Reviewing Methods and Materials - Fibre and fabric art, design and craft...

Art, design and craft in fibres and fabrics:

Students can begin to consider the advantages of using fibre and fabric techniques in order to represent observations, ideas and emotions, or create decorative or functional works of design or craft.

Display environment, scale, supports:

Is the fibre or fabric work displayed outside or inside an architectural structure? Describe the exhibition location.

Describe the lighting environment in the exhibition area, and describe any shadows cast by the fibre or fabric work. How do these shadows influence the viewer’s perceptions of the fibre or fabric work?

The scale of a representation can influence the viewer’s perceptions. Describe the size and scale of the fibre or fabric work.

Has the artist, designer or crafts practitioner produced a fibre or fabric work that can rest against a wall, a vertical surface or an item of furniture? Does the work feature shallow projections, or is it a fibre or fabric work that features raised elements that project some distance away from the backing surface?

Has the exhibitor produced a free-standing fibre or fabric work, so that the viewer can move around every section of the entire exhibit?

Has the exhibitor created a small-scale free-standing fibre or fabric work? Has the small fibre or fabric work been placed on a stand, a large platform or plinth, or an item of furniture? Has the small fibre or fabric work been placed in a glass display cabinet? If the small fibre or fabric work is in a display cabinet, has the exhibition organiser used special support structures or lighting devices in order to present the work?

Has the exhibitor created large free-standing fibre or fabric work that can be placed on the ground or a low platform or plinth?

How high is the top surface of a platform or plinth or item of furniture used to present the fibre or fabric work for display?

Does the use of a stand, platform or plinth or an item of furniture for display purposes influence the way that the exhibition visitor views the fibre or fabric work?

Has the exhibitor produced a free-standing fibre or fabric work that is suspended from a ceiling or overhead structure? Is so, describe methods used to suspend the fibre or fabric work.

Has the exhibitor incorporated kinetic elements into the fibre or fabric work? Describe these elements. Does the movement depend on natural forces, such as the wind, or has the exhibitor used a special mechanism in order to promote movement? Describe the movement of forms in the fibre or fabric work.

Fibres and fabrics: works or art, or design or craft?

Is the exhibit a fibre or fabric art work? Why is this exhibit a work of art, rather than a work of design or a craft work? If this work is a unique visual representation, describe the representation and the visual composition used by the artist.

Is the exhibit a work of design using fibres or fabrics? Why is this exhibit a work of design, rather than an art work or a craft work? Has the designer produced a work in response to a specific design brief? Describe the design aims that guided the development of the exhibit. Describe the decorative or utilitarian purpose for the item of fabric design. Has the development of the exhibit been associated with specific design traditions and practices?

Is the exhibit a craft work using fibres or fabrics? Why is this exhibit a craft work, rather than an art work or a work of design? Has the crafts practitioner produced a work that is part of a specific craft tradition? Describe the crafts technique that guided the development of the exhibit. Does the craft work serve a particular function? Describe the decorative or utilitarian purpose for the craft work.

Fibre and fabric techniques:

Describe the materials used for the fibre or fabric work.

Has the artist, designer or crafts practitioner manipulated fibres purely by hand, or has the exhibitor used hand tools. Describe the hand tools been used to produce the fibre or fabric work. Has the exhibitor used needles or looms? Describe the types of needles used by the exhibitor. Describe the type of loom used by the exhibitor. Has the exhibitor used a butterfly loom, backstrap loom, a card loom, a two-shaft loom or a four-loom, or a larger commercial loom?

Has electrically-powered equipment, such as sewing machines or knitting machines, been used to create the fibre or fabric work?

Has the artist, designer or crafts practitioner used braiding or plaiting techniques, fibre wrapping techniques, and knitting or crochet techniques as well as sewing techniques?

Has the exhibitor used netting or lace-making techniques?

Has the exhibitor used felting techniques?

Has the exhibitor used basketry techniques?

Has the exhibitor incorporated paper fibre techniques into the work?

If the exhibit has been produced using sewing techniques, describe the techniques that have been used. Has the exhibitor used hand sewing techniques or machine sewing techniques or a combination of both? Describe the types of sewing techniques used.

Have sewing techniques been used to create two-dimensional representations or patterns? Describe the sewing stitches used by the exhibitor. Can the exhibition visitor clearly identify specific plain or embroidery stitches in the work? Has the exhibitor used sewn embellishments that include the use of other items, such as beads, sequins, or other natural or found objects?

Has the exhibitor used sewing techniques to create three-dimensional elements in the fibre or fabric work? Has the artist used internal armature forms or padding in order to support or shape the fibre or fabric work? Has the exhibitor used quilting techniques, such as trapunto, or soft sculpture needle stitching?

Has the exhibitor created a work that can be worn on part of a human body? Has the exhibitor used particular pattern-making methods or traditions in order to create a wearable work of art, design or craft?

Does the fibre or fabric work feature smooth areas or fine detail or heavily textured areas?

Describe the use of shapes and linear elements in the fibre or fabric work.

How many open spaces have been created in the fibre or fabric work in order to develop positive or negative shapes or spaces? If open spaces have been created in the fibre or fabric work, describe the shapes created and the views that can be seen through the spaces. Are the positive shapes more prominent than the negative shapes or spaces?

Has the artist, designer or crafts practitioner left any natural or pre-existing surface colours visible, or has additional colour or two-dimensional appliqué or collage techniques been applied to the background fibres or fabrics? Does the fibre or fabric work feature a matte or gloss or even a shiny, reflective surface? Has the exhibitor used fabric paints or dyes that are natural, or commercially produced, or even a combination of both types of colour sources? Has the exhibitor used colour resist techniques such as tie-dye or shibori methods, or wax resist techniques such as batik? Has the exhibitor used fabric pens, crayons or pastels, or fabric printing techniques such as monoprinting methods, block printing or a stencil printing method such as a silk screen process?

Has the fibre or fabric work been created through the use of multi-media methods or assemblage techniques? Describe these methods or techniques.

Subject matter:

Has the artist, designer or crafts practitioner used fibre or fabric techniques in order to produce realistic representations? Describe the representations.

Has the exhibitor used fibre or fabric techniques in order to produce an abstracted representation? Describe the representations.

If the artist, designer or crafts practitioner has produced a fibre or fabric work that includes pattern forms, describe the placement and scale of the pattern lines or shapes, as well as any distinctive optical effects.