Reflective Task

Now that I am coming to the end of my project I would like to explore my theme in different contexts. For example, being in the textile pathway I took a much more tactile approach to my work creating smaller samples (like my rubber glove samples) inspired by impulsive interactions. If I was in the fashion pathway I think I would have done a lot more fabric manipulation techniques instead of just shirring to create tactile impulsive elements. Artists and Designers like René Scheibenbauer creating works that have similar ideas behind it but no one I researched had exactly the same idea. For example he went on a different route to explore the senses reaction with clothing like sounds and being blindfolded. Another context I could have explored behind my work is the more historical route making my own corsets to create restriction. 

Reflective Task

Reflecting back on my assessment feedback I am interested to see how I have improved over unit seven. In the feedback I was told I have solid research with personal creativity and design development. However very clear improvements and development needed to be made with designing for the body. I now know that I have improved my design development technique after doing the workshop with Petra,  allowing me to gain a deeper understanding of what design development actually is making small incremental changes to push an idea on the body further. In my assessment feedback specifically for unit seven I was told to really push my initial drawings and technical fabric research. I did this by using a variety of media that I have not explored fully before like acrylic paint and pushing myself to do drawing on every page in my sketchbook - now at the end of unit 7 I actually enjoy doing drawing pages instead of dreading them as I understand how important they are for giving me ideas.

Reflective Task

Looking back at how I started my project, doing inwards/outwards was actually a very fun way to explore areas of research I would have never thought of before. The exercise also encouraged you to make connections between completely different themes therefore making a much more unique overall theme. I felt my research was in depth when looking into the themes for inwards outwards by visiting exhibits at the V&A or going to areas for primary research imagery. I do think my research into the charity's/movements part of the exercise could have been more in depth possibly by emailing some of the charities asking specific questions. Primary research imagery was mostly of cables so I found the route of technology to be most fitting especially once I visited the Design/Play/Disrupt exhibit at the V&A and listened to a Feminist Internet Lecture- the connections seemed to work well. Each part of this research is a small step to developing a idea finally ending up at impulsive interactions.

Reflective Task

Reflecting on my extended bibliography especially towards the end of unit 7 I have found my bibliography to  be really useful in identifying where the main bulk of my research has come from and where I could do more research in that area. Many of the books I read or looked into were all relevant at that time of research;  each piece of research I find is a stepping stone to the next area of development. I particularly enjoyed the illustrations in Erwin Wurms books and the 'Posture' book by D Zacharkow; including a lot of imagery on different yoga moves which is what I needed to get my head around this idea of body contortion and improving posture. Leading me on to further books like 'Everyday Ideologies" and 'Yoga for backaches". This led me on to body economics and how posture can be improved when at work by slightly changing the elevation of a chair. Overall its interesting to see my bibliography at the end of unit 7; I do have more website research then books however I think that was mainly from my coding research at the beginning of my project where you could not get many books on this topic. However at the same time I still did a lot of book research and this research in particular was always the most influential in my project. This is because when searching online you must search for something specific however when flicking through a book you often come across research you were not originally looking for. 

After my struggles yesterday creating design development sheets I spoke to Vic and my peers today asking for advise because I always find the advice of others really useful allowing me to maybe try something out in a different way which I wouldn't of thought of before. After looking back through my illustrations with peers I noticed how the looseness and freedom of my previous illustrations had been lost in the current ones making them look quite tight and not expressing all the mark making I have done so far. Maybe this was due to using a template which is very useful for proportions of the body but can feel restrictive at times.  After solving my issue I felt more confident to have another go with design development!! Pushing myself to just draw- sticking to body proportion but also being looser and the result was much more exciting to me because there was now texture to the drawings lifting them slightly. I feel that its going to be difficult to get the right mixture of mark making but still being informative in the garment I have created. To help with this I will be adding stitch lines where the body darts are or where hand stitching has been applied as this should help to get the balance right. Also not rushing my sheets as sometimes I unintentionally do this probably because you do have to be more thoughtful of what you are drawing on the page making the whole process take more time in the long run.  

List tonight

Do green page

Continue with design development sheets try to do one tonight

Friday

Morning design development sheet and be done by 12/1!?

Workflow rest of day

Put photos on memory stick to be printed out- ask about booklet??

The main focus for today was sticking in my portoflio pages that got approved by Francis yesterday. My fourth page once I did the drawing still felt relatively flat because there was only imagery and drawings on the page; looking back at my work and final piece I noticed how influential my paper mache samples were due to being a new technique that was a much coarser texture and very structured unlike the fabrics I have been draping with which are very soft and stretchy influenced by Franz West's sculptures. Therefore I managed to solve this solution adding a section of tubing to the page. I think stitching this tube onto the paper will finish it off nicely as it links back to my much larger paper machè sculpture I made. Yesterday I was advised by Francis to keep the design developments I did in my sketchbook using a template but simply make them more individual to me maybe adding different feet/head this way I would keep a good proportion but still have the same muse I have had throughout the rest of my project. When we have a group crit tomorrow I feel it will be helpful to show my peers the design developments also to ask for advice on whether Im on the right track.

Today we had a workshop on sustainability with oonah and jo. I found myself wishing we had this workshop before we started the main bulk of unit 7 as I wish that throughout this project I thought of sustainability more maybe with my fabric choice or the materials I had chosen when sampling. I did find the life and death cards really helped to break down the huge topic of sustainability into a large amount of areas. I did not think my project had any relation to sustainability but after reading the cards I noticed my work fitted into the health and well-being catergory as I had looked into back posture an issue which many modern day people suffer from due to working longer hours on computers causing us to slouch. I felt surprised in how I could find this link in sustainability  as it has not been the main focus of my project however it has given me ideas of other possible lines of research.  In the future I would like to improve my sustainability consideration most likely by investing in some of these cards of my own. 

The goal today was to finish the main bulk of my last sketchbook as this would allow for next weeks main focus to be portfolio. I have found this final sketchbook to be mainly filled with drawings of the samples I did after my final garment. I have enjoyed creating these pages as I am able to explore further combining multiple media and styles of observational drawing. To improve these pages I want to get better at drawing in detail/ real life instead of always experimental therefore I can have a broader range of skills and maybe add some maturity to my pages instead of just fun slightly childish ones. 

I also ended up creating some more samples using peeled paint from a large scale clay sample inspired by my plasticine sculptures. Moulded around the hand this created a really unique glove inspired by interaction with the holes for fingers and a hole created with a deconstructed children's coat attached to the end. I was really pleased with how this sample turned out as the shape even though a new silhouette- was taken from the original shape of my clay sample. I want to try  and use this technique more in the future as it creates a new silhouette to work from but was originally from a previous one making a clear link. 

Reflective Task

Analysing comments made on my social media when I post my work was actually very intriguing. All of them were positive but is that simply because they are my friends? I would love to be able to here what EVERYONE was saying just to see peoples honest reactions as its not normal clothing most people would wear. The only reason I post my work on social media is mainly for myself so I can look back in years to come and really see how I have developed as a person creatively.

