Final Hand Rendered Collection

I have refined my collection by looking at the embroidered samples and painted croquis that had a curved looping line in them. I liked the sewing on the paper as it gave a nice texture so I added pieces of coloured material in some of the small sections. The other pattern was developed from one of my painted croquis, but adapted by using thicker pen to create highlight the different shapes. The last design came from a Brusho background on one of my embroidered samples, which I recreated and then embroidered around the shapes of the ink. I chose these three to work together as the colours are similar and they use the same thin flowing lines. Two of the designs have different scales and weights, which creates contrast between delicate and bold. The last design fills the page, so the layout contrasts with the others.

Whilst creating these pieces I looked at the work of Miro. He uses thin black lines and flat, simple colour to create his work. It is very simplistic but works well, this is something I wanted to come across in my work.

I thought that my work would look best in an interior, so I created a visualisation of them on sofas, cushions and wallpaper. I did this using Photoshop and cutting and layering the images. 

I am pleased with this final collection as it looks good in my visualisations. I think the patterns are quite different for use in interiors today. I could have improved the collection by creating three designs that were more different from each other as two of the designs are very similar and another different design could have made it more interesting. 

Final CAD collection

I scanned an image in, zoomed into it and cropped it and then copied and rotated it into a motif. I then merged the layers and duplicated it to fit next to each other in different repeats. I used an original from my design development stage where I used Brusho on tissue paper to create a tie-dye effect and then drew onto the wet surface with a fine-liner. The original had a lively and natural feel to it, but due to me altering the colours and layout, the CAD prints had a much more sophisticated feel to them. 

 

I chose these three designs to work together as a collection because they had all come from the same original image. They are all similar in colour and shape. I chose to combine the half-drop pattern with the other two because it has more space between the motifs, otherwise I think the collection could have looked too overwhelming. 

I would improve this collection by experimenting more with scale as two of the designs are quite similar. One of these could have been on a bigger scale, which would allow it to be used for different products. 

Yarn Bomb Stop Motion Animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISUtiKxO098

This is a link to my final stop motion animation of putting up and taking down my yarn bomb instillation.

I am please with this animation as it was different to the other ones I saw. I like how the yarnbomb has been given a character; a life of its own. I used Quick Time to make this animation. I would use this technique again as it is a good way of communicating visually and making a piece of artwork more interesting. It could have been improved by adding music or sound effects to give it even more life.

Design Development

I have started to develop my ideas by choosing one of the original images I drew and elaborated and exaggerated it by experimenting with different medias, different line, and adding colour.  

Stitching     Brusho      Acrylic paint      Oil pastels      Pen

 

Looking at the work of DanYELL a surface pattern designer she adds little amounts of colour into her black and white designs which looks really affective and as a surface pattern piece it creates a statement, this is something I wanted to develop in my own work. 

I am refining my original piece by blowing up and tightening the lines that have been created within the pattern. I think that the lines that have been blown up to fill the page has worked the best as there can be bigger areas of colour and detail added. I tried to use pen on fabric to draw out the lines however this didn't turn out too well as it was quite faint and also there wasn't much control. I also thought what worked well was the pieces made on tissue. The tissue soaked up and spread the brusho ink which created new colours, tone and texture for an interesting background piece.

 My intentions now are to keep exploring these deigns and creating a three piece collection from them. One collection hand made and another Photoshop designed. 

Observational Studies

After creating the Yarnbomb the task was to produce observational studies of the installation in different medias and techniques. I explored the line, colour, texture, pattern and shape within the installation to make interesting studies.

The techniques I have used have been continuous line, dotted line and negative space. From these drawings I used the sewing machines to do free hand stitching and used different surfaces to do this on such as sewing into a printed picture.

I have developed my ideas further by using Photoshop and creating repeat, drop repeat and placement patterns. I edited the original images further to change the colours and contrasts so each pattern was different.

 Timorous Beasties have inspired my work with the straight repeated patterns and colours. I could work with bright colours like their designs as well as overlapping techniques and patterns more to develop my ideas.

The drawing techniques that were most successful were the ones that didn't look exactly like what I was drawing. The dotted line in particular created an interesting un-representational composition. I would like to develop the patterns created in these drawings. Using the coloured pencils, I created blocks of colour with no lines, which had an abstract and simplified feel. I was interested in the negative space as this made the shapes and movement stand out more. I liked the texture that the pencil marks made and how this shows exploration of colour through tints and shades.

 I think that the surface pattern design has worked well on Photoshop as it looks professional and sophisticated. The colours work well together with the different tones of the piece. I could see it being used for soft-furnishings. 

My plan now is to expand on the pattern design by exploring different medias such as brusho inks, batik, embroidery and printmaking. I need to make a stencil for printmaking, which I will make from my drawings. I like the idea of taking parts of different drawings and placing them together to create a new composition. I also need to do some more research into pattern designers to help me decide whether to focus on textiles or fashion.

Yarnbomb Installation

         

            

               

The aim of this task was to work in a group to create a yarnbomb installation around college that would change the environment around it.

Clothes    Wool     Cotton

We chose this area as it was a bland part of the college. We thought by adding this yarnbomb to the staircase it would liven it up and excite people. It is also in a discreet area.

The idea behind this installation is that all the material would run down the stairs like a waterfall.

We adapted the idea after looking at the area the installation was set up in. The first plan was going to just be attached and formed to the stairs but then as the door opened it let in a draft and the group thought that it work if there were pieces if wool that would blow in the wind.

The colour choices we made were to make it darker at the top and then gradually getting lighter at the bottom. This would emphasise the movement of the yarns to create a dripping, water flowing impression.

Our inspiration was from Sarah Applebaum. Her work is bold and uses lots of colours that clash, which excite the viewer.

Our team worked well together as we did a lot of planning and spilt the roles up to give everyone equal turns in the group using a rota. It was important to get everyone involved. I was able to do the photography as well as setting up the installation. I enjoyed doing the range of tasks and I think everyone felt involved in the activity.

We started the task by making a mind-map of everyone’s ideas so that everyone was listened to and their ideas were recorded. We then took it in turns to say which ideas we thought were best and how we could develop them. There was no one leader and we were all on the same page, which helped us to work well together.

In the making of the installation, there was some questioning about the technique used. We overcame this by listening to each other’s solutions and using bits of everyone’s ideas. We were all pleased with the final outcome.

It was good working in a group because we generated more ideas, the result was more interesting and the task got done quicker. It was a very social activity as well and was a good way to get to know new people in the group.