i realised when i went to write this post that i have not done so since last October. i hate people who don't update their blogs regularly so no excuse except that in November last year i had my second hip replacement but we are up and 'running' now!
i am concentrating on an exhibition for South West Textile Group in November at the ACE Gallery in Somerset.
'Wasted' is the title and as my mind works in strange ways i immediately thought of waists! the idea was to encourage us to use waste products or at least think of waste. for many years i have been collecting used coffee stirrers, lolly pop sticks, forks, knives etc of the kind used with take-aways, fish and chips etc. mainly wooden but some are plastic too. i have often thought that although they are wood and hence biodegradable it is still a waste. they are still only used once and then thrown away. 'what a waste'.
in my work as a textile conservator and working with costume i come across many interesting female shapes and the undergarments that go with them. so 'what a waste/waist' is where i am working to now.
i have been bending my lolly sticks etc to create 'waist' shapes in imitation of corset boning and busks (the wood or bone piece slipped in the centre front of a corset. many of these busks are beautifully decorated with domestic images of hearts, stars, dates and names so i was inspired to create similar shapes with drilled holes. to some extent they remind me of human ribs and the distortion achieved by using restriction.
i was also sampling ideas of covering some of the sticks and using cane as early stays would be made with this before whalebone and also playing with my beloved graphite!
i played around with many ways of linking. originally i thought of using twisted wire but eventually i decided bookbinders linen was the best and twining. above are 3 constructions still in progress as i need to decide on the best way of display and finish.
still a way to go and so many ideas and i haven't even started with the plastic spoons!
