Bursaries & Awards
The Textile Society Student Bursary Winners
2013
Postgraduate Student Award
Emma Sheldon
Royal College of Art
System
Emma’s work explored fabric manipulation through laser cut pattern; layering and bonding different materials to build flexible, three-dimensional structures. Her extensive body of samples demonstrated a breadth of scale and weight, resulting in an imaginative collection of textiles expressing a variety of movement and form. Emma’s investigations explored a broad range of design applications, from sculptural body pieces to aerodynamic ‘skins’ for the automotive industry. Her most recent work re-introduced drawing and its potential to contrast mechanical structure with gestural mark-making, bringing new energy and creative direction to the project.
Postgraduate Runner Up
Classification of Refugees
Chloe’s project was stimulated by her engagement with community arts. Creative dialogue with refugees and asylum seekers had generated ideas for printed and stitched products. A collection of bags, birds and creatures incorporated imagery that reflected the origins and memories of individuals in the group. Items were designed to be interactive, and an animated film supported this element, describing the cutting and making of cloth kits, and promoting the potential of the design collection as a sustainable project in the longer term. The work explores the commemoration of refugees, through mapping journeys, documenting narratives and classifying data.
Postgraduate Runner Up
Braids under Construction
Emma’s stitched, printed and braided textiles referenced the political banners associated with British social history, and archival photographs had been used to generate large-scale ideas and explorations. In contrast, a recent intervention with the Whitworth Museum had triggered a smaller commission piece - a compelling response to its collection of ancient Egyptian textiles. A child’s garment was re-interpreted to reflect the ‘life’ in hidden objects, attempting to re-connect a fragment with its past. Intervention with museums and their audiences was considered a significant element of this project and its development in the future.
Undergraduate Student Award
Patterned Fruits
Hannah’s project demonstrated a clear commitment to drawing and observation. A rich body of studies in ink had informed her design collection. Qualities of line and mark had been carefully reproduced in silk-screen and skillfully manipulated in pattern and repeat. This resulted in a strong collection of printed textiles that resonated vibrant colour in a variety of scale and composition. The illustrative qualities in Hannah’s work suggested potential for a breadth of contemporary contexts, spanning scarves and accessories, wallpapers and interiors, and book arts. .
Undergraduate Runner Up
Emily Ong
Chelsea College of Art and Design
Unveiling Hidden Beauty
Emily’s woven textiles were developed from a series of observations, researching the delicate pattern and structure of fungi. Watercolour studies were translated into a collection of textile strips and panels incorporating folds and pleats. Particular attention had been paid to the flow of dark, rippled edges, graduated colour and tone, and the weight and density of different fibres. High twist silk and wool yarns had been sampled on triple warps to create rhythm and movement. The potential for these translucent textiles will be explored as collars, ruffs and wrappings for the body.
Undergraduate Runner Up
Indigo Crescents: a knitwear collection which re-imagines ideas of tribal ceremonial dress
Miriam’s project was inspired by the extreme head-dresses of Chinese minority cultures, exploring shaped and cut ‘horn’ pieces within knitted structures. These had developed from sculptural body pieces, through to three-dimensional inserts fully integrated within garment sections. Exploratory samples investigated the technical challenge in balancing the rigidity of cut shapes with the flexibility of knit, considering how this could be creatively exploited to add weight and form to a garment. This was supported by a collection of fashion illustrations communicating a breadth of ideas.
2012
Postgraduate Student Award
Mapping Ackworth School
Hannah has collected narratives of attendances at the school, and then recorded these memories by stitching them in black and white into cloth, in much the same way that an archaeologist would chart and layer site excavations on paper. The purpose of archaeology is understood as the study of past societies and human development, and thus the judges made connections with the work of textile conservators, historians and makers, to recognise that Hannah is contributing to social and historic record by enabling memories ‘to speak for themselves’ through the use of thread and stitch.
Postgraduate Runner Up
Louise Tucker
Chelsea College of the Arts
21st Century Weaving
Amy George
West Dean College
Exploration into the use of unconventional textiles for artistic Intent
Undergraduate Student Award
Proposal for Studying an MA in Fine Art
The judges thought the context for her work was extremely well articulated, belying the concept of dyslexia and its associated problems. Alison develops textile as a metaphorical vehicle to convey and translate the difficulties with visual communication, offering an alternative visual language. Her work is refreshingly honest and innovative, supported by a depth and breadth of research. It offers the viewer an opportunity to consider the impact of words, but in addition the intelligent play on narrative offers a diversity of perceived outcomes.
Undergraduate Runners Up
Kathryn Beckett
Glasgow School of Art
Geometries of Light
Meg Held
Glasgow School of Art
Assemblage
Critcal Writing Award
Traditional ajrakh block printing
Ruth Clifford’s paper showed the development of the traditional ajrakh block printing in India for contemporary markets. She used an anthropological approach to show how in a rapidly changing country, which is growing economically, the artisans were applying their craft. The judges were particularly impressed with her use of new primary sources, which she had gathered through going to India. Ruth’s findings also showed that because of improved educational facilities, the artisans were growing in confidence and producing new and exciting designs to suit the contemporary markets. The Textile Society Critical Writing Award will go towards further research in India allowing her to build a rich collection of data.
