User:Dieke

Q8: Wrapping

What is wrapping?

Youmight think of wrapping as in wrapping a present. But it goes beyond that. Wrapping as a craft is about making temporary connections in a material (usually a thread of some kind) to bring ather materials or things together. It is a technique used to construct, without changing the materials or the structure of these materials. It therefore stands opposite the craft of fusing, in which the material used will almost always change, usually going from fluid to solid, in order to construct.

The term “wrapping” can still be used quite loosely, but these are the most commonly known techniques that fall under it: sowing, knitting, roping, weaving, embroidery, binding, knotting, tufting, twisting and twirling. I will not be going into all of these, just the ones that I used for my project.

Historical examples

knitting

At first I tried some knitting, for that is one of the techniques I have already tried. Since knitting hasn’t really changed throughout the ages (it is still a thread, usually of wool and two needles) I simply made some examples using different stitches, to demonstrate the technique.

I then did some research on the history (with my teammates, of course). Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile or fabric. Knitting this yarn, it creates multiple loops, called stitched, in a line or tube. Knitted fabric consists of a number of consecutive rows of interlocking loops. There are many different types of stitches that can be used, some even to give a lace effect. The first commercial European knitting guild appeared in the early fifteenth century in Tournai. The skill itself hasn't changed much over the years, but machines have been developed for mass produced knitted products. With this invention knitting by hand became mostly a leisure activity for the wealthy.

embroidery

I later tried out embroidery as a new technique, and since I already did the research, I will provide it for you here: For embroidery a thread and needle are used, much like sowing, although this technique is mainly used to embellish a fabric or clothing, unlike sowing which is used to construct. Using different kind of stitches patterns and shapes are created, sometimes even using pearls, beads, quills and sequins to put on the thread, to attach it to the fabric. The basic techniques or stitches on surviving examples of the earliest embroidery—chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, cross stitch—remain the fundamental techniques of hand embroidery today.

Embroidery is a very time consuming and “unnecessary” technique, therefore in the past mainly used to show of wealth. Learning the skill was once a girls passage into womanhood.

The origin of embroidery can be dated back to Cro-Magnon days or 30,000 BC. During a recent archaeological find, fossilized remains of heavily hand-stitched and decorated clothing, boots and a hat were found.

In Siberia, around 5000 and 6000 B.C. elaborately drilled shells stitched with decorative designs onto animal hides were discovered. Chinese thread embroidery dates back to 3500 B.C. where pictures depict embroidery of clothing with silk thread, precious stones and pearls. Examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have also been found and dated to the Warring States period (5th-3rd century BC).

Through the years humans discovered more complicated and elaborate ways to decorate or embellish clothes and other items such as paper with embroidery. I could tell you all the dates and places and ways in which they did this, but that would be a bit… dry.

New Skill

As I mentioned before, as a new skill I wanted to learn embroidery. I have had pervious experience with the embroidery machine (see video below), therefore I won’t be using that for this practice.

video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whLWVln3XA8

Though I enjoyed working with the machine and how easy it was to physically make anything I could draw (or trace) on fabric, it did make me feel distant from the actual technique. It did get me interested in embroidery, making me determent to try it. Luckily I have a mother who is quite skilled (with plenty of threads and needles) and some inspiration from and even more skilled grandmother.

Put in micure of grandma’s “painting”

I at first learnt some stitches:

I got the advice to follow a pattern from one of those packages, to start with something easy. But knowing that I could count just fine I wanted to try to make a pattern of my own. So I made a design, got a special pencil to transfer said design onto the embroidery fabric, and went at it. It did get a package with everything I would need, but simply ignored the pattern. I mostly got it because it promised me chocolate scented threads. It kind of delivered? Though not in a pleasant way… yuck.

I decided I wanted to not just make a nice design, but to put a bit of a statement in there. I put the text “Waste of Space” on a tin piece of fabric, that in the future would make a tiny pillow (sorry that it isn;t finished yet, but man, embroidery really is a lot of work, especially if you still mess up as much as me :( The pillow will be so small that it will be basically useless, making therefore a kind of useless skill (as it is only there to decorate) on a useless product. A waste of space. But I guess, just as in the eyes of Immanuel Kant, anything that is pretty or considered art is and should be useless, therefore making what otherwise would be a nice dyi project for pinterest into a piece of art.

(note: the pink is the washable pencil, when finished the word space will be visible as an absence of stitches, because.. ye know, space. get it?)

Comparative Example

For the comparative example I wanted to try mixing different wrapping techniques, so I tried sowing with and embroidery technique. It might not be the most exciting thing I tried, since sowing and embroidery are quite similar, but I wanted to try anyway, to see if it could lead to anything interesting. It was that or embroidering onto a knitted fabric to create a pattern, but that is something my mom could’ve taught me, and I wanted to just try something.

So this is a shirt that I at first just embroidered on. It was a part of my “waste of space”-statement. I was inspired by this:

(also here a link to my pinterest board, with many, many more pictures that I collected and used as inspiration/an excuse to be on pinterest and still working on school: https://nl.pinterest.com/forschoolpinter/practice-q7/ )

I wanted to make something useless. I wanted to go against the nature of embroidery (having started with this technique, I thought: why not continue?) Since embroidery is there o decorate and be seen, I wanted to use threads with he same colours as the fabric, adding basically nothing to the item with a technique that is supposed to stand out and be seen. In a gloomier evening I worte that it might be a metaphor for life: it;s f*cking useless, but it’s something (a quote from my notes). In the end it’s just endless rows of stitches, unnoticeable and unimportant. But it’s something.