Reflecting on my updated action plan where I have added more detail to the individual weeks as the first one we did was helpful to get a sense for how long we had but felt too early to be planning so far ahead of time. Over this project I think I have managed my time well mostly because I was sticking to the weekly and daily action plans I was creating. I still need to improve on creating realistic action plans as sometimes I set myself too much work to do all in one day.

I monitored my progress by looking back at my weekly action plan or calendar but mainly through my workflow as it shows all of my in depth thinking throughout that week. I would often set myself early alarms even on days that we are not in uni as I find myself to be more productive and less stressed when I start working earlier. Something I do well when at uni is dedicating class time for practical work and then the journey home to reflecting, analysing and evaluating. However when just working at home I struggle to do this and find my workflow goes downhill. Maybe I need to set up a specific time within the day when I do half an hour of thinking time. 

I have been dreading to do my portfolio for this final project ever since I found out we needed to do one for it. I think this is because its extra work and the last time I did portfolio for BA interviews it was so stressful. Therefore I decided to face the portfolio head on today and at least make a start on the layout as it would allow me to show tutors tomorrow. Going through my first sketchbook I only found about half way through my research to be successful and link with my brief I think this was due to rushing my sketchbook and research at the beginning of the project. On the first portfolio page I started with a drawing I had done because I felt myself become more confident with drawing throughout this project I also think it would be a good way to catch peoples attention to the beginning of my project. However I may struggle with recreating this drawing on my portfolio page when I originally did the drawing straight into my sketchbook. To help this issue I may have to re-do the drawing in using the same techniques and materials but knowing that it will look different. Research imagery from exhibits and some initial draping was then overlapped in the process as throughout this project this specific draping was a turning point for me. The second page continued into the realm of contortion research and the introduction of rubber bands adding initial sampling and some texture to the page. I wonder if I can continue my theme of holes also throughout this portfolio maybe even cutting holes in the paper and stitching around it? I am not sure if this would even be allowed in portfolio as it has to be very professional. This afternoon I started my final sketchbook simply adding the making process however I am finding it difficult to make these sketchbook pages not look just look like pictures stuck on the paper; looking back in my sketchbook I found some mark making which I could draw over the imagry showing where my green patterns were intended to go but also adding some texture to the pages. Texture to a flat page I think is really important as it allows for someone looking through your sketchbook to get a feel for the final result but also for the purpose pod the designer because it helps me to decided which textures work etc.

After dropping my work off at the lethaby gallery I had a tutorial with Patricia on improving my workflow. This was so helpful as I feel like in April my workflow really went downhill because we were not in uni as much and therefore I wasn’t dedicating time to write my reflection. I was told to go back over the month of April and review each reflection adding the decision making I am doing in my head or on tiny scraps of paper onto workflow. As I often find myself making so many notes or lists on pieces of paper that end up getting thrown away and not documented. It feels easier to write a list of ideas on a scrap of paper because I often get ideas when I am half way through a collage or drawing and really quickly need to document everything thats in my head.  I need to keep questioning myself and my work asking: why why why!! Therefore I can start to really challenge my thinking. Also thinking of how I can personalize my research asking questions like what is my own view on this image, why is it so important and reflecting on this including the materials, feelings and processes.Its helpful to get this reminder of how important reflection is as regular reflection has allowed me to gain a deeper level of understanding.

List for improvements: 

Add exhibitions to bibliography

Websites and books separated

Pushing yourself further on reflection, how to challenge myself further and push my work if successful how could it be improved 

Why was it successful 

Why why why

Relay the steps back to tutor on why was successful

Setting yourself goals - questioning throughout 

Decision making 

Change the dates 

Research instead of title

How relates back to my specific work make he link CLEAR 

Make the research personal

Movement 

Materials

Feelings

Working on my garment today I hung it up to see what it would look like at the lethaby gallery. Im finding it tough as my final piece is made from jersey and has parts of the silhouette that are very tight fitting to the body so when hung it can disfigure slightly.  I decided to do a hand stitched dart at the back of the garment to pull excess fabric in which helped to give it the shape needed. I also added some thin strips of wadding to the front- again handstitched on therefore the fabric would drape nicely.  

Today and the rest of this weekend I will be working on getting my sketchbook and garment prepared for the hand in for the Lethaby gallery on Tuesday. Working on my sketchbook felt really nice as most of the previous two weeks had been garment work; so I had a lot of imagery and samples to stick in. I have noticed recently especially throughout my sketchbook that I have become much more confident with drawing without using a pencil first and I am actually finding myself wanting to do drawing pages instead of dreading them. Probably because I have been doing it so much it gets easier and easier each time to achieve the marks or observation I am drawing from. I feel like with my next projects to come I want to challenge myself to have a go at different styles of working; I feel like this sketchbook is very childish and garish so I think it would be interesting to try a more mature approach to my work and see how it affects my final outcome. I am excited to continue to build this confidence over the summer developing and improving my drawing skills.

Last night after going up to London to look at accommodation all day I felt a lot of motivation to really push myself today and continue to create the samples and ideas I had even though they are due on Monday. I think I felt this because the more I push myself the better I would feel about myself and presenting my work. So today I collected all the excess half samples I had created and maybe not finished or developed further. This way I can actually show the amount of work I had done as sometimes I forget about samples because I don’t finish or develop them. The samples felt developed on from my final piece as they were made afterwards and it combined a variety of my paper machè with rubber band embroidery. These pieces also could be nice additions to my final piece or hung by themselves. The photoshoot  felt to be successful as I did similar makeup to my final garment shoot but this time using different coloured eyeshadow still in my colour scheme. I photographed the samples by themselves and of me interacting with them looking back at my photography research of Erwin wurm or Franz West for inspiration. Due to how successful these images were maybe a photo series with my samples could be presented or just a photo series as it shows my key theme of interaction.  To challenge myself further I need to think of the presentation of these images. If they are to be presented as a series- maybe even printed in a book? Or should my images contain more background interest instead of just a white wall to allow for a context/story to be told through the pictures.

Doing a photoshoot of my main garment today was really successful I felt that with the simple white background, no shoes and brightly coloured makeup it allowed my garment to really stand out. I am going through stages of loving my final piece and hating it and I’m really not sure why. I think it might be because I am staring at it too much? It’s just getting in my head and as I start to see other people’s final pieces I begin to doubt myself.But maybe this is just the mind of being in the creative industry learning its okay to not be perfect all the time especially when the work is so personal. I just hope I get some good helpful feedback on Monday so I can stop doubting myself.! 

Today I created the final layout for my garment as I kept on re-arranging the rubber bands ever so slightly and just procrastinating instead of just sticking it on and getting it done! Once the rubber bands were attached I still felt like something was missing; another link needed to be made with my shirred green pattern to my rubber band textile samples if not they would have looked too seperated causing your eye to be attracted to the empty blank space between them. Looking back through my sketchbook I realised how important my stretched shapes were even identified in the patterns and drawings I did which influenced each step of my work from the silhouette of my garment to the green shirred shapes stitched on top. Therefore I did some samples on combining my surface texture with my green shirring cutting shapes out of purple power mesh and layering this. I was pleased with the results as it just added that extra link needed. It also added the purple from my colour scheme onto the final garment. Considering the attachment of these shapes I did some more samples and found the most effective way to be a simple hand stitch; it matched the pink thread I used in my green shirring sections but still contrasted nicely against the bright yellow.

