Textile Web Epidemic in London!
Whilst I’m floating around Emily’s ‘Owl Knit You‘ website I thought I’d share her fluffy bits with you – hopefully she won’t mind.
Emily is from Pittsburg and finished studying a MA last year in London – feeling somewhat lost in London (as most people do – it is the place to congregate when you have no roots… just like me!) she decided to embark on a creative project that would help her feel more connected… and how connected can webs be?
Webs can either be comforting (as long as you are not terrified of spiders… but let’s assume the webs are spider free and were created with warm fuzzy feelings). They can make us feel cocooned in a safe place or they can feel like traps that are impossible to get get out of leaving you with a sense of fatigue from all that fighting for freedom – or hopelessness that you are on your own with no connections to anyone or anywhere!
Emily started off with small webs that she yarn bombed around London… (all photos by Emily Wilson @Owl Knit You unless otherwise stated).
In Emily’s words:
“Graffiti is rather like marking your territory. It’s leaving a mark for others to find and identify with or against. It’s a bit like a conversation between the maker and finder. For me, it’s identifying myself and claiming my existence the foreign city in which I find myself living. It’s about becoming a Londoner. “
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London (photo by me!)
she even web bombed a police horse (I would never have the guts to even ask!!)
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
She then moved onto installations of larger web structures
Owl Knit You - Web Installation
Owl Knit You - Web Installation
Her next plan of action is to create a social workshop at the IndieTracks festival.
you can read the interview for IndieTracks here: http://indietracksblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/workshop-interview-3-owl-knit-you.html as well as hear more on her blog and Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Owl-Knit-You/148062365243204
you can keep up with Emily at her website http://owlknityou.com http://hellopixy.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/owlknityouxo
http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/owlknityou
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellopixy/
Related Reading:
Artist Book Structures, (elective)
For my BA course 2nd year elective I chose Artist Book Structures as I love books in their entirety – binding, covers, images, text.
Try searching for such keywords as: Artist Books, Book Binding, Creative Books, (add more)
Artists Book Structure
(Elective for 2nd Year)
Elements of Architecture
Rationale:
Buildings contain people… these people have thoughts and dreams within them.
Books are also containers of people’s thoughts and dreams.
People’s tongues are devices of communication, they can tell others about their Ideas, dreams and desires,
Other people read these dreams and learn to create things… like buildings!
The Book of Tongues:
The structure I decided to make is sculptural in its form – a modernist design similar to the lines of the Guggenheim Museum in Spain and the post modernist Lloyds Building in London.
The ‘Book of Tongues’ features the elements of what a tongue can do (Obviously more could be added but this particular design limits this to 6).
The protective case is a simplistic shape that protects and closes on the tongues, the viewer will have no clue of what’s in side, when the lid is lifted the viewer is surprised by what they find. On top of the recess in the case a small booklet sits (not pictured) this has the rational written on the same type of paper as the tongues and has a textured cover with holes cut through – will add images of this once I have received back the object from grading).
Which is six tongues connected to arc shaped holders – The Book of Tongues used similar techniques to Pop-up, but they are static rather than open and shut with the closing of the box.
It is possible to make these holders swivel round like a spiral staircase and the Tongues could fan out rather than lift, another version test was created using wire embedded into the tongues so that they could be lifted and twisted… with the hope to enable ‘tongue twisted’ moments!
tags for portfolio:
Handmade tags for project folder
(examples of other structures made in class)
Related Reading:
Two Photographs that embody Wabi Sabi
Task 2:
Produce 2 photographs which embody the ideas of Wabi Sabi.
- A pinhole image
- An image which can be taken with any camera, but represents the ideas portrayed in this philosophy
Pinhole Photography: I’ve made two pinhole cameras using card (and lots of black tape!), several energy drink can pinholes and a pinhole ‘lens’ cover for my Holga (which never worked – the hole needs to be closer to the film but it was worth a try!)
home made pin-hole cameras & Holga mod (which didn’t work lol)
2 home made pinhole cameras & 1 Holga mod
I was very doubtful about whether it would work as I’d seen several sights giving information on how to mod the Holga but I don’t want to remove my lens and break my camera as I can’t really afford to buy another – might give it another go when I can afford to. Think I’ll try making the matchbook pinhole camera that uses film. you’ll find instructions at matchboxpinhole.com
Pinhole Camera made from Cat Food Pouch box – Elephant & Castle
The first try with the smaller pinhole camera – Over exposed!
