FINAL YEAR MAJOR PROJECT: UNIVERSITY

//Brief

The aim of this project is to achieve a range of multi specialism fabric designs inspired by a responsive approach to personal memorabilia. To develop and present a collection of colour clashing textural samples that show mood and sense, creating a need to touch. This module will thoroughly explore the manipulation of fabrics and reworking materials in an individual way to tell a story and create hidden meanings and messages. A final collection of digital prints will be made plus a miniatures touch and feel interactive board.

//Inspiration

I Created a nostalgia journal to capture a design journey full of my responses to 3 different chapters of my family members, the people that I care for and have heavily influenced my journey up to this point. Recording my thoughts through mark making, painting and drawing to help pick out imagery/words/memories/objects & materials.

//Approach

Out of these collections- shapes, patterns and colours were taken out of primary photography to create compositions for screen and digital prints. Through vibrant pops of emotional connected colour and clean earthy neutrals this will show a rustic vintage feel alongside contemporary new design. Resolving a collection of final pieces that are stimulating to the eye through texture and vibrancy.

//Final piece

A collection of vibrant, textured screen prints & digital prints. Displayed in an exhibition space for the public to view at my University. Multiple mood boards and visualisations were created to pull the collection together, along with favourite pieces on the wall and in a frame.

A touch a feel section with miniature prints I created by painting, melting and layering in the print room. These were attached with Velcro so that the public could hold my pieces in their hands to really get a feel for my work.

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“This project was challenging for me to try and portray across the memories of different family members and connect it to textiles. However I really enjoyed looking through old photography, interviewing and learning more about my families past.”

CREATIVE BRIDAL COUTURE EMBROIDERY

//Brief

To produce a series of white and ivory coloured Oak leaves with 1 maple leaf to show the clients background. These leaves were to be made using embroidery techniques in any way I thought would suit best, this showed using my own initiative.

To collaborate with local Bridal designer Julie Dutton, to work together as team and produce exactly what the client wanted for her special day.

//Inspiration

Creative Embroidery designer Sue Rangely sourced great inspiration for this project as she is known for her intricate dissolvable embroidery artwork. Once I had chose that I was going to use a water soluble fabric as a way of creating what I needed I did some research into Rangelys work which helped me with technique and precision.

//Approach

Having an organised plan of each day spent on this project helped with time management. I created a technique of templating, sewing dissolving, drying and then cutting. This formed a cycle which i could work to meaning that while some were dissolving I would sew more or cut some out to save time.

Myself and and the designer worked together as a team to complete the deadline on time. I would show her my progress, testing, developing an experimenting along the way. Once I had found a technique that worked I made the decision to do 3 different sized leaves and have an end goal of what they would look like.

//Final piece

A collection of different sized Oak leaves, 1 Maple leaf plus 8 lots of clustered acorns. The Oak leaves had tiny glass and ivory beads speckled here and there. The starting result to the end result changed a lot along the way through practise and patience.

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“This was my first time doing any kind of commission or freelance work. I absolutely loved it, still having a deadline to get to but getting creative and working it out in my own way, it was challenging at times but I got through it and the result was incredibly rewarding.”

PROJECT

//Brief

This was an external brief that we had been set to make us think and try and create our own ideas from. What will become precious in the world? This project was all about what we believe will have the value of the word luxury in years to come. The Brief was very current and leaned strongly towards sustainability and how we as humans are always trying to define luxury when actually the most important and precious things in life are always surrounding us.

//Inspiration

With many mind maps I chose two main starting points:

Nature: through the use of butterfly wings

Mosaics, marbles and Terazzo: natural ways of creating flooring and architectural artwork or tiles.

Texture/fragments/layers were the main key words for my idea so I used these to start with. Using my photography and cutting into fragments was a great technique to show my idea.

//Approach

A lot of paper work was generated to start with for this project which led to open screen prints to produce large scale imagery. A research tip top the Butterfly Farm in Stratford-Upon-Avon inspired me a lot to gain the shapes and imagery I needed for the worth of insects part of my idea.

Drawing from key photography from my trip to Barcelona plus the Butterfly farm, I was able to combine the two and make them complement each other in and effective way.

//Final piece

A range of fabrics that represented the worth of the topics I chose to cover. Through holes, layers and fragments I portrayed a fun and different way of showing my work by using laser cutting to have some interactive materials.

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“This project was unlike anything I had done before, working to a specific trend with a colour palette already created, I had to work in a certain way to achieve and portray what the brief was.”

