SO Many Ideas, SO Little Time/ Talking With Fiona

Things feel as though they are getting a little out of hand this week. We have just under four weeks until deadline day, and I feel as though I'm stuck in a jumble of work. I really need to focus and try to work out a plan for the week, in order to settle my worries of work. I feel that this project is going well, and there IS an obvious direction that my work is going in, it's just trying to explain it that is proving difficult!

Yesterday afternoon I sat in the studio with Phoebe, and we spoke informally, yet in detail about our projects, helping one another with ideas. It's always a nice way to spark new ideas and bounce off each other's working styles- I find it much easier to sit in the studio with the girls, with inspiration all around, than at home which is full of distractions. Later on in the afternoon it was refreshing to be able to sit with Fiona for a good amount of time, and have a really lovely chat about her style of working, inspirations and in general, career- it's not something that we hear much about in tutorials, so really enjoyed it.

Some of the things that I need to think about are my glue gun samples and colour palette ideas. I need to think what to do with them, whether they'll fit into my project etc etc. This week I decided that going home for a couple of days may help to clear my head- by leaving the bulk of my work in Mancester I should be able to just sit and get on with some sketchbook work with no distractions. The train journey home is always a great time to gether thoughts- I got on with my fabric/ yarn technical file- I'm glad that I went along with creating one, it's a great way to find weights and textures quickly and easily, without aving to rumage through hundreds of samples and store. I also wrote out all of my ideas for this unit- where it's heading and how to get there.

Hopefully if all goes to plan, it means I shall be able to turn my drawings into embroidery samples next week in the machine room.

Tailor-Tacking Sampling

It's been a while since I braved the Bernina machines. I decided that this afternoon I really had to go back and think about the skills that I had learnt in first year (which were A LOT), so I put myself back on the machines, trying out the idea of embellishments with the tailor-tacking foot. I managed to pick it back up straight away, which came as a bit of a surprise. I love the result that the tailor-tacking foot produces, with it's loose threads and ability to unthread parts to create little looped textures. These reminded me of my loops linear knots. Some of the samples came out quite poorly, but that is more down to the fact that I have forgotten how to pull away the threads, sometimes unravelling my whole design. 

I used the machine to replicate the idea of lace, keeping to the same themes I used on the Cornely 121, just in a simpler form. I am really pleased with the sample, especially as the stitch itself gives a great texture to the pieces. I didn't get as many samples done as I'd have liked, however I have all week to continue to play around with colours, materials and scales.

Monday Morning

Another week, another early start. I think that the past two weeks of really long, busy days had caught up with me this morning, so getting up and motivated didn't come easily. I forced myself into the studio though, as I knew I'd feel even more rubbish if I stayed in the house moping around all day.

Starting the day with an Omni machine induction was interesting- I enjoyed the learning the method, but overall I don't really know how I'll be able to incorporate the technique into my current work. With this said, the machine has the facilities to produce larger sized embellishments- agreeing with the ideas given by Karen Nicol- large details are easier to see (and possibly quicker to produce) so maybe playing around with it will change my mind.

I was supposed to go straight into a second workshop on the advanced cornely cording machines but decided to prioritise group tutorial. As I am missing them to be in workshops it means I'm not seeing anybody else's work, and that couple of hours on a Monday morning with Fiona and the girls always give me the motivation and inspiration I need to start the week. So I headed up, still in a bit of a rubbish mood, which thankfully didn't last too long. Seeing everybody cheered me up massively, it was SO lovely to see how both Claire and Phoebe were getting on, and to also talk about my work with them both in, and after tutorial.

I felt as though I hadn't really gotten a lot of new things to show Fiona since our meeting last week- which was annoying as I'd been in the studio for long hours every day last week. I've been busy trying to finish all of the little projects that have been started over the last couple of weeks- producing more new work is means I'm losing track of my starting points and the tasks that I need to do in order to develop my work. As well as this, there's been CP, workshops, TIP interviews and a thousand other bits and pieces to do, which has slowed down all progress this past week. 

I had my lace samples, and I was SO pleased to hear the positive feedback towards them- hearing that having skills to produce pieces like that will give me a fantastic chance in the industry was really encouraging, and helped turn my mood around straight away. It appears to Fiona that I am definitely going down a fashion designing route at the moment, which I don't mind, I just never really expected to hear that about my work. I am going to continue to use all of my machine skills to build up a portfolio of samples, as they seem to be my strongest pieces.

