Manchester Museum Pieces
For me this week has been a defining
week; I have been able to develop and refine my concept and gather
ample amounts of visual research. At first I was confused by my
chosen brief, 'Future Past', and was unsure how I should integrate my
summer work, after discussing with a tutor I was informed that the
main focus of this brief was to use archive and historic collections
as starting points to fuel the ongoing project.
As I've begun to direct my work
towards nature and the natural world I chose to visit the Manchester
Museum and its multitude of collections. My visit was rewarded with
many areas of possible enquiry; I am particularly spellbound by the
minerals, rocks, and fossils on display. The variety of colours,
forms, and patterns is overwhelming, and after I produced some
fist-hand observations I see potential for translations into weave
through both pattern and texture.
Observational Drawings
Along side my visit to the Manchester
Museum I have also been researching natural textures with
the help of the library and the internet. The books 'Fossils in
Colour' by J. F. Kirkaldy, 'Fossils: The Key to the Past' by R.
Fortey, and 'Rocks, Minerals & Gemstones' by W. Schumann have
been tremendously helpful in both the scientific identification and
presentation of natural objects. I have also found the
website of the Natural History Museum, London to be a useful tool in
discovering the ways in which rocks and minerals were recorded in the
late 18th to early 19th century. All this
research has influenced my work though the use of media, grounds, and
compositions.
Artefacts from the Downing Archives and Special Collections
During this week I have visited a
couple of specifically textile related archives, the samples of which
I am highlighting are from the Downing Archive and the MMU Library
Special Collections. Even though my project has evolved into a rock,
mineral, and fossil focused venture I was still intrigued by the
archives. Seeing all the different patterns; with unique colours,
compositions, and textures was truly exciting, I plan to use my
favourites as guidelines when designing my own patterns once I enter
weave and as starting points for further visual research.
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