Today I had a break from working on my main garment as its mainly done therefore I decided to work on pushing my samples further creating lots of small series of samples combining my paper mache samples and rubber glove/rubber band samples. Working on my samples I began to incorporate all the elements of my theme representing impulsive interactions and awkward body contortion constantly draping back onto the body allowing for adaptations to be made and to see how it could be developed on the body. Body developments mainly consisted on my arms as this is was the easiest way to contort with the unique shapes of the samples but I also had some successful pieces created when attached around the ears which could be a nice addition to my final piece. I think it was successful when the samples naturally cupped around the ears or a particular body part because it instead shows the body being natural but the materials contorting to its shape- something I have not explored yet in my previous developments. I think improvements could be made to this in particular if I work with scale of the piece - maybe re-making this piece huge?

I then did some design development and came up with the idea of possibly a leg piece maybe some leg warmers created out of the same shirred green fabric on the legs and attached at the bottom. I did some rough mock ups of this idea but did not like the final outcome it felt irrelevant to what I had been doing so far and took your attention away from the main elements of my garment. 

Working on the development of my garment today I felt some surface texture was needed to help blend in my rubber glove samples instead of just looking 'stuck on'.  I did not want the stuck on look because throughout this project mostly in my sketchbook and samples I have tried to create a nice flow which moved from one piece to another. This is the same effect I want on my final piece.

Looking back at the other elements of my textile samples that I had been developing in my sketchbook I found my connecting of rubber bands to be re-occuring a lot in my sketchbook so felt necessary to add to my final piece. The rubber bands also help blend in my rubber glove samples. To re-introduce the magenta colour on my final garment I will be attaching the rubber bands using hand stitching thread. I have been trying to make all of my choices on how I attach the elements to my piece purposeful as this is something the tutors mentioned previously to give a more professional finish.  I have a lot of hand stitching elements on my samples so the hand stitching would work well to incorporate everything together.

When draping my main garment on the body I was pleased with how the piece was going but today I wanted to sort out the lining. The previous lining I made up and brought was a really high quality silky stretch lining however everytime I tried the lining on under my dress it just was not working' it created creases and distorted the fabric. Continuing to struggle with this for most of the day I decided that this was never going to work. On reflection I wish I ditched that idea earlier as it would have saved me a lot of time. I should have more confidence in my decisions once I start to know something is not working because ti would save a lot of time  I decided to re make my lining out of the same jersey fabric as my dress ands to have the lining separate to the rest of the garment this way no distortion happens to the work I have done on fitting the garment to the body but my hip extension is also covered neatly. 

Since making the main body of my final piece yesterday today I begun my shirring elements creating the shapes onto specific areas of the garment. The silhouette of my shapes came from negative space drawings I did of my two person interactive stretch draping developments as I found these shapes looked a lot like the shapes of my rubber band and paper mach samples I had been doing.  Shirring took a very long time to do but I was really pleased with the results as the shapes fitted nicely on the jersey and acted with it not distorting it too much. To challenge myself further I could experiment making more shirred shapes to layer over the top in a different coloured fabric allowing for the print element of my garment to really come together.

Today begun the process of making my final outcome even though I would have liked to begin making a bit earlier I know that I needed to get the draping done right first otherwise my final outcome may not have a very professional finish. Since making the main part of the garment today I am pleased with the result so far and I am excited to carry on the development process. I am feeling stressed because I want to make my final piece really well and I just hope I have enough time to do that therefore I decided to make a new updated action plan as I found the one we made at the beginning with our brief to not be as helpful without any depth planning so far ahead. However the weekly ones I have been creating have been a lot more effective as I find myself really thinking about what I want to achieve. 

Fabric shopping today was successful but expensive. I went to Goldhawk Road and found some yellow jersey in the perfect colour I needed, a bit thinner than I would have liked so I decided that a lining would help . I found some stretch lining but still couldn’t find any dark  grass green jersey. So I looked back at my samples and found a sample I made by shirring... this way I can make my non stretch grass green jersey stretchy!! Also linking back to my stretch fabric draping samples also giving a contrasting texture to the soft jersey. I feel like this fabric shopping process was successful because I made sure to take all my original colour proportion works with me so I could constantly check and compare my options however at the same time I feel like it may have limited me to consider other options? Like a more textured or printed fabric. 

Today I was going to go fabric shopping for my final fabrics but still did not feel ready yet. I still wanted to make patterns and continue draping this way I knew how much fabric to buy. I’m glad I made this decision as I decided to scrap the longer skirt idea. I kept trying it out with the top I had already made but it just wasn’t working it felt too much was going on and drew the eyes away from my hip extension piece something I want to excentuate as this took a long time to perfect. Then scrapping the longer skirt I was toying between draping some trousers which I liked from my previous design development or just making a top. The trousers seemed too far away from my original ideas that I had been developing this whole time and I was really pleased with the look of the top just by itself but again I want to push myself. I decided to come back to all these ideas later on in the day. 

To do fabric shopping tomorrow I needed to perfect my final colour scheme. I think the yellow and green would work really well but I want to make sure so I decided to make ANOTHER rough toile out of some cheap yellow silky fabric I used for sampling with green shapes over it. Even though the fabric was not stretch meaning the shape of my garment was not executed the colour tones worked well and I especially liked the placement of my green shape on the hip extension as it cupped round the arm excentuating this detail I designed.

Back to the draping I decided to cut the long skirt off of my jersey toile and when trying it on the piece became a longer top/ minidress. I was so pleased with how this looked because it still was a one piece and had the contortion element with the hand holes but did not take away from my hip extension that could now be the main focus of the garment.

As I worked out my colour scheme last night today I wanted to continue draping I still feel like I need to perfect my final draping before I start making patterns from this. I needed to strengthen my paper mache hoop which goes under the garment so I found some grey insulation and carved it into the shape of the hoop; this worked so well and helped when being put under the stress of body parts and stretched fabric. I then needed to work out how someone would actually get into the garment so I brought a concealed zip and inserted this in the back. It worked really well and would allow the model to simply step into the piece and push his/her head into the polo neck. Finally; I found some fabric at the shops this morning which was a cotton spandex mix maybe a bit better for the structural piece I am creating as it is thicker but still has some stretch? I decided to try it out making a toile from the fabric this afternoon. I was really pleasantly surprised with the result- as it’s a two way stretch I made sure the stretch was going horizontally to allow for the hoop to fit nice and snug. The thicker fabric helped to support the hoop better and fitted on the body nicer this way I can pin the darts where they are needed to fit onto the body. I will need to do some further research on this fabric however I feel this may be a good alternative to just pure jersey. I want to push myself to be more explorative when it comes to fabric research for my final pieces as sometimes I feel like this could be an afterthought therefore it would make my overall finish to a higher quality I hope!!

