The Stafford Knot

Easing my way back into my art work after Christmas festivities, I have began by looking closer to home with my research. Ironically, I didn't have to look far, with The Stafford Knot being the symbol for my home county, Staffordshire. 

Researching the symbolism behind the knot, it appears that there are multiple supposed reasonings behind the emblem- some believe that it was first found on the shield of the Stafford family in 1583, others believe it was found on the family seal of the Lady of Wake in 1443, etc etc...

One of the most popular stories originates from the sentencing of three criminals to death, by a hanging in Stafford. When the executioner arrived to commit the hanging, he realised that he only had one piece of rope...problem. It would be unfair to give precedence to only one of the condemned. Therefore he tied his single rope into three loops and hung all three of the criminals at the same time.

I had never known the story behind the knotted symbol, so incorporating my heritage into my work has bought a new interest to my project. 

Eunsuk Hur Artist Inspiration

Found whilst searching through the library Elle Decoration magazines, 2009 issue holds the beautiful creations of Eunsuk Hur. Using the methods of laser-cutting, acid printing and etching fabrics, Eunsuk creates beautifully patterned, multi-layered pieces, suitable for both an interior and fashion setting. 

The designer takes her source of inspiration from the natural world, 'fascinated by the way that animals and plants respond to their environments as they grow'. Hur's designs adapt and change depending on how they're worn- both in their apparel and interior state- 'the outcome of her deeply considered garments are irresistibly touchable, textured pieces'. I love the way that the pieces appear adaptable to the consumer, and also the patchwork structures found in their pattern. The repetitive patterns, alike to those found in knots, creates beautiful shapes and for experimentation I would like to play around with different sizes and textures.

http://eunsukhur.com/

Shire Hall Gallery/ Unit Twelve Research

Back in Staffordshire, and another inspiring day around my favourite local galleries, The Shire Hall Gallery and Unit 12. I have grown up taking inspiration from both of these beautiful locations, so try and get back as much as possible to see their exhibitions/ take part in workshops.

The Shire Hall Gallery
https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/museumandgalleries/shirehallgalleries/home.asp

http://www.drawntostitch.com

The above photographs feature the work of Louise O'Hara, my favourite textiles art (who I believe I have mentioned a number of times during my blog). I am drawn to her unique skill of turning scraps of fabrics and stitching into the most intriguing pieces of art work, especially drawn to the embellishment pieces, for example the lace and buttons.

As well as these pieces, the galleries' current exhibition entitled 'Illuminate', explores the work of artists that create work around light through many mediums including sculpture, installation and photography. Artist Jo Berry caught my eye for her bold patterns and layered imagery. I am not a fan of the colouring, purely on the basis that it doesn't fit in with my preferred colour scheme, but it's the idea that counts. I find this to be an alternative to the layering of paper that is found in Angela Davies' work (in earlier blog post). link to her work:
http://www.joberry.co.uk/index.php/news/article/Illuminate_Exhibition_Shire_Hall_Gallery_Stafford_/

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Unit Twelve
http://www.unittwelve.co.uk

Jennifer Collier's gallery, Unit Twelve has been mentioned many times in this blog. The current feature is the Contemporary Craft Open Art exhibition, with submissions from across all types of art fields. 

http://www.alicefox.co.uk

One piece that really stood out in this exhibition was Alice Fox's 'Pavement Pieces'. I was first drawn to her use of mark-making, which at first looks as though done with brush strokes and rust, however one closer inspection it appears to be absolutely gorgeous hand stitching. I think that this work is influential for both it's colour palette and patchwork appearance.

Christmas Markets

Looking a bit more into my interest in sparkles and texture, my housemate and I took a trip to the Manchester Christmas Markets. Catching my eye were the arrays of bauble decorations and the use of fragmented glass upon candle holders. I also looked through my photographs from last year's trip to the Munich markets, and again, I appeared to take interest in the shapes and collections of decorations. Baubles to me, remind me of large scale jewellery pieces, especially the ones produced with fragments of glass. I like looking at the textures that they have, and how the light reflects from them.

These photographs will be used as part of my mood boards, looking at the textures and forms created. 