This is a digital print from the Worth project/

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ILLUSTRATION

//Brief

As part of every project I have done, illustration is always the main beginner and starter point to producing a story of ideas.

//Inspiration

I gather inspiration by mind mapping and then going out to take photography once my aim is clear. Colours, mood, shapes and ideas are then pulled from these images to design in any way that feels right for the specific project. As well as this drawing and painting from objects in the past has really given me the shapes and colours I have needed to move a project forward.

//Approach

The approach for my drawings normally starts with a fine liner and being rough with sketching. This will then move onto expressive painting in a more large scale using bits of key imagery to move the project further. I have experimented with responsive painting before listening to music and letting that control how I create, which has resulted in some really lovely outcomes.

//Final piece

A final collection is made for each project to be displayed on white boards, this would show a series of fabrics with different scales of pattern and print, colour, size & material- illustration and imagery being the most important. A collection of final fabrics or drawings needed a flow and an even amount of those pointers so that it would be pleasing to the eye. No project would work without a story of illustration.

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“Without illustration none of my projects would come alive or tell a story.”

A CLIENT CREATED PROJECT

//Brief

To explore and understand the use of colour in design, how to colour mix using gouache paint and apply these techniques to artwork. This was a client brief where we were asked to pick a client profile out of the choice of 4 types of people.

//Inspiration

My client was a city girl who had a busy on the go life, but her evening came to life through socialising in London in the evenings. My client came from Notting Hill so this was my main source of inspiration.

//Approach

I took a research trip to London so that I could be inspired by the colours, botanicals, shapes and mood of Notting Hill street. The beautiful gate ways to town house homes and flats gave me exactly what I was looking for to start illustrating for my prints.

Using my own photography to colour pick was a new technique I learnt , combined with then mixing the correct gouache paint colours to match my chosen palette.

// Process

New techniques were learnt during this project such as discharge printing whereby the dye is removed from a fabric. By creating a silk screen I could have exactly the imagery and textures I wanted to bring my prints to life. All my fabrics I sourced were natural & expensive such as silks and cottons to fit the luxurious side of my clients life. The fabrics were then hand dyed to match my exact colour palette.

//Final piece

A series of screen and digital prints were produced with the use of bright pops of Magenta and Green this outcome was perfect as a suggestion for fashion fabrics.

My prints were displayed on white boards and created a modern, fresh and on trend collection.

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“This project was great fun for me as I had never properly dyed my own fabrics before. I learnt the most in this project whilst my time at University, it was the most technical with the printing techniques and science behind colour. My trip to London made my vision very clear and helped the project flow.”

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THE MANIPULATION OF FABRIC

//Brief

To start from scratch with plain fabrics and get really creative and imaginative. Eventually creating my own fabrics that behave in different ways and have new structures to them in comparison to there starting point.

To apply my final fabrics as suggestions for an Interior collection of prints and surfaces, creating a colour palette along the way.

To experiment with different binders in the print room, using new techniques I’ve not used before and to not be afraid to try anything.

//Inspiration

Research into hotel lobbies and luxurious bars began my inspiration for this project alongside with many mood boards, mind maps and keywords. The keywords were then heavily looked back at throughout the project to make sure I was portraying the powerful meaning of these words.

Leather and faux leather was a massive inspiration for this project as I wanted to see how much I could manipulate it to make it look completely different.

//Approach

-Melting with the heat press

-Painting

-Puff, metallic, pearl, Matte, Foil & many more binder techniques we were taught

-Glue

-Sponging

-Metal

-Ink

//Final piece

A range of luxurious printed fabrics all created by hand, no exposed screen and no digital work. This project was purely experimentation by hand. These textured fabrics were worked into over and over before having there finished outcomes.

Displayed on white mount boards these prints showed a range of different scales and weight, suitable for many different applications such as, pillows, sofas, decor and lamps.

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“Fabric Concepts was the module I excelled the most at whilst my time at BCU, it made me realise why I love silk screen printing and getting hands on with fabrics, I’m a massive texture person I like my design to have depth and layers to them.”

FINAL YEAR MAJOR PROJECT: COLLEGE

//Brief

The Greatest Story Ever Told was a title that college gave us as a starting point for a project name. Then we were given different categories for example history, film, colour etc. I chose the route of history and chose to go down the idea of telling a story of my grandparents past.

//Inspiration

Old photographs, romance, life events, music and fashion were the topics I covered in my interviews and time spent with them.

I then incorporated objects e.g. letters, jewellery, clothes and photographs into the module. I set up a photo shoot to model some of my Grandmas dresses she kept from her days of dancing to Jazz music with my Grandad.

