Initial Ideas - Locating Unit

This unit we have been set to challenge ourselves by completing a live brief/work placement as well as a self initiated brief. I am going to start with one idea and apply this both briefs. I have chosen to use the Bradford Textiles Society competition for combined processes as my live brief which is to create a fabric for either fashion or interiors which shows and innovative combination of textile processes. This is to be submitted before the 13th of March.

I began last week by looking at different ideas that interested me. I came across a post I found on another blogging site, that contained images rice terraces in Japan. I really liked the shapes created by them and the drawn-like marks made on the ground. I then researched these more, finding a variety of other images also displaying these terraces. Although I'm not sure where I want to go with this idea in my live and self initiated briefs, I feel these images will inspire me in some way.
                                         

                                                                Japanese Rice Terraces


My tutorial on Monday helped me find my initial direction with my work. Which will enable me to produce a body of work over the Christmas holidays that will help me in the weeks to follow. It was suggested that rather than focusing on the rice terraces themselves, that I look into the ideas from them that interested me in the first place; the shape, pattern, and drawn quality. During the next couple of weeks I aim to produce drawings that replicate some of these ideas.

Evaluation

In this unit I found it quite difficult to find an area in my initial drawings and visual research that I wanted to develop further. However, throughout this difficult process I have learnt a lot about myself and the way I work. From previous units it has been clear that I am very comfortable using a monochrome colour palette but this unit I wanted to challenge myself by introducing colour and being able to produce a refined colour palette.

I feel like this challenge was a success and that I incorporated my chosen colours well into my drawings and samples. I would have liked to have challenged myself further by creating samples on a much larger scale, however with little time left at the end of this unit I felt these may have been too time consuming to complete.

Given more time this unit, I would also have loved to have made more use of the Ethos computerised machine program. My induction for this was timetabled quite late on in the term and so only had a couple of weeks to try out different designs for myself. With the machine in high demand, it was quite a challenge booking a slot. However, given the opportunity, I would have liked to experiment with different designs of my own, with different materials that hold dye better than others, and also seeing what effect this has on the final outcome when the design is applied on top. I will keep this in mind for future work.

Despite the difficulties I experienced at the start, and the things I was hoping to do towards the end, I still feel that this unit has been a successful one for me. I have particularly loved combining different 'hand processes' with machine stitch as well as using each separately. Photographed below are a couple of boards displaying some of my final successful samples.

Finalising samples

This week has been about finalising and choosing my 6-8 final samples. After my last tutorial this week I was confident that I knew how to proceed, ass well as knowing the strengths and weaknesses in my sampling i.e. what needed to be developed.

Last week I focused very strongly on producing mainly black and white samples. I now needed to introduce my colour palette. Through looking back in my sketchbook for inspiration I noticed a particular drawing I did using crayons that created a similar effect to the embellisher when using thin yarns. I could also see similarities between these two and the work of Cy Twombly. In this unit my work has shown quite a few similarities to his. I have been very inspired buy the way he works, and the marks he creates. As a new sample idea I combined the type of mark he makes with the similar marks I have made in my drawings. I was very pleased with the outcome of this. After creating these marks I then combined another of my drawing with this; couching geometric window shapes over the top.

thin yarn embellished onto dyed cotton, thick black

 wool couched on top (design from drawings)

'Returning from Tonnicoda'

Regardless of the differing colours, I really like the drawing quality of his work. It was this aspect that was the inspiration to produce the sample above.

Initial Samples

This week I started producing some small samples that incorporate various aspects of my drawings. Again I began by working in black and white. I find that by working in this way I can see more easily what is working well and what isn't.

Looking at the drawings in my sketchbook, I have incorporated tracing paper quite a bit, to replicate the faded quality that I've shown all the way through this unit. When choosing my materials I made sure i did not loose these qualities. The netting and mesh that I chose show the links to my drawings well. I also like that there is a contrast between the translucency of the mesh with the rigidity of it too. The strength in these materials is a quality I really like and will follow through in the rest of my sampling. It shows good connections to my drawings where structure is prominent. The combination of these elements has made my initial samples a success.

Photographed below are a few of my initial black and white samples.

hand stitch

machine stitch

Concept and colour palette refinement

Throughout this unit I have struggled to find an area that I have been confident in developing. Despite making good progress with my work on graffiti and man-made marks, I wanted to incorporate different elements of my earlier work and find a colour palette that works well with this.