Artist Inspiration: Alabama Chanin, Knots

And we're off again.... Knots. This time in the form of interior designers Alabama Chanin. The brand strives to produce 'well-designed and thoughtfully-made goods for the person and the home'. Although this is there only use for knots (that I have found), I draw great influence. In tutorial we discussed different materials that I could experiment with to create knotted samples, with one example being strips of collected fabrics. I feel that using this material will bring a great tactile and unknown element to the pieces, regarding how the pieces would sit on the body and respond to the construction of knotting techniques. In development I could experiment with different weights of fabrics to see how they differentiate. 

http://www.alabamachanin.com

                        

video as to 'how to knot': http://vimeo.com/62208454

Statement Jewellery in the Comfort of Our Home

Living with five girls has an advantage... LOTS of jewellery

This evening we have all had a lot of fun routing through our jewellery stashes, taking photographs and showing off all of the sparkles. The pieces are great for my research, we all have similar styles- bold, statement jewellery that can glam up any outfit- ranging from Zara, Accessorize, New Look, vintage stalls, inherited etc. I decided to include these photographs into my research stages, looking at the different materials/ forms/ trends/ textures that are currently on the market. (all photographs in sketchbook)

During our photo shoot- Jasmin pulls out a beautiful knotted necklace.  Obviously this fits perfectly into my personal brief, knots and jewellery. I took close up photographs of the piece, looking at the links between the pieces and also how, when blurred, the pieces look like sequins. 

I love the patterns and shapes that were found in this research. An idea that I am having for final pieces could be creating chunky pieces of jewellery (looking predominantly into necklaces), and with small (knotted) embellishments added for extra layers. In terms of research, I am going to be looking up more artists that use knotted pieces alike to Grace Hamilton, as well as designers that use small details.

Manchester Art Gallery: Dazzle

After this morning's tutorial, my friend and I headed over to the Manchester Art Gallery, to see if I could gain my starting  point visual research from there, as I had read that there was an exhibition entitled 'Dazzle' being shown. (More designers to be found in sketchbook)

I really liked the work of  designer maker, Angela O'Kelly. She is an artist that combines jewellery with textile and sculpture, working in both mixed media and paper. O'Kelly draws inspiration from simple shapes, textures, repetition and colour in urban and rural landscapes. Again, it is her embellishment that I draw my eye towards- it gives her simple pieces an extraordinary beauty. 

Grace Hamilton, Niki Jones, Fromental

This evening I have been researching the artists/ designers that were recommended in this morning's tutorial. They feature designs from jewellery to interiors, so I am momentarily feeling very inspired. I feel that the pieces that I have selected (in sketchbook) best represent my style/ interests, and will also link well into the Dash and Miller project- in their brief they specify that the mixed media collection of samples 'are usually stripe, plaid or geometric patterns, created using a mix of screen-printing, yarn wraps, embroidery and laser cutting techniques'. I feel that researching these three designers has helped to think more about the patterns that can be created through my initial ideas.

Grace Hamilton
http://www.gracehamilton.co.uk

Grace Hamilton, former MMU grad, creates handcrafted jewellery pieces, using traditional crochet and knotting techniques. She is inspired by contrasts between colour, texture and shape and driven by a love for sculpture. I think that Grace's work makes for good research for myself as I am using knots as my main focus point in this unit, and to see them as finished garments gives inspiration for finished samples/ pieces.

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Niki Jones
http://www.niki-jones.co.uk

“I decided to start my own company because I couldn’t find what I wanted to buy online – well designed and well crafted pieces for my home that were a bit special”

I don't think that this designer can be described any better. Niki Jones is an interior designer with the promise to never make the same piece twice. I am inspired by Jones' use of geometric shapes and clashing colours, this could be an interesting focal point for my sampling, I have never experimented with straight lines before, only circular. 

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Fromental
http://www.fromental.co.uk

Company, Fromental produces the most exquisite wallpaper samples, with all containing textured surfaces, usually embroidered/ embellished, and hand painted details. The company is inspirational on the basis of their contemporary and very British designs, in the image above, I am drawn to the use of layering of fabrics and velvet-like textures. I feel that alike to Niki Jones, I will be able to draw shapes and colour palettes into my work through research of this company.

Last Tutorial of 2013

Today has been busy. 

