Prototype tapestry: 

I decided to create a prototype tapestry so that I could figure out sizing include the length and width that I wanted my pieces to be and came to the conclusion that 2 metres would be a good length for the three wall hangings. I sewed this piece together using a sewing machine and created seems that ran across the back of the work. I struggled a little bit with getting the seems to be neat and tidy and sometimes there would be gaps where I could poke my fingers through, I think that moving forwards I need to get some advice or look at some tutorials on how to do this properly. 

Overall, I think that this was a successful development that has allowed me to move forward with a clearer picture in my head of what I want for my final body of work. when looking at this work I noticed that the edges seemed uneven and frayed, the more I look at it the more I realise that I want the outside edges of my work to be uniform and tidy. I like the idea of the work being a mixture and balance of the ordinary and surreal with neat edges contrasting the strangeness of the images. 

When I look at the cyanotypes where I have painted the solution all the way to the edge compared to the ones where I have I don't like them as much, and to me it feels as if they are lacking something. With the cyanotypes that I have boarder on, when sewing them together there seems to be this connection and collaboration with the grounded and surreal aspects oft the work. The boarder creates distance and a disconnect but through the process of stitching and sewing I am able to bring a feeling of connection and closeness back to the work. I think that small aspects like this play on the viewers feelings and thoughts in a subconscious way. It's not immediately obvious what I've done but undertones and feelings are there. 

                                         

Obviously, some of the images that I have used for this prototype won't be used within my final work like the flowers and the images of my hands. For the flowers, these were just used so that I could quickly create some cyanotypes to show my course mates and the subject doesn't have anything to do with the theme of my project so I win't be taking them forward. When it comes to the hands, I thought that I might be able to use these images due to the fact that I will also have a large cyanotype of my own silhouette so there would be a more obvious connection between the two images. But after seeing them amongst the images that depict liminal spaces I though that they looked quite odd and out of place, I don't believe that there was enough of a connection to warrant them being there. Although I am looking at the surreal I want my work to have some sort of coherence to it, not for it to be an odd mix and match of random images. 

I think that the only cause for concern would be that the cyanotypes of my hands seemed to discolour in certain areas after I had washed and dried them which was odd and hasn't happened before. The only reason I can think for this to happen is that the cyanotype mixture I used was getting too old, I will be making a fresh batch moving forward to try and fix this issue.