This is my evaluation for the most recent project i have been doing, Natural Vs Man made. The project outcome was a meter of wallpaper developed from my sketchbook, mood board's, visual sheets and development sheets. In this evaluation I shall be talking about the research I did, both primary and secondary, How I developed my research, My colour theme, Artists i researched that supported my work, The theme i chose, My blog, My final piece and my problems throughout the project.
When i first started this project i did not know what theme to look a,t natural or man made, i love the patterns, textures and colours in nature but i also wanted to explore the man made theme as well. Undecided, i would explore both themes. For now.
The first thing that i like to do when starting a new project is buy a brand new sketchbook and notepad (for my technical notes). Throughout this project sketchbook work is ongoing so there is not really an order to it like there is sheet work. The first research i did in my sketchbook is primary research, I took pictures of a set up we created as a class to do some observational drawings from, I did drawings in my sketchbook from these pictures using different media's and techniques such as fine liner and water, watercolours, gouache and using yarn to create texture in my drawings. I then attached the photos I'd taken to support my drawings and annotated them well.
In this project i found it essential to manage my time well, as sketchbooks are on going until the end of the project, sheet work is not as you have to work from them and develop them. This is where time management really comes into force as i always had work to do. The first sheet's i created were mood boards. Mood boards are a collection of pictures that inspire you and supports the theme you are researching, for you to develop and tweak into visual sheets. I created two mood boards, one for the natural theme and one for the man made theme. I tried to use photos that i enjoyed looking at, got inspired by and that had lot's of patterns on, this makes the next step easier for me. I found i had included a lot of insects on my natural mood board and i already wanted to develop this further.
By the time i had finished my mood boards i had already done quite a lot of work in my sketchbook, this consisted of primary and secondary research, actual visuals, using a wide range of mixed media, extending pictures, recreating pictures and annotation's.
The next sheet i did after my mood boards was my visual sheets. Visual sheets are basically an extension of mood boards, using pattern and colour to create a full sheet, which you can develop into a development sheet, as that is the next step. I did two natural visual sheets, taking patterns and images i enjoyed from my mood board's, i recreated them on my visual sheets, concentrating on scale and colour. I ended up with two visual sheets based on dragonfly wings, flies and flowers.I also created one visual sheet based on man made, using pen and gouache to do this, as i based my mood board on pictures from architecture and buildings i did not have anything i found interesting on my mood board to develop into a visual sheet. I recreated the shape's of buildings on my visual sheet's, i did not enjoy focusing on man made much at all, this is where i thought i would focus on the natural theme as i enjoyed it the most. This stage is also where i got my colour theme from, as i used pinks, oranges, yellows and purples on these sheet i thought i would stick to this colour scheme.
As i had done a lot of work with insects on my sheets i showed this in my sketchbook as well, i focused on dragonfly wings at first. Looking up and photocopying from insect books in the library i got some primary research to support my idea's. At this part of the project i had done a lot in my sketchbook, i had experimented with techniques and i found something i really liked to do, this was layering up my work. As you can tell from my work i like to work messy and busy, i'm not really one to do simple. I found a new love for layering up my work when i had created a page i did not really like in my sketchbook then i taped a plastic wallet over the top and used permanent pen to draw over it. This gave me the idea to do screen printing to create my final piece as i can layer it up and use more than one screen. I had also done some more research in my sketchbook using man made objects but with natural patterns on, such as stained glass windows, and tiles. I also bought a plain tile and drew my own floral pattern on it and stuck that in my sketchbook.
To support my work and to get inspired from, i researched into three artists/designers. I created a sheet for each. The first artist i researched was to support the man made mood board and visual sheet i had done. The artist i researched is called Liz Steel, she is a traveling artist who creates wonderful water colour paintings of famous buildings, I thought this would fit into my work perfectly as i had being researching buildings for the man made theme and i had featured a lot of water colour in my sketchbook. To create a sheet on her, i gathered some pictures from her website, http://www.lizsteel.com/, and glued them orderly on my sheet, i then used pen and water colours to extend the pictures. I also added a paragraph about her and what she does.
The next two designers i researched was to support my natural theme which i was more focused on. The first designer was Alexander Mcqueen, he features feathers, flowers and swan like looks in some of his collections and don't forget the swan dress designed for Bjork for the 2001 Oscars. The second designer was Zandra Rhodes, in her sketchbook collection she features bold block colour dresses with floral patterns and floral head wear.
I then started to create my development sheets, these are the next step after visual sheets and these are the sheets which i will create my tracing from to expose onto my screen/s. I did a development sheet for the man made theme as i did not want to use this for my tracing but i had already created a visual sheet for it and i wanted to develop that sheet to show i had explored both themes. To do this i used different thickness pens to create 'sketchy' outlines of buildings which are featured in my visual sheet. I like how i have created depth and shadow just by using different thickness pens, all though i like this sheet, i still did not enjoy researching and developing man made theme. The next two development sheets i created was for the natural theme, to create these i looked at my visual sheets and looked how i could combine everything and develop them onto this sheet, i wanted to include the things i wanted to focus on the most for my final piece, i started by doing a background of a dragonfly wing, i then built on top of that with flowers and fly's. I used my colour scheme to add colour and i really happy with the outcome of my development sheets.
