PRACTICE - WEEK 3/4

The past 2 weeks I have been concentrating on getting my garment to the final stage of development. I have learned a lot about my processes, and the time I need to allocate myself in the future.

 This week everything has begun to take shape, and after experiementing with much moire text on the multi-head, I have been able to explore placement of stitch on the garment, by pinning samples to the piece. I'm realising the importance of placement with my stitch work; although I want the piece to be heavily embelished, I do not want my narratives to get lost in an over-busy garment.

In our 4-week review this week the tutors and our peers posed some challenging questions that I must consider before developing my practicew further. Questions concerning where my work sits in a larger context, as well as where I am gathering my research for garments; Laura pointed out that even though I'm producing work for a gallery context, I can't ignore the generations of fashion to come before hand. I think I have to reconsider my research in future projects; if I am to use garments as a vechile for narratives, wear-able or not I can noit ignore the history of a garment, as 'nothing is created in a vaccum'.

Following an impromtu de-briefing with Mark a few days after the review, he questioned if I should even worry about garments at this stage; I don't want to limit myself and waste time of my final year worrying about pattern cutting etc, and following the end of this mini-project I need to focus on generating immense amounts of drawing, and then play with abstract forms and scales which are not neccisarly directed to the body.

WEEK 2 - PRACTICE

Following a busy first week of term, I was eager to get straight back into the swing of practical processes. Utilising my rich supply of illustrations developed from the Rochdale work I developed further over the summer I began to try them out on the multi-head, as I find it is one of my most useful tools in realising my illustrations to the bright, brash energy they were created with.

I was over-all pleased with my stitch-out samples, and have a clear idea of how I want to produce these motifs for the final garment. I have now had a lot more freedom with experimentation of placement on the garment by pinning the stitched-badges to the toile, informing my creative process. 

I am also very aware that these are my first ethos samples for this piece, and I still have a lot of tweeking to do with my designs. Sarah at Touchstones Gallery is excited about the direction of the multi-head work, and is a clear way of me actualising my ideas when communicating with the gallery staff.

Initial multi-head work, subversion of imagery gathered at Rochdale.

 In terms of the development of the 3D shape of the garment, my third toile is starting to take the garment in the direction I want. By cutting the sleeve and reattaching it where the dart is located I have dramatically changed the feel of the garment. It has been transformed from a 'twee' blouse to a contemporary piece of costume, whilst still retaining authenticity to the original source.

Experimenting with my third toile, I am a lot happier with this shape.

Revisiting past samples from the Locating unit helped me solve an issue I was having with the collar. As the body developed, I still felt the dated 'Peter-Pan' collar was dragging it down. I've reinvested the experimentation undertook last year with the pin-tuck stitch and wire to create a fluid structure to the collar. I am very excited for this to develop and have also added pin-tuck wire to the hem of the garment to add versatility to the shape of the piece, which I hope reflects the energy I wish to capture with this project.

Pin-tucking in the collar is giving the piece energy and a contemporary finish.

 I have also been considering further fabrics I can use in the piece. I have contacted bagsoflove.com for fabric samples of my developed digital prints on both suede and satin so I can compare both materials against my multi-head work.

Digital print I have test sampled with Bagsoflove.com, developed from illustration of artificial silk tights.

I still have a lot to work out in terms of the chronology of processes for completing the final piece, as I still have to finalise dying recipes, toile shape, and perfect my multi-head work. I plan to have the toile finalised by the end of the week, so I can concentrate full on my textiles development.

WEEK 1 - PRACTICE

The first week back and the deadline of the summer task offered an opportunity for us to reflect and consider the direction of our work for the Practice unit, whilst also getting a second opinion from our peers. I feel that the summer task has given me the direction needed to carefully consider the fundamental qualities of my final year practice. 

Following initial visual research undertaken in Amsterdam and New York, i have documented events and narratives concerning 'Pride', LGBT activism, and queer identities. As I learned from last year, drawing is the absolute essence of my practice, and there for essential to both my concept and process developement. Through hand-made sketchbooks and a mix of colourful mediums I feel I am successfully capturing the energy needed for this project, although I know I must develop a lot more illustrations to resolve my ideas.

