Lab Stories
Freddie Robins
 


The initial presentation by Frances Geesin on her use of new materials and fibres was very thought provoking. It forced me to question again my continuing use of wool. I was particularly inspired by the idea of using fibres which could be hardened in my sculptural pieces to enable them to be self supporting. During the afternoon I made paper and clay models to explore how I might do this. I also made a paper model to investigate how I might turn my figurative forms into more abstract ones.

The next day’s demonstration by the Lace Knitters brought to mind an idea that I have wanted to explore for some time - a lace pattern which is constructed from images of moths and moth holes. I spoke to one of the knitters, Kathleen Anderson, about this and she was interested in trying it out if I could write her a basic pattern. This is something for me to investigate in the future. The idea of lace stayed with me and during my time at Shetland College, one of the structures that I explored was lace and open-work.

To challenge my preoccupation with wool I concentrated on the use of manmade fibres and, because I usually work with time consuming knitted structures, I explored other more time efficient ways of getting an open structure. These included knotting, stitching, bonding and melting and involved the use of unlikely materials such as tin and household gloss paint. I also experimented with the use of a soldering iron, something that I have never worked with before. I was very well supported during my technical explorations by Alistair, one of the technicians.

Fair Isle knitting, seen at the museum, inspired the use of the Heat Transfer Press to print the image of Fair Isle knitting on to knitted manmade fibres. This was another piece of equipment that I had not had access to before and the results were stunning. This is something that I will definitely pursue in my own practice. I am very excited by the possibilities that it offers for putting photographic imagery on to knitting if I continue to explore manmade fibres.

The idea of producing abstract forms, which challenge my current use of figurative forms, was persued further by the exploration of yarn. I was thinking about the yarn as an end in itself, as opposed to being a material to be used within another textile process. I was initially inspired by waste yarn windings that I found at Shetland College. I brought together this everyday material with house hold gloss paint to make sculptural objects which questioned the social, economic and aesthetic value of wool. Ideally I would have used high cost yarns such as cashmere in conjunction with the paint but this was not viable within the college. Wool is fundamental to the Shetland economy and is internationally associated with the Islands.

All these ideas will feed directly in to my studio practice and I will be reaping the rewards for many years to come.

Allies Day info 1

What?
Sculptures – an exploration of yarn as an end in itself as opposed to a material to be used within a textile process

Why?
To produce brave, risky work which challenges my current use of figurative forms. To question the value of materials this project brings everyday materials (wool and domestic house paint) together, materials that have gender associations.

How does this project revalue and/or extend the traditional skills of Shetland?
I was initially inspired by waste yarn windings found at Shetland College. The sculptural forms question the social, economic and aesthetic value of wool. Wool is fundamental to the Shetland economy and is internationally associated with the islands.

Allies Day info 2

What?
Fabric samples – an exploration of Fair Isle and lace using manmade fibres and experimental techniques.

Why?
To challenge my personal use of natural fibres and order. To reinvent Fair Isle and lace knitting – techniques that I have always loved.

How does this project revalue and/or extend the traditional skills of Shetland?
It uses the traditional knitting skills as initial inspiration and reinvents the forms that they currently take. The techniques employed are very simple and cost effective. They could easily be developed into products such as the limited edition neckpieces.

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