Digital print experiments

So I began to have a play around with the baroque frame motifs I had made, and as pretty as they are, they felt a little flat and I simply just don't like them. As I don't use brushes very often I've been finding it tricky to make them do what I am visualising in my head, so I tried to play around with them a bit more, add a few more layers and a better mix of colours. 

Above is a selection of prints I made using the changes I previously mentioned, and I think this more varied approach has been very effective. I like how the prints use a lot of bright colours yet the combination and ratios they are not overpowering or lurid, which I think would appeal to current National Trust customers, yet also target a younger market. I want to push these designs further so that I have an interesting mix to choose my final collection from.

Blog posting 2 - INVESTIGATIONS

In the past I have generally stuck to drawing and painting as a starting point for motif making, as I know it is a system that works well for me; but I have found it very beneficial taking a different approach and being more experimental early on in the project as I have created some striking imagery to work into my prints. I have learnt that it is also good to vary my content, and I think that more bold and graphic motifs contrasted with my usual softer line drawings will create some interesting prints. I really enjoyed using collage in my last project, so it has been good to further push my skills with this technique. Doing the Patternmash brief has also really helped my work, as I started to think about the layout of prints much earlier than I usually would in a project; in the future it may help to start playing around with print layouts at the same time as drawing motifs so that I can create drawings for a particular purpose, rather than my usual pattern of drawing then print making.

Even though I did not collaborate with anyone to create my final product, the collaborative side of the project has had a big impact on my work. The fact that there were very few other print students who picked this option meant that I’ve pushed myself to interact with students from other areas. I have found it really beneficial seeking advice and opinions from the weave students as they have a very different approach to textiles (for instance, I would usually have not have considered making my own tassels for my scarves before they suggested it), and I feel I can offer them more design based advice, such as helping Eden with her Photoshop skills. On plenty of occasions I have met up with illustration student Julia to talk through our ideas, which has been so useful to get her opinion on my work as I have a very illustrative style, and she has made me realise that there are many options out there other than just fabric-based outcomes. This is also the case with talking to the 3D design students; it has been so interesting seeing their take on the project, and even though I haven’t ended up collaborating with a ceramics student, I felt that the collaborative drawing workshop we did really helped to kick start ideas in my project. I definitely think that I would like to collaborate with students from other disciplines again as it has made me look at my own practice with fresh eyes.

I have played around with materials and drawing styles in this project, using papercuts to create lace-like patterns that could be turned into brushes on Photoshop. After playing around with different techniques I decided I wanted to reflect this strong graphic feel in my drawings, so I used pen and gouache to make drawings that looked like they could be paper cuts. Although they would translate very well as screen prints, I want to use Photoshop for its ability to really layer up stencil images with drawings, textures and photographs. 

I loved the idea of collaborating on a ceramic piece with one of the 3D design students, but discussions with tutors made me realise that it would benefit my practice to work further with scarves, and in the time scale of this project it made more sense to work with techniques that I already know to create a really slick end product. I have designed square scarves in the past but they are usually placement prints designed to focus on the corners, whereas long scarves are worn totally differently, so I want the focus of the print to be on the ends. I understand the importance of knowing my market place, so I did further research to see what type of scarves the National Trust already sell, looked at high street stores for a price range comparison, and looked at higher end brands for pattern, scale and colour inspiration, all of which has given me a clearer idea of what I think will sell well print-wise. As one of the key points of a prints success is the colour, I have spent tome putting together a colour palette that I think reflects the project, with a mix or muted and brighter colours.

I definitely want to digitally print some of my scarves to show the viewer how my prints would look in a final context, so to do so in time I have made a day-by-day plan of what needs doing so that my fabric can be printed in time for the exhibition. This means that in the next few days I really need to concentrate on creating prints so that I can swiftly move onto finalising designs. 

Colour swatch

Finally decided on a colour swatch for my prints. I'm pleased with the final selection as it gives me a variety of feminine warm colours, with a mix of soft pales with some brash brights for contrast. The above images were my initial inspiration, but I was worried that they might create to broad a colour stripe. I selected the warm, rich tones of brown, gold, red and soft green from the library interior, the cool pale blue and pink shades from the plaster-work in the ceiling, and the bright colours of foliage and flowers from the greenhouses, giving me rich green and hot pink. I didn't want to stick to just my photos from Taton, so I collected the images show with my stripe to try and reflect what I want to show through my prints.

Scarf research

I have started to think about making prints, but all attempts at Photoshop so far haven't ended very well. Now I have decided that I am sticking with scarves again this project, I decided to needed to get some inspiration for long scarf styles, to see what the National Trust already sell in their shops and what styles, colours and patterns are currently on trend in the womenswear market. 

