Project influences

My drawings are about shapes, patterns and using the positive and negative spaces of an image. I’ve also been cutting into paper and over lapping it. This really reminds me of using the laser cutter. Here are few designers who have used the laser cutter into fabric with amazing results.



All three above John Paul Galtier fall 2009 using a laser cutter into leather.



I focused on the butterfly motifs in my drawings, with them a slightly illustrative look. The butterfly image is sp pretty and it gives me a whole range of colours and patterns to work with. I absolutely love the work of Damien Hirst who uses photos to arrange a butterfly pattern using a kaleidoscope. The colours are exquisite, with a beautiful abstract pattern. This would be a really useful and lovely technique to try when considering my digital print design work.

                                               Damien Hirst's brightly coloured butterful prints.

The start of my Stitch and Print testers

Stitch is definitely a pathway I will consider. All of my work is massively influenced by stitch and I enjoy it very much. I use a lot of traditional techniques like hand stitching but I also like to mix it up with my own style, which I’ve always regarded as being modern.

My recent project for stitch and print was looking at moulds. Not fungus mould but ice-cube, jelly and cookie cutter moulds. This concentrates on positive and negative space, patterns and imprints.

I focused on drawing a fish shaped ice-cube mould, butterfly, dragonfly and bumblebee ice-cubes and cookie cutters.

Fashion Identity exhibition

The exhibition brings together a group of contemporary artists and innovative fashion designers to examine four themes.

It begins with story telling, recognising clothing in history and culture. Then building, using clothing as protection, next belonging and confronting and finally performance.

The first thing you see is a bizarre dress suspended in a bowl of water. This is from Helen Storey’s ‘Say Goodbye’ 2010 collection.

It’s made from clear PVC and experiments with dissolving and in fact the dress stops at the tip of the water. It’s made from a biodegradable material with enzymes dissolving the surface when in contact with water.

I love the way this is displayed. It’s so dramatic in a huge bowl of water that it immediately draws you in.

In the first room there’s a strange video of one of those toy paper dolly’s where you can clip on the paper clothes. The dolly is a real person rather than a cartoon and comes to life to try on the clothes. She’s then snatched away by a human hand. It’s a confusing video made in 1975 by Cindy Shereman demonstrating the diminishing of women’s opportunities and self transformation.

In the building hall there is a dress that caught my eye by Yahu yamomoto’s from his ‘Feme’ collection in the autumn/winter of 1991/92. It’s so constructive and illustrates protection perfectly. Being completely architectural its wooden demonstrating Yahu’s want for regaining respect for clothing and women’s independence. The brackets make the wood curve insulating the curves of fabric. 

My absolute favourite piece in the exhibition is a collection of beautiful children’s dresses. They use an African technique, batik with bright colours and patterns. It was actually produced in Holland but found no market in Europe. This suggests how the market consumes and African dresses aren’t appropriate here.

I did enjoy the exhibition, it had a lot of beautiful pieces as well as cleaver thought out designs but it didn’t excite me as much as other exhibitions before. I loved the witty designs of Meschac Gaba’s Wigs Architecture and the delicate lace from Alexander McQueens Red lace dress. But I just think the collection had more to offer.

The website for the exhibition is really good; it has so much information about individual pieces and their artists.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/gsk-contemporary-season-2010/exhibition/

Consumption

Our lecture this Friday both confused me and intrigued me. Consumption is a growing phenomenon and links us to people across the world.

It’s hard for me to get my head around consumption but to put it into context, consumption is in the hands of the investor and we need it to help our economy grow. In the recession our banks went bust which lost the faith of the consumer, therefore we weren’t buying, shopping and ultimately investing in the economy. 

Fashion and textiles consumption is decided by growing trends and reports to a global audience.

We were each given a card with a sentence describing an event in the history of consumerism.

‘Increasing power of multinational companies’.

So many things have influenced consumption. To name a few, the Italian Renaissnce 1300-1600, the slave trade, 1619-1680, the Art’s and crafts movement, 1800, the Great Depression, 1930 and Thatcherism, 1980.

Nowadays consumption is turning post materialism. Consumers are rebelling against poor working conditions, especially in clothing and non environmental products.

Knit Samples

Over the two weeks I tried and tested knit and found it, annoying, painful, maddening but in the end rewarding. I got in a lot of mess, muddling threads and getting my samples in a knot. I did alright, but it is not the specialism for me. As usual I couldn’t resist stitching a few letters and patterns here and there.



Two knit samples sewn together using an elongated stitch



I spent ages rubbing this sample to turn it into felt.
When this didn't work I put it in the washing machine and felted perfectly


 

Chain stitch on top of knit

 

My most fustrating knit but I'm so glad I stuck it out to the end!





Tutu’s and Point Shoes

Following the major ballet exhibition, the Ballet Russes and the release of the film ‘Black Swan’ starring Natalie Portman, a wave of ballet inspired fashion has hit the shops!

 


Darcy Bussel in the Royal Ballet's production of 'Sylvia

at the Royal Oper House

Natalie Portman in the 'Black Swan'

 The dark ballet film has influenced designers such as Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Giles, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel and Stella McCartney with tutu shapes in netting, lace and chiffon.

Giles, Spring/Summer 2011



Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen
Spring/Summer 2011

 























Feminine styles influence my own work as well, especially gorgeous draping and pleated chiffon.

It would be an understatement to say the Ballet Russes exhibition is big. It is so huge it fills up three large halls. Although this is amazing and very impressive, it’s a lot to a take in, in one go.

The collection was so varied, telling many stories. I didn’t know much about the Ballet Russes or Diaghilev so it was interesting to realise how much he revolutionised ballet and costume design.

    I enjoyed seeing the costumes and their intricate design details. My favourite garment was actually worn by a young boy, which I was surprised to find out because it was a very beautiful dress.  

The video clips of the dancers were brilliant. It bought the costumes to life, seeing all the components, stage, movements and music in place.



A dancer modeling a costume in front of the frontcloth for ‘Le Train Bleu’ at Sotheby’s auction house.
Photograph by Nesta MacDonald, 1968. V&A Theatre & Performance Collections



A great deal of work was put into this exhibition. Added extras, such as video clips of the dance choreography with explanations from professionals, helped me understand the technical expressions of the dance.

My absolute highlight was walking round the corner and being stunned by the Stage Backcloth for the Wedding scene in ‘The Firebird’ by Natalia Goncharova. What impressed me was the way it was displayed. There were dancer’s silhouettes playing on the wall, lit  with bright red and loud music playing from the ‘Firebird’.

The 1926 Backcloth for 'The Firebird' Ballet by Natalia Goncharova

http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre_performance/diaghilev-ballet-russes/exhibition/index.html