CLAIRE PASSMORE blog

There is always something new to learn

21/9/2020

 
For the past few weeks I have been working on a small piece for an online group I belong to called 12 by the Dozen. Every three months we challenge each other to make a small stitched piece from a nominated theme; currently we are thinking about architecture, and more specifically a man named Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. He was commonly referred to as Mies, and along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture and is remembered as the last director of the Bauhaus. 
​Find out more abut him and his work: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe

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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, (image from Wikipedia)
 
Finding out more about Mies, his life and work has been very interesting and led me to try something new. The buildings he designed were quite extrordinary at the time and had a huge influence on the architecture we see today. Some of his most famous buildings are: Barcelona Pavilion, Crown Hall, Farnsworth House, Highfield House, 860–880 Lake Shore Drive, One Charles Center, Seagram Building, New National Gallery, Toronto-Dominion Centre, Tugendhat House, Westmount Square. (Clicking on the names will take you to images of the buildings)

The members of the group 12 by the Dozen. interpreted his work in so many different ways, which is also fascinating. The 12 by the Dozen blog (https://12bythedozen.blogspot.com) you will see all the different quilts made. For my piece I decided to try the beautiful Korean art form of patchwork known as Pojagi, also called Bojagi or Jogakbo.

My choice was influenced by Mies's use of light and open space in the design of his buildings, which I also see in the beautiful pojagi wrapping cloths. Instead of using the traditional silk or ramie I decided to try sing the cotton organdie fabric that is my current favourite. It worked really nicely, but wasn't the easiest to stitch!
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For my piece I chose to add a little colour.  Taking the colour palette from the beautiful marble walls in the Barcelona Pavilion I screen printed some white cotton organdie with a breakdown screen. It yielded the beautiful fabric above. In keeping with traditional pojagi I improvised the cutting and stitching and used a flat felled seam. It proved too difficult to stitch neatly by hand, so I stitched by machine. I don't think it is as attractive as a hand stitched seam, but it does, at least,  add another linear element to the overall design.

The rest of the piecing was more planed as I wanted to reference the order and symmetry that was part of Mies van der Rohe's design philosophy, which is easy to see in the building below
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Lafayette Park, Detroit. Mies van der Rohe 2015
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Stitched grid structure

As traditional pojagi is a single layer of fabric I decided to add a second layer to hang behind. I stitched Mies van der Rohe, sitting on one of his iconic chairs (also designed by him).  
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Mies van der Rohe ..... remind you of anyone else?
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The two pieces joined

This is the finished quilt- it looks best when back lit. I quite like the garden in the background too!
Claire Passmore 2020 Pojagi-style art quilt inspired by Mies van der Rohe
A Pojagi-style piece, inspired by Mies van der Rohe
Thanks for reading
Lydie
21/9/2020 09:07:53 pm

Ta création est magnifique , géniale l'idée du pojagi .
Merci pour les explications et toute la démarche de ta composition.Bravo Lydie

Claire Passmore
22/9/2020 10:32:21 am

merci Lydie

Sheila Barnes link
21/9/2020 09:14:43 pm

The pojagi technique is so perfect for this nod to the architecture of Mies. And very inspired to add that second layer. I think we all have experienced trying to see past a thin gauze of curtain in order to spy a bit on the inhabitants on the other side of a window.

Claire Passmore
22/9/2020 10:34:33 am

Hi Sheila
The second layer was in my thoughts, but I didn't have a plan for it when I started. Putting Mies in seemed like a good idea - and happily it worked well. The transparency of this fabric offers so much potential.

Margaret Pratt
21/9/2020 10:17:24 pm

Really fascinating reading, so much great design began at the Bauhaus. Such a very delicate interpretation, love it .

Claire Passmore
22/9/2020 10:36:59 am

Hi Marget, Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. There was so much to discover with this subject. Bauhaus is a source of huge inspiration isn't it?

Brigitte Red
21/9/2020 11:19:25 pm

The extent of your research is impressive and inspirational. I can see the impact of that research in your resulting work. Pojagi was perfect for the concept you were trying to portray.

Claire Passmore
22/9/2020 10:39:04 am

Hi Brigitte, thanks for taking the time to comment, it is always nice to know people read the blog and enjoy it. The time taken during research is really important to m as it gives me time to pull everything together before I know what I want to do. It is a good job I have 3 months for each project!

Judy Book
22/9/2020 01:34:56 am

Such a fantastic interpretation of the challenge theme. I do like the layering of the architecture over the Mies portrait. Very effective.

Claire Passmore
22/9/2020 10:35:27 am

Hi Judy
The second layer was in my thoughts when I started, but I didn't have a plan for it. Putting Mies in seemed like a good idea - and happily it worked well. The transparency of this fabric offers so much potential.


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