Final Assessment

Final Personal Assessment Piece

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The initial conception for this piece was a mood lamp that I have, which I wanted use as the start for a light installation.  The first idea I had for the position of this piece was in our sitting room.

PAP 1

As I am the client for this commission I have exercised my right to move it from the original setting to a more convenient position in my entrance hall.

One of the constraints of the piece was that it had to be at least a metre in size in one direction and when finished and offered up to the original placing it appeared to overpower the area. So I decided to move it to our small hall area, which is quite dark and will benefit from something light and attractive.

The final construction of the piece required 20 embroidered panels at approximately A4 size.

PAP 2

In the above image you can see three quarters of 2 of the panels as the were too big to photograph fully.

PAP 3

In the second set of panels, the top part show the band of FME that is not worked on paper and goes around the whole piece, giving a different area where the light is able to flow freely through the lace.

PAP 4

PAP 5

In the above image you can see how I've torn the edges of the panels where they join in order to break the solid line created when the panels were worked.

PAP 6

In the close up of the lace panel you can just see the residue of the water soluble medium which I left in place as I liked the shiny finish.

PAP 7

The image in PAP 7 shows a panel drying after being pinned and washed.

Once all 4 panels were constructed and the frame was built and painted they were inserted behind the metal mesh.

They were then glued in place. Once the construction was complete I was able to see for the first time how the piece would look. This was when I decided to take it off the floor and mount it on a small pedestal table. This allowed the ceiling shadows to be seen in greater detail, which you can see in the video below, it is best seen right at the end of the video as the light is at it's best at this point.

And here you can see the piece in it's new position, and how it looks both with the light and without.

PAP 8

PAP 9

The ceiling patterns were an unexpected bonus.

Conclusion

This piece was the largest 3D resolved work that I have ever created, so it was a steep learning curve. I am very pleased with the overall result, it has satisfied my original intentions for the piece, which were;

To create something that would enhance a  mood lamp that I felt was too contemporary in its design for our living space. I wanted something that would have a fragility, and beauty, but at the same time had a contemporary feel that felt comfortable for the the client (me). In this respect I think the panels have worked really well and the bonus of the shadows they cast are the perfect surprise effect element.

The framework for this piece was chosen as a foil the embroidered panel and when I first saw the metal angle beads I thought they would give a hard industrial feel to what was a thing of delicacy and beauty.

However they appeared to be too rigid and formal against the embroidery, so I worked at knocking them back by painting them with cream emulsion and introducing similar shapes into the embroidery. 

The metal strips themselves were very difficult to work with as they didn't join in a perfect square very easily and had to be bolted together with nuts and bolts using 2 washers at each joint to try and keep them true.

PAP 10

I think if I were to make this piece again I might take longer to choose the support for the embroidery panels, although I do really like the effect of the formal grid against the random shapes in the embroidery itself.

Size

1meter x 20cm square

Time Log

Design      32.0 hrs

Stitch         112.0 hrs

Blog           22.0 hrs

Total           166 hrs

Costing

2 Angle beads  (metal frame)                  £9.84

24 bolts                                                   £2.40

24 nuts                                                     £1.20

48 washers                                               £4.80

1 tube UHU glue                                      £3.0

1 match pot emulsion                                £3.29

7 Madeira machine embroidery threads    £12.52

Miscellaneous silk threads                        £3.50

1 sheet Mulberry paper                             £2.50

1/2 sheet of vellum (recycled)                   £0.0

6m water soluble  medium                        £12.0

                                            Total              £55.05