Refining My Ideas

I decided that I would like to explore a more textiles-based route, and looked into creating a garment inspired by the decayed appearance of some of the artist’s work that I looked into. For example, I looked into artists such as Karen Margolis (http://karenmargolisart.com/), who’s burnt, layered work inspired me greatly, as I discovered that burning into fabric such as organza can have a brilliant effect in adding a ‘broken-down’ appearance to my work.

The most influential artist that I looked at, however, was Judith Hammond (https://judithhammond14.wordpress.com/). Judith uses plastic bags as her fabric, melting and stitching into the plastic to create some beautiful garments. I used this concept in my own work, and began to iron pieces of plastic carrier bags together between two sheets of grease-proof paper. Once layered up enough, this created a sturdy material that could be stitched into. I used mostly Sainsbury’s carrier bags, and their orange colour gave my work a coral-like effect. 

My experimentation with plastic carrier bags eventually led me to create a bralette. I used clear PVC for my base, and melted Sainsbury’s bags to create the cups, and to add decoration to the rest of the piece. I stitched into the bags in small areas, which I then cut out and hand stitched in place on the bralette, using beads to decorate them. I also added a combination of gold and silver foil to add some shine to the work. To make the edges of the garment more interesting, I used a burning tool to melt away at the PVC, inspired by the way Karen Margolis has burned areas in her own work. I also burned away some of the areas of the plastic bag parts, adding to the decayed look. I feel like the garment looks like something from under the sea, as it reminds me greatly of coral.

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