I also had some more research bits and bobs to run alongside both of my projects, including the ideas for paper-cut work, and other lace bits and bobs. In regards to my Elie Saab samples, we spoke last tutorial about the patterns found on his garments- and I have decided that I would like to incorporate the MMU School of Art architecture into my designs, to give the brief a nice focus point.

Another thing we spoke about in regards to samples were different medias that can be experimented with. I'd seen on Fiona's website a gorgeous commission piece, 'A Delicious Garden', similar to a lace cut pattern, produced on the laser cutter, so have requested an induction to test out this skill. Also, on the ground floor, a selection of work had been pinned onto the walls that I was recommended to have a look at for some more ideas- obviously I was first drawn to the delicate french knotting pieces, and also a larger sample that appeared to have been produced on the Omni.

http://www.fionacurran.co.uk/

I have decided that this week really is going to be about catching up with all of the little bits and pieces that have been started, and just in general feeling as though I can walk into tutorial next Monday with a clear explanation and brief for my work so far, and an idea as to how I am going to be managing my time for the last few weeks of the project.

Meeting with Angela Davies

Before we broke up for half term I had attended an extremely helpful and inspiring lecture with textile artist, Angela Davies. As I had enjoyed the lecture so much, I both spoke to her after the lecture had finished, and again over email a few weeks later. Out of the blue I recieved an email a couple of days ago asking if I'd like to meet, and help her today with part of her new piece of work. Of course, I was thrilled and more than happy to help- it meant that I was able to speak to her one to one and ask some more questions regarding her work.

 

Meeting this morning was a breath of fresh air, it meant that I could clear my head from my own project for the day and enjoy doing something different, hopefully coming away with some fresh new ideas. For her piece, I was involved in creating small, laced samples which would be strung together and assembled into a large hanging. We used a wire wrapped with sylko thread, creating intricate and very delicate squares. It is a lovely idea, especially with my passion for small detailing. 

 

 

We spoke more regarding her practice, and Angela very kindly looked through my recent work, and offered advice and artists/ exhibitions to look to for the next basis of my project. I found one artist- contemporary lace maker Gail Baxter to be extremely helpful. Her pieces showing installation through lace, rather than a flat surface pattern. Going back to my own project, I could see samples like these being produce some how- maybe with another material and a different pattern being formed. I enjoyed working with the thread covered wire, as it takes both the shine and rough appearance away from the piece, giving it back it's delicate form.

 

 

Cornely 121 Lace

As mentioned in my previous post, I was really interested to push the Cornely 121 technique and see what kind of samples I could manipulate the machine to do. As I am looking at lace, I thought that I may as well start with something difficult, just to see what the outcome would be like and to determine whether or not this was going to be a suitable machine for my project. I'm not usually someone to brag about my work, but I am so, so chuffed with how my first samples came out! I didn't expect to be able to create something so beautiful...

It took a while to get to grips with the settings of the machine, it's quite a delicate, slow process, and uses a lot of thread and cording, so each sample took a long time to set up. After I'd created my first sample neatly, I managed to cut the sample making timing down by a rather large amount, by making the samples with continuous lines, instead of stopping and starting for every section. yes- it made the samples a little messier, but I am wanting to layer up these pieces, so a little less detail isn't too much of a problem. I am going to continue to produce more samples on this machine, next looking into cut-work and layering.

One-to-One Tutorial

After the day's workshops, I finally managed to catch up with Fiona later in the afternoon. It is slightly irritating that workshops always coincide with tutorials, as it means that i'm unable to see how everyone else is getting on and share my ideas to help them with their projects and vice versa, but there's not a lot that can be done about it. On the other hand I really enjoy one to one tutorials as it means I can just focus on my own work, spend time asking more questions, and come away with a clearer direction of exactly what needs doing in the week ahead.

