As the part 2 assessment is tomorrow I did lots of finishing off going through each project sketchbook and checking that I have not missed anything. In culture swap I improved my 24 close up images where we took pictures of details etc. I found re-doing this task really helpful in realising where I went wrong and I think my images from before were much less effective. Really looking at my samples and seeing what details create the most interest. This afternoon I also continued to develop and research my inwards outwards concept; tomorrow I plan to go to the library and broaden my sources of research as it feels like its been a lot of online research lately.

Writing my proposal today at first was quite stressful because I have never written up a brief before. However, once I got going I managed to write it up demonstrating my key ideas/themes clearly. I also think this process really helped me to properly think about how the process of a project works. I also did some weaving as even though I did not have any textile materials yet I could still experiment mixing soft weaving samples with cables and electronics that I have taken apart. I was pleased with the result thinking even if my etextiles do not work out I could simply continue to experiment with cables. I feel excited to start experimenting with my conductive materials further when they arrive.

I think I had an un-productive day yesterday due to my project feeling like it had no direction. So this morning I did further outwards research based off the inwards research on cables, coding and gaming. Discovering etextile artist Emelie Giles and sculpture artist Helen Chadwick. The etextile element really excited me because it was combining something that I already know with a technique that I would need to learn.  This gave me a much more exciting direction to continue researching and therefore gave me more ideas for pages and drawings I can do in my sketchbook. 

Today I had a very un-productive day. I only managed to do one sketchbook page which I found really frustrating considering I was working the WHOLE day!! Maybe this was due to my confusion with what we actually have to achieve. On reflection I should have re-read the brief much earlier in the day in hopes that it would of inspired me and given me some better direction. As for research I begun to look outwards after doing inwards research for the past couple of days. So far I only have one charity which is Unicef due to my digital footprint research of the donations I give to them. This added element and the further charity research I do may create some different directions for my project as it changes.

Being instructed to do a digital detox was really interesting to me but I was not sure how beneficial it would be for me as I don't go on my phone much anyways. I did find myself being more productive as I did not get distracted when working. I also found myself being in a more positive mood about my own work as I wasn't seeing images of other peoples work on Instagram stories etc as this sometimes makes me feel insecure about what I am doing. Questions run through my head like: should I be doing more? And am I good enough? But as I mentioned before I can go long periods of time without looking on my phone so I don't think it was too difficult for me to achieve.

Today I begun taking all the research I have done so far to communicate into a sketchbook. I begun with a collage of my 'digital footprint' in this project I wanted to experiment more with how I layout my sketchbook using paints and texture. The most compelling parts of my digital footprints had to be the money I would give to charity; mainly after adverts I have seen on social media. I was shocked to find out how much social media has influenced what I spend my money on. Therefore I am excited to see how my day of digital detox would influence me.

I decided to go to an exhibit at the V&A that I would not normally be interested in going to; the Design/Play/Disrupt exhibit all about gaming and the history of gaming. It was surprisingly really exciting and felt refreshing to learn something new. This allowed for my project and research to finally have a direction after these past couple of days being confused with what to do. Im still not sure how this project will progress but I will continue to do research to see where it may lead. This exhibit also included a lot of coding; reminding me of the course that will be offered to us in the next couple of weeks at uni maybe something that will help aid my research into this subject area. Now I am ready tomorrow to start my sketchbook.

I had my interview today and personally I do not think it went very well. When describing my work I don't think I described my ideas very well and instead talked through my sketchbook. Instead I should have showed my portfolio sheets. I guess there is nothing I can do now Im just disappointed with myself. Presentation of my ideas is something I can improve further doing it in front of peers I do not know as well.

Today is the last day before my interview and I begun by sticking all of my portfolio sheets down. I wanted to leave this to the last day so I have all the chances to do any tweaks before hand. I feel happy with how my portfolio has turned out but I wish I had more time. Considering I am normally very organised with my timekeeping I find it difficult when there is always so much to do. I also prepared for the interview tomorrow thinking of questions they may want to ask me. 

Today I re-did my photoshoot after the unsuccessful images yesterday. I brought some powder paint in the colour blue to throw over my body as I am swinging my arms around its physically representing the mixing of indigo. I also decided to wear all black as it linked better to the colours I have been using throughout my sketchbook. The movements I created during my photoshoot were very rapid and imitated the body movements I have seen in videos of indigo dyers.

I mainly did portfolio sheets today which I have been going over and perfecting. The denim draping sheet is taking a very long time as I keep doing my observational drawings however I managed to get a rough observational drawing that I was happy with. I also did a photoshoot of my final denim garment and my sister modelled this with amazing makeup. I styled the shoot using my big blue denim sleeves with a white dress underneath however my photoshoot did not go very well I think it was the white dress which looked too contrasting against my sleeves. It also to me felt very colourless and bland; considering my sketchbook has been all about the colourful indigo mixture. We then tried to do my performance art idea of dipping the sleeves into dye which again did not work as well as I had hoped remembering the denim sleeves would need to sit into the dye for hours to show any colour. Therefore when reflecting on my images I have decided to re-take them tomorrow as it will give me more time to dye the sleeves.

Working on the denim project today I needed to get the main majority of the sketchbook and experimentation done today especially design development. My design development has been critiqued by peers and tutors previously for not looking enough like my final garment or exciting enough. I have been trying to improve this today really exploring the details and add some shading to the elements which I think helped a lot. I am going to continue to develop this in the future to improve my overall look of the design development sheets.

