Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about mixed-media textiles, combining materials and methods.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in today's lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to review your project and develop ideas to create a mixed-media motif development sample.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords we'll be using during the lesson.

Refine means improving and adjusting your work to make it stronger.

Motif development means changing and repeating a design idea to make it more effective.

And mixed-media in textiles combines different materials and techniques, like print, embroidery or applique, in one piece.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson: from source to motif development, and creating a mixed-media motif development.

So in this first learning cycle, we're going to take a look at the source to motif development.

Outcomes from today might be something like these images here.

In textiles, a mixed-media piece combines different materials and techniques in one artwork.

This might include layering printed fabric with embroidery, applique, beading, or even non-traditional materials like plastic or paper.

Mixed-media allows artists and designers to refine texture, depth and contrast, creating rich and expressive textile pieces.

Which materials and techniques can you see used in this textile artwork? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your peers and press play when you're ready to continue.

When artists look through their sketchbooks, they can reflect on their own ideas and see how their work has developed.

Artists inspired to create mixed-media textiles include Joana Vasconcelos, known for large-scale textile installations using crochet, embroidery, found objects and everyday materials.

Her playful yet political work explores gender, tradition, and consumer culture.

Hannah Hill, an embroidery and illustration artist, blends personal stories, punk culture, and feminist themes through detailed hand-stitched pieces.

Sumi Perera uses many different disciplines, working as a doctor, scientist and artist.

Paddy Hartley explores how people's bodies can change, either on purpose or because of accidents or injuries, and how these changes connect to stories about history and conflict.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Artists jump straight into final pieces without planning.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that's false, you're right, well done.

But why is that statement false? Pause the video here and explain to your partner how this statement is false And press play when you're ready to continue.

Perhaps you said something similar to most artists use sketchbooks to explore, refine, and test their ideas.

Strong final work is built on strong research and development.

Well done.

Reviewing a sketchbook allows space to reflect on how ideas have grown and changed.

Earlier pages can offer fresh inspiration and help guide the next creative steps.

Drawing helps artists plan and develop ideas for textile designs.

It's a way to explore shapes, textures, and how a motif might look when used in designs.

Sketching helps refine ideas and make confident design choices before beginning to make other mixed-media pieces.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is the purpose of having strong drawings in your sketchbook? To decorate the page with colour, to show the teacher you've been working, to develop clear motifs and ideas for design work, to practise handwriting and layout.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said to develop clear motifs and ideas for design work, you're right.

That's the purpose of having strong drawings in your sketchbook.

When planning textile designs, drawing is a way to explore shapes, textures, and how a motif might look when stitched onto fabric as part of a mixed-media piece.

Sketching helps refine ideas and guide confident design choices.

Can you see all the different areas of drawing on this page? So we've got elements here where watercolours have maybe been used, maybe some pens and also some coloured pencils.

When planning a mixed-media textile piece, we can identify sources to develop to a motif.

So here we can see some ideas that have been pulled from the sketchbook here to focus on a particular motif that we can develop.

These photographic sources have been developed through painting, focusing on colour and pattern.

Aisha says, "Jun has lots of great drawings in his project.

I have helped him choose the ones that could work well as a motif.

The octopus could have interesting shapes that could work well as embroideries." Jun says, "I can combine the motif shapes that I made from my drawings to create a motif development.

I could then stitch this new design onto one or more of my samples, and this will turn my work into a mixed-media piece." Motifs with strong lines, texture or movement often translate well into stitch and support strong motif development.

So here's some examples here.

Can you see how those strong lines and the texture have been transferred to this motif development here? This now brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to choose a source or drawing to develop into a motif.

You should look at the drawings and sources you have so far in one of your projects.

You should discuss with a partner, which shapes could work best as a motif.

And select shapes, lines, patterns or colours from your source to develop into a simple motif.

Then once you've chosen that, develop your ideas to plan a motif development.

You might develop your motif by reviewing the motifs you have created, combining or repeating shapes, developing or refining lines, shapes, colours and patterns, deciding what type of textile techniques and materials you would like to use with your motif development.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to go through both steps of this learning task and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, let's have a look at an example here.

