Day 1
Today is the first day of our denim project , I did a lot of research for inward/outwards over Christmas. One theme I looked at in particular is the Japaneses philosophy 'Kaizen' ,The Japanese word kaizen means "change for better", without inherent meaning of either "continuous" or "philosophy" in Japanese dictionaries and in everyday use. The word refers to any improvement, one-time or continuous, large or small, in the same sense as the English word "improvement". I was looking at it in reference to how much time I spend on my phone a day and active ways I could reduce it I was also looking at how much of myself I have left on the internet with all the time I spent on there. However I was struggling to see ho how I could relate it to denim
Some of the key words I came up with in the session were :
- Progression
- Connect
- Gradual
- 1%
- Tracing
During my crit I realised that I am more interested in the second part of my research and how we leave a digital fingerprint every time we go online. This got me to start thinking about stalking on the internet and how its so much easier to do now with the invention of the internet and even harder to escape from because you can never truly disappear online.
Action plan:
- Research stalking
- Stalk someone in class see how much you can find about them
- See how much you find about yourself by googling
Drawings from mood board
Text
Day 3
Today was focused on the idea of outcomes, I tend to imagine my samples on the body most of the time as fashion is the pathway I want to take. However today was interesting because we had to turn our samples into outcome they could be: sculptors, public installations. architecture etc.. It was interesting to to imagine my samples as a sculptor as it would give it a very different tone to it being developed into a fashion illustration. Although I dont see myself creating installation outcomes I could still take the shapes I created and apply it to the body or maybe play with the scale to see if I want create smaller repeated versions .
We also did body sized fashion illustrations, I usually struggle with proportion when drawing bodies, so having to create one using only 5 strokes actually helped because I had to be very careful how I placed things. Experimenting with my samples on the body was beneficial because I got some good A2 drawings that I can use in my portfolio.
Day 5
Today was crit/ walk around day for the denim project. Ba tutors were coming to visit and I couldn't be more of a mess. I genuinely disappointed in myself for not completing this project to the best of my abilities, I didn't get to make many samples and the ones I did were not as strong. I knew I could do better but I let procrastination take over. I also missed or was late to half of the lessons for the denim project which I should have seen a counselor about ages ago because its just going to get worse.
However the walk around was interesting to see how people manipulated the denim, I realized that I should try and change the texture more by dipping it in paint or latex to make my samples more different. Also I found the advice from the BA tutors quite helpful, I should put my samples on the body more and make samples in other shapes besides squares and rectangles.
Day 2
The first part of the day was a collage based day using research we had found for our projects, collaging is one of the ways I like to problem solve through my work so I quite enjoyed it. We were asked to create collages based on : a single cut, erasure and connecting two or more images. I found working under these instructions stressful initially but as we went along I became more comfortable with the idea of working under a time limit because it helps you to think more instinctively. Not all of the collages I created were successful but they created a good basis for me to work into after the session.
- Collages
The second half of the lesson was really useful for me and is something I wish I had known in earlier projects. We separated our images into categories and then made them into mood boards. From these mood board we took out elements from them and used them as mark making. I found this to be such a useful technique because a lot of times in a project I will start creating samples and shapes that are not visible in my sketchbook but by using this technique I can directly pull out shapes from my research and develop them.
- Mood board
Contextual review
Part 2 assessment:
At the end of my part 1 assessment I was specialised into the textile’s pathway, I found that at the end of the diagnostic period, materials and making were a key part of the work I want to create. During the workshops I was always trying to get outside my sketchbook and make something 3D to express my ideas, since specialising I have been able to expand on this more and make more developed samples, I found myself problem solving through making. However, part 2 has also helped me make lots of revelations about my strengths and weaknesses as a designer. which I can now use to reflect on my process and carry into my final major project, which I hope to showcase my best work.
The first project for part 1 was the ‘Pairs project’, initially I was excited to start with a partner from fashion because I’m interested in creating textiles for the body, so it was fun to see how we could work together on draping and design development. One of the key things I learnt in this project is that research and references from non-textiles/ fashion sources is just as important, the Nam June Paik exhibition we based our project on was really inspiring to me. He used sculptor and film to look at how society was effected by TV and media ,in his 'TV Garden' exhibition he uses old TV and plants to create a futuristic society where nature and technology are intertwined This piece really resonated with me because it’s a theme that I am interested in, working through the project and creating samples in response to our own ideas taught me how I can translate abstract concepts into textiles. However, my pairs project didn’t run as smoothly as I would have hoped, I think our main problem was we had too many ideas and couldn’t pick one to condense and develop, so in the end we didn’t have a very good outcome. But I took what learnt in my first project into our next group project (Damien Poulain) and it was a lot more successful, we were able to collectively pick an idea and I got to look into a theme that I was passionate about which was the history of protest, using shape and collage we were able to make an effective banner/garment.
Another project that was significant for me was the ‘Your London’ print project, I realised in this project that I wasn’t drawing enough, having just finished the ‘Multiples’ project which was very making and sample based that drawing was apart of the process and not just something you do at the beginning of a project. When I started the project, I wasn’t sure how to turn my drawings into prints and I also wasn’t very keen on it because I thought it would be quiet a flat project. But by creating Lino prints and using transfer inks I was able to create a layers with different textures. I also found that in this project my colour choices matured, I used to think that having and extremely colourful project with bright and neon colours was the key to the success of my project even if it had nothing to do with the concept. In the beginning of my print project I was using more lighter, brighter colours but after revisiting Finsbury park I opted for a more muted tones which really improved my project and created more interesting samples.
This understanding of colour translated into my denim project as well, I started off with traditional indigo and blue palette which I then brought in brown tones. My denim project was definitely my favourite project to research and create samples for, all of my projects so far have ben personal or I find links with myself in them. But in this one I got to explore what kind of person I am and how technology and the internet is changing our society. One problem I faced during this project and probably all my projects is time management, I sometimes find it difficult to meet deadlines because it takes me a while to get really into a project. Which means that when I starts catching, up I have to do double the work. Its something that was affecting my quality of work. Once we start Part 3 I really want to meet objectives I set out on time so that I can create my best work that I can be proud of and be more organised, it’ll also allow me to reflect and improve on projects I do but also help improve my everyday life and mental health.
Bibliography
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- Nam June Paik, 2019, Exhbition, Tate Modern
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- Dont f*ck with cats, , Documentary, Netflix