This week, I feel like I have finally found the area I want to focus on. Again I looked back through my initial drawings sketchbook where I was immediately drawn back to my work on buildings. I took the advice of my tutor and started working in a larger sketchbook. The large scale drawings were definitely more successful than the smaller ones I had initially done. I started working in black and white again, being careful not to over complicate my colour palette early on. At this point I was still very interested in the colours I had looked at when working looking at graffiti and wanted to possibly bring these into my next drawings.

Starting with black and white copies of my earlier drawings, scanned in and enlarged, as the basis of these drawings made it easier to refine my colour palette. 

black and white building 

colour palette added to the above drawing

scaffolding

Photographed above are two my first drawings, on a larger scale. Drawing in this way brought me out of my comfort zone and got me to think more closely about what I'm drawing, and placement.

As can be seen from the second image above, I have now worked out a distinct colour palette of reds, pinks, orange, and yellow. This came as a slight accident when I was printing some of my own photos off using my personal printer. As the cyan ink cartridge had almost run out, the image printed in mainly these reds and pinks. This reminded me of some of the photos of graffiti I had that I looked at in my earlier work.

The series of drawings to follow, incorporated buildings and other building structures as well as my new, well refined colour palette. The more drawings I was doing, the more I had a sense of how I wanted to develop them into sample later on. I was predominantly focusing on the shapes in the buildings; looking at a more geometric aspect rather than looking at them as a whole. The later drawings in my sketchbook include the reintroduction of the graffiti work I had done earlier. I felt that although some parts of them worked well, they didn't link well enough to the rest of my drawings to make sense developing this idea further.

Experimenting with materials

This week I have been developing my work based around graffiti and the man-made mark. As was discussed/mentioned in my previous post, the advice I was given in my tutorial was to experiment more with different materials and the way I process them. So I cut up a couple of squares of different fabric and applied bleach to them. I really like the outcome of these and so used the same process but applied it to paper, tissue and material that I had already made marks on, using black ink. These also turned out as well as I had hoped.

denim marked with lines of black ink, bleach applied on top

 One material that the bleach had an interesting effect on was dark leather. The outcome is photographed below.

appearance when bleach is first applied

2 minutes after bleach was first applied

5 minutes after bleach was first applied

Going back to the work I did a couple of weeks ago, where I was experimenting with different media to recreate the faded qualities of old black and white photographs, I found whilst experimenting with applying different substances to materials, that oil on paper gives it a translucent appearance similar to that of tracing paper. I love working with this.

The marks I was making with the bleach reminded me of the work by the artist Cy Twombly. I also found his work to be quite similar to some of my earlier drawings. This piece 'Untitled 1, 2005 (Bacchus)' (photographed below) interested me the most. I love the movement, colour and scale comparable to the marks made by graffiti.

 'Untitled 1, 2005 (Bacchus)'

Initial Drawings

This week (week 2) I explored the ideas of buildings and other building structures further. I took another trip back into the city to revisit the areas I found the most interesting. I started with some quick on-the-spot and blind drawings and mark making. Photographed below are pages from my initial drawings sketchbook.

experimenting with mark making

building and building structure drawings

This second week I found it difficult to develop my ideas further. I think I also found it difficult to move away from working in a small sketchbook which was probably holding me back from exploring other ideas. However I do really like the work I have done based around buildings so hope to later find inspiration to incorporate it again.

Beginning week 3 I started looking back at the other photographs I had taken and found an interest in mark making and the irregularities on surfaces in an urban environment. So I began by doing a couple of drawings from my photographs and some on-the-spot. This gave me the chance to get the birds eye view perspective that I had found interesting when it was suggested to the group at the beginning of the unit. However, I found this to be limiting in being able to develop the idea ambitiously. At this point I was feeling quite uncertain and unsure about how I was going to progress in this unit; but carried on doing more drawings inspired by the areas of the city I was interested in.

Following my tutorial, it was suggested that I add some colour into my drawings and so far they have all been black and white. I talked about exploring the idea of graffiti as a man-made mark on a surface. This was not only development of work I had done earlier in the week on mark making but was also introducing sparks of colour. I was starting to feel more confident about the direction of my work.

Visual Research

This week I began my research for my chosen area; Urban Influences. In our first tutorial, we were taken to the top of a multi-storey car park to make us think about different perspectives i.e. having a birds eye view over a large area. From this I took a trip around Manchester city center and the Northern Quarter, looking for parts of this urban environment that caught my eye. I particularly liked the older more quirky looking buildings that had a bit of character, but I was also drawn to the more modern simplistic buildings with clean lines. Contrasting with this I also took an interest in looking close up. I was drawn to looking at surfaces and marks in this environment e.g. on drain covers and pavement layouts. I took a number of photos to capture the areas I liked best. Below are couple I found the most inspiring.