Today's key points;

GLUE GUN/ YARN STRANDS. The glue gun samples were a success, creating interesting pattens; the next step was to decide how to present them- could I possibly embellish onto them, wrap yarns around them, use invisible threads to secure them down, maybe print with them? The list goes on, and as usual my head was spinning with ideas. The same applied with the photocopies of the knotted yarns, and also the original samples, how could they be developed and presented... This is something I'm going to have to play around with, to achieve the best results.
TWO BRIEFS IN ONE? At the moment the two projects are becoming very similar, so I need to jump back a few steps, and go back to my research stage of my personal brief and start drawing my knots again. The two briefs don't have to have the same colour schemes, so working on a new one for my live project will be done both this week, and in next week's colour workshop.
BRING THE KNOTS BACK. The joke is back again, my knots seem to have gotten lost in the development process; I have been so focused on the lace side of my work they seem to have momentarily been pushed out of the frame, losing the personal side to my brief. As stated above, I need to go backwards this week and produce some drawings, attempting to re-ignite my knotted ideas.
SAMPLES. I was really touched when Fiona said that she thought that I had grasped the cornely really well and that the samples from the previous unit had a lot of potential to spark ideas for this unit, so I need to get myself back on the machines, which I've said will be my main focus over the next three weeks.
BRIEF WRITING. As we are getting further into the project, I need to start thinking about properly writing up my personal brief. Of course as I have been going along I have had a clear idea of what it is I want to get out of this project, I just need to device a final written brief at some point this week.
ELIE SAAB. Today has been the first time that I have brought in any work to do with the Dash and Miller brief, and I have been struggling in regards to what needs to be included in the portfolio. The key ideas around the portfolio need to be the designer's style, colour schemes, materials and compositions- which will be researched in more depth this week.

The tutorial has given the basis for a lot of work and research for the week. I am going to mainly be focusing on getting to grips with the advanced 121 machines, drawings for my personal brief, and general experimentation (as well as brief writing, Elie Saab researching and goodness knows what else. Watch this space!....)

Monday Monday Monday

I'm always glad to start the week with an early morning and a busy schedule. Today's agenda has been learning the advanced Cornely 121 with Sue, photoshopping this afternoon and then a one to one tutorial with Fiona (above blog post).

Cornely Advanced 121 Machines

I was only saying yesterday that this year I really want to get onto the machines more often, after all one of the main parts of the course is the practice and sampling. Last term I was inducted onto the Cornely machines, which I enjoyed straight away. It was REALLY difficult to get my head around the hand-eye coordination at first, but with practice I started to grips with it. The samples produced (although rushed and not thought through properly for project) produce the same amount of beauty and detail that I gain from pain-stakingly long hand embroidery samples.

The advanced 121 has the same principles, using a handle to control the stitching, the only differences being the speed is a lot slower/ more controlled, and there are bobbin threads and a cording thread too. The nice thing about the machine is that it gives a raised look to samples, leaving them looking less 2D than the normal Cornelys. I found the machines easy to handle, and really enjoyed looking through the sampling booklet. The machine can withstand practically all materials, and can be used for different techniques, for example cut work and appliqué. The examples that I did in the workshop were only quick, but show the principles of the machine (above). It is able to create interesting patterns, and stops frayed edges when cutting through the fabric layers. This will be a nice machine to sample with for both of my briefs, I shall enjoy playing around on them later on in the week.

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Photoshopping Basics

This afternoon my friend, Katie very kindly offered to show me the basics of photoshop- looking at layering, distorting images and other various tools. I've been shown how to use the application before but we have a love-hate relationship, I just can't get my head around all of the short-cuts and tools! We played around layering my drawings and samples, looking at how they worked together. The overall goal (which I am still working towards and will have to keep playing around with) will be to get some of my photoshopped images printed on the digital printers, to then sew on to.

Glue Gun Experimentation...

Continuing with my circular lace/ knot sampling, I have been messing around with the glue gun attempting to produce the same patterns as my yarns, with glue. It seemed pretty easy until it came to getting the samples off of their surfaces. Momentarily there was the added struggle of having gel nails, meaning gripping the glue proved difficult before I'd even come across the snapping situation. I've managed to selvedge most of the samples (with a few casualties).

It's interesting because the samples remind me of Fromental's work, unconsciously linking the samples back to my initial research week.

The pieces look interesting both on their own, and when added as another texture to the yarn samples. Also, sticking with the neutral palette idea, they look good just placed on a plastic wallet, with the transparency behind. When thinking of this idea in terms of my live brief, it once again boils down to looking at the patterns that I am able to produce in my sampling. With a material such as glue it is really hard to create neat, orderly work, which is why it makes sampling so interesting- never will there be a piece the same.

I'll have to make some more samples to continue experimenting, but as an idea I think that it's quite promising. I could change the sizes, thicknesses, colour of the glues (adding inks/paints), change the way that they are presented.. the list goes on and on. When speaking to Fiona earlier in the week, she rightly reminded me that this is the time to be playing and enjoying my work, experimenting with all kinds of materials. I think that I have a tendency to over-think my work, so playing with materials such as the glue is the starting point I need to let go of that control and just try as big of a range as possible.

