Foundling- A Textiles Sketchbook
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Foundling
Foundling is a Textiles Sketchbook available from
Rachel's Melted Fabrics.
I wanted to make this lens to explore some of the ideas in this e-sketchbook a little further and to explain some of the research behind my craftwork.
The first little seed of an idea I received for this project was whilst watching a series of BBC programmes called "Found". This was a series about babies that were abandoned by their mothers and documented the now grown children as they tried to find out who they really were and where they came from.
I became fascinated with the idea of how so much importance was placed on an object, for example, a blanket because it was the only link to the past.
All my textiles books are available as printable digital downloads from Lulu.com.
Contents at a Glance
The Book
Foundling
Foundling is full of dreamy soft whimsical textiles pieces exploring ideas of secret gardens, hidden delights and tangle woods.
Join me as I create a sketchbook, jot down ideas and hunt for inspiration. This book will take you through my textiles pieces as I work on them, with step-by-step photos and my notes.
Find new ideas and new techniques not explored in Melted Fabrics.
Over 245 Full Colour Images. Over 245 pages of textiles
New ideas and techniques
Finding Inspiration
Following a theme
Step-by-step projects
Primary source photos
Brainstorming
Problem solving
Using Light
Using Fluff
Thumbnails and Excerpts
Have a look inside Foundling.
Excerpt from Introduction to Foundling.
Find "Foundling" on Lulu.com
Baby in progress
One of the pieces made for Foundling.
Discover...
...how the layered pieces of fabric evolved into the textiles piece below.
Watch how I change fabric into a textiles piece and then work into it to create a subtle finished piece.
Foundling is full of Work in Progress photos.
Baby
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
Primary Source Images
These are some of the photos I took in my overgrown garden to help inspire my Foundling Textiles pieces.
Mother and Child
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
Mother and Child is approximately 24" x 32".
This piece is a layered, embroidered and beaded textiles piece depicting a mother and child.
Mother and Child is one of my favourite textiles pieces and currently hangs beside my bed.
Barbara Hepworth
An Artist that inspired me in this project.
Image by Graham Rogers. More
information here.
Barbara Hepworth's sculpture work speaks to me of nests, waves, rolling hills, seed pods, and pebbles worked perfectly smooth by the ocean.
If you get the chance to go to St Ives in Cornwall then don't miss the chance to walk around her Sculpture Garden which is part of Tate, St Ives.
Tracey Emin presented a documentary for channel 4 called "What price art?" which featured a snippet on Barbara Hepworth- it's worth watching if you can find it.
Barbara Hepworth
Books on Amazon.
What is this?
Find out how I made this texture in Foundling.
Female Artists
Who are your favourite female artists?
In the documentary "What Price Art?" Tracey Emin investigates why female artists' work sells for less than their male counterparts and what sacrifices female artists make for their art.
She asks the general public to name artists- the vast majority of artists named are male.
Can you name some of your favourite female artists?
How did I make these crusty burnt textures?
Find out in Foundling.
Lovers
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
The Lovers is approximately 24" x 32".
This piece is a layered, embroidered and beaded textiles piece depicting a man and woman.
Check out the original concept doodle below.
Doodle for Lovers
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
Want to See More of my Doodles and What They Turn Into?
Have a look at this lens.
Father and Child
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
This piece is approximately 24" x 32".
Father and Child is a layered, embroidered and beaded textiles piece depicting a father and child.
This piece won the Stephanie Greenhalgh Award for Innovation at Tiverton Art Society's Summer 2007 exhibition and is the first textiles piece I made which depicted a man.
This piece features in the Foundling Book and is part of the same series as Mother and Child, Ottoman, Lovers, Baby.
Doodle for Father and Child Piece.
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
Websites about Foundlings
Find out more about real-life foundlings.
- The Foundling Hospital
- British History- The Victorians
The Foundling Hospital - Child Abandonment
- Wikipedia page about Child Abandonment
- The Foundling Museum
- Wikipedia page for the Foundling Museum
- From Mother To Child - Love Tokens Left For Foundlings
- Love tokens left by mothers for their abandoned babies
- Abandoned Babies
- BBC Inside Out webpage about abandoned babies
- Baby Hatches
- Wikipedia page for Baby Hatches
- Feral Children
- Wikipedia page about Feral Children
Bluebirds and Baby Ottoman
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
This textiles piece is the top of an Ottoman which was recycled, recovered and repainted.
The baby, bluebirds and nests have extra padding under them to give them more of a 3D feel.
Fluffy bits have been used to give this piece texture and depth.
Foundling Inspiration Booklist
These are the books that inspired my textiles projects for the Foundling Sketchbook.
Woodland Lampshade
Two pages from Foundling.
Foundlings
Find out more about real-life Foundlings on Amazon.
Digital Collage for a Final Piece
One of the pieces produced for Foundling.
This was a simple doodle which I scanned into my computer. I then added an image of the Baby textiles piece (see above) and a photo of an upturned hanging basket- I love these cone-shaped baskets- they look like whimsical wicker turrets when turned upside down.
The photo of "Baby" shows the piece before I worked into it- here the image is much less clear and you can see the baby's hair is green- I had no idea why I originally used green thread!
I wanted to experiment with the idea of making a big box frame- with shelves to house the textiles piece and also some objects, with the funny little turrets on the top of the box.
Nests
Find out how I made this in Foundling.
Engagement Quilt
Find out more about one of the projects featured in this book.
Love This Textiles Lens?
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Reader Feedback.
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Color_Expert Oct 13, 2010 @ 11:18 pm | delete
- Fabulous lens. So inspiring.
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MeltedRachel
Oct 16, 2010 @ 3:09 pm | delete
- Thanks so much :)
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pastella
Jun 1, 2010 @ 3:17 am | delete
- I love your creations. They are so unusual and you've given me fresh inspiration. Thankyou.
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MeltedRachel
Jun 1, 2010 @ 3:24 am | delete
- Thanks for visiting - that's the nicest kind of comment :)
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spiritartist May 31, 2010 @ 8:58 am | delete
- Awesome & Creative Rachel! 5*'s from me!
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About Melted Rachel
Maker of textiles, purses and figurines.
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by MeltedRachel
I'm Rachel, a textiles artist from the southwest of England.
I love using recycled materials to create one-of-a-kind:
textiles art pieces,
handbags,...
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