I received the brief for this project at the beginning of summer; when I
got the brief for this project
‘All The Fun Of The Fair’ my initial idea and thoughts linked to it were
the rides you’d often find at fun fairs and the colours you would often link to
the subject. Therefore to expand my ideas I created a list of what I could
research; I kept hold of this list to refer back to and add ideas to. The list
was kept in the sketchbook I bought specifically for this project.
Obviously for all projects I had to carry out
thorough research, this meant I had to carry out primary research; this is
where I had to collect 1st hand photographs and flyers/tickets,
produce first hand sketches and the most important in my eyes, visit
fairs/theme parks. For this I went to Alton towers and Scarborough where I
collected various things linked to the project and what I could use throughout
it. I also did secondary research
where I used the Internet and books from the college, library; I often the site
‘pinterest.com’ to collect various images links to fun fairs. As I carried out
both types of research my ideas on the subject expanded, which caused me to
also look into carnivals and circuses to gain more imagery for my sketchbook.
Throughout the summer I was asked to fill a sketchbook which meant putting
everything I had collected and researched into it and adapting it, for example
creating paintings, sketches, collages and overall experimenting. All of this
will help me produce my final design. Even though I didn’t fill my sketchbook
throughout the summer I did do a lot, as I made sure I managed my time for
example I tried to do minimum 1 page per week, as I knew I would be important
to have something ready for when I started back at college to carry on this
project; however I could of made more effort to do more trying to fill my
sketchbook. Throughout the project I carried on developing my research for
example if I had any spare time on my hands I would fill some more pages in my
sketchbook.
After collecting topical research, I went on to
do artist research, the main designers and artists I researched into for this
project were, John Robshaw, Manish Arora, William Morris and Barbara Hulanicki. The main
designer/artists that influenced me within this project was John Robshaw, this
was simply because of the colours he uses throughout his textiles as they were
often bright and fun; also on many of his textiles (mainly the pillows he
creates) includes circus like animals, therefore this influenced me to combine
an animal into my mood boards. There was also Barbara Hulanicki; this designer
inspired me because many of her designs were created with simple line work and
not specific details, which was useful when it came to my tracing outlines.
Hulanicki also focused her designs to be used for repeated pattern, which was
useful as that is what I’d be going onto do. Another artist/designer I looked
into thoroughly was William Morris again because most of his work was created
to be printed as a repeated pattern; this influenced me and interested me when
I began to create my tracing which will do no to be printed in repeat. Artist research in my opinion is
extremely useful as it gives me an insight on how I could create a design for
printing. Also it gives me topic ideas on what I could combine into my designs.
After completing my sketchbook I went onto
create two A3 mood boards, these mood boards will be made up of images,
typography and sketches linking to what I have researched and what I could
combine together within my visual sheets. I did one mood board on the topic of
carousels, for example the carousel horses and the patterns found on the ride
itself. The second mood board i completed was focused on fairs, circuses and
carnivals; I included images of circus tents, the animals found at these events
and colours that would often be linked to them. I then went onto create my A3
visual sheet; one was based on the carousel mood board and the second was based
on the other mood board. Further down my blog you can find further details on both
my mood boards and visual sheets. I enjoyed carrying out these A3 sheets as it
gives me a chance to widen my research ideas and put everything I had done
together in preparation for creating my tracing. After I completed all of my A3
sheets and sketchbook research I went onto create my tracing. Before finalising
what I was going to put onto my tracing I did a tester, this included doing
quick sketch’s on what I could include and how to set things out. A lot of what I included on my tracing
was taken from both of my visual sheets, my visual sheets inspired me a lot
when it came to my tracings for example the objects and shapes I could include.
Small details from my mood boards and sketchbook helped to influence my tracing
as well as they helped me to fill blank spaces. When creating my tracing
overall I enjoyed the process especially filling in areas with different lines,
spots, ext. I spent plenty of time ensuring the quality of line was right and
clear for when my tracing was transferred onto a screen.
Sewing machines: past posts on my blog show the
work I have carried out using the sewing machines. There were certain areas
using the sewing machines I enjoyed more than others; for example free
machining, at the start of this technique I really did not enjoy it, however
once I got started and got into the flow of things I really started to get used
to it and benefit from it, it was so easy to create a image once I knew what I
wanted to create. Another technique I used was layer and burn, as it used the
free machining technique I thought I was going to enjoy it however the
brother’s sewing machine I used that day was frustrating as every time I began
machining the feed dogs came back up, which made the thread become tangled at
the back of the design; causing me to eventually have to hold the design in one
hand and using my other hand keep hold of the feed dog lever to keep them down.
I didn’t like the outcome of my layer and burn sample, it wasn’t as neat as I
wish it could have been and overall I don’t like the appearance of this process
when exposed to heat. Overall everything I did using the sewing machines I
eventually began to enjoy; I chose to use free machining in my final piece
using metallic thread as I used this in some of my sewing machine samples (free
machining and layer and burn) and liked how it added a dynamic edge to the end
image. During this project I stuck to using the brothers sewing machines, when
carrying out my A4 sample I found that one of the sewing machines I used
(described in past posts) could produce some beautiful line stitches. However
in future projects where sewing machines are used I will try to use different
make of machines so I become familiar with them. My experience using the sewing
machines on the whole was good and beneficial; and I would like to expand and
better my skills using them.
