Locating Unit Evaluation

The Locating Unit has by far been my favourite unit so far during our TIP course. Having to work to two briefs alongside one another, complete a Professionalism and Employability report and write my own project has challenged the concept of time management, independent thinking and developing my idea of contextualising my practice. 

Looking at the body of work that I have produced, I feel a sense of achievement. It seems as though I have been able to manage the two separate briefs well together, creating about the same amount of work for both projects. I have enjoyed the visual research aspect of the project and looking at context and concept in much more detail than I have done in previous units. I now feel that I need to continue to research into future career pathways involving costume and embroidery designing for fashion, as it has been made clear that this is where my strengths lye.

Something that I feel has let me down at times during this unit is the fact that I am a massive worrier, constantly questioning my own practice, sometimes I admit, being too reliant on feedback, I feel that this is still because of coming to degree level straight from a levels, where we were ultimately 'spoon-fed' resources. This said, I am very grateful for all of the help and knowledge provided by Fiona over the past unit, and I feel that toward the end of the unit I managed to deal with these issues well, after all, worrying doesn't help anything! Another weak part to my submission this term has been bridging the gap between colour palettes, and sampling. Alike to last unit, I feel that although I have mastered new machinery, my overall sampling is not as strong as it could be. 

As well as developing in practice this term, I feel that another positive result has been achieved through networking. As part of this unit we have been encouraged to apply for work experience and placements, something that I have really enjoyed doing, and also received practically 100% positive feedback from. Additionally, networking in the studio has meant connecting with a broader variety of people and practices, and ultimately, making new friends as part of this. Tutorials and set workshops have been extremely enjoyable and invaluable, too, also issues regarding lack of participation through tutorials is something that I felt to be slightly upsetting. 

There are always parts of the unit that I would have liked to have done differently if we had more time. In general I would've liked a few more weeks to continue experimentation work, testing out more sampling techniques, and possibly looking at work on different scales. I would also like to get to grips with Photoshop better, as I feel that although I know the basics, it's a skill worth having. This said, I would much rather sit on a machine for hours and create my own one off pieces, than stare at a computer screen and produce hundreds of prints (just my preference). 

I am now looking forward to continuation of networking, developing my knowledge of both the industry and my practice and starting Unit X.

Professionalism and Employability Report

My understanding of Level 5 is that this is the year that I need to begin thinking about where it is that I can imagine being placed in the textile world. Prior to returning to second year, we were asked to complete an Influences folder- gathering together a collection of practitioners in the current industry, looking as to where I thought that my work could be placed, and what is it that I am inspired by.

As so not to commit myself straight away, I pulled my influences from over a variety of art based areas – illustration, craft, gallery based, interior and fashion. Predominantly, many of the chosen practitioners were based as either as freelance designers or as part of a design team, both areas of which I am interested to explore. 

It was also apparent that there were key themes evolving as to the work that I desire to produce;

Embellishment. Pattern. Stitch. Colour. Texture.

 I believe this task to be an ongoing project, something to continue thinking about, researching and developing over the duration of my degree. This folder was used as the basis of both my Intentions and Locating unit, helping to incorporate key credentials for my preferred style, as well as thinking where in industry I would be able to make the best of these skills.

Context of Practice
Recently I have pinned my preferred context to have qualities suitable for costume design and designing textiles for fashion. Choosing to work upon a fashion orientated live brief this term, looking at designer Elie Saab, has enabled me to look more in depth as to the types of jobs and practitioners involved in this field, as well as looking in detail at the kinds of works that I am inspired by.
My practice is firmly set in embroidery. I enjoy the concept of both machine and hand stitching- hand for time consuming process, producing rewarding results and machine for its endless experimental possibilities. As well as this, I feel that it is a practice that can be combined into all textile worlds. 

I like the idea of adaptation between both working on my own and in a design team. By no means do I think that it would be easy; I feel that I have the determination, passion and motivation to succeed as a freelance designer, but also feel I have the skills to work in a design team as I enjoy collaborating, and constantly learning and progressing through combined practices.
Over the duration of this year my understanding of the textile market is constantly developing. In terms of embroidery knowledge, I have taken part in as many possible workshops through both the university and individually set up plans, to broaden my portfolio of skills- something that will give me an advantage when moving into the textile market.  Writing a personal brief for our Locating Unit meant being able to sculpt the project around the skills that I am passionate about and being able to research further into what is already out there within my desired practice.

