DEVELOPMENT OF MAJOR INTO MINOR PROJECT

Experimenting with mark-making, I have started to produce a more abstract collection of drawings inspired by exotic florals. My inspiration stemmed predominantly from fine art painters who's use of colour give their paintings a sense of energy and movement.

Focussing on colour, composition and texture, I am interested in the idea of producing floral drawings that aren't necessarily recognisable as flowers. I feel that this expressive approach to drawing would compliment the more motif based collection that I have been working on thus far. Initially, I intended the drawings to add to my interior collection, viewing them as a development in my major project. However, after considering them as digitally printed fabrics for interiors, I feel that actually the designs would lend themselves well to light weight silk scarves. Thus, I have been thinking about producing a range of silk scarves as a minor project. 

I came to the decision to create fashion accessory designs as I wanted to have variety within my portfolio, demonstrating a knowledge of contemporary fashion as well as interior designs. Furthermore, I felt that my drawing had developed into a more expressive, abstract style, more suited to a fashion placement print, rather than lending themselves to a repeat for interiors.

I tried to approach my drawings in a way which would allow me to easily translate them onto scarves. Thus, I used my sketchbook to map out the colours and compositions, so the drawings were designs in themselves. 

Research into high end fashion designers and retail companies has given me an interesting insight into the design of silk scarves. The designs are often very different; however, always in keeping with the designer's /companies trademark style. For example, Liberty London scarves, with a variety of floral patterns, almost all have the same proportion of borders around the edges. This is something I want to incorporate into my own scarf designs. Each designs will include very different elements and motifs, but will be tied together as a collection through their borders and finishing. 

FASHION VS INTERIORS

Erik Madigan Heck photography or Mary Katrantzou has inspired me to think about developing my designs into a fashion context as a minor project. In this shoot, the floral print on the garment often mimics that of the wall behind the model. The exotic depth of colour brings the image alive. These images also inspire me to thing about how, in the future, I could incorporate fashion photography into my practice. I see no reason why fashion and interiors can't work hand in hand in their contemporary floral print designs. I would be interesting, in unit x, to experiment with photography, playing with how fashion and interior prints can be showcased in a combination of the two. 

EXPRESSIVE DRAWING

Changing the way I approach drawing has become a key turning point within this project. In the past, I have stuck to a very precise, illustrative style, rarely changing the scale or marks that I make. Working outside of my sketchbook on a larger scale has allowed me to make bolder, more expressive marks with larger tools. I have also begun using unconventional drawing tools such as a bleach spray container and pieces of wood to create a variety of textures within my drawings

BOTANIC PHOTOGRAPHY

 A visit to Kew Gardens allowed me the opportunity to use photography as a means of development. Through this method, I tested compositional ideas that I would later be able to translate into drawing. As well as this, I was able to gather more information at a stage in the project where I feel I have discovered what it is about florals that attract me. I photographed these strange looking plants with particular interest in their texture, pattern and form.

I'm really interested in the idea of creating floral designs that don't necessarily look like florals. 

DALE CHIHULY

Chihuly's glass sculpture exhibition at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2005), has been influential in the development of my practice. Designed to compliment their surroundings, the sculptures' shapes and colours mimic exotic floral forms. 

I wanted to create floral designs that were not necessarily realistic representations of flowers. Instead, I began drawing expressively, using dyes and bleach to create a variety of shapes and textures reminiscent of tropical botanics. 

INDIGO DYING

Experimenting with traditional dying techniques has become an explorative element within this project. Using indigo dye, a natural substance subtracted from plants, was a mean for me to develop my theme of tribal body art and African techniques. I have been working predominantly with a circular motif when tie dying. These fabrics, although successful as small sample pieces, have been difficult to manipulate on Photoshop and the designs created from them have been unsuccessful. However, I feel there is greater potential in this element of my project and I intend to develop the idea of traditional dying techniques further in unit X on a larger scale so the fabrics themselves become design croquets.