This morning was our final tutorial of 2013 with Fiona. It was great to hear the ideas that both Claire and Phoebe were thinking about for their units, we all have very different ideas, so recommending ideas to one another always proves helpful. I ran over my ideas of using the concept of knotting and jewellery as my starting point for this unit, and although i'm still all over the place with my ideas, it had a positive reaction. I am wanting to look at the f o r m s, textures and SIZES that can be created with my chosen subjects, incorporating baubles, glass and jewels.,,

I explained to Fiona that i'm still debating between working in interior vs apparel, with my research proving a 50/50 split between the two.  Luckily I've been advised not to come to any decisions over  live briefs as of yet, to keep my options open and decide when my research begins. The main runners are;

interior: Laura Ashley/ Nina Campbell (found in research)

apparel: Elie Saab/ Tom Ford

I'm not massively aware about what's on the market ie interiors and embellishments, as I have always taken inspiration from everywhere, not just set designers/ artists, so luckily with it being Fiona's forte, she was able to recommend some fabulous designers to research.....

Niki Jones- interior embroidery

Fromental- embellished wallpapers

MMU grad Grace Hamilton- incorporating knots into jewellery

My plans for over the next week, and the Christmas holidays are

- produce mood boards and drawings showing my interests, influences, and colour schemes.

- start looking into visual and market research

- and then development of drawings for my first tutorial back. 

I am feeling extremely motivated for this unit, as I feel I need to up my game as I know I am capable of achieving more. 

Knots, Knots and More Knots

There now seems to be a running joke as to how obsessed I am with french knots, to the point that I am known as the 'French-Knotting queen' with the girls in tutorial....oops. I can't help it, I am just SO inspired by the use of them in embellishment. I need to experiment a lot more this unit with different sizes, styles and materials so that I can get the most out of the technique, and work towards the learning outcomes. 

During research when I was scrolling through pinterest I came across a collection by Givenchy, incorporating textured knots into dresses. The pieces are beautiful. The garment looks as though it has adapted the french knotting technique through beading and what appears to be cotton wool balls (though i'm sure that Givenchy is more sophisticated than cotton wool). The piece reminds me of reflective surfaces, alike to those found through baubles/ mirror images. I also like the white on white effect, which works with the palette of my choice.

I have been told that french knots on their own are becoming too repetitive in my work, so as a send off I have produced one last sample as a starting point, using the colours that I have been interested in through my library research. Their tactile quality and textured surface are stunning.

So, in our first tutorial Fiona recommended the 'Ashley Book of Knots' as a perfect starting point for me, 600 pages of knotting techniques, that is what I call inspirational to the max. My project is going to be centred around them. I am now needing to look through the knotting bible and begin to play around with the techniques and methods, and see where it will take me. I also need to have a look for some more artist influences, to see how knots have played a role in industry in the past years or fashion/ interiors.

Lecture- Textiles Artist, Angela Davies

To kick off the new project we've had MMU grad and textiles artist, Angela Davies, come and speak to us in our weekly meeting. Her work is stunning, it's that simple. She looks at collections and installations, focusing on the landscape, and very cleverly adapting materials such as papers and lace as tracing methods of the land's contours 'mapping space, mapping place, mapping time'

http://www.angeladaviesartist.co.uk

Our current unit, Locating is all about connections/ thinking about where we want to go in industry. So how did Angela get to where she is today? It appears that she didn't know how to reach goal alike to may of us on the course now, deciding to follow a path of creativity that meant one thing led to another, and so on. A massive point that was mentioned was the push to create connections and opportunities, it's not about what you know, it's about who you know.

I absolutely adore Angela's use of lace (featured above photograph). The use of lace in general and the patterns that can be found in them, it is such a delicate material, not something that can be easily manipulated. I really like the effect of placing light onto the lace, and looking at the markings and use of layering that become apparent.

Her work reminds me of another big influence to me, another MMU grad, Julia Jowett, who uses lace and wire to create the most beautiful and intricate pieces of work, adapting the materials into beautiful motifs. I am wanting to use these two ladies for my initial artist researches. They both interest me for their neutral colour palettes and use of what looks like stitch through lace. As I am going to be looking at jewellery for my personal briefs, it would be interesting to look at the markings that can be discovered by looking at how light can effect material objects.

http://www.juliajowett.blogspot.co.uk

Choosing a Live Brief/ Writing Nightmares

Continuing my research into the live projects, I've managed to narrow it down to two that I find the most interesting/ exciting , Dash and Miller vs. Urban Outfitters; 

Dash and Miller:
http://www.dashandmiller.com

Dash & Miller studio specialises in the design, development and production of woven fabrics for the fashion and interior industries. When I first began reading their competition brief, it was aimed at weave, but as told, I am being open minded towards it and can see a gap for it to be adapted in to. The main idea is to design a collection of samples for a chosen designer, looking at their past trends and manipulating it into a new, yet fitting sample. I like the idea of choosing a designer to research, as it gives a starting point for the unit. Another advantage is that it is encouraged to look at both apparel and interior, and I am still unsure which direct path I am wanting to take. I have always been inspired by both, with the likes of Elie Saab and say, Laura Ashley. As I am wanting to use the key theme of embellishment, it would be more common to use on apparel, but can be adapted.

Urban Outfitters:
http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk
http://www.artsthread.com/urban-outfitters-arts-thread-design-competition-holiday-gift-shop-14/

For the Urban Outfitters brief, you are asked to design the ultimate statement piece to complete any holiday look, with a christmas inspired theming. I am VERY inspired by statement pieces, jewels and embellishments at the moment, so it would seem to be the perfect brief, however without a focused starting point, and without wanting to copy designs that are already found in the current market, it would be difficult to create. It is also a nice idea to be able to incorporate my love of knotting- I just don't want to fall flat out of ideas before the eight weeks is up.

I am possibly going to go with the Dash and Miller project, though that's not final decision. There is always the option of combining the two, something that I will need to talk to Fiona about in next week's tutorial. I am thinking that I could base my personal brief upon knotting and jewellery as a concept, leading on to creating prints from their forms for a selected Dash and Miller brand. We'll see...

Locating Initial Tutorial with Fiona

This morning we have had our first tutorials with Fiona to discuss our ideas for the live and personal briefs. Baring in mind it's been less than 24 hours since we heard about them, as a group we all seem clueless as to what we are wanting to do. We also have the run up to our Contextualising Practice essay hand in deadline, so my main focus is on that at the moment. 

With this said however, I had gathered ideas regrading my strengths/ where I could see myself working and tried to base ideas for my brief around these points... I am MASSIVELY influenced by;

- embellishments

- hand embroidery

- obviously french knots (I am now known as the queen of knots thanks to tutorials)

- looking at textures and colour schemes

One of the main points that was mentioned in my Intentions Unit feedback was that the colour scheme was unclear, so I am wanting to start off with a colour scheme and work from that to achieve a brief. Also similar feedback to textures, playing with weights of fabrics and scale using materials. It was indicated that my strengths lay in stitch research, and so I shall definitely continue to play around with stitching both hand and machine.

The feedback given by Fiona was extremely helpful as always-  for my brief guidelines I need to think about my interests, not only in methods of working, but in general life too. After last unit I feel that I really need to up my game, have a set idea from the start and one that contains literal, not expressive starting points, as I found it very hard to begin without any solid research. For this week's plan I have decided that it will be best to look at library research, magazine collections/ journals (for example Elle Decoration) and begin to think about brand matching, colour schemes and mood boards that are going to represent my ideas and interests clearly.

Locating Initial Briefing/ Embroidery Meeting

So, we're back after our first big assessments, all relaxed and ready to tackle our next unit, Locating. This morning we've had our initial briefing with Teresa, and have been briefed on what is expected of us over the next eight weeks. We are doing two briefs, one live brief- entering competitions for large brands across all faculties of the industry, and the other, a personal self-directed brief, which is going to be worked on alongside the competition, hopefully with the two projects involving similar ideas. 

At first glance, and having each competition brief being explained to us quite quickly, it appeared that none of the briefs are directly orientated towards embroidery- most take form in print or construct sampling- so my initial thought was 'o oh, what do I do'. I feel as though when I've read through them all and researched into some of the brands in more detail, I'll (hopefully) have a better understanding as to where I want to start. 

This unit sounds daunting, less time to complete two projects. It is going to be a learning curve in the sense of time management, and being SELECTIVE with work. I feel that I know the kinds of artists and designers that my work suits best against, and that doing my own personal briefs will bring a better understanding as to where I want to fit in the industry after our course.

After the briefing we had a quick Embroidery meeting, with the focus points being that we need to approach the briefs carefully, and to be open minded towards the live briefs that we choose- they are all able to be manipulated towards an embroidery/ mixed media approach. I have a tutorial tomorrow morning with Fiona to discuss initial ideas so I am using tonight to think about my strengths/feedback from previous unit, influences, and briefs that i'm interested in.