There are so many possibilities, but maybe Jun here has developed some interesting shapes from his source of fungi into a motif that focuses on pattern and contrast.

He plans to add embroidery and applique to his prints to create mixed-media pieces with more texture.

And he says, "I selected two motifs" that he would like to combine in his motif development.

He says, "I think the wavy lines in both drawings will complement each other.

Together they will create a hybrid organic form.

And I plan to use soft textured fabrics and stitch to create movement." So well done if you were able to select a source and create that motif development.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson where we're going to be creating a mixed-media motif development.

Artists choose inspiring subjects to develop into motifs.

In this example, the jellyfish has been selected for its shape and movement.

They develop motifs by refining elements and selecting parts that work best for embroidery, printing or applique.

Do you know of any artists, maybe locally, who use embroidery to develop a motif? Artists think about which motifs, shapes and prints suit stitch and how adding embroidery can make interesting mixed-media pieces.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is the purpose of developing a motif in your sketchbook? To fill space on the page with motif, so you can trace the motif easily without changing it, to test and refine the design before using it in embroidery or applique or because all textile artists use the same motif.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said to test and refine the design before using it in embroidery or applique, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

Artists might combine individual motifs.

Jun says, "I've printed my repeat pattern on various white and dyed cottons, and it's worked really well.

I now want to use one of my motif developments to create a design for embroidery or applique on the print." Aisha says, "Jun has tested stitching the octopus before working on his prints, combining embroidery and applique.

This is his motif development piece.

He adapted the design slightly and it works well.

He has added extra tentacles to give it more movement." Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Once I've chosen my motif, I shouldn't change it.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that's false, you're absolutely right, but why is that statement false? Pause the video here and explain to your partner why this statement is false.

And press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said something like, "Artists often refine and adapt motifs as they move into embroidery or applique.

Adjusting scale, removing detail or altering shapes can make the design more effective and easier to work with in fabric and stitch," well done.

There are many ways to develop a motif, including applique and stitch.

You can see from this motif here how applique and stitch has been included.

Artists who use mixed-media textile techniques include Brendan O'Shaughnessy who uses mixed-media textiles to create sculptures that show nature's complexity and highlight environmental issues.

Faig Ahmed reinterprets traditional Azerbaijani carpets using digital distortion and textile manipulation, blending heritage and contemporary design.

Kenny Nguyen uses mixed-media textiles, especially painted silk strips, layering and shaping them to create three-dimensional painting.

Bernie Leahy uses textiles alongside paint, bronze and digital media to create layered artworks that explore the human connection.

The process of making a mixed-media textile final piece can look like this, from the motif design to the motif development, and then the final mixed-media textile outcome.

The process can also look like this, the motif here where you incorporate two different drawings, motif development, and a final mixed-media piece that maybe looks slightly different.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to create a mixed-media motif development sample.

Reflect and refine your motif development.

You should review and reflect on your motif development plan.

Make any refinements to ensure that your design transfers well to stitch.

And then stitch your motif development.

You should select the fabric you want to work on.

Select fabrics and thread or mixed-media materials, such as beads.

Create your applique or embroidery motif development sample.

And you could develop your work further by adding your motif development to existing textile work, including embellishing printed fabric, applique, beading or embroidery on non-traditional materials like plastic or paper.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to work through these steps of this learning task.

And press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you find that? Well, Jun says, "I combined applique, stitch, textured fabrics and beads to create my motif development.

I have digitally superimposed my motif development onto a printed fabric background that I already created, to plan a mixed-media final outcome." Take a look at how the motif development has turned into the textile outcome.

You can see how the applique and the stitch and the texture that those have created has then been applied to the printed fabric background, and it really stands out against that fabric background, creating that successful mixed-media outcome.

So well done for creating your own mixed-media motif development sample.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about mixed-media textiles through combining materials and methods.

Artists often create mixed-media pieces by combining different materials and techniques, such as printing, embroidery and applique.

Motif development explores and adapts visual ideas through research, drawing and sampling.

Artists refine their designs, making adjustments so motifs translate effectively into fabric and stitch.

This process allows artists to plan layered, textured textile works that blend creativity, technical skill, and personal expression.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.