The crit in the afternoon was really helpful for me as I got to speak to chris about my portfolio to show him my denim portoflio sheets I did yesterday. He helped me to squish my lanyard project sheets down to a much more edited version which looked much better cohesively. We also had a group crit and I was motivated by the huge variety of portfolio sheets everyone has produced and getting two post it notes also gave me some motivation that I was on the right track.

Today I explored the ways in which I could illustrate my final idea for the denim project and blacking the denim I need to knit my other sleeve. On reflections the illustrations I did yesterday I was much happier with and felt they communicated my ideas well compared to what Patricia said yesterday. I also added some elements of poses into the drawings by bending the illustrations backs and heads giving my idea of the burden of denim. When on the portoflio sheet I will add some small pieces of texture to the illustrations to give it another dimension. 

Today I had a mini portoflio review with Patricia being able to go through my other portoflio sheets and layout denim. This was so helpful I managed to get a rough layout for denim project in ten minutes which would have taken me all day yesterday. This has given me more time to finish denim project which I am happy about. Patricia felt that my denim project was not as strong as my other projects because I have been focused on portoflio which I agreed with. It’s frustrating that I don’t have more time to complete this project fully because I feel that my idea for the denim project was really interesting and so many routes I could go down. Maybe I could continue to explore this later on. 

Today in the morning I ran over my denim project with vic and she seemed to be really pleased with my work so far and gave me ideas on how to develop my final outcome. I also visited the charity shop to buy more denim for my knitting samples as it was taking a lot of denim to knit my samples. I think it’s going to take a very long time to knit my final outcome which is the conclusion I am coming to so far. Tonight my plan is to knit some more of my denim, bleach the jeans I brought today and finish off some pages in my sketchbook. Further in in the week I want to make a larger denim mixing stick sculpture as the first one I made looks a bit small when held in my models hands. 

This past week I have been really struggling with stress and today I was trying to do portfolio sheets but nothing was working. I got a few done but still not happy with the overall results of my sheets I think they are boring and don’t represent my concept clearly enough. Maybe im getting into my own head too much but I can’t help it as I have worked so hard to get this far and I’m frustrated with the results. I managed to get what I need to get done for the Kingston online portoflio deadline tomorrow however there is still lots of improvements which need to be made before my csm interview next week!! In the evening I worked on denim dying my knitting samples and continuing with the draping of my denim sculpture. One drape which particularly interested me was when I asked the model to hold my sculpture it allowed for an organic reaction to the piece relating back to my mixing stick research. This linked back to my research on Rebecca Horn the images from her body extensions book. This draping could potentially be a final outcome for this denim project.

Today I decided to focus on my denim project and looked at how my structured samples could be draped onto the body but also linking to my theme. Performance art is something I am particularly interested in even though I am not much a performer myself I feel it adds another dimension to my work. I found a book on Rebecca horn and the images relating to her hands and movement really inspired me in the way that you touch and feel with a different object letting your mind predict feelings. The way my draping continued I allowed myself to think of the previous research and my interest in the mixing stick and how it is used; heavily pushed into the mixture allowing for oxygen to create a reaction. I was really pleased with how this draping turned out especially when my sculpture was held it still allowed for movement of the arms to show mixing but also represented the heavy burden from the weight of the denim.

Today I had my portfolio review with vic and Katie. I have been really stressed this week about my portfolio and I think today was reassuring to know that I was going in the right direction. I got some help in how to layout my culture swap which I had done roughly but not entirely completed. I know I have 12 rough portoflio pages and still to add the denim project which I will be working on this weekend. I think I need to learn to be confident in my work and the process that I have done throughout this foundation. And on reflection of this week the more I stress and overthink the more it hinders my work; however I hope overtime I can overcome this and put all my passionate energy into my work instead of stress also.

When asked this morning to give one sentence to describe your project I actually found it quite difficult. I think this was due to the amount of directions my work could go in terms of research and experimentation. I came up with this sentence in the end: "Researching into the different processes of indigo dyeing specifically looking at the Kofar Mata Dye Pit". I feel like it communicated my concept and direction clearly but by the end of the week I think my description will be a lot more complex. This evening I began my Westminster mini portfolio;  I found this quite stressful as I was unsure whether to make a whole new mini portfolio for Thursday or just to send off my work from the curate project. I decided to stick with my curate project work because even though it’s not my strongest project I’m the pages are nearly finished and have lots of bright colours and textures otherwise I would have been rushing my Westminster portfolio and it would not have looked right. All I need to do now for this portfolio is a drawing page and a final illustration for the last page.

After the latex experiments yesterday I was keen to explore this idea of ‘mixing indigo’ further. The colours and textures especially inspired me as I want to create something that’s not just blue denim colours. I begun by grabbing random things which mimic the colours and textures I am trying to replicate. Nail polish, eggs, curry powder, ink, sweets and latex were some of the materials I used . When mixing them together it created an amazing pattern which stunk! But I loved how the colours mixed and marbled together with texture floating on top something I could draw and collage with in my sketchbook. 

Today I wanted to do some tactile experiments exploring the drawings and research I gathered yesterday. The mixing of indigo in the imagery looked like a shiny, runny and slightly sticky substance. So I decided to use some latex and mix paint with this creating a marbled but also textured sample. I was really pleased with how these experiments turned out because they replicated the look of all theses different materials mixed together. When stuck onto the black denim draped fabric it gave me the idea of draping developed onto the body. 

