Assignment 1 - Stage 3: Portfolio, Producing Samples

Cross Stitch:

Very common, delightfully repetitive and hence calming, but requires great deal of concentration.

For my first sample I am using my mums design, but a scaled down version with muted pastel colours common in Ottoman Embroidery.

Cross Stitch - S Payne

Second sample I scale it up and stich on a plastic grid I found in a fabric/craft shop. I am very happy with this one. It is almost transparent with back of the work showing. I like the back too.

Scaled up Cross stitch - S Payne

Scaled up Cross stitch Back View - S Payne

My third sample is a stitch collage using pieces from one of mum’s work. I am rather pleased with it. It was an attempt to find ways to display her work.

Cross Stitch Collage - S Payne

Then I wonder a little bit. I started to look at contemporary use of cross stich. I found the work of Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė, a Lithuanian textile artist www.severija.lt . She is amazing! Beautiful, unusual effective pieces. The power of her work comes from the material choices and the contrast it produces. Who would stich a rusty bucket, oh what a delight!

I also liked Phil Davison and her re-work of Banksy. http://www.urban-cross-stitch.com

These are great pieces to show how embroidery can be so cool!

After this I was inspired to do a pop art cross stitch. I though pop art style can be transferred easily into cross stich. So I decided to have a go. I cannot say that the result is great but the process was fun.

Pop Art Cross Stich - S Payne

Gold Work:

Now I am venturing into the unknown!

I got a book “Goldwork” by Helen McCook and plenty of you tube videos. Below video describes the “Sim Sırma” technique. It is a good video describing the traditional practice. It is similar to usual gold work with subtle differences to the materials. For example they use cardboard to raise the embroidery. It gives very crisp edges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVXy4RDQkec

 So in my first ever attempt to gold work, I will use a Circassian design and try this technique:

Goldwork or "Sim Sırma" - S Payne

There are several mistakes I made with this first sample.

First mistake is ignoring the advice! Gold work is very tricky. Because valuable metal treads are very expensive, the thread sits on the surface, and secured by a second tread. The use of bee wax to secure the thread is suggeted. I ignored it! What a mistake. Bee wax does two thinks: first it secures the gold tread, otherwise it moves a lot, bounces back and you would end up with uneven finish. Second it strengthens the thread. The friction with metal thread weakens it and causes it to break often and causes great frustration. And third stitching through cardboard is an absolute nightmare!

I am already feeling out of my depth, but I am committed to it, so I am going to do another sample. This time I am using several different gold materials, raising the structure with felt and using an Ottoman design. I ordered bee wax along with a embroidery hoop holder (Elbesee Table Clamp) which will enable me to use both hands. Good investment.

Gold Work - S Payne

I am better pleased with this result. Gold work is very a focused and slow work which requires precision and leaves very little room for error. It is very difficult to come back from mistakes. As described in McCook’s book, you need to invest in its design, and its construction properly before you start embroidering. The transfer of design to fabric can be tricky too. All stages take time and attention. But the result is very effective.

Because it is such a skilled and slow process, it is expensive too. Historically and still today it is only used in ceremonial pieces and hot couture for the wealthy.

But Gold work is slow work and I am falling behind! I need to start thinking of my final design. I regret that I will not be able to produce more samples.

Resources:

Indie Craft, by Jo Waterhouse, Laurence King Publications, 2010

http://www.urban-cross-stitch.com

www.severija.lt

Goldwork, Helen McCook, Royal School of Needlework, 2014

http://www.handembroidery.com/embroidery/goldwork/

Assignment 1 - Stage 2: Developing Research Material

Mother’s Dowry Booth:

My mother is of Circassian origin, born in Turkey. In her 70s now but she is an excellent craftsperson, She loves, embroidery, crochet, lace making, knitting and sewing. Her work is a great resource for the cultural textiles I am researching.

When I visited her summer 2015, she kindly passed on to me some of her work she made in her 20s and 30s. For my final piece I will take inspiration from these pieces and see where it takes me. It is rather emotional.

