i realised i haven't posted about graffiti for a long time, so here we go! when my guys came back recently from edinburgh, my pressie, besides a tripod was this 'Fatcap' kidrobot. for any of you who have never come across these 'designer toys' they are based on spray can nossles used by graffiti artists, the fat cap being one style. they come in their own boxes and it's a surprise as to which one you end up with! my little fatcap is only 3cm high, he rattles when you shake him like a spray can and he is called 'feed'
and comes complete with his own pigeon and pigeon poop!!! he is part of the fatcap series 2 all designed by a group of graffiti artists/writers. he has pride of place on my shelf!!on a more serious matter, and care of Karin via Sian i saw a video clip about a paralysed graffiti artist Tony Quan aka TEMPTONE who is now using a low cost tracking apparatus and custom software to create graffiti. amazing.
firstly i must say i never want to do this exercise again!!!! it was a nightmare! anyway the exercise in question was to take metallic threads and work firstly with a warm colour in the bobbin as above in 1. (orange)
then to take the same metallic with a cold colour in the bobbin as in 2 (grey)
finally in 3 the brief was to take the same metallic thread and work it with a range of bobbin colours to see how they appear and change the top colour. i chose yellows, with a fluorescent yellow in the middle. before this exercise which i was putting off for a long time, i worked on metallics on textile.
i first tried out various samples to see how things worked using a range of transfoils, metallic wrappers, 
glitter, paint and silver leaf
then on to actual larger samples,
6 is printed with textile paints and gold tissue applied
7 textile paints applied directly with a brush, and edge of card
8 using Markal paint sticks and fingers! working through stencils and torn paper to produce interesting edges.
9 on a semi transparent fabric textile paints worked through stencils
10 working again with paint and sellotape shapes to mask areas
11 using silver leaf with pva over tissue and card shapes 
12 using pieces of card to mask areas and then glitter applied through stencils onto pva
13 using transfoil shapes on transfer adhesive both positive and negative shapes and working some over paper shapes
14 using transfer adhesive to see how detailed you can use it, with sweet wrappers too
15 top shows transfoil applied with pva which gives it a much denser effect than the transfer adhesive, below using embossing glitter on machine stitch
and finally for this section using transfoil and transfer adhesive again to see how much detail you can achieve, this measures about 8cm across. more with actual metal to follow!!
Finally i have to say how disappointed i am not to be going to the 'Visual thinking Unpicked', 'Thinking Symposium' as i have just learnt that David Littler of Sampler Culture Clash will be running a workshop 'Looping something from nothing'. if anyone is signed up to do this workshop please report back i am dying to do one sometime!
Sian asked me if i wanted to do some more 'purls' as an easter extra! as if i didn't have enough to do but i am not one to turn down a challenge so here are the results! the easter chicks above i have already posted as an easter greeting but i quite liked them so here they are again. 
to begin with i continued with wire but tried to use things that were of different shapes so i came up with the cookie cutters! above are self explanatory, all except the lower right corner which was a clothes peg. i like using the fine wire which then springs out of shape.
i think number two is plain to see but as usual i realise i haven't included any scale which i must remember to do in future. perhaps a photography check list is in order. these are based on paper and cloth mixed. the green one is a mixture of newspaper and coloured tissue paper mache'd. the next one round to the right is a chain of little people cut out from calico but painted and stiffened with pva, glitter and paper. the smaller people chain is just cut out from newspaper and twisted with wire. the next three to the left are paper and cloth either stuck onto wire or stitched (middle one).
three above using a mixture of wire and other ingredients, loosely anticlockwise from left. three small samples using calico stuck onto paper and then silver leafed, the wire is then threaded through like running stitch and the piece pleated up before the wire is twisted. the next one, visible side on in #4 below is twisted around a cookie cutter with smaller 'tags' attached by fine purls, next has fine coloured purls threaded through fine wire which is twisted to stop them moving then the whole twisted around a chinese ink stick.
the next two consist of two wires, the longer one joined sporadically with gold tissue stuck around with pva and the smaller has one of the wires purled every so often before the two are purled again. the shocking pink is fishing line French knitted with a wire threaded through and then purled.
the larger green one is a 'scoobie' threaded with wire through its centre with smaller purled wires over the top and then twisted around the same ink stick as before. finally one wire threaded through another purl which has been pulled apart sporadically.
four shows two of the above from different angles
finally in this series a larger newspaper, calico, foil and paper twists purl. when i pulled it off the roller i worked it on it was still stuck to the cling film which i quite liked.
six shows it without the cling film, its a bit like a ringlet, quite springy.
and finally, finally i made an over sized one which i thought was in keeping with my research project Graffiti and the use of yarn bombing. i knitted a long length of bamboo fibre which i bought some time ago at great expense and never used till now! i then soaked the whole in dilute pva and wrapped it around a large tube, diameter 60cm. once dry i sprayed a black streak along one side and then released it. it has a wonderful life of its own!!
so far i have only taken photos of it in the garden and not done any adapting. when i have some new ink cartridges i will hopefully add some stitch. the rather weird thing above are cloches without anything to protect yet but i loved the shape they make.
i could go on forever, each one i do gives me further ideas but i must get back to metallica! but i do like the ice cube idea Sian. what about balloons!
this week i have been making some 'extended purls'
and while my two guys are in Edinburgh for the week i can spread around and eat when i like and put in lots of creative work. i just have to remember to cuddle the cat occassionally!! i will post my finished products properly later but here are some pictures of work in progress. as i am alone i had to set the shots up on timer so i hope they are ok. i thought i would make some cut-out people which i have made of calico which has been painted with various layers of acrylic paint. i have then attached them onto a layer of gold tissue which has been p.v.a.ed onto a clingfilm covered roller. i will wait till it is dry before removing/ adapting further.
however hard i try to work 'large' i still come back to tiny! wrapping some wire around a piece of bamboo
and a general shot of bits i am working on such as paper mache and twirly tags attached to purl.
Happy Easter everyone from me and my easter chick 'purls'!!
i realised i haven't posted about graffiti for a long time, so here we go! when my guys came back recently from edinburgh, my pressie, besides a tripod was this 'Fatcap' kidrobot. for any of you who have never come across these 'designer toys' they are based on spray can nossles used by graffiti artists, the fat cap being one style. they come in their own boxes and it's a surprise as to which one you end up with! my little fatcap is only 3cm high, he rattles when you shake him like a spray can and he is called 'feed' and comes complete with his own pigeon and pigeon poop!!! he is part of the fatcap series 2 all designed by a group of graffiti artists/writers. he has pride of place on my shelf!!
