FMP Ancient Greek Mythology Evaluation

At the beginning of my final major project I got the choice of what my project theme and focus would be. I chose to pick 'Ancient Greek Mythology' as my theme because it is something I have always been fascinated with since secondary school. I selected this theme primarily because it is a unique topic that no other person would think to look into and I felt that other theme ideas were over used. 

I knew from the moment I chose my theme it would be very difficult to gather primary research and observational drawings as mythology is mostly fictional or the personification of life events. Therefore I decided to look at the subject matter within myths that people have written and poems. For example for the myth of Persephone and Hades I drew and photographed pomegranates, white poplar trees and a range of flowers. I also went to 'The Hepworth Wakefield Print Fair' for primary research on a variety of artists. Then for my secondary research I did a great deal of research on the internet especially on Pinterest and I did some from books I got at the library.

Throughout this project I have been continuously developing my research. At the beginning of my project I used my sketchbook to do this, then my A2 sheet work and finally through my samples and design meeting. I find that the most development of my research is achieved within my A2 sheet work. This is because I have to select my most inspiring research to take forward into my moodboards, artist research sheets, visual sheets, development sheets and design sheets. Without this process I would not be able to attain making a successful final piece that has a exclusive design. 

After doing my development sheets I then start to select what elements to take forward into my designs. This is a crucial part to my project as it is where I decide how I want the design to look, what colours I would like to use, what material to use and the amount of screens I would want to produce. For the design I selected elements such as figures, flowers, pomegranates, spirals, dots and shading. I chose these as they fit into a delicate design that can be both bold and soft. It was clear to decide what I wanted for my design as I did a mock up of 2 final designs for my development sheets. This was to see which I preferred and if there was anything I needed to change. 

When developing my work throughout the project there was a couple of things that were my main influences. Such as the artists/designers that I focused on as I tried to incorporate their styles with my design, Greek artifacts because I wanted to combine elements like the colours and the arrangements and my choice to use only one myth to focus on after my moodboards. 

The constraints that affected my design were mainly time and money. I felt I was limited with my samples, sketchbook work and blogging as I didn't feel I had the time to experiment as much or have the time to blog about it. This was also due to limitation in the textile workshop because I only have priority of that room on set days. I also felt I couldn't go into other workshops and try to adapt my project to something like lino printing and jewellery making. This constraint could not be changed as I used all my spare time and class time effectively and prioritized my project work over everything else. Money was also a issue, though not as big of a issue as time. I had to buy my supplies such as material, my sketchbook, business cards and extra paints (mainly gold). The material was the most expensive and even though I had the money for it you have to limit yourself on what you are willing to spend. For this reason I decided not to go into other workshops to create other pieces as the costing would be too much. 

During the end of my project I did a lot of experimentation in the textile workshop. I mixed pigment inks procion dyes and permaset inks into a range of colours, I printed on materials that I have not used before (chiffon, silk) and I experimented within my sketchbooks with new backgrounds. I did try to mix a pigment ink with permaset ink and it dried and stayed on the material when I did a swatch with it on, however I did not try printing with it on my screen for fear it may block it up.  I was contemplating using someones old screen to test it but I felt I hadn't got the time and so I have not tried it.

I encountered some problem solving throughout the duration of my project particularly as it came to the end. The main problem I had was when it came to using the registration bar for my samples. The problem was that both my screens would not line up, I cannot say if this happened because the bolts on the screen had moved or if it was because the material had lifted up off of the table but I did solve my problem by lining them up by eye. I had to check when I could start my final pieces and make sure there was only a few or no people in the textile workshop so I could take up the majority of the print table to dye, dry and print onto my fabric.

In the case that I had no time constraints I would have spent a lot more time on my samples embellishing into them, adding glitter or doing some applique. I would have experimented more with printing with mixed permaset and pigment ink to see what effect it would have, I would have done some weaving and knitting to print onto and used some other materials.

My chosen artist/designers that featured in my sheet work were quite big influences for my work. Zuhair Murad heavily inspired the design and colour for the traditional samples and final pieces as this was my main goal for this project. She linked to the project because she designs and makes traditional Greek dresses and so I thought she would be a good designer to look at as she relates to my work. Mary Katrantzou influenced the dots In my print and also the modern bolder colours for my modern material. This is also why she links to my work because she does modern style prints and dresses and I wanted to create a modern length of material. John Everett Millais was the artist that had the least influence in my work though he inspired some aspects he didn't relate to my project as much as the other artists/designers. I was mostly influenced with his representation of women and that inspired me to use a figure of a woman in my print.

Deciding what my final piece would be very hard to do on my own so I had a design meeting with the other students in my class. I first went through all of the samples that were for the traditional material and we stuck them onto the wall and did a tally of students that chose that sample underneath. Then I went through all of my samples for the modern material and passed them around and then repeated the same process as I did for the traditional material.

Throughout this project I used a variety of processes. I screen printed with permaset and pigment ink, I dyed fabric with procion dyes, I heat pressed and ironed fabric, I draped material on a mannequin to fashon dresses and I painted.

