DEGREE SHOW REVIEW: LAURA KENT

 LAURA KENT

(BA Hons) Textiles in Practice

The concept of my own practice originates from nature and the beauty found deep within it, mainly natural beauties that are ignored, taken for granted and overlooked and applying this to a fashion context, converting my research into a practical textile piece for fashion and outdoors products that can be appreciated. 

I find practical textiles a main contextual focal point for my practice to thrive towards, converting somewhat impractical research into practical textiles for fashion that parallels beauty within fashion to conclude my research.

'15 MSA Degree Show - Inspiration towards my own practice concept.

 Laura Kent's work has some similarities in concept to that of my own as she finds inspiration in nature, using repetition to conclusively develop something beautiful through the use of embellishments and embroidery. 

"I focus primarily upon capturing the organic movements produced by the shoreline. I am interested in the concept that no two patterns produced by the waves are ever identical; continuously changing and combining to create a series of serendipitous and individual markings, with each movement providing its’ own identity and beauty."

One of the reasons that I have chosen to talk about Laura's work is because it focuses conceptually on something that inspires me; with her research deriving from nature, and her repetitive embellished patterns representing the shoreline, no two pattterns within her work are the same - even though she has used a computerised embroidery machine as a base to build upon, which shows her skill to produce a free moving, somewhat 'unpredictable', unique, handmade sample that parallels the shorelines movement.

The use of only white as a colour palette also intrigued me as I have tried myself before to produce a one-colour, tonal colour palette and failed. As you can see Laura has managed to produce an effective and professional array of samples contextualised toward fashion accessories, obviously aiming at a high end market, possibly with designers based around haute coture. Most of this is down to the use of different media such as beads and sequins and a mix of fabrics such as velvet and silks. I will take inspiration from the fabric, as it seems here if you get that wrong then it wouldn't be as effective. 

With a professional display, came buisness cards - these were also a small personal reminder of Laura's work, as the shoreline pattern was once again repeated on the back of a plain white buisness card using shiny media to make the pattern visible. Allowing the buisness cards to become a reflective representation of your practice concept and samples is something that I will aim towards as it allows your work to be more memorable.

http://degreeshow.mmu.ac.uk/2015/LauraKent/

DEGREE SHOW REVIEW: SUSIE PURVIS

SUSIE PURVIS

(BA Hons) Illustration with Animation 

Choosing a graduate from another course was not what I expected to do as I consider my work and inspirations as purely textiles based.  However Susie's work is magical, her use of colour and layering of drawing is something that I can see my own work becoming, more effective through these techniques.

Using inspiration from an Illustration course has inspired me to push my drawing skills and test different media and technologies to progress my initial research. Some of her drawings seem to have been created and developed using the Risograph printer, which is something I would like to use to develop drawings as base research to help with ideas for sampling in my third year work, as the transition from drawings to samples is something that I struggle with greatly. 

The whimsical characters and simple structures in her work allow it to read easy on the eye, and although there is a mass amount of varied colour within her illustrations, it is still a simple conclusive colour palette. Susie's work could be applied to textiles using digital print or screen print with a careful choice of fabric to help add texture and context, with embroidery for detail. 

After viewing Susie's vast amount of Illustrative prints is it easy to see the the concept of her work. However being a textiles student I am confused as to what the context of Susie's work would be, but by imagining these as textiles pieces I realised that Susie's work could be applied to a context similar to that of a textiles student, ie. Urban Outfitters, H&M, The Land of Nod etc. 

Susie's work has made me think about the importance and placement of colour and the potential of mixing textures, her mixed media approach works consistently alongside her simplistic approach to prints. 

http://cargocollective.com/susiepurvis

DEGREE SHOW REVIEW: LYDIA COTTERELL

LYDIA COTTERELL

(BA Hons) Textiles in Practice 

Inspired by the combination of Festival cultures and Folk Art, Lydia's work is explosive, her heavy use of block colours come together harmoniously with the use of screen and digital print.

One of the reasons I have chosen to talk about Lydia's work is because I feel it represents what I aspire towards for my own third year practice. I have found myself feeling frustrated and somewhat lost with with my practice so far as I feel it does not convey where I would like to go post-graduate. I am intending to push my work towards a print based direction (although I will need to learn a mass of new skills) and Lydia's work is an excellent example of what is possible by also using embellishment and embroidery.

"My collections are focused on exterior and interior contexts, transitioning from day to day products through to camping and outdoor living equipment"

The use of vibrant, playful colours within Lydia's work is mainly what first attracted me to it, as I have previously struggled with the combination of bright colours and Lydia expresses how to use colour exceptionally well. The eclectic mix of fabrics and textural surfaces is also inspirational as it adds texture onto a flat print.

After viewing Lydia's vast amount of samples is it easy to see the links between her research and her end outcomes, the concept of her work is awe-inspiring and although it is something that I wouldn't be inspired by myself, through the use of textiles and print based skills she has managed to make it more inspiring than ever!

It was also easy to see her intentions for a high end high-street market similar to 'The Land of Nod' with a focus on designers similar to Ashley Goldberg,and Emily Rickard.

Contextual Example of Lydia Cotterell's work.

Being inspired myself to create 'practical textiles' I am pushing towards creating beautiful prints out of my drawings inspired by nature, for nature and fashion garments. Lydia's work is a massive inspiration to see where I can progress my work towards in my third year.

http://degreeshow.mmu.ac.uk/2015/LydiaCotterell/