Evaluation

Floral Textiles Project: 

After completing my coursework and looking back and reviewing my work, I feel that my final 3 pieces

- 2 Neck Collars 

- 1Floral Wallhanging

are unique and incorporate techniques and colour schemes found throughout my sketchbook. 

1st Neck Collar: 

I took samples from within my book to create this piece. I trapped photographs of flowers within sticky book cover film. I wanted to create bright colours and texture, therefore I started to add in bits of material such as lace and ruffles as well as bubble wrap, newspaper and angelina fibres. I like how this collar sits around the neck but parts of it extend onto the shoulder blades and covers the chest area. I feel that the colours used in my neck collar reflects the pages of my sketchbook. Overall, I feel that this piece is really elaborate and full of detail, I used the laser cutter to cut out the shape of the neck collar which I used as a "background" and supporting area for all the pieces to be attached. 

2nd Neck Collar:

I then developed my first collar into a second one, I wanted to create a piece that was more 3D, a fashion piece that really looked like a giant flower. I used recycled materials such as plastic bottles which I spray painted (the inner neck section). I then laser cut the base and the individual petals which I then decorated with different techniques from within my sketchbook such as ruffles, appliqué, reverse appliqué, trapping threads with bubble wrap and collaging with sweet wrappers and images. I like this piece as I feel that it reminds me of large fashion garments seen on catwalks that stick out and are really eye catching. 

If I was to create this again I would try and experiment with ways to make the collar more flexible so that the petals didn't stick straight out or adding lights onto it to make it really eye catching and unique.  

After creating my 2 neck collars I then went on to develop a piece by creating a textiles wall hanging. I initially was going to design and create a dress or a skirt. However, I decided to best reflect my use of mixed media and use a better selection of designs, I decided to create a wall hanging. 

I used pops of colour using brusho dye, I wanted to keep the design clear and simple with an obvious link to my floral theme as well as experimenting with combinations of techniques such as collaging and free hand embroidery. 

Overall, I am pleased with my pieces and I feel that they reflect my coursework and my chosen theme. 

Final Piece: Wall Hanging

As my final piece I have decided to create a wall hanging in the style of my neck collars. I have taken elements from both pieces and combined techniques to create this piece. 

I feel that I can use a wide range of techniques from my sketchbook and incorporate on a textiles piece rather than a fashion garment. Furthermore, I feel that the neck collars I have made are fashion pieces and I felt that my third piece should be a textiles piece. I am happy with the development of my work and i believe I have incorporated mixed media and my floral theme. Throughout my sketchbook I have experimented with a variety of media and I have used this to create 3 final pieces for my coursework. 

3 flowers for wall hanging: 

Wall hanging fabric (before brusho dye) 

I will then fold paper to add texture to these flowers. 

Experiment, drawing on acetate

As an experiment, using a variety of media (pink pen, black sharpie, tippex) I traced over a secondary image of a flower on acetate. 

I initially used black sharpie and roughly sketched over the outline of the flowers. I liked how this looked as it was quite bold. 

I then decided I would later add oil pastel colours into the image to give it some more colour. 

Final Outcome: 

I like how the overall pieces turned out, I have experimented with hand held pens and pastels. I think I will also experiment by using paints. I really liked the idea of drawing on top of acetate on the board. I thought that this was an unusual way of documenting an image. I have experimented in a variety of ways with pen,oil pastel and felt tips. 

Experimenting with petal designs

I have created a pencil skirt which I plan to design with petals. I have used newspaper as a template and experiment by pinning on and photographing them from a variety of perspectives. 

I think it is important to experiment first before choosing something final, by using templates and pins it gives me the option to mix it up and move them around. My original idea is to have them all the way around and then gradually getting smaller towards the bottom section of the skirt. 

Petals cut out ready to pin on skirt: 

Small.             Medium.            Large.   

After experimenting with a few designs I have decided to create large petals with images of flowers inside the plastic material, I believe this links into my previous kneck collars. 

Scallop Skirt Designs

To extend my ideas from my inspirational moodboard, I decided to craft some drawings of skirts and dresses using different designs within each one. I feel like this has given me a fantastic opportunity to get my ideas into paper and see what they would actually look like on a model. 

