3 words project- day 6

Today was our final day on the 3 words project. The morning I spent finishing elements of the project such as my sketchbook adding colour before we had a presentation in the afternoon of all our work. For the presentation I also created a series of illustrations for my final designs. I was pleased with these as they showed the fun element of the collection and were a more artistic way of displaying my outcomes of the project. These will also be good for my portfolio for showing my drawing skills.

In the afternoon we had our presentation, we all set up our work on boards showing off the work of our projects before we wandered round the room looking and commenting on everyones work. I found this really interesting as you got to see how people interpreted the words. Around the group  there were a lot of beautiful prints created from the words which was good to see. Also I found how others used colour interesting as this is something I struggle with so seeing how others use it and the combinations they create is really helpful as it allows me to see what works well and what I could use in the future. In this presentation we left out a sheet for others to comment on our work, I had some really nice comments from other members of the group mainly commenting on my colour palette and illustrations. Having these comments is helpful as it allows you to see what has worked well in the project and what I could use in the future in my upcoming projects to create more strong work for my portfolio which I will need to be creating soon. From seeing other peoples work today there are a few things I would improve on in my work, such as the research I think I need to create a more solid chunk of research in my project before I start designing exploring more options and expanding on my initial point better this will give me more ideas when I start designing which will allow me to be more experimental when designing and create more innovation silhouettes. I would also think about creating more 3D samples as these are really interesting to look at in other peoples projects as give a more physical approach to developing ideas compared to 2D drawings. They would also give me a chance to experiment more with fabrication which is defiantly something I am going to focus on in the next project.

(my presentation board, authors own, 11/12/14)

3 word project- day 5

Today I developed my favourite ideas towards my final outcome. I have decided to develop one of my mark making drawings using it to create a print. I decided to do this by hand, painting the design on in ink to replicate the design. I was pleased with how this turned out, using ink onto the thin fabric meant the colours bled together creating a beautiful effect. From this I then scanned it in and experimented using areas of it as a print onto my designs. Picking out sections, such as section below, meant I could play with the placement which means I can create a collection which has variations of the print in the same colours which can make the garments flow. I also think creating this print will be good for my portfolio as it shows different skills from my previous projects as is more colourful and has a delicate feature my others don't as well as a more artistic approach which I have really enjoyed working from too.

(section of print. Authors Own, 10/12/14)

After working out the print for my collection I used the shapes I designed yesterday which referenced obesity as well as the idea of gravity and the looks having a pull for example such as the highly ruffled shape being just at the top of the garment while the rest is calmer, to create my final collection.  This is a small five outfit collection using my print. I also used the idea of veils and concealing the face in this collection where fabric is draped over the face. Overall I am quite pleased with this collection as it has helped develop my use of colour which I do struggle with. I am also pleased with how the print has turned out, if I were to develop this more I would experiment with digitalising this print and printing it onto different fabrics such as silk to see how I could create more interesting combinations. I would also work more with the idea of gravity as I have struggled with this idea and I think I could have developed it and expanded on it a lot more which could have added a stronger element to my collection with some more experimental silhouettes.

(final collection, Authors Own, 10/12/14)

3 words project- Day 4

Today I spent the day developing my ideas. Over the weekend I created many initial design ideas using my research imagery so today I started to figure out what was working well with the designs and what I needed to research more of. I have found that the silhouettes that have worked well were those using grotesque where I explored obesity using a John Isaacs sculpture which I have developed further by working out shapes on the stand. I found the shapes that worked were those which the rolls of fabric which were gravitating towards an area of the body such as just on the arms or round the chest as this meant there were areas of light and shade in each design. For tomorrow I am going to use this reference sculpture, my stand work and initial drawings to create final sketches for what my collection will be.

(stand work, authors own, 9/12/14)

Today I also had a group tutorial which I found helpful as it gave me more to think about before creating my final ideas. Some of the things I was told was to create more sampling and 3D work which I am going to do tonight, experimenting with the veil idea draping fabric over my sisters head. I also need to think about using different silhouettes, developing using seaming which I could develop from my drawing of cancer cells etc. I also need to think more about fabrication. Fabrication is something I need to improve on and research further so I have a better knowledge of fabrics and what I could use to turn my designs into reality.