Research yesterday and playing around with the denim confirmed that I had a good line of research which I was excited about. Creating sketchbook pages today was really fun and useful in really thinking about my research. For example we were asked to look at an image and pick three words which we feel fully describes our image. When thinking about this I began to find links within my research and wrote these words in my sketchbook as short annotations this way my thinking process is clearly displayed throughout my work. I find short words like this also really helpful when I’m stuck creating samples or drawing. I didn’t like my first page in my sketchbook but I think was due to not being warmed up I should have done some scribbles beforehand so I wasn’t so careful. As the pages progressed I became more freehanded with my mark making. I really want to focus on drawing for this sketchbook ensuring that every page has a drawing on it. Talking to vic and Katie throughout the day was really helpful in explaining my concept of research and helped me in gaining ideas for example the mixing stick used for indigo could be something I recreate maybe with ink or home materials to see how the movements and texture relate. Even getting pva glue and ink with beads mixed together over yarn. At the end of the day we all looked around at each others denim samples from yesterday and research from today. I got a good reaction from my denim samples I think because they were very sculptural and heavy unlike a lot of other samples which had a more delicate matter (not saying that the delicate samples were bad!). I did love someone’s samples where they applied a sort of resin and another person who took a really long time pulling nearly all the warp threads out only leaving a few to hold it all together. I am feeling quite stressed about all the portfolio deadlines I have coming up; my plan tonight is to get organised by printing out a calendar of January and writing down everything . This weekend I will focus on my denim project getting a real focus to do independent work on Monday. As my portfolio review with my tutor is on Thursday I will work on my portfolio sheet layout on Wednesday.

For the start of the Denim project after going to the library I was inspired by the indigo dyers in Africa at the Kofar Mata Dye Pit. Here they are hand mixing and dyeing the indigo. However there has been a decrease in dyers and visitors to the pit due to the political insurgence. Therefore it has become a heavy burden of wet cloth keeping the craft alive. The jobs  and mixing stick get passed down through generations. I was inspired particularly by the stick for its cultural values and shape . Also by the colours of ingredients used to mix indigo and the heavy fabric. I feel a bit un-certain with where this research and project is progressing so far; It has only been a day or so but I feel uncertain due to the aspect of research being out of my comfort zone. I guess this is good because it will broaden my knowledge.

Back at uni today and we begun by doing a group discussion of each others sketchbooks. It was so interesting to see how everyone has developed the starting point of a lanyard in a variety of ways. I found it quite difficult to present my sketchbook at first because I had not yet presented the full project yet to anyone except my family. However I was pleased with the feedback and continued to finish the developments on my sketchbook pages throughout the day. In the afternoon I then had a progress tutorial with vic. It was nice to get a different perspective on my work from a new tutor. Feedback given to me was really positive and clear. She thought that my sketchbook was in lots of detail and mixed the concept of function with aesthetic really well. She mentioned how I could have explored my colour scheme further which I agreed and will do tonight; to make it easier vic advised to imagine whether the media used to represent the colour also represents the fabric or material used; this was such a helpful explanation which I will be doing in my sketchbook. 

Finally as I was explaining how even though my barcode print represents the ricocheting on the mountain with the manipulated lines it also links to a ski ID pass giving the garments function and sustainability as you don’t have to throw out and buy a new ID pass every time you want to ski. She said how I could explain during the crit tomorrow two final outcomes: firstly my lanyard garment which is sculptural and has an aesthetic of my development on silhouette however then there is the function behind the barcode where you can simply scan the barcode on the garment which will have all your details on it already as data: saving money and waste. As the barcode goes around the whole garment and body it also makes for ease in scanning normally the Ski pass is in a small pocket in your jacket however now you don’t have to worry about where it is you can just walk through the barrier at any angle. Commercially I could see this garment with a second outcome in a window display drawing people in and then to sell would be a less sculptural jacket or glove which has my barcode print on it.

As it was my last day before we started again tomorrow I wanted to get most of the work done today. My final Lanyard is done so I did a photoshoot. As these photos may be going in my portfolio I wanted to plan and execute it well as normally the photos are last minute and in low light. So I borrowed my grandparents professional camera and set up an installation. As I had developed loads of patterns from my drawings I still wanted to include these within the pictures even if it wasn't on my final garment so I drew on the paper. The photos turned out well but is still something I would like to develop in further projects. Using different functions one the camera especially shutter speed.

I was at work all day today however because I work in a craft shop I can luckily seek inspiration while at work. In the evening I made up some more netting samples and ricocheting clay samples. Draping these onto my garment I was so much happier with the result. All the elements now felt linked as the netting with its big holes you could still see the barcode through it but it linked the barcode to my glove sample. And by creating another glove sample to the other side it added some symmetrical elements to my asymmetric lanyard.

After two days of developing my Lanyard I was getting frustrated that I was not getting results I was happy with after spending all of my time focused on this I think I was overthinking the whole process and lack of sleep made me stressed. Looking back at the work from yesterday I knew I liked the red element so decided to travel slightly further to a fabric shop with more variety instead of my local one. It was worth it because I found a bright red (but not too bright) canvas fabric which   matched my scheme perfectly and would link to the inflatable rucksack research my shapes were based off as all these rucksacks must be a bright colour to be seen in a ricocheting avalanche. The canvas fabric would also be waterproof and had a similar texture/structure to the grey tent fabric. 