To extend these ideas, I have taken inspiration from a technique I discovered on Pinterest. A designer draws up a sketch of a model and then creates the skirt/dress with petals off a real flower. I thought this was a really creative way to show the scallop pattern as the flowers reminded me of the edging of a skirt. I decided to sketch up some designs and use the petals to create the skirt. 

Inspiration: 

My Designs: 

I feel that my sketches were successful and looked fantastic when complete and in my sketch book. I feel that this shows a more creative outlook to designing and really incorporates my theme well. 

Scallop Dresses and Skirts

IAfter my mock exam, I looked into what I could design next. Settling on looking into scalloped dresses/skirts. I have decided on this because they have a similar to design to petals. I have designed a moodboard based on these: 

I have done some more research into scallop dresses and the kinds of designs that I could look into. 

Mock Exam: Neck Collars

For my mock exam, I decided to go back to my first artist Jill Flowers, I then looked into large fashion pieces called kneck collars. I did some small samples on how I would create these (prototypes) 

Using a range of media from newspaper to thread, lace, glue and photographs. I loved the outcomes and I thought they would look fantastic in a large version. I cut the template for these and the large ones out of card on the laser cutter. 

I then drew up some designs, I also designed a wall hanging so then I had a variety of ideas. 

After the initial planning I went on to create my two kneck collars. The first one I decided would be quite flat and more flexible and the second one i did so it was more 3D. 

Final pieces:

Sketching and watercolor pansies

During my drawing lesson I decided to take inspiration from a catwalk photograph of a dress based on pansies. I then sketched and used water colours to apply the colours of a photograph that I took. 

Newspaper flowers

I have taken inspiration from a catwalk photograph of a large paper based dress. 

I then brusho dyed paper and used YouTube videos to learn how to make paper daisys and roses. 

Trapping flowers

I decided to recreate a sample similar to a skirt that I fount on Pinterest: 

I then created my first sample by using photographs that I had taken of flowers, printed out and trapped between book covering plastic. I then thought that I could develop this further by taking real flowers and trapping them inbetween the plastic to preserve them. 

Recreating parts of a dress

For this sample I have taken inspiration from a dress I discovered on Pinterest: 

I have used clear organza as a "waistband" and decorated the page underneath with red and pink rose flowers and felt green leaves. 

Overall piece:  

Flower Technique

Using a photograph I have fount during my research I have taken the idea of creating 3D flowers by using the laser cutter to cut out near circles in brusho dyed fabric. I then stitched around the outside using straight and zig zag stitch to create texture on the flowers. 

Brusho dyeing fabric: green, red, blue and orange 

Picture where inspiration came from

Final outcome: 

Overall, I am pleased with the sample I have produced. I like the 3D effect that it gives to my sketch book. It makes you want to feel it and feel the textures that it creates. However, I think if I was to do this on a final piece I would use more pastel colours and a large variety of them as to not make the flowers seem so bright. I think, from doing this I have been able to experiment with new ideas and concepts. 

Close up: floral oil pastels

I have zoomed up on a specific section of my own photograph. I have then drew it in proportion and used oil pastels to create the same colours. 

Slashing Technique

After finding a video on YouTube based on a technique called slashing, I have decided to create a sample similar. You take a base fabric mine being white cotton and then taking a range of scrap fabrics. Pinning the sides and the sewing around the outside. After this sew straight down into rectangles: 

Then cutting up the middle of each strip. The next step for this technique will be to put it in a washing machine encouraging the fabrics to fray. 

Before slashing:

After slashing:

After washing machine: Final Outcome

I like how this technique encourages the thread to fray and tangle together, the sample comes out different every time. I think this would be good to use on a skirt or the bottom of a dress to create a rough effect. I like how you are given the opportunity to experiment with different fabrics and materials. 

Weaving with photographs and Paper Manipulation

Inspired by Jennifer Goodwin's work: 

I have looked into weaving with paper. I created the second sample with a weaving board and brown wool and the first one I created a grid using sliced up photographs of flowers. 

A large proportion of Jennifer's work is paper based. Therefore, I have decided to look into the different ways in which I can manipulate images to make them appear more texturous. However, I have decided to not concentrate on using a lot of paper within my samples as I wanted to look at taking inspiration from my artist but not copying it completely.