Spots, Dots, Stripes and Checks

In this project we were in groups of 3 and each of us had to create a garment to show in our uni fashion show, which also worked together as a final look. we could choose to design with either spots, dots or stripes and checks. I chose to use spots. I began with collaging various circles of different patterns and colours from textiles

I then edited the individual spots, by increasing the saturation and contrast, creating a sharper and more graphic spot.

I chose the bottom right spot to use predominantly in my final design.

Once the spot was chosen, I decided I would make a circle skirt as my garment, as I felt the shape would fit my design, I also chose to use thin neoprene as my base fabric because I felt that the garment would need to be slightly more structured.

Below is some mockup visualisations of my print placement.

I decided to use the top right placement as I felt that it would bring some  gravity to the garment,

This final garment on my model.

Stitch

Stitch was the one technical block I have been dreading the most. I've never really used a sewing machine before and the idea of just sewing seemed super mundane. These preconceptions were proved false by the end of the first day as I realised Stitch was inappropriately named-multimedia would describe it best. 
I don't think I've ever felt more out of place than I felt during my first fabric shop hunt, I had no idea what I was looking for and felt completely out of my depth. Buying chiffon/plastic/PVC/Lycra and basic polyester I was ready to go. 
My inspiration came from a drawing I did of one of the surfaces in Kew Gardens;

I used this image to create my "technique" (essentially weaving merino wool used for felting through PVC) I coloured the PVC using heat transfer paper, I really liked the effect 2 different colours had on one another and i feel it brought the PVC to life and gave my samples a new dimension. I used a sewing machine to sew grids and create grooves in my fabric, then cut slits and weaved the wool through in order to create very geometrical patterns, finally sewing accross in order to stabilise and distort the wool.
My final samples

I am really proud of my samples.  
I actually really enjoyed doing Stitch, there is a great emphasis on establishing a technique or developing an idea that is original and unique, you can potentially do stitch without even using a sewing machine. I really enjoyed the process and definitely could see myself specialising in Stitch despite being the ultimate novice.

Print

My two weeks of print was split up over the Christmas break.. In my first week we were taught basic digital print skills on Photoshop and Illustrator. Having previously done a Digital Print Course it served as a recap. I went to Kew Gardens to gather research and inspiration for my print collection, focussing on the surfaces and textures of the plants.

Below are a few of my favourite shots.

The colours I found within the plants were very natural and served as inspiration for my colour palette. 
My final 4 digital prints.

After the Christmas break we were printing using newprint stencils (I made templates based on the surfaces plants in Kew Gardens) and acid dyes on silk. I liked the process of making the acid dyes from the powder as it reminded me of my A-level chemistry.
We used a mixture of silkscreen and mono printing to create our final 6 prints, Each stencil only lasted about 3 prints. It was a very stressful day in the print room to finish all 6 samples.

This is my favourite print from the collection

Upon reflection I found it quite amusing that my prints have an African quality about them, as I had just returned from South Africa. I really like the way they work as a collection but are all very different yet have the same almost tribal undertone.

I enjoyed printing I could definitely see myself specialising in print or digital print, as the technique feels very natural.

Reflective Statement

A  conclusion to our first Unit -"Introduction to Study in Higher Education" which included creating a blog to record our responses to tasks set in lectures and our Rough Guide Project. 

After starting this course I feel I managed my time well and efficiently. I approached each blog task with focus and my conclusions to each task have been honest and highlight my personal views towards the subjects appropriately. I have sourced the material for the blog tasks to the best of my ability, highlighting points and objects that have caught interest during my research. Thus I have acquired allot of knowledge regarding subjects I previously wouldn't have looked into. The African Masks from the Mining the Museum task I found particularly interesting and I really engaged with the craftsmanship and meanings that each of the different masks represented. However, I feel that in some cases I could have made more of an effort to research deeper into the subjects required such as the pathology of collecting and thus broadening my understanding beyond the needs for the blog tasks.

My visual research for the rough guide project was very focussed, I knew what I was looking for and was able to acquire and expand on it quickly and easily. I like the approach I took by documenting textures in Kensington as it completely detracts the stereotype of a pristine and rich area as some textures are particularly grimey and wouldn’t be out of place anywhere in London. Furthermore my documentation of Kew Gardens supports this approcach as I wasn’t as focussed on the plants as I was on the textures of the plants. I feel I analysed my research well and highlighted the textures that were particularly interesting and different.

I enjoy writing this blog and find it extremely useful in ordering my mind and cataloguing my process through this course. I have tried to make my posts sensitive to the needs of the task and maintain a personal yet professional response to them. Through my blog I feel I am able to compose succinct and clear responses to the blog tasks as well as personally reflect on my feelings towards the course and other experiences I've had so far.

Weaving

My 2nd technical block was Weaving. I have been exposed to weaving before and I own a mini hand weaving loom which I actually have never used and several weave designers' books. I began this technical block feeling optimistic it seemed very therapeutic methodological.

We started by creating a wind of our 2 chosen base colours, derived from our research from rough guide.

3 days into Weaving I still hadn't begun to make an actual weave! The process threading and setting up your loom took forever. The steps were pretty straight forward, but you had to concentrate constantly or you'd mess up the pattern-it's all very specific. We were in partners so I'd imagine it would be a lot worse doing it alone.

We got given weave pattern sheets with 20 basic examples of the kind of patterns we could use, then we got experimenting. I followed the pattens with ease but the repetitive steps had me "zoning out" and I didn't feel completely engaged in what I was actually doing. Once I began experimenting with colour and exploring the effect colours have on one another I became more absorbed in creating my samples.

Below are my weave samples

This is my particular favourite sample, I love how the use of 2 threads at once completely alter the pattern and allow me to essentially create 2 separate patterns and colour combinations in one go. I tried to contrast the autumn tones found in my box clever with the greens captured from the surfaces of plants in Kew Gardens.

After my 2 weeks of experience I have come to the conclusion that weaving isn't for me. The various patterns and colours can create stunning pieces if given enough time but I feel that the process is too mundane.

Drawing Week 2

Above is an updated version of my Box Clever box

On the first day we were asked to draw our objects with colour, creating colour palettes and using colour as a way to communicate the texture of our objects alongside the colours.

The last day we were asked to bring in a roll of plain wallpaper and black drawing materials. We were then told to pick an object from our box and were given a certain amount of time to draw as much of it as possible starting from a small scale to a large scale. The final image was just focussing on one aspect of the object which we had 5 minutes.

We were then asked to get into partners and attach our pens using string and draw a portrait of our partner whilst the pens were joined. This resulted in a fairly unorthodox portrait.