Locating- Project Evaluation

For this project I was asked to create and develop my own self initiated brief. I knew it was important to manage my time because not only would I be working on my self-initiated brief I will also be responding to at least one of the live briefs. To help me stay on track and manage my own workload I created a timetable at the start of the project so I could see exactly what I had to do in weekly sections. I am really glad that I did this because I feel that I would have fallen behind on my work had I not set myself realistic weekly goals. Because I broke my work down into manageable chunks I felt that I kept on top of everything well. I feel that I managed my time well because I also factored in when I would be away in Paris to go to the Masion et Object trade fair. If I had not written this into my plan and worked more the week before I went to Paris I feel like this would have had a detrimental affect on my work. By putting up a printed copy of this timetable on my bedroom wall I could clearly see what my goals were for that week and week about doing this accordingly. I set my time aside for doing my live project brief so that it wouldn’t overlap with my self-initiated brief and I would not get confused. I think that my time management skills have improved since starting this project and I am definitely going to use these skills in my next project. Especially creating an initial weekly timetable.

Whilst I was in Paris, as well as being incredibly inspired by the work I saw and the people I interacted with, I also collected a lot of business cards and leaflets of designers. I had the amazing opportunity to speak to current designers in the business and learn tips from them about where I may want to take my own work in the future. I also signed up for the website patternbank.com so that I can keep up to date with the upcoming trends and give myself a larger insight into the textile design world. As well as networking, I followed lots of different artists and designers on Instagram and Pinterest that I found whilst researching. I think that this has helped me a lot because it’s a very visual and creative outlet that I can easily see wherever I am on mobile devices. It’s also a good way of seeing contextual research and easily saving images that are inspiring or relevant to my own work. I aim to continue to use this technique to further my future development.

Throughout my project I feel that my work developed quite dramatically from my initial drawings and ideas. I initially wanted to look at wildlife and animals but after doing more research I felt I was more inspired by the landscapes that I was looking at as apposed to the animals directly. From this I started to create more drawings of mountain ranges, trying to capture the remote sense that I was seeing in my research. When I started designing I knew I wanted to keep a very grey and neutral, earthy feel. But after I created some Brusho paintings I knew immediately I wanted to include these within my designs. The contrasting colours and the grey tones gave my work an arctic and outdoor feeling which is what I wanted to achieve. When I was designing for the Bradford textiles competition I knew the sort of interior range I wanted to create, but whilst doing this I read the fashion entry of the competition. This is where I got the idea to start to develop my existing designs to fit a fashion context. I did lots of contextual research into fashion and decided that I wanted to take my work down the route of ski and snowboard wear. I think that this worked very well and I was pleased that I decided to go ahead with this theme. I also think that my work developed hugely after I took my digitally printed fabric into the print room. I think it can be hard sometimes to visualize how a design on a computer screen is going to look when it is printed out. I was pleased with my prints but I felt that some of them needed to be developed by hand printing elements such as flock and foil. I carefully planned out what I wanted to create with my prints before I went into the print room, and I was generally pleased with the outcomes. However one of them did not come out the way that I had wanted it to because the lines on my motif screen were too thin. I have learned from this and will ensure my motifs on my screen are suitable for printing.

I feel like from doing this project I now have a much clearer sense of where I see my work going in the future. I have looked at a lot of artists and designers and gathered a large body of contextual research that is relevant to my own work. I now see myself working towards designing my own interior products, either independently or working for a larger design company. After creating my designs I used Photoshop to put my own designs into situ. I feel like I chose suitable and relevant locations for this like modern apartments and ski chalets. These are the places were I can see my work being displayed. I created a consumer board to clearly show the type of person who would buy my designs and this showed how I could see contextual links between a type of person choosing a type of design for their home. Hopefully I have chosen this well as I feel that my own work is quite contemporary and would be purchased by a quite successful person with a distinct style.

Overall, by doing this project I feel like I have learned a lot, and my work has certainly developed. Having Rianna as a tutor again for this project really helped me because I feel that she understands my work and always gives me clear and consistent advice on how I can improve. Going to the group tutorials and receiving feedback on my work has also really helped me improve. As someone who is quite unconfident about showing my work I initially was very nervous about going to my tutorials. But I have realised that I have become much more confident in my work and within myself by talking and presenting my work to others. Because I have had the support of my tutor and my peers throughout this project I was able to clearly see my strengths and weaknesses within my own work and I feel that this has helped me develop. Not only am I pleased with the work that I have created for this project, but I feel that my work for this has been much more relevant to the type of thing that I would like to after I graduate. I am glad that I tried designing for interiors instead of fashion because I really enjoyed it and I can see my work more in that context. I feel that since starting the project I am much more driven to create work to the best of my ability because I am starting to see my own work in a contextual and professional way.

Locating- Week 8

After creating my sample and design board for the combined processes part of the Bradford textiles competition, I started altering my designs for a fashion outcome. I thought that my designs would be more suitable for an alternative sports brand, fitting the market for ski and snowboard wear. I started to gather design flats of the garments I wanted to create and edited my designs on Photoshop to visualize what my designs would look like on the fashion garments. I created a whole range of ski/snowboard wear and accessories and I was actually really pleased with how these looked. I will be sending a main board with a sample and one fashion visualization on and another board with my whole range on to show my collection. I think that this worked really well because after doing a lot of contextual research on ski and snowboard wear that is currently on the market, I feel that my designs relate well to the common themes of neutral tones and contrasting bright colours with daring patterns. I feel that my work also portrays these elements. Here are some images showing my fashion visualisation boards that i will be sending away to the Bradford competition.