'Concept' board from the summer task, detailing the direction of my practice this year.

Continuing on from the live brief I undertook for Touchstones Rochdale in the Locating unit, I am in full swing of production of a final costume garment for the exhibition in October. Contact with the gallery has been essential, and I'm enjoying the engagement with an event outside of the MSOA campus. An external deadline has been exactly the push I needed to get a running start at this year. 

Second toile, using a raised natural cotton to imitate the fell for cotton velvet. I have a lot to work on to make the over-all feel of the garment more contemporary and visually exciting.  

Following my PDP tutorial with Mark, we both agree that it would work in my favour to have both projects run simultaneously until the two tutor review, but to focus mostly on the Rochdale project. The making of a final piece is helping me realise the processes I intend to employ this year, and is giving me a greater understanding of the potential 'costume' can play within this context. 

Pattern cutting is something I have intentionally avoided for the past 2 years, and I am surprising myself at how much I'm learning by forcing myself to realise my designs into a 3D form. As I develop the shape of the garment, I am understand the potential of embroidery and print placement, which will be the true teller of the narratives I have created for the exhibition.  

Fashion/Costume illustration to develop print and embroidery ideas. I want the piece to read as a collage of collective and personal narratives. 

Cuckoo Evaluation

As I had predicted the Cuckoo project has been a difficult challenge, but an exhilarating and satisfying collaboration. The final costume is pleasing overall and I feel in strongly captures and showcases elements of 3 individual creatives' practices. Working with Tess and Zsofi has been fantastic, I am so glad to finally experience a true collaboration within Unit X, in which each of us were able to bring a different aesthetic, specialism, and perspective to the table and through mutual compromise, understanding and developing of each others work we garnished a strong identity for the 'Cuckoo' character. It has been extremely insightful to the potential of collaborative efforts and to the expectations of working within a 'costume'-context. 

Unit X Exhibition

I have had to consider a lot further in this project, both in terms of producing embroidery and print for general garment construction, and for a theatre-context. I feel more informed about the potential of embroidery for costume/set and also reiterates my interest in costume within an installation context, which is something I fully intend to explore further in my level 6 projects, and in upcoming projects/exhibitions I partake in (Rochdale costume exhibition).

Cuckoo photoshoot

To conclude the Cuckoo project Tess and myself organised a group photo shoot this week on location at Ordsall Hall. Failing finding a photographer due to course deadlines, I took the photos. This is a fantastic realisation of all our hard-work pulled off, and all the outfits together looked phenomenal. This last collaborative effort from Tess and I was a good move, but given more time and a surplus of photographers we would have loved to spend longer perfecting the shoot, but these are all things to consider for portfolio. 

coloured thread on white organza, sample with most potential for other avenues.

Working towards an end goal within a limit time-frame has been stressful, but exciting and motivational. I have enjoyed having to work within certain limitations; deciding to develop 1 main embroidery design and allowing it to grow quickly, and considerations of compromise in fabric selection and process have all been beneficial to my creative practice. The lack of time to develop samples as thoroughly as I have in previous projects has meant I did not explore a variety of processes, but I feel the necessity of simplicity has enabled me to learn other skills and ways of thinking. The satisfaction of seeing my textile work culminate in a final garment is incredible and a nice refreshing change to final samples usually produced in other projects. Given more time, I would obviously have loved to explore other avenues, and developed more of a narrative through illustration, but I am happy with what we have achieved. 

Refinement Week 6 & 7

As a textiles student it is easy to get carried away with fabric exploration, but when you must consider things from a fashion/garment construction perspective you must consider the difficulties of working with some fabrics. From discussions with the group, we have decided against various layers of embroidered silk organza on the trousers due to difficulties constructing with so much sheer. We considered using the same silk/viscose velvet, but worried incase it resembled a 'velour tracksuit' due to the sports wear elements of the waist. We decided to use a (more expensive) cotton velvet instead to give a more luxurious and tailored feel. 

trouser toile with embroidery placement ideas.

