"We FINALLY have a Christmas tree!"
Monday, 23 December 2013
Sunday, 22 December 2013
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Friday, 20 December 2013
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Monday, 16 December 2013
12 Days Of Christmas - Day Five
"124 floors later - 'At The Top, Burj Khalifa' - This really is the most incredible place"
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Saturday, 14 December 2013
Friday, 13 December 2013
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Friday, 6 December 2013
Fashion Meets Product - WEEK TWO
Day One; create design on illustrator
Today we had to start drawing our designs that we wanted to laser cut on to illustrator. I have used the laser cutter before at my old school and college however I had never worked with illustrator to create the design so I knew that it could be a little tricky. My original design idea was to make my piece so that it curved around the neck however, with the material I am using I am unable to do this so had to come up with a different design in order for this to work. I have now decided to make it in six different panel pieces that will be joined together.
I started by making it out of paper so that I knew the exact dimensions etc. I then had to go on to illustrator and draw it on there once I knew it was right. Illustrator is quite a tricky programme because it's not as free hand as photoshop so it doesn't allow you to make easy curves etc. I struggled with this for a while but once I asked for help it all became a little clearer but it was still time consuming as I wanted to get it just right.
It took me a while but once I had completed it, I decided to go on the laser cutter and test the design out on card so that I could see if it all fit together properly etc. There were a couple of problems once I tested it on card because some of the shapes were too close together and so I was worried it would make the piece too fragile and snap in between. I'm glad that I tested it on card before using my perspex so that I could sort this out and simply went back on to illustrator and moved somethings around and changed the sizes.
I ran out of time to actually cut out my final piece so I will have to do this next lesson so that it is ready to present on thursday.
Day Two; laser cut design and put together final piece
Day Three; mood board of design idea, present final piece
Independent study day; Photo shoot of accessory
Friday, 29 November 2013
Fashion Meets Product - WEEK ONE
Day One; Paul Smith Exhibition at the Design Museum
Today we went to the Paul Smith Exhibition at the Design Museum for the introduction to the latest project. For the next two weeks we were given the opportunity to pick from a range of projects so I chose Fashion Meets Product. I chose this project because I like to consider myself a more promotion type student but this would give me the opportunity to do something a bit different and add some more variety to my sketchbook.
The Paul Smith Exhibition was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. There were lots of different little rooms showing Paul's work and his mind and inspiration behind a lot of his projects. It showed how his designs from his fashion have been included in everyday objects and products such as radios, water bottles, cars, skis, etc. It was a good introduction to the project as it shows how fashion can be used in other ways and incorporated in to different products other than just clothes and accessories. My favourite product at the exhibition was the old fashioned Mini car that has been painted with Paul Smith's trademark stripes.
If i were to compare my work with Paul's I would say it is extremely different as he uses a lot of colour in his work, in fact colour is so important to his work and he loves using it in all his designs. Whereas I prefer to work with more minimal colours and a greyscale colour scheme. My work is also very organised and I like to keep things neat whereas the environment Paul Smith works in is extremely different. However the exhibition has showed me that sometimes it is good to let go a bit because it can help you be more creative and come up with some new interesting ideas.
I'm now really looking forward to getting started with the project in the next few days.
Day Two; collaboration, fashion designer and product designer, initial idea development
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
INDUSTRY PROJECT; WEEK ONE
Day One; introduction to industry project
Today was the start of the Industry project where we were put in to groups of six and given a different brand to "work for". Our group was given Burberry, and we have to design and promote their Autumn/ Winter 2014 line. Each of us have been given different roles within the group where we will have to plan every detail that will go on for the development of Burberry AW14.
We started by coming up with a concept board that explained each role within the group and the overall theme of the project. I decided that I would be best suited to doing the promotional side for Burberry as their are more confident and better designers within the group. My role within the group is to plan the catwalk show and the events for Burberry AW14. I think that this is a good role for me as of course I have an interest in fashion but I also have a passion for interior design etc so that will link in quite well with this role.
Once we established who would be what within the group we were given a quote to help us come up with a theme/ concept for our collection.
‘there are massive gaps in this essay,
it is broken and re-wound,
not always knowing and yet searching.
Respond, Exchange, Converse.
Be a traveller in this novel,
Even if only for a while.’
‘All that is solid melts in to air, all
that is holy is profaned, and men at last are forced to face with sober sense
the real conditions of their lives and their relations with their fellow men.’ (The Communist Manifesto)
At first when we looked at the quote we were drawn to the lines "not always knowing and yet searching" and "Be a traveller in this novel". This sort of led to this idea of looking at the way social class used to be perceived in the 19th and early 20th century; where the poor people were at the bottom and the rich were at the top. This gave us an idea that some designs would be fairly plain and simple with a greyscale colour scheme and then some would be more intricate and developed with richer colours used. This gave me the idea that for the runway show, the looks that come out first would be the more simplistic styles and then as it goes the show gets richer and deeper within the collection. We also realised that it is important that we maintain a very British feel with our collection, and we wanted to sort of focus on the idea of nature etc.
