Spiders from Mars

I've now just completed week three of our new Contemporary Textiles for Professional Practice project.  This time the assignment is defined by exterior parties and I have chosen the Hand and Lock Prize for Embroidery Design 2013 competition, inspired by 'The Past is the Future'.   For this I need to create hand stitched samples inspired by a juxtaposition of 1970s glam rock and Tudors.

 

Specifically I have decided to take inspiration from Ziggy Stardust and Elizabeth I.  I've been looking in detail at the design of Elizabeth's dresses how they were embroidered and embellished, all being hand made.  I've noticed that a lot of the clothes worn by her and others such as Henry VIII have lots of puffs on the surface, where fabric has been slit and another layer pulled through to make a puff. I'm trying to base my designs on this construction concept, and I've decided to continue my work and development of my sinamay spheres from the innovation project, as well as looking at Canadian and North American smocking to create puffs and surface texture of varying sizes.  

 

All of the samples must be hand stitched and I'm intending to screen print some of my fabrics to create additional depth and surface pattern.  My colour palette is derived from the Ziggy Stardust artwork, as well as my own 1970s Mary Quant Daisy Diary with lots of reds and oranges.  Finally I've tried to look at the lyrics from the songs go Ziggy Stardust as well as the visuals, although I have to say the words don't make a lot of sense, although based on my colour palette and initial stitch ideas I am immediately drawn to 'Spiders from Mars' which Mark thinks is a bit too obvious!