I then started looking back at my summer work and picked out parts of it that I liked best. From the 'Present and Reflect' presentations I learnt that my work using ink and water was some of my strongest, and I would like to explore the ways of incorporating these faded qualities to my future work.

Over the summer I researched the artist Cecile Dachary. I found some of her work to be quite similar to mine where I have used water to disturb the the solid ink lines. I particularly liked her series of 9 samples where her work looks quite similar to this; all with a different outcome . This is something I love about working with ink and water - the unpredictability and uncertainty of what the final outcome will be. Although Cecile predominantly works with yarns making small 3D sculptural pieces, this particularly piece of hers I felt linked in well with my own work. Photographed below is an image of the series of 9 samples that I found similar to my work.

Unknown title, Cecile Dachary

So as a starting point I began experimenting with the ways I could create different marks on a page. I worked with glue, crayons, charcoal, ink and water to explore the effects and outcomes these give. I found adding water on top of charcoal gave the drawings/marks a painted quality which I liked. Combining charcoal, water and white ink also gave a really nice effect. These small drawings reminded me of the old black and white photographs I had also included in my summer work. This is where I began looking and focusing on buildings and other building structures.

Present and Reflect

Having returned to Manchester to start second year, our first tutorial had us presenting our summer work to a couple of people in groups. In doing this we pointed out the strengths and weaknesses in each other's work and how we could improve and progress further with our work.

I found this very helpful. Getting feedback from your peers can be quite daunting but I found that I learned a lot about the way I like to work. I also learned about different artists that could help influence me in the future.

During my feedback I discovered that most of my work follows the same pattern. Many pieces of my work show that I like unpredictability. I can get this effect by using water and inks or water colours (photographed below).

water colour and ink pen

black ink pen and water

Throughout my presentation to the rest of the group, the use of hand stitch in my drawing was commented on several times. As this is my specialised area I felt that over the summer it was important to follow this through in my work. With hand stitch, I feel that this emphasises my desire for unpredictability. Photographed below is an example of where I have done this.

flicking watercolour paints and smudging, ..... sticking in a multicoloured vary thread

Summer work: Influences

Looking back at the work I produced in the first year, I am trying to now find artists that work in a similar way. I worked a lot with heavy duty D.I.Y materials, building up layers and working into them. I was also using pens and ink, and using water to manipulate my drawings.

Over the summer I came across an artist called Terry Jarrard-Diamond. I especially like her surface design work using ink and paint. These pieces are very similar to work I have done in the past and I have continued to work in a similar way in some of my drawings over the summer break. I like the simple, monochrome colour palette. She works a lot using just lines which I found quite interesting. I like that this composition is simple and so is more technique focused. This is something I have noticed about my more successful pieces in the past.

Terry Jarrard-Diamond

Travelling to the Caribbean every year for as long as I can remember has given me an attraction to bright, vibrant colours in parts of my work. I really like the work by Raul de la Torre. I love his use of vibrant colour and hand stitch. The technique is so simple as a process but is very striking. Below are a couple of images of his pieces.

Summer work: Inspirations

Over the summer I have found inspiration for my work through the places I visited. I spent two weeks in Antigua which I found to have much for me to work from. It was even more inspiring than my visit to Brighton for a couple of days.

Initially, I am always drawn to areas and photographs with bold, bright colours as they attract my attention. The carnival in Antigua was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The streets were filled with locals in costume, dancing to the carnival music playing off the large floats. Each costume was made by hand. I particularly liked this section (photographed below). I love how busy the photo is; filled with vibrant colour and texture.

Carnival - Antigua

I also went on a trip to Brighton towards the end of the summer. I love all the quirky little shops down all the lanes. Again I was attracted to the bright colours here and bought this skewer filled with different marshmallows. All the odds and ends I picked up whilst I was there I found very useful for this summer brief. Particularly the last photograph in this post.

Bought in Brighton

Whilst in Brighton I visited a shop called "Snoopers Paradise". It was filled with everything you could imagine; from old toy cars to vintage milk bottles. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take photos whilst I was in there. However I did purchase a couple of the photographs that were on sale. This was something I found very interesting. These were photographs that had just been discarded or had been removed from a house clearance.I found the idea of this very odd but I spent a while sifting through the boxes filled with these photos. I particularly liked looking at the different landscapes. So I bought a couple to use to inspire me with my work.