1st go – over exposed so there isn’t much detail (approx exposure 55 seconds) This was taken with the rectangle pinhole camera. I also added a photographic sheet of paper to the side of the box and got this following image.
paper placed on the side of a Pinhole Camera – Elephant & Castle
side exposure from box pinhole camera
paper placed on the side of a Pinhole Camera – Elephant & Castle
I had one piece of photographic paper at the back and one at the side (to see what would happen! The paper at the back either came out blank (?) or was lost in the confusion of the darkroom (lots of other students adding theirs at the same time)
Pin hole camera – pringle tube – Faraday Memorial Cube in Elephant & Castle
Faradays Memorial taken with a energy drink can Pinhole Camera – which is the easiest as you create the pinhole with a size 16 sewing needle which you poke straight into the can itself – you don’t need to make a separate lens plate as you do with the cardboard boxes (the card has rough edges because of the nature of card/paper fibers and unless you want a fiborous edging to your photograph it is best to poke the hole in a small piece of aluminum (ie: coke can metal) and then stick this to your card pinhole camera).
This image needed a longer exposure (I took this approx 25 seconds but I think I counted rather too quickly – didn’t include any bananas!)
Wabi Sabi – An acceptance of transience.
Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.
Wabi Sabi is a term used for objects that are imperfect or shows signs of decay (signs of life?!), from a dried up leaf, rust on a car or a crumbling building; being able to see beauty in something that is old or worn; accepting the natural cycles of growth, decay, and death
Today’s society has a preference for shiny brand new things and anything with a little ‘character’. For example, the signs of age on the human face belies a person’s characteristics, are seen as old and should be ignored or dismissed in some way. (Photographic retouchers are often told to remove wrinkles and lines from portraits but, I always leave some behind or lighten them just a little, otherwise I find that the person becomes unrecognisable).
Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others
Battersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station with moody sky!
This photograph was taken using a modern entry level Digital SLR (Pentax K100D) and features the Battersea Power Station. (Something new and something old)
The 75 year old Battersea Power Station is the biggest brick building in Europe (some say the world), (Battersea Powerstation.com).
This building is apparently loved by all despite it’s early days of the public saying it would be eyesore and promises of it being re-built has yet to materialise so it is slowly crumbling – The image below shows scaffolding on the chimneys but it’s seems that only basic repairs are done. (Not another Brighton West Pier situation!). Let’s hope that Rafael Viñoly‘s plans will be completed unlike the other numerous failed redevelopment plans (one of which removed the roof of Battersea leaving the building open to the elements).
Battersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station from another angle
You can find some fantastic photographs taken from inside the building (and from the chimneys here: 28dayslater.co.uk
Wabi-Sabi as a user experience – borrowed from Without Thought blog *NOTE: graph now taken down as didn’t credit the work of the writer Leonard Koren – which meant I had linked it wrong as well! oops – you will Mr Koren’s book on Amazon*.
“Text is from Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren.”
Books for Artist, Poets, and even interior design covering Wabi Sabi can be found on Amazon
An example of Wabi Sabi Kitchens can be found here on the Apartment Therapy website
References & sources: Okakura, K. THE BOOK OF TEA (1906), [Internet], available from <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/769/769-h/769-h.htm> [accessed March 2010] Battersea Power Station, [internet], available from <http://www.battersea-powerstation.com> [accessed March 2010]Without Thought blog, [Internet], available from <http://withoutthought.wordpress.com/>Wabi-sabi as a user experience design approach for Web 2.0 graph - Text is from Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren [accessed March 2010] Wabi Sabi [Internet], available from <http://www.wabisabi.org.uk/googled7ac3efe0c1c8055.html> [accessed March 2010]
