Tatting

This semester I explored a new technique called Tatting. It's my new obsession!
I presented it together with a group to show the connections with twining knotting and netting.

Bladerbankje

In the month of June this year the students of our department were living in empty houses in Schiedam. This gave us the opportunity to use these spaces as a working space or deal with social Art. Starting with the theme "feeling home" I experimented with textiles in many layers.
Fascinated by the difference in use of textiles in different cultures I started by "sculpting" it in a way of usage in living space.

Stating that people mostly start feeling at home when they can have an influence within the interior, whether it is adding something that's theirs or simply moving a piece of furniture I wanted to create a work that includes both these aspects. In front of the house in Schiedam that was mine for a month, there was a small playground and a park bench. This was a perfect piece of furniture to turn into an even more social space by adding multiple pieces of textile. Creating the ability for people to choose their own taste in fabric for the bench, and giving the opportunity for them to add their own piece of textile.

                                              

Comfort Skirt

 An assignment from the Textile Department GRA to make a comfort skirt. My Design arose wanting to be able to wear a skirt that can transform into several pillows to support and give comfort while sitting in a chair. It can be used in different positions and give you comfort by unbuttoning  the blanket that is attached to the backside of the skirt.

Follow up on Textile Sounds

On the first of April I performed at Club up in a improvised collaboration with Wisefire, a friend of mine Ysbrand. Working out my Textile sounds in an analog way and having it live recorded and looped with a laptop creating a mixture og anolog and digital sounds al created by the vacuum and textile. Unfurtunaly the recording was deleted but to give you an image:

Dull

A performance on the Dam as a living statue.
I wanted to see what would be the reactions of passerby's when I'm just standing still like a living statue but without the costume or make-up. I got some very nice responds, people first wanted to give me money but I had nothing lying in front of me to put the money in. So they just started to take pictures. Just standing on a little stool absolutely still as myself I turned into a tourist attraction.

Playing arround

Magic Textiles, just some little expiriments having funn with yarns

27 November Gallerie De Brakke Grond

Uncut
On the 27'th of November'09 we've turned De Brakke Grond into A fictional movie set.
I took part in this project by making it possible for people to draw with yarn on the floor.

Textile Sounds

Textile Sounds is a project aimed at getting various sounds out of different fabrics, it’s an art piece that combines two of my greatest passions in life, music and textile art. therefore its no surprise that I wanted to bring these two together.

The problem I faced was how to create these sounds. During one of my earlier projects  my sleeve accidentally got caught in the mouth of a vacuumcleaner, it produced a very interesting trumpet like sound. That was my “eureka” moment, where i knew that I wanted to investigate this phenomena further.
Once I knew that suction could produce sounds out of cloth, I was curious if various pieces of textile material would produce  distinct timbres.
 I knew beforehand  that the recordings would have interference from the sound of the vacuumcleaner itself. I played with the idea of putting the vacuum cleaner in a box, but finally decided against that, as i found a vacuumcleaner with a long hose, therefore minimalizing the sound of the vacuum engine. What factors where in play here? Was the thickness of a piece of fabric a major contributor, or would the material itself play more of a role?
Because I wanted a clean recording I opted to research the first two variables, as the power of suction would only diminish the generation of sound. Once I had the variables I saw the possibility of composing a piece of music with this“instrument”.
I re-recorded the sounds with the techniques ive learned, and got good source material, then I proceded to cut and paste the various samples together to form a microtonal composition where  let the textile voices speak for themselves. I found the visual representation of my composition visually pleasing and worked out a way to translate that back into two textile objects. As shown here above a way of wearing the song as a necklace, or presented as Music object in an abstract way.

Music product

 

Compilation in sound samples

  

To listen to the final song:

Birthmark Connections

For a long time now I've been investigating the connections birthmarks can make on your body, if it can create certain patterns or can visualize a connection. I try to visualize in this movie not only a connection but also the disconnection people can experience during life. Showing the way disconnection will always lead to taking some parts of the other one with you.