Today I really needed to work out the pattern, length and colour for my final piece. Firstly working on the pattern I took some fabric and made some templates for the shapes I will be applying to the fabric. This also helped me to look at some colour compositions further. My first pattern design developments  I created had smaller shapes which to me gave the effect of an animal print- not what I was looking for because I have not done any research into animal print and its not linked to my line of research in body contortion. I then tried enlarging these shapes  I had done over my draping. These samples looked a lot more like the stretched shapes from my clay samples and as long as I place these shapes on the body correctly it could work out to be really interesting. I am so pleased that I have got over this boundary because I was feeling stressed that it would not work; this way I have saved time by doing two or three larger shapes instead of lots and lots of smaller ones. Next hurdle I had to overcome was the colour scheme; I started to do physical colour compositions using my textile samples and fabric I had collected over the research period this allowed me to continue exploration into proportion, types of fabric to use etc. I also went back to the feedback I had previously received reminding myself that many people preffered the yellow and green combo something I discounted due to my darker yellow glove samples and I thought the two yellows would clash. However physically mixing all of these together I realised that having two yellows actually show the different tones of the colour hopefully making my final piece look more considered.

I have been really struggling with colour composition today for my final piece; I like all the colours I have picked and worked with throughout this project however nothing seems to be working. I don’t want to be all the colours thrown onto the piece or just pink and purple otherwise I think it could look quite childish and garish. I did not want this effect; I want more of a sophisticated considered effect because some of my previous projects sometimes lack this. I do think this will be difficult with the colours I have picked though! Therefore I decided to do some colour composition collages like I did at the previous workshop a few weeks ago. This actually helped a lot by looking back at where my research came from. I then wanted to see how this would look on the body. By re-printing the white draping many times I could easily draw over this using posca pens being able to use the white pens to add shading and get different colour tones. This was really helpful in visualizing what the whole piece would look like as instead off being in my head it was right infant of me. Asking for opinions from my family for ideas everyone seemed to prefer the yellow/ green combos this surprised me and I’m not sure if It will work most likely because I have never made anything in this colour combination before. However at least I am being explorative pushing myself out of my comfort zone trying different things as foundation year is the time to do that. Maybe I need to do some textile samples sampling these colours to see how it would work.

Today my tutorial with Amy went really well, I was slightly worried but didn’t need to be as the draping I had been doing was on the right track. She liked my shape development and gave me ideas on how to push it further maybe by lengthening the top downwards continuing the interactive elements with the legs or even longer attatching it to the wall!! Its interesting because this idea of lengthening the dress is something I had already thought of ut not mentioned yet - this excites me because it proves that the tutors understand my ideas and my draping so far is portraying this.

I think it would be best to try these ideas out tomorrow or over the weekend even if everything is not fully documented in my sketchbook yet. As long as I can keep my physical ideas flowing I feel like I would be able to create a successful final outcome and experiments. Otherwise if I try to catch my sketchbook up I would fall behind with the making of my final outcome and one of the aims for this project is to create something which is well made and considered.

Continuing design development today I looked back through my sketchbook at design ideas I had drawn up previously this re-inspired more design ideas mixed with the previous development I had been doing. I continued to draw until I felt ready to start draping. When draping I used the purple knit jumper and my circular paper mache hoop under this it created the rough shapes I have been drawing, a smooth jut out at the hip.  Creating draping samples I found really helpful as it was something physical to create using fabric. Adding my previous smaller impulse interaction samples to the draping I think worked well because it created some detail to the bulbous shapes.

I decided to have a go re-making this knit jumper myself out of plain white jersey. It worked well and allowed me to see any changes I need to make to the pattern. When draping again with this I actually quite liked the look of the plain white fabric. With my smaller samples in my colour scheme. I feel like it accentuated my previous chosen colours and allowed for the shape to talk for itself. I might change my mind but maybe stripping back the colour would be effective? 

 I then had to think how I could create a garment that would support this weight of the paper mache hoop, at the moment it is wedged in my hip however my model at the photoshoot etc will be a different shapes to me even if we are both the same size. Maybe a corset would help to allow for structure? Also linking to the theme of body contortion and feeling uncomfortable.

Buddying with meg today was really refreshing to see someone elses perspective on my work in a way that I had never thought of before especially at the design development stage. She mentioned how I could look into developing my garment possibly connecting the hand and the leg in one continuous long tube. The tutorial with Patricia also allowed her to see my progress throughout the two weeks since she last saw my work. I had good feedback and It felt good to show her where I have been developing my work and ideas. 

This afternoon we had a design development workshop; to be honest I was not really feeling motivated to do yet another workshop; I feel as though all of these workshops should be at the middle of our project instead of at the end. However I was really pleasantly surprised with how effective this workshop was. It was really relaxed but also allowed me to simply draw ideas. Using a template for proportions but actually drawing our design ideas first is such a quick, effective way for me to actually look at what I could create. I realized that sometimes quick sketches don’t always have to look beautiful if they are helping with development. I now feel a much deeper understanding of what design developement is and feel prepared to continue development tomorrow and start making up some physical things.

List

Today we had a workshop with the fashion class going through the criteria for grading out final project. I found the first task to be quite difficult because the language was very difficult to understand however once we begun to discuss this in small groups I began to understand more what I need to improve and what has been working well. For example I would like to develop my workflow reflection further; instead of just in writing format even using small videos to talk about my work- taking pictures of all the lists I make and adding them to my workflow. I feel this would help to push my thinking further and also to be able to show tutors all the thinking I am doing outside of workflow also. I am really pleased with my 'Buddy Group' as everyone was engaged in the task and now we have a group chat where we can discuss work and ask for help. 

In the afternoon I had yet another tutorial with a tutor however as vic has not seen my work yet from this project I felt like it would be a good opportunity to show her; also as we go off for easter soon any help or guidence I can get while I can will be really useful. I mostly was asking how I should go about developing final design developments. She mentioned how I have all the work I need to get going and start making. I think I just need to stop procrastinating by continuing to create samples/draping and just go for it; otherwise this project could go on forever. This way I will have lots of time to improve and develop my idea when I have something physical to look at. So my plan for Thursday is to have something physical even if it is just a few jumpers sewn together.

Yesterday I brought some items from the charity shop to drape with mostly pieces that had stretch in them and were part of my colour scheme. This helped me to develop the interactivity of my experiments further as I begun to explore polo necks where my head and one arm could poke through or shorter sleeves which forced the body to contort your arms. I begun to feel a lot more confident in my draping and a lot more excited to develop these ideas further. I would like to combine these experiments also with some paper manipulation to see the contrast in structure. I also decided to look back in my sketchbook at ideas I have had previously; I begun to realise that I actually have loads of ideas they may not all be complete or just rough but if I combined all these together I feel I could make something quite successful. These previous drawings/ideas then helped me for my draping I continued to do – reminding me that just because I have developed my concept it does not mean I can not look back in my sketchbook at previous work to re-deveop and work back into. The addition of my circular rubber band/silk clay sample added some much needed detailing to the pieces allowing me to see where these smaller samples could be incorporated with more development.