(once again not entirely filled up with stitches, as had been my plan. I thought this might also bring my point across, and leave me with more time for the other examples and other ideas, since I was starting to run out.)

When taking pictures it actually turnt out to be a visually interesting piece. I would love to someday use some of the pictures as inspiration for an animation, perhaps for a background or setting.

I later cut up the the shirt and tried to sow it back together using embroidery techniques and materials (you use a thinner thread, sharper needle and different stitches for sowing):

Picture of shirt

Some text on the end result

Pushed to the Limit

At first I didn't really know where to go with this. I thought of the classic wrapping technique and did notice a common theme: most of them were quite flat. Always making or on fabric, kind of 2D. So I wanted to try to make a 3D structure using wrapping technique, with a bit of un unconventional material (for wrapping at least).

    
  
I accidentally uploaded this one, but the cat came to visit during the picures (sfeerimpressie yas) 

As you can see it did kind of work. I made a sphere by binding wires instead of soldering them. But it is very fragile (that’s why I won;t bring it to the mini-expo). It therefore could only be used to be something pretty to look at, and not an actual useful construction. Perhaps with stronger wires used for the binding, though these were the easiest to wrap with.

Teamwork

For our joined example we (Robin, Heleen, Andrès and Jasmijn) first held a couple of meetings. We wanted to define the term wrapping for ourselves, and wanted to see how far we could push it, or wether there would be any shared interests surrounding the topic. Andrès has the paper on this, might make text better, come back to this later.

Sushi

I also tried to wrap food with Robin cuppens For now just a link to her page, more to follow.

A final tangible and communicative artefact that is representative of your own statement on making.

I wanted to go back to something we’d discussed in the group. About making the invisible visible by using wrapping techniques. At first I thought this far too ambitious, but it did sound interesting, almost magical. So I went ahead with the idea, but twisted it a bit. Something else that seemed interesting to me was: what if I could wrap with materials that you could not touch? Would it still be craft? Would I still be a maker? Would it still be wrapping? So I wanted to wrap with light. In the final product (which became a kind of performance) you can use my art-thingy to make something that looks like it is a fabric of wrapped light. But it is only visible by using smoke or steam, and only temporary and untouchable, and therefore unusable. Once again, something that could be seen as a waste of space, a useless little pretty to occupy our minds and forma distraction from the repetetive survival to exist and live. But at the same time when I finally got it to work, it filled my with giddiness: I had done it! I had crafted with light! And so my piece might have no function, but it has a purpose: to inspire, to entertain, to interact and enjoy. And I guess that’s still something.

More pictures after the performance in school (I couldn't and perform and take a picture, so)

Smoke Lasers Video

Why I make

For a momemtn I feel more centered, more… real. That I toiuch and make and create and control. It is calming, to work with my hands instead of always being stuck inside my head. It is also the only way I can share. Makes me feel more grounded, more real. More focussed. Not quite as useless. It doesn;t require thought, thought is what you put in ahead of making. First you think, then you make. thinking is also nice: without thought the make process becomes uncorordinated, more spontious but without any input it won;t go anywhere, it becomes useless and kind of sad. Perhaps to get out of my head and participate in this world hopefully a table of content will magically appear

Mini Exhibition

Type type type

Die voor je wrapping.

• historisch: sushi: nadnken over wat wrapping allemaal kan zijn, vreemde materialen etc.

Kittie Craft

Making it useless, by using the same colours as the fabric, adding basically nothing to the item with a technique that is supposed to stand out and be seen. Metaphor for life: it's fucking useless, but its something. I guess. A mess? Idk if to make it neat and organized or a big mess of threads and stitches. We do try to order and find sense and meaning, but in the end its just stiches bitches. sorry couldn;t resist. In the end its just endless rows of stiches, unnoticable and unimportant. But I guess its something.

Maybe making a shirt out of strips of fabric and knitted fabric. Make it uncomfortable and itchy. gun b gr8.

Or drilling holes in wood and using embroidery techniques to pull it all together, again missing the point of the technique (to embellish, not as a structure). Fun times.

Or a puppet (skeleton + removable/super stretchy skin): make stopmotion of it ketting sewn onto a table or something, stretching its skin (may not look comfortable: must look as in agony cause that sounds painful man).SWAT. Man I love 21pilots <3. You are surrounding all my surrounding sounding....AND I'LL BE HOLDING ONTO YOOUUUU.

This is kinda like a not so secret or personal diary. Guessing nobody will read this until they have to. Like me doing this project #motivated

hskhjdfhkjfdskhjdfskhjsdfjkhdfsjkhdfsjkhsdfkhjsdfguuuuuuuuuguguuuuuuuuu I should not have been given this. I don't even know what they're singing anymore, but it's great. LYRICS THAT MEAN NOTHING WE WERE GIFTED WITH- THOUGHT I cleaned my room today. Finally able to close my closet door. Makes that corner look a lot more spacious and light. I don't like it.TO ALL THE GLOWING EYES. yes Tyty, glowing eyes sing along.

Soooooo.... knitting, amIright? 'I know some people who know people who are flying straaiight. Not this bird yo. Okay that might be enough.

Q9: human machines

one slightly longer video: Light

The black rectangle is a gif: click to play (maybe need to click twice)

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