I think that my final pieces and sheet work went really well for this project. There were a few things that went wrong, some of my samples got damaged when they were on the drying rack because some dyes dripped from other samples and my sketchbook work was rushed because of my limit on time. I would definitely change the amount of time I had on my work and I would have produced more final pieces but from other workshops.

I think I did manage my time well but I always set myself too much to do every project and that limits things in my project. It makes it harder for me to manage my time especially for experimenting and this is someting I need to consider in future projects.

I feel that I did use my blog effectively however I would spend more time doing posts throughout the project rather than focusing on my blog at the end. Then I would have produced more posts and evaluated my work more.

Altogether I am very satisfied with my project work. I was successful in producing some high standard final pieces that I am very proud of and I have also produced some great sheetwork. My sheetwork is my main strength in this project because it is the basis of my whole project without doing my sheets I would be unable to make my print. I find it to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my project because I love to paint. 

I have produced everything I set out to do from my proposal because I kept my proposal very simple so that I could adapt it if necessary. I have looked at the artists I mentioned in my proposal and produced everything I said I would including my two final pieces.

My organisation through the project has been good, however I feel that I had lots more to organize for this project as I had extra sheet work and my unit 10 folder to complete. This made my project alot busier than other projects and harder to organize but I have done it to the best of my ability.

Finally if I were to do my project differently I would do less sheetwork and focus more on experimenting with materials, going into other workshops and producing final pieces with more processes put into it.

I have had a great time doing this project, I can see how much I have improved through my time at college and I hope to continue to make my projects better.

Final Pieces

Today I am writing to tell you about my final pieces. Before I started making my final pieces I had a design meeting with my class members to determine which two samples to produce into a 3 meter length of material. They chose a traditional material that had a grey and gold print on top of silk and they chose a modern material that had a gold and pink print on top of calico dyed black.

The first final piece I did was my modern material as I knew I had to allow for drying time. I bought 3 meters of calico and used Black k2647 procion dye to dye both sides of the material with a paint brush. It took approximately 20 minutes to do both sides. My tutor also helped me do this.

I then left it over night so that the room temperature would lock the dye into the material. Then the next day my tutor put it in the washing machine to get the excess dye from it, and left it on the table to dry overnight. 

The next day I could start printing but first I ironed the material so that it wasn't crinkled. I then taped the material flat to the table with masking tape. As seen below:

Dyed calico 

Dyed calico

I had my first screen to print then and I printed with Gold Luster permaset ink across the registration bar. I had a problem when it came to printing between two parts that were already printed. The problem was that when I came to lift the screen up the screen lifted some of the ink off of the already printed parts leaving a mark along the material where the ink is lighter.

First screen

First screen 2

First screen 3

I then went on to print my second screen and this one worked really well and covered up the lines a little. I also forgot to tape the sides up on this screen so there were marks around the edges of my material but I cut those off after it was dry.

Full Print 1

Full print 2

Full print 3

 Full print 4

Final piece 1

My second final piece I was able to start printing straight away. I first taped some lining onto the table and then my 3 meter length of silk light on top of that so the print wouldn't go through and stain the table. 

I then printed my first screen with Black BM pigment ink. It went well but it took a while to dry afterwards so I had to wait to print my next screen.

First screen

First screen 2

After waiting for the first print to dry I then printed my second screen with Gold Luster permaset ink on top of the first print.

Full print 1

Full print 2

Full print 3

Full print 4

Full print 5

Finally I pulled the silk off of the lining and the lining off of the table. There was some of the print left on the table and I thought it looked quite nice so I took a few pictures of it.

 

Print on table 1

Print on table 2

I am very proud of both my final pieces, they are two of my best pieces of work that I have produced throughout my time at college. I love the combination of colours in both pieces and I think both are what I envisioned at the start of my project. I am thankful to my tutors that have helped me throughout this project as I have needed guidance especially as it came to producing these final pieces.

My Final Pieces 1

My Final Pieces 2

I very much enjoyed been in the print room producing all this work as it is where I am most creative. I will miss this when I leave college but will enjoy my new artistic adventures. Thank you for reading x

Lining up screens

For my final pieces I had to set my two screens up on the registration bar so that my screen would line up and repeat easily. It was very annoying to do because you have to keep checking that the screen lines up and if it doesn't you have to move the bolts that keep your screen in that position.

When lining the screen up you rub talcum powder through the screen onto a black surface so you can see the design. It saves you from having to keep washing your screen and wasting ink. 

The short clip below shows this.

It takes a while to do and can get frustrating but it is worth it to make the printing process quicker. I learnt that you can never get the design to fit perfectly together but you can get it to fit as close as possible. 

Draping Material 2

When I bought my meter lengths of material for my samples, I thought that before I cut them up into smaller pieces I could play around with them on a manikin  to see what my final pieces could be displayed like in my exhibition.  I used pieces of silk, chiffon and cotton as there more flowing and lightweight. 

I particularly like how the silk drapes on the manikin and I will definitely use this for one final piece. 

Below are images of me draping material on a manikin: