DEM art&design: Exploring Specialist Techniques

Exploring Specialist Techniques

Louise Bourgeois

So thinking about the techniques I've discovered with regards to sewing I've came across the work Louise Bourgeois did with digital design. I did intend to scan my images into the computer and edit them, however I seem to have ran out of time slightly. The work I did do however does kind of keep in with the art as many digital designs do start out as and hand-made piece of work the artist has produced. Textures..... I've been enjoying with the brief botanials. To which I created a mural using old rags and pieces of fabric. All of this has been a build up towards the end design of this brief. At the beginning I couldn't even use a sewing machine. Which for a women I guess thats insane!

The feminist artist Ive looked at like Bourgeois helped me come up with and think about what is expected from women as soon as they born. To give life I guess is the biggest, what a demand to expect such things because of our sex. But also the stuff they don't tell you about once you do end up creating life. Bourgeois has said that she didnt have the maternal instinct and for many women I guess its true. For me it did come easy I loved being pregnant and having the unconditnal love to protect and love this new creation.

For myself the breast is best did not come naturally!! It bloody hurt and made me feel terrible. A failure to feed my newborn child. A failure to be a women, a mother ........ I remember sitting in tears as my new born child pulled and munched on my now bleeding and cracking breast ..... Pure pain and frustration every half hour for about 3 days...... Then the enlargement, two hot balloons that leaked whenever they wanted without warning. The bleeding down below I won't go into or the idea of having to go to the toilet after birth itself.... Fear indeed and relief to get it over. Two weeks I think I was in pj's a feeding machine unkept and looking like a sack of shit, tired but triumphant.

The bond I felt after we got established was unreal and finally I feel both baby and I started to enjoy feed time. Happy contend and feeding as I gazed down to see my little baby settled.

To be proud of the time I felt like giving up but didn't.

This is and was the first of many difficult times being a women and an adult, mother and partner.... as well as house maid, cook and well we can all relate.

To try and put the first year of pregnancy and life into a material image was fun.

Bourgeois did textiles to create collages/abstraction in a book called ode a l'oubli.

With this in mind here is my try at creating..... I used batik colour and waxing to add to the fabric. If I'd of had time I maybe could of screen printed some images. All the sewing was done by machine and done in a space of 24 hours....