Today I have been feeling very stressed; I think this may be due to struggling with idea development. Maybe more research is needed? I am just finding myself trying to do some draping but coming up with the same results and therefore my ideas for design development is coming up short. I think I need to stop thinking about the final outcome and just enjoy the process to keep exploring. Maybe incorporating some new elements of contrasting research because I can get lots of ideas from this or buying some different materials to drape with as it will push me to think about my project in a different way with new silhouettes being created.  As the deadline for easter comes closer and closer I must not allow myself to panic as this will just hinder me.

My concept is the interest in when given something you can interact with what is the natural thing to do. I was reminded this today by tutor Amy she felt that I was going a bit blurred in my ideas saying how I should go off the negative space idea and continue with what experiments I was doing yesterday and I agreed. Even though I was pleased I still explored this idea of negative space because I still got ideas for samples and it shows my prolific analysis and experimentation of every idea I get. Instantly when we started talking about what I could do next I was a lot more excited because it felt relevant but still developed from my original research. She said to play around with scale like I was doing before so I would like to try and source some super large piping which can bend and even be paper mache over the top continuing with this idea of adding stiffness to stretch fabric. 

Today my aim was to mainly be making samples and sculptures as I wanted to get some more physical experiments done; therefore over next week I can do design developments and making in easter. Looking at the negative space and interaction of the two people in my stretch draping inspired some mini experiments with the silk clay. The malleability of the substance allowed for mixture of colours and to be able to really imitate the shapes of two people interacting. I then decided to mix this sample in with tubing and add power mesh and stitch stretching super tight. Here I am mixing bulbous shapes and stretch. I like the effects it gives and imagine if the placement of this sample was stuck out on my back or holding my back straight it would create some awkward contortions of the body. Placement will be key in providing detail to add to my bulbous shapes. The placement will identify how the wearer will contort their body and how it makes the viewer look/feel awkward. I have got inspiration for placement by the negative spaces of my stretch draping as shapes have begun to protrude from the hands, stomach, face and back.

Inspired by the Franz West exhibit I did some more paper mache in the afternoon looking at the negative spaces and recreating these shapes using expanding foam, I then paper mache over this. I was pleased with the results of these experiments however I am intrigued to see how they look once incorporated with stretched fabric and the placement of them on the body. I also need to think how these bulbous shapes will contort the body, will it be the stretched fabric, tubing or both. I want this piece to look beautiful when hung and worn. Thinking about the final garment I do think I would need my bulbous shapes around the whole part of the garment but to be honest I am not sure?! By this weekend I really need to be starting to narrow down my ideas and do some design developments maybe even some rough garment ideas using paper just to see what happens and what it looks like.

I was very close to not coming into uni today due to having a doctors appointment in the afternoon however I did as I know that there are only two weeks left until we go away for easter so any teaching time and guidance I can get now is key. Also even though today was a knitting workshop and I know how to knit I wanted to learn to use the knitting machines. I am really glad I did decide to come in as in the morning we learnt to use the knitting machines it was very complex and fiddly but once I got the hand of it I was amazed at the speed in which you could create a sample. I also received my silk clay today. I started by creating lots of mini samples to simply explore the capabilities of the material as it was materials I had never used before.I was amazed at how light and silicone like the material is.  It air dries within four hours and has a great impulsive texture because it looks very smooth and thick but is actually very light. However the cons to this material is that you can often only buy it in small quantities. I will have to do some more research into buying online.

Starting a series of workshops today felt exciting to learn something new and develop my ideas further; I chose the digitial print workshop first as I will be going into print next year. I found the workshop interesting to learn about illustrator as there are many capabilities which come with this however at the same time the colour experiments we were doing felt very repetitive from what we did last Tuesday.  Maybe this is why I did not feel as engaged in the task ahead. We also rushed actually creating print ideas again something I would like to spend more time on in the future.

In the afternoon I did the sculpture workshop as this felt more appropriate to my research and experiments I was doing at the weekend. I created mini experiments out of plastecine using inspiration from two bodies interacting for my silhouette. I found these rather successful when mixed with a stretch fabric because it combined a very heavy weight materials with a contrasting holey and light stretch fabric.. I discussed with Katie how I was struggling to find materials to work with that was malleable but still light in weight. She suggested I try silk clay; I am excited to try this new material hoping I can experiment with shapes but not be limited by the weight of it.

S: What workshop did you choose this morning?

T: I chose to do the print workshop because I will be going on to BA print next year and had never learnt the technique of digital print before.

S: Did you enjoy the workshop?

T: Not really, I actually struggled with it quite a lot. 

S: why?

T: Maybe because its quite technical and not very tactile. But maybe with more work I would enjoy it more. What are your thoughts on my print?

S: They were lovley

E: Could your prints have been improved?

T: Yes I think they lacked detail and were boring and the colours did not match my scheme well enough. They were a bit off.

E: What did you use from your sketchbook for the workshop?

T: The colours came from the colour workshop we did last week with Vic and Francis

E: What software did you use?

S: Adobe Illustrator 

E: How did you create the colour schemes on the computer?

T: We used a research image from our sketchbook and then pixelated this allowing the colours to really group together. It was interesting to see where the colours actually came from in my research. Even though I wasn't happy with the end result, I am very happy that I did the workshop as its something I can continue to develop and I learnt something new today. 

I struggled today to get inspiration for creating my sculptures I couldn't get enough inspiration from the body shapes alone or the shapes I have created from the rubber bands. I did manage to do a few plastasine sculptures and some paper machè scuptures however I hope I could develop more on this tomorrow at the workshop. I did do some thinking of where my theme has been developing recently; the idea that interaction with my garment means contorting the body and an awkward body contortion links to my awkward body: bad posture, lanky etc. Naturally a glove is made for hands however if this was positioned on the end of a trouser leg it would encourage manipulation thus creating interesting silhouettes.

Doing sketchbook work today I noticed how throughout this project the personal part of research where I looked into slouching starting to become more and more prominent in my experimentation and sketchbook work. I think this is due to using myself as a model for most of the draping imagery I have done; at first for the ease instead of asking someone else all the time but also it has allowed me to really implement my posture idea at the same time; allowing my sketchbook to have the same muse throughout. Also as I have been looking into interaction; by me personally interacting with the draping I have been doing it allowed me to develop my next ideas with a good flow. 

Also after my tutorial with Oonah yesterday I knew I needed to do fabric research so I visited cutting edge fabrics and managed to find a good range of stretchy and silky materials in my colour scheme. I particularly liked the softer power mesh style fabrics however I will have to evaluate my fabrics once I have begun to experiment with them. As in previous projects I feel that my fabric choice has been very last minute so this time I would like to be more considered with what I make my final outcome from.

