Kirkkokuoron projekti

Triad Tree sketch

I started with pencil, paper, and a quiet space for ideas.

The purpose of this commission is to create a unifying visual element for a church choir to wear during performances. The choir is made up of a mixed group of 30 singers, who dress in black for public events, but without any specific theme in their dress. The commission brief did not specify a type of textile or accessory, so in the beginning I had to brainstorm ideas as to what would be comfortable to wear or easy to modify to each choir member's preference. The items I decided to focus on were a scarf and/or tie combination and brooch-type decoration that could be fitted in different ways.

Crossed Leaf

The next consideration was the decision as to what techniques in dyeing, printing, and weaving I would use for each item, and how that would influence the design. Budget and time constraints come into play here, but (unusually) I didn’t have those details. I concentrated on techniques suitable for relatively short time-frame and economical materials. I chose to design around a process of vat dyeing, etching, and painting on cellulose fabric. The first option that emerged out of my sketches was a vat-dyed linen scarf, etched and silkscreen-printed with either one of two designs.

The two print designs are Triad Tree and Crossed Leaf. The Triad Tree print was inspired by a tree split into three trunks. It was drawn from life, then abstracted into an open silhouette. It illustrates the concept of three living parts combined as one.
 The Triad Tree print scarf is made from linen, sized 148cm x 29cm. The design process involves resist dyeing, pigment etching, and silkscreening. The Crossed Leaf print was designed as an abstracted expression of life and faith. The Crossed Leaf print scarf is made from linen, sized 148cm x 29cm. The design process involves vat-dyeing, resist dyeing, pigment etching and screen printing.

After pencil-on-paper sketches, I moved the design ideas to the computer. I use Affinity Designer for all my vector drawing. It's definitely less time-consuming to draw the design once in Designer and use the program to play around with colours.

The third option I came up with is also a vat-dyed linen scarf, but it is pigment etched and then the etched parts are painted over with reactive dye in free-hand. I based the colour scheme on the colours and stripes found in national costumes from different regions of Finland.

Here are the Designer mock-ups: