B.A. Madley
The ART of IMPROV
I am so excited to share with you the work of this weeks guest Barbara Madley. Barbara is a textile artist who inspires with her use of materials, she works with discarded clothes, household linens, unfinished quilt tops and abandoned handwork. She stitches by hand and by machine, serging, dying, bleaching, tearing, and mending in the most beautiful way bringing these forgotten textile back to life. She mounts her finished works on stretchers and allows the shapes to warp and become distorted, flaws exposed. As you will see, the results are moving, inspiring and flat out gorgeous.
Title B.A. Madley
What does working improvisationally mean to you? How would you define the ‘Art of Improv’?
First off, thank you Jen for creating this forum. I’ve greatly enjoyed reading about other creators’ processes and it has been a thought provoking exercise to reflect on my own process.
At the most basic level, working improvisationally for me means working spontaneously within a defined set of rules. It is working towards a general goal, but without a predetermined route. Usually I know the materials I will use and have a theme, concept or action I want to explore, but I don’t know what the product will be. I like to work freely within a set of constraints which for me typically start with the inherent properties of the materials and tools I choose to use followed by any additional constraints I choose to add. An analogy might be it is like making up rules for a game knowing that you could change them at anytime!
Have you always worked improvisationally?
Yes, I think I’ve always been inclined to work this way, but there are times when I take a more planned approach. For example, I’ve made a series of ‘traditional’ quilts using discarded, unfinished quilt tops and orphaned blocks as my starting materials. I had a fairly clear idea of where I was headed before I began.
Do you work improvisationally, consciously, intentionally? If so, how to you begin? If not, how do you find yourself getting there?
At this point I think working improvisationally is less of a conscious choice than a habit. Curiosity is a strong motivator for me. I often find myself starting a new project when my curiosity is so peaked that I simply cannot abide NOT finding out what is going to happen. Usually, if I know at the outset what a project will look like, my motivation to actually make it seems to disappear. A new project often coalesces around a ‘what if’ type of idea. What if I use every striped textile I can find in the studio? What if I run 8/2 cotton through a serger? When an idea starts to intrude on my thoughts and wake me up in the night, then I know I have to start.
Title B.A. Madley
How often do you work with improvisation?
Virtually every day I am in the studio.
Please share a bit about your process. Do you have methods to get started? Do you have tricks of getting unstuck? Do you have motivators to finish?
As I mentioned I am very motivated by curiosity, so I tend to follow what has caught my imagination and see where it leads. If there isn’t an idea that is burning a hole in my (metaphorical) pocket, and I’m not sure what to do, I start by doing some meditative studio chores. These days I work almost exclusively with textile waste- discarded clothes and linens. Washing, removing tags, elastics and bulky seams is a contemplative chore that often leads me into new work. I like to be able to spread out and make huge mess. Seeing materials in a different context, unexpected juxtapositions can jump out and spark ideas I might want to explore. Or I might play with my tools and explore their boundaries. Really interesting things can happen when using tools the ‘wrong’ way. (Of course, using tools ‘incorrectly’ can also lead to learning more about machine repair than one anticipated. Maybe that is part of the thrill?)
Where do you find inspiration? How do you use it?
In my studio I am inspired by the materials themselves- their intrinsic properties like texture, color, translucence, and wear patterns. Also, I am fascinated by what happens with repeated actions- the foundation of all textile work- like making a certain stitch over and over. Of course the studio does not exist in a vacuum. Out in the world at large I am a magpie collecting shiny things. I can’t predict what might be interesting. So, I just try to pay attention! (And I do try to carry a little notebook to scribble notes.)
Title B.A. Madley
What advice would you give someone interested in trying to work improvisationally?
Hmm. I don’t really feel qualified to give advice. It has been useful for me to follow my curiosity and try and let go of my preconceived notions of the end result. This means working on pieces that end up not working at all, so there is an element of being willing to take risks as well. Working with uncertainty might be the underlying challenge.
How would you finish the sentence ‘What if…?’
This is a question I ask myself all the time! Today it is ‘What if felting replaces stitching in seams?’
What are you reading, listening to, watching, or any other inspirational obsessions you would like to share?
I just finished reading ‘Factfullness’ by Hans Rosling and Neil Gaiman’s ‘Norse Mythology’. We are living in Sweden this year and both books are absolutely everywhere, so I thought it would be fun to give them a read. I highly recommend Kory Stamper’s love letter to the messiness and vibrancy of the English language, ‘Word by Word.’ It is so joyfully compelling that I find myself rereading passages frequently.
There are so many incredible podcasts out there now, I have to limit myself. I regularly listen to ‘Make Me Smart’ with Kai and Molly for a quick catch up and analysis of the news. (Living out of the country this year, I definitely have not missed the relentless American news cycle!) I am delighted that ‘Note to Self’ is back and I hope they continue their thought provoking discussions of tech and culture.
When I am working I vacillate between enjoying music and finding that it is too distracting. It’s an ongoing experiment!
Thank you Barbara for taking the time to share your work and how improvisation is a part of your process. I think it is very helpful to hear how other artists make, what inspires them, and how they incorporate those things into their work. I also work with discarded and everyday textiles, but you have motivated me to work harder to make do by showing me how beautiful the results can be. It is a gift to be able to see what some would see as ‘trash’ as inspiration to create. It has been a gift to discover your work and to be able to share it here.
To learn more about Barbara and her work find her on Instagram @bemades and on her website here. There is also a lovely interview with her here.
Title B.A. Madley