Week 4

Throughout this week the focus was print, which was to be inspired by our family history. I wanted to look back at my family history focusing more on my grandparents and how my family developed from there. After looking into my history more I found that we have a family crest. I really liked the look of it as it has many interesting shapes such as the floral aspects and the helmet with feathers.

I then focussed on these aspects wanting to incorporate them into my print designs. First using the skills I had developed at the beginning of the week I used the magnetic lasso tool on Photoshop to cut out the helmet part of my crest. After doing this I improved the image by changing some of the effects such as the colour of the image to a darker colour so it was clearer. I then incorporated the helmet into a half drop repeat pattern which was more complicated to create however looks better than having my shape appear in straight lines, by having it as a half drop repeat pattern it will having the shape running diagonally instead. I wanted to create the half drop pattern because I felt that once I had placed the print onto a model it was more interesting to look at and looked better.

I then created several more patterns some featuring the feather aspect as a repeat half drop pattern, which I then layered across other patterns and changed the opacity and colour burns and saturations to create several different patterns that featured the same layers. I also incorporated some of the filter tools into my designs learning that they could change the patterns, by blurring, twisting and pixelating them, I found the twirl tool to be my preferred one which I used on different prints as although they still included the inspiration of my family history it was not obvious and generally made some unusual and exciting prints.

After playing around with the layers and settings I started looking into a different way of creating a pattern, so instead of repeating the same shape I created a cluster of the same shape, this repeated the same shape which in this case was a feather, I then layered multiple feathers of different sizes and at different angels on top of each other which flowed into a gradient of fewer smaller feathers. I liked this pattern the most because it was the most unusual and pleasing to the eye due to the overall shape the layers created and the raw visible lines, which I feel created quite an organic print as it was not too computerised and looked more natural as the lines and shapes were not perfectly accurate.

I think that if I were to do this week again I would manage my time better, as although I was able to create 20 different prints I felt that my presentation was weak due to the quality of my prints, because I had ran out of time to print on higher quality paper. Also I would have lightened my images as they appeared very dark when printed which meant that the effect of the print was lost as it was difficult to make out the print because of the use of dark colours.

Week 3

This week we focussed on designing, where we had to finish the week with a capsule collection of five looks, but before designing the collection I started by looking at shapes, for this I picked one shape that related to me so this was my birth sign which is Virgo and is a similar shape to an 'M' I chose this shape as it has lots of curves in it so after cutting out 20 A4 size symbols I took them to a manikin, but before I started arranging them on a manikin I worked with 4 other peoples shapes, I enjoyed doing this as I was able to work with a variety of shapes in different ways, and whilst I did this 4 other people worked with my shapes, this helped as it showed me many different ways I could work with the same shape. I then started to work with my own shapes on the manikin, I created 6 different looks through a variety of ways by manipulating the shapes or the way I placed them on the manikin such as layering, placing them sideways, upside down or even changing the shape by folding. I really enjoyed doing this as I hadn't worked in this way before but it allowed me to explore a different way of designing as after this I chose 2 of my favourite looks and created 3 designs inspired by them.

Then I looked at my designs and picked one recurring shape which was a scallop shape then I used this shape as the focus for a series of quick designs I did, so for this I created a page of pockets, trousers, skirts, sleeves and collars that all included the scallop shape in one form or another. I liked doing this task as it was a quick way to coming up with initial ideas and as they were quick thought I didn't think or focus so much on them which allowed the designs to be freer and less restricted. I then developed these initial ideas by designing whole garments and looks which lead me onto creating the capsule collection. I really enjoyed designing the collection as I picked one key feature which was the use of the scallop shape and sheer fabrics and then 4 colours.

 Although what I found with designing the collection was that it was different from my usual style as I tried to make it more commercial as opposed to more couture style that I usually opt for. Which I think in future I will decide to stay with my usual style however I am pleased that I explored a different way as it has allowed me to develop my skills.  I also showed the collection to my tutor and peers where I feel that the feedback was to develop my presentation skills such as try to differentiate the different types of fabrics used. I also had to create flats of the garments I had designed, I had never done this before but after initially finding it difficult I soon was able to improve, yet after working through the difficulty of that task I did find it to be very time consuming as although I did meet my deadline I believe that some things were rushed, therefore to prevent this from happening I think I will work at a more productive pace.

Overall this week I am pleased with the work I produced however I do feel disappointed in my final designs, but I do feel that from this week I will be able to develop my skills.

Enrgy and Process Review

The collection that I visited today was called Energy and Process at the Tate Modern, the collection featured work from the 1960's-1970's arte povera movement. The theme was about natural movements of the everyday featuring work from artists such as Susumu Koshimizu, Gilberto Zario, Mario Merz and others from the era.

When walking into the collection my immediate reaction was that the pieces were very interesting as they were all varied featuring different shapes, materials and textures which I found curious. I felt that the work had a nice flow to it, it was very natural and easy to understand. Although whilst looking at it there was a sense of coldness, as well as it feeling hard and industrial. There was one particular piece of work by Mario Merz which was called Lingotto which featured bundles of brush wood behind a block of bees wax raised on a steel framework, I felt that this signified urban and rural societies the difference between wealth, poverty and luxury as the brush wood represented a simple life of poverty where as the raised bees wax suggested luxury and authority as the wax represents a gold bar relating to the title of the piece 'Lingotto' which is Italian for ingot.

