WEAVING THE SKY...

I have been testing out different yarns and patterns in my weaving to decide which techniques and colours to use in my final samples...

SAMPLING - Part 2

For the second half of the sampling unit I have decided to look at the 'change of colour in the sky' as I thought this would be an interesting and suiting development from my work in the first half.

I have taken images and started to translate the colour into drawings and colour wrappings.



SAMPLING - HALF WAY...

For the first workshop in this unit I chose INTERMEDIATE PRINT. I chose intermediate print as I wanted to further my skills in a workshop I had already done and enjoyed. I also thought I would be able to link the workshop to my project in a strong way. As we were using dyes in this workshop instead of pigment, we had no choice but to use pure silks or wools . As a result I have used more silk as I wanted my prints to be strong but also quite delicate as are clouds. As this was now intermediate print, we were asked to design a multiple colour/layer image to print. This would add more depth to our samples. I chose to use a double layer image with overlaps, therefore creating 3 colours in my prints. 

My image idea came from my starting point of clouds and rain however I also took inspiration from the japanese print artist HOKUSAI. I looked at how he portrayed water in his artwork which was abstract but I wanted to make my design more modern and up to date and found myself designing with a pop art influence. 

We also had the choice of pre dying our fabric and then printing on top of it with a special dye. I very much enjoyed using this technique even though the samples took a long time to make and it was a bit hit and miss with the colours! I liked the watery, almost fluid look the dip dying gave to my samples. 

I thought that the two layers would give my design enough scope and interest however after a while and after looking around at other people's samples I think it would have been more interesting to use more layers in my design and I would keep this in mind next time I use print. 

I have used two sketchbooks so far in this unit and it has really helped me and my thought processes as I have progressed through this project. I have been using one for small samples and ideas separate to my print and another that has been running alongside my workshop. I have also found that drawing in my sketchbook has helped me to further my ideas and give me colour inspiration. 

After I had produced a number of samples I set about thinking of ways to present them and thought it best to present them hanging or lying side by side as a series of prints as the nature of my prints are quite bold an this way they can be seen clearly. However I have also thought about using this design as a textiles for fashion. this way my work would have a link to an industry that I am greatly interested in. I like the idea of my work having a purpose or use. I would make this possible by either printing this screen on a larger piece of fabric as a repetitive pattern or scaling my images down and creating a new screen with the repetitive pattern already on it. This could link into the second half of this project which is about development of ideas. I definitely would like to develop my prints more, adding different colours, effects and also maybe printing onto handmade backgrounds as my next workshop is weave. As well as thinking bout developing my printing, I have also thought about developing my work in the way of coloured and dyed fabrics relating to clouds and the atmosphere. I also think I need to incorporate my opposite, 'calm and stormy' more in the second half of the unit as it may help more with my ideas.

COLOUR SAMPLING

Our lecturers have told us that colour is going to play a large part in this project. We did a workshop on colour sampling to start us off.

As my theme is 'the Atmosphere' there are many colours that I could use for my samples as the sky changes constantly, however I have chosen a few core colours for the moment...

The colours that I have chosen will probably change throughout the sampling project however  I think it is good to have a strong set of colours to start with. Even though I am used to using quite strong colour in all of my work, it is helpful to use colour sampling skills to determine the right hues and tones and it is a skill that I will carry on using in the future.

SAMPLING

For the 'sampling' unit I decided to to choose a subject I had briefly encountered before in my work outside of university which is 'the atmosphere'. We were also told to add an opposite to this to guide us through the project, mine being 'calm & stormy'. 

I began by taking photos of the current weather and the sky in and around Manchester for inspiration...

I wanted to take as many photos as I could to document the changes in conditions and the colour palettes they brought about. From these I did some initial drawings and sampling to kickstart my project.

WEAVING

I decided to pick weave as my second workshop as I have never done any weaving before and I'm interested in creating textiles for fashion so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to broaden my skills as a designer.

For my warp I chose colours that would link to my current project (origins) such as dark blues, yellow and black.

The initial set up of the loom took quite a while but I got the hang of it as the sessions progressed. Finally time to start weaving!

I tested a few different patterns and a few different wefts before starting my samples to make sure my weaving would have the right look and feel for my project. I tried to use more industrial/ hard yarns rather than the softer more natural yarns.

I got the idea to use pockets in my weaving to capture objects/ images that link to my project (holding on to bits of the past).

My Wall Piece...

I decided to use this sample as the wall piece for my assessment as it combines print with weave and I think it captures the essence of my project well.

ORIGINS

 I decided to use Anthony wilson as my starting point for this first project. The main reason I decided on Tony Wilson was because I already knew that he had an interesting background and I'm also interested in the music scene that he was involved in. 
 I started by researching his background in the music industry and Factory Records and watched clips of interviews hoping to hear snippets of information or quotes that I could incorporate into my work.

I picked PRINTED TEXTILES as my first workshop as I wanted to look into designing and making textiles for fashion related to the subject that I'd chosen. Therefore in the first part of my sketchbook i used black and white but bold images as I was exploring different options that I could use for my screen. Eventually I started to add more and more colour to add more interest to my work. The colours that I decided to work with linked to the colours that were associated with Factory Records such as yellows, black and metallics. These are also the colours that I used for my prints.

 My second choice of workshops was WEAVE. I also thought this would fit nicely with my project and with my first workshop. I have used similar colours for this workshop as I used for print however I am now looking at the MADCHESTER era in my sketchbook and would like to use a wider variety of colours. 

 I do have a methodology within my sketchbook that has been running alongside the workshops however I think I need to think about structure a little more throughout my work. It may help my ideas to flow a little better.

 I also think I need to do a few more drawings and maybe use a few more photos throughout my sketchbook to use as visual resources for my samples and to broaden the basis of my work. 

 Another thing I don't think I have enough of is contextual resources. I have a few references in my sketchbook but I could look for more contextual links to my work. 

 Overall I'm happy with the work I have been producing but i also think that I could push my ideas a lot further than I have already.