WHAT IS MY CONCEPT!

I think along the way of this unit I have got caught up in a lot of ideas. I want to specify what my concept is and narrow it to allow my development to be from that and not to carry on developing ideas I have already looked into.

First what am i trying to achieve

A high market on trend collection
Not all is as it seems
Began looking at trauma - using imagery that is maybe slightly uncomforting but finding the beauty in
it, using it as a tool to remember


UNCOMFORTABLE MADE "NICE"...basically

MARY KATRANTZOU

At first glimpse this suit and trousers look they are shimmering in the light. But this affect has actually be produced by using a slightly lighter colour in the pattern design. How could this contribute to my own work? by allowing only a glimpse of the image and using placement to my advantage to manipulate what you think you see?

RHIANNA PRESENTATION

Believes I have done enough when it comes to contents. I need to find a style of presentation that makes my work look of a professional standard and helps to tell the story of my work.
I have been looking at websites to help this along.
She particularly liked the look of the line drawn lips repeated to look like paisley and whether I would be able to create a similar pattern to the this with the fish. This helps to move my work along because I can adapt work already created and develop to further my design with a method that I think captures my concept.

22.11.12 TUTORIAL REMEMBER CONCEPT

This week I have spent drawing anything that comes to my mind. From the last tutorial I think I could develop my ideas well by looking wider.

TUTORIAL NOTES

Have I got a little lost along the way? I need to remember the concept!
Story behind the drawings to reveal concept.

"You'll be sleeping with the fishes" The Godfather

I need to keep drawing but narrow my ideas of what I need to draw.. keep the concept!
How have other designers achieved this?


Dan Funderburgh

MULTI HEAD EMBROIDERY

Experimenting with different methods to create pattern.
The multi head is a piece of equipment i have not used yet. At this stage I am only trying the equipment to help progress my ideas for the next unit, I did it to see if I would be able to develop other methods to create pattern design through 3 dimensional stitch which you would expect to see but appears as something else once touched, possible that it has been digitally printed on the laser cutter.

The process of threading up the machine was relatively simple. However I made a mistake of not generating the stitches again once I had made my stitching pattern and resized it. This meant that rather than being an area of fill stitch that should be a block of stitch there were small gaps. I actually quite like the look of this, it was wrong but maybe a happy accident...
From doing this I have now got another skill for the next unit and it has given me another view of how I could recreate recognisable pattern but flip it on it's head eg. creating lace through the multihead

15.11.12 TUTORIAL

Spent this week bringing colour into my project. I have been working very two dimensional and want to bring my components into my work.

I had an induction onto the muilt head embroiderer and spent Wednesday morning putting together my design to stitch up on Thursday I feel I understood the method well and it could work with my idea to remake old ideas and give them a new life by adapting the multi head embroider to look like lace.

TUTORIAL REVIEW 

I have rethought my ideas for presentation and decided to do a simpler photoshoot that does not require such thought into location and styling. I will shoot the model in white garments and use the displace method on photoshop to create the printed garments.

After listening to my course mates process in their projects and Alex’s feedback I realised I need to look back at my initial research and experiment with everything I have. I have got stuck on using my imagery of mouths and recreating that. My project has the potential to be very strong but I have stayed working around one idea and got bored of it and am struggling to progress further.

I need more visual context to work from, I have been able to think about processes and technic but I need to spend longer fine tuning it truly show the emotion in each drawing. I am going to spend a day looking at objects that could work within this., either finding context that from a distance looks like one thing and then reveals another

Eg. illustrator lips into paisley design.

Terrious beasties – looks like 18^th century French textile.

Or adapting something ugly into beauty. Methods to do this could be by taking a flower and photographing it at each stage to see the beauty die out of it and using this to draw from. Taking something that when it is in it’s first cut but finding beauty once control is taken away.

Development that is not in your control.

Running dye down fabric

Hiding unsettling imagery in textiles we recognise.

Cauliflower ear

Twin tower – not know what it is then informed and more shocking.

Burning objects that we recognise.

Dan funderberg – looks like traditional textiles but with venus fly traps

Objects to bury the print. Half pattern half imagery you don’t know is there.

