You, as a individual Evaluation

For the theme of this project I had to look at myself as an individual and produce research sheets, designs and a final piece (a cushion) that had been inspired by my chosen area.

I have focused on many aspects of myself for this project and have researched the different things that make me. I looked at my likes/dislikes, my horoscope, fortunes and bits of simple information about me. I looked at my friends and family as they play a huge part in who I am and I spend a lot of my time with them. I also looked more closely at my love for reading books as I spend hours on end reading and living in the worlds authors create. Finally I looked at the features of myself/human body and what is unique about it. Like how every fingerprint is different, how everyone has different eye and hair colours, how our lips or lipstick kisses are unique and that it is all what makes us as a individual. This is the part I chose to focus on the most when designing and creating my cushion as it was a compelling aspect to look at for me.

I undertook lots of primary and secondary research for this project but I haven't done much observational drawing as I spent more time focusing on collecting other research. I am a bit disappointed that I didn't do more observational drawings but I have made up for it by doing more primary and secondary research. For my primary research I have taken pictures of my family and friends and used ink to print my own fingerprint onto my work. For my secondary research I have taken images and text from magazines, newspapers and the internet and incorporated them into my sheets.

I developed my research by looking more closely at features as this is what I wanted to focus on. I also looked at how my artists that I chose could influence parts of my research and what techniques and processes I could use for different aspects of my research. 

The elements that I took forward into my design were the features of a person and a photo of me with a few members of my family. I did this so that I could show that I was looking at the features of me. I changed my mind from doing a book cushion to doing one on features as I thought the book idea would be harder especially as I hadn't made a cushion before. I decided to do a pair of lips, a fingerprint and a eye as they are unique to every person and did them based on what my features are like. I embroided each of these features in my own time so that I would not go over the project deadline. Then I took the screenprinting idea from the magazine and newspaper clippings that I used on the page about features as it was easy to do and would look good.

There was a lot of experimentation that I did for this project and I created a lot of samples when doing this. I did some experimentation on different stitches on the sewing machine, some free machine emboidery, quilting, fabric making, mark making, batik, experimentation with procion dyes, heat transfer, screenprinting, peg loom weaving, emboidery, french knots, long and short stitch and applique.

For my cushion I decided to use calico heavy and black discharge cotton. I determined which fabrics I would use by looking at the processes I could use on them, the thickness of the fabric, the hazards and whether or not my cushion would be used in a exhibition or be a comfort pillow. I chose both the calico heavy and black discharge cotton as they were thick pieces of fabric that would not show the stuffing through it and I could fray the edges of the material without it fraying too much. The fabric was very durable and allowed me to use different processes that I wanted on it while keeping its shape and structure. My cushion could be used both for a exhibition and for comfort even though it isn't washable it is still good for in my home. There are not many hazards on my cushion so it is fine to be around a home where there are children or pets.

Given the chance to remake my cushion I would maybe try using dyes and a new colour scheme to see how it would look. I would stitch back into my heat transfer as well in the style of Rosie James as I think this style would look good with the other elements of the cushion.

During my research I looked at several artists that I used to influence my work. I looked at Rosie James, Tracy Emin, Louise Gardiner and Dawn Cavanaugh. Rosie James didn't influence my final piece that much although she did inspire the sketchy stitching I did for the eye and fingerprint, she mostly inspired my rough designs. Tracy Emin inspired the applique I did on my cushion as it looks good to have a bold word stand out. Also the colour I used for the applique is influenced by Tracys work as she uses a lot of reds and pinks on her pieces. Louise Gardiner influenced a lot of my rough designs, I have used some aspects of her style on bits of my cushion like the sketchy ebroidery and how some of the fabric is stitched on to the cushion. Dawn Cavanaugh influenced my quilting as she does quite a few diamond shaped designs and I thought it would give my cushion more character as the back would look bland without it.

When I came to choose my final design I looked at my rough designs and decided on a few that I liked. Then I had a design meeting with my tutor and peers to see which one they liked and which one they thought I should produce. I did this so I would know other peoples opinions and I could make a informed decision. I also looked at what design was more developed than the others as I needed to have a clear design of what I was doing to be able to get on with making it.

