Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Blue, and I'm really excited to be learning with you today.

I hope you find our lesson as interesting as I do.

Let's get started.

The outcome of this lesson is, I can review the range of ways textile artists have been inspired by landscapes and arts.

Let's review our keywords: Landscape, which means all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their visual appeal; perspective, a technique to show depth and distance using scale or spatial arrangements; layering, a textile method of building up surface with fabric, stitch, or embellishment.

Let's start with textile artists spotlight on landscapes.

Why do you think artists and designers are drawn to landscapes in textile arts? Pause the video here while you have a think.

Here's an example of a depiction of Vietnam birds as a silk painting.

Artists across history and cultures have been inspired to create textile works featuring landscapes.

Textile artists take different approaches to materials, techniques, and themes in their work.

Some themes and techniques textile artists might use when creating a landscape artwork are achieving accurate perspective, exploring scale, viewpoints, and perspectives, celebrating nature's beauty, using landscape symbolically to explore other topics, commenting on important issues.

How does this textile artwork capture a realistic sense of place and what techniques might the artists have used? Pause the video while you come up with your answer.

Some textile artists focus on capturing a realistic sense of place using techniques like photographic transfer, applique, dyeing and stitch to show detail, texture, and colour.

This accurate approach is often seen in western landscape traditions, like on the left.

In some textile traditions, realistic perspective is less important than storytelling or cultural meaning.

Artists may use layered viewpoints, symbolic forms, or abstraction to explore connections to place.

Yvonne Koolmatrie uses coiled weaving to depict the Murray River landscape and her Ngarrindjeri heritage.

"Coorong Dreaming," 1995 celebrates cultural identity through symbolic form and storytelling.

Eng Tow creates cloth-relief panels celebrating nature's unseen energies.

Her triptych "Eclipse," 1983 uses stitched ribbed fabric and subtle spray dye to evoke movements of the moon and the sublime qualities of celestial landscapes.

Let's decide if this statement is true or false.

Textile traditions always try to create realistic perspective in their landscape inspired work.

Pause the video while you decide on your answer.

The correct answer is false.

Why? Because textile traditions often focus on symbolic, cultural, or emotional meanings.

Many use stylized forms, patterns, or multiple viewpoints rather than aiming for realistic perspective.

How would you describe the angle or perspective of this landscape? Pause the video here while you come up with your answer.

Fast perspectives might suggest awe, distance, or the power of nature.

Closeup details might feel personal or intimate.

How can these differences create alternative meanings? Pause the video here while you decide.

Andeep says, "A broad view can make me think about how big or magnificent the world is." Laura says, "An artwork showing intimate details might focus attention on one place or issue." Lucas says, "Artists might choose to use unrealistic scale or perspective to challenge reality." Which of the following best explains why an artist might use a broad view of a landscape? Is it A, to focus only on one small detail, B, to create a pattern with repeated shapes, C, to show the vastness or beauty of more of the land, or D, to avoid using realistic colours? Pause the video here while you decide on your answer.

The correct answer is C, to show the vastness of beauty of, more of the land.

Artists experimenting a perspective, scale, and composition in their textile landscapes include: In "Life Goes On," 2020, Ruth Norbury uses layered fabrics, embroidery and spray paint to depict a crumbling building in the landscape, exploring gothic themes of decay and memory.

In his "Autumn 21" collection, Connor Ives created a felted suit featuring a vivid pastoral landscape inspired by his mother's American folk arts.

The effect is both nostalgic and surreal, a walking canvas of scenery, memory, and place.

Let's have a look at this example.

Textile artists can use landscapes to celebrate nature's beauty and foster appreciation for ecological diversity.

Can you think of any local artists or designers who do this? Pause the video while you come up with some.

Textile artists with an interest in capturing beauty in nature include: Gaelle Chassery makes tactile wool-based pieces inspired by the landscape, topography, and atmosphere of the land where the wool has grown; Joseph Frank creates textiles filled with lush landscapes, fantastical plants, fruits, and creatures celebrating imperfection and natural beauty; Kazuhito Takadoi uses grasses, twigs, and natural fibres grown in his garden to create stitched landscapes that reflect the quiet rhythms and cycles of nature.

Textile artists can use landscapes symbolically to express many themes.

Can you think of any themes that artists might comment on through the subject of landscapes? Pause the video here while you decide.

Izzy says, "I think this artwork could be about connection to our environment.

The pattern on this dress looks like it's part of the landscape." Alex says, "This work might symbolise belonging, like the idea of having roots in a place." Let's decide if this statement is true or false.

Textile artists and designers might use landscapes to explore personal connections to a place.

Is this true or false? Pause the video here while you come up with your answer.

The correct answer is true.

Why? Because many textile artists and designers use landscapes symbolically to express this and other themes.