Israely designer – all images are of people having surgery

Things to draw

Boy burying his head in his hands

People shopping with bags

Lamp posts

Scorpion from dads photos

Lizard in sri lanka

Dead carcass in sri lanka

Twin towns falling

Someone sat on the train

Someone asleep on a bench

Someone walking there dog

People fighting

Child crying – iconic image of girl crying

Iphone with violent sceen on screen

Gun

Policeman

Handcuffs

Get imagery of tradition textiles and on tracing paper adapt to mine.

                                                     

JENNY SAVILLE

I want to develop my own way of working that captures the emotion in each pattern I produce. 
I have been looking at different artists to see how they have developed there own methods. Jenny Saville paints extremely beautiful/disturbing imagery. Her paintings are usually much larger than life size. They are strongly pigmented and give a highly sensual impression of the surface of the skin as well as the mass of the body.  

The paintings seem effortless, as if they have been done in a rush but every brush stroke has been thought through thoroughly. 
Depending on the imagery she uses also triggers what colours she brings into the painting. Those where the model seems pained and tired she uses much deeper colours. Whereas when the model looks vulnerable and unable to control what is going on around them she uses much more neutral tones (above)

Her work reminds me of Lucian Freud, who is known for his thickly impastoed portrait and figure paintings. His works are noted for their psychological penetration, and for their often discomforting examination of the relationship between artist and model. 

8.10.12 BUILDERS EYE

My builder came to my house this morning with a black eye and i asked to photograph it. I thought it would be helpful when trying to tell a story behind an image. We do not know if this black eye was due to a fight, an accident or choice of exercise.

This image has made me aware of how many colours are possible on and in the human body. Bruising is evidence of trauma, whether that has been an accident or deliberate.

3.11.12 GLIMPSE

WHP PAUL KALKBRENNER

took these photos on my phones panorama setting. Loved the effect they gave where the strobe has allowed you to get a glimpse of that second in time and then it disappears in darkness a second after.
using darkness and light to allow a pattern to develop could fit well within the trend of interactive arts at this present time.

1.11.12 TUTORIAL

Tutorial Notes

Realised I work well with everything infront of me layed out
Experimenting with size, how does that effect the imagery... does it make it more or less powerful.

This week I have just gone for it, everything that I have collected so far I have looked back on and tried to recreate it in another way or method, I did this to give myself more to work from. At the moment I think my imagery is limited and this is because I have picked a concept that requires explaining but the concept should be known to someone when they look at my work.

I enjoyed the freedom of this task I set myself and it helped to remember the research that I have done but have not progressed with and developed.

TUTORIAL REFLECTION
the imagery works better when large, people thought that the shapes were butterflies, this could be something to progress with to trick them into thinking thats what they see.
These types of images where produced by printing onto acetate and then enlarging on the photocopier. This caused a slight blur onto of the image and the lips looked as though they had fallen ontop of each other. So far my colour pallette has come from my own imagery or drawing of bruises, I could improve these images by painting or embroidery.

31.11.12 FIRE

On the night of Halloween we had a housefire, one of the most terrifying experiences of my life! Once everything had been sorted and the firemen had left and we began thinking about cleaning up and getting the house back to looking like somewhere we could live. I took a few minutes to document the markings the fire had left.
This is a moment in my life that I definitely want to forget quickly but being a textile student I also appreciate the beauty in it. It is also pretty fitting with my project. I don't think I am going to start developing work from it but reflect that even when it all seems like it couldn't get any worse at least we have some nice patterns on the walls that give me inspiration to keep an eye out for research whatever is going on or where ever I am. And it wasn't really to bad having a cup of tea with 6 firefights at 5am.

30.10.12 HOW ARE YOU FEELING? DAVID SHRINGLEY

If i'm honest...a little terrified. Excited for this year but still a little nervy when it comes to the year ahead. But there is no point worrying, because if worrying solved anything they'd say worry! This is how i felt after I went to the cornerhouse on oxford road to see "HOW ARE YOU FEELING?" by David Shringley.

Immediately I could tell this exhibition was going to be a little different to the others I have been to in the past. In Gallery 1 I was encouraged to interact with set pieces such as tapping the gong which created a soft noise that I found relaxing. I wrote that I was cold on the white board and stuck my head through a peep hole in the wall to contribute to the exhibition.


