City and Guilds Module 3

Last term was filled with teaching classes and working on Module 3: Colour and Applique.

I love colour and have 3/4 books by my bed all about the chemistry of colour, the meaning of colour and the development of synthetic pigments.

As usual I had to investigate colour, which was fun! Then I had to choose an artist to research. In February I visited a exhibition about Henri Matisse's paper cuts at Strouds Museum in the Park.

His paper cuts were completed when he was too ill to paint and sculpt, but the need to create art remained. With the help of an assistant he used paper to create huge murals, that were colourful and vibrant:

La Gerbe, Henri Matisse (1953)

I love the mix of colours and the scale of the original pieces is huge!

As well as exploring colour I had to develop the portfolio using a historical theme. I visited Bath and took lots of photos of the gorgeous Georgian buildings and the Fashion Museum. The course notes suggested developing a design around a piece of historical textiles. I chose an 18th Century embroidered ribbon:

From this I explored colouring pencils, felt tip pens and paint!

It was great fun playing around with colouring pencils and pens! Lovely to have the freedom to just play!

The applique element was developed in making my samples for the module:

Needle Turn Applique

Reverse applique

Machine applique with painted paper, plastic, Roses wrapper and hand dyed fabric/felt

Machine reverse applique using felt

The loved completing the applique and I was lucky enough to use Oakshott fabrics. The bundle I used is called Lipari and is simply gorgeous! The best bit is I have loads left to make another quilt!

My final piece was developed from the first portfolio - Line:

I experimented with hand dyeing different weights of fabric, threads, bubble wrap and postcards. It was great fun and I really love the final piece.

Next it's Texture and Landscapes/Geological.... and it has to be done in black and white! So exciting!