Started by making these sketches for a line up. It's a typical technique for me - using a cut out body template which is laid over images, drawings, objects etc, but on this occasion there was more thought with the initial placement; the first outfit is determined by placing the tattooed face where a real face would be.
The rest of the pattern falls onto the shoulders and torso.
The next and subsequent outfits are enlargements of the face and it's placement moves around the wearer's body.
The idea is that as the image grows, so will the textile treatment.
For starters, a fine-line screen print, then other techniques exploring different qualities of line.
Modelling clay applique (although it looks very much like cake icing). Liked this technique a lot - worked the clay into 'snakes' and then manipulated it into the shapes. It was a lot like drawing but quite difficult to translate the original layout of the line exactly. So the 'hand' is quite evident in all of this, like it is in the original.
Appliqué - fabric cut up into strips, then torn in half, giving one cut edge, one torn edge to each. The process of stitching took 3 weeks, on and off.
A really enjoyable process, again like drawing with a 3D line. It was also nice that there was a definitive end point. The challenges and satisfaction came in controlling the line when turning a corner.
As well as a different treatment, the garments construction grew in complexity. The drawing itself dictated the shapes within each outfit, so the neck falling below the hips became pockets. The face also took on different forms as it was abstracted. Above a detail of the carved wooden mask/necklace.
Layers of towelling used as edging. Again, the shape of the outfit is determined by the drawing;this being the nose area translated as an open jacket piece with layered top underneath.
The final garment in the series needs a bit of revision, so will post it when I've had a re-think and a re-make.
