Working on a series III

In the previous two posts, we have talked about working in a series, and started to expand on the concepts. Last week, we talked about choosing a subject or theme. Today, we are going to talk about how to develop your idea.

Develop your idea

When you are developing your ideas for a series, you want to start by brainstorming different approaches and interpretations of your chosen theme or concept. This can involve sketching out ideas, writing down thoughts and associations, or collecting visual inspiration such as photographs or fabric swatches.

Here are some techniques you can use to develop your ideas:

Mind mapping:

Have you ever worked with mind mapping? I find it fascinating. What is mind mapping? It is a powerful tool that can help you organize your thoughts and ideas visually. To create a mind map, start by writing your main idea or theme in the centre of a blank page and then draw branches out from it to represent different subtopics or aspects of the idea. You can then add more branches and sub-branches as needed, grouping related ideas together and connecting them with lines or arrows.

To develop a series of work using mind mapping, you might start by writing your main concept or theme in the centre of the page and then branching out to explore different ways you could express that theme. For example, if your theme is “nature,” you might brainstorm different aspects of nature that inspire you, such as flowers, trees, animals, or landscapes. From there, you could explore different techniques or styles that could be used to represent those aspects of nature in textile form, such as embroidery, quilting, weaving, painting, etc.

As you continue to build out your mind map, you can use it to experiment with different combinations of techniques, materials, and subject matter, and to identify common threads or patterns that emerge. You might also use the mind map to keep track of references, sketches, or notes related to your ideas.

Overall, mind mapping can be a great way to generate and organize ideas for a series, and to explore different creative possibilities in a structured and flexible way.

Visual research:

Visual research can involve gathering and analyzing a wide range of visual materials, such as photographs, sketches, paintings, illustrations, etc. The purpose of visual research is to explore a particular theme or subject matter and to gain insights into the possible approaches to developing artwork.

In the context of textile art, visual research can involve studying different techniques, materials, colours, patterns, and textures that can be incorporated into the artwork. This can include exploring historical and cultural references, examining contemporary art, and looking at current fashion trends.

Here are some ideas:

Gather visual references: With your theme in mind, start gathering visual references that relate to it: images from books, magazines, and online sources, as well as sketches and photographs that you take yourself.

Analyze the references: Once you have a collection of visual references, analyze them to identify common themes, motifs, colours, and textures. Look for patterns or trends that emerge, and consider how you can incorporate these elements into your own artwork.

Experiment with different techniques: Use the visual references to experiment with different techniques: consider how you can replicate all those textures and colours. Play around with different materials to see how they interact with each other.

Refine and develop your ideas: Based on your experiments, refine and develop your ideas. Here’s where the “what if…” comes to play. What if you do this? What if you do that? what happens if I use this technique of that piece of fabric? Go back and add to your mind map often.

Remember, generating ideas is a process that requires exploration, experimentation, and iteration. Don’t be afraid to try different approaches and see what works best for you. And most importantly, have fun!

Are you loving this series? Share your thoughts and leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

Next time, we’ll continue to explore how to develop your idea. Join me then? In the meantime, thanks for reading and keep creating,

Ana

PS: if you are looking for a way to learn, be inspired and create, check out my program Create2Flourish. Registration is now open.