Intentions: Evaluation

The Intentions unit has been an insightful project for me. On the whole I personally found the open-ended nature of the project quite foreign as we have become so used to working towards a very prescribed brief set for us. I struggled a lot in the first few weeks as I was very unsure about what direction I wanted to take my work in, I was unsure about what to research and what to translate into sampled work; I then realised the one of the purposes of the project is that there is no definite end product we have to define. By playing and taking risks we start to develop a language as artists and designers, and I feel in my last few weeks I finally began to embrace the element of play, and immersed myself in a variety of techniques, building my skill set as a designer.

possible sleeve cuff detail

I am relatively happy with the elements I have explore din my work, although I feel much of it could have been developed further given more time, or perhaps better time-management. A lot of my time in the first few weeks was spent worrying about what to do instead of just throwing myself into the work and letting the concept find me. The elements of 3D explored through embroidery have perhaps paved the way for development in future projects, as I enjoyed engaging in play with use of wire and pintuck.

wave like structure adding depth to print and laser cut pieces

My digital skills in the Ethos programme have gained a great deal of confidence of the past few weeks and I feel my illustrative work is well translated in this medium. I would like to continue working on my knowledge of the programme over the next few projects and although I took risks using the water soluble fabric I am curious to see where I can push the multi-head stitch, particularly in incorporating both illustrative Ethos with my structural explorations.

My context has been a bit confused over this project, as I began with the Intentions of possibly installations for a gallery/festival context, but after conversations with tutors it started to shift to a more fashion lead context. I am interested to possibly pursue the grey area between clothing and space, in a more art-lead design of textiles for the body. I think had I researched more of a context for my work to apply to, I may have been able to propel my work further on in development for this unit but this is definitly something for me to consider over the next few weeks and to begin to cement in the Locating Unit.

possible accessory idea

I feel the body of work I have produced for Intentions is evidence of risk-taking and play and I fell as a designer this project has given me the chance to explore a style and aesthetic personal to me.