Aimhigher - Unfolded Flying Dreams

Wigan and Leigh College

Students who have recently completed their Foundation Course in Art and Design spent a week working in the studio of the Drumcroon Gallery artist in residence, Rachel Arkwright. Rachel recently graduated from the Contemporary Crafts course at MMU, after completing her Foundation Course at Wigan. The young artist presented a really positive role model for the younger students about to embark on their further education. She set them a brief to work collaboratively to create a sculptural textile communicating ideas about achievement, aspiration, celebration, success, change, dreams and ambition.

Students worked with print to transform fabric with language and colour. Printed fabric lengths were then folded and stacked with the idea of building a stack of folded dreams, creating interesting viewpoints of edges and textures. As the stack developed, the group felt that the dreams needed to evolve out of their folded form into something much more organic and adventurous in order to capture the sense of excitement and change that aiming higher can bring. Folded fabric lengths were then reinforced with wire enabling the fabric to become more flexible and hold a variety of shapes. The dreams evolved into a suspended three dimensional form, overflowing with ideas and possibilities, with finer threads connecting to the ground, and a central crown, continuing the theme of something glorious and celebratory.