 

I chose to review this collection as I felt a connection to it as it interested me, as I liked how it was simple yet clever and the materials used throughout it. I find the work throughout the collection inspiring as the range of materials and shapes used I believe I can feature in my own work, I noticed how the collection had a colour scheme running throughout of greys, browns and blacks and was very textual which could lead me onto using very textured and unusual materials such as wood, clay and metal. 

Week Two

This week I did the look book, trend and styling tasks. Over the weekend I had to take a photo booth styled portrait of myself, in preparation for this I looked at some of Andy Warhol's Polaroid portraits and portraits from Tim Walker. As I wanted my portraits to represent myself I chose four key images that I felt best represented me, these was a variety that portrayed my fun, cheeky side and more serious and thoughtful parts of my personality, I believe that the mood in these images reflect against my mood board well. Then on Monday morning the whole group presented their portraits and gave feedback, I enjoyed looking at others work and understanding their thought processes and final outcomes.

After this we were briefed on the photo shoot we had to prepare for and do for the end of the week, we then looked at some of the work that Susie has been involved with, I found it very interesting finding out the different processes and contributions that all make up a photo shoot, this allowed me to think more in depth about the mise-en-scene of my shoot. I worked on my concept boards exploring; location, props, styling and hair/makeup. Overall these boards greatly aided the success of my photo shoot as I was able to express my ideas to myself clearer as well as to others allowing an overall understanding.

Then on Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday I went to oxford circus to conduct a shop report I went into Topshop, Urban Outfitters and Monki. I gathered a variety of information about the current trends including the styles, shapes, colours and textures. After collecting this information I bought it in on Wednesday to share with my group we then after collecting everyone's findings created several different trend boards, one illustrating the use of sherbet colours and textures, like the use of PVC and furs such as cashmere and mohair. Then another board showing the mod rocker, grunge style which uses boxy boyish shapes, dark colours plaids/tartans, denims and drain pipe styled trousers, then the last board showed the variety of prints in season at the moment and the colours of these prints. Our findings came from a variety of shops from designer, department store and high street shops. I liked working in a group as I was able to gain feedback from different people and take note from their different styles of working. Then as a group we presented our boards which I found helpful because its good practice at gaining confidence in explain my work which will help to explain my ideas clearer.

On Thursday for my Self directed study I did my photo shoot, I enjoyed doing the photo shoot task greatly. So on Thursday my friend Nicole was my model and I styled her in a white t-shirt and mini skirt then with long straight hair and very rough and powdery make up, then throughout the shoot I added to her look by covering her face in cellophane, wrapping her up in cling film and putting a flower crown on her head. Then doing my photo shoot in my garden in front of my shed, my mum through crushed up chalk at her then with the camera on the sport capture setting in order to get the fast moving shots of the chalk blowing up in the air.  

 

Then on Friday with my photos taken and the best ones selected I started to print them out this took longer than I had expected however I was able to do this task successfully it was just the printer part too longer than I had thought, however I printed my six images on high glossy paper in order to get the bright colours and have the images presented in a high quality, this was due to the editing on photoshop I did which was only to crop certain images and adjust the levels of the images in order to get a darker bolder image, I also printed my two

This image was printed on acetate
 

favourite images out on acetate this was an experiment to see what the colours would come out like, which I am pleased with the final outcome as I believe it expresses my identity and reflects well against my mood board and Polaroid portraits.

Overall I enjoyed this week greatly especially the photo shoot as I believe this task enable me to express my main ideas related to this project, as the photo shoot has given me a lot of inspiration in relation to colours, materials and textures that my final product may look like.

 

Week One

On my first day I bought in my 10 objects that have meaning to me, this consisted of; a ring that my parents gave me for my 18th birthday, a cork from the champagne we drank at my 18th birthday, a bracelet that I bought in South Africa last year, a photograph of my mum and I when I was four years old, also my favourite perfume, one of my favourite albums from The XX, My favourite song and a ring that my mum gave me. I used these pictures to express my identity and personality traits. This lead me on to mind mapping the words I associated with these objects that related to the 7 areas of; Genes, Physicality, Symbol/Personality, Likes/Dislikes, Special Objects and family history. By doing this I was able to represent my identity through these words.

Once choosing 10 key words to represent my feelings I wanted to gather images to represent this, I enjoyed this task as I found it interesting however I don't think that I managed my time that well as it took me longer than I had expected, although it showed me that I need to work more efficiently and allow myself enough time to complete the task and have a better plan so I can complete tasks efficiently.  

Original Mood Board

 

I found a variety of images that represent my identity and feelings, then arranged them into a mood board, however when I did the group workshop that meant I looked at three other boards and re-arranged them and the same happened to my mood board, after doing this task and talking to the tutors I had changed my board significantly, by taking images out. One tutor suggested arranging the images into a linear order for someone else's board I then used this advice on my own board and found that there is a flowing theme of softness and femininity throughout it which now expresses my feelings better.  I enjoyed this task as now I can see my ideas clearer and after gaining positive advice from the tutors. 

Final Mood Board