In Gallery 2 there was an impressive collection of sketches, the sketches themselves did not inspire me in respects to style, but I took from it that every little detail does not have to be perfect. I did a few quick drawings of the other people walking around the exhibition to capture how i felt at that time.

In the final room there was a large statue of a nude man and we were encouraged to sit down and sketch. Looking at the drawings covering the way I believe we were asked to do this to see how different people interpret things differently. One of the sketches really stood out to me...

25.10.12 TUTORIAL NOTES

Due to increasing panic about my dissertation, work on research and development has taken a back seat this week. On monday I did a few quick drawings and played with layering on photoshop. I took these to my tutorial to try and come up with some new ideas.

TUTORIAL NOTES
From the garment research exercise, which I did to ensure that I had up to date research on what was in stores at the moment. This will help when planning collections to ensure that I am creating designs that will be on trend and desirable.  I saw a reoccuring theme of transforming a pattern to look like another. This idea I think fits well with my concept of trickery and disguise. From this I felt inspired to look at how this could be done through my own work which I have been repeating and layering drawings I did of "bruised lips." This made me think why not do this with my own photography of the lips and try to create my own lace from it. The drawings of the lips do not provide enough depth but they provided the platform to get to the idea of lace. I think this could be an area to really develop into because it is recreating something well known to many people but by turning it on it's head.

This has moved my work on by allowing me to think further how my pattern design will fit within the fashion and textile industry. My next step is to try and take in as much information on art and design (be like a sponge!) when I say this I mean I want to ensure that I know exactly what is going on in the industry and how my work would fit within it.

24.10.12 GARMENT AWARENESS

TARGET MARKET!!

Ensuring that you are aiming your designs at the correct target market is as important as the processes you go through to create the designs. I went to Selfridges to investigate the types of materials being used by designers, placement and fabrics.

Stella McCartney

An illusion - I held up this dress and expected to feel luxurious lace, however found that the lace was infact printed onto the fabric. 

I thought this was clever, but a bit of a cop out for Stella McCartney. She had reinvented the idea of lace, with technology today fabric do not have to made but can be replicated. This idea of presenting something that infact is not there connects well with my project. I want people to look at my prints but not be aware that they are actually looking at something destressing. 

Lace is also a fabric that i am very interested in. In my initial ideas, lace was highly influencial in the direction i went. I was fascinated at what mood it reflects, how it can disguise but also reveal detail. It can be very sinister but virginal. 

 Alexander McQueen

After discovering the Stella cheat I was interested to see where other designers had "cut a few corners." This Alexander McQueen dress was a combination of silk and wool. Very intricately made and detailed. It reminded me of the Stella dress but showed the designer luxury which I think was lost in her dress. 

Placement

Looking at Peter Pilotto's latest collection I was influenced by his choice of fabric, he has incorporated textured fabric with his designs. by doing this it made even fabric he used detailed. When the light caught the fabric you were able to see a whole other light to the print. 

This exercise also made me aware of placement, prints do not have to cover the whole garment. 

Like in Prada's collection the print was reoccuring throughout the designs but you only caught glimpses on some garments

22.10.12 ABBEY WATKINS POWER OF ILLUSTRATION

Abbey Watkins left MMU in 2011, her work shows the power of illustrative fashion illustrations. The designs/prints/patterns are not placed specifically on the body/illustration. The idea is for the illustrations to present an idea for each new viewer to hold independantly. You are not telling them exactly how the print should be placed on the body, you are allowing them to decide. 

In my project there needs to be an element which not even i am in control of. Emotion, bruising and healing are personal to each person, everyone is different. I need my theme to run through my development, my prints and presentation. Her work demonstrates this idea perfectly.

19.10.12 TUTORIAL NOTES

From the painted image of the boy with shaved head and bruises - Look at religious imagery?

From his hair and face it almost looks like a wreath around his head.

Work further with lips - this is my strongest imagery so far - move away from the images that are not mine.

