The Field

At uni a big part of the course is dedicated to "Constellation" and "The Field" these sections involve the whole of the art school joining together for seminars, lectures, short projects etc.

So this is a field week. All art and design students have been put into groups of 6/7 to complete a project.

The groups are made up of roughly a student from every course. The brief is to make a short (2min) film about cardiff.

My group decided to focus on the people of Cardiff, making sketches of people on the streets and new people we have met since moving here. We also decided to interview people to gather opinions on Cardiff and why people choose to live here. 

Here are a few portrait sketches I have made;

I kept them quite abstract and tried to illustrate some personality in the patterns i incorporated. I also wanted to use stitch as I am the student representing textiles in my group.

Mid Project Mood boards

I'm probably more than half way into my current project (Re-inventing the Ordinary) now. Here are a few 'moodboards' thrown together representing my project so far.

Ive included stitch & dye samples, key drawings and pieces of artist reasearch in order to visually get a handle on where its all going.

Ideas so far;

Strengths; 

Colour palette

Links between free machinery technique and drawings.

Free drawing style 

a new found drawing style, re-inventing flowers/botanical studies.

Heat press samples.

Weaknesses;

Generally need more of everything

Need to write/ annotate more.

Need to push samples forward & experiment.

Some images in the above moodboards are that of my artist research and so do not belong to me and are not by me. All sourced from pinterest, click on the pinterest link for more info.

Hhmm Pinteresting.....

My top ten most inspirational "Pins" of the month;

1.‘Falling Garden’ by Gerda Steiner & Jorg Lenzlinger in the San Staë church on the Canale Grande, 50th Biennial of Venice, 2003 http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/upload/53339576807296824_dNgO3gkC_c.jpg 2.ANA SENDER http://pinterest.com/pin/81064862013844469/ 
3.Michael Brennand-Wood http://media-cache-ec2.pinterest.com/upload/238831586459146385_0FtAJhy7_c.jpg 4.Olaf Hajek http://media-cache0.pinterest.com/upload/112449321915393079_0A2npIY4_c.jpg
5.liberty jungle print http://media-cache-ec5.pinterest.com/upload/151996556144501884_u0FDqcr7_b.jpg
6.http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/upload/422281184558656_kWdfFVuE_c.jpg
7."Dutch Sky" Wallpaper. Dusk-Violet http://media-cache-lt0.pinterest.com/upload/51791464435936196_gkMvazxQ_b.jpg 
8.La Vie En Rose http://media-cache-lt0.pinterest.com/upload/133911788890262171_hvq98otS_c.jpg 
9.Britt Hermann http://media-cache-ec5.pinterest.com/upload/229613280971242907_lAc8g8K3_c.jpg 
10.Moroccan Tea Set http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/196469602463546202_JGDQzw61_b.jpg

Images all sourced from Pinterest none of the above are work of my own or belong to me.

Free Machine & Dissoluble fabric

This week in the stitch workshop we experimented with dissoluble fabric and free machine embroidery. A technique I had done before both on foundation and during A level Textiles. Its a technique I've never really been interested in before however, I feel it really suits my project and allows me to translate my drawings in to textiles really effectively;

Floral Sketching

After weeks of doing very precise botanical studies of plants, I decided to experiment with a looser way of drawing. I used Ink, water, an inky fine-liner and a black felt tip.

I think the outcomes were successful. I really enjoy experimenting like this, I think they work well because of the mix of media and the free style.

My first project brief on my degree (Eeek!)

My first few weeks on my degree course have included; intensive drawing, basic dye related textile techniques, some research tasks to get to know the resources available and lectures on various topics- it's been a really diverse few weeks. 

We have been given a project to complete over the first term that will incorporate all our drawing, research, lectures and samples, and I think for this reason the brief given is quite broad and open to interpretation. Its titled;

'Re-inventing the Ordinary'

Ideas;
We have focused a lot on plants/botanical drawings at uni.

Found objects, weeds, plants, roots, nature, seeds, botanical studies, The Eden Project, hand embroidery, natural colours, autumnal colours, cataloguing, compose, cook up, form, discover, pressing flowers/plants, leafs, textures, floral, print, exploring techniques, process, drawing, garden, folk, handmade, ecological, environment, everyday, conventional, traditional, undistinguished, routine, walking, making, thinking, meditation...

...Meanwhile Cardiff train station was particularly atmospheric on my way home tonight;

(no effects applied!)

Dye Workshops Week

I have just completed my first two weeks in the dye workshop. So far in class we learnt the following techniques and processes;

Stretching and colouring papers

Shibori

Transfer Dyeing with the Heat Press

Reactive dyes

Direct dyes

Acid dyes

Disperse dyes

Cold Water Dyeing

Batik

We also experimented with each process exploring the many different variations that can be achieved through each one.

Here are some of my samples;

These are all processes that I have done before. In fact these first two weeks have been a little surreal as we are doing almost identically what I did during my first term on A level Textiles. 

This can feel a little frustrating and like a step backwards. I think I've let this lack of enthusiasm affect the quality and creativity I have brought to the tasks so far.

Obviously it is important to go through all the processes so that everyone starts with a with a fairly equal understanding of the basics, and we learn how things are done at CSAD*- where things are kept etc. So it is practical and worthwhile especially as many of the girls have not done the processes before.

I also realise that I am not an expert at these processes and, especially after a long summer break its a great opportunity to get back into the swing of things. Therefore this week I aim to bring a more positive attitude. (I have also had a lovely weekend off work so I'm considerably less grumpy than usual at the prospect of the week ahead) I plan to push myself in terms of quantity and quality and try to really absorb and incorporate all the sources of inspiration, lectures, and experiences at uni so far, to make this first project a good'un.

*Cardiff School of Art and Design

A Wednesday morning task

The task; Choose an image from your artist research.

( I choose a piece of work by Michael Brennand-Wood)

Tear a piece of A3 paper into 6 squares.

Recreate the image by drawing in mixed media on each square separately.

Work in monochrome.

Spend 10 minutes on each square.

Tape back the squares.

I used a fine liner, marker pen, pencil, charcoal,ink and stitch. I tried to capture pattern and texture.  

The National Museum of Wales

During my first week at uni we spent the day drawing at the National Museum of Wales. We had a list of drawing tasks as follows;

Create a negative space drawing of a chair with a pencil and rubber.

  Draw an item from the ceramics display to practise perfecting ellipses.

Draw a landscape from a painting, use pencil and draw only in shades to create tone and depth.

Blind Contour Drawing. Using a pencil draw a statue but without looking at the paper, so only looking at the statue throughout.

I really enjoyed the day and the variety of drawing techniques kept it interesting. Trying to get ellipses accurate was a challenge, but I felt I had really improved as a result of the exercise. It was a good way to begin the course and start filling my sketchbook with evidence of varied studies in drawing.