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FMP: Elder Tales Evaluation

Upon starting my FMP I was really looking forward to figuring out a concept based on something I am interested in. It was initially a challenge to come up with something I could base a concept around but thankfully whilst doing the previous unit I attended an exhibition talk at the AUB all about Magic in Art. It was this subject that fascinated me and after looking around the exhibition, I was drawn particularly to the pieces which involved aspects of trees. I’ve had an interest in trees for quite some time so this seemed like a good place to start with. I decided to look further into trees and their association with magic in folklore and found there to be a great many sources of interest. With so many types of tree and folklore linked with them, I decided that it would be best to concentrate on just one, which I thought had the most folklore associated with it. This proved a great starting point as I settled on the Elder Tree after quite a bit of research. The Elder tree in particular has associations with magic and witches so it was perfect for coming up with ideas for.

I needed to look into how I would represent the folklore I had discovered. After thinking about it and trying a few different techniques to generate imagery etc I decided to use illustration as I felt it would be a great way of representing folklore in a way that suited the theme. I wanted the overall piece to reflect the look and feel of the folklore I was finding out about. This ultimately led me to want to create something that had a certain hand drawn charm to it and I was keen to reflect this in the way I would present the illustrations I had created. When looking into how I could show the illustrations I had created I researched different printing methods. Block printing was the method that stood out to me and so I tried to figure out how I could do this best. Once deciding on the type of block I would use I knew that I wanted it to look intentionally hand made. Block printing provided the clarity of image whilst still keeping small imperfections which come from using an artisan printing method. Once I had the method of printing sorted out, I realised that I needed to find a way of showing my prints and after looking into it somewhat I decided upon using the historic method of Cloughties for it’s many links to appreciation of trees.

Overall when making my tree book using the cloughties I have approached creating everything by hand and this has been a challenge. The fact that everything I have made has been made by hand means that any corrections or mistakes would mean having to redo stuff which is not so easy when its all done like this. I therefore had to make sure everything I created had been planned out before I started actually making each cloughties. I had to make sure that the illustrative type, the logo and each individual print fitted well and that the placement of each remained consistent throughout the Tree book. This has made me appreciate the importance of planning each stage of the making process beforehand. I felt that the concept should also be environmentally friendly so as to be in keeping with the original purpose of the Cloughtie in being respectful of nature. I therefore worked to try and make sure all the materials that I’ve used are natural and bio-degradable.

I think that this whole concept is something which has the potential to be explored further with each of the other trees that are part of the Tree Ogham. After placing the cloughties on the Elder tree I was able to see just how well they worked in context and I think that they work in catching the eye of the public creating more interest in the tree and the folklore surrounding it, this I think is a step in the right direction towards preserving British trees.. The photographs I took show the overall mood of my concept well I think too and give a good idea as to the purpose of the Cloughties. I know that each individual Cloughtie I have created will be a one off so it was all worth it and I am pleased with the end result. This has been a great final major project for me and I have enjoyed creating it.

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FMP - The Tree book

The Elder tree I chose to display my Tree book in was close to a stream which is very characteristic for an Elder tree. The tree itself is quite small, however I feel that this works for my cloughties as it allows you to walk up and read each one. If I was to change anything it would just be a few aspects of some of the prints I have created so as to maximise contrast more and thereby be even more eye-catching. It was great to see them in the tree and I also experimented with mixing them up and interspersing them aswell as photographing them in small clusters together.

I think that my Tree book concept of using Cloughties would help to draw more attention to this particular type of tree and show the folklore behind it and in the process helping to save the tree and keep the folklore alive. I feel that this is something that could be carried out with all of the other trees that are part of the Celtic system of the Tree Ogham. I could in effect create many more prints to express the imagery surrounding the folktales which are unique to each folktale. I am pleased however with the result and how they worked on the tree. Overall I am happy with how I have approached this and I fell that it has been a success.

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FMP - Cloughties in tree

After finishing my cloughties, I placed them in a tree to see how they would look. I had wondered at one point whether to keep image and text separate but after hanging them in the tree I was glad that I stuck to my plan as when the wind blew each cloughtie the blank side of each cloughtie presented a nice contrast to the side where all of the imagery etc was. I felt that this contrast between the back and front made the designs work more effectively and would help catch peoples eye when walking past an Elder Tree. I’m pleased with how these ones turned out. The next step for me will be to put the whole twelve onto an Elder tree and take photos of them.

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FMP - Cloughtie Making process, Printing and Tacking

For this stage in the production of my twelve cloughties, needed to make sure that the prints I have produced lined up. For this I used chalk to help me with placement of the prints, which worked well. I wanted the prints to look hand made so there maybe slight variation from print to print but this was intentional as I didn’t want each one to be perfectly identical.

I also needed to tack each side of the cloughtie together in order for both sides to stay in place whilst sewing. I first pinned both sides together and then I used a running stitch in white to loosely keep everything in place. This gave me an idea of what the final cloughties might look like when stitched up.

