#digitaltrash

sooo.... after being pretty unactive here i finally did something lastnight... i have to practice more on digital anyway. 

i mean- 

Like I said in my last blog post, these past two weeks have been unreasonably busy for me. I submitted my digital trash to the AIMES awards and have been working on actually getting the pieces printed onto silk. I got given a sample which turned out PERFECTLY and from there I chose to bite the bullet and get them printed full-sized.

The silk sample blowing in the wind

I managed to film some of the printing processes, but because of WTA’s video submission’s restrictions, I cannot upload my submission video just yet, I will soon though.

I’ve never worked with textiles before, so being able to see the processes first hand and see how it’s all made was really fascinating to me and has pushed me in the direction of wanting to explore textiles more in my thesis, rather than just this side project. While printing there was an error which stopped the printer, meaning that half of June and July were scrap - thankfully Peter allowed me to keep that extra metre at no extra cost, which was a huge help!

I plan to use this scrap for more experimentation, like my last blog post said; looking at how blood acts with silk, etc.

The error section.

After printing, the silk is then steamed to combine the ink with the silk fibers instead of just sitting on top, this gets a deeper color and makes the print more durable. When that process is done, the silks are then dried and cut into shape. As they currently stand, they are 1m tall by 0.5m wide.

My hope is that I can showcase them as a hanging installation so that people can walk up to each piece, see the texture, read the text and discover aspects of my month that I may have forgotten about myself. Even exploring them myself, I’ve unpacked things and sentences that I never thought was on there - this is a perfect manifestation of my concept - I’m thrilled with how they turned out.

I went to WE level 7 to try and get a photography spaced booked but that was a no go - they’re very gatekeepery over there. However, I did manage to find a studio with a lightbox that wasn’t being used and managed to sneak some photos in. Here are a few of the final texture showcase photos (quality is low because of Tumblr)

I have started to feel quite stressed and overwhelmed by the amount of work I’ve been doing and still have left to do; it’s been taking a negative toll on my mental health, if I’m honest. I spoke with Frances and Clint about this and my concerns about the fact that I’m doing all this extra work and I haven’t had the chance to even start on my thesis, really. They left me with this useful piece of advice.

While this process, time and effort is all extra and not directly related to my thesis, it is forming my thoughts and allowing me to think of blood and my topic in a new lens. I never even would have considered textile printing, let alone silk if it was not for this process.

Which really helped me relax and allow myself to think more abstractly about some of my ideas again. I’m learning that my supervisors aren’t just there for the official “yes, you’re doing your thesis, well done, gold star”, but instead they’re there to guide and act as mentors, helping navigate such a confusing time.