Christmas and Cancellations...

So,  the first thing to be cancelled was my early train to Manchester but a lovely woman took me on the bus. I'm sure I would have arrived at uni quicker (and easier) had I just waited for the next train, but hey I made a friend.

I then had a free morning so I took the opportunity to do some writing. About sea coal. I was very pleased with myself for having the foresight to put my fluorescent yellow 1mm letraset tape in my pencil case just to break it up a bit. 

The CT lunch meeting went well as we all just decided that everything would be FINE and we would iron out the details after Christmas. I need to make sure that my textile piece for the exhibition is almost finished (at least sampled anyway) before I go back. I think that may be impossible as I intend to digitally print it then over-dye some of it, then laser cut it, then blacken it with coal from the beach, then maybe stitch a bit on it. 

My final photographs are done, I'm not sure whether to exhibit those alongside the textile piece or not, they may help put it into context? This is my favourite for some reason.

Stopping the Seacoalers

I would say I think my background research is almost complete but I did go and find this book in the library, which I am quite excited about…

Our usual studio session (cancelled) was replaced by a Christmas party. And my induction on the Pfaff machine was cancelled. So I went to the party (for a bit), most people had brought their native alcohol rather than world nibbles which I think was an added bonus. The homemade sloe gin from Grimsby being a clear winner, although I'm sure the sangria and baileys cocktails were also amazing. I stuck to the gin, it's not good to mix your drinks before you go to study in the library. I may sound unsociable but I figured I have little enough time to get this work done and I'm going to see the Pigeon Detectives tonight.

Today - purely in pictures...(almost)

But first a note: We were asked today if we thought the imminent lecture would be relevant to our own work. It was 'Memory and the Visual in Post Conflict Northern Ireland', I have to say that I have taken something valuable from every single session or lecture, whether or not I deemed it to be it relevant to me, even if it was just a list of possible words I may use in my written stuff.

And here's such a list:

• transformative reconfiguration
• valueist
• tangibility
• psycho memory
• skeuomorph
• baudelarairian 
• trans - temporal 
• indexical
• As a little task for myself I might try and insert all the above into my next presentation to my students :-)

Anyway, here's today...

      My design on the screen

THE whole machine (except for the other computer with the design software). Design on the right is Paula's.

Baby steps & giant strides

I didn't get chance to post on the train home last week due to a carriage full of old, drunken sweary louts wearing Christmas jumpers. I didn't manage to do ANYTHING except not look at them. Prior to that however I had quite an interesting day all about...'The Embroidery Experience'...I had training on the 12 head Brother embroidery machine software all morning which involved trying to master using the wheel in the centre of the mouse, clicking it but keeping it still ( I couldn't manage that at all). Then I 'experienced' the Cornely machines, all 7 of them, set up for different thicknesses of thread or cord. I was horrendously bad! It was so difficult it was untrue, I'm going to need either A LOT of practice or to not use them. It was harder than drumming lessons where you are using every limb to beat out a different rhythm. Disappointing results. What worries me is the time it will take to be able to use even one of these machines well, and I'm only there one day a week with other lectures to attend.

This week I'm going early, to attend a symposium- 'Material Matters', my main concern being that I may not have time to drop off my luggage first, sigh. 
There are some high profile speakers so watch this space.
And tomorrow... I get to stitch out my embroidery design. Whoop.

The 7 Cornelys

A very weird machine

P.S. 10.05pm
So... the symposium:

Was very nice thank you. Even though the idea and practice of 'academia', with 'academics' sat around discussing somewhat ordinary subjects 'academically', is rather alien to me, I did enjoy the speakers especially James, sculptor of sawdust extraordinaire. He talked incessantly for twice his allocated time but in such a dulcet tone that I went into a trance. The downside being that thing where you fall asleep for a nano second, jerking yourself awake and hoping no one noticed (x 3).

Interesting quotes of the day: "there is a presence around an (textile) archive, emotions are written on clothes - sweat produced through different emotions smells differently" and "Objects (in archives) make 'unknowable' history imaginable. Without objects, that history is unimaginable." (Jane Webb, in better words than those I remember)

Aside: linking to something said in Contested Territories, that the importance of archives is that they are what history is written from. Both relevant due to the recent closure of a number of important archives. I get that.

The wheels are turning...

Piccadilly, Manchester

I've had my first tutorial, with Jane McKeating who is the Associate Head of Design at MMU, she who has written (good) embroidery books. 

I was afraid she was going to tell me that my 'concept' wasn't 'conceptual' enough...But she was just really interested in my artwork and my ideas of what and how I was going to stitch, I feel like I've been given permission, not to stop reading intellectual and academic texts but to do my practical work alongside that, with equal importance, and not to worry about how I was going to make it become one whole (let's just hope that happens naturally). I feel I can get on and do a body of practical work and stop worrying about it. Her main advice and focus was on my embroidery which was refreshing and got me excited again. She thinks I'm 'precise'. I can't wait to get home and do some PROPER work.

