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Master Class

Rhythm and space in mixed media

Sarah Burgess

Push yourself further! Go to the edge! Work dangerously! How far can you go? All phrases which help to move work forward. I was beginning to move in new directions before I went to Egypt. The demands of teaching had led me to rediscover a range of structured fabric techniques. Making use of the Embroiderers' Guild collection, visiting museums and experimenting with materials, I developed an enthusiasm for the way fabric changes its form and character when threads are removed. A firm linen relaxes and curls, fibres still crimped from the weaving process. The material takes on a new life of its own. At the same time, my college teaching brought me into contact with fine art painting students. Fulfilling their needs also stimulates my own experimental work. Applying paint and mixed media processes to my structural fabrics becomes a natural response.

I have always enjoyed hiding stitchery with layers of fabrics or paper, making secret areas. But now I coat (often intensely stitched) fabrics with paint and plaster. It feels exhilarating, dangerous. Days of hemstitching or binding loose bundles of threads disappear. In a matter of moments, the stitch becomes totally integrated into the piece of work, holding the warp and weft to create a space.

In Egypt the volume of space within architectural structures was inspirational: soaring columns, repetition of architectural forms, strong contrast of intense light and shade. These elements emphasised a love of strong simple architectural spaces, cathedrals, crypts and powerful contemporary architecture. In my own work, I need to limit choices. I want to work with simple materials and processes. This makes me speak a clearer language. Form, proportion and scale are the most important elements. Texture, pattern and surface will not rescue a weak design. Working simply, I try to use repeated elements to powerful rhythmic effect.

The spaces between the separate elements within a work have become important. They isolate. Physically distancing one element from another changes the balance of the composition and the dynamic of the group. I make paper mock-ups to finalise balance and proportion, moving and discarding elements within the design. Then the rhythm of the process of production takes over; withdrawing threads, stitching, painting, stitching printing. The paper idea comes to life in the fabric reality.

I enjoy the excitement of working on large scale pieces. Vertical proportion is especially exhilarating and the opportunity to respond to a specific architectural environment is the best challenge.

Inside Out

Layered mixed media panel.
53 x 32 cm (21 x 13 in)

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Fine artists and painters, from earliest times through to the present day, have always experimented with their media and materials, occasionally with disastrous results, but always learning, acquiring new skills and knowledge.

This is less a collection of precise instructions and recipes than an approach to working with mixed media. It is important to consider the properties of each of the media you work with and to think how to use it to its optimum effect on fabric, alone or in combination. PVA adhesive (Unibond or similar) glues, seals, stiffens, binds, dries clear. Plaster (Polyfilla or similar) clogs, fills, opaques, masks, sets, flakes, takes an impression. Acrylic paint adds colour and has many PVA qualities. Sand, bird grit, cat litter is crumbly, rough, flaky. Emulsion paint (white) stiffens, flattens pile, integrates stitch or colour.

Gradually build your own recipes to suit your needs, recording results as you work. Generally work with your media fairly wet, you want them to become part of the material not just lie on the surface.

You will need:

• Cheap decorators' brushes
• Disposable plastic food trays, etc.
• Water pots
• Old spoons
• Basic fabrics, such as calico, scrim, hopsack, muslin, felt, etc. (washed or unwashed, coloured or plain, stitched or unstitched).

All these materials are normally safe to use in the ways I describe, as long as you work in a well-ventilated space. If you use burning or intense heat as a way of creating mixed media effects, you will need to use a specialist industrial extract system or respirator to avoid breathing toxic fumes.

The following are a few ideas to get you started. Try effects on different fabrics.

• Vary quantities of water according to thickness and absorbency of your materials. Mix four dessert spoons of filler plus one dessert spoon of PVA. Mix with water to the consistency of double cream. Brush thoroughly into a long piece of fabric. Leave one section like this and, while still wet, brush sand, grit, lentils and/or snippets of plant material, etc., into other sections. Some sands will add colour to a surface as you work them into the fabric.
• Use acrylic paint to colour your fabric first. Mix with water to get a suitable consistency, allow to dry then add a second colour to a plaster and PVA mix. Brush in patchily. Acrylic paint will act like an adhesive, holding in other materials to a certain extent if used without too much water. Once you have wet the fabric, try spreading thicker media onto the surface with a palette knife. This could be embossed with printing blocks, etched or scratched into as it dries.
• Mixtures with a high proportion of PVA can often be spread onto heavy duty plastic then peeled off when dry, to apply as flakes to another surface. For a more subtle effect use white emulsion paint to coat your fabrics before or after stitching. Tint emulsion with acrylic paint. Bond different types or weights of fabrics together with your mixtures. Incorporate pieces of fine stitchery into your mixed media work. Hold with a few stitches then brush over with media. If you build layers of media thinly, you will be able to incorporate layers of stitch integrating them into the work.
• Ensure your fabric is completely dry before machining. Use a strong needle and thread. Clean dust out of the machine race frequently. The stiffened fabric is easy to stitch without a ring. If you stitch by hand, try and use a thimble (I can't!) or other protection. Consider using a fine awl or needle stuck into a cork to make holes.
• Soft materials will droop when hung to dry, they will fix like this. Crumple or arrange in folds to set. Coat both sides of the fabric for extra hold or stiffness. These methods usually 'seal' the edges of a fabric so that often no further finishing is required or appropriate.

This type of mixed media work may eventually lead you into working with more sophisticated binders and pigments but time spent experimenting with readily available, cheap materials will always pay off.

Inner Light (detail)

Drawn thread, earth pigment and print.

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This article is from The World of Embroidery, Volume 51 No.3, © Sarah Burgess.