4.11.20
To rust or not to rust? That is the question. At the moment the steel I'm using is coated with a fine layer of something which leaves a black residue on my hands. This is to stop the metal rusting. If I clean it off, the steel will gradually rust, but then the rust itself will rub off on anything that comes into contact with it. Textile work is normally carefully guarded from dirt of any kind; it's put behind glass or there are signs saying 'Do not touch'. Touching textile materials leaves behind a trace of the natural oils in skin, or worse!
As is evident, I quite like to subvert the expectations of work with textiles, but do I want dirty velvet or rust on my felted knitting? It inevitably makes me think of Mary Douglas again and what she says about dirt. She says it's 'matter out of place.' I feel as if I should definitely investigate this further, and let the steel contaminate whatever I stitch or knit with dirt and rust. My use of the word 'contaminate' now makes me think of Julia Kristeva and what she's written about contamination anxiety. The day before the second Covid 19 lockdown in England seems to be an appropriate time to think about it too.
Although I am a control freak, maybe bizarrely, I also relish processes which are beyond my control, and allowing the rusting metal to mark the knitting or cloth is potentially one such process. In fact I was taking just yesterday to a friend who was cutting up an old rusty grill in the metal workshop. She was planning to do some rust dyeing. I think I need to find out more about this too. If I do decide to do this it will obviously influence my choice of colour for whatever I choose to make to complement or contrast with the steel. Maybe white? Or pale pink? And maybe I should make it so that it connects with the metal as much as possible.... and then leave it outside. It's interesting that even writing that last sentence makes my heart sink. Textiles do not fare well in the elements. they fade quickly, and if they're made with natural fibres, as mine often are, also begin to deteriorate.... and slump and sag... but as I write that sentence, I begin to be very interested in these changes: the idea of work changing over time, being subject to things beyond my control, documenting it, disintegration.... I had been thinking anyway of making a sculpture and submitting it to the elements. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity, just as we're locking down.... a body trapped in a cage? .... and documenting it could be interesting too... Webcam? Time lapse? It will be a slow process however I record it. I think initially at least it'll be a photo a day.
I'm now thinking that this would actually be a really good focus for me for this month of lockdown, and the quickest way I can make a soft sculpture is with canvas and stitch. The colour of this particular cloth would also be perfect as a canvas for the marks of the dirt and rust.
One of my rather eccentric tutors on my BA used to tell me to pee on my metal work, as apparently whatever chemicals are in urine create wonderful colours in the metal which are different for each person. Is this a step too far? Weeing on my sculptures in the garden? Perfectly abject, so maybe I'll do it (soggy, urine drenched soft sculptures? Hmmm).
I definitely like the idea of subjecting my pristine soft sculpture to the metal as it rusts, and the elements, and maybe the resident wildlife in my garden? We have badgers, foxes as well as many squirrels, birds, snails, slugs .... of course! I'd better get stitching!
To rust or not to rust? That is the question. At the moment the steel I'm using is coated with a fine layer of something which leaves a black residue on my hands. This is to stop the metal rusting. If I clean it off, the steel will gradually rust, but then the rust itself will rub off on anything that comes into contact with it. Textile work is normally carefully guarded from dirt of any kind; it's put behind glass or there are signs saying 'Do not touch'. Touching textile materials leaves behind a trace of the natural oils in skin, or worse!
As is evident, I quite like to subvert the expectations of work with textiles, but do I want dirty velvet or rust on my felted knitting? It inevitably makes me think of Mary Douglas again and what she says about dirt. She says it's 'matter out of place.' I feel as if I should definitely investigate this further, and let the steel contaminate whatever I stitch or knit with dirt and rust. My use of the word 'contaminate' now makes me think of Julia Kristeva and what she's written about contamination anxiety. The day before the second Covid 19 lockdown in England seems to be an appropriate time to think about it too.
Although I am a control freak, maybe bizarrely, I also relish processes which are beyond my control, and allowing the rusting metal to mark the knitting or cloth is potentially one such process. In fact I was taking just yesterday to a friend who was cutting up an old rusty grill in the metal workshop. She was planning to do some rust dyeing. I think I need to find out more about this too. If I do decide to do this it will obviously influence my choice of colour for whatever I choose to make to complement or contrast with the steel. Maybe white? Or pale pink? And maybe I should make it so that it connects with the metal as much as possible.... and then leave it outside. It's interesting that even writing that last sentence makes my heart sink. Textiles do not fare well in the elements. they fade quickly, and if they're made with natural fibres, as mine often are, also begin to deteriorate.... and slump and sag... but as I write that sentence, I begin to be very interested in these changes: the idea of work changing over time, being subject to things beyond my control, documenting it, disintegration.... I had been thinking anyway of making a sculpture and submitting it to the elements. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity, just as we're locking down.... a body trapped in a cage? .... and documenting it could be interesting too... Webcam? Time lapse? It will be a slow process however I record it. I think initially at least it'll be a photo a day.
I'm now thinking that this would actually be a really good focus for me for this month of lockdown, and the quickest way I can make a soft sculpture is with canvas and stitch. The colour of this particular cloth would also be perfect as a canvas for the marks of the dirt and rust.
One of my rather eccentric tutors on my BA used to tell me to pee on my metal work, as apparently whatever chemicals are in urine create wonderful colours in the metal which are different for each person. Is this a step too far? Weeing on my sculptures in the garden? Perfectly abject, so maybe I'll do it (soggy, urine drenched soft sculptures? Hmmm).
I definitely like the idea of subjecting my pristine soft sculpture to the metal as it rusts, and the elements, and maybe the resident wildlife in my garden? We have badgers, foxes as well as many squirrels, birds, snails, slugs .... of course! I'd better get stitching!