Locating- Week 7

I was quite pleased overall with the samples that I created in the print room this week. They all turned out quite well although one of them that I added iridescent foil to did not come out as well as I had hoped. I think this was because the lines I used for my motif were not as thick as they should have been. Next time I get a screen developed I will ensure that my motifs are thick enough. My favourite sample that I created was a one that I added white flock to. I have decided to enter this sample into the combined processes section of the Bradford textiles competition. For this I have created a board including my main sample and an image of my design in situ. Here are some images from the print room and of my Bradford combined process sample.

Locating- Week 6

This week I had my digital designs printed onto the fabric cotton canvas because I thought this was the most appropriate fabric to use for interior outcomes such as cushions. I was very pleased with the way they turned out as the colours came out really bright against the grey tones. I have also booked time in the print room for next week to develop my prints by hand. I want to add a couple of other processes to my prints such as flock and foil to give them subtle hints of texture. I think that when designing for items such as cushions that sometimes texture can be quite important, hopefully after my hand printing in the print room I will be pleased with the outcome. I have already had my motifs developed onto a screen that I will use on my fabric so I can plan ahead exactly what I will be printing whilst in the print room. Hopefully this will ensure that my printing is effective and efficient.

Here are some images of my digitally printed fabric

Locating- Week 5 - Networking

Last week I had the amazing opportunity of going to the Maison Et Object interior trade fair in Paris. I was able to view some of the biggest and best interior design companies from all around the world, all exhibiting their work in one space. Not only was it amazing to see how diverse the world of textiles is and how many different companies there are, but it was so interesting to be able to look at all of their newest trends and innovative designs before the general public. The whole experience of spending a few days in Paris and seeing everything I did at the trade fair was very inspirational and motivation for me. It made me think more about applying my own work to something more than just Uni projects, it made me think about life and the textiles trade after university. It inspired me to push myself further and be a bit more confident about my work, as usually I'm my biggest critic and often put my own work down as a result of this. But after seeing so much diverse work at the trade fair I am starting to see that in the massive world of textiles that there is a place for my own work and me. Also after speaking and networking with other textile artist displaying their work i learned what it was like from their point of view and how much of a privilege it is to show their work in such a large event within the textile world. After being a visitor to the trade fair it inspired me to think about one day being able to exhibit my own work at a trade fair and how much of an accomplishment that would be. Here are some images that I found inspiring from the trade show, 

I also signed up for the website Patternbank.com so i can see all of the upcoming trend reports and learn more about the inside textile community.

Artist Inspiration - Pam Lostracco

The 'Mountain Mural' Bedroom Makeover

After doing some general research of mountains and landscapes i came across an image on Pinterest which i was immediately drawn to. After reading up about the image i found out that it was much more interesting than i initially thought. The image i found was called 'Mountain Mural' and was an article posted on the website apartmenttherapy.com which is a site i regularly use for inspiration and research. 

The article is written about one artists bedroom which she transformed by scaling up a painting she had already created. The artist is a Canadian woman called Pam Lostracco who is an artist and designer. After researching her work i have found many of her designs and paintings inspiring and can see some links between the work i have been creating and her own. I think the main influence for me would be that she works with themes found in Canada like the animals and the landscapes i have been looking at. But i was very interested to find out that the image i found so inspiring initially, was actually based on mountains in Thailand and sold as a calendar on her Etsy store.

'While traveling on many buses in Thailand and Laos, I saw endless ranges of beautiful and sometimes unusual mountainscapes. As we drove along side them, I drew the top edge of each ridge, stacking one on top of the other. The result became a new vista which is how I created this mountain design.'

I was so inspired by the initial painting that when i saw what she had created as a mural on her bedroom wall i was amazed at the talent and skill it must have taken to scale a painting up so precisely onto a wall, not to mention the creativity to think of such an original idea. 

Before

During the Process

'I composed a scaled drawing of my bedroom wall in Illustrator. Then, added a square-foot grid over the drawing which was transferred onto the wall using string. Square by square, I penciled in the drawing. The solid white (top) and charcoal (bottom) were painted first. Then I carefully blended the remaining middle colors to get a gradual gradation from light to dark.'

The Finished Mural

'This mural is 120 square feet and took 3 full days to draw the outline and paint. I used 3 different colors of paint: the white and natural white were leftovers from previous projects so only $50 was spent on a gallon of Kendell Charcoal from Benjamin Moore. The colors were selected to blend with the neutral tones in my bedspread, curtains and furniture.'

From finding one image i liked on Pinterest and looking a little bit deeper into it i have came across a medium that i would have never ever thought about. I find the idea of scaling up a drawing to create a mural a really interesting way of transforming a whole room in whatever way that you want. This imagery certainly has influenced some of the initial drawings that i created for this project but i think it mainly influenced me within my design development. As i was playing around with the idea of layering my drawings and designs up to create a slight depth within my prints, i felt that this was a good example of that. I find Pam Lostracco's work so captivating and inspiring that i could look at it all day and i would happily have one of her murals on my bedroom wall.

All images and information sourced from apartmenttherapy.com