Chiodi's Textiles Blog

On my walk home from university I pass Llandaff Cathedral, every time I pass the beautiful structure I say to myself that I must go in one day. So on a sunny Thursday afternoon I decide that I would take a walk around the grounds to see what was inside.

When I reached the entrance way of the cathedral I was shocked with the shear size of inside and how stunning everything was. I walked down the steps and peered up at the ceiling. Looking up at how intricate every part of it was.

I strolled around looking and taking in every part of this astonishing building. To think that this building is thousands of years old is incredible, the way they have kept it in immaculate condition is beyond me.

Here are some of the photos that I took.

I have only used a sewing machine twice before coming to university so this induction was probably going to be the hardest one for me.

We began by learning every part of the machine and how to thread it up. This was tricky as it’s so tiny and fiddly. With a bit of help from my class mate and Maggie I managed to do everything correctly.

After getting everything set up we grabbed our fabric and began testing out different stitches and getting a feel for the machine. I found this part difficult and I kept getting myself tangled up due to forgetting to put the foot down and from not moving the fabric quick enough. A sewing machine is sort of like driving a car, you have to get the right speed and movement to create the best out outcome.

We then moved on to using a hoop and sewing free hand. We had the task to create an African mask. At this point I was still learning the technique so I hadn’t quite reached the stage of creating a beautiful piece. I practiced the speed and movement which lead me to just making lines and shapes.

With more practice and perseverance hopefully I will be able to further my skills using a sewing machine.

St Fagans was a fascinating trip, going through the different periods of time was so interesting. It made me understand how people lived in those days. It was good to see everything first hand as you are able to visualise everything better.

I found the castle/Manor House enchanting. I like to see how the rich and the poor live in unison and the difference between there living conditions. The decor of the house was amazing, the detail that goes in it every little bit is incredible. The thought, precision, and time that must have gone in to everything is something that I want to practice in my own work to create intricate details pieces.

When we were there we came across a traditional weave workshop which was still In use. To see the machinery in use first hand was extraordinary.

These pictures are of some of the places around St Fagans that I thought where interesting. I was looking for different patterns within the buildings.

Today our course module leader Keireine gave us a talk about how she made it to where she is now and the journey that she experienced on the way. I found her talk really engaging as her experiences are fascinating. From listening to her talk i realised that things don’t just get handed to you, you have to work hard take risk and problem solve to be successful.

Keireine began her talk by telling us about her education, she studied and got her first degree, she them moved on to getting an MA and then finally getting a PhD. Whilst studying for her PhD she was also lecturing and bring up 3 children which must have been hard work. As she spoke about each aspect of her life i realised that she had lived in many different areas which i think is great thing as it allows you to gather knowledge on ways of life and cultures.

She worked with the Al-Sadu Weaving society in Kuwait as a research associate. She was working with the middle eastern women to help and project a tradition weaving technique from being lost. Building relationships with these women and gaining there trust must have been a difficult task but you could see from the pictures that Keireine shared and from the way she spoke about them it is a project close to her heart and that she is passionate about it.

 

Today at uni we had a talk from Paul Compton. What an inspiring talk, it was so heart felt. Paul spoke about a charity that the universiy works closely with, Mothers of Africa. They charity works closely with a less privalidged parts of africa where there is a lot of poverty. They specialise in providing care for women and girls when they are pregnant.

He spoke about how there belifes and cultures affect the well being of women and children as it prevents them from being safe in many different situations. An example of this which he spoke to us about was the story of a lady who was pregnant with twins and knew that for both of her babies to survive she needed to go to the closest hospital. She began the 3 day walk and on her way she gave birth to one of her babies. Exhaused and in pain she finally made it to the hospital but her baby didnt. She had the second twin and stayed in the hospital to recover. However she was affraird to go back home as she knew that she had been disowned by her community for using a hospital. To think that this actually happens baffled me as in my eyes giving birth in a hospital is seen as the best thing to do.

The charity is working with these people to educate them about there safety and that hospitals are infact there to offer help and clean sanitation. This work is so important as they are trying to save lives, 8/10 women die everyday due to maternity.  The project is trying to lower this number however that is difficult to do when there is only 2 hospitals which are 85 miles apart. This results in 200000 people per hospital. The figures are overwhelming. To think that this many women and girls are dying due to the culture not being educated in using condoms is rediculous.

Luckely we have charities like this one that are startin to make a change and help those who are in desperate need. I feel honoured to have had the opertunity to listen to Paul speak about all the amazing work that he has been doing, I am also greatful of such a talk as until you hear what is going on in countries like africa from someone who has experienced everything you dont really take it in how awful the conditions are. I think that is a great oppertunity for us to get involved in to make a change.

 

Today was the first day of the year, so to start things off we made Zines about ourselves, our interests with textiles and designers and artists that inspired us. From looking at everyone’s Zines I learnt that everyone has a different style and interests which is useful as you can link their ideas to your own.

My Zine started of with things I like, such as shiny, glittery, sparkly things as I believe that they represent me well. I then moved on to collage some of my previous work so others could see what i was particularly interested in. Following that I placed information and photos of artists that follow and enjoy. I feel that that was important as others could understand where my interests, ideas and research comes from.

One of the artists I included was Maisie Cousins as I find her work fascinating. She uses bright colours and photographs different and almost shocking things. I really enjoy almost being shocked when I look at a piece.

The last couple of pages of my zine were on themes that I am intrigued by and what I want to study deeper.