I created an overall mood board of images for the group so that we could get a feel for Burberry and things that we need to consider for our collection.
I think that our idea is good however we thought about a bit more after monday and realised that we hadn't really got much to go on in terms for the design so we were messaging back and fourth as a group and re-looked at the quote. Johanna came up with the idea of looking at british paganism and the worship of nature as their is a line in the quote "all that is holy is profaned". We all liked the idea and so our concept is still similar to before but now we have more to go with and it gives all of us a bit more to go on in terms of our individual roles. This has solved the problem of all of us being a little confused as we didn't have an image/ word that gave us a clear image in our head of what we are going to use for our Burberry collection.
Before thursday I have started working on my sketchbook and made mood boards for my role of the catwalk and events so that I can show the group some of my ideas. I've also done some more research in to Burberry and it's history so that I have more of a feel of them as a brand. I also researched a bit in to british paganism as I wasn't completely sure about it so that I know that I am doing the right thing for our group. I have held back a bit on doing too much in my sketchbook incase ideas change or I do something that doesn't work with our concept.
So far I am excited about this project; I like that we are working in groups as we can bounce ideas around and it's nice to see what other people are thinking. I think I have a really good group and we are all confident with our roles so I think that this could be a really successful project for all of us. It is only a two-week project so I can imagine it is going to be very jam-packed so I need to make sure that I keep on top of my work (which I am normally quite good at) so that I can keep up to speed with everyone else and have really good work and idea development for the presentation at the end.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Saturday, 19 October 2013
WEEK SEVEN
Knitting Week
Day One; learning the basics, working with the machine, creating samples
Today we started knitting week by learning the basics and how to set up the machine. At first I found it all a bit tricky and I was quite slow at the beginning however after a while I began to get more used to it. Normal knitting became easy but some of the other samples we were asked to create were a bit more fiddly and hard to get used to.
Other samples we created today were "drop stitch", "lace hole", "honeycomb" and "cable knit". When we were first shown how to do them I thought that it was going to be really hard as you have to use a special tool and pull different needles out of the machine. "Drop stitch" and "lace hole" looked tricky to do but actually it was quite easy and we used these techniques to create different patterns and shapes on our samples. Cable knitting was one of my favourites although it was probably one of the hardest to do as it involved using the control tools and swapping the yarn over each other. The hard work paid off though as it looked really nice once you had finished.
We made a diamond shape for one sample which I liked as it was nice to be able to make different shapes within our samples. Once I made the diamond shape, Freya and I attempted to make a heart shape using the same technique however completely forgot that we couldn't go back further down the knitting to make more holes so it didn't really work out the way we wanted it to.
Day Two; more samples, working with the hold button, using two coloured yarns
Today we carried on with making more samples and we learnt some new techniques. The techniques we learnt today was "stripe", "orange peel", "volcano", "circle", "waffle", "weaving" and "fringing".
Some of them seemed quite difficult when we were being shown how to do them but with lots of concentration I managed to do them all quite well. However was a bit disappointed when I cast off after making my "orange peel" to find lots of holes in it because I thought it was going well at first and wanted it to look really good so that was a bit disappointing. Fringing was also a little confusing as you had to use a ruler to make the loops and I found this difficult as it was hard to keep everything steady and accurate however afterwards it looked really effective.
Today we focused on more 3D knitting samples, I think it's really clever that you can create really interesting shapes using a knitting machine and by simply putting the machine to different settings to do it. We also started to introduce another coloured yarn, I thought this was going to be hard but once we were shown how to do it, it was actually really straight forward. If i had more time than I would want to experiment with using two colours in different ways other than just stripes to create patterns and shapes.
Weekly Review
Overall I found this week a lot better than I thought I was going to. My previous experiences with knitting were never that successful so I wasn't really looking forward to this week to begin with. Although I did find some of the samples rather tricky, others worked really well and I'm pleased at how my samples have come out. Knitting was hard at first but it got easier as I got more used to it.
It was fun to start working with more than one colour because you get to see some of the samples and techniques more clearly. With the "orange peel" technique I would have liked to be able to take it further if we had more time so that it could become more of a spiral shape. My favourite samples were the cable knit and the diamond shaped holes as they are both very neat and although simple they are very effective.