Being lucky enough to have guest lecturers on a regular basis stimulates thinking about where we could end up after graduating. My biggest influence for choosing this career pathway has been shaped by freelance textile designer, Karen Nicol. Instead of categorising her work for a set market, she adapts her work in order to work a vast amount of settings, primarily interior and fashion. When speaking about her practice, it was clear that Karen has had to make alterations, and be flexible with the skills that she has, in order to get to where she is now. For example adapting skills when designing for a catwalk, larger embellishments- less time consuming, easy to see and get noticed. One key piece of advice I took away from the lecture was that to work in the textile industry, “the more you do, the more you learn, the better you will become in your chosen practice”. 

Audience of Practice
In fashion design, the audience is usually evolved from themes and settings that are found at the time of research. Target audience is ultimately based on what is on trend at the time- so looking at trend forecasting and colour stories would play key influence- as well as relevancy to the market and more importantly, what will sell. In a more literal setting, for example costume design, the audience would essentially come from theatre groups, for example West End production companies, or as I have previously mentioned in tutorials, television. 
Alongside the featured examples, I believe that the audience of your work would also come from company trend preference, for example, if a fashion company like Elie Saab wanted to hire a designer to create their fabrics, they would be drawn toward feminine, romanticised stitch pieces, involving a pastel colour palette, whereas the BBC Strictly Come Dancing clothing department would be interested in heavily sequined embellishments on bold, eye-catching colours. 

Future of Practice
The time that I have left between now and graduation will be extremely important in terms of continuation into market researching, building networks and finding my place in the industry. Continuing to broaden my knowledge through both tutorials and networking in the School of Art holds an incredible bank of knowledge in itself. Practically all tutors have their own practices outside of teaching, so talking to them really helps to get a sense what I can aspire for. Applying for work experience, and just in general asking questions to tutors /guest lecturers has been extremely useful. I have gotten into the habit speaking to the guest lecturers after their presentations, and then following up with an email regarding possible experience- practically all of which I have received positive response back from. The people that I have emailed I have either researched in projects, been influenced by their practice, or are people who have the career lifestyle that I aspire for. A final idea would be working through collaboration in order to explore working as a team, something that I am looking forward to doing in my next unit, Unit X.

The textiles market is constantly evolving, so there are many factors that could affect my future.
A key aspect is the development of new technology. It is a market that is expanding every day, so for example the skill of hand embroidery could be jeopardized because people won’t have time to wait for samples to be produced in such a fast paced society- there will be machines that can batch produce for a fraction of the labour costs and time, which is unfortunate, as these are the qualities that I appreciate the most when learning my practice. Trend forecasting will play an important role when working for a fashion based setting. IT will mean keeping up to date with what is in style and ‘on trend’ all of the time. Finally, there will be a large amount of graduates all setting up in the in industry at the same time as myself, so it is key to leave MMU with originality and enthusiasm in order to succeed. 

Bibliography

Personal photography

Speaking to Karen Nicol in person

http://cargocollective.com/kellyflegal

http://www.chrisanne.com/Articles.aspx?cat=Strictly+Come+Dancing

http://creativepool.com/articles/jobdescriptions/textile-designer-job-description

http://www.karennicol.com/pages/lace.html

http://www.pinterest.com/lauramaykent/embellish-embroider/
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/designerdirectory/ESAAB/seasons/
http://www.thedesigntrust.co.uk/category/freelancing/

Unit X Nightmare/ Third Year/ Tutorial Day

I can safely say that this has been one of the busiest days of the year.

Alongside the pressure to finish all off all work for the Locating deadline, I felt the added pressure of Unit X. This morning we were emailed a list of briefs that we could choose to work from for our next unit, however after reading them through, I was uninspired by them all, and felt that I had chosen the wrong college to be placed in. This was odd, seeing as my chosen college had been to work as part of a design team, something that I have always thought I would best suit, as I enjoy collaborative working environments and the chance that I may be able to learn new skills when working with different faculty practitioners.

