Chapter 9 resolved sample

The research sheets which inspired the resolved sample are both the fairground and the computer spirals.  They brought to mind the song - 'Windmills of your mind'

'Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel ..........running rings around the moon.........like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.'

I remember as a child at the fair feeling I was running rings around the moon on the chair-o-planes.  The computer spirals as a sheet seem to exemplify the ever-shifting mind, computing image after image.

I wanted the sample to have a lot of texture, depth and movement with lots of hidden areas as the brain is so convoluted and the mind can home in tiny bits in an enormous whole.

I tried out a few ideas on the working sheet - little squares of applied cloth to get lots of folds was a good idea but failed to work properly. I decided to apply a larger piece and stitch it in squares to get the crushed look.  This worked well and I used some of my dip-dyed muslin to apply to the base.

Then I machined in spirals in the corners of the squares and a 'moon' shape' as the focal point. I made machined cords to match the graduation of tone and colourand hand-applied them - I tried out machining to the base but didn't like it.  I cut out some of the applied material and frayed it so I could add some half hidden and exposed spirals and a 'windmill'. I used some scattered beads to add hollows to the raised material areas.

It is a very textured piece, which doesn't show so well in the final photograph.

I finished with a handmade cord in a silky yarn and laced the piece over a wooden frame over padding to keep it looking soft.  The final touch was a pair of tassels using the colours of the piece.