//Approach

This project was where I first found out I could write with the sewing machine so I got really into typography in this project and it became a massive part of the project for me. I stitch wrote poems out and parts of letters which created a really different look to my textile artwork.

I also first discovered image maker so I could capture the old photos and keep them looking old by using this special paste along with lots and lots of photocopies of photography.

Calico was a big inspiration and part of this project, even thought it being a plain muted and flat fabric it kept my images and wok looking old and vintage. I was then able to add pops of colour for mood and emotion into the black and white photos.

//Final piece

A series of hand made vintage aprons and typography with a story line of dates and imagery to show a growth of their relationship through textiles. The aprons included typography written on the sewing machine,. image maker imagery, hand embroidery.

Some special parts of the aprons actually included some vintage fabrics of my grandparents to give the aprons a real special meaning.

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“This was the project that really started off my love for textiles and discovering all the new techniques that i have now used for almost all my projects since, the relationship between textiles and nostalgia.”

MY SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

The 4 sources of inspiration when it comes to photography and projects with my work. Botanicals, Culture, Architecture & Nature- anything from insects, wildlife to sea creatures. These 4 elements are what I see and what I pick up on when visiting somewhere, capturing these in a creative way is the best part about it. Capturing a specific moment when your getting the inspiration is an amazing feeling. It makes me ready in my mind to get creative with what I’ve found.

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“Photography is the main source of all my inspiration where I’m able to capture everything in a shot.”

PROJECT : DESIGN, PRODUCTION & APPLICATION

//Brief

This brief was created to make us think about all the stages of creating a design and how a collection of prints should have proportions of scale, colour, style, weight etc.

We were asked to take a trip to John Lewis in Birmingham and find a brand of wallpaper that we liked and use this as a starting point for research.

Repeat pattern and the different types of repeat was something we needed to have a try at as a skill for this module.

//Inspiration

Matthew Williamson created inspiration for my work as his work was fresh and had a lot of nature involved in the imagery. His repeating pattern wallpapers are stunning and really captured a story with each description of print. This was something I wanted to try work into my prints.

I wanted to incorporate feathers from birds in this work because it was out of my comfort zone from the usual starting point of botanicals but still down the nature avenue. I manged to get hold of some real feathers and photograph them in an experimental way.

//Approach

Most of my work in this module was achieved on Photoshop and editing on my laptop to get the effects that I wanted to achieve. Editing and playing around with photography was a key approach for this project.

A research trip to London helped me to be inspired. I went to some exhibition and also to have a look at high end wallpaper designs and fabrics at Liberty of London. This was good to gain fabric samples for my sketchbook as material research and to also see a range of different prints and the scale, colour, weight and pattern of them.

//Final piece

A range of multi specialism print, digitally produced and layered along with special binders and foiling effects.

These prints were then applied to interior situations to suggest how my prints would be used if they were produced in a place of work.

This colourful collection of prints were displayed on white boards along with the visualisations mounted alongside them.

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“This project was challenging for me as I had to really get to grips with repeating pattern. I found it really interesting to go into more in depth research about how design in print works.”

Can evidence be shown that through emotive and nostalgic connotations, textiles has a positive impact on designers and to the general public of today?

//Brief

A creatively written essay discussing the connection of emotion and textiles and whether textiles has the ability to help people through difficult times.

//Inspiration

“Using textiles as a therapy”

This was my main starting point which led to many journals, books and articles proving that in fact textiles has been used many times a way of therapy for example the book “Using Textile Arts and Handcrafts in Therapy with Women: Weaving Lives Back Together” By Ann Collier gave me great inspiration and interesting look into the subject.

I had 3 sections as the main body for my dissertation: 

Nostalgia within textiles

Creative Therapy

Senses, comfort, mood & feelings:

Surface design through- texture and processes within textiles, Home comforts & Family

//Approach

Through a series of questionnaires research was gained on the general public’s opinions of whether they agree and feel that there is a connection between emotion and textiles.

The use of both Primary and Secondary research to gain further fact and opinions helped me to understand my topic even further.

//Final piece

A creatively written essay with an even flow of supportive, facts, research and images to prove my reason as to why I believe it is evident that textiles can create nostalgia and can help people connect through emotion and therapy.

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“I was very intimidated to start writing my dissertation but once I got into it I found it really enjoyable and very interesting. It just backed up all the reasons why I love personal textiles so much and the fact that other people feel the same way was a great feeling.”