We have considered as a group the placement of the embroidery on the trousers, playing with scale and layering. Here we visualised ideas pinning samples to the trousers; this has been very informative to me as an embroidery student, expanding from the limited view of just a sample, and onto the larger context of actual clothing.

disaster with the tree embroidery

There is a lot to consider when stitching out with the multi-head on actual garment pattern pieces such as design placement, but also not crushing the velvet with the frame. As Lucia had suggested, Tess and I both began developing an embroidered tree design on the right leg of the trousers on the Bernina, but disaster struck, and the drawing on the water-soluable fabric on top got stitched into the fibres of the fabric. As we had no time to reattempt this, I added another ethos design to the leg, and instead echoed the tree design through the costume using flock print and devore. Quick decision making was key, and I see this as fundamental in the design/make process.

'cuckoo figure' white thread, on white cotton velvet.

layering of off-white thread and coloured design on top, creating the sense of a frantic narrative.

Refinement Week 5

This week has been an intense one as most of us had the CP2 deadline to complete; my work has lost a tiny bit of momentum this week, but is all a learning curve in managing tasks and finding a balance between responsibilities, especially approaching final year and CP3. 

Final line-up selection with Tess and Zsofi.

Selection of colour palette, most potential samples, and a rough final line-up were made, in a collective decision from Zsofi, Tess and myself. I feel we are working strongly as a team, and everything is fitting in to place. Meeting with Lucia, the director of the Cuckoo performance at the start of the week was a tiring but extremely insightful experience. Getting the opinion of someone not only without a design background, but the director with her own personal expectations and performance know-how has been imperative. She felt strongly about the costumes working as a "collective unit", which is crucial for the cohesiveness of the stage. The possibility of each of the groups incorporating an element of 'the tree' was agreed, and we have much to consider in terms of the performers movement and the possibility of the costume "distracting" from the overall performance. This is new uncharted territory for us as Textile/Fashion designers, and is a context loaded with many considerations.

Meeting with the director, insightful collaborative effort from all groups. 

   

Red on red multi-head, very pleased with this sample.

Development - Week 4

Following some advice I got from a conversation with Jane McKetting after a lecture of hers last semester, I intend to draw out all of the potential of my original 'Orphan' illustration and ethos design. Due to the time constraints of this ambitious project, I must be conscious of time management with sample development and I think continually reproducing the same design design, but with alterations in thread choice, fabric, scale and placement is most realistic for this collaboration, and more fitting to industry expectations. 

coloured mulit-head on white organza

 I am happy with the development of colour into the design, although the stitches are quite small still and therefore the illustrative detail gets lost, I intend to enlarge the design and simplify to reduce stitch count; layering of simpler designs could be much more effective.

gold multi-head on wine red dyed velvet 

White on white organza.

Going against what I feel most comfortable with (an explosion of colour) I explored the possibilities of a stripped back design, enlarged, using only white thread on white organza. This is completely different to my usual work and I am extremely pleased with the serene simplicity of the design. In discussion with the group we all feel this is a step in the right direction as it adds a narrative detail, without making the garment too busy. The layering potential of this sample is also exciting.

colour/fabric swatch 

We have also began underpinning a colour/fabric swatch selection. Developed mostly by my work in the dye lab to achieve the truest colours to our research I feel this selection captures our aesthetic effectively.

Development Week 3

Continuing from the ground work made in the past week, I have further explored through illustration with intent of developing on the multi-head.

Cuckoo / folk inspired illustration. I am fascinated by the idea of the displaced child. 

I am strongly influenced by Russian fairytales, and this is physically manifested in the samples produced on the multi-head; sticking to a single colour thread at first to perfect the digital design, the simplicity of a red or yellow line lends itself to the Russian aesthetic. From this initial Ethos session I intend to enlarge the design, and add more layers of colour to give the samples more depth. 

yellow multi-head embroidery on dyed silk organza, I like the translucent quality of the silk. 

red multi-head embroidery on dyed yellow velvet.

Following Sarah's advice to cross-pollenate our work, taking one of Zsofi's drawings I developed it through to the lazer cutter. By using dyed velvet, a continuous element in my work we cut out a grid design based on the tudor architecture of Ordsal Hall. I'm pleased with this work as an initial sample, it creates an interesting presence when layered, but as a group will we have to underpin just how it can be used.

lazer cut samples, developed by myself, inspired by Zsofi's drawing research at Ordsall Hall.