Yazma - Printed muslin headscarf decorated with needlework 

Lace decorating a ben linen

Embroidered Large Cushion

Cross Stitch Embroidered Bed Cover

I love my mum’s embroidery the best. She usually works with cross stich and satin stich. Below is a pillow cover she made in 1950s. I love the back of the piece as much as the front. I love loose threads hanging and the feel of a little tear and wear. I know it is all nostalgic! But I think from ‘mark making’ point of view, they are interesting. So I photocopy them, blow up, redraw, and see if I can use these marks in a new way.

Cross Stitch

Working from Mums Vintage textiles

Working from Mum's Vintage Laces

I have been struggling with this project because I am moving house at the same time. Not concentrating enough. So I make a snip decision to simplify and focus on two techniques: Cross stich: tribute to mum, and gold work: tribute to our heritage.

Assignment 1 Research Part 2:

Stage 1 Research

Part 2: Circassian Textiles:

My research into Circassian textiles is not as wide as the Ottoman Textiles. It is very difficult to find variety of visual and factual information. I guess because Circassians are people living in diaspora; any material into their culture is focused on preservation. By that I mean reciting the practices, rather then in-depth analysis of their meaning and the context. Nevertheless their culture crosses roads with Ottomans, Russians, Armenians and Georgians who share the same geography.

Circassian Cultre and Folklore book by A. Jaimoukha is informative but very limited for textiles. I found a Turkish book published by Circassian Culture Association in Ankara, called Circassian Designs. It is full of traditional design patterns, but not much information about what they mean.

My research focuses on the clothing, there seems to be more visual resource for them.

I was more moved by the historical samples I could find. The contemporary re-productions look flat and don’t have the feel that comes from material and functional design of these outfits.

Circassian Male outfit late 18th century

The male outfit has parallel lines on the chest. Apparently men used to carry their ammunitions in the little rectangular pockets sewn on their chest, so that they can reload and shoot their rifle whist riding their horse. This design is very common in Russia. I cannot be sure but suspect that this must be the beginning of military style, as we know it today. Circassian women’s outfit mimics the male version in design.

Circassian Girl 18th century

Sketches and notes . S Payne

Modern re-production example of Circassian costume

• Looking at the Circassian women outfit and reproductions I observe several points:
• Long kaftans/overcoats
• Thin waist, the silver belt is a must have accessory
• Long headpiece
• Decorated, embroidered chest design mimicking men’s outfits
• Long sleeves covering hands, apparently signifies royalty.

These elements define an elongated body figure. Being tall must be important.

These costumes are made with velvet and woven silk in rich deep colors to emprise the goldwork used to decorate them. The motifs are derived from nature but simplified in geometric forms. So they depart from representation of nature. They are embroidered along borders and edges to give stronger definition to the shape of the garment rather then filling the whole surface. Gold work “Sim Sırma” is the leading actress here.

Traditional Circassian Designs - S Payne

Traditional Circassian Designs - S Payne

These patterns made me think they could be great in block printing, or screen-printing. In these designs, both negative and positive spaces are well balanced.

Resources:

“Circassian culture and Folklore”, A Jaimoukha, , Beent and Bloom, 2010’  but it is not very rich in textiles examples.

“Çerkes Motifleri, Kuzey Kafkasya Kültür Derneği Yayınları, 1977” (Circasssian Design Books by Circassian Culture Association)

http://circasvoices.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/gold-embroidery-of-circassians.html

Assignment 1 Research Part 1:

Stage 1 Research

Part 1: Turkish/Ottoman Textiles

There is a wealth of resources about Ottoman/Turkish Textiles. Probably most people associate Turkish textiles with Kilims and rugs, woven textiles however embroidery, lace making and crochet are a big part in daily textile practice. One can see in a regular Turkish household a lot of embroidered and crocheted pieces used daily. Nowadays most of these pieces are reproduced traditional designs, mainly embroidered by machine, however, the love of handmade textiles is still strong and many women practice these techniques regularly as a part of homemaking.