Generally I found that most National Trust scarves varied between £15 - £35, but most were quite simple designs, with at most only a handful of colours. I think it would be nice for National Trust customers to have some more choice and variety, so I have decided I want to create a more heavily patterned scarf that fills a gap in their stock. I looked at scarves from a similar price range, in this case comparing with Accessorize, and found that they championed soft colours and predominantly floral details. For image and pattern inspiration I looked at more high end brands, and found that the more expensive a scarf was, the more likely it was digitally printed and content heavy. I particularly like Athena Procopiou's collection - even though they are square scarves, I would like to try this busy layered style in a long scarf shape.

Baroque motifs

Finally started to make some baroque frames using my motifs. I really like the overall effect but I'm not sure if they look a bit too solid and harsh - I'm finding it hard to adjust to this flat graphic style as it is something I am not used to. Hopefully once I start using colour they will begin to look a bit softer and more feminine, as I feel the rectangle ones in particular look a bit hard and masculine, not particularly suitable to prints for womenswear.

I am however very pleased with the frame below, perhaps because the motifs themselves already had quite a baroque feel to them. Can't wait to create a print with it, as I think it will be really nice to have a pretty baroque style print, that when you look closer you realise it is actually made up of jelly moulds, carpet beaters and sewing machines.

Drawings and motifs

Over the Easter holidays I have been purely concentrating on making motifs for my prints. I have been thinking a lot about this idea of doing my own take baroque patterns, so I decided to build up a stock of drawings so that when I get back after easter I can start putting them together and making collages. I decided to focus on the miscellaneous objects I found on the National Trust website, collecting together a big folder of all the ones I found most intriguing. I tried to choose a variety of items, things with a baroque feel such as the carpet beater, the cut-glass bottle and the floral toy sewing machines, and other things that are more ambiguous to intrigue the viewer, such as the slightly squashed lantern, the straw animal and the unusual lampshades. 

I began drawing with my usual detailed pen and pencil style, but I didn't feel there was anything exciting or new about it. So I decided to take a more graphic approach (shown in the collage above), using only black pen and gouache, and trying to draw as if I was creating a paper cut, in the hope that when I begin to collage with them they will look more like lace than the shaded pencil style drawings. 

Patternmash submission

The most reccent Patternmash theme was 'Facade', which I thought perfectly tied into my current Unit X project. I decided to use scans of my paper cuts to create brushes and elements of my photographs from Taton Park to add a 3D element to my Photoshop collage. I think this would be a great starting point for my print design as I had some really good feedback on these prints after they were featured on the Patternmash site. 

http://www.patternmash.co.uk/post/82989367031/lucy-smith-is-a-textiles-in-practice-student-at

Collaborative drawing workshop

After the 'speed dating' event where we pitched ourselves to the other group members to see if we wanted to collaborate, there was a few people who all said it would be really beneficial to our work to do a collaborative drawing workshop. We all brought along objects or images to draw from, and pitched in with different exercises to challenge our drawing styles. This was a great way to get to know some of the girls from 3D designs and learn from them how they like to approach the drawing stages of their projects. 

Below is the piece I ended up with, filled with several drawings based on the baroque elements from Taton. We played around with long and short drawing times, such as quick 1 minute ones varied with longer 5 minute ones. It was nice to feel encouraged to use different mediums and drawing styles, as I think it is easy to get stuck into a rut and to always start the project in the same way. I actually really liked the drawings where I had to draw with my eyes closed as I drew in a more organic flowing style rather than trying to be completely perfect and rubbing things out and reworking them. I now feel I have a really good starting point with my drawing and feel really inspired to go and get stuck in with my project.

Blog posting 1 - RESEARCH

Research is an important part of any project, but as my work and drawings tends to include a lot of detail and collaged elements, I wanted to get lots of visual imagery to work from. I found the trip to Taton Park very inspiring, and the grandeur of the building was the key inspiration for my baroque theme. I did lots of sketches as we went round the building and I was most interested in the immense amount of detail everywhere around the house, from the architecture to the furniture and objects within the interior. The archives were very important for furthering my ideas, as it helped me to gather plenty of baroque images including gilt frames, lace work and jewellery. I was also really intrigued by the random collection of ‘miscellaneous objects’ in the archive, and would like to work this imagery into my work somehow.

One of the most important things for me in this project has been the chance to learn about other disciplines in the art school, and to think outside the realm of textiles. This is where all the lectures have been rather interesting, and very much helped with my research. I have particularly enjoyed learning more about ceramics and 3D design, and would like to see how techniques and ideas can be applied to my own textiles prints. It has also been very interesting discussing ideas with students from other courses, such as illustration and 3D design, as it has helped me to look at how I research and work in a different way. I was surprised at how interesting I have found the content of the 3DD course, and would be interested in working with them in the future – I really love the finished quality of glass and glazed ceramics. My research into the products that the National Trust shop sells has also been integral, as its important to see what they already sell so that my product is suitable but also fills a gap in their product range.