I got myself all worked up ( really for no reason), bumped into Kate who recommended that I went and spoke to both Fiona and Mark about possibly moving into their college, Blue Sky Thinking. When I'd first seen the write up for this college, I was interested, but felt that working in a design team would be more enjoyable. 

In the afternoon I found Fiona, telling her that I'd rather 'jump in front of a bus' than do my originally chosen college (drama queen award goes to me), so was ushered into the office to speak more in depth as to what the other colleges had to offer. I was really excited by what this new college had to offer, taking a chance on doing something I wouldn't usually pick as I think that that is the best way to learn, and besides, I like to challenge myself. I was also recommended to go and speak to the third year embroidery students, and in doing so, fond that all of the textiles students that chose Fiona/ Mark's college were both embroiderers, and highly recommended the unit. So with this all in mind, I've managed to change over colleges, and feel much better again.

I was also able to speak to Fiona regarding yesterday's tutorial, I did feel upset that it was so late in the unit to finally get to see everybody else's work, and we spoke about how I maybe would have benefited more from being placed in a different embroidery group. On a much more positive note, it was really uplifting to talk about how much I had enjoyed working in the studio, and how in doing so, I'd been getting to know the other embroidery group a lot better and we had been critiquing each other's work and helping one another out practically everyday. Everything worked out well in the end!

Last Tutorial of Locating

Today we have had our last Locating tutorial, so ultimately it was the time to ask any last questions and get everything together and sorted for next week's assessment. I was feeling quite nervous beforehand, which is understandable as doesn't everybody feel worried around the last week of a unit? However, I told myself not to worry, as it just makes things harder and I'll get nothing done.

For the first time since starting our Locating unit, everyone turned up. It meant that as a group we were finally able to see everybody's work placed together, to see how different we all are and how we all work. On the other hand it was slightly annoying because it would've been much nicer to follow the journey of everybody's work instead of just seeing the start and end results.

After what felt like a really, really long time, it was finally my turn. 

We spoke about the context of my work, in agreement that costume design is an idea that I should think more about, alongside previously mentioned textiles designing for fashion. This said, there really isn't any rush as to deciding where it is that I want to be placed after graduation right now, but now that I have this idea, it will help with finishing my P&E task this week.

Sample wise, the shibori pieces that I had created yesterday were seen as an exciting idea, with the group commenting that it was nice to see knots being brought back into the unit through sampling. I had also been playing on the Irish machine as recommended last week. The overall feedback was that I had obviously got to grips with the industrials very quickly. Critically addressing the samples, both myself and Fiona felt that I had made the wrong choice with the yarn colour, however this is something that can easily be looked at in my final week.

Also, I had put in an order for some digital prints, only using a plain, lace patterned design, printed on both georgette and cotton satin (light and medium weights) to act as a base for my samples instead of creating a base fabric like usual. This will hopefully work well.

In terms of what I will be doing up until deadline on Monday, I shall be looking at my unit as a whole, getting everything finalised and presented, and making sure that there is a clear continuation from start to ending ideas across both briefs. I also need to finish my dreaded Professionalism and Employbility report, which now that I have identified a route that I would like to explore in the textile market, shouldn't take me too long.

I am really looking forward to our New York trip now, so I as well as finishing my units, I have a lot to sort our before next Thursday, meaning that it is going to be a good indication as to how well I work under pressure!

Knotting Technique, Shibori Sampling

Thinking of different ways to manipulate knots back into my projects, I have taken inspiration from the art of Shibori, a technique of knotting and steaming samples in order to manipulate the fabrics into different structures. 

I played around with variations of the sizes of ties added and the addition of buttons to manipulate their shapes further, and really enjoyed experimenting this afternoon. The outcomes of the pieces remind me of my beloved french knots, just in a much less precious state. I found that organza was the best material to use, as the sculptures of the knots takes better to the lightweight fabrics, in comparison to the heavy. In terms of my work, I feel that they wold create an interesting overall pattern on say, a fashion item, with possible addition of beading work...

