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.