Unfortunately I have to lug my portfolio and overnight bag halfway across Manchester first.

In other news, our lecture this morning was cancelled and this afternoon's session was for international students only. 

So... I had my health & safety embroidery workshop induction and had to prove I could thread a Bernina sewing machine, I expect it will get slightly more difficult. Next week I get to learn how to use the software for the 12 head embroidery machine- cool.

This respite also gave our CT mapping group a chance to decide what we were actually going to do and how to move forward. The dynamics have changed a little but I think it will all work out...for my part, I am going to photograph a contested territory near home, which will be put on a map, one of a series of 3. I am thinking Seal Sands... that industry vs nature thing we've got going on and maybe Seaton Carew, that quaint little seaside town we've got, as a 'non-tourist' resort. After Christmas we'll decide how we are going to present it; so far this involves a buffet, as we decided a plate of buffet food could be said to be 'contested' I.e. prawn vol au vents fighting with sherry trifle = a mess on a plate.

Oh, I also offered to help with some (very) early-morning, guerrilla-style, paste-up, street-art* for an installation piece two of the group are doing (I'm knitting the balaclavas!)

*I have used the hyphen incorrectly... for effect.  

How to change the world with embroidery...?

Before I reveal the answer I shall update you on my beautiful day...

Starting with a 'CT' (know what it is yet?) meeting in the canteen at 9.30am to devise a plan for an early little reconnaissance outing. I think I was kind of still a little asleep. We didn't make a plan except 'to just set off', but it was suggested that we could go somewhere, return, then individually draw a map from memory where we had been, and layer the results on top of an actual map and each other's. I think that would be kind of interesting although I'm guessing scale may be a bit of an issue. It would be a fun 'aside'. 
I feel I should be doing more of the 'suggesting' within the group instead of taking more of an admin role (i.e. writing the minutes for our Facebook page!) Mmm, I was reminded today that this module has the same number of credits as our Practice 1 (main design) module, damn. However, I do know that this option was the right choice even when I see what the 'Object in Context' people are doing.
Anyway, we were looking for examples of contested territories which we can then map. I think we discovered about 2. But the Urbexing was fabulous anyway...

The rest of the day, everyone except part time year 1 (which includes me :-)) did their Pecha Kucha presentations about their (practical) work so far, with varying degrees of charisma. Nick's was brilliant but he is from Liverpool. I found that most had no physical work either by the look of it. They could always be hiding it though. Unfortunately, they all had really good, amazing ideas that would change the world, or at the very least improve it for some marginalised, disadvantaged, disabled, or 'needy' part of society by inventing/designing an incredible product or such like. So much so that they would be deserving of a Noble prize or a knighthood. (This may be a slight exaggeration- 2 weren't that good). So... in terms of my confidence levels being fairly healthy this last week it has done a lot of damage in that I have now decided I must sort out my stuff RIGHT NOW and fix it (well on Saturday).
Honestly, I know what my problem is, I want to continue with the project I started in the summer, i.e. develop it and see how exciting it can get. To be fair I don't even have that much - just some drawings, photographs and paintings and half an embellishment sample. But, what I need to do is throw all that out and start afresh with nothing - however, I really don't want to. 

So the answer to the title question is.. 
'You actually can't, so just make it more fabulous'.

Finally, I have devised this confidence graph which I will plot for the duration of my MA;

Nothing Doing...

The realisation just hit me. Seven weeks and I've done nothing 'creative' (it feels). Not even mixed a colour. What I have done though is (beat myself up and) some thinking- i.e. tried to conceptualise by osmosis. 
Actually I take that back. I now realise I have not 'done nothing', I have been unconsciously imbibed with new vocabulary, been sucked/enticed into the new way of speaking and thinking (a little), I still can't do it (at all well) but more positively and in response to this realisation, I have come up with these questions I need to ask myself... 

• Can my work translate to large scale installations? 
• Do I want it to? 
• What other applications may my work have?
• Why do I want to do what I want to do with it?
• Does my work need a use (other than to look gorgeous !!!)?

And in relation to my theoretical research on my initial inspiration:

'the finding/uncovering of objects left behind in a derelict, desolate landscape, that which gives a sense of ‘place’ and an emotive response to the viewer' (new!)

• Why are these objects left? Accident or design?
• What do these objects mean? What did they mean to someone once? What do they mean to the other?
• Why do some people (me) search them out? How does it make them (me) feel?
• Why do I want to go to Chernobyl?

So...I have changed the emphasis of the direction of my research (slightly), not sure whether things are becoming clearer; if I am changing things to make more sense or if I am just further muddying the waters? Time will tell, I look forward to seeing if I feel I can keep it next week! But I definitely should stop loitering and take some action.

               

I love the smell of Selvedge magazine...