Three textile sculptors

1.  Joan Truckenbrod
Large-scale installations, often using video projection onto the sculptures. Handmade fibre chrysalis.

Lightning in my Blood

Originally drawn to her work by its form and size. Have a yearning to do something big scale and textile for my final piece. Want to get back to using my hands again. The chrysalis shape hangs by a thread, something I've been exploring with my small pieces, and its sheen captures the light. I also imagine it moving in the air currents (see my film footage - felt piece, posted 19:11, 10th March)

I find it interesting that she uses film projection too - how could my sculpture interact with my film? I want to use the footage of "Windy Day" - see footage, post "Visit to Penbryn, 7th-9th May)

2.  Gyongy Laky

Drawing with the Desert Wind

Laky's other stuff isn't really relevant to my work but this particular photo caught my eye. How beautiful that roll of cellophane is; how the landscape interacts with it; the spontaneity of movement. Sort of in between my wind kite sculptures and my next piece which will be an inside installation. The natural shapes and forms, glints of light, places where the material over-laps - all this I want to capture.

3.  Caroline Broadhead

Light, transparency, ghostliness...

Still Light

Suspend

Double Dresses

What I love about Broadhead's work is her use of shadows. Have been lying in bed, looking up at my first attempt at hanging sculpture, which is all over my bedroom ceiling. When I cast my wall-light onto it, the shadows are wonderful, and when I blow the organza they begin to dance...

In Broadhead's gallery, a ventilation outlet causes her net dresses to "sway, dance, and become quite animated". I love how she sometimes cheats and draws the shadow on in smudged pencil, as in Double Dresses - a sort of playful trompe d'oeil.

There's a fragility to her work, which I am drawn to. Still Light is extraordinary: the patch of sunlight from the windows is actually made up of hundreds of threads of elastic! The patch on the carpet, talc. Beautiful, delicate, witty. Having spent much of Friday hanging lengths of satin and crystal organza from threads on a rack, I appreciate the sheer effort, patience and time taken to create this effect. Ditto for Suspend.

Aching shoulders today!

And now my work so far...

This is strips of chiffon hung from cotton from my bedroom ceiling. I was trying to recreate the feeling of dynamic energy from my "Vortex" painting - lots of spirals, with an intrinsic strength. However, the chiffon was too floppy and limp. Although it caught the light and made natural shapes, it is not powerful enough.
It reminded me of my video footage of wind sculpture, tweaked with some sort of outline special effect (above). Kind of amoeba-like.

On Friday I spent the day in Textiles (suuuch a nice change from editing suite!!!) and experimented with different fabrics. Above is cotton organdie, which holds its shape well with just a little wire thread sown in, and makes pleasing lines. However Ellie informed me it's £9.50 a metre! So no go.

This is satin acetate. Nice sheen, goes stiff in the heat press, but no transparency. However, bold shapes would be good for large-scale structure...

Crystal organza. Twinkly bits catch the light, cheap to buy and transparent. However, heat doesn't stiffen and needs a fair bit of stitching with wire to make firm enough to keep its shape whilst hanging. Used wooden drier to hang all three samples, getting in everybody's way!

Hanging around in Textiles

Something that made me smile...

http://sewshootme.blogspot.com/

Found this blog when doing research. See her project time-table - "My Unprofessional Project". Love it!!