2011
Postgraduate Student Award
Lauren Barfoot
Royal College of Art
Engineered Flora
All three judges agreed that Lauren's designs have instant visual impact and they recognised links with the works of Paul Poiret, Sonia Delaunay, Raoul Dufy and also Kenzo and McQueen. In addition to her signature intricate decorative style and bold use of colour, Lauren is applying innovative garment engineering by placing her designs directly onto flat garment forms at the point of digital printing; the forms can then be cut out and constructed with just a few simple seams. She is also exploring ways to apply digitally printed fabric onto secondary materials such as neoprene, in order to extend the qualities of the digital print process. She plans to use the bursary to purchase materials for her final project at the RCA; these will enrich her creative repertoire by allowing more scope for experimentation.
Postgraduate Runner Up
Ye Li
Glasgow School of Art
Fashion as a Canvas
Ye Li describes textile as a link between fine art and decoration. She has been looking at the work of artists such as David Hockney, Henri Matisse and Patrick Caulfield to help inspire her own approach to printed textiles and fashion clothing design, and to aid her contextualisation of 'fashion as a canvas'. Her prints are vigorous and energetic, like paintings. For the garment silhouette, she is using origami forms, and will mount printed silks onto Staflex to create folding and volume. The bursary will support the costs of materials for her final MA project
Undergraduate Student Award
Gwyneth Depport
University of Central Lancashire
Conversations
In selecting the winner for the BA Bursary, the judges were impressed by the depth of original research, and the exploration of traditional processes of drawing, painting, and stitch, within a contemporary translation and innovative application of screen and digital print. The value of recyclingis explored as process within a well contextualised theme referencing social interaction. The work crosses the boundaries of art, textile, craft and design, and the combination of hand crafted and digitally produced imagery embraces a future ethos that recognises the values and importance of tradition and technology. Gwyneth has produced a unique series of conversational pieces that have a universal appeal, and would happily translate within an art or design context. She will use the bursary to enable further research, and to purchase materials and equipment for the final degree show.
Undergraduate Runners Up
Lauren Fowler - Blackberrying
London College of Fashion
Jessica Penrose - A Journey Across Continents and Centuries
University of Central Lancashire
Annice Callery - The Division of Common Land
Glasgow School of Art
2010
MA Student Award
Julie James-Turner
University of Central Lancashire
Her work offered a combination of historical research with modern interpretation through laser cutting. Her concept reusing pieces such as collars and buttons also brought a fresh approach through collage to the much discussed issue of recycling.
BA Student Award
Jennifer Sturrock
London College of Fashion
Her work showed innovative material outcomes from tightly packed lycra knits all in cool neutral colours to innovative jewellery using elastic bands.
2007
Art & Design Award
I dream of bears and beasts
Stephanie's work is inspired by exhibits held at the National Museum of Copenhagen. Her sources include pencil drawings of grizzly monsters made by an Inuit Shaman from Greenland and other animals of Scandinavia: "realising their beauty; the eerie and the dark temperament of the culture; looking at inky barren landscapes; the feeling and colours of the Northern Lights and the wilderness". The award enabled funding of fabrics, printed materials and finishes as well as outsourcing laser cutting facilities.
History Award
Lu Zhiyong
MA Textile Conservation
Textile Conservation Centre, Winchester
A Chinese Liao (907-1125) Silk Sock: Research on the Decoration, Materials and Decorative Techniques
Gold paint and patterns made of decorative pieces glued onto the fabric make the sock from the Abegg-Foundation a rare survivor. This kind of decoration was rare on ancient costume and there is no literature available. Travel to view objects in related collections and instrumental analysis including Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope, were both made possible by the award.
Science Award
Rachel Rhodes
MA Textile Conservation
Textile Conservation Centre, Winchester
The Identification and Conservation of Real and Simulated Pearls used as part of Textile objects
Encountering pearls on Opus Anglicanum embroidery and simulated pearls on couture dresses was the inspiration for this research. Rachel used electronic equipment to discover the simplest and most effective methods of identifying pearls, her results and findings will be used to help the future conservation of precious textile objects. The award enabled expanded research and purchase of a wider variety of samples.
Business Award
Lucy Catherine Allen
BA(Hons) Fashion Retail Management
Birmigham Institute of Art & Design
The Aquapack
An ecologically considered water safety backpack for water sport enthusiasts, the Aquapack was designed to enhance safety and performance without restricting the wearer. Its ergonomic design offers scope for innovative future product development. The award has enabled Lucy to purchase electronic components and apply for a patent.
2006
Claire Diamond
Goldsmith's College
So near and yet so far
Laura Glasel
Huddersfield University
My Dutch and Danish Experience
Malin Svard
BA(Hons)Textile Design
Central Saint Martins
My Favourite Songs
2005
Angelica Gigica
West Dean College
Tapestry project
Caterina Radvan
London College of Fashion
