For the practice unit I completed the Bradford brief and
produced a body of drawing and sampling to build from in unit X resulting in a
finished quilt. Throughout this unit I have improved as a designer and refined
my working methods. This can be seen through my development and progression of
work from Bradford and into self-initiated and Gawthorpe brief. I have refined
my skills in choice of material as a result of this unit. Originally in my Bradford
I didn’t take enough care when choosing materials resulting in a vast array including
polyester. A number of samples were unsatisfactory due to the choice. However
this downfall in Bradford allowed me to fine tune my choice of materials;
cottons and silks for my self-initiated body of work and a clear improvement in
quality of samples can be seen through this.
I feel that I have challenged and improved my critical and
analytical skills throughout this unit as I was able to see my down falls in
the Bradford brief for example; time management due to decision making and lack
of initial drawing. I used the negatives of the previous unit and challenged
them head on with the inspiration of my self-initiated brief being that of a ‘chance
dice’. This method greatly improved my time management. I built a large body of
drawing in my self-initiated brief as it was lacking in Bradford as a result my
work is now more efficient.
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| Chance dice |
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| Body of drawing |
I used photography, sketchbook, sample ideas and plans book,
blog and concept boards to communicate my ideas in a variety of forms that
could be easily understood by different audiences. I have become more precise
with the context of my work. Bradford was a context led brief; A fashion
material. I broke this down and after taking into consideration the delicate
nature of my samples I decided that the material would be best for one off
garments in runway similarly to that of Iris Van Herpen opposed to high street.
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| Iris Van Herpen |
For my self-initiated and Gawthrope brief the context was
more open ended and although My work could be presented in the knitting and
stitching show I wanted it to have an ambiguous factor. I took inspiration from
HAY and Owen’s Olivia both contemporary design companies for interiors this is
where I see my work sitting. As I go into Unit X I want to create a versatile quilt
that can be used in a high end interiors context or simply as a piece of art. This ambiguity would not only mean my work could be used in different contexts but also open more opportunities for income as a professional artist.
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My own work; Hand paper patched
using dyed cottons and silks with quilted circles. |
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| Owens Olivia Interiors |
I have continued to build on my prospects of professionalism
outside and after university. I had a placement at a primary school and set up
some opportunities local craft societies. I’ve researched into what types of
job opportunities there are in the industry right now. I have sent my CV’s off
to high schools for opportunities and will be applying for a secondary PGCE
after I complete my degree with a year’s experience.
Overall I am slightly disappointed in my research and development
of Bradford but feel I managed to turn it around completely in my
self-initiated as can be seen through my initial drawings, refined drawings,artist research folder, context ideas folder, sample plans, choice of material, initial samples and current working samples.
The techniques I explored in my self-initiated; paper patches, quilting
machine, dyeing, double cloth cut through, were all relevant and helped the progression
of my patchwork samples. I am now moving into unit X with a body of work I am
proud of and look forward to refining.