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FMP - Making Process, text

For each cloughtie, I wrote out the way I wanted the text on a separate piece of paper, I then used white chalk to manually copy what I had written and place it on to the cotton. I tried to centre the text but I kept it fairly loose and random when writing it as I felt would work better with my theme.

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FMP - Stitched text designs

For the text I am stitching on to the coughties, I have sketched out using chalk, the letterforms that I had written out for each tale. The placement of the text and how I write it, I have intentionally kept imperfect so that all of the designs are unique to each individual cloughtie.

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FMP - Research

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FMP - Research

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FMP - Elder Tales, final logo

For the logo design to bring all of my cloughtie designs together, I settled on this design which I created using the same block printing technique that I used for the illustrative prints I have created. This seemed like the best way of keeping consistency through my designs whilst also still using the same artisan printing method that makes each design unique. I once again feel that this is appropriate for my concept of representing the folklore which surrounds the Elder tree because of the hand made quality it has. This print will be white on the black cloughtie’s and black on the red ones as this will provide strong contrast and allow the logo to stand out the same as the designs and text.

Each print of this logo will be placed in the same spot on each design and the design itself I have kept relatively small so as to not distract from the illustrative designs and text I have used on each cloughtie.

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FMP - Calico cloughtie experiments

To get an idea of sizing for my cloughties, I decided it would be best to try some calico experiments before I use the material I have chosen for this concept. In each of these experiments, I have penned out the basic out line shapes of the things I will be using on my cloughties. Both of these vary in size as I wanted to get and idea of the scale of each piece as the length of the text changes from piece to piece.

After these trials I decided to stick to two sizes for my cloughties one longer than the other to accommodate larger lengths of text. The title for each tale would be stitched with two lengths of thread instead of one which is what I will use for the main text. Both the print illustrations and the Elder Tales logo would be printed on to the fabric. I think that these layouts are clear and when placed onto my chosen fabric, they should be even clearer. I know that for these designs I am not aiming for something that is legible from a distance but purely noticeable. I want the designs of the lettering and the prints to be something you only notice when you are close up to each cloughtie, this would work with the tactile nature of these designs.

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FMP - Elder Tales, Chosen colours

Black - I wanted the look of my concept to match the tone of the folklore I was finding out about the Elder Tree therefore black was perfect to help capture the overall feel of what I had found as much of it was dark. The black cloghties with whit text and imagery should also be an nice contrast to the branches and foliage on the Elder tree. I also chose this as it relates to the Crone aspect of the triple goddess theory which links to the Elder tree.

Red - I want the cloughties I create to stand out in amongst the tree branches and some of the pictures I had seen where cloughties had been red in colour this is exactly what they did. This colour will again be light enough for black imagery and text to show up and be a strong contrast on the tree.  As many of the tales I had found relating to the Elder tree involved fire or blood, red was the best choice for me to represent this.

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FMP - Elder Tales sketches

These sketches represent the second lot of tales relating to the Elder tree. In these images I focussed again on what I felt were the most relevant parts of each tale and tried to represent them through my illustrations. These were the second lot of illustrations I have created for my concept, which could be used as they are or turned into prints.

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FMP - Elder Tales Initial sketches

For my first set of sketches for my concept, I wanted each image to represent a specific tale related to the elder tree. I focussed on making each image look slightly dark but still related to each individual tale. I wanted the sketches to have an imperfect quality to them with the possibility that they may be used as they are or turned in to prints. For each I concentrated on what I felt were the most relevant parts of each tale to represent in the form of an image. These six are the first I started with.

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FMP - Research, Studio Creme

Found this video inspiring as it is a celebration of folklore from the British Isles. Much of the imagery, colours and textures which appear in this video are similar to the what I have found in the process of research for my Elder Tales concept. I have found it greatly interesting how Studio Creme has turned British Isles folklore in to a something that is wearable and current. I think that this is a great way of keeping folklore alive whilst still making it fresh.

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FMP - Research, Studio Creme

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FMP - Tutorial  20/4/18

In this tutorial I showed the Elder Tales identity I have developed for my concept along with the patterns I have created for my cloughties. When displaying the designs I make I plan to use photos of the tree with the cloughties on and this was something that was talked about in this tutorial. We also discussed how I present the text with imagery  and whether I may split them up or present therm all together in one design. In all of the drawings I have done, the ones I prefer the most are the ones where I have combined my prints along with my imagery together. I will work to try and make sure that the designs I create are clear and in keeping with the look and feel of my concept.

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FMP - Cloughtie patterns

These are the working patterns I am using to create my cloughties. There are two main lengths which I am using for my designs as this is the method which makes the most sense as far as creating a sense of uniformity through my designs. Each tale related to the Elder tree varies in length and so some of the longer ones require a longer length design for the cloughties. I have created several patterns for this so as to maintain consistency through my designs.