Irish Industrial Machine Sampling

Following on from Tuesday's advice, I have decided to have a break from the Cornely 121 this week, and instead moved onto the Irish machine. I haven't particularly used the machine in the past because of it's link to free machine embroidery. To me, free machine comes across as messy and not very interesting, however the Irish has the ability to use satin stitch, therefore making samples much neater. I picked up the technique quickly, although I feel I didn't produce enough work for the time that I was on the machine...

Taking visual note of the markings found on our school of art beam structures, I manipulated tailor-tacking into my Irish sample, creating a tile like piece of work. I used an orange thread for the backing lines, trying to incorporate the colour into my palette, without it becoming too garish. Overall I like the two samples that I have produced for the technical side and being able to learn how to use the machine quickly, but I'm not so keen on the colours that I used. I am wanting to embellish into them with french knots to finish the pieces. Unfortunately I was unable to create any others because of workshop inductions and other arrangements. I am going to use my last week of this unit to continue to sample with this machine...

Contacting Potential Work Experience Artists

As mentioned previously I am delighted to have won a bursary to work with Janet Bolton and my tutor, Fiona Curran is very kindly allowing me to visit her studio, however I am still in want of more experience working in the industry. I have spent this evening emailing potential artists that may be able to offer me either a few days of shadowing, or even to offer my help if they need any extra hands in upcoming projects... 

I am intrigued by every possible technique of embroidery and want to gain the broadest amount of knowledge possible about the industry. Momentarily I am STILL not completely certain as to where I want to be placed in the current textile world, so keeping my options open, and talking to as many people as possible seems to be the right solution.

I feel as though if I am able to have a few more chances at working alongside different practitioners in the current market, this will allow me to think more into where it is that I can see myself working. I think that I am mostly drawn to becoming a freelance designer, as this way I will be able to work both on my own and through collaboration with other design teams. The artists/ designers that I have contacted are all based as freelance, so hopefully being able to talk to them about their work will help me to figure out if it is the kind of setting that I can imagine myself in in the future. I have chosen to contact these specific designers/ artists as they are people that have truly inspired me in my research stages of my projects, and also because their style of working is similar to the ones that I most enjoy.

Daniel Heath Lecture

In this afternoon's weekly meeting, we were lucky enough to be joined by bespoke London artist, Daniel Heath. His tag line 'Bespoke Wallpaper, Textiles & Interior surfaces', flashing on screen, it was apparent that there wasn't going to be any embroidery involved, however surely enough I really, really did find his work to be truly inspirational, once he began his presentation.

Primarily interior based, I was fascinated by the ornate, intricate details that Daniel designed- constantly reminding me of the patterns that I was looking at concept wise for my live briefing. Daniel takes most of his inspiration from Victorian era architecture and costume. One clear message that was being reproduced over and over was that Daniel enjoyed the experimentation process, something that as textiles students, we are able to relate to. Alike to our lecture with Karen Nicol, it was made clear that the industry isn't always going to be easy to work in, and that you really do need to be adaptable with the ways in which you work, but ultimately, it will all be worth it in the end.

Another piece of advice that was being pushed in this lecture was regarding networking and presentation of portfolio- two things that are extremely important when setting out as a designer in the industry. It is important to have a well presented portfolio showing exactly what it is that you do and more importantly, how excited you are by it. As well as this, it is an essential time to begin thinking about having our work professionally photographed for digital portfolio work. 

Colour workshop and One to One Tutorial

As there was a strike yesterday, it meant that unfortunately we couldn't have our group tutorials this week. Luckily this afternoon Fiona ran our colour workshop, so it still meant that we were able to have tutorials if we wanted. Only four of us showed up to the work shop- the other three girls being in a different embroidery group to my own- which was disappointing, but it did mean that we were able to talk together as a smaller group, and to have one to one guidance for both our colour work and personal projects.