Re-making the lanyard in red I was much happier with the result but after pinning on my barcode print something still wasn't right. I needed to add my other colours in the scheme and some texture. Looking back through my sketchbook I think my most successful experiments were the gloves (for its link to skiing and being able to hold a lanyard ID card) the limo clay (for its link to the ricocheting movements down a mountain and inspired by Alice Anderson) and the arm knitting pink net ( even though this was a later development I think the link to ski safety netting is really important in my research and links to other safety aspects of skiing like the inflatable rucksack).

The barcode print which I have been developing throughout this whole project is essential in linking my theme of the Lanyard Ski Pass to the word ricochet (from the Billy Collins poem) and skiing. To get this print onto fabric I used the Bubble Jet Set Solution a technique I previously learnt in college. Therefore the fabric could go through the printer and allowed me to do a continuous ricochet barcode pattern. This took a very long time to do but I was pleased with the results. When draping this pattern onto my grey Lanyard I was not pleased with the result it looked boring and not how my whole sketchbook had progressed so far. I tried draping some of my found objects onto the piece which did add interest however it wad all still very monochrome. I then brought some red mesh and had a go at draping this over the piece. I liked the addition of colour but the red mesh simply draped over the top actually ruined the silhouette I had developed previously. 

Today I wanted to use the shapes I have been developing throughout this project and do some draping to see how all these design developments that I have been doing work together as a 3D form. Using paper I cut the sheets onto a3 and began draping in the body. One of the most important things I have learnt from foundation is the importance of working on the body. This way you get to see how the garment will fit, and how it behaves when a real person is moving instead of a mannequin. I was really pleased with the shapes I created as they were unique but still presented my idea of covering the head etc as I am looking into ‘protecting the body from ricochet inspired by the inflatable rucksacks that cover your head. Now I would need to think about developments of this shape: if it is going to be my final silhouette will I add patterns to the fabric or be more bold with colour choice and texture. This I am not sure of yet. I feel that this project has progressed into a very sculptural silhouette area however I don’t want to forget my interest in texture otherwise my garment will not be fully in my interests of mixing sculpture and texture. 

Today as I was back from holiday I did some drawing developments of the textile samples I have created. I really enjoyed doing this because I could also begin to contextualise the samples for example placement on the body. In particular my inverted glove sample as I feel it captured what I wanted to achieve but still linked to my theme. I could see this as an add on to my original design developments. It’s cool to think that these samples were made from found objects allowing for the sustainability to be added into the piece. I also did some draping with my mums rucksack as this links to the avalanche rucksacks. Each skiing rucksack has hundreds of different compartments, features and ways of wearing it depending on the type of skiing you are doing. I found the draping again to be really helpful in exploring ideas from my research into skiwear and inspired by Erwin Wurms one minute sculptures therefore getting lots of imagery for ideas in under 10 minutes.

Today is my last day away in France so I ensured to gather lots of primary research imagery showing marks in snow, garment details inn skiers and ricochet down the mountain. I took lots of pictures I just hope when I get home that I do not miss anything out. When I got back I finished my design development, on reflection I felt the more successful developments were the simpler, smaller designs as it was more clear of what ideas I was trying to produce.

To create more interesting silhouettes using the skis and original images I placed my Elmsgreen and Dragset images from the sculpture "Gay Marriage" over the top. These shapes from the silver tubes added some interest and linked the two areas of research together. I then took these silhouettes and began to imagine them on the body in particular around the head area because a lanyard is usually placed around the neck, the barcode for skiing needs to be on the upper part of the body and it links to the inflatable safety rucksack. Design development concluded of changing the scale and adding my patterns I developed from the snow onto the pieces. I found this really really helpful so far to see how my project was taking shape. There is still lots of development to go especially within the detail of the garments as in skiwear there are lots of pockets and zips where a lanyard could go.

After inspiration from Brad Downeys book of spontaneous sculptures I still want to create some sculptures/textile samples myself but also felt that the sculptures should relate to the body more. This led me to Erwin Wurm; the images really stood out to me from the awkwardness of the body but simplicity of the piece using only a few objects. I had a go myself using skis placing them on the shoulder considering I had only one minute to think of the positioning of the objects. I am pleased with the overall look of the images but think I should have included more objects or placed them more awkwardly. This is something I can have other go at tomorrow to see If I can get more interesting silhouettes.

As I continued to develop the word Ricochet I was thinking how I could relate this to the body. I wanted to do some imagery with slow shutter speed to link to Alice Anderson's memory movement lines. My body bounding down the mountain looked interesting on a slow shutter speed because my bright yellow coat contrasts against the white snow. Ricocheting down the mountain created these really unusual marks which repeated after every roll. I wanted to develop this further adding colour and picking out certain repeated marks to create a pattern. 

Today I did some more sketchbook work developing my ideas of the word ricochet as I think this would be a good root to develop further. The mark making came from my visit to the Elmsgreen & Dragset exhibit especially the sculpture called “gay marriage”. However during the day I began to feel stressed; I think this was due to my research having many routes of research to go down this also meant that my sketchbook began to feel disjointed. So I decided to write down initial words which have inspired me. Once I have done some more research I can then analyse whether my sketchbook has a better flow or not. Next I will be doing mark making and filming objects tumbling down the mountain inspired by the book spontaneous sculptures by Brad Dowry. 

