peer workshop

1. MA Peer WorkshopProposalName: Kath Lovett
Introduction:
My current field of interest is adding value to waste materials though time and care.
The waste materials of the home are given meaning by stitching into and printing
upon. Ideas around ‘matter out of place’ and the abject are touched up by using
Dettol and baby wipes as my main medium. I am also interested in the idea of the
needle piercing the membrane as an ambiguous act of repair or damage. As we are
all women, it is a way of discussing ideas around ‘women’s work’ and the domestic.
Aim of the workshop:
For peers to:
 Consider their own personal household waste materials
 Think about the narrative of their chosen materials
 Develop some simple stitching techniques
 Think about the relationship between meditation and repetitive movement
 Add value to a waste material through time and attention
 Consider which stitching techniques they feel most comfortable with – and
perhaps invent their own combinations
 Think about ideas around community and the legacy of women stitching
together.
Duration: 2 hours
Materials: Peers to bring in their own household waste materials: old clothing, tea-
towels, thick paper etc. I will provide embroidery hoops, thread and needles.
What is the methodology you need the group to follow?
1. Introduction (10 minutes)
a. Show examples from my own practice and historical/contemporary
examples. Explain why I like using stitching techniques (meditative,
subverting ideas around woman’s work, ambiguous – damage/repair?).
Discuss the items of household materials peers have brought in to
stitch upon.

2. 2. Demonstration (20 minutes)
a. Demonstrate different embroidery techniques – does anyone have
others to show? (Running, stem, back, chain, couching, open chain,
feather, French knot)
b. Encourage repeated compositions – irregular? Regular? Joy in the
repetitive nature of the stitch.
c. Encourage invention – anyone use the materials to invent a new stitch
or manipulate the materials in some way.
3. Main task (60 minutes)
a. Peers to create their own sample. Think about the patterns created and
the value added through stitching
4. Plenary (10 minutes)
a. Everyone to gather around at the end of the session. Discuss the
tactile quality of their waste material and how the stitch effected it.
Discuss what peers felt during the stitching.
Feedback:
 I will voice record the plenary and transcribe relevant parts onto my online
portfolio.
 I will scan in people’s responses and make a zine for each of us – to add to
our sense of community – a group piece of work will emerge.
What do you anticipate the outcome will show?
I’m interested in people’s choice of materials; why they have chosen that particular
material will form a story, and narrative is an important part of my own art work.
Hopefully there will be a good variety of materials brought in. People will hopefully
produce some repetitive stitching and make a pattern of sorts. Some will have
developed a combination of stitch. Hopefully they will all appreciate the meditative
and calming quality of the stitch. Hopefully there will be discussions of stitching,
mending and stories from the past.