Compose styles
Rather than blending styles toward a middle, this gives them roles. The first one carries the structure, the next comes in as the accent, and anything after that shows up in a single detail. Where they fight each other, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Ikat: Derive the repeat unit backwards from the width of the cloth
- Type
- Set in Ikat's manner (Use simple, large letterforms that hold up against the bleed), and let Shibori's lettering (Choose heavier letterforms that survive the unevenness of handwork) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Ikat's material (Dye at the thread stage and weave without correcting the shift); bring in exactly one thing from Shibori (Resist the dye by binding and pressure, and allow the dye to bleed).
- Colour
- Build on #d8d4cc, #b88f3f, #4e2c2e and admit one accent from #f6f3eb, #2a365c, #141a26.
Where they fight
- Ikat and Shibori both belong to Textile Traditions, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
- Ikat and Shibori are techniques rather than looks. Decide which one runs last in the process, because that is the one that will show.
Caution
- Ikat Imitating the bleed in print will not produce the history of the thread. The order of the process is the meaning of the pattern.
- Shibori Reproducing the pattern in print makes it another thing entirely. The bleed and the unevenness are the record of the technique.
Image prompt
Produce four original images that take their structure from Ikat (technique, ancient–) and their accent from Shibori (technique, 8th century–). ## What to make Make the kind of thing Ikat exists for: making the outline of a pattern deliberately indistinct, or making the weaving process itself a condition of the design. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from Ikat - Pattern edges where the outline bleeds - Warp and weft dyed separately - Calculated placement of color - Wavering caused by shifts in the weave Composition: Derive the repeat unit backwards from the width of the cloth. Type and lettering: Use simple, large letterforms that hold up against the bleed. ## Accent comes from Shibori, used sparingly - The bled white left by binding - Regular grain from stitch resist - Geometric ground patterns from board clamping - A texture that keeps the relief of the cloth Let one material quality come from it: Resist the dye by binding and pressure, and allow the dye to bleed. ## Colour and feeling Build the ground on #d8d4cc, carry the structure in #b88f3f and #4e2c2e, and let a single accent come from #2a365c. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette. Feeling to carry: intimacy, technique, nostalgia. ## Where they fight - Ikat and Shibori both belong to Textile Traditions, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable. - Ikat and Shibori are techniques rather than looks. Decide which one runs last in the process, because that is the one that will show. ## What goes wrong - Ikat: Imitating the bleed in print will not produce the history of the thread. The order of the process is the meaning of the pattern. - Shibori: Reproducing the pattern in print makes it another thing entirely. The bleed and the unevenness are the record of the technique. ## Across the four Keep the roles fixed in all four. Vary the framing, the scale and the arrangement so the set shows what this pairing can do rather than four versions of one picture. ## Constraints - Do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. - Do not reproduce the composition of an existing work. - Produce original compositions in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Ikat ancient– / Technique / Textile Traditions
A technique in which the threads are bound and dyed before weaving, calculated so that the pattern appears only once the cloth is woven. A slight shift of the threads blurs the outline, and that wavering is the fingerprint of ikat. Design and chance live in the same process.
- Shibori 8th century– / Technique / Textile Traditions
A technique in which cloth is stitched, bound or clamped between boards before dyeing, so that only the parts under pressure stay white. The result is left to the strength of the craftsman's hands and the movement of the cloth, and no two pieces come out alike even from the same pattern.
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