Messy Book

Messy book was a summer project undertaken as part of my Textile Practice course at Bradford School of Art.  We were asked to choose an old book which we altered through applying a range of techniques as a 'free approach to experimentation and playful art making'.

I was initially excited by the prospect; the freedom without the limitations of assessment. I had some success such as painting adjoining pages and then cutting through and folding different layers to reveal colourful patterns.  

However, I found it hard to sustain interest. I quite liked some of the effects I obtained, for example more cutting and sticking:

and using a combination of wool strands and images cut out from magazines.

Home felted wool sewn in as a patch

My analysis of why I found it hard to sustain interest and really get engaged is that although I had a range of techniques to try, I didn’t have a sense of what my mark-making was trying to achieve. This is a key thing I've learnt from the FdA - a focus or stimulus to direct my work is important. I’ve discovered it helps give structure to my investigations.  So I’ve learned that it would’ve been better to create a purpose for the messy experiments, for example through identifying a theme or objects for observation and interpretation.

Here are some other examples of techniques I tried but without much satisfaction:

For example, below is made from pages torn out, crumpled and pressed on to paint, then flattened out, sliced up and woven.  In retrospect it might have been more interesting if I had persevered with stronger colour.  I don't think I like the effect of so much text. 

Oil pastels building on the the layout of the page:

Lastly, experiments with blowing paint across the page.

Overall, I probably wasted the opportunity of the Messy Book project but it has definitely taught me something about how I can gain inspiration for my work.