Sunday, 13 October 2013
WEEK SIX
Digital Print Week
Day One; learning the basics of photoshop, repeat patterns
Today was all about learning the basics of photoshop so that by the end of the week we are able to create a digital print that relates to our family history. I have found today quite easy as I have used photoshop before so I had some idea of how to use some of the tools, however it was nice to be able to learn some new things so that I could use it better. I've always been interested in photoshop and editing but I haven't really known how to use it properly so now I feel a bit more confident on how to use it.
We started by do simple repeat prints with a dot. At first we just started with one dot and then built up on this by introducing different coloured dots and different positioning to give it different effects and make it look a bit more exciting.
Once we had finished doing the repeat prints with a dot, we made a check repeat pattern and then expanded on this further by adding more shapes such as diamonds and circles. We also started experimenting with more colours and changing the opacity of certain shapes so that it gives a different effect to the overall print. It means you can see some of the shape that is underneath the one that is on top.
We then started playing around with images of flowers and cut them out from the back ground so that we could repeat them in a pattern. We changed the colour and layout of the flowers and then placed them over one of earlier dot repeat patterns to make more layers and a more interesting print. We were then showed how to turn one of the flower shapes in to a paintbrush tool so that we could repeat the shape over and over in different colours and textures.
This day went well and I think my basic prints were fairly successful. It was good to learn how to use photoshop properly and so far I am looking forward to the rest of the week.
We have been asked to start thinking about what sort of print we would like to make that links with our family history. I think I want my print to incorporate something that resembles my old house; it holds many memories because it is where I spent my childhood and it was a big step to leave it.
Day Two; more photoshop skills, editing images, placing prints on to garments
Today we learned how to create a pattern and put it on to clothing. We started with an image of a cloud and edited it it by making the background one plain colour and changing the positioning of the clouds. I then added roses over the clouds and started putting the pattern on to garments and then playing around with different effects to change the colours and look of the overall pattern on the dress.
I really enjoyed making the patterns to place on the dresses and editing them to get different colours and effects. They look more realistic and exciting on a garment than just the basic pattern.
We then began starting on work for our own final digital prints. On our self-directed study day I started doing some research in to my family history and decided I wanted it to be based around ideas from my old house. I started by finding some images of the exterior and then doing some drawings of it and the details within the brick work and surroundings. I then scanned some of these in to photoshop and started playing around with these rough ideas to see how they would look on a garment.
I really liked some of the colours of these prints and thought they looked really effective on the garment. For friday I am going to develop my print further so that it starts to look more original and interesting.
Thursday, 10 October 2013
Tate Modern Exhibition
ENERGY AND PROCESS
WILLIAM EGGLESTON
"I don't have a burning desire to go out and
document anything. It just happens when it happens. It's not a conscious
effort, nor is it a struggle. Wouldn't do it if it was. The idea of the
suffering artist has never appealed to me." (O’Hagan, 2004, www.theguardian.com)
William Egglestone's work is part of the Energy and
Process exhibition taking place at the Tate Modern. Simon Baker and Shoair
Mablian have curated the exhibition.
William Egglestone's photographs are set out around
the room in square black frames and they are placed at eye level so you are
completely drawn in straight away. The theme of his work is "Life
Today"; the photographs include elements of his particular style such as
bold colours, interiors, cars and petrol stations as well as portraits of
strangers in the street. The vibrant colours are contrasting with vivid reds,
blues, and greens. The striking bold colours are particularly interesting in an
image of an old fashioned petrol pump as the bright greens and reds contrast
with the natural beauty of the trees casting a shadow over the background and
then the sunlight coming through from the bottom corner showing the warmth.
This photograph shows how life today is battling the
differences between nature and the human man. It shows everyday surroundings
and the differences between the old and new, it clearly captures his world and
his hometown. “Chrome is a selection of images from 1969-74 using Kodachrome or
Ektachrome film, while Election Eve was taken during the run up to the 1976
presidential election and records a road trip around Plains County and Sumter
County, Georgia, where Jimmy Carter's campaign headquarters were based.” (Baker
& Mavlian, 2013, plaque) Therefore his work is retrospective as the
photographs are mainly from a road trip so it is looking back on what he had
seen.
This particular exhibition is inspiring even though
his photographs are simplistic, the attention to detail and photographic style
make them much more impactful. The locations and settings of the photographs
would be perfect for fashion photo shoots and films, particularly the one of
the road trip as it would be an ideal location for an editorial.
Bibliography
Exhibitions
Energy and Process, Tate Modern. 03/10/2013
Websites
O’Hagan, Sean (2004). Out of the ordinary. [online] London, The Guardian. Available at http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2004/jul/25/photography1 (Accessed on 03/10/13)
Plaque
Baker, Simon and
Mavlian, Shoair. (2013) Energy and
Process. London, Tate Modern.
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