A Little Butterfly Bow

Today I am working my way through a back log of materials that Nicola has sent to me. I found this pretty and forgotten (?!) lace bow. I think, again, it is one of those items that should remain whole. Having come with (and I assume, having always had), this small gold safety pin attached, I don't like to part the pair, so they will stay and weather the elements on the other side of my window, together. The pin is not necessary in holding the bow in place and so I consider it to be an interesting relationship. I wonder how they will affect one another when undergoing 'change' in the same conditions.

The Pink Basque

The pink basque and the pins both are from Nicola's final parcel to me. I have worked with the basque as a whole garment leaving it's actual form and structure untouched but thought it might be fun to play around with ideas of wearability, comfort and contact. These gold pins are very fragile and pliable to touch but when layered and lined up they become collectively strong and sharp. Immediately upon touching the basque, I am vulnerable to (mild!) pain which is thought provoking when considering our Re-worked aim of communicating preciousness in materials - making my own experience with this garment vulnerable inspires further awareness.
Aesthetically, I love the combination of the gold and baby pink and I like that the pins target only the elastic. This was partly because, already perforated, I was able to pass the pins through the material easily, the form of the pins unaffected but also because I felt it important to embellish only certain panels or sections of the basque.
The basque is a 'statement' piece, even without embellishment, reminding me of Madonna circa 80's and more recently, Lady Gaga.

Chain Samples & Wire Mesh

This is the results of the handkerchief and paper clip chains after a period of time rusting. The photo actually doesn't show the orange tones very well - there is a lot more discolouring than is obvious in the picture. I like the results but I don't think the single chain is very effective. I like the volume produced by the small scraps of fabric and the different shades caused by the different degree of deterioration / rust on each safety pin and I think that the way to get the best result is to have a lot of chains together - perhaps all gathered together draping down maybe showing the different shades (unaffected, slightly rusted, extremely deteriorating.).

I spoke before about acting out ideas that arise from first viewing the items of Sara's parcels and this photo shows a quick experiment with one of the natural fabrics I was sent. The open weave of the fabric reminded me of mesh and I wanted to try weaving wire through the fabric to see if there would be any interesting results. I used silver as I happened to have lots of silver round wire at hand but it might be interesting to use different types of metal wire. I like the idea of silver woven through though as, again, there's a play on preciousness. The wire makes the fabric very malleable so there could be some great opportunities for shaping fabric into some interesting results. I also want to try some different destructive processes on the fabric to see changes in colour and if that will affect the strength or the ability to shape the fabric.

Initial Doodles etc.

Most of the items from Nicola that I am attempting to rust/affect at the moment have been plated in some form, so there are no big changes to be seen as yet - my vinegar solutions and concoctions are still working away! So in the mean time I wanted to post a couple of sketches to indicate what I'm aiming for in my experiments with repetition...

 I think that the larger hooks and eyes will produce some really lovely rusted prints - different compositions will work well as stand alone images or as long lines of emulative chains. I think I will begin with silks and glazed cottons.

A few rubbings to give an intial impression of how the imagery should appear. And below, a print made from rusted paper clips on parchment. The paper clips rust fairly easily and immediately came to mind when I began to consider the idea of creating links and chains - they're proving useful in these early stages. Hopefully, I'll be able to make more of this ilk when the pearl wire rings and brace clasps have succumbed to the rust!

And again, further paper clip experiments. I like the different grades of rustiness on each - all are entirely individual. Can't wait to get going with the rest of our materials!

Initial Experiments

Ticket attached to vintage jumper by safety pin.

Handkerchief square folded and attached to safety pin.

Numerous safety pins attached together creating "chains".

Safety pin chains hanging after being sprayed with vinegar.

While myself and Sara prepare for our initial swap of materials by gathering items both vintage and "every-day" (ie saftey pins, tacs, paper clips etc), I decided to start some basic experiments to familiarise myself with the materials and techniques we hope to use. Sara's final year project involved rusting staples stapled into fabric so I decided to try out the rusting process. Although rusting is something I'd like to either expand on or use in conjunction with other destructive processes I decided to learn about it as a basic foundation for Re-worked. I was inspired by a ticket I found attached to a vintage jumper by a safety pin which had obviously gone through the wash and had a nice crumbled texture. I started using plain handkerchiefs as a "beginners-introduction" to working with textiles and used vinegar, on Sara's suggestion, to rust the safety pins which then "dyes" the material. Sara also advised applying vinegar regularly to accelerate the process so they are currently tacked up to the outside of my shed - exposed to the elements and regular vinegar applications. I enjoyed this first basic experiment as it has already highlighted some ideas I would like to expand on and experiment with further.