Print room: I love the print room! When I found
out our first project would need the print room I was happily relieved, as we
were beginning the second year creating a final piece using printing. I used screen-printing in my first
years FMP (final major project) so I was already familiar with the procedures
used in the print room. First of all I recapped everything for example, the
heat cabinet, the washroom, the heat press, the pigment and procion dyes and
the batiquing area; also the health and safety needed when in there. I began
going in the print room when my design had been exposed onto my screen. From
experimenting to producing my final piece my experience in the print room was
straightforward, I had some stressful moments as described in my previous post
(final piece) however if I felt I needed a break I would sign out and go work
on my sewing machine samples or my sketchbook, this helped to refresh my mind
set for carrying on, this helped me to prevent making larger mistakes when
printing. In particular I love working in the print room as it is so hands on
and I overall enjoy the techniques I can use whilst in there.
I did a lot of experimentation in the print
room, which I have kept filed in my tech file. I used various textiles process’
to experiment with for example:
-
Procion
Dyes – I was showed how to mix dyes; also how to make stronger or weaker dyes,
this was useful as I was able experiment on a larger scale of colours for
backgrounds to print onto.
-
Pigment
printing – Again I was showed how to mix pigment dyes however within this
project I didn’t specially need to.
I did a lot of experimentation with pigment printing using one pigment
colour to print or using two+ pigment colours together; all of this gave me
more choices when deciding a final piece/design to re create. All of the pigments colours I used I
tried to link with the colours I used on my visual sheets this was so that I had
something to refer back to and to show where the colours originated from.
-
Puff
binder – I used this process a fair amount whilst experimenting, I used it in
my previous year and I find it can make a design look tactile, therefore I
thought it was worth while using during experimenting within this project. I
was shown how I could add colourant to the binder; this again is where I
referred back to my visual sheets and mixed the binder with colourants that
link to them. I did singular puff binder prints and I also experimented
printing puff binder above a pigment print. I again tried to produce many
samples experimenting using this process so I had more to choose from to re
create.
-
Devore –
it is safe to say I find this process intriguing. I did three devore prints
whilst experimenting in the print room. To do these samples I each used a
different devore fabric, two of them after the devore print was complete I dyed
and one was left plain, this is to show various ways to go around this process
and also it is useful for me to refer back to in the future. It was the first
time I had used this process therefore I enjoyed experimenting with it and I
think it is an affected technique.
-
Batique -
I did a simple Batique sample simply to experiment with colours and layers. I
used a lot of batiquing in my last year and even though it is simple, it is
effective by what you can create with it. I also used Batique to create a
background to pigment and puff bind onto.
I used Brusho inks for colouring when using Batique, as they are more
affective at producing and lager colour palette. They are also easier to dry
and don’t need to be washed out.
-
Fabrics –
I used various fabrics, such as Muslin, Cotton, Calico specialist devore fabric
and found fabric out of the fabric bin. Experimenting with fabrics is important
as I can find out what colours work well of and what colours don’t; for example
on Cotton, dyes will appear brighter than what they would on Calico.
Experimenting with fabrics also allows me decide what would work better overall
for this specific project.
During experimenting, creating A3 sheets and
the overall research everything went in full flow and I managed to get things
done in a good time and it was a steady process. It was when I began my final
piece when things started to go wrong as described in my previous post (Final
Piece). To prevent repeating myself I will shortly explain; as I began my final
piece I dyed the fabric to an exact match of the sample I produced and decided
to re-produce, I pigment printed the design well in repeat, and as I began to puff
bind my design it wasn’t until it was printed I realised it was the complete
wrong colour, I now know to always sample the mixtures before printing. I also
thought once the binder had puffed that the full design repeated in puff binder
took away the design printed using pigment dyes; therefore I decided to do a
quick sample of a section of the design printed with puff binder. I loved how
this looked so I decided to change my overall vision for my final piece and
only repeat print a certain section of my screen overlapping the pigment print.
Re dyeing another piece of fabric again went well and I managed to print
everything ok. So overall the printing aspect of my final piece went well but
not smoothly having to make changes throughout. Another area that went wrong
was free machining onto my final piece as I ended up machining the piece together.
However I managed to get things sorted and I am overall happy with how
everything throughout the project has gone, and I feel the changes I made were
necessary in improving my final piece.
I think I have personally managed my workload
well; I have set out plans throughout this project for when I want certain
things completed for and ensure it is done. The only time issues I had with my work load was obviously
not completing enough research during the summer, which delayed the class on a
whole causing me to feel rushed to complete my final piece. However I have
managed to keep inside of the hand in date, completing what has needed to be
done.
Looking back at what I have carried out in this
project and what I have created, has made me overall happy, I am pleased with
everything I have done, there are some areas I wish I had improved however due
to time it wasn’t possible. On the
whole I am satisfied with everything I have produced and I think this is down
to managing my time to the best I could by following the development cycle.
- Research
- Design Development
- Experimentation
- Development of Final Piece
- Evaluation.
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