3 word project- day 3

Today was our first self directed study today where we were collating all our research so far and researching further. I started by expanding on my words to try and work out what direction to take the project in by creating mind maps which helped to expand more on the words expanding the subject. My initial thoughts were to expand on Isaac Newton through gravity as I find the idea about having a force which holds us all together on earth really interesting. However I have found today quite difficult as it is so open, I have struggled to figure out where to take this project. I think to overcome this I need to gather much more imagery to work out what is inspiring me most so I can then start experimenting and combining the words.

Also today I had a pre-ucas tutorial where Becca told me some things I could improve on in my work. The key things she said was to use more colour in my work as I tend to just use more neutral colours also that I should try and be more experimental with the shapes I design as my final outcomes all tend to follow a similar silhouettes which I have found I like. Therefore these are things I am going to try and incorporate into this project as it will make my portfolio show a better range of skills and will be more interesting to look at as will have more diversity. 

Initial mood boards for 3 words 

(Authors own, 4/12/14)

3 word project day 2

Today we were back in the studio and spent the day working through a series of workshops led by the tutors. These workshops were to give us a different, more artistic approach, to a project which I have found good as this was something I found I need to improve on in the last project. 

The first workshop was quick drawing exercises, drawing whatever came to mind about our three words focusing on mark making. Although this was quite difficult as I often found I was unsure of what to draw I created some really interesting marks by the end of it which I can use further on in the project. The second workshop was using jersey, calico and muslin on the stands to create experimental ideas. I managed to create some different shapes on the stand and it helped in being more experimental with how to combine fabrics and how they can be used on the figure which you cannot see on paper.

This afternoon we then worked on fashion illustrations with Sarah, Dan and Becca. We did different exercises involving colour, detail and silhouette. I found these really helpful, fashion illustrations are exciting as they are free and dynamic and can convey an attitude better than a design. I think I should use these more in the project to convey my ideas. I also found these really useful as they help me to feel more confident with colour which is something I need to use when designing therefore in this project I should use these illustrations and the colour combinations I created to influence the colour palette in this project. These illustrations will also be very useful for my portfolio as are colourful and eye-catching so will compliment my other work which is more muted. 

To move on for tomorrow I need to look at my work from today and find relevant aspects to move into the project and to relate to my words as well as think about finding imagery to reference for this as this will help for when I try and create a solid start to the project.

One of my drawings using mark making referencing idea of concealing a face and also experimenting with colour

(Image, Authors Own, 3/12/14)

3 word project- Day 1

To start this new project we went on a trip round London picking exhibitions and places to visit that we thought related to our chosen words. The three words I picked were Isaac Newton, conceal and grotesque. I chose them as they are quite contrasting so I felt I could create an exciting project from them. So on Tuesday I visited the Wellcome Collection, the Saatchi and the Science Museum. 

At the Wellcome collection I saw the sexology exhibition which I thought could relate to my words of conceal and grotesque. There were a few interesting aspects of the exhibitions, I found the older section of the exhibition more fascinating because of the way sex was a less common topic so many references were hidden whereas now it is a more open topic. This was particularly the case in ancient china when many sexual imagery and objects were banned so they were hidden in side ornaments and things like vanity cases. Overall I didn't really find the exhibition grotesque, it felt scientific in places featuring a lot of research and discoveries but that it also focused a lot on the attitudes of the scientists researching it such as Freud and Marie Stopes. 

I didn't find the Saatchi very useful when I visited, I saw the Post-Pop exhibition but I found I didn't understand it. I found that I thought the small introductions into the rooms more thought provoking than the work I saw. A lot of the work was very garish and bright and almost silly which I didn't find inspiring. I found Tsang Kin-Wah’s wallpaper interesting because from a distance it looked like a pretty floral pattern but when you looked close it was made up of swear words so was a complete contrast to how it appeared, this could relate to conceal.

Finally I went to the Science Museum. Here I was looking for research on Isaac Newton but I couldn't find much on him other than a very small paragraph. However I found some other areas of the museum interesting such as the space room which can relate to Newton’s work on gravity. I particularly found there the globe which showed the movement of the tides interesting as it looked so delicate and beautiful yet is so powerful. The other area I found most interesting was the maths section, everything felt so complex and detailed, the spirographs and harmonographs were of particular interest because of the shapes they were creating. 

Although I don’t think I have found a solid idea from today I think visiting the museums and galleries has given me more scope and ideas for me to now research further.