Old photo bought from a hoarders shop in Brighton

Final Piece

Using the images in my previous post, which show various shoulder padded clothing items by different designers, I created my own pair of shoulder pads. I used the ideas from my sampling and my sketchbook work to influence my this piece.

This final week was leading up to the production of a collection of samples or one final piece that is based around accessory design; using stitch, weave or both. However, I wanted to be more hands on with the work I was to produce at the end as I felt the machines and looms were limiting my samples. So I used some hand stitches and knots to hold the yarns and materials into place; and I felt this made the final outcome more successful.

Below shows a couple of photographs of my piece from the front and the back.

front view

       back view          

My final piece was created by developing my braided sample. I used longer lengths of thicker yarns and materials, which I then painted with only emulsion paint to make them more supple and easier to manipulate. I made two of these identical to one another, one for each shoulder pad. I then inserted wire into sections of each shoulder pad to give each a stronger structure. Finally I connected the pads at the back by hand stitching (ladder stitch) one edge to the other to hold them together but leaving the back open.

     close up

 side view 1

side view 2

Collars and Shoulder Pads

In this last week we are to look back through all the work we have produced over the 4 weeks and focus our attention on either weave, stitch or collaborate with both.

After reading back through our Unit X brief, I discovered it states that 'the emphasis will be placed on designing for accessories'. For example, cuffs, collars or shoulder pads. I have therefore been researching many varieties of these, a few of which can be seen below.

I really liked this idea above of over sized collar, and I feel it could work well as an accessory piece with my samples incorporated. However, I much prefer the idea of shoulder pads that could then be developed further, as they would work more successfully with my sampling. I have decided to use the ideas from my samples in my previous post. The cement and emulsion will give them the stiff quality that is unique to shoulder pads.

Below shows a few ideas I will work with to inspire me for my final piece.

Cement and Emulsion

Following my crit after Easter it came to my attention that some of my samples were too flimsy and small. My tutor pointed out to me that my work was much stronger when I made samples on a larger scale and didn't hold back with bold ideas. Therefore I proceeded to think of ways to enhance this quality. I turned to using heavy DIY materials such as cement and emulsion paint to see how this would make a difference to my work. I took a trip to a local DIY store and bought both of these items as well as some tough fabric to work with. 

Incorporating an idea from one of my previous samples where I braided lengths of different textured yarns and secured them with a couple of stitches, I created another, almost identical to this but on a larger scale (below), and proceeded to coat it in cement and then emulsion paint to give it rigidity and a neutral colour. I felt that in doing this, it gave a stiff quality that reminded me of some of my paper samples.

By this point I had removed my colour palette completely from sampling as I felt the pieces I was producing worked better neutral; being able to focus more on the texture than the colour. Below is the outcome of the cement and emulsion paint applied to the braids in the above photo.

I discovered that the more emulsion I applied, the stiffer the sample became and the colour became more of a block white than being patchy. I like this quality as when I tried to manipulate it by bending, cracks were formed and small pieces of paint and cement came away which added more texture.

This process is one I will be taking further to a final idea as I feel it has been a success; incorporating the progression work from my sketchbook to create a 'final piece' or collection of 'final samples'.

Embroidery to Weave Rotation

This week I moved from embroidery to weave.

I started by looking at the samples and sketchbook work I had done recently to see where I could incorporate my ideas. I had particularly liked working with paper,  and so invested in some paper yarns that could be used in my future work.

Above shows a hand woven sample I did whilst in stitch. Although this is leaning towards weaving rather than stitch, I was looking at the ways in which I could create a fringe using hand techniques to make an 'edge'.

Below is a photograph of the first weave I produced in the 2 weeks. Although it is very basic in weave design, I wanted to enhance the edge I had made by not pulling the raffia in tight at the sides. This idea came from looking at the sample I made whilst in stitch where I had hand woven some of the same blue raffia through plain white string to produce a large fringe (photographed above).

After producing a few loom woven samples, I discovered that I preferred the appearance of my hand woven samples. Below are a couple of my paper and raffia weaves done by hand. I think I prefer hand weaving because it feels more free and more open to change when I have a new idea. I also like the unpredictability of the gap sizes between the 'warp' threads. I feel that my sampling in this way relates much better back to my sketch book work.

I particularly like the way the paper hangs freely at the bottom of this weave sample (below) which is part of the sample above (top). Here I have used the paper as though it were the 'warp' rather than the 'weft'. I feel that this sample was successful.