Unit 1 Reflections

DISCOVERY! That’s what sums up unit 1 for me. 
Rough Guide required my group to ‘map’ Chinatown and Soho. This helped me discover a bit about people on my course, a bit about areas of London I only had touristy knowledge of, and how to work quickly enough to create 100 pages for our book in one evening! Balancing time well has been a key part of this unit- each week our lectures posed new issues to consider and extra tasks to complete alongside our practical work. Immediately I thought- I’ve got to stay on top of all this! Although setting up this blog has been a new venture, I found the format actually encourages good time management. Like an online diary, the ability to create posts that people (like you, hello there!) can instantly access, and to share visually inspiring imagery that helps convey my ideas, quickly appealed. I enjoyed personalising my blog name, banner and the layout of each post; I’m learning that the clarity achieved through selectively refining work is the best way to present a clear concept- both in written and practical terms. 
I’ve also discovered I’m an ideas-led person: my Rough Guide work went from general mapping, to a focus on doors, then specifically intercoms, to the idea of pushing buttons and playing around. I wish I’d been even more ‘posting’-happy when I began blogging, as its fascinating to have a record of all the little influences that have shaped idea development. It’s an aim I’ll work on for the start of my future projects! I’ve enjoyed referring to ‘Pinterest’ almost like a visual source blog, due to the vast amount of imagery it contains, which then sparks off countless other ideas. Visiting lesser-known galleries and exhibitions in link with our lecture series has reminded me that inspiration can be found all over this city…and I can’t wait to keep broadening my perspective and discovering more as the course progresses!

final drawing week

As well as encouraging us to continue drawing from our collections to inspire our technical block work, the drawing weeks have all had something else in common: they challenge conventional ideas about drawing in a fun, and sometimes simply silly way! A breath of fresh air between the intensity of the 2 week assessments, it seems almost a bit sad that this week was our last one. 

On the first day, our first exercise was to 'draw' someone else's shoe from newspaper. I actually really enjoyed modelling this. Thinking about the object in 3 dimensions to be able to recreate it was a good reminder that when you draw with pen and paper the concept is still the same- objects aren't (normally!) just FLAT, they have textures and surfaces and insides....

my paper version of Jess' shoe

Then, in an 'art-attack'-esque fashion (I used to LOVE that show when I was younger), we had to quickly create an image of an animal out of random items of clothing we had with us. It's a good challenge just working with whatever materials you have to hand. Although you are constrained by their physical properties, you are equally liberated, in that you can use them however you want to! This translates to materials for textiles work too. At some point soon I can't wait to get into the wood and metal workshops and create a textile piece that doesn't just involve fabric and thread!

Our lion!

Then we had to combine paper and clothing, using the garment as a landscape for some kind of scene. I turned this hat into a jacuzzi. Everybody made pretty wacky, imaginative things....

some very 'serious' work...!

my jacuzzi hat

John's drawing day was also based around boundaries intended to give freedom. We had to draw our partner next to us using only cube shapes, then circles. It was quite hard to draw them whilst they were simultaneously trying to draw you...let alone the fact that we were drawing by layering up shapes! I found it really enjoyable though, and like exercise from the day before, it pushed me to think more in terms of 3D

My 'cube' drawing of Zehra

Zehra made from circles!

 We then had a truly bizarre task. Writing a list of 10 things we'd change about ourself/super powers we'd like to have, our partner had to translate the information into a medieval-style portrait of us. I told Zehera that I wanted parrot wings, hands that could grow flowers, pogo sticks in my feet and boom-box knees amongst several other crazy things, so she had quite a laugh making my portrait!

Zehra's interpretation of me

On the final day we were working from our Box Clever collection. Claire was continually timing each drawing we did of our objects- mostly we were working between 10 and 30 to 50 seconds...so not all that long at all really! It meant there was no time to consider what we were doing- you just had to work instinctively and keep up with the clock!

series of speedy 30 second sketches 

Towards the end, we drew one of our objects, then left paper ontop of our work, hid the object, and went round as a group writing down what each person's drawing reminded us of. My yo-yo drawing got some fairly interesting comments...

yo yo

...or is it jelly...or a bottle top?!

It made me realise though how beneficial it can be to ask people their opinions about your work. Everyone sees things differently, and a fresh perspective can highlight ideas you might not have ever thought of yourself...or can make you realise that what you thought you were conveying isn't coming across! 