My final outcome looks fun and playful maybe a bit cute due to the colour choice and organic shape. This makes you want to interact with it. However when worn it is actually very awkward you have to contort the body to put it on. Bulbous shapes mixed with stretch. The wearer is not sure how to interact and behave when its worn. However there is an underlying function of helping back posture; representing my personal issues I have with my back posture due to being a very long/ awkward/ lanky person. As people interact with the garment they start to feel how I feel.

Having a tutorial with Oonah today was really helpful in developing even more ideas!! This was great to see yet another persons perspective on my work however I did start to feel overwhelmed as there are so many routes I could go down with this idea. Oonah said I need to start narrowing down my ideas- picking something which excites me more and just sticking to it. Otherwise if I continue to explore all these ideas I have been given my project will be too big and not finished on time! Tonight I think would be a good idea to make another huge mind map this time of which route I should plan to go down and stick with it specifically looking at the materials and processes side of things. Narrowing down my idea to be more specific ( if its improving back posture is it something they can wear while on the tube to do excercises or is it something which keeps your body very stiff and rigid while making you sit up straight? The colouring choice of fabric and even its organic shape may look very playful and fun however once worn it becomes quite awkward and feels very restrictive as it pulls your shoulders back actually reducing your ability to play and interact. You begin to conform to a society of stiff upper lip. It becomes more difficult to interact with others. Tricking the viewer?

After my talk with Oonah I then visited the Franz West exhibit at the Tate. When I know I am going to an artists exhibit I try not to research their work before hand this way I can get a first impression on their work and read all about them at the exhibit where I know the facts are true. I was so excited when I started to read about the artists processes and view his work. The way he combined ordinary objects with paper machè gave the materials a new texture which is not relatable to the object in use. The quirky colours are really fun and add an element of playfulness to the awkward sculptures. There was also a large amount of interactive elements which unknowingly linked perfectly to my current line of research in my current project for unit 7. The audience try to find an appropriate way to wear them and this means they become deliberately awkward. Subverting the audiences expectations on how to behave and interact with the sculptures. Making them feel uncomfortable.

After my brainstorm session of ideas yesterday today my plan was to do a lot of experimentation and a clean photoshoot. I felt a bit overwhelmed with the amount of ideas I had and where to go to them even though this is a good thing to have lots of ideas!! I also did not want to create the same work that I have been creating previously. When creating samples for the photoshoot I did larger versions of my smaller glove samples using sleeves and trouser legs to get a similar effect on a larger scale. I was really excited with how these samples turned out as it created protusions in awkward areas of the body like the middle of the arm or just below the shoulder. I then had a go creating an even larger sample where I could incorporate two sleeves into a ring with the idea of suspension still intact. Again I found this idea really successful but I still wanted to go bigger. Maybe by sourcing some larger tubing which could then include the trouser legs and sleeves? I would have to experiment with this idea small scale first on my imagery. I also want to do some experiments including two people interacting with the fabric together even blindfolded? What happens when touch is all you can use to interact with something. Inspired by Benjamin Madgwicks photography also by not just looking at my draping from the front. Even a birds eye view??.

I simply wish there was more time in the day as I have so many ideas that I want to execute and have in my sketchbook by next week before a whole week of workshops begin. I feel this will be unlikely to achieve. Especially as I am visiting exhibits all day tomorrow. I hope by Friday to have the work from today experimented with and stuck into my sketchbook so by Sunday I can do the large scale stretch experiments and plastecine sculptures inspired by Hussain Chaylan.

Today I had my progress tutorial with Patricia; I was excited to show her my work as I feel like I have improved a lot from the previous tutorial I had with her, I was also a bit nervous though as I always do before any tutorial. I am not sure why and it frustrates me when I do probably because I work so hard I just want it to go well.  Thankfully it went really well; Patricia was happy with where my sketchbook was heading mentioning how the pages looked a lot more considered. I have also noticed the improvements to my sketchbook the pages flow a lot more and have allowed me to explore different research areas in depth. I also gained lots of ideas from this tutorial after being given a numerous amount of artists and experiments to do. I have lots of ideas for this week. To improve I was told to create more sculptures even before draping I could use plastecine to mould shapes and therefore creating quicker ideas more frequently.

Today I continued to stick the large amount of 3D work we were doing throughout the week in my sketchbook. As mentioned before I also created some textile samples exploring my idea of interaction further as I have been doing a lot of draping; this way I could explore textures. I enjoyed using thread to stretch the power mesh through the tubes creating the shapes I have been drawing previously therefore allowing me to really push the limits of the material. When attaching the rubber glove fingers it instantly creates an impulse interaction; could this be done on a larger scale? Cutting up garments attaching sleeves and tights onto power mesh? I was also struggling with where to put the colour palettes we created on Tuesday in my sketchbook they were all too big to fit onto one page and felt it ruined the flow of my sketchbook; I also did not want them permanently stuck down incase needed for sourcing materials. I came up with the solution of putting them all on a portfolio sheet this way they are all together but also allow me to refer to my colour scheme easily.

Collaging with the draping imagery of my paper sculpture I really enjoyed using a poca pen to blend my colour theme into the holes of the sculpture inspired by my research into Ernesto Neto's large scale installations. Due to the paper being a lot more structured and less able to stretch around the body it forced body contortions. Pushing my arms into the paper holes varying in sizes and colouring over my arms begun to look like colourful long gloves referring back to draping I have done before. Overall I am happy with how my explorations have been going in my sketchbook; it feels like there is a good flow between my sketchbook pages and all the drawing I am doing especially the ones over draping have been really useful for me. However I still want to push myself in my sketchbook constantly thinking of new ways to demonstrate ideas. Even though this project has been a lot about the draping of fabric I would like to introduce another technique to add some further texture instead of just hand stitching maybe by doing some smaller textile samples. 

I have realised over unit 7 how much more developed my workflow has begun and now I am really starting to feel the benefits of reflecting daily and enjoy doing it. For example yesterday while doing my reflection it gave me the idea of looking into the twister board game ; something I don’t think I would have thought of if I did not reflect. 

Today we were encouraged to go small scale after working large scale on Monday. I found a two small holes in the wall where I begun drawing hands coming from the holes inspired by the illustrations I have been doing earlier. I did not particularly find this sample very inspiring maybe I did not do it in enough detail? However the second task of finding an object and containing a drawing inside of it was really inspiring for me. I found some rubber bands which I could connect and shape to be similar to the holes I have been creating in previous experiments and inspired by the suspended hoop yoga research I have been doing. Drawing inside of these rubber bands also allowed me to interpret draping imagery from previous experiments and I feel satisfied with the end result- to push this idea further could I use real fabric inside of the rubber bands. Tomorrow I plan to stick all my experiments in and the colour palettes from Tuesday. I was encouraged by tutor Amy to keep my colour palette ideas together as they look much better as a collective instead of separated which is what I was previously going to do. Once layed out onto a sketchbook page I completely agreed as it clearly showed where I have been exploring different colour percentages etc.