Colour Workshop

Talking through my colour workshop work proved positive. There is an obvious colour palette being shown, now I need to be more selective when pinning my images on the boards as there are some duplicated images in some case. Looking at the colours, they all seem very neutral, pastel colours with  hints of gold, however looking closer into the images, hints of blues, dark purple and a copper coloured orange starting showing through in some of the photographs. We spoke about how I could add these said colours into my palette- I explained that I wasn't as keen with working with colour as I'd originally thought I was, but I really trust Fiona's advice and so through small details I feel that these colour will really work well.

We also spoke about experimenting with thread wraps, colour proportions, textures of yarns etc. All of which I can play around with on my boards. As well as colour, I need to look at where it is that my inspirations have come from, ie broaden knowledge and range of photographs. Ideas that we came up with included looking back at the details of the MMU architecture, tiles (Fiona mentioned to look at the store, Jigsaw), rugs for textures etc.

My work

Fiona commented that I had had an obvious change of outlook on my work, and shown real progress this week, happy with the amount of work that I had been able to produce over the past few days and was happy to see that I was happier in myself, which really did make me feel like I'd achieved something this week. 

In regards to my colour boards and portfolio of work for Dash and Miller, the colour palette was clear, and all linking. I had started to produce a small fabric moodboard of colours for research into Elie Saab, however on second glance it didn't fit very well so I shall need to rethink this later in the week. 

With regards to sampling, Fiona commented that alike to french knots, the cornelly 121 has my stamp on it now, and alike to last unit's feedback, I need to experiment more before I fall into the same trap as last time and produce too many similar pieces. Our first thoughts were to go back to the normal Cornely machines, or possibly the Irish, as it will give me a similar stitch result to the ones that I treasure through hand stitch. 

It has been such  a lovely afternoon to just sit in a chilled environment, and just focus on colour. I felt really happy and excited with the past weeks work and I was glad that this came across when I was explaining my pieces. As well as talking about my own work, I was once again full of questions to ask Fiona about her own practice, and, to my excitement, am allowed to visit Fiona's studio when I am next in London. I am so grateful to be allowed such a fantastic opportunity.

Conceptual Research, School of Art Architecture

We are inspired by artists. It's that simple.

My friend, Annie and I began this conversation earlier this afternoon. We are inspired by what is around us, but then what? We'd never really thought further into it- where and who are they inspired by? This was bought up whilst looking at some of my lace samples. Where had the inspiration come from for these pieces, maybe thought up one day and scribbled onto a piece of paper, or maybe inspired by a place, person, smell, touch, the list goes on... Looking around in the studio, there is inspiration in every crack and crevice. 

I find great inspiration in the sculptural beams that have been added around the building, with their floral patterns bringing great beauty to the studio. Alike to the above questions, in the foyer there is a cabinet showing that the inspiration for the piece was found from an image in a book, adapted into knit and then sculpture.

I feel that adding work to do with these pieces will bring more of a concept to my work. I produced a few rubbings of the pieces, along with my own single line drawings, trying to get to grips with the markings. I found the use of berries particularly inspiring, bringing back the notion of knots-I want to use them in my samples somehow, possibly through stitch, or maybe the notion of knotted yarns...

Drawing Afternoon/ Knots on a Larger Scale

I have stepped back to the roots of my personal brief, the pattern and texture found through knotting. I feel as though last unit I didn't do enough visual drawing, so this afternoon I set myself the task of looking through my initial research and doing some quick ink work from them. I love working with ink and stick, I find it to be an extremely enjoyable method of expressive painting. 

Looking through my work so far, I was most inspired by the pages that had been photocopied from The Ashley Book of Knots, and also the chains that I photographed by the River Thames, so began there, drawing in both my sketchbook, and on larger pages.

As well as this, I came across a bag of ropes that I had collected over the New Year from the beach that I stayed near with my cousins. Taking the concept from my yarn knotting in my sketchbook, I applied the same principles to the ropes. It proved difficult as the ropes were very tough to sculpt, and I'd have liked to have had longer pieces to work with, but the principal idea was there, and I enjoyed experimenting.