Lace and Lighting

In our tutorial it was encouraging to hear that the idea of using knots in the forms of lace was seen as an interesting idea. Thinking back to our lecture with Angela Davies last term, I remembered seeing one of her pieces that used lace and lighting, showing beautiful patterns made from the shadows of the cut-outs. Using this and the starting point of the linear rows of knots in my sketchbook previously, I raided the yarn store on the hunt for a variety of yarns, each with different textures/ thicknesses. Unsure what to do with them I began knotting, creating the linear forms again, which was interesting when seeing the outcomes- how some materials hung/ took to the knotting in their own ways, but it was plain. I placed the pieces of yarn underneath the photocopier, and found the white on white approach to be quite interesting. I am going to play around with this idea more next week, maybe de/reconstructing the copies into new linear patterns.

As I haven't started any drawing samples as of yet, I sat and placed some of the yarns onto paper, and with the lighting of the studio picking up the shadows, outlined the shapes created with a simple fine liner. The more variety of yarns I placed under the lights, the more lines and patterns that came out in the drawings. The yarn that caught my eye best was the pre-knotted mohair loop, as adding the extra knots meant that the piece was double knotted, creating the best textures.

The next day, sitting in my room I realised that my fairy lights created the same kind of effect that my previous samples had been doing, this time however they were creating multiple lines, depending on where the lights in my bedroom were pointed. Feeling inspired, I began poking holes into the walls, hanging my yarn samples from them, then drawing the shadows and all of their layers. I have done this using felt tip, crayon and pencil, just creating simple patterns that have a 3D effect to them. I really enjoy the outcomes of these pieces, and think that as a development process it will be interesting to see if I can produce these drawings on the cornely machines.

Karen Nicol Guest Lecturer

This afternoon we've had a lecture with designer, Karen Nicol. Yes, it's soppy but I'd been looking forward to this lecture ever since Fiona recommended for me to purchase her book, Embellished. Karen is a former MMU grad, embroidery and mixed media artist, working with every imaginable fashion house and interior designer. Her specialisms are embroidery- using the Irish, Cornely, Multihead and hand embroidery- all of the machines that I enjoy using.

The lecture was fantastic, it was a breath of fresh air hearing about the struggles of the industry, working to deadlines and feeling completely swamped by work- a lot like how we as textiles students feel quite often. Karen explained that the textiles industry is SO vast. It is all about doing and making as much as possible, experimenting with EVERYTHING. The main key tips given to us were;

- LARGE DETAILS. When on the catwalk, small, intricate details cannot be seen so it is about experimenting and creating garments with larger embellishments. Doing embellishments larger also means it shouldn't take as long to produce the samples.
-LACE. The definition of lace is to 'add spirit to an item', what a beautiful phrase.
-KEEP GOING. Life is all about sampling. make something ten times, then analyse and change to create something better. sample, sample, sample.
-DISCIPLINE YOURSELF. Sometimes briefs have been given that are not enjoyable; manipulate and break the rules, making the brief into something that you enjoy and that inspires you. Discipline yourself to stick to rules, timetables and techniques, discipline is the key to success.
- 'DO SOMETHING QUICK THAT LOOKS EXPENSIVE'. Apparently this is the holy grail of the textiles industry. Textile designers need to work quickly, so looking at the points above and keeping it simple ends in good results.

I really feel as though when I graduate, I would like to aspire to have the same career as Karen. I would like to be able to be a freelance designer, yet have the opportunities to work with a variety of companies and practices. This way, you get to continue to learn, whilst having as much enjoyment as you possibly can.

http://www.karennicol.com

Live Brief Final Decisions

Concerned about my live brief, I have spent the past day researching into different designers and makers that I could possibly base my live brief on. As mentioned through-out my blog, the Dash and Miller project is based around choosing a designer, researching their past and current trends, inspirations, materials and details, and overall designing a new range of samples that would both fit in with their styles, but also show my own personal interpretation.

After much thought, research into designers and looking back through my influences folder, I have decided that I would like to base this project on designing for fashion designer, Elie Saab. His style is based upon a romantic, crystal-encrusted, princess dress theme, holding feminine aesthetics with brightly coloured silks, chiffons, pearl beadings and embroidered lace. I am fascinated ( as probably aware from previous posts) with the use of embellishments and soft colour palettes, so choosing this designer is a great way to work with the materials and techniques that I adore. 