How does skin heal itself - Cells - Repair. We were once injured but then recovered - How does it do this - Look at Man Uni library 

Layering in photoshop of lips

Looking at the importance of Texture, Colours, Pattern, Repeat, Placement, Scale

Prada Spring Summer 13 - Good example of a whole collection and seeing a theme running through them which makes the clothes immediately recognisable

How am i goingto present my work 

Fashion illustration can be very different - Either Fashion illustration where the pattern is placed in the illustration or where the illustration helps to convery a mood of the patterns. It may not be on the body. 

17.10.12 LIPIN

Trying to decifer my own methoods of photography, I had looked at the causes of bruising and how they change on different people. I chose to create it on myself. in these images I used watercolours and ink on my lips. 

I did this is keep my project up to date and wanted to inks to run freely across my face like bruise would. I was in control of where i placed the ink but once i pressed my lips together I simply photographed what occured. From this experiement I think I have provided myself with very strong imagery which i can work from an take into other mediums, such as recreating the lips by embroidery  onto fabric. Using sections of the images in photoshop to layer to create new patterns. 

These images are very strong because they are relatively simple but are powerful in colour and black and white. The difference the quantity of ink i used also make a large difference to the final image. 

I think where you are able to see the cracks of my lips provides a more shocking image. It looks as though they have been damaged, however where the ink is hearvier and in colour it looks as though it is bleeding. I do not want to work to be provoked by violence or emotion but see the beauty in it which i think has been captured in these images. 

I could further this work by bringing it onto other parts of the body and seeing how the inks create patterns depending on how i position my body. 

15.10.12 MANIPULATION

Manipulating imagery and trying to further my work.

Using simple methods to manipulate an image to develop ideas, previously used a paint brush to manipulate what I saw I am now using methods that i am less in control of. You are not sure of how the final image will turn out but i feel these work well. 

I do not think this is a method that I want to carry on with through out the project, but it has been good to see where i can take an image and whether it brings emotion to it. 

Going to Manchester University library i began looking at abuse, however this is not a route I want to look further into, i found the imagery very distressing and did not want to address that topic in my work. I decided to focus my main attention at bruising, i did this because I there can be an image behind every bruise which was first triggered after seeing the builders bruise. From the images I have collected I have found my colour scheme. I will look further at Garment awareness and ensure I capture the correct trends for Autumn Winter 13/14.

Another path I had begun thinking about moving my work down was to look at galaxies, this idea came from looking at the patterns created from the bruising.

Using bruising as the main focus I think i could get stuck just looking at the colour, an idea was to look at galaxies 

11.10.12 TUTORIAL NOTES

Tutorial notes -

Captured something in the paintings, found my own style

Not there yet when addressing patterns - still early

Zoom into the images, make them unrecognizable

Think o what other methods i could use to take the images further

drawing, laser cutter, embroidery

Play with the scanners - don't go onto photoshop yet, need more stuff to work with

I have been able to find imagery but at the moment only my own face and eye are my own photography. Keep working to get my own amount of photographs, I have worked out what to do with them to develop.

The week coming -

Capturing my own photographs to work with, what can be done with them.

Look at bruising - what does bruising me. How does it effect us all.

Look at injuries, we are all effected by injury and can create the story behind it.

Get collection of my own images of bruises - understand what bruises are and why they occur.

Go to Man Uni library for further information.

10.10.12 EMOTIVE PAINTINGS

This week I worked from my own photos and photos that i found triggered an emotion from myself. I want to provoke a feeling of uncomfortableness that i first felt when i looked at the Hussaidn Chalayan image.
I started by choosing imagery that has become famous through media coverage. I chose to use gouche paints to soften the images, from the results I am now interested in other methods to change an image but keep the message within them. I could try zooming into th eimage to make it unrecognisable but keep elements of the most important parts to allow you to refer back to. For example, In the above image red could be the main colour going throughout the pattern but the statement green eye could be centered in the middle.
I am beginning to build up a group of images that i can begin to work on to experiment on, I want to take my experimentation further and use other methods to manipulate, this may be through embroidery or the laser cutter.
These images are strong because i have been able to develop my own way of working, I was inspired by Jenny Saville and her method of painting freely and capturing emotion but from my development I am able to see how i want these images to progress.