Project 4 Review

Did you manage to 'make space move'?

Yes, I thought this was a bit ridiculous but I understand now!

What are your thoughts about the drawings you did in Stage 3?

I liked working from previous work, I didn't spend too much time on making these drawings 'perfect' but I know they will work well as 'working drawings' for future development iterations.

Were you able to use your drawings successfully as a basis for further work? Are there any other things you would like to try?

I've never had a problem finding inspiration and having ideas for more development , so yes I was able to use the drawings and yes, theres plenty more that I'd like to try.

Now that you have a good working method, do you feel confident that you can carry on working in this way independently?

Yes, I'm happy that I can generate ideas which generate ideas which generate ideas etc. I'm excited to move onto the next stages to see them worked onto fabric.

Project 4 Stage 4

Developing design ideas from previous work.

I started by pushing all the concurrent ideas onto one page (because they were all screaming for attention at once). I photocopied the main shapes and the bird drawing from previous work.

I made some stamps and tried out some patterns and repeats. I tried embellishing some of these to see how that affected the overall feel.

I tried out some watercolour crayons for a feather effect using the colours that worked well from Project 4 Stage 2.

I tried out different backgrounds with the tree motif that is pretty constant throughout. I tried to see what it would look like on different backgrounds and whether it was just stitched, just stamped, or stitched and stamped.

I gave the photocopies a wash of colour and tried out different patterns. I glued them all down in this configuration but other ideas were sparked too. The colours don't add much here but it makes the page more interesting to look at than black and white!

I coloured the bird photocopies too and tried to see how strips/segments of the colours looked together. I also cut sections and arranged them in unusual ways to see what patterns emerged.

Project 4, Stage 3

This stage was all about looking over previous work for inspiration and for ideas to redo into new work. I started by filtering out the most boring stuff and laying out the rest on the couch and floor.

I then narrowed down the field to the pieces that were sparking ideas

As I'm only really working 4 new ideas I narrowed down further and overlapped the pages so that only the parts I wanted to work with were showing.

Project 4 Stage 2

Working from resource material with a viewing frame:

Splitting one image down into texture, colour and shape

Reworking with the parts I found more interesting/intriguing:

(Here I liked the flat texture against the pattern. I couldn't decide if the pattern is counted as a texture or a shape?!)

Reworking the sample in different media - crayon, cut fabric & ribbon and torn paper.

Working from real items (lego minifigures resting on bright magazine pages)

Project 4, Stage 1

I thought this Stage would be a little bit boring and wouldn't make much sense to me, but after moving the squares on the paper I could see what the book meant by making the space 'move'. I looked over some of my previous work and could see how I tend to arrange work for a 'calming effect' and where I had deliberately placed objects off kilter to give energy. I'll be far more conscious of this in the future.

Project 3 Research Point

This research point was to look at a textiles piece from the home which held significance or interest for you. I examined my uniform hat a lot closer. I've worn this thousands of times and never really looked at it properly so this was quite refreshing. I realised for the first time that the main badge has a significant amount of what must be hand-embroidery - a lot of work has gone into it!

Project 3 Stage 6

Wow. This was the longest exercise ever. Not only are French knots slow but they are BORING, so when combined with the procrastination they are even slower. I took about 2 months doing this one sample and then ended up not doing any course work for several months afterwards.

This stage consisted of exercises with primary colours, muted colours and working a sample in French Knots.

Here are the finished samples:

I'm really really pleased with the overall effect of the bottom sample - its exactly how I imagined. I wanted the sky to look pretty stormy with all those colours.

The course asks for a review here:

Were you able to mix and match colours accurately?

I think so yes. I definitely did better than I thought I would. At first I thought only really skilled people could get an exact colour match but I actually found it quite easy tweaking nearer and nearer to a colour - I just needed time and scrap paper!

Were you able to use colour expressively?

I know the colours work to express a feeling for me, but I'm not sure that they would evoke the same reactions in others.

Can you now see colour rather than accepting what you think you see?

This was the biggest learning point here for me. I was pretty surprised when I really looked at the colours.

Did you prefer working with watercolours or gouache paints? What was the difference?

I prefer the look of watercolour but found working with gouache easier. The gouache stayed wetter longer so the colours mixed easier.

How successful were the colour exercises in Stage 5? How did they compare to the painting exercises?

Obviously the hand sewing is slower! And the colours have to be blended together with fine blended stitching rather than mixing together into a consistent new colour. However I really liked the effect of the stitching.

Is there anything you would like to change or develop?

The standard answer here is that I'd love to have more time to try different colour schemes and different ways of doing things - especially with the stitching. But there is only 24 hours in each day and I'm happy with what I've done for this stage, and what I have learnt along the way.