To gain a historic perspective I visited Ethnographic Museum in Ankara Turkey in August 2015. It is a small museum but contains a wide variety of craftsmanship examples from 13^th to 19^th century. There are metalwork, pottery, woodcarving, glasswork, calligraphy, weaving, embroidery, textiles, dressmaking, and examples. Textiles displays have been categorized into ceremonial and daily life displays. Weddings, births, eating, bathing, shaving, coffee making, ....

There are exquisite kaftans/overcoats embroidered with silver and gold tread on velvet and woven silk. Linen, and cotton are used a lot too. Rich and deep colors (blues, purples, burgundy,) used for ceremonial pieces. But the main event is the gold work! It is called “Sim Sırma” in Turkish. The complexity, beauty and wealth of the embroidery on the cloth reflect the importance of the event it is made for!  There are quite a lot of accessories as well: belts, headscarves, hairclips, combs, and jewelry, all worked in intricate detail. The most interesting part was the men’s cloths. The outfits and the accessories are as decorated, colorful and embellished as women’s. They are far from boring grey suit and tie combination.

Ottoman Household 17th 18th Century - Ethnography Museum, Ankara

 Woman's Coat17th 18th Century - Ethnography Museum, Ankara

Men's Outfit 17th Century Ethnography Museum, Ankara 

The carpets, kilims and rugs are woven with symbols representing natural in beautiful geometric forms. I was quite taken by the metal work and glasswork as well. A lot of metal is used for tableware along ceramic and wood pieces; all enchantingly decorated. I specifically liked the 13^th century Selçuk ceramic tiles, their deep blue well-known turquoise color; and the not so much known woodcarvings. Woodcarvings are interlacing geometric patterns filling up the space. Such craftsmanship!

Woodcarved door 15th Century, Ethnography Museum, Ankara 

13th Century Selçuk Ceramic Tiles, Ethnography Museum, Ankara

Like many other cultures of the past, Ottomans filled their everyday life space with objects that were rich in color, form, design and detail. They were great craftsmen. They ruled a vast geography, took influence and cultivated skills from these places. There is meaning, texture, warmth, and comfort in these objects as much as functionality. They decorated everything, from socks to spoons, from handkerchiefs to bath towels, from ceilings to carpets. I couldn’t help think, when did we all get so boring! (The slow death of craftsmanship replaced by mass production may be the reason.)
                           

The photographs I took does not do the objects much justice.  The museum website have better visual content: http://www.etnografyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/

In the book Turkish Embroidery, Pauline Johnstone describes that men in workshops produced most of the commercial embroidery in Ottoman times. This was a little surprising fact, as I definitely would think that embriodery was entirely a women’s domain. However, Muslim women were not allowed to take on paid work at those times and men did most of the gold work. Gold work appeared in military, religious and ceremonial outfits and panels. 

Joyse Ross in her book Ottoman embroidery describes that early Ottoman embroidery used strong basic colors, but in 18^th century they became muted and more pastel. Embroiders used, darning, chain, herringbone, crouching stiches along with “atma” and “turkish triangular” stitches. 
Looking at all the visual resources I gathered, I realized that the embroidery designs are quite different from the western world. More abstract forms of expression are employed. The use of human and animal form is restricted in Islamic world in Ottoman times, therefore the artists and craftsmen turned into nature to decorate their work. However these nature forms are arranged in a geometric framework. Flowers are soft but they are arranged in interlacing hexagons, used around borders to define the form of the object, etc. It was believed then that the abstraction of this kind, repetition and geometric form was a depiction of the divine. The nature was thought to be the reflection of divine.  The Ottoman craftsmen used rose, carnation and tulip (which became the symbol empire itself representing upper-class and wealth) in their abundance.

Resources:

“Turkish Embroidery” by Pauline Johnstone, V&A Publications, 1985. This book gives a brief history of the pieces in V&A collections.

‘Beginner’s Guide to Ottoman Embroidery’, Joyce I Ross, Search Press, 2005.

A Museum Ethnographic in Ankara, Museum Catalogue, Published by Directorate of Culture and Tourism, 2010.

The Turks: A Journey of a thousand years 600-1600” Exhibition Catalogue Royal Academy of Arts, 2005