Artists using landscapes to communicate about other topics include: Gabriel Dawe who creates thread-based installations that respond to light and Arctic landscapes, capturing moments of awe, environmental fragility, and transcendence.

Matthew Harris makes stitched and painted textiles inspired by walks and maps using landscapes to create memory, time, and repetition.

His abstract marks hint at place without directly describing it.

Heather Collins creates detailed nature-inspired textile pieces using free machine embroidery and mixed fabrics to capture the diversity of the natural world.

Textile artists can use landscapes and the themes they symbolise to comment on important issues in society.

This might be part of a social action project.

What important issues do you think artists might address through the theme of landscape? Pause the video while you have a think.

Shezad Dawood in works like "Expedition," 2016 stitches together fabric, screenprint, and paint to build imagined journeys through changing landscapes.

His work reflects on climate change, colonialism, and migration using landscape as a backdrop.

Enam Gbewonyo in "The Oculus/The Third Eye," 2019 uses hand knitted tights to create a spiralling installation for her performance art.

Her work creates a metaphorical landscape that explores race, beauty standards, and belonging.

Textile artists may also use landscapes as a subject in art and design to document natural disasters, migration, and displacement, contrasting natural best built environments as a way to hold stories and cultural heritage, connecting to beliefs, ceremonies, or sacred sites.

Select two or three textile artists, designers, or specific works and compare them.

Consider these questions: In what ways are the works visually similar or different? Think about subject colour, tone, shape, style, composition, and materials.

What themes, symbols, or ideas to the works explore? Are there any connections between them in meaning, technique, or context? Pause the video while you get on with the task.

You may have said something like Sofia, "Shezad Dawood's 'Expedition' shows imagined journeys through changing landscapes.

Yvonne Koolmatrie's 'Coorong Dreaming' uses woven forms to represent the Murray River and her Ngarrindjeri heritage." Jacob says, "dawood's work explores global issues like climate change and migration.

Koolmatrie's is focused on place, culture, and Aboriginal identity.

They both use landscape to tell stories about people and their connection to land." Let's have a look at what these two artists have in common.

Shezad Dawood uses stitched fabric, paint, and print.

He explores imagined journeys through changing landscapes and climate change, migration, colonialism.

Yvonne uses coiled weaving with natural materials.

She looks at dreaming stories, celebrates her Ngarrindjeri culture and identity.

What they have in common is a symbolic exploration of cultural identity and connection to place.

Now let's have a look at visual deconstruction in landscapes.

What do you notice about this first artwork? Pause the video here while you have a look.

Textile artists use various techniques to communicate visually in their work.

For example, the elements of art, linem tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, and texture, also composition, space and perspective, materials and techniques, imagery and subject.

We can deconstruct these techniques to understand the work more deeply.

How does analysing a textile artist's use of the elements of art helps understand the artwork better? Is it A, allowing us to notice details that create mood, meaning, and focus? B, to help us see the techniques the textile artists use to express ideas and emotions? C, it only matters if the textile artist explains their work? Or D, it tells us exactly what the textile artist wanted us to think without any personal interpretation? Pause the video while you come up with your answer.

The correct answers are A and B, it allows us to notice details that create mood, meaning, and focus.

Analysing a textile artist's use of elements of art also helps us to see the techniques the textile artists use to explore ideas and emotions.

So how are the elements of art used in this work? Pause the video here to come up with some ideas.

You can see here horizontal lines created by felting techniques.

The shapes and forms are all flowing and natural.

The colours in the work are bold and contrasting.

The tonal contrast on the right hand side draws our attention.

Patterns can be found loose details and fibres.

The felt has created organic textures.

Textile artists often translates nature's colours, textures, and forms into works that capture the feel of the landscapes.

Some create directly from nature, collecting and layering materials, colours, and textures.

Many use eco-friendly methods to highlight the importance of protecting the environment.

So why does some textile artists choose to create work directly from their natural environments? Is it A, to avoid using synthetic materials and cut waste? B, to collect colours, textures, and inspirations from nature? C, to sell their work in outdoor markets in the local area? Or D, to avoid working in a studio where it is too dark? Pause the video here while you decide on your answers.

The correct answer is B, to collect colour, textures, and inspiration from nature.

How's this artwork captured the feel of the landscape? Pause the video here while you come up with your ideas.

For one, the shifting tone from one side to the other suggests a sunrise by mimicking the light of early morning.

Darker tones on the right hand side create depth and dramatic atmosphere.

The emphasise highlights of yellow, like the rising sun, are often associated with peace and tranquillity.

Textile artists and designers can use perspective or viewpoint in their landscape in the range of ways.

In the first picture, you look at the image from above, an aerial view.

In the middle picture, we are looking at it from eye level.