Visiting the Elmgreen and Dragset: this is how we bite our tongue exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery today in London was really fascinating as I have discovered my love for sculpture. I also found the meanings and stories behind each piece really engaging because I understood them; sometimes I find that either the story doesn't seem to link at all to the sculpture or the wording is over complicated. However, here I read the booklet throughout the exhibit which also really helped to develop my thinking.

Being at the library today was fundamental for me in finding a clear direction in my research; I think this was due to being broad with my research and actually analysing the books I found, reading passages, looking at the index: these things I often find difficult to have the time to do as normally the library is after uni so its late in the evening. However by having a whole day for research I could really feel the difference. This is something I would like to find the time to do more its just difficult as I commute from home. By focusing on a word it was interesting how much broader my research sources could be as their are many connotations to one word. Before leaving the library I also allowed myself to just explore the library; I know I am constantly drawn to sculpture art especially their materials and ideas behind them so I simply looked around that section of the library pulling random books from the shelves. It was so fun to discover the themes behind work I have see before or new artists work.

Today I began by trying to start some initial sketchbook work doing collages and drawing based off the research from the previous days. However I felt very un-inspired and found it difficult to create sketchbook pages throughout the day; then when looking back at my research there was not a lot of imagery and I think this was my problem. I hope tomorrow by going to the library I will be able to find some inspiring imagery to help me with my research progression either using the same lie of taking a different direction.  I like the Lanyard poem research because it feels like a different direction for my research and I like how the skiwear links to a lanyard very literally however I want to do something different to what I am used to which is maybe why I am feeling un-inspired.

Today I began research for the lanyard project. As I will be travelling over Christmas to France to visit my brother and ski I wanted to relate my research to this in some way so my time spent away was useful. When skiing you use a lift pass to show your identification and that you have paid to be able to ski on that particular mountain therefore this function linked very much to the function of a lanyard. Therefore this is an ideal starting point for the project. A discovery of a poem called ‘the lanyard’ I found really interesting as I began to branch out of just artist research using other means to gain inspiration. I would like to do this more looking at films and books which would develop my ideas further.

Evaluation for Culture Swap and Neighbourhood Project

Over the past three weeks I have learnt so much from research to drawing and my samples. It has been quite an overwhelming project but I am excited to amalgamate everything I have learnt as this will then hopefully improve the overall quality of my work. At the start of culture swap I wanted to do really broad research into my culture as before this project I did not really know what my culture was. It was really interesting to delve deep into what made me, me. From this week of intensive research I found that the food culture in particular inspired me and is something I want to take on further.

The next week consisted of swapping my culture with a Partner. I took inspiration from my partners relation to the Samish Tribe in Finland as it was a culture I had never heard of before; especially as I feel a key part of this project was to learn something new. The Mayfair tribe have a real community spirit with different colours representing each family. When I was given Mayfair as my location I wasn’t too sure how inspiringIwould find the area however I actually found it so interesting to learn about another more affluent world. Walking past million pound houses and brushing past thousand pound suits. Overall, I was happy with the link I found between Mayfair and the Samish Tribe: being the juxtaposition of the people as I feel like it was broad enough to get some interesting research from it. When collaging with my research images from the Samish Tribe and Mayfair my most successful composition was gluing down the traditional Samish tribe garments like the patterned skirts and ponchos to the Mayfair people adding some fun and colour to the area.This collage was really successful and inspired my theme of adding humour to the people of Mayfair inspired buy the Samish Tribes Traditional garments.

When creating my final samples I wanted to create something different to my normal, very small, detailed and sensitive samples. I think I have explored some new techniques and different ways of working however I still want to keep branching out further with bigger materials. I think working outside of my comfort zone will be a huge asset to my development over this foundation course.The way I think and my design process is very visual with shape and form always being considered in a sculptural way therefore this process of taking pictures of details was particularly engaging for me and successful in getting some physical ideas done quickly. I think my expanding foam sculpture was particularly successful as its really chunky and explores my culture swap theme of intertwining two cultures.

 Overall,I was pleased with how my design development went as my final samples still influenced my final garment a lot. To improve for the next project I want to do more drawing with a variety of media and more of my textile samples being related to the body with illustrations.

As my work over the weekend went to plan I had time today to make the garment from my neighbour hood project; I was pleased about this as I feel it would be a nice ending to the project. I did draping experiments using xtra large piping wrapped in wire to get the shapes and silhouettes I had drawn in my design developments. I wish the piping was slightly fatter so it was more in proportion to my drawings but other than that I was pleased with the effect. I chose a muslin fabric because it was cheap and could be dyed. The process of dyeing was perfect  because I worked a lot of my colour scheme as this was part of the colour project. Therefore I could get the right shade of orange to work with the scheme which was 15 minutes submerged in the dye. When photographing my garment I wanted to increase the shutter speed so my photos appeared blurry but still showing the shapes of the garment as the model moves. This links to the people of Mayfair constantly rushing around in large groups of people as if in a blur. To improve I would take the garment to Mayfair to be photographed on location and around the people of Mayfair a main focus of this project.

I managed my time better today by creating a timetable of what I wanted done by mid-day, mid-afternoon and the evening. I started by improving my five tactile structure portfolio sheets as the previous sheets I drafted out I hated. I think this is because the process felt very rushed and I did not know what I was doing so today I felt a lot more prepared after doing more workshops over the week which developed my understanding. I also found by looking at peers portfolio sheets on Thursday it made the process today much easier. My strengths in this project was the use of materials and my process of extracting shapes from my drawings for my samples so I wanted to amplify this in my pages however areas in needing more practice defiantly came in my drawing. Therefore I decided to do some improved drawings based off my previous ones but using a bigger variety of material. Overall, I was pleased with the pages I produced and I feel like they have given me a lot of ideas for layout for future pages also.