Cuckoo: Initial Research

Due to a study trip to NYC on the first week of Unit X, I didn't meet my group until a week after everyone else, which I was worried would be detrimental to my own work and that of the collaboration but, full of ideas we each began generating work following similar themes and aesthetic. Due to the short nature of unit x, and the size of our group, I feel we are definitly taking on the most ambitious Unit X project, which I find both intimating and exhilarating.  Already I have noticed the difference in pace of this project, and working alongside the structure that fashion students are familiar with, this project will be a valuable insight. Things I have began to consider with initial thoughts of Cuckoo are the obvious limitations we will face, I am aware that unlike our usual Textiles in Practice projects were the whole project is sample development, I will have limited time to develop and refine my samples it will then be used in a fashion/costume context. 

generic garment draping

Our first collaborative effort as a group was the draping of some generic garments; a dress, a lace blouse, a corset and a tan military jacket were compiled to generate interesting silhouettes for us to begin developing designs upon. Although this is totally different to my way of working within textiles, it was very informative in terms of shape and the particular contrast in textures has got me thinking about potential material qualities to explore.  

Cuckoo research mood board. I particularly enjoy this method of processing and analysing interests of research.

My initial research has been based in the realm of folklore and fairytale, Russian tradition, referencing the Russian heritage of the Cuckoo character. As a group we all love the idea of a Russian folk aesthetic. In response to this I have experimented with illustrative elements to convey a graphic narrative, although I intend to develop this further.
As a group, we feel my illustrative narratives could become a main element in the costume to be developed through embroidery and possibly print.

Cuckoo illustration, playing on my strong graphic hand developed in the Locations project. I am excited to develop this on the multi-head.

Cuckoo muse development, using my illustrative style to further establish an over-arching aesthetic. 

Locating: Evaluation

The Locating unit has been a demanding and insightful project. We have had to keep the 'risk-taking' element from Intentions in mind, whilst juggling 2 projects and underpinning an outward facing approach. I feel the true test of the project has been in the balancing of a prescribed live-brief and working within limitations and towards an intended purpose, whilst also having the freedom to establish ourselves as creatives in our self-initiated projects. I found myself concentrating mostly on the Rochdale brief for the beginning of the project and realised my self-initiated was in danger of neglect; I feel as an artist/designer I'm learning that its acceptable and sometimes integral that separate projects and research spill into and inform other endeavours.

Locating: some samples from body of work

I've realised working with archives is beneficial to my practice, and I think research of objects and artifacts will continue to become a crucial part of my creative practice. This is something I look forward to carrying into Unit X in the 'Imagined Museum' option; appropriation and retelling of objects narratives is something which is a driving force of my work.

As intended, this unit has given me the room to develop my illustrative hand, and I am confident in a style I am developing more and more (like intended at the end of Intentions). In reflection of this I do think my more graphic samples worked best in this project and I'm learning that although it is always crucial to explore and experiment with processes, its important to know your strengths and to play these to my advantage when exploring new avenues.

'Dandy no.2', digital illustration/print

I feel I could have developed my structural pin-tuck work further, and as there was a good canon of related work in Intentions i could have really pushed it in Locating; I feel structure and form are definitely elements I wish to revisit in the next unit and should really consider the possible relationships between my structural work and my more graphic, illustrative pieces.
My understanding of both the Ethos programme, and the technicallities of the multi-head machine have developed to a confident level as it becomes an integral element in my personal practice.

'Dandy no.3', digital illustration/print

This unit has pushed me as a designer/artist and the nature of my samples have informed me much more on the context my work would is beginning to fit in; I definitely see my work in the grey area between art and costume (similar to Shonibare and Velucia) and hope to further explore this in the next unit, perhaps even with a full costume installation for the Unit X exhibition.
The body of work produced for Locating has informed my practice tenfold and I feel confident with a style and aesthetic idiosyncratic to me.  

