My Textiles

Here is a batik i made of a giraffe, before and after the wax had been ironed out.I thought that the batik process would lend itself well to the giraffes coat patternation.  

I then cut wadding to the required shape to be sandwiched between the batiks giving it shape and volume. Having sewn the pieces together, i proceeded to embroider details in to it but i didnt manage to get it finished.

This is a close up of structural and textural details on my giraffe sculpture as seen below. It was constructed using a stiff wire, looking at the animals anatomy and skeleton as a guide. I then stuffed it with wadding and used string to sew the wadding together and to the metal frame. Although i had initially intended to cover it with batik, i decided not to because i liked its simplistic and honest form and construction and thought it would be a shame to cover it up. 

Above is another piece i made during the textile block. It is constructed out of chicken wire and papier mache fundementally. I used news paper and finally a layer of white tissue paper to try to suggest scales and colouration. To create the details such as the eye, fins and tail i used a variety of materials including: liquid wax, cup-cake holders, plastic, thread, copper wire,ribbon and wool. I think this is a very do-able project for school children of any age. 

During the textile block i also experimented with weaving using both a cardboard loom and chicken wire.