PRESENTATION OF WORK IN PROGRESS

The presentation process became a really important development stage. Forcing me into organising and evaluating my work so far, I was able to recognise areas needing further development. Looking over my drawings, I feel they are lacking in variety and don't give me enough opportunities for a diverse collection of designs. I intend to fix this by drawing with a range of materials in a more mixed-media approach. Looking over my recent hand printed samples, I discovered my interest in traditional dying techniques. I'm excited to push this idea further and experiment with tie-dying with natural dyes. I feel these techniques will work nicely with my Tribal concept; linking with my previously explored idea of mankind living off nature.

INITIAL DRAWING

Working inks and watercolours, I began drawing from both real flowers and photo's of African plants. Although I liked the qualities within these drawings, when transferred into Photo shop, they started to look very flat and lacked texture. This has been a problem for me in other projects and has been the reason I often prefer working in wet print.

Experimenting with media would give a more textural quality to my designs. I therefore began using other drawing techniques to give me depth and a range of qualities within my designs. Mark making with oil pastels before using a wet on wet technique with inks and then using soft pastels gave my drawings much more energy. To create more of this feeling of energy, I stopped making my drawings so finished-looking. I limited the time I spent on them and stopped drawing with pencil before adding colour. Thus, my drawings looked looser and more abstract. Taking this new range of motifs into photo shop allowed me more room for experimentation. Some of the drawing could be enlarged in scale and used just for their textural qualities alone. Others could be flipped and repeated without the design looking flat and dull.

Although I will work predominantly in digital print, I intend to incorporate aspects of wet print into my designs. This will give them the finish I think they need to work effectively as textural furnishing. As a collection, I want smooth silk fabrics contrasting with devore and even embellished finishes. Wet print as well as adding texture also gives designs a more hand-made quality. Imperfections make every piece unique. Thus, I would like to incorporate both digital and wet print into my collection.

TRIBAL BODY DECORATION

African tribal body decoration has become the initial starting point for my visual research. From this, I have begun looking at photographer, Hans Silvester's images of peoples of the Omo Valley Tribes, Ethiopia. His work features photo's of people of the Surma tribe, who decorate their bodies with natural clays and ornate floral head pieces. I'm interested in the combination of geometric hand-painted patterns, with organic botanics.

I am keen to explore the contrast between simplistic, opaque and often neutral body paint with exotic African florals.

CONCEPT, INSPIRATION, PROCESS, CONTEXT

DEVELOPING A CONCEPT

Inspired by the S/S14 trend, 'Sensorium', I began my summer project investigating ideas about the senses. Sitting in on a year 7 art lesson, I observed how one student in the class worked, having lost all vision at the age of 8. Drawing on a surface called german film which gave an imprinted suface when worked into with a pencil, Keeley's work focussed on texture through mark-making. I wanted my own work to explore and communicate multi-sensory enviroments which stimulated certain senses. Also keen to experiment with light, I focussed my research on only two of the senses; touch and sight.

I began looking at optical illusions and ways in which I could distort vision. Experimenting with photography, I used shells as visual media and a magnifying glass to create abstract shapes. Drawing from these shapes with inks was unsuccessful. I felt the photographs themselves were insteresting, but the drawings I produced from them didn't have the same momentum for me to take them forward.

As ‘Sensorium’ is all about human perception, I began photographing people on the street, experimenting with shutter speed and exposure to create energetic images of distorted shapes. I also took images of the body using a similar process. However, I found these difficult to draw from as they were so abstract. Images of skin and hair were equally uninspiring. I decided the reason I didn’t enjoy drawing from these images is because I struggled to find pattern and repetition in them. In the past, I have tended to work with more motif based imagery. I thought about other ways I could look at the body and skin.

I began thinking about skin as protective armour. I looked at images of animal scales and tribal armour. As well as protective body armour pieces, some African tribes also use body paint as a warning to other tribes. I was inspired by the idea of decorating the skin for protective or spiritual purposes. Thus, my attention turned to Tribal body decoration. I have taken from the initial idea of 'Sensorium' the idea of the human body. My research has instead turned towards decoration of the skin and body, rather than its biological senses.