I think my design could definitely be reproduced quite easily as it is quick to screen print and heat transfer designs onto fabric. It might take a bit longer to embroider, quilt and applique into but it didn't really take me too much time when I was making my final piece. I would also be able to make a personalized cushion in the same way by changing the picture I have heat transferred. 

For my final piece a lot of the techniques I experimented with I recreated for my cushion. This is because I wanted to show as many techniques as possible and all the ones I experimented with worked really well. All the techniques I used are listed in the paragraph about my experimentation.

Everything in this project went well apart from when I tried doing french knots for the lips on my cushion. I found that doing french knots were very time consuming and when I tried doing some for my cushion the material I used frayed that much that I would have to start again. This was a big problem as it took way too much time so I decided to do a long and short stitch instead. Next time when making my cushion I would like to make it bigger in size as it is quite small at 28cm squared and I would like to see if it works at a bigger size. 

I think I managed my time quite well throughout this project as I managed to meet the deadline set after the extension and get the work done on time. I aspired to get as much work done in class as possible and then do any other work in my independent study. I found that if I kept up with the work when it was set I would then be able to do extra work and develop my research more. This motivated me more as I wanted my cushion to be a success.

During the project I have had to use my blog to keep up with the new processes I have learnt. I would make notes in class on the processes and take pictures and then write it up on my blog at home. I think I have used my blog effectively and I have kept up with the posts I have had to do. I like that I have to write about the processes as it is easy to look back at if you forget how something is done.

I am very satisfied with the outcome of this project and am glad that it has gone so well. I love how my cushion has turned out and am glad that all my research looks good and that you can see how it has influenced my work.  It has been a really great project to work on and I have had fun creating my final piece. Overall it has been a very satisfying project and I can't wait for the next one.

Front of my cushion

Back of my cushion

Side view of my cushion

Vintage Project Evaluation

For this project I was commissioned to create four pieces of bunting representing an era and topic of the 1900's that was to be displayed in the Civic, Barnsley. 

Before choosing an era to focus on I did a basic search on the internet of every decade in the 1900's to see which era I found the most interesting to work on. My chosen era was the 1920's. I chose this era as I was intrigued by the style and culture of people in this era and thought I could explore the era more because I didn't know much about it. I found when researching that the flapper style was very big in the 20's and that a lot of the women wore sparkly hair accessories, bold make up and straight dresses. This would have been a great focus for my bunting as it represents the 20's really well. I also found that dance was very popular, more specifically the Charleston and that celebrity actors were the influence of women's dress sense and style. Even though these were fun topics to explore I decided to focus on 1920's silent film. I chose to look at silent film because the actors from silent film are still very well known and they are easy for people to recognize in the modern day. I also chose to focus more on comedy silent film because the posters and film covers all have bright coloured illustrations and pictures that would be good to replicate in my designs. 

For the project I have done secondary research on silent film on the internet and I have done some primary research by asking my parents and grand parents if they knew any actors that were popular for silent film in the 1900's. Through doing the primary research I found that Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd were all well known and well recognized comedy actors for silent film. 

The main influences in this era were World War one because it happened just before the 1920's, politics as women got the right to vote, flapper as it changed the style and fashion and silent film  as it evolved into the talkies (when people started talking in films). These factors played a big part of making the culture in the 1920's and I thought it best if I focused my designs on one of these influential events.

When thinking about my designs I had to develop some of my research ideas so that my bunting would look the best I could possibly make them. For my Charlie Chaplin design I had to take some more parts of his film covers and add them to my designs as some bits looked plain and I had to change some of the colours so that other aspects would stand out. On my Laurel and Hardy bunting design I had to add there famous quote on to Laurels coat so that I could include it in my design. For the Harold Lloyd design I had to cut parts of the clock off and Harolds leg to fit the image as it was bigger than the original painting. Then for the film roll design I developed my ideas by taking small images from the tiles they used to use for dialogue and adding then to the bunting to fill some negative space up.

When I came to making my pieces of bunting I had my designs put on to some magic touch paper to heat transfer onto the calico. I then embroided back into a few of the pieces or worked back into them with fabric pens to define some of the colours more. I have done these techniques before in textiles but I have never worked back into them using fabric pens so that was a bit of experimentation that I did.

