diagram of things that were important to how I create; why I create; things I liked; things that were important to me.
I then just wrote all the words that stuck out more on to pieces of paper and redefining them to a selection of words which I felt were important to my design process.
It was at this point I realised that I was not so good at making decisions before of what to do and what to do next .

I remembered a workshop that I went to about a year ago by the eco-design expert Rob Holdway who runs the eco-consultancy Giraffe.
We did a series of tasks where we were given dice to make the decisions for us. They created restrictions and we had to work with them within the group that we were in.

The dice was obviously created to the company’s design criteria but it made me wonder if I could some how create something of similar idea for myself to use but with my design criteria???
So I had someone help by making the dice and I put together some of the words I had refined from my thought diagram.




I decided that i would need at least 3 dice:-

1. “Time” How long I would need to create something.
2. “Function” why would I make it/for what reason is it for
3. “Material” what material would I use to create it

But then I decided to add one more:
4. “Process” how would I make it/create it.

Now this is just an idea and for me to see if it works I would need to roll the dice and record the outcomes, as it is difficult for me at the moment to create something. But I think for my own design ideas and development this would be an extremely useful experiment and could change?

To be continued . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"The wrong hand"


The wrong hand sketch book is becoming a fresh way of thinking for me.
Even though it is a venerable experience i am trying to get the most from it and the strange thing for me is the fact that it is excepted for what it is.
In some ways i am actually enjoying drawing and learning from the left hand
"The wrong hand".
Although i will say that it is making me realize more so the importance of time.
Just realising how long things take and how i have to plan my days around the things which i am restricted to do.
I have just become very aware of just how long things can take.

This is the front cover of "The wrong hand" First sketch book.

Reflection. . . . .

After reflecting over the past two weeks after braking my wrist I feel I am questioning. . . . . . . . .

I feel that by using the wrong hand I feel in some sense that i need to almost relearn things such as how to hold the pen, how to draw and for it to learn all the things which the other hand would normally do.

I am finding that I feel more vulnerable and questioning "why"

I feel I do this anyway but it is more apparent than usual maybe because I feel as if I have a giant egg timer haunting me, stalking me, that I should make and do more.

But I worry . . . . . . .
I worry if my work would be appreciated or even understood, but then my work is personal, ideas come from personal experience; jouneys; so "why" does this matter?

"Why" don't I just make a decision? This is what I am going to do; this is Why and this is how and when!

I think in reflection my "Wrong Hand" sketch books are key to me understanding "why"

The sketchbooks Contain my vulnerability in a way that shows truth and reality in a child like manner, yet it is an outcome of something which has the potential to become things as well.

The Fact that people appreciate the "wrong hand" work without fully understanding it makes me think that i worry far to much about creating and doing.
I think I need to work out a way to tell myself what to do. I don't mean this in the way of working to a brief.
I feel I need to work out what it is that's important to me, for the way I work and why then from this I can work out a selection criteria.

So I am going to take some time to list and map these things again.

The Tar Man

I found this a long time ago and have always been interested in Biagi's work but not really understood why until now. I think that it has a lot to do with how i am revisiting childhood feelings since i have broken my wrist.
The reason why I revisited Biagi's work was because my drawings kind of reminded me of some of the object's.
This could have been at first because i have been using lots of different size black pens for my drawing which look similar to his black tar creations.
But then looking at some of Biagi's Objects I think that it is more deeper.
His work represents many things, what stands out more to me is the sense of childhood innocence that has been encaptured by this powerful medium.
By using the ultimate symbol of childhood innocence "The Teddy Bear" it immediately sparks a reaction which most can relate to.
When I look at the images of his work it evokes a sense of uncomfortable childhood feelings that I just want to be protected from.
Feelings which I have been experiencing after braking my wrist, feelings which I feel when I am trying to write or draw with the wrong hand; vulnerability; memories and rawness of experience that takes me back to when I was a child.
And then the need to feel protected. . . . . . . . .

" The real experience lies within the journey "

I think this is too true, the real experience is within the journey, especially for my self at the moment I just feel that I need to embrace it.

www.mattiabiagi.com

"my Journey"

The Wrong Hand

"My Journey"

The Wrong Hand



I found it hard to start using my left hand as it was so unnatural to me. Every day things which i would normally use my right hand for i now had to use the left I feel like I am doing things backward, and that the left hand was trying to copy what the right would normally do as if it was a mirrored response.
These are some of the things I have been trying to do, but can't quite get the hang of with the wrong hand!

But . . . . . . . .

The Wrong Hand

The Wrong Hand

"The Broken hand"


This is how my hand looked in the X-ray
this is not the X-ray but an example of how it looked.

The Wrong Hand

"My Journey"
The Wrong Hand

This is my Journey recorded through notes and drawings by using the wrong hand. Since falling and braking my right wrist on Saturday the 25th October i have decided to adapt and use the wrong hand to communicate through notes and drawings firstly how i get through each day/week.
This is the beginning of what i have recorded of the first week.

They do say “Art Heals”; I see craft and what I do as an art form.
Walking does help, being healthy and understanding a healthy balance
between personal well-being, as well as my creative well being.
Finding a balance between design creativity and design production is
important!


Often when the human body moves the mind moves and walking often
brings my ideas to the forefront. “My Journeys” that I take are the inspiration, the journey becomes a concept that then becomes and adds to an end product.

"My Journey"

I have been inspired by an artist named Peter Bodenham, a visual artist who
uses a varied way to work combining various materials and processes to

comprehend his images, sculptures and make site installations.


“walk and it will be solved” 2008

The way we interpret nature and humanities influence can use
interdisciplinary practice which some how is powered and framed By “The Journey” both physical and imagined.
“walk and it will be solved”

I would like to think that the process that I take is both personal and
universal. It reflects the phenomenological experience of the rural
landscape and the roots through to the urban landscape, natural and
unnatural.
Documenting the “Journey” as it develops and understanding the structure
of experiences as they present themselves to me makes the experience a
momentous occurrence.


I can incorporate these documentations into my design theories and
methodologies, using them within the creating process as well as my designs, which as a result adapt their own theories of meaning.
The documenting process has become an explanation for my design
development; building a library of information from all “Journeys” that I
take, this becomes part of the qualitative approach that I have adapted to
use within my practice.

www.peterbodenham.co.uk

The 8 Of us exhibition
2008

Images of The 8 of us exhibition, the half way point for myself and the end exhibition for others.