I am going to adapt my personal project to run alongside this brief. As I am looking at knots and pattern, I shall be taking the same principle with Elie Saab samples, looking at lace and the patterns that they create. I am going to bring Angela Davies in as my starting point, looking at the lace patterns that she creates with the shadowing effect.

http://www.eliesaab.com

New Year, New Tutorial, No More French Knots

First day back, straight into tutorials and as expected, there weren't many of us. The aim of the tutorial was to just to see how we've been getting on over Christmas idea wise and our plans for the rest of the unit. Over the holidays and the two weeks before Christmas, I feel I'd collected a substantial amount of research, looking at all aspects- artists, designers, interiors, fashion and embroidery techniques- but as of yet, no drawings. I struggled with the research side of my work in our previous term, so building up both my knowledge of what there is in the current market and the type of work/ techniques that I enjoy has really helped as a starting base.

After going through my work, the main points that were bought up were;
- COLOUR SCHEME. I wanted to keep the colours simple, looking at the textures and embellishments rather than the colour trends. Choosing a neutral palette means that I can play around with textures and weights of fabrics more, it's even an idea that I may put together a fabric file for my own benefits.
-PATTERN. From my initial research I have decided that the starting points of my drawings will be looking at the knotting techniques, and then attempting to create geometric patterns to fit in with the Dash and Miller brief, using the inspiration found whilst visiting the London exhibition, #HelloMyNameIsPaulSmith. As well as this, I am using Angela Davies' idea of looking at shadows formed through lace, again looking at the patterns created, later developing them into samples.
-SAMPLE, SAMPLE, SAMPLE. It is clear for both of my current projects that the key is going to be to sample and experiment as much as possible, to develop my ideas and look at where my strengths lie. Fiona has recommended that I get myself back onto the Cornelly machines, to become more experienced with it's uses. Repetition seems to be the key, it's about creating the same samples ten, maybe twenty times, changing the smallest detail each time to see the results.
-WHY FRENCH KNOTS? What is it about the french knotting process that I enjoy? Is it the tactile qualities of the stitches, the hand stitching process and the time it takes to produce the samples, or the overall effect? I'd never really thought about these questions before, so every time that I produce my samples I shall be thinking about these questions.

Overall the tutorial was very positive, I feel like I am completely on track with where I am going to take my work through the development stages, and I'm looking forward to getting on with it. My main concern is the Live project, I have decided to stick with the Dash and Miller project, I now just need to finalise which designer I would like to focus on. This week I am going to be researching into the chosen Dash and Miller designer, as well as starting my drawing.

#HelloMyNameIsPaulSmith Exhibition, London

"The Design Museum takes you into the world of fashion designer Paul Smith, a world of creation, inspiration, collaboration, wit and beauty."

Spending the day in London always proves beneficial in the sense of art. Everywhere you turn; buildings, sculptures, shops- there is inspiration. Today has been no different. Hearing the hype about Paul Smith's Solo exhibition, I had to make time before heading back to Manchester.

The exhibition hall takes you through the journey of the designer's life, starting from his own passions and inspirations then taking you onto where he worked, his collaborative works and designing process, ending with a collection of his finest works, and a catwalk show. I found myself drawn into the wallpaper in the mock up of the studio, with the geometric shapes proving similar to the final ideas that I had been having for my live brief samples. 

As well as the obvious embellishments found on Paul's garments (two photographs), it was interesting looking at the collaborations that he had worked on during his career. Below, is an example piece that he produces for The Rug Company, a company that I have featured in my initial researching. As well as this, as shown in the above photograph, there was a room in the exhibition filled with both mirrors and television screens, showing different pieces from the catwalk- however at certain times during the filming, interesting kaleidoscopic images became apparent, once again with this idea of geometric shapes and patterns.

Before continuing my day, I thought it'd make sense to walk by the Thames, as I was sure to find some sort of knotted ropes/ ship anchors, when I came across these over sized chains and anchors. They are are the complete opposite end of the scale in size comparison to the small, intricate details that I enjoy looking at in my samples. 

Knots Through New Perspectives...

