Origins - Evaluation

Throughout the Origins project I feel I have really pushed my work when it comes to - developing my own style of drawing and the new skills I have learnt to take with me into other areas of textiles. I have made the connection between my sketchbook work and research quite clear during my practical work/ sessions in knit and weave. I believe I have translated my work better through weave as I picked up the techniques quicker than I did in the three weeks of knit. I have developed my own way of drawing that works better for me. This was working onto emulsion transferred grounds instead of plain grounds as I think you get such a wide range of diverse marks when doing this process which makes the translation into my practical work more exciting and energetic. In-between knit and weave I changed my colour pallet as the first set of colours wasn't working with my research and practical. The Friday drawing days were a big help as it widened my range and knowledge of different materials to work with. It also developed a different way of thinking when making assorted marks, textures and compositions.

I have never done knitting or weaving before so was excited to see what techniques were involved. I have realized that I’ve been more patient when it comes to things not going quite according to plan. In the past when things have gone wrong, I’ve just wanted to leave it and move on, whereas particularly in the knit weeks when my knitting machine kept playing up I stuck at it because I wanted to learn the techniques and see what could potentially be achieved on a knitting machine. Through looking into different knit and weave designers, I’ve found out how important which yarns I pick, as each yarn knits/weaves differently which has a big impact on the structure and hold of my samples. When selecting my yarns I have recognized how important colour is. It is vital which yarns I pick and which I think relate back to my work. This has also helped by yarn wrappings so I can also look into composition for my knit and weave.

I have always struggled with my time management but feel I am sharing my time evenly between studio and independent study. I would have liked to go into Uni more on my independent study days as there aren't as many distractions there. I know now what I have to do for future projects to get the best out of the course and the practical equipment.

Deconstruct/Reconstruct

For this weeks drawing day we had to bring in a kinder egg with the children's toys in. This week was all about mark making from a deconstructed 3 dimensional object to create a series of 2 dimensional and spatial drawings. My object was a toy car that just wouldn't deconstruct so I used the object as whole to create different marks on the paper. I first used the actual wrapper to do some 'dust' drawings what I were shown in the first week.

 I then went on to use the little container the toy came in. This created different marks as the container was round so didn't have and straight edges.

By painting the toy car in ink each side/angle of the car made a different mark. I didn't think there would be such a variety of marks made from such a small object. Its made me think more about using different things to draw with instead of just bog standard brushes and sticks as you can create much more individual mark making with active and individual materials.

Mood board

Starting to work on my new mood board for my new colour pallet. I have scanned in a few images from  my sketch book that relate and began doing some yarn wrappings that ii can relate into my weaving. I find doing the yarn wraps makes you thinking more about composition and spacing within each weave.

I've learnt a lot about how important the composition is in weaving and also knit as I feel it has helped me pushed my work forward in terms of developing my weave samples. I have started to do some repeat patterns which I feel have worked out better as you can see how it would probably work in a bigger piece.

Narrative through objects

For one of the Friday drawing tasks we were exploring narrative through objects. We had to bring in a small sentimental object. We started off by filling a sheet with words that describe that particular object. Loads of words came to mind about my object as I brought in half a friendship necklace that was given to me by one of my best friends who moved to New Zealand when we were in year 4 and ever since we have stayed in touch. When doing theses tasks we have to think about negative space, composition, repetition and pattern. I used a number of materials in my work including chalk, pastels, graphite, Indian ink and marker pens. I think using a number of different materials in your work give it more depth and texture as each one gives a completely different effect. I enjoyed this task as I feel the drawings meant more to me because of the object I was drawing.

Weave - Second colour pallet

 I've started to develop my way of drawing in my sketch book and sheets of paper. I prefer to work onto emulsion transferred grounds instead of plain white backgrounds. I like the way the emulsion strips back a lot of the colour so the colours from things such as newspaper, magazines and leaflets are more delicate. I mainly choose to draw with Indian ink as I prefer that line quality you get compared to just using a pencil.

I have also advanced my colour pallet as I have found that from making the grounds for various drawings I was getting the same variety of colours. I do like these colours better than my colour pallet for knit as I prefer the yarns I have been choosing for my weave.

Back to the countryside

A few weeks ago I went back home in the Peak District (Derbyshire) for the weekend. These were all taken about two minutes away from my house. I love Autumn and the variety of coloured leaves you can get at this time of year. I really looked into colour when taking these. There are so many different shades of green, and has really made me think carefully about colour when picking yarns in this particular textiles world.

Sandra Backlund

I researched into the knit designer Sandra Buckland who graduated from Stockholm College of Design in 2004. I have come across her work before during my fashion course at college and like the way her garments change and manipulate the silhouette. I love this collection because even though its all just black the structure and thickness of the yarn makes the depth and construction of each garment amazing and wearable.

 “Handmade, sculptural pieces that are made to highlight, distort or transform the natural silhouette of the body.” - Sandra Backlund

http://www.sandrabacklund.com/