Refinement - Self Initiated

multi head design on green velvet

multi head pattern repeated on violet velvet

repeat of head pattern, stripped back

Referencing back to a group tutorial we had with Jane McKetting in the last unit, she informed us that the multi-head is best utilised when you repeat an existing design or alter it in further development; with this in mind I decided to stretch out the use of my head design and produce some samples on the dyed velvets I have accumulated. Following on from my multi-head experimentation last week one thing I decided to change was to strip back a lot of the fill and satin stitch and rely on changing the stitch sequences to double the running stitch sequences with different threads. The multi head on velvet creates a beautiful embossed effect which I'd like to explore further either in this project or the next. I feel these samples fit more into a fashion context than a art/costume directed one, which is something for me to consider in the future.

face design, multi head, dip-dyed velvet

I utilised the design further and explored increasing scale by placing it on a larger piece of dip-dyed velvet, with violet bleeding into a teal green. On the bleed I wanted to play with subtle balances of colour, with tones and shades of the dye mirrored through thread choice. I think the negative space works well, and is probably one of my less 'busy' pieces, which is important to consider when thinking about promotion of my work and intended audiences.

satin fill border, multi head, dip-dyed velvet

I decided to focus on refining my illustrations and see how I could aid my hand using Photoshop. I feel like I have really made improvements with my photoshop skills, and have a much stronger comprahension of brushes, layers and my general approach to digital art. I feel the next step of progression is to continue developing the illustrations I already have with the possibility of digitally printing on fabric. I feel the Adobe touch has brought my drawings further to life and is a great way for me to make key decisions about presentation of my narratives. 

digital illustration, collaged on Photoshop, 'Dandy no.1'

Refinement - Rochdale

Following my experimentation with parallel devore lines I revisited an element of my previous project, creating structure using the pin-tuck stitch. I enjoyed this sample, but i feel it lost the focus of the graphic playfulness I wanted to explore. I think it's quite late in the project to develop this sample further and I am conscious of neglecting my self-initiated project in the last weeks, which all bubbles down to time-management and scheduling my studio time better. The sample plays with ideas of fragility and form and although I do not wish to focus on this much further for locating it is an interesting process to revisit in the next project. 

devore velvet sample, wire inserted using pin-tuck stitch

Revisiting the quilter I played with aplique and selective placement of wadding to build relief in the piece; building on my previous experimentation quilting I used various rich coloured fabrics and drew bigger stitches free hand giving a much more organic feel to the sample. I can see the sample working well both as a tapestry-like art piece and translating into concept costume.

green velvet and cotton quilting, with multi-head text stitched on dissolvable fabric and hand sewn

visualisation of quilting used in costume context

I've found myself spending more time on the ethos programme perfecting my designs, and when stitching out, playing with the functions and set sequences of the machine. I've found I can achieve unique stitch qualities by stoping and skipping stitch sequences of the machine. I'm pleased with the bold stitch designs paired with the subtle Baroque devore as I start to find a balance between the traditional and the contemporary. 

devore velvet, with gold and purple text using multi-head

devore velvet sample adorned with multi-head stitch

 

Development - Self Initiated

Im using my self initiated project to further explore my illustrative hand and themes concerning masculinity and materiality. Due to time constraints of completing 2 briefs simultaneously and my interest in the narrative of the jacket consuming most of my time I decided to continue on with my Rochdale research, but to concentrate more on the graphic nature of my constructed fictions.

illustration work in sketchbook, exploration of vibrant colours and motifs

illustration work in sketchbook, representation of ruffs and frills through mark making

I find I can translate my drawings well on the multi-head, which enables me to be a bit braver with the control I have over grounds and stitch-sequences. Stuck in a creative block, I referenced backto work from the Intentions  unit which played to my strengths and decided to revisit my series of 'heads' or faces. I find this is a strong way for me to play with the relationship of illustration and machine whilst a face carries an intriguing invitation to an untold story. 

Using the water soluble fabric again, I played with control of stitch-out on the multi-head. Happy accidents in the form of the middle satin stitch being too big for the machine to create got me thinking about utilising the machines incapability to create an interesting warped affect. 

'casanova' head design, multi head on water soluble fabric

head design, loose satin stitch warped, multi-head on water soluable

Although I'm pleased with the water soluble samples, I feel I should utilise the dying skills I have gained in the past weeks and explore velvet as a ground on the multi-head.