birds of a feather


Whilst I haven’t been able to run workshops during the pandemic, I have been using the little time I have between homeschooling and work to experiment with pattern making and all things creative. It keeps me afloat!

One of the challenges of production in participatory design workshops is creating a visually coherent outcome. Bringing all the visual elements together in a cohesive way in co-designing a fabric involves many small decisions, iterations and plenty of visual intuition.

 

 

 

Sometimes the block print patterns we produce in the workshops sit well together and are enough. Sometimes, adding a framework (meta-narrative) to unite the patterns brings it all together.

Inspired by flocks of birds flying away for winter, I have been doing some drawings that I think would look great as a fabric and could act as ‘carriers’ for the block print patterns.

 

The birds are storks, hand drawn, outlined and painted with gouache. Here below they are form a framework for the block print patterns:

 

 

 

 

the fabric of loneliness – material test

goodmakes workshops are designed to be adaptable in order to work with diverse groups, from children to the elderly.

Here I am preparing for a workshop with the elderly in partnership with MHA Care and the local council, helping participants   to fight off loneliness by sharing their feelings and memories, coming together to create the ‘fabric of loneliness’ which will help them to form new friendships!

I tested new block-printing techniques using clay to be inclusive of elderly people with dexterity, hand coordination and strength challenges. Clay is a soft material so is easier to carve and make marks on with blunt tools.

 

The meant carving the clay at just the right time when the texture still soft but resistant.

When the clay dries, its porous surface remains absorbent so I was able to ink it up and print patterns as I would with linocut.