Altogether I think I have managed my time on  this project well and have done extra pieces because of my ability to make sure that I could complete any work set. I have tried to do a piece of work in each lesson and if it was incomplete I finished it during my independent study. Knowing that it was a live project made me more determined to get the work completed on time and it also made me put in more time and effort with all the pieces as I wanted them to look as good as possible. It definitely pushed me to do the project well and keep up with the deadline as there was there was a lot of pressure to do well for the college and the client.

I am very satisfied with the outcomes of my bunting and the overall project. I am pleased with the bunting as the designs look bold, and the colours have not faded so are bright and easy to see. The project was very satisfying as it was great to see the development and transformation of my ideas and designs throughout my sheet work. If I could do anything differently I would experiment more with the fabric pens and make the writing on my Laurel and Hardy bunting tidier. Also I would make my Harold Lloyd look more realistic on the bunting as it looks like a cartoon and I would make a effort to write more annotation on my sheets. I have loved working on this project and can't wait till the bunting has been sewn together. I will be looking forward to seeing my displayed in the Civic along with everyone elses. 

Fabric making

This week I have learnt a new technique called fabric making. Fabric making is a simple process that is quite easy to learn and use. The pieces you can make using this technique are creative, unique and colourful. This is why I love the technique so much and I feel it is also very useful when making samples or learning how to use a sewing machine. 

  

Mark making, Batik and Procion dye samples

First for this process I created some A4 samples on cotton and calico material using two techniques called batik and mark making. I also got to use a new type of dye called Procion dye which has to be heat pressed to fix the colour in place.

After making these samples I had to choose three pieces that I wanted to use to do my fabric making sample. The first piece I chose I had to cut horizontally in various size strips or shapes and then sew them onto my second piece horizontally using different types of stitches. Then the piece I just sewed I had to cut vertically into different strips, shapes and sizes and then sew them vertically onto a third sample. I could also sew on some ribbon, cord, yarns etc to finish the piece off. I also sewed any leftover pieces of material onto a different sample.

Fabric making piece 1 & 2

These are my finished samples of fabric making they are very bright and I like both pieces better than what they looked like on there own. I used the pieces that I disliked to make this sample and it has improved the sample a lot. 

Samples for applique 

These are some quick samples I am considering appliqueing onto my cushion. I am not sure what colours I will use but these are just some testers to ponder over. 

Free machine embroidery

This week I have also learnt how to do free machine embroidery. Free machine embroidery is when you draw freely onto fabric with your sewing machine. First for this process you need to set your machine up correctly (I used a husquvana viking). You have to take the pressure foot off of your machine and turn the feed dogs off. Then you need to get a piece of material that you will be sewing into, I used a A4 piece of calico. 

Then with your material you need to put it into a embroidery hoop making sure there is a lot of tension. You are now ready to start sewing.

This is a dangerous technique so when you start sewing keep your fingers on the embroidery hoop so that you won't get your fingers caught with the needle.   

My sample

My piece that I created was a quick sample and I tried to make some flowers. They look okay for a first try and I tried stitching sections in fully however I think I need a lot more practice. 

Close up of sample

It is a very spontaneous technique and mistakes are inevitable but that is what makes the technique so appealing. When you don't have as much control over the machine it makes your work more free and rough and I like how it makes my work look.

Quilting

This week I have been learning a new process called quilting. Quilting is a process where you sew two or more pieces of material together with a pattern or design to make a thick padded material. First for my sample I had to get two A4 pieces of calico and a A4 piece of wadding as seen below.

Calico and wadding

Then on one piece of calico I drew a line in the center and on one half I drew a straight line pattern and on the other I drew a diagonal line pattern. Next I put the wadding in between the two pieces of calico and put pins on the pieces to keep them together and straight.

All I had to do then was sew with the sewing machine over the lines I had drawn on making sure the material didn't fold over or get caught.

My sample

This was my finished sample and it was very successful. at the end of each stitch I used the back stitch so that the cotton didn't unravel and this made it look tidy. It is a fun process and it is quite simple to do. It would be a great process to use for my final piece because of the simple but effective pattern.