Taking inspiration from different parts of both my sketchbook and mood boards, I have spent this evening looking into different textures that can be created by the power of experimenting with both  technique and material. As a starting point, I started with simple knots into an old shoe lace, layering knots on top of one another to create different widths and grooves in the material. 

 Next, I made loops within pieces of wool in multiple strands, attaching them into my sketchbook. If looking at them from above, they just look like knot, but turning the view sideways I find the results to be interesting, little loops that remind me of musical notes.  I feel that looking at the piece from different angles gives different depths to the piece- for example looking at where the shadows of the loops lie is quite interesting. I would like to experiment more with the idea of the shadows and shapes that are produced by the use of knotting as I feel it may lead on to fit nicely with the samples for my chose live brief.

Lastly for this evening, the good old favourite french knots came out again, this time, as above, looking at them from a different viewpoint. The results of doing this led me to think of tiny contours that you find on maps, looking at the height and shapes created by each individual knot. 

Personal and Live Brief Statements

Personal Brief

The main intentions for my Locating Unit brief are to both broaden my portfolio through sampling and to gain greater knowledge of the current market, in order to decide where it is that I could envisage myself after graduating.

The initial concept evolved from my passion of French Knotting. Instead of looking at the knot as an embellishment on surface, I am going to begin this project by researching into the different patterns and textures that are produced through said technique. To do this I shall be taking reference from Clifford W. Ashley’s The Ashley Book of Knots. To begin visual research, I will create expressive drawings, looking at the shapes and patterns produced, then thinking about how they could be manipulated for development and sampling purposes. 

Alongside my research into knots, I shall also be looking at another passion, embellishment, hoping to link the two subjects together through sampling. My initial research for embellishment will be taken from mood boards created via Pinterest, artist research, and also own photography.

I am aiming to create a body of samples through a range of both hand and machine embroidery. I would like to develop my stitch research in terms of use of the industrial machines, predominantly the Cornelys and Irish, in order to broaden my portfolio with techniques that I am fond of. I am going to push the idea of textures, scales and materials used to sample with, in order to show experimentation. 

In terms of how this brief will relate to my previous works, I feel that constructing my own brief guidelines will allow me to push the boundaries of experimentation through my preferred style and techniques.

Looking at where my work fits in the current industry, I am going to explore different aspects of my preferred markets- interiors and design for fashion through market research- before making a solid decision as to where I would like to be based in the Textile world.  

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Live Brief

In regards to my chosen live competition brief, Dash and Miller, I am researching designer, Elie Saab. By doing this I shall be pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone- I have always believed to be interested in interiors, however designing for fashion seems to be most appropriate for the setting of my work in industry.

I have chosen to produce a collection of samples for Elie Saab for his heavy embellishments, soft colour palettes and attention to detail through lace and cutwork, all elements that I have always been inspired by. For visual research in regards to this brief I am going to look into his past collections, researching fabrics and materials that are used. I shall also construct a fabric/ yarn technical file in order to broaden my knowledge as to different weights and prices amongst the markets. After doing this, I shall produce mood boards showing colours, embellishments and patterns that I intend on using to produce my samples. 

I shall combine my two briefs together for development, taking the patterns that I create in my personal brief to initiate sample production. Overall, I am hoping to produce a range of samples that are suitable to be used in an Elie Saab collection, with the designs both showing that I have been inspired by his pieces, yet created through my own personal working style. 

Chocolate Coin Wrappers

The wrappers on chocolates are the insignificant part of the package, simply thrown away without any notice. Over Christmas break, without a doubt there is ALWAYS chocolates lying around the house, waiting to be eaten. For our last drawing workshop we were encouraged to think outside the box in terms of the items that we were going to bring with us to experiment with. This was no different. Casually unwrapping a gold coin, I thought about the wrapper, rather than the interior. hundreds of gold, circular packages, alike to sequins. 

In my initial research I had looked into contemporary jewellery designs- with pieces that featured oversized golden beading and textures. This got me thinking that these wrappers could actually become something quite interesting. Although not happy with the colour as they are pretty garish, I started manipulating the wrappers into different embellishment samples, for example little flowers and built up sequences. Afterwards I also started placing the wrappers in order to create what looked like necklaces. The pieces are bland, and shapeless, but the idea was still there- to create something out of randomness.

I never used to enjoy the drawing workshops, finding it pointless to be creating what I thought was tat, but actually when you start to think out of the box about the materials you can use, it can be quite interesting. I am going to be using this technique again when looking closer at knots over the next few weeks.