Coloured paper examples. Grey and Paper was painted with water colour and overlaid with pastels and oil pastels to create textures. These papers were then torn and cut to create strips for weaving.
Woven patterns were created to simulate the shapes of the rock wall and to simplify the original shapes in the photographs. These were used as inspiration for the final resolved samples.
Three different methods of colour mixing have been used here.
1. Different threads were used in the needle at the same time using tent stitch. Colours grade from the yellows/ochres to the dark browns and blues of the rock wall. Some colour from the different areas was also intermingled with previous areas to help achieve the transition.
2. Broad Cross Stitch was used to move from one colour to a second darker colour. The stitch was executed in the lighter grey colour, then with the plum colour underneath, the grey colour underneath until final;y moving to completed plum colour.
3. Rice stitch was used in different weight threads and colours to create a unifying effect over blocks of different colours. This is very effective for highlighting specific areas and for tying in colours.
The rubbing interpretation was stitched in brown/grey neutral threads on 14 pt canvas which had the background painted in cream/grey. I placed the canvas over the rubbing and marked the different textured areas with dark pencil. This was then stitched using a range of different stitches to depict the different textures and surfaces.
Threads used were: silk, cotton, crewel wool and perle cotton. Stitches used to illustrate textured areas were: cross, Smyrna, Portugese knot, double leviathan, Chinese knot, Ray stitch, oblong cross and vault stitch. The background was stitched in lighter colours using satin, diagonal and cretan stitches.
Some green colour crept in as I was sewing in poor light one evening and did not realise the colour difference. This illustrates however that this sample is best executed in one colour to see the differences in texture more easily.
This sample uses one stitch in thedifferent threads of one colour to illustrate the different effects that can be achieved. The canvas is 10 pt and the surface has been painted in dark brown to provide a pleasing contrast to the orange coloured threads. The stitch used is Cretan Stitch in a range of threads from top left to right: metallic machine, cotton flower, cotton perle 8, crewel wool, knitting ribbon, bobbly yarn, cotton perle (5), stranded silk, silk ribbon, tapestry wool, raffia, string or twine, leather cording, fabris strips, fancy yarn and crewel wook (double thickness).
Some interesting textures can be achieved using different weights and types of thread. Some yarns such as raffia, string, leather cord and bobbly wool are perhaps better if they are couched onto the surface as these were quite hard to pull through the canvas. Fabric strips produce an interesting effect when the edges fray and would be good for landscape or natural subjects.