These drawing weeks have been great- a chance to loosen up, have time to reflect and be re-inspired for each new block. And also to just have a good giggle- which we all need, don't we?! 

Theory Reflections

Seeing as its a new year, we have a new theme to ponder on our ‘theory fun fridays’ (as I still like to call them!). With this change in mind, I can’t help thinking back to our lectures about ‘The Museum’ last term. The series has definitely raised many lasting questions for me about the role of the museum, and how curator’s inevitably shape the narrative of what we see in a gallery space through their display choices, how things are labelled, the objects that are included…and what is left out! I think Emmanuelle was definitely provoking us to feel cynical and to take on a questioning mindset when we visit exhibitions. At first I was a little unsure how to react- I didn’t want to ruin the enjoyment of going to museums to be inspired, explore and simply SEE by constantly looking at things through a skeptical, critical mindset. Some elements of the lectures just seemed so depressingly negative! But at the same time, it felt empowering to be encouraged to question the narratives we are presented with. To think: who has decided that this is the story I should see? Why have they told the story in this specific way? Does this mean I have the whole picture, or do I need to look further?  If the Museum’s role is to educate, then surely taking this inquisitive approach as a visitor allows us to become much more informed. By actively engaging with the narrative in the space, and consciously considering the curator’s choices, surely we can learn more, find deeper inspiration and ultimately actually enjoy the experience more than if we simply go to observe, passively accepting and quickly forget what we’ve really seen. The idea of ‘mining the museum’ is actually quite exciting! 

In light of this, I started reflecting again on an exhibition I recently went to: ‘Hello My name is Paul Smith’ at the Design Museum. I liked how the Curator’s hadn’t attempted to control and confine the visitor by restricting how you moved around the space. Although there were different themed areas in separate rooms, they surrounded one central ‘hallway’ filled with photos from Smith’s own personal collection. This meant that from the entrance, you could then access any area at any time. As a result it didn’t feel like a linear, set narrative was being forced on you- the visitor could chose the order of the story, and easily return to a space if they wanted to re-engage with the ideas being explored there. Rather than presenting an overly clean, simplified and sanitised story of Smith’s work, the exhibition covered his whole creative process. Some fashion exhibitions and retrospectives seem to focus primarily on displaying countless beautiful final outcomes, but here rooms were made into reconstructions of Smith’s messy office and studio, with only a small area dedicated to showing a selection of finished garments. I thought this worked to give much more of an interesting insight into the process behind Smith’s work. As a result, I felt I understood his finished pieces better, as we’d been given a view into the thinking, struggles and development that led up to it. 

In summary, a few mantras I'll take away from last term's theory are: be inquisitive, question things...and if a museum tries to control and confine you- attempt walking around the exhibition backwards just to defy their prescriptive narrative! 

Final Screen Print Samples

This is how my final collection of screen print samples turned out. 

I enjoyed print- it was interesting to experience the contrast between the digitalised process of CAD and the  busy, messy, hands-on nature of screen printing. I realised they are both similar in how layers are relied on- in digi print, its 'layers' of photoshopped motifs, and for screen print it's layers of stencils and colour. 

I was really pleased with my digital prints (you can look back at them here http://hannahhappymaking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/my-digital-print-designs.html !), and I feel like my final screen prints are also successful in conveying the sense of fun, energy and excitement of my 'Box Clever' research. I decided to apply sections of foil over the top of some of my prints to link to the shiny nature of lots of my objects, and I'm pleased with how this helped to give them their own identity. If I could repeat the process again, I would have loved to have had more time to experiment with the layering of my stencils, as I ran out of time to even use everything I had cut, let alone explore the full potential of each design. The time pressure resulted in some ink spillages and slightly messier areas that might not have happened otherwise, but it was a good challenge to work with the process and learn to adapt and shape my ideas in response.  

I know for sure that colour and pattern is my thing! Now I just have 1 final technical block: stitch. Then I'll have to decide which area will be my final specialism. I always thought I had a leaning to print...but we'll see!