Today I decided to finish my development sheets for the neighbourhood project after advice given to me by peers yesterday. Firstly I changed my first page to have more texture by adding mini textile samples I made and added another larger research image. I feel like this really elevated the page and added some more interest so it’s less flat. For the development page I traced my original pictures of my model with my shapes onto the body. I added a lot of detail and fiction to the garments to show exactly where the hands would go and stitching etc. Doing John Booths drawing class the other day also really helped with my proportions for this sheet and all my drawings look in proportion. Today I don’t feel like I managed my time very well as family visited and I kept getting distracted however I was happy with the quality of work I did. I hope on Sunday it’s more successful to help I will create a timetable of the day. 

Today is the last day before progress tutorials then Christmas break. As I have been trying to improve my drawings after feedback from last week I showed Patricia my sketchbook again; I felt pleased with the feedback saying that my drawings had begun to improve but more texture needed to be added. I completely agreed; even though I need to focus on doing more drawings I don’t want to forget about other aspects of a sketchbook. 

We also had more people from Ba Textiles and BA Fashion Print come and talk to us about the course. I found this really interesting and helpful to see; firstly I loved Alexandra’s foundation sketchbook from Textiles and found it helpful after my talk with Patricia the same morning. The way Alexandra had incorporated texture into her drawing were incredible as it adds another dimension to them; I also thought her collages flowed across the page really nicely. As I would like to apply to Ba Fashion with Knitwear next year it was amazing to see ………… work especially due to its sculptural nature which was very reassuring and creating his own research. When you create your own research you are instantly being inspired by something new therefore your ideas will be unique. I hope to have a go at this in my next project.

A drawing day today with John Booth was based on creating templates for design development in our sketchbooks and for portfolio. When talking to BA students on Monday one mentioned how you should have one drawing day developing your 'character' which is what we did here. I feel like the past couple of weeks my fashion illustrations had been stuck to a distinctive style so it was really nice to be able to experiment without the pressure of having a theme to stick to or for it to go in our sketchbook; being advised to try things we had never done before. 

I often find drawing proportion but especially hands and shoes extremely difficult often drawing them flat looking un-natural. A simple tip I learnt was to take photos of your own naturally positioned hands and feet; something which I think really elevated my drawings. Throughout my illustrations I was trying to communicate a mood with thick dark eyes to show tired eyes that still had an innocence to them.

Another particularly stressful day today as we made development sheets however the explanation of tasks really confused me. It wasn’t until when Jo explained it to me in the afternoon that I fully understood the task this might also be down to fatigue and overthinking. As I overthink everything I am doing my creative process became more and more difficult I need to find a way to resolve this. Therefore today I don’t think I managed my time very well. I did enjoy doing the design process looking back through my sketchbook to find strengths and applying this to the body of a print out model. This really helped me with proportions of the body and doing designs of the front, back and side of the garment remembering that the body is three dimensional. Now I want to use tracing paper to trace the designs so my own personal style can be added including a character on the face. Therefore creating a muse and feeling to my portfolio sheets. 

Tomorrow we are starting to create portfolio sheets based off of our tactile structures project. This project I wanted to improve after advice Patricia gave me during he crit so I did this using the same inspiration and shapes as my previous samples but this time I wanted to include mark making and clay. I also decided to strengthen my colour scheme; after doing the colour workshop I knew where I could improve on colour balance so wanted to being these skills into practice. With the samples made I used my hands to mould the shapes of my samples however making them more 3 dimensional being able to stand up instead of flat. Hard materials like wood also worked well in creating a juxtaposition to the soft clay and representing the mark making from my drawings of the scaffolding for example. I think the strengths in my work come from detail I can add to pieces as this must consider the layout, materials and colour balance etc. Weaknesses I have include branching out of my comfort zone so I don’t become a one trick pony; I think I branched out with these samples a lot by using clay which is why I am so pleased with how they look; I just hope my tutors agree. 

I started today with a fresh mind and sketchbook. Planning to do some design development based off my textile samples and the materials I used for main inspiration. Doing this I noticed how beneficial drawing was and made a note to never neglect it again! Certain features from my samples which I highlighted were the tubes wrapped in wool due to the sculptural form that it adds to the samples. When illustrated onto the body these curves are scaled up or down adding some humour and shape to the ‘tribe of mayfair’, juxtaposing against the usual suits.

Looking at my samples this morning in class compared to everyone else I liked how different they looked however I felt that they were not very cohesive throughout each sample and within my sketchbook. I think this was due to the colour workshop really throwing me off my original colour scheme and the theme of my project. During our group criticism and looking through other peoples sketchbooks I understand now how much over these past even three weeks I have neglected drawing; mark making and demonstrating your ideas through drawing, is so important and crucial which is why I have been feeling very un-motivated these past few weeks. I need to improve this project over the weekend with more drawing as I know this will help me to finish the development of my final samples. I am glad I have realised my mistakes over these past few weeks now I just hope its not too late to resurrect. 

