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This project was done within 7 weeks at Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam
Intervening a production process
for communicating
the story of weaving
The project is about celebrating human beings. It regarding the relevance of the weaver in the manufacturing process of hand loom weaving. The project focuses on different ways through which the presence of the weaver would be depicted in the woven fabric.
Research
Handloom weaving is an extremely tedious process which requires a lot of patience. No two handmade items are alike. When you make something, you leave a part of yourself in it. Variations in colour, shading, texture, shape and grain are inherent in a handmade item. This means that every handmade item you purchase is also one-of-a-kind.
How to celebrate the weaver?
Performing the production process by myself and then mapping it step by step including the tiny details which were discovered while doing the process. Based on this analyzing the process and finding out areas where there is a possibility to leave traces without extra efforts.
Ideation
Experiment 1: By painting the shuttle, so that every time you pass the shuttle, it paints the yarn
Experiment 2: Painting the needles in the reed, so that every time you comb, it paints the yarn
Experiment 3:Applying paint to the top of the shuttles and recording their motion as they move up and down.
Different tests were done using different kinds of shuttles and a variety of motions through which shuttles could be passed. The following images are the outcomes of the experiments
Visualisation
To go ahead and to select one pattern out of all the others, I used CLO3D software. I tried visualising all the pattern, tweaking the composition and the layout of the fabric. This gave me a clear idea regarding how to go about the final woven piece.
Prototyping
This project is a form of expression for the weavers and a language where they communicate about themselves. The user will acknowledge the amount of efforts required to make the fabric that he or she is wearing.
Documentation
It takes ages to master the craft of hand-loom weaving. A lot of efforts go into the cloths you wear. The project is about respecting the weavers and celebrating the weaving process. Each handwoven fabric has a story to tell. Most of the times the stories stay only with the weaver. This project was about acknowledging the story and communicating it through the fabric. Using the shuttle as a language, made it easy to convey the story.