UNIT X - EVALUATION

Throughout Unit X I aimed to develop a focused approach into establishing my practice in the creative textile industry. This has progressed my speacialism of embroidered textiles design into a more professional approach into industry. 
Creating a portfolio to display my embroidered samples not only helped me to understand the refinement and selection of my practice but how difficult it is to present yourself with a somewhat limited display, showing a full range of skills. 

Aiming towards a collection of fabrics fit for site specific, fashion and interior purpose under the influences of architectural structures from urban areas, graffiti and optical patterns, and using these influences to develop a better understanding of colour and pattern.  

In combination with these initial influences, using inspiration from Michael Kidner in the ‘Practice’ unit, “Space is in constant movement”. Providing an optical illusion is created into a tangible object (in this scenario, thread onto fabric) then space is in constant movement. 

Concluding the influence from Michael Kidner I have produced a set of canvases to be displayed at the ‘Flowers East Gallery’, in London, in celebration of his work (also to be displayed at the Degree Show). I came to the conclusion of canvases due to the versatility during diaply purposes. 

The canvases were also taken as influence from ‘Margo Selby’, her headboards, the colours, structures and optical qualities throughout her work. Translating this inspiration into my own practice allowing the Multihead, and Paff machine to help design fabrics with optical and woven qualities that are sensitive to drape, light and handle.

I have used the machines to create double-sided fabrics that exploited the interaction of front and spool side by flipping fabric in the frame throughout the stitching out process. Using layers of fabrics to build upon patterns reflective of my acetate overlays created pictoral depictions of light, movement and speed.

Burmi Lana threads onto Chiffon |

 Exploring with the stitches on the ethos software I have been able to produce samples that replicate woven textures, due to changing the stitch length and the pitch - this allows the density of the thread to mingle and sit comfortably into fabrics. 

Producing samples throughout this unit for portfolio based on inspiration gathered in the Practice unit was challenging to run alongside work for the Michael Kidner brief, as well as creating new collections of relief samples. The effect of the multihead breaking before deadline meant that my time management had to be adjusted and throughout this unit I have realised the problems for a designer in industry. 
I have produced an A2 paper and fabric portfolio that celebrates colour and the formal arrangements of pattern. Also I have created a website in conjunction with business cards to be taken to ‘New Designers’ to enhance professionalism and expand the potential of employment.

 

  

MISSONI EXHIBITION

After going down to London to visit the Missoni exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, I developed new inspiration for the Missoni empire and the importance of knit and weave structures to my practice.
Their sketchbook pages were the main influence as it displayed the transition from the inital idea, through to yarn wraps to decide on colour proportions and then translated into a knit or weave structure

At the exhibition was a short clip explaining their journey and how the stripe was the making of their company - the loom that Missoni had at the time could only weave a simple stripe. However this restriction allowed them to build upon their skills to a professional standard.
As a further development I would like to restrict my practice in some way to help develop the process of ideas and include stratergies into colour proportions. They also spoke about the colour 'Purple', a harmonious colour that acts as a softer black - this has made me also want to explore the meaning of colours further adding personalities into my practice through the emotions of colours.

PLEATING & OPTICS

After struggling to create developed optical qualities within my coloured work, without it starting to become too similar, I went back to basics and restricted myself by eliminating colours completely and working soley with black and white.
The elimination of colour allowed me to realise that there was more room to play with shapes and layering
shapes to create similar optical quialities to that from before.

Starting to realise that optical illusions within fabric don't neccessarily have to be 2D, but can also exist as a relief sample was the start of me producing pleated samples. Using thick striped black and cream material, I referred to structures within my yarn wraps to create a pleated pattern. I then started to pull back the pleats in two places running vertically through my material. Stitching onto this with braids of colour from a set stitch on the Pfaff machine allowed a collection to be developed of coloured and black and white relief and 2D embroidery.

Selecting work for portfolio was somewhat challenging as I had to seperate my work into collections to make it easier for them to be paired and composed onto A2 Petersgate. Refining my best work was difficult as I wanted my portfolio to begin to show the development of my work throughout my final year without an explanation.

ARTIST INSPIRATION

Using a collaboration between Maharam and Paul Smith as inspiration through their woven samples helped with the layering of colours and textures. Combining set stitches on the Paff machine with a striped material and then using yarn sequences to pintuck over in places to create a formal structure, broke down lines and combined stripes with spots and a slight check print.
If I were to further develop this I would change the stitch settings - experiment with stitches onto the white and the black strip and also play with the size and surface area of pintucks.

Maharam ft. Paul Smith

Pfaff stitching| Pintuck over

SAMPLING PROGRESSION

Working towards and outside the edges of fabrics - creating a surface rather than motif, was this weeks developmental aims. As although I was working towards an end product I still had in mind the development ideas for an embroidered fabric.
Changing the size, plcement and density of stitching onto one of my samples meant that the feint cross stitch that was being created on the back of my samples, could change and in turn create its own illsional flair.

Back of Multihead sample.

Front striped design of multihead check.

Keywords of the week:
- Reversible
- Layering
- Processing
- Density
- Composition

SAMPLING

Finding inspiration from materials sourced in London, I combined designs produced from inspiration within gouache painting in my sketchbook and created an Ethos design consisting of rectangles paired together and composed leaving a varied density - the stitches had a high pitch meaning there were gaps replicating the dip dye of the woven material. The optical movement in this sample is effective as it successfully allows your eyes to dance across the surface, replicating a relief structure. I aim to create more samples that don't have focus. Achieving this effect with the choice and pitch of multihead stitching, carefully deciding on an effective surface to work across.

 Multihead Sample.

Producing these sample ideas onto black and blue check material, to understand the proportions and colour contrasts that most effectively create an illusional quality which creates a dynamic structured pattern. Allowing the samples to become reversible by stitching onto both sides alternately, creating stripes and form from squares, rectangles and checks was successful in referring back to my concept of un-noticed beauty - the hidden details with the newly formed fabric were simultaneously developed alongside the re-construction of graffiti into a reformed commercialised pattern.
Developing upon my findings by designing sample designs to work over striped and plain fabrics that when processed have a similar effect to form a new collection of experimentation - sourced from sketchbook research combined with the contextual and commercial element of artist research.

SKETCHBOOK

Using initial inspiration from the Tibor Reich exhibition I visited at the Whitworth, I started to produce a new sketchbook based on the relationships that colours have with each other. Inroducing more patterns and processes to drawings.

Tibor Reich ¦ Whitworth Art Gallery

Sketchbook

                                                     
Visiting the Josef and Anni Albers exhibition at the 'Stephen Friedman' gallery allowed me to understand that processing work and decomposing drawings and samples developed more inspiration.
Controlling my digital drawings the same way that I did on the Practice unit but using different drawings initially created more illusions and broken lines that replicate stitch.

Photoshop drawing.

Continuing also with the idea of making embroidered samples to appear like weaves, I started to  decompose my digital drawings and restructure them manually with the use of weave, trying different patterns.
The effect of this was relative to my previous keywords; spot, stripe and check. Before sampling designs I translated these paper weaves into yarn wrappings, extracting colours and controlling proportions and compositions.

Sketchbook ¦ Yarn Wraps ¦ Weave