As this project was based on the artists work of Andy Macgregor I was so pleased when he gave feedback about my work at the end of the lesson. Surprisingly to me he said that my "colour balance worked really nicely and the materials used created a unique sculpture/form" he also liked how I had hung my pieces allowing the fringe to hang downwards and for the viewer to see a 360 degree view. This really boosted my confidence at the end of the day so I left feeling a little less defeated and knowing that where I needed to improve. I feel excited to experiment with these samples on the body now through drawing as I feel it will bring my samples to life; not all of them are intended for the body but the ones that are once developed will help me to create fresh ideas and a better understanding of my final outcome. 

Post it notes I got from peers were positive and constructive; for example some said that my research sources were really unique and feeded nicely into my final outcome. However others said that the colour scheme was all over the place making it hard to follow. Both of these comments I am going to take into consideration for my final developments over the weekend; hoping that everything I have learnt this week will feed into a final sketchbook nicely. I now feel exhausted as especially this week I have learnt and realised so much about my own work; I hope that I can put all of this into practice for the upcoming projects. 

Working with 24 images today and every 4 either linking to print, experimentation or colour combination I found really helpful in creating samples. This way I have a menu of everything successful in my sketchbook clearly laid out over two pages; it made me want to try amalgamate new and some bigger samples; which I did manage to do! For example a weave out of wood I would have normally cut down to create a small sample instead this time I kept it large allowing for the texture on top and lino printing to be opened up and much more easily visible. 

Today we were building up from our plastic waste sculptures created yesterday; using similar materials and our colour scheme to create 5 relief samples. I felt slightly confused and not in sync today as we were told to start making these samples relate to our research however yesterday it was not. This is the point when I should have created an action plan spanning on my ideas and colour scheme so it felt clearer in my head. I also got feedback from Patricia today on my sculptures and sketchbook work. It was a real eye opener as she mentioned how my drawings were very 'flat' and were the same throughout my sketchbook; I did not even realise I was doing this until today as I am so consumed in my work I forget to look back with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Drawing is something I want to improve on more and increase in my skill; I hope the drawing workshop next week with John Booth will be really helpful for me to do this. Patricia also said that I need to branch out of my specific style of sampling in textiles and create something different; I completely agreed and have been feeling a need to try something different lately however as deadlines bring pressure I struggle to have time to do this. I think I delt with the advice well as previously I may have got upset but this time I found everything she said really refreshing and helpful. 

Creating a colour spectrum was really fun and satisfying to do on large scale especially because normally I work on a smaller scale (this is something I would like to break out of trying some other techniques then adding small details to parts of the design). Now being put into groups of 12 we each had waste plastic colours and had to create a ‘colour story’ from this. An initial block we had as a group was understanding what a colour story was. To me it felt like we had to connect each object not only by colour but texture and function therefore a story would begin to intertwine and develop. It started well; organising by size creating a larger snake like structure however the colours felt jumbled; considering this was a colour workshop it felt more appropriate on the next task to consider this. Creating our colour stories in smaller groups was much more successful as it allowed for everyone to have a say in the creative process. Talking to Katie about how this could be incorporated into my theme introducing a weave or mark making inspired by the loops of the plastic bag or the shape of the plastic objects. I responded well to these small exercises using colour as I know the importance of colour choice in my sketchbook and samples; to create a mood.

Exploring the colour mustard today I used the Josef Albers app to quickly discover its hues and tones. I particularly enjoyed the brighter orange toned hues with my current colour scheme and could link this with the Samish tribe who have hints of orange mixed in with red on traditional garments. Investigating my surroundings (as I live on a building site) I found many unconventional objects which could be used for creating a sculpture. Texture was a very important aspect for me in my research as I am adding humour and colour to “the tribe of Mayfair” plain monochrome suits will be made exciting with the texture I find. I am interested to see how the focus on colour will change my project next week; I still want to keep my project focused on my culture swap theme because I really like this theme and want to continue developing it further with some kind of final outcome and fashion illustration. 

Starting the new second part of the brief today I downloaded the Josef Albers colour app and began to experiment with my colour tone of mustard. I still wanted to keep with my other 4 colours I have developed throughout the week because I think they work really well together and represent my research as I mixed the Samish tribe and the ‘tribe of mayfair’. Exploring colours I found that the tones of mustard ranged from a bright yellow through to a dull orange . I liked the look of the orange colours mixed with my current colour schemes as it compliments the dark blue and bright pink. I chose an orange plastic bag as one of my waste plastic because I thought it could be dismantled easily and even melted with a heat tool. I’m not sure how easy this would be to do but creates an interesting texture for a sculpture. I have found my sketchbook work to be much more successful this week and I feel much less stressed. I think this is due to being put permanently in a class without moving around loads, this way I feel a lot more settled and comfortable to do work. And on reflection last week I think the stress of creating a whole sketchbook made my pages a lower quality and damaged my confidence in my work.

Group collaboration consisted of creating a weave using chair legs; this opened my mind up to so many possibilities of what a weave could be created from. For example, two pipes on a wall, or fencing in a public space. As a group I think we thrived working together firstly discussing a colour scheme we were happy with then talking as we go to what elements should go where therefore not overthinking it or being too precious. For example we emphasised the use and contrast of hard and soft materials. I then began individual work. Talking to Petra I found really helpful in developing a colour scheme; at first feeling disheartened as Petra mentioned my colours were very weak and too pastel saying how a stronger colour needed to shine through. However with some thought and analysis of my colours I agreed; To overcome this obstacle I created my own individual weaving sample based on similar colours from my scheme but darkening the blue and brightening the hue of the pink and red. This was much more successful and I could see the difference of how important the analysis of colour is and after another talk, Petra agreed that my colours now work very well together.

