The Technique
Adapting this technique for a clear perspex wall hanging was a challenge. For those of us old enough to have lived through “string art” being a household activity, the idea of not using a timber background is very different. In those days you got a piece of timber and nailed in the supports for the string pattern – either nails or tacks depending on the number of layers of string/wool you planned to use.
The title for this class was Transparency and it was specified as a wall hanging that would be displayed on an easel for judging. I thought that having the backing being transparent would be a good way to interpret this class.
Starting with a square of perspex I have drilled holes at measured intervals on all sides, then inserted small timber skewer lengths (pegs for want of a better term) so that they are equidistant front and back. These were also glued into the holes to ensure stability and provide tension points for the stringing.
One one side, using every second peg I have strung a standard pattern with jute. On the other side, using the same pegs I have strung corner patterns with coloured jute and plain jute. This allows the pattern to be seen both sides as I had not yet decided which would be the front and which the back.
At this point I had thought to add more stringing using the unused pegs but felt it was becoming too “filled in” and the idea of transparency would be lost.
The Design
As I felt vials would detract from the geometric feel of the design, I decided to use dried plant material and seedpods that could be “caught” in the stringing.
When placing the wall hanging on to the staging easel, the jute at the back of the design was being lost so I used some more of the coloured jute repeating the overall pattern at the back but utilising the spare pegs.
Camellia seed pods, dried and open are placed in two of the front corners. As jute is now permitted in competition as a plant derived material/natural material I felt the design had sufficient plant material to be judged.
This design placed second.
Judges Comments: Innovative and clear interpretation of the class title. Not enough of the available space has been used. Larger plant material in the corner placements would help with the scale/proportion.