Finally, we're looking at the image from below.

Let's decide if this statement is true or false.

Textile artists and designers must use viewpoints from a standing position at eye level in their landscape works.

Is this true or false? Pause the video here while you decide.

The correct answer is false.

Why? Because textile artists and designers can use a range of viewpoints.

Some choose to include more than one viewpoint in a single work.

Select one textile artwork, design or fashion item and describe it.

Pause the video here while you complete this task.

Think about what you can see in the artwork, the elements of arts, which include line tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, texture, composition, space and perspective, materials and techniques, imagery and subject.

Think about how the textile artist or designer used these techniques to communicate with the audience.

You might record this in an idea shower around an image of an artwork.

Write it as a paragraph or create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

Pause the video here while you complete the task.

You might have looked at an artwork like this one.

This landscape shows an urban underpass scene.

The composition is abstracted with embroidered and applique layers of geometric shapes.

Textures are created with different mark making and machine stitch.

The use of lace stands out here.

The work uses high contrasts between deep blues and yellow tones.

It's shown from my level like we could be stood there.

Here's another example.

This work is shown from an aerial viewpoint, like a topographic map.

The composition fills the space with rectangular repeated shapes.

Flowing lines resemble a river, the use of fibres and threads draw your attention to tactile elements.

The work used as a black and white area of collage and text and paler foreground to create contrast.

Some shapes and forms are all organic and flowing.

Finally, let's look at the personal connection in textile art, landscapes.

What can we learn from studying the work of textile artists and designers? Pause the video while you come up with some ideas.

Aisha says, "Artwork of a similar theme can help develop ideas rather than just an artwork that uses the same technique." Jun says, I'll look at techniques and perspective and try to apply them to my theme." Sam says, "Work that has similar imagery or landscapes can inspire, even if the idea is different." Let's fill in the gap.

We can look at other textile artists and designers work to gain inspiration through their use of, blank, imagery and themes, helping to develop and enrich their own creative ideas.

Pause the video while you complete the sentence.

The correct answer is techniques.

There are many ways we might form a personal connection with an artwork, for example, by responding in various ways to the techniques used or the themes expressed.

We can also build personal connections by exploring how landscapes might represent deeper meanings or ideas to us personally.

By deconstructing both the themes and techniques in an artwork, we often discover links with and ideas for our own work.

Let's have a look at this example again.

What themes or deeper meanings might this landscape represent to you? Pause the video while you come up with some ideas.

Aisha says, "I would be interested in the use of light and colour to respond to my theme of reflections." Jacob says, "My theme is religion.

It makes me think about the breaking of dawn, which is an important time in many faiths for praying." Sofia says, "This sunrise reflects my theme of home and travel by showing landscapes we see while moving." Can you think of any other theme interpretations? Pause the video while you come up with some.

Let's test your knowledge.

Is this statement true or false? We can only establish a personal connection with a textile landscape if we are planning to make textile landscapes ourselves.

Is this true or false? Pause the video here while you decide on your answer.

The correct answer is false.

Why? Because we can connect to textile landscape art through materials, textures, or ideas it explores.

Artists may interpret nature in ways that relate to our own memories, values, or experiences, even if we are not making the same type of work.

For this task, you can select one textile artwork, design or fashion piece, and use the questions below to consider your personal connection.

What themes, materials, or ideas are explored in this piece? Are there any stitch details, objects or surface textures that create meaning or tell a story? Which textile techniques such as print, embellishment, layering, or construction, do you find inspiring and how might you use them in your own work? You might record this as an idea shower around an image of an artwork.

Write it as a paragraph or create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

Pause the video while you work on this task.

Let's have a look at this example.

You may have said, "The underpass shows how people connect and move through urban landscapes.

It highlights how networks link the communities we live in.

The lace embellishment adds a historical element and when place alongside a group of mothers pushing prams suggests our own deep connection to one another.

I plan to print everyday landmarks from my hometown to draw attention to places which are often overlooked." Here's another example, "This piece looks at the theme of borders, boundaries, and edges.

The aerial view shows how the natural landscape forms boundaries and creates patterns.

I'm drawn to the mix of fibres and textures packed into both geometric and organic shapes, which suggests boundaries that shift and change.

I'll create an abstract landscape, embroidering found natural fibres from my local area to reflect my journey to school." To summarise, textile artists can explore landscapes using material, texture, and technique.

Perspective, viewpoint, and scale in textiles can be used to create depth or convey symbolic meaning.

Landscape-inspired textile art can celebrate nature's beauty or explore cultural, spiritual, or environmental themes.

Textures, layering and embellishment help express surface atmosphere and personal or collective connection to place.

Thank you so much for listening and paying attention.

I hope you enjoyed and learn something new.

See you next time!.