Jeanette
Appleton - June
From 1st June-03
Met Naoko in Nottingham to continue up to Huddersfield for
the next stage of our collaboration. We exchanged news of
our separate itineraries over the last few weeks, Naoko in
London and myself in Denmark. Naoko had new and unclear ideas
which needed time to make clear and concrete. ‘Had to
find connections between the separate experiences. Difficult
to find the combination yourself. The mentor sessions force
one to think about it . It is like counselling, have a place
for what I am thinking and what to do in the mentor sessions.’
I have realised I need to give Naoko time to reflect on my
questions. The dialogue prioritises main concerns that surface
and this choice is often not what you think unconsciously
when working with materials and concepts. Asking Naoko about
the mentor sessions she explained with a traditional Japanese
proverb: ‘One hundred hearing or listening is not as
much as one glance’.
Tutors Penny Mcacbeth and Sophia Malik Stephenson for the
BA{Hons] Textile Crafts course at the University of Huddersfield
had organised studio space, technical support and funding
for materials. We began working together by sampling the Auto
Matex machine which needle punches cloth together. Naoko very
quickly saw the potential to use it to her own specific requirements,
to disintegrate the second hand children’s clothes brought
in Nottingham. Finding another aspect of ‘undoing’
which she employs in her work by pulling out threads. I also
explored the effect of the needles breaking up surfaces, but
using layers of different coloured fabrics which gave the
illusion of unravelled stitches. Because the needles pull
up the bottom fibre to the top it creates interesting colour
mixes and fades printed images. These qualities relate well
to the feelings of fading or embedded memories of place and
landscape.
From 4th June
Lunch with the head of the Department of Textiles Dr. John
Pearson, the tutor and Maxine Bristow, the external assessor
to the textile craft course but also a mentor in the project.
It was helpful to exchange ideas and experiences of our roles.
The following week we were able to view the student shows
and the two courses for design or craft based textiles complimented
each other well. The volume of quality and individual styles
was impressive and the development of creative and technical
skills were excellently presented.
During this time we were interviewed
and photographed by the Big Issue Magazine in Manchester.
To be asked different questions for two more local papers,
highlighted aspects about the process of our experiences not
previously considered. We are both sharing the unknown, as
we explore new industrial techniques and work in a communal
studio space. Compared to the individually known processes
and concepts of our work within a personal space.
Visited Wingham Wool Works in Wentworth,
a supplier of fibres who were generously sponsoring us for
some materials. We enjoyed selecting from their large range
of fibres and colours, sufficient for sampling on the Dilo
needle felt machine the following day. The university employs
David Hand to operate this specialist machine, who has his
own business in needle felting for various environmental projects
.
His inventive attitude encouraged us
to explore the potential of various methods for our individual
needs. Naoko was able to card different fibres to see their
qualities as open soft surfaces before putting some through
again to be needled into cloth. One fibre looked just like
the seeded dandelion flower qualities she had been exploring.
I considered the sequence and proportion of colour mixing
merino wool. Gradually introducing silk, flax and hemp fibre
to create new qualities for representing landscape surfaces.
A computerised Bernina sewing machine
was demonstrated to us and I saw the possibilities for producing
embroidered labels to suggest a souvenir object in my work.
We have had discussions around the use
of the machines and Naoko finds that just using the machine
is not satisfying. ‘You are not using emotions as when
with the hand I use my mind and feelings, when touching the
material texture. The work of our mind would not be the same
when using the machine just to keep me looking at stitches.
I think because I am stitching with hand I feel something
from the clothes. One reason is that hand stitching takes
time. Our hand touch the clothes more than the machine.’
I considered the machine had been useful in another way, to
realise its role in the history of the mass produced clothes,
especially as Japanese Kimono’s are stitched by hand.
By breaking down the discarded children’s clothes by
machine, Naoko had included the space of its origins with
new memories and a new life. The holes are the evidence that
she has become involved with the garments memory.
From 16th June
We moved to the print room where the technicians kindly put
up large boards. This enabled us to spread out our samples
and begin to construct ideas for the exhibition work.
I was inspired by the volume of cloth
and qualities of distance and perspective as I folded parts
and pinned on transparent cloth. As if on the threshold of
the inside or outside, but from a static point of view.
This scale and random juxtaposition of
colours began a task to develop a system of organising a method
of control for the machine line. I was now able to judge the
amounts and the sequence of colour mixing. Considering the
machine as an extension of my hand as a creative tool rather
than a dominant feature. Compared to the American artist Robert
Morris who considers industrial felt has more characteristics
seen due to the lack of the artists hand in the making.
To include an industrial input would
emphasis the concept of a souvenir to mass produce the memory
of place. The continual length of cloth and the space it occupies,
would have associations to the unbroken view line on a journey.
Using souvenir scarves brought on my overseas trips in the
past four years, highlights the advertising of place and memory.
By selecting specific scenes for transfer printing or fusing
the whole scarves themselves into the felt surface.
The main source for my colour and form
is taken from a sketch book I kept while travelling on a bus
through the centre of Australia last year. It was brought
in Japan and the concertina construction enabled me to work
in a confined space on pages that folded over. This continual
line of drawings have inspired the idea for a line of travelling
space of memory.
From 25th June
Lesley Millar and Philip Bintliff visited the university to
discuss our work. It was very helpful to answer Lesley’s
questions about our collaboration as it focused what has been
achieved. Philip’s acute perception and constructive
suggestions towards our individual ideas was inspiring to
consider our work within an exhibition space.
I have enjoyed developing my work
alongside Naoko who has intellectual sensitivity towards the
nuances of an idea. Our daily discussions have extended the
understanding of our issues, particularly as Naoko has poetic
qualities to her statements. This has been an intense time
so we will have a weekend break in the Lake District before
developing future exhibition work, including our collaboration.
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Naoko
Yoshimoto - June
22nd June, 03
May 27th ~ 31st resided in Nottingham
June 1st onwards, resided in Huddersfield
At the end of the May, I popped into
a charity shop which I found very intriguing in fact. One
can find this kind of charity shop anywhere in England. There
are clothes for all age groups. My working theme is about
memory, though I hardly brought anything from Japan. Therefore,
when I saw the used garments at the shop, I felt that they
would be the main material for my work this time and I began
purchasing garments from the charity shops.
I met Jeannette again in June and we
began our collaboration at the University of Huddersfield
for the next two months. I had some opportunity to go through
the workshops at the university. I was especially interested
by the needle machine there. Jeannette had told me about it
before; she mixed many fibres, making lots of holes in the
fabrics. I was surprised by the results from the machine;
a small bunch of fibre became a huge fluffy ball, then it
became a sheet afterwards. When I put a piece of fabric, it
was transformed into tatters.
We have been given a generous space from
the university, where we work together day by day. We discuss
our project over lunch. It is very important for us to have
this moment of discussion because we tend to discuss the surface
matter while we were both in the studio, since we have our
works in front. Whereas in the canteen, we talk more about
the conceptual aspect in our project. The latter seems to
me more important than the former. Jeannette helps me to gather
my cluttered thoughts. This is completely a new experience
for me. Also, my limited English urged me to find an exact
word or the nearest one to my Japanese word.
Lately, I have been experimenting with
Jeannette, the facility and the material (old garments), to
find the most compatible way to express my idea. I have been
dealing with my memory before, but this time, for the first
time, I have to deal with someone else’s memories as
well. I will explore the intricate relationship between the
memory over the used garments of an unknown and anonymous
wearer and myself.
Naoko Yoshimoto
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