1:3 Texture

My first thoughts when thinking of the textures I could re-create from the coast were of the beach.  I had completed a couple of sketches of the outlines of the pebbles and a watercolour on my first visit to Deal.  This had quite an isolated stretch of beach near the Sandwich Golf Club so I felt quite comfortable sketching with no one around. 

I then tried creating the beach using tracing paper cut into long strips with undulating edges and then curling them with the blade edge of scissors.  Whilst the size differences were apparent in the finished piece the undulating edges were lost so this piece was not very successful.

I then tried cutting out pebble shapes and to give them form, making a slit to the centre of the shape and forming them into domes.  Once stuck to card this give an effect of the
bi-valve shells often found on beaches.  I liked the pattens made by the light and shade in this image.      

I wanted the effect of the pebbles so tried forming tissue paper into 'pebble' balls and then sticking them to card.  This did not work as they quickly started to unfold so I wrapped thread around each pebble shape and then dabbed them with glue so they held their form.  This worked quite well although doubt began to form in my mind on how I would take any designs forwards.   

I then turned my attention to the sea and formed tissue paper into waves by spreading glue onto card and then gathering the paper into wave-forms.  This worked quite well.   

I also tried this using plastic bags which gave a better, more translucent water effect.

Finally, I produce a stylised string collage of the waves breaking on the beach and this is the image I liked the best. 

I then got into a creative block with textures.  I decided I did not like the images I was producing and for a few weeks just keep going round and round in circles without any clear way forwards.  As I looked at the pictures I could not get that creative spark I needed, they all just looked like organic shapeless images.  I even contemplated changing my personal research theme and got seriously stuck.  In the end I sat down to think about what I liked about textile art and it centred around line, colour and patterns.  Rather then abandoning my theme of the coast, I decided to visit Eastbourne, drawing and photographing the buildings.  I hoped this would give me the boost I needed.  Some of these images are in a previous post and many more will appear in later posts but overall the strategy did work.              

I have many childhood memories of sitting on the pier, watching people go by whilst I read my book.  I am the youngest of a large family and whilst I have many older brothers and sisters, I actually grew up fairly alone as by the time I was born and starting to grow-up, they were either staying at home with their friends or leaving home to start their own new lives.  Much of my time at the seaside was therefore spent exploring places on my own, walking along the esplanade, going into the town and quietly reading in various places.  Whilst this might sound quite lonely, I actually enjoyed being on  my own and having time to myself.  It has made me comfortable with my own company and quite independent.  

At Eastbourne I drew the image below of one of the roof of a building on the pier; it was the pattern of the tiles which caught my attention.
   

At home I then re-created the tiles using card, creating the texture by pressing the individual shapes on the end of a bamboo skewer. 

Completing this texture unit has helped to focus on the aspects of my personal research theme which I wish to develop and I am looking forwards to the next chapter.