I already knew of Paul Scott’s work, but I found his talk extremely inspiring in the way that he talked about historical blue and white plates, and the amazing patterns involved. I already use a lot of collage in my work, but I liked the way Scott blended motifs together in such a coherent manner by using all one colour or line style – something I would like to reflect in my own designs. From looking at collage in a baroque sense, I looked back at the work of Timorous Beasties to bring my research back to my practice, and think about how traditional and more modern imagery could be combined in a print. All the detailed lace in the archives made me think about using my paper cutting skills, and led me to research into the intricate paper works of Andy Singleton and Elsa Mora.

It would be very easy for me in this project to just do drawings and make a print collection, but I wanted to push myself and so I wish to experiment more with techniques. Talking to students from other disciplines has made me want to think in a more 3D sense, so I hope to use paper cutting and wire working techniques alongside my drawing, so help create motifs for my digital prints. I hope that working with different materials will help me to think differently about my work, and inspire me to create something innovative and new for the shop that is still inspired by the beauty and grandeur of the properties belonging to the National Trust. 

Experiments

In this project I wanted to push myself out of my usual working style, and begin the project by experimenting with other ways of 'drawing' and making images, other than using my favoured pen and pencil, which turned out rather well.

Wire work - I really want to try using the idea of using wire as a continuous line drawing, which was rather fun. I saw this technique of using nail varnish to look like enamel on an online tutorial, which I think works so well. It was really difficult to do as you have to stretch the varnish over the gap to create a bubble, so I quickly learnt that it was easier to do on a small scale. Above was the most successful piece, a simplified version of some of the baroque frames I saw at Taton Park. I like how using wire over pen as a continuous line means that you can actually create a 3D object, curving the objects to reflect what I was inspired by in the architecture at Taton.

Paper cuts - Here I took some of the details from my moodboards and brought them together in this spontaneous collage-style papercut, bringing in elements where I felt they fitted best. This was such a good way of freeing myself up, as even though you have to be neat, you some times just have to go with the flow of the knife - unlike drawing, you can't rub something out if it goes wrong so you just have to work with the line you create. As painfully slow as it was to do, I was really pleased with the amount of fine detail I managed to get into it. It was also really nice when I showed it to people in the group and they thought it had been laser cut - the time I took to do it clearly payed off!

Paper cuts

Looking at the lace on the archives made me think of papercuts, so I decided to do some artist research to further inspire me and to help me think of more modern and graphic ways to use this technique. As much as I love the work of Rob Ryan, I thought it would be good to look further afield and discover some artists I had never heard of before.

Elsa Mora is a multimedia artist from Los Angeles, who also does painting and illustration alongside these incredible paper cuts. I like the pretty, fairytale feel to her artwork, she almost seems to weave a story into her imagery. What really impressed me was the way she curls and shapes paper to create 3D pieces, a change from the usual flat paper cuts. The use of two contrasting colours is also really effective in making her work stand out.

I saw some of Andy Singleton's work at Manchester Art Gallery last year, and aside from his amazing use of scale (he often does enormous artworks that are several metres high or wide) I like the way that his pieces look like abstract patterns at first, and then when you look closer you realise that it is actually an image, such as his view of the London skyline above. I hope to incorporate some of his patient attention to detail in my own paper cuts.

Misc. objects

After trawling through the extensive archives on the National Trust's website, I discovered a section called 'Household/miscellaneous objects' that was full of a bizarre mix of items. I really like the fact that among all the items you would expect to see recorded, such as sculptures and paintings, there was these often seemingly worthless objects, such as blotting paper, envelopes, buttons and other household objects. Above are some of the things I found particularly interesting, such as the object on the top right that was simply titled 'straw animal' (I am most intrigued to know what sort of animal it is supposed to be!). I like the fact that the National Trust see an importance in recording these items of little worth, as it gives an interesting insight to the people who lived at these stately homes. I would really like to find a way of presenting some of these objects within my work and showing them off in a grand way as if they were just as special as some of the Trust's more prized and priceless items. 

Moodboards

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Taton Park, in particular visiting the house itself. I took a lot of photos throughout the day, but I decided to reduce the most inspiring ones into a selection of moodboards to give myself something to instantly refer to during my project. The first of two things that inspired me the most was the baroque interiors, which I have managed to reduce down into just the specific details (see middle image). What I like the most about these gilt frames and suchlike, is the creative combination of swirls, scrolls and flowers. They are often based on nature and organic shapes, but I think I might be interested on doing a different take on this, and perhaps incorporating my own motifs? The second thing I liked was the architectural details (see last image), from plaster ceiling roses to iron work on gates in the grounds. I like the way 3 dimensional form in itself creates shadows and line, making its own interesting patterns.

As baroque seemed to be the thing coming through during my visit, I went through the National Trust archives looking for anything under 'baroque', which brought up a lot of lace and other extravagant gold details. The way the lace has been photographed on dark background felt very graphic, and made me think of paper cuts, this may be a technique worth playing with in this project.