Evaluation

Friday proved to be an interesting day for me as I took the time to look through all the weave samples I have created so far and grouped them into 4 coherent collections.

It was surprising how many samples I had created as well as how easily I had drifted away from my original themes and colourways- something I do, unfortunately have a tendency to do! Comparing samples allowed me to evaluate their success and to make informed decisions to not use certain samples which didn't reach an acceptable level of quality or aesthetically were too weak. On reflection, it is probably something I should have done at a much earlier stage in order to better monitor and guide my direction. I think I have just been determined to get going on the different looms as quickly as possible due to our late start and the fact that our time is so precious.

I have divided my samples to date into 4 groups (some samples, e.g. the tweed had not been cut yet and therefore I couldn't group them.) Clothilde helped me think about what constituted a collection as it is all a bit foreign to me and not something we have really studied at Chelsea. Each group needed a collection of cloths with different textures and weights (some thick hardy wools and some delicate silks), a combination of both light and dark colours (as well as contrasts, dominants and neutrals), some highly patterned and some plain and some single coloured whilst other multi coloured pieces. Here are a few images of my groups to date.

COLLECTION ONE


COLLECTION TWO


COLLECTION THREE



COLLECTION FOUR


During working on the double cloth loom (loom number 10) I had considered myself to be building up a collection but on reflection my idea of a "collection" was really barking up the wrong tree. In each sample I had used the same colours and same threads. Instead, I should have experimented with different textured yarns and created some simpler one colour pieces to build up a more comprehensive collection. This collection (Collection Four) is seriously lacking diversity at the moment. I need to add some lighter more neutral shades to help crete an equilibrium such as an all light grey cloth. Also at present, the orangey, gold shade looks a bit sparse and random so I should concentrate on making it a dominant within some samples. This is the group I need to enlarge the most and I must concentrate on creating cloth with relevant colour ways.


The time I took to evaluate my work so far was incredibly helpful and insightful. I now realize what I must concentrate on producing during my final week of weave.