Screen Print Process 2

As I've found in all the technical blocks so far, work is not over when the technical process is done. After printing my silk, it had to be steamed (thank you Margret, the lovely technician who sorted this bit out for us!), washed and ironed. Then, as I had decided to print onto a large piece of silk, instead of smaller sample sized pieces, I had to decide how to cut up my work.... why is it that making the first cut into a bit of fabric always a tad on the nerve-wracking side?!

I already knew roughly where I wanted to cut my silk from my design sketches and the ideas I'd envisioned while printing. However, before simply snipping away, I decided to do a bit of draping on a mannequin to test out my prints in relation to the human form, for further ideas of how the patterns could be effectively used and divided up. 

I then made a card template I wanted the final fabric samples to be, and did some final experimenting, laying the template over parts of the silk to check for other ways to resolve my designs that I hadn't considered yet, that might also potentially work. 

It was quite fun continuing to experiment with my work in this way. I'll try and keep up this attitude with future projects ahead- always thinking- how could I change this? what would happen if I do that? or add this? or put that here? or turn this upside-down?! 
Seeing as my Box Clever work all derives from the idea of 'playing around', taking a playful approach to my prints also just seemed rather apt anyway!

After cutting up my silk, I then finished the edges and made fabric headers. Having to really consider the presentation of our work for each of the technical block assessments has been really helpful, as the extra effort makes the final samples look much more finished, professional and communicates the feel of your work in a much cleaner, clearer way. Pictures of the finished samples will be posted soon!

Screen Printing Process 1

My two days in the print workshop last week were pretty full on. We learnt how to mix acid dyes (as silk is a protein fibre, 'acid milling' and 'acid levelling' dyes create effective prints on the fabric), how to use the dyes as a printable colour, and how to wash the screen to print again. 

Mixing the dyes felt like a bit of a crazy science experiment, as you have to measure out different amounts of the powders and chemicals in a fume cupboard and then  heat them, following a special 'recipe'. I chose to print in pink, yellow, orange, blue and purple- colours taken from my box clever research. Unfortunately, I found it hard to get going, as on the first day the backing cloth where I was working was dirty, so black ink from someone's previous prints came through onto mine- not what I wanted! Then on the second day, after we'd changed the cloth, there were 2 fire alarms which we had to evacuate for. This meant I had to learn to get on with my printing pretty fast to get my samples done in the afternoon! Margret, the print technician, was great and encouraging though, and when I got into the swing of things, I found the process really fun and was sad to have to stop at the end of the day! Screen printing seems like quite a progressive art,  as you work in layers, deciding between each print what you will add ontop next, and how overprinting in another colour with another shape/design will change the design that you have already built up. 

taping one of my stencils to the screen to print

Printing in progress!

goodbye stencil- it was sad to wash them off the screen after use!

building up layers of colour and pattern

prints in progress

Inspired by Antoni and Alison's carefree, energetic SS13 prints, Sarah Raphel's work I saw at the Museum of childhood and Louise Gray's busy and bold layered prints, (the in-depth posts about these influences can be found here, http://hannahhappymaking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/fashion-print-inspiration.html , here, http://hannahhappymaking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/making-stencils.html and here http://hannahhappymaking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/inspiration-sarah-raphaels-childhood.html!) I enjoyed working on a large piece of silk like it was a big canvas to experiment on. It helped me to design in quite a free, fun way, knowing that I could simultaneously build up different areas of pattern all at once. Also, because I could see my designs all at once as one big picture, I was conscious of wanting to make a family of prints, with my playful vision running through all of them. I was quite careful about my colour choices and how many times I repeated the same stencils however, as I wanted to make sure there would be enough variation in my work to give the final samples their own identity and make an exciting, surprising collection. 

my printed fabric steamed and ready to wash, iron, cut up and present!

Playing with prints

Seeing as I've had PRINT on my mind lately with the technical block work, when I was out browsing some shops the other day, I couldn't help zoning in on the patterns that were around. I started off just taking snaps of prints I liked, but then ended up trying on a few printed garments to experiment with how patterns could go together too. It was good fun!

Geometrics

Florals

Slogan/Graphic

Organic shapes & hand painted feel

Combing Patterns 

Sometimes garments with contrasting patterns work well worn together. But sometimes the same pattern all over on each separate garment creates a bold statement- like my final double dark floral skirt and top pairing! 
(Just incase you were wondering...it was all for research and inspiration- I was very restrained and only brought socks and tights on this 'shopping trip', ha!)