I felt very excited to continue making prints today and experimenting with the prints I made yesterday onto the body. When creating a new half drop print I wanted to create something different to my normal style with block shapes instead fine lines and detail as this area is out of my comfort zone. I found it difficult at first however I really enjoyed my final print outcome; it was much bolder with a lot less white space in between each shape. The final print really reminded me of the patterns worn by the Samish tribe inspired by the geometric lines and deep rich colours. I think areas I need to practice in is the lino printing which I loved and want to continue to develop maybe even trying the print on photoshop to see what happens when mirrored or adjusting the hue. Creating a motif I decided to choose expanding foam as the main material to go on top this is because the foam is a light pink colour which is part of my colour scheme but not prominent in my patterns. Secondly expanding foam is a very different contrasting material to my geometric print with bulges and becoming huge after being exposed to air. This links with my theme and how two things/cultures contrast but instead with material.

A talk with Katie this morning allowed me to reflect on the theme of my project and the direction it was going. Due to the fact my theme took a different direction yesterday I found this talk really helpful in developing some simple pointers of what my theme is about.

I found it really refreshing talking to peers today and showing them my work. They mentioned how instead of going down the culture of food in my areas of culture look at the people which I started to do at the beginning. This really helped me with my direction of work so at home I will do a few more pages based on ‘the tribe of mayfair’ looking at the comparison of the people in the Samish tribe and the people of Mayfair from the builders sitting on the floor to the affluent businessmen and woman. We were then given the task of creating 4 pages using either drawing or collage based on our next direction of our project. Being given only 45 minutes to do this I started to feel panicked however I pushed this out of my mind and went for it. I was so shocked with how well my drawings and collage turned out when under pressure it was exciting to feel confident in myself and my pages again. Maybe this is something I need to try at home; setting myself a timer to complete work in. I also enjoyed creating samples from these 4 pages of collage and drawing we did today imagining how I could interpret these on the body either by repeating the textile sample to create a surface or photocopying so they are flat and could become a pattern. I enjoyed doing this because it felt like the samples I was creating had a purpose and came from something. Details I focused on was the trim and detailing on the Samish tribes traditional garments which also have colours that I could use in my colour scheme. For the culture of Mayfair I focused on the silhouette of the people because I love the shapes created with bundles of people. To make these silhouettes specific to the Mayfair area I added in garment details which described the silhouette of the person for example watches, ties or builders attire like fluorescent jackets. 

Today I had a lot to do so I managed my time by writing a list of each page which I wanted to complete; this way I would be ready and prepared. However throughout the day I did not stick to the plan and my pages were taking longer and longer to complete so I only got 4 out of the 6 pages I wanted to finish. I have been finding it really frustrating lately that my pages are taking so long to do I’m not sure why but now a page can take up to two hours to complete! This is not good for my use of time, I think I worry too much about what the page looks like instead of just going for it therefore I begin to overthink and the creative side does not come natural to me. I don’t know how to get out of this hole as it’s been happening for a while. I think I need to talk to my tutor and see if they can help me come up with a solution as overthinking has become a real hindrance to my work. I know I need to practice my accurate drawing skills more creating pieces which are still exciting for me but have accurate body representations will be tough but will show a variety in my work at interviews. As for the culture swap project I continued to explore my links of food culture between Mayfair, my culture and my partners culture. I enjoyed using collage to mix the elements looking at repeat patterns in the perfectly packaged Mayfair food and how the danish tribe from Finland hunt for deer. The contrast is really strong and should be shown in my works/ final outcome. Works of Kehinde Wiley I have found very inspirational for my research for his use of colour and where he found his patterns from textiles at markets. I could do the same thing with the samish tribe looking at the key colours in their garments which could then be created into patterns. 

Today my plan was to do some further secondary research into Mayfair and my partners culture. This changed the journey my project was taking last week in a way as originally I focused on only my culture and everything to do with me. I experienced some struggles of making the mark making and observational drawings I did of Mayfair yesterday look exciting. I think I found this difficult because in the public art and tactile structures project we did a lot of observational drawing so it has begun to feel repetitive. To get around this obstacle for the future I need to try lots of different experimental approaches to drawing however for now I went back to my original research images and printed some more out to manipulate; by doing this I felt a lot more creative and excited with my pages. This made me feel a lot more satisfied and excited with the pages I was creating. Feedback I got given by tutors at Part 1 assessment was to be more analytical and less descriptive with my use of language during research and reflections. I hope that I am starting to adapt and improve my language use in these sections so far by using help sheets I got from Pauline Moons sessions.

Today we had the chance to swap our 6 research images with my culture swap partner and got given the location of Mayfair. When discussing our images; areas of interest for me was my partners culture and connections to Finland and the Samish Tribe. In particular the idea that the Samish tribe often hunt deer for food, their skin and as livestock; this juxtaposes against my own culture and beliefs of a vegetarian diet. At Mayfair I also discovered from the gorgeous smells an extensive amount of deluxe bakery's, some croissants costing as much as £15! This made me notice a link with my chain of thought from my partners culture of the Samish Tribes diet in Finland and my own culture and diet exploring the juxtaposition of cultures from the food they eat. For example, in Mayfair everything was really nicely packaged without any acknowledgement of where the food was from however in the Samish tribe food is hunted caught and eaten all by themselves.  Now I want to research these individual cultures in more depth really exploring the various cultures and any more traditions they have with food.