Sample Sample Sample Cornely 121

Looking at my drawings I began to plan samples with the patterns found in my lace designs. I really enjoyed playing around with the dissolvable fabrics, using the cornely 121 to create the stitches, then nervously watching the fabrics dissolve away, afraid that it would leave me with only a bundle of threads.

The details are intricate and delicate, alike to those that are found on Elie Saab embellishments. On the negative, I used a felt tip pen to mark out my design when on the machine, and I thought that the pen marks would wash away with the fabric, which it didn't... Fingers crossed I'll be able to wash them out. I am going to do some more of these samples next week, as I really enjoy using this machine and working with a really difficult, yet beautiful outcome.

Janet Bolton, West Dean College Bursary

This unit is very much about finding where you fit in the current industry, with part of that being the attempt of finding work experience and opportunity to see how the market works. 

I am very interested in participating in workshops with artists, to learn their techniques and then adapt them for my own personal style. A few weeks ago I came across a website holding courses ran by my idol, textile artist Janet Bolton, at West Dean College, Chichester. I have been on a day's workshop with Janet before, her outlook on art being invaluable. Her work involves creating intricate, very delicate textile pictures from found materials and fabrics collected over the world. Her pieces hold room for memory, and all have a personal touch, something that I really admire in work. Janet is a lady that I aspire to have a career alike to. She has had an AMAZING career.

http://www.westdean.org.uk/WestDeanHomepage.aspx
http://instagram.com/westdeancollege#
http://www.janetbolton.com

Looking into the course a bit more, I noticed that for students, the college offers a small amount of bursaries to fund education on these courses. I decided that I would request for a bursary to cover the course fee- stating that I would fund the travel, accommodation and all other fees- and so filled in forms and set away an online portfolio of my work. This morning I have been contacted to say that the college were very impressed with my portfolio, and have granted a full all expense paid bursary to work with Janet Bolton for the week! Obviously this is fantastic news, and has really inspired me to get back sewing and doing all of the things that I love (including french knots!). The course isn't until October, but I am already so excited!

Breaking Through Creative Block Barriers, Cornely 121 Sampling

I have been stuck with creative block for the past couple of days, which has obviously become apparent to both my tutor and embroidery group. It is the most destructive feeling as a creative body to not be able to physically enjoy/ make anything. I'd tried everything to attempt to get over it, but nothing worked.

So this morning I came into the embroidery room and decided that sitting on the sewing machines, pushing myself to break through the block was the only option. Even if I have to sit all day, I would. It wasn't such a great start to the day, with my machine breaking twice, luckily it was fixable and I was able to continue. Last night I had planned out a few sample ideas, so started by working on those. I finished my first piece, the layered pieces of lace which I was very pleased with- Fiona was right, using my own, machine one samples looked much more effective than using bought lace. I would like to do a few more layered samples but they take SO LONG, so it isn't going to be a priority for this week. I also worked on a couple of samples of just laced patterns, but they were done on such lightweight fabrics without a stabiliser so the machine 'ate' them. 

I have chosen to use lightweight fabrics- silks, organzas, georgettes- very feminine in texture and look, to fit in with the fabrics used in Elie Saab's works. As well as this, as I am looking at lace, which in itself is a very delicate object, so I want to shadow this in my samples. Overall I'm relieved that I've managed to get some work done today, and am hoping for another positive day in the machine room tomorrow.

Tutorial

As mentioned, over the weekend I popped home to try and clear my head and figure out a my project, hoping to come in this morning with a plan. Unfortunately, no such luck. I felt quite negative (and poorly which didn't help) in tutorial this morning, looking at the amount of progression everybody had made in the past week, whilst I have been extremely stuck. I'm not very happy with my glue gun samples, I feel that the quality wasn't as strong as I'd have liked them to be, on what level I'm not sure, but they just seemed too flat. They will need to be re-thought...

I hate not being able to enjoy 'making' and feeling uninspired. I think that I became a little overwhelmed this morning, and decided that it wasn't a good day to be sitting in the studio, so went home. Looking on the internet, I came back across this lovely list, 'ways to stay creative', and decided that I really need to stop worrying so much! I always get myself worked up, not purposely, when things go wrong, so it's an issue that I need to deal with so not to affect my work!