Today was mainly sticking all the work I had done throughout the week into my sketchbook I was pleased as I managed to get three pages done today; normally it would take me a lot longer to do so. As the pages included lots of draping and design development it gave me a chance to improve my fashion illustrations. I forced myself to use a wider variety of media and mixing media too like posca and oil pastels. Previously I stuck to using just pencils on illustrations which makes them boring and does not represent all the fabric choices I was making. The bodies of my drawings also had more shape; as I have been researching into contortionists I looked at their body shapes to get inspiration for my drawings; arms were twisted over heads and legs were crossed allowing for a more accurate representation of what my garment would look like in these body positions. As impulsively when we see a hole with a glove on the end of it we want to put our hand in however if this is on the lower end of the garment already you would be encouraging interesting body shapes. A bit like a game of twister!

A colour workshop today was well needed; throughout my sketchbook so far I have used approximately 6 colours all varying in tone, percentage and texture. I needed to narrow this down to a much more considered palette therefore allowing me to start finding materials in these colours. I have also never considered my colour palette so much and especially as I will be progressing to BA print next year. 

Using objects we brought in, compositions started to form exploring different textures with materials and percentages of colour. After creating large scale installations using materials we scaled the materials down to mainly drawing materials, papers and yarns allowing us to really simplify the process. I found this difficult to do at first because I was creating more print ideas however after conversations with tutors it became much clearer. Now these small pieces of paper I can take to the materials shop and begin to colour match exactly to my palette. 

In the afternoon I asked Francis to look through my sketchbook to get yet another opinion of my work!! I have had so many conversations with tutors explaining my whole process especially throughout this week as my ideas have developed and changed. The conversation was really successful and Francis was happy with the direction I was going she encouraged me not to worry also!! She also suggested artist Ernesto Neto who constructs these amazing interactive installations this was an artist I never heard of before so after class I went to the library and researched him. I was so excited to see this artists work and it made me happy to know that the tutor understood my work to suggest an artist so relevant. The way he uses space and holes with tubes that look like tights will be a great link to the current experiments I am doing.

As I have been exploring my developed concept further in particular the idea of impulse interactions. I felt a lot more excited today to create work and. when describing my ideas to tutors who were walking around it was much easier to explain; I was suggested to look into an exhibit JW Anderson did called Disobedient bodies where huge knitted pieces of fabric could be pulled, knotted and interacted with by the viewers.

I feel this drawing workshop was very much needed as over the weekend I was trying to do some drawing pages but struggled to feel confident in my drawing and come up with different ways of drawing. I began to look at my research and the objects I had picked in a different way; really responding to what was in front of me particularly the holes in the objects as this would encourage interaction. When asked to draw small scale I decided to use two media - a chunky posca pen to get the initial shape and then a pencil to add shading – then repeating this for a print idea I knew I wanted to explore it further. We were then told to create a paper manipulation installation. I was really happy to be able to do this because I have been wanting to do some for a while but never found the right time to do it. Learning a new technique of pulling a flat drawing and making it 3D is something I will be keeping in my mind forever because it allowed me to explore a different silhouette from drawing but still keep a flow and good consistency in my sketchbook.

Today I felt a slight block with creating sketchbook pages in my research; maybe due to recent comments on making sure your sketchbook looks good this has made me really overthink every part of my page layout. I need to try and get this out of my head so I can feel more relaxed and simply create; this way I should naturally create better outcomes. 

I then did some experimental draping which felt developed from my previous experiments and the details came from my research into interaction and yoga. I am excited to see where this may develop; incorporating the tights, gloves and socks inspired by Erwin Wurm allowed for unique silhouettes and natural areas of impulsive interaction. 

I think I may be struggling with sketchbook page layouts due to my research starting to wear thin as I have explored each part of this; therefore I looked at my most recent samples and the research into yoga and Erwin Wurm in particular these shapes are something I still want to explore which led me on to contortionists. This way I can explore a more historical background into body interactions. This will help with my sketchbook layout and page developments.

 The ideas of impulse came after a conversation with new tutor Amy, what makes us want to push that red button or touch something without thinking?. An impulse is something we feel we have to act on and something we feel we have to do. When researching into interactions and how my samples become interactive they also need to make the viewer or wearer want to interact with it so it becomes an impulse. This felt like a really interesting route to go down exploring my sample ideas I cut a hole in the jersey and instantly I wanted to put my hand in it allowing for interaction; what if I stitched a glove onto the end of this hole or some tights. How would a stranger interact with this?

Today we had another group crit and this time I talked with a new group of people I have not presented my work to yet. This was perfect to see another perspective to my work and get a honest review as sometimes when presenting to friends  it can be difficult to give criticism. I was given some good suggestions of artists to research and ways of interpreting my research imagery. Looking at an orchestra in a tent who move inside the tent while playing music and distorting the fabric - something very similar I am looking into now. In the afternoon I had another progress tutorial with new tutor Amy. She had a very interesting and helpful perspective on my project proposal mentioning how she felt I was limiting myself in the brief to only textile work when really my work was developing into something different. I agreed and found that what she had been explaining is what I had been feeling these past few days: stuck with the theme I have as there are so many routes I could go down so I found it difficult to describe exactly what I was doing. Amy mentioned how it was okay to feel like that especially at this stage of my learning process where ideas are constantly flowing so I just need to learn to articulate all that information with constant mind mapping etc.

The first day back at uni I felt I was ready for and needed as all the work so far has been independent and I have been struggling to try and explain my concept in one sentence as I feel that my ideas have come from a variety of sources and it’s developed a lot. Talking to peers I found tough again as I did not know how to describe my concept however after a chat with tutors I managed to find some buzzwords which could develop into a sentence including: etextiles, slouch, interaction, reaction and stretch. Here I am really narrowing down everything I am thinking into a few much easier areas to explain however I hope after time that my sketchbook work and final piece will mean I don't have to do much explaining. When talking to tutors I was also told to do a Mindmap as I feel my sketchbook is in two halves (even though both halves are relevant for my development) this really helped to link all of my ideas so far and made it much clearer in my own head and feeling a lot more in control. I was also suggested a book to look at called Inspiring Writing in Art and Design by Pat Francis which would help me to push my evaluation further; I found this really useful in sourcing a visual way of how to organise your ideas.

List for tonight:

Perfect proposal – get another person to read through it – then print it out

Do some workflow – annotate images and add reflection

Sketchbook page finish x1

Yoga poses research print out ? Or wait till library research

After successful experiments on Friday, today I put these images into my sketchbook. Collaging with them allowed me to really show my ideas of pulling the fabric to create points on different parts of the body. I think I have really learnt in these past couple of weeks that when your drawing you have to really think about what your putting onto the page so it can help you with further development. At around midday I then felt stuck; I should have just got out and done some physical experimenting right away instead I struggled trying to create sketchbook pages out of nothing. I am glad this happened though because its a valuable lesson to learn and use in the future. However; once I did do something physical work I was instantly inspired again. This is something I must remember for the future as going back and fourth between experiments and research is the perfect process for me.

