A Life in Wool

Wool

Shearing Shed

Lifestyle

The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring from the land and the structures built within. The dogs bark and the men shout along with the regular buzz of engine and clatter of sheep. The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of lanoline and ammonia sweep the floors. The workers are a flight of activity, movements repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.

The shearing shed stands as an iconic representation of Australia, a building in which poems have been inspired, stories shared and life shown at its most raw; where stress is high, work is hard and anything can happen. The shearing shed is the heart of the Australian sheep farm, whatever the heart may be enduring.

My work is an encapsulation of the character of the shearing shed in an expression of the workmanship, ideologies, lifestyle and culture of the Australian sheep farm. The garments are inspired by the architecture, the work clothes and the human value of the shed to create a level of sensibility toward and celebration of culture of the Australian wool producer.

Specious [Ovis’Aries L’Her]: A textiles investigation

How do people perceive the natural in a human space?

·        

      Expectation

·         Intrusion

·         Personal Space

For this work, I was interested in investigating the idea of ‘personal space’, and the perceptions we have towards the ‘natural’ when it is in this space. According to Bill Mckibben, author of “The end of Nature”, the connectedness of modern life means we no longer need to be aware of our connections with nature. “Human’s no longer see themselves as living in a conjunction with nature” and are “separate entities” (Schwarz, 2012). I feel as if the ‘natural’ is perceived by humans as something which is unknown, not produced and not entirely controlled by humans and therefore it is perceived as something to be wary of. In contrast to this, the ‘human’ space, as a separate entity, is a more comfortable space being something that is created or manipulated by humans and is therefore understandable, predictable and ‘safe’. When the ‘natural’ comes into the ‘human space’ there is a personal response; wariness, discomfort and a want to regain control. I wish to investigate this idea, evoking the viewer to question why this is. 

The aim of my work is to evoke a feeling of both discomfort and intrigue in the viewer. Firstly the viewer will be compelled to feel that ‘nature’ has taken over and soiled something that is meant to be, or originally was, human space. The viewer will perceive the work to be unsafe, dirty, smelly and unhygienic but feel intrigued by the materiality and shape of the work to inspect it further. From this inspection, the viewer will discover that it is lacking the stereotypes that were first noted. In this way, the role of the work is to challenge human perception and expectations regarding what are and what should be human/natural space and prompt to make the viewer question why they are separated?

The final installation was made from individual lengths textiles which where created using felt and dyed with tree bark. The pieces were developments from extensive research into felt including the form, shape and texture as well as the addition of elements both natural and man made; sticks, beads etc..   Disgusted? intrigued? 

Schwarz, E. 2012. The End of Nature; Humanitie’s Perception of Nature. Wordpress. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/humanplaceinnature/2012 Accessed May 3rd, 2013

Visual Inquiry~ Material Research

This semester I studied three very different units. One of these was Visual Inquiry where we were asked to work in a different way, following the process of materials. After a huge journey of using and investigating as many different materials as I could, following a number of ideas I had, I came to the use of gloves and eventually the use of preworn leather work gloves. I experimented with pulling them apart at the seams to the raw form before sewing them back together in a way that followed the shapes of the different gloves sections. The result was something that lent itself to fashion in to an intriguing  form.  

I used the leather glove structure I previously created as a sleeve, draping pieces of recycled cream fabric from the shape before cutting the silhouette. To complete the outfit, I created a pair if shorts made from recycled loose weave cotton which I then imprint dyed with rusty objects. The result is an juxtaposition of elements; hard and soft, structure and drape, dirty and pristine, masculine and feminine.    

The Language of Dress~ Hats and Bags

I have just finished Semester One of my final years studies at Curtin. One of the Fashion Unit for this semester was 'Language of Dress' which exists as a research unit for our final collection development. My concept stems from my background and experience of farming in WA. My research included wool as a fibre, the process of natural dyes and rusting, the use of my own constructed wool felt.

The first part of the Unit was the explore the idea of 'accessories' and their relationship to the body. My exploration into this lead me to the use of wool felt in hats, something I now aim to further develop for my final collection runway show in December.

And so continues my love of felt in each of the garments shown above. I am obsessed with wool as a sustainable and dynamic fibre as well as a product which supports the Nation. Whether I have come to love wool on my own, or it was the nagging from farmers I know to promote wool (or a bit of both), my collection will be all encapsulating of wool and the life that surrounds it~

PR in Fashion 2013

I am finally in my mid semester break which means I can finally do all those things I have trouble finding time for when I am in the middle of study. One of those things include updating this blog with everything I have been doing since I last had the chance to update. One of those things, and something that was quite exciting, was PR in Fashion 2013, an event organised by PRSC (Curtin Public Relations Student Chapter). The event was held on June 5 at Skatt Mt Hawthorn. Sponsored by Times Square Claremont, we were treated to champagne, guest speakers and beautiful fashion from WA designers including Breathless and Tarvydas as well as pieces from Lost Souls including Wild.Horses, Ange Lang, Jonté, Zhivago and Tindale. In addition to that, the event supported up and coming designers including Seth Cray, Sam McCloy, Marlina Minniti as well as myself.

Make sure you check out photos of the other designers and labels on the runway as well as the back and front of house antics at Modern Girls With Vintage Pearls, Lei Lady Lei and the Times Square write-up. 

Walk as One 2013