Evaluation Blog

This unit I feel I have really taken risks and experimented. I have learnt lots of techniques on new machines and tried to use them in creative ways to translate my drawings into fabrics. My main evidence of this is my set of experimental samples, that I felt were too big and textural to correctly represent the qualities of my drawings. 

At first I struggled to find an under pinning concept due to the variety of drawings I produced in response to songs but I feel that once I had settled for one idea, I manipulated it, and explored it visually enough to underpin m y practice.

This project has definitely helped me experience the refinement and development of my work which I feel is evident through my sketchbook. I started off with very scattered drawings, unable to settle on a style or media, and slowly whittled it down to a collection. I then produced some very varied samples based on this collection of drawings before choosing a focus and creating samples to fit. 

I feel that I have done research on context and found that my fabrics would be appropriate for fashion or interiors. This research helped inform decisions such as fabric choice (stretch denim, satins and silks) and my colour palette (balancing the bold colours with a monochrome background). 

Finally in this project I feel that I have managed to create links between the my visual research, the fashion/interiors context and the different processes by which I produced my samples. 

These are some images of my final samples: 

Development and Refining

Looking back at my more woven drawings I have found that I actually find manipulating straight lines to look wavy far more interesting than creating wavy lines myself. These samples are the ones I am happiest with, I feel they look more professional and refined and even hand themselves over to a fashion context. 

These experimental samples are the first ones I feel appropriate to be used as a final sample and I aim to create 5 more using this one as inspiration. 

Experimenting and Inspiration

I have now had lots of inductions onto lots of exciting machines and have had fun experimenting to find out how each one can help me translate my drawings into textiles. Also continuing with my drawing and accidently photocopying one of my pieces black and white has become visually very interesting to me. I have now focused on combining the coloured lines with the black and white. 

I have particularly enjoyed using the Irish, Embellisher and Cornelly machines to create interesting backgrounds and have tried to focus on creating interesting pattern surfaces that reflect the waviness of my drawings. 

Although I quite like some of these samples I feel like focusing on created a textured surface isn’t as relative to my drawings which have a more graphic, line quality about them. 

Having looked at my drawing I have found that I find the lines breaking up other lines very interesting and have experimented with weaving my drawings to emphasise this. 

I have decided to try and translate these woven drawings into samples. So far I have attempted to do this with built up backgrounds and woven in shop bought ribbon. 

This week we also got given a talk from Emily Woods from Cabasa Carnival Arts. This is a textile profession that I had never really considered before but encompasses all the aspects of textiles and life I enjoy. Not only does she produce amazing, brightly coloured one of a kind pieces, she is also working in the community, to help minority groups have more cohesion and celebrate themselves. I applied for Textiles in Practice at MMU with the view to doing an Art Therapy MA so being involved with community projects on such a practical level would be ideal. They also take part in festivals and parades which is something I’ve always been interested in working in but previously found no obvious link to a career in textiles. 

Starting Samples

Having created some much more interesting drawings carrying the feel of a “collection”, for the first time on this course I feel comfortable with my drawings and am actually proud of what I have produced and am looking forward to making more. As a result of this new found confidence I have attempted some pretty amateur samples. 

The only embroidery based unit I have completed so far is a quilting project in Unit X last year, so my knowledge of embroidery techniques and machine inductions are very limited. However I’ve had a go and have been given useful feedback on my current samples as well as a timetable of inductions into the machine rooms so that I can more accurately translate my drawings into samples. 

I also need to start thinking about my context in order to help my decision making processes. So far I feel my work would be best suited to Fashion or Interiors. In either case I think they’d have to be for very unique or one off pieces as I have a very bright colour palette that would become quite over powering in large doses. 

Here are some artists that I’m looking at for inspiration: 

Vivienne Westwood: 

Park B. Smith: