Bitch 'n Stitch

After friday's crit we had a bitch 'n stitch session; this time it was knitting and crochet. I taught those who wanted to knit along with Emily, so we ended up sitting in the corner with a large group of people, looking like a load of pensioners and having a laugh, which is much needed seeing as most of us have interviews in the next week or so. Seeing as I myself have an interview in the coming week, it was a nice break from the constant worrying about portfolios and interviews and what to wear for my interview (yes, this is a priority). I got to use the 20mm needles which made me feel like a little kid using giant needles, and also created a net like knit as the loops were so loose.

Bitchin' 'n Stitchin' like a boss - loose knit

Now to learn how to crochet...I would love to be able to make some amigurumi toys, they're just so cute!

Mutate

Along side the deconstruction project I have been working into the previous migrate project some more. My concept of mutations and deformities as presented in the form of barbie dolls. Over christmas I created more mutated dolls, and after the crit on the first day back, I tried to create some material samples based on the concept.

 

I placed the samples onto my mutated dolls to see how they would work on the body.


These are some of the mutated dolls:

 

 

 Quite disturbing yes...still quite fun.

Deconstruction

For this most recent project I decided to deconstruct a pair of Caterpillar workers boots, as I was interested in working with objects with layers n different textures throughout the layers. It seemed like a good idea until I realised why these boots are so sturdy; it took 3 people over 2 days to fully pull them apart! It was interesting as so many materials go into making one item. I am now using the textures of the fabrics and shaping of the pieces of the shoe to work into fabric samples. My concept for this project is that of androgyny; where the feminine meets the masculine, this concept came from that fact that the boots appear to be those belonging to a man however when investigating into them it was clear that they were actually a woman's boot. To develop this idea I am working into fabric samples using either feminine fabrics and masculine techniques are vice versa. So far I have pleated into leathers and burned into organzas.

Christmas =D

I realise I haven't been keeping up to date with this blog thing...well I have specialised in the wonderful world of fashion and textiles, and so far it has been a mixture of things; confusing, strange, hilarious and of course busy busy busy.
Over reading week our work was to research our new project Overwhelm/ Overload, this i found difficult as it had soo many possibilities and definitions that I had no idea where to start, and then when it came to collecting objects that represented my ideas I was completely clueless. But eventually I gathered enough stuff for a installation (none of which related to the other objects...) the only part of this project I actually liked was the fact that I was able to purchase what can only be described as EPIC beads from a friends charity shop. This project did not work very well for me, but after a VERY useful tutorial with my tutor Michelle I have been given ways to rectify it and hopefully have some work worthy of being put into portfolio...

                                                               EPIC BEADS!

Then we moved onto the next project 'Migrate' which initially confused me even more than overwhelm...However, for this project I actually had a concept, which meant for once I actually had some idea about what I was doing, hurrah! I chose to base my research and project around the idea of mutation and deformities; Migrating shape of the body if you will. So most of my research was based around Chernobyl and the disasters' victims. I chose to deform dollies to try and represent my ideas through an installation, however, the tutor led work throughout the 2 week project tended to lean away from our initial concepts and there was a greater emphasis on fashion drawing , illustration and 3D work and such, which I didnt particularly enjoy as I am on the Textiles side of things. However, the day of life drawing we did was actually really fun, maybe it was because we got to play Dress Up for a while, I duno. Now from my tutorial I have been given ways in which I can develop this project, sticking very close to my concept and developing my work with the dolls so I have a greater body of work, which I'm actually looking forward to working into, especially as it fits in well with the Random Riches project we have to complete over the holidays. These projects are much more to my tastes, as they are both a bit weird.

And now I have finished with UCAS, so I can concentrate fully on my work for the time being, then I just have the fun that is stressing over portfolios and interviews to come....great!

Crossroads - decision time

I have chosen to specialise in fashion and textiles. I had always planned to specialise in this area since even before starting my foundation, as I have had aspirations to enter a career in fashion and textiles for many years, and seeing as it was my only art based A-level subject, it seemed to be the most appropriate. My first term of the foundation merely reiterated the fact that fashion and textiles was the most appropriate area for me to specialise in, as it was the subject area that I enjoyed the most and got the most out of, and struggled the least in. Initially I was uncertain of the area, as the first week did not appear to be very fashion/textiles related, however, as time progressed I saw how each of the tasks were linked and led to the final outcome, and saw that there was a definite link to fashion and textiles practice; such as the paper manipulation clearly links to the shaping of garments, and the cutting into the paper can be linked to textiles surface design. The fact that fashion was my last rotation may have been why I enjoyed it so much; as I had learnt something from each of the previous subject areas. From the first three rotations I learnt to loosen up and so become more creative in my thought process, and not think about the final outcome before as much as the process towards it, and more importantly I learnt not to be so precious about my work and that I just need to let go and try different things and experiment more as this allows for more creativity; therefore improving the quality of my work. From the rotations I have learnt a lot about myself, my work and my abilities. I have found that I am definitely a design student rather than an artist; I require the structure to work within and enjoy the thought process and experimentation that leads to the final outcome, this was proven by how terrible I was at fine art. I am also a very practical, 3D based worker, as I thoroughly enjoyed the 3D elements of 3D and spatial design and especially so within fashion and textiles. This point was also driven by the fact that I much prefer 3D work to drawing work, as I feel it is where I can fully express my skills and creativity, this was also noted by some of the tutors throughout the rotation period, further reaffirming me that fashion and textiles was the correct pathway for me to choose.

I believe that fashion and textiles is the perfect subject area for me, as it has the structure I need to enjoy and be successful at a task, it also includes the 3D elements which I enjoy the most. Fashion and textiles was always my desired pathway, and has always been the subject area I have had the most interest in as I want to pursue a career in this area, I also find the research and drawing within this area to be most enjoyable and more suitable to my style of working.

Fashion & Textiles

hurrah! I have finally reached fashion and textiles, the thing ive been waiting for for months now, and so far I am really enjoying it. The first couple of days of constant drawing did frustrate me slightly as I am a much more hands on practical kinda girl, but I am actually happy with what I produced which is a lot more than I can say for all my other work...ergh. Now we've moved into the more 3D elements of fashion and textiles, and even if we only use paper (grrrr no fabric) Im still enjoying it and finally loosening up and not being so precious about my work, which is what has been asked of me since I started at Chelsea (yes I'm aware it took nearly 2 months for me to get the message)
cannot WAIT to specialise now

Rachel Whiteread exhibition

Visiting the exhibition was an interesting experience as I had mixed opinions on the work. On entering the exhibition I had little interest in the drawings however as I moved through I found a lot of work that I found very interesting such as the weave style drawings as I could relate the structure in the drawings to the work I've done in 3D and spatial design. The work gave me ideas of how I could improve my own drawings from the recent projects, I was also imspired by the use of materials used in the work, as I really liked the effect of the tipex on graph paper.