After my research day yesterday I had lots I wanted to do today unfortunately after working for the whole day I only managed to get three pages done. I always feel frustrated when I don’t feel like the work I have done shows the amount of time I have spent doing them. However I was really pleased with the pages I did do so I would prefer that than six pages I was not happy with. I feel that my project is developing really naturally and evolving a lot from my original concept of cables at the beginning of inwards/ outwards. I also received the second part of my components today to create more coding experiments this was really exciting as I started to use coding to connect them by Bluetooth meaning they would not have to be connected by a wire and would be a lot more wearable on a garment.

I feel happy that over the research week I have been able to visit lots of exhibits all with a similar underlying theme but containing different concepts. As we have longer for this self-directed project its exciting to be able to take a day out and visit lots of exhibits without thinking all the time about all the work I need to do and then having to rush them. The first exhibit I visited was by an artist called Miroslaw Balka. And it was simply a room with one whole wall being a huge radiator from floor to ceiling heated at 45 degrees. When my parents asked me why I was traveling all the way up to London to visit a huge radiator I was unsure myself however I am very happy I took the time to visit. It wasn’t really about the aesthetics of the piece but more the experience and the interaction you could have with the piece. Something at first glance which looks really harsh and cold is actually very warm, inviting and comforting (I want one in my room!) The idea of this room relates to my research due to the interaction and reaction you have with the radiator and I want my final piece to have a shocking interaction and reaction. Maybe one you did not expect at the beginning.

Next I visited the home futures exhibit at the Design Museum. I loved every bit of this exhibit I think because there was so many elements that interested me like furniture design, fashion, sculptures, performance art and technology. The theme of the future and technology really linked to the research I have been doing so far on coding and human interaction with technology. In particular the “Fly Heads’ for their use of materials which are then applied to the body; almost look a bit like samples we create at uni. The performance art films allowed me to think of my end concept. Performance art films were a common occurrence at the exhibit it was particularly poignant to see how the body came into play with these futuristic samples. Towards the end another room full of furniture was surprisingly the most influential as it mixed human interaction with experimental use of material like chain on a large scale.

Finally I visited Melissa Galeria in Covent Garden for a talk by four designers Fiorella Gianini, Paolina Russo, Sinead O’Dwyer and Clio Peppiatt. It was really interesting to learn how these young creative people have developed their practice in London especially when they have experienced a similar situation I am going through now. 

Today I visited the Glass House at Wisley RHS Gardens for the safari lego exhibit. I thought it would be an unusual link to the V&A gaming exhibit where toys were hacked and as its outside of London it would be an exhibit where not many people I know could visit making it unique. Personally I actually found the lego exotic plants more exciting than the lego animals. The bright coloured combinations inspired colour schemes and the organic shapes made from originally square objects were amazing. The small blocks almost reminded me of pixels when creating digital images online that become blurry when zooming in and will influence me for my own drawings.

Clay samples created yesterday and today really brought my drawings to life I felt even though not completely accurate to what I have drawn my shapes had similarities and after reflection has made me realise that it was better the shapes slightly differed as it has informed new silhouettes for me to explore. Inspired by artists who use movement to inform sounds not just by e-textiles but also by their surroundings it continued to inspire the concept and shapes of my textiles. Naturally the coding aspect has taken a back seat while I developed some physical samples as I struggled to demonstrate all the work I have been doing coding into physical samples and drawings in my sketchbook. However I feel now I have found a clear link I could explore to merge my research and samples and the coding aspect using the python processing software.

As I have found my inwards/outwards research to be really influential I continued to develop my ideas from this remembering the advice on tutors to really push my initial drawings. Therefore I varied my use of media using coloured pencils, acrylic paint and watercolours really looking at my primary images and extracting the inspiring aspects I found from them. After doing this today I found that my drawing definatly improved and gave me lots of ideas to carry on tomorrow; It also made me realise how my sketchbook changed- the pages looked more thorough and therefore I feel that my sketchbook is very separated in two halfs however I did not want to start a new sketchbook because the research done previously even if it looks different to what I am doing now was vital in my ideas. 

Review of Create/Disrupt/Play exhibit at the V&A

 After the recent donation of a V&A membership card by my aunt it gave me the opportunity to visit exhibits that I would have not normally paid for to visit. For example, this time I visited the Create/Disrupt/Play Exhibit all about how games are created and the effects they can have on society. The create part of the exhibit was filled with numerous drawings and prototypes particularly the lengthy process designers go through to get every little detail right. One team in particular visited the sand dunes in Dubai to simply experience what the character in the game would experience and to test how the characters cape would move in the winds. This part of the exhibit could have been more engaging allowing you to learn more visually through games instead of lots of writing; like the other parts of the exhibit where you could test out prototypes it made me want to find out more information. It was exciting to see a new side to the video gaming industry in the Disrupt part of the exhibit where I learnt about feminist gamers and the politics behind gaming. To lighten the mood at the end of the exhibit funky neon lights adorned the ceiling and hung from the walls were huge teddy bears that were hacked with computers stuck to them with duct tape. Overall, I was really pleasantly surprised with this exhibit; it felt refreshing to try something new and has encouraged me to do the same in the future. I think the exhibit is a good price as the exhibit is very large with multiple rooms and areas of interaction. Due to the relation coding has with the background of video games the exhibit really related to my research I have been currently doing.

Another Review of exhibit found online: https://reviewsbyscazza.home.blog/2019/02/13/videogames-design-play-disrupt-at-the-va/ 

Overall I was really pleased with how my assessment feedback went I got some really useful comments from this and it has motivated me to continue with unit 7. Tutor Vic mentioned how my denim project has creative and experimental development but If I had more time my exploration of ideas on the body could have been pushed further. I totally agreed and wished I push my continuous sleeve idea further to have a more unique silhouette. This is something I can do in unit 7 really learning hoe to do design development allowing me to gain a deeper understanding of its importance. For Unit 7 Vic liked where my research was heading and suggested to continue to push initial drawings; again I agree and I want to experiment more initial drawing styles further. But I have been struggling with this lately this may be due to lack of confidence in my drawing skill. Something I want to strengthen by practicing life drawing often and therefore gaining confidence.

The beginning of unit 7 and I felt really excited after the lecture to begin; it also felt quite daunting about how independent all the work would be. However towards prep for the BA I know we will be working much more independently so its good to get used to doing that now. In the afternoon I went to three lectures all based on the idea of coding. The last two in particular were really inspiring and relative to the route I want to take for unit 7. Firstly a group of ual students and alumni who created feminist internet were exploring how women are often objectified and are not given the same opportunities in the technology industry. Mentioning how for example Alexa; a robot that many people rely on nowadays has a very calm women’s voice suggests that as a women we should stay at home answering to whatever demands in a very calm way. This was another way that I could look at coding with women linking my two ideas exploring current trends in technology. We also had alumni students Ellen Jonsson and Irene Albino present their previous graphics project where they used code to hack into a knitting machine and spew out feminist text. It was particularly exciting to see my areas of interests being put into a completely different world. One of the lecturers mentioned how it’s like “having something digital from code and turning it into a physical thing being very satisfying especially to a creative person who may find maths and coding boring”. I hope to develop this idea holding around my research of textiles over this next week.