The next step was to create my tracings, as the final piece is a meter of wallpaper i wanted my tracing to repeat both horizontal and vertically, but i also wanted it to look exactly like my last development sheet. This was not as easy as i thought it would be,at all! With a little bit of help i figured out how i could make this happen and i created my original pencil tracing. I did not manage my time at all on this as it took so long to try recreate my development sheet, i had to stay behind in class for 4 hour to get my tracings perfect as i wanted to use four screens, so i had to create a tracing for each one, and they had to line up perfectly! With a little motivation and effort i got it done in time for the print technician to expose my screens.
By this point of the project i had come to a stop in my sketchbook as i wanted to focus on my samples and my final piece. I had done a few pages in my sketchbook on colour theory to support my colour scheme and i had researched into wallpapers and got some samples.
Once my screens were ready i was ready to start my samples! I was determined to manage my time better for this as this is when it starts getting stressful. I bought 10 meter of wallpaper lining and cut it up to use for my samples, i also did the backgrounds for my samples at home to save time. I did this by using the same technique as i did on my development sheet, fine liner and water and water colours to create a dragonfly wing textured background, i did this on a few backgrounds but i used different coloured watercolours to experiment with colours. I was prepared to get stuck into the print room and do my samples, although when i got there and printed with my first screen (as i had four) it had not exposed properly and left lines across my first sample. This was disappointing after the effort i put in to get it done, i could not afford to lose anymore time so whilst the print technician exposed me another screen i carried on printing with the screen i already had, this would effect my design meeting when it came to presenting my samples to a group of people. As i wanted my samples to look perfect, i went into college on my day off and hoped my new screen had exposed properly, it hadn't and i was left with a second screen which did not work, this one was far worse than the screen with the lines though. Third time lucky me and the print technician exposed my screen for a third time and it came out perfect! Although this made me happy, i was behind on sampling and i had only a few hours to experiment with colours and backgrounds on my samples. I tried to stick to my colour scheme but was asked to experiment with different colours, so i stuck to my colour scheme on screens 2,3 and 4 but changed the colour of screen 1 so it would just be the outline that would be different. I also experimented with batik. Once all my samples were dry i put them all in my technical folder, labeled with what techniques and pigment i used.
The next step was the design meeting, i was placed into a group of four people (including me) and asked to present all my work, when it came to presenting my samples the others in the group were to write down positive and negative comments to help them decide which sample they would like me to recreate as my final piece. I was not pleased with the chosen sample, as it was the sample i did to experiment with outline colours and it does not really fit in with my colour scheme but i could not do anything about it, i had to just focus on making it the best i could.
When it came to printing my final piece i was quite confident. I taped my wallpaper lining down onto the printing table and mixed my colours referring to my technical notes with the recipes of colours i used for this certain sample i was asked to recreate. I then started printing and everything was going fine as i got my self into a routine, as i did not want to rush it and ruin it. After i had printed my first two screen's, repeated on the whole of the meter of wall paper lining it was time to print my third screen, This is where the problems started. The third screen would not line up at all,i printed it once and it looked a mess, and ruined my work, I was so upset. I had a problem which i needed to solve, i decided i would use a brush and my pink pigment and paint all the pink in, this took a lot of time and left brush marks but it was better than my screen not lining up. My positive thoughts had gone drastically down hill as i thought my final piece was ruined. I had one more screen to print which i used yellow pigment with, i printed the whole meter with this and was so happy with the results, it brought my final piece back to life and took my eyes off the things that were wrong with it.
During this project we also learnt a range of techniques which included knitting,weaving using the peg loom and loom, felting and needle felting. The first technique we learnt was knitting, i had never knitted before and it took me a while to understand how to cast on and off and to learn not to drop stitches but i got the hang of it and found it very therapeutic. We then learnt how to weave, first on the peg loom, although this is very time consuming i loved the final outcome and would defiantly consider using this technique in future projects. However i did not feel the same way about using the loom, i did not like that at all. We then learned how to do felting which i had never done before and i really enjoyed doing that, same as the peg loom, it is tiring and time consuming but the outcome's are lovely. I did not like needle felting as much, as i did not like the process of doing it or the outcome.
I think throughout the project i managed my time very well, i had a few times where i was behind but that was not due to me, and when i was behind i put the time and effort in to catch up. I am a very organised person, i could not live without making lists and i think this helped me a lot!
I really enjoy keeping a blog to write posts throughout my textiles journey, it helps me keep organised and i think i am good at updating it.
As i was applying for university at the same time as doing this project it really helped me find what i want to do as a career and what i want to study further at university, i really enjoyed screen printing and would love to create my own prints and have them printed on soft furnishing's, although before this project i was not too sure on what i wanted to do.
In conclusion, I have really enjoyed this project. I feel like i have come along way since my last project which i did not enjoy as much. I have gained a lot more confidence during this project and had fun along the way too! It has helped me a lot as i now know that i want to study at university and maybe even get a career out of it! I feel i have shown my strengths throughout this project and i am happy with my final piece. If i could go back and change anything i would not, as every mistake or problem i have had, i have solved them and its taught me not to do them again. I have really enjoyed this project from start to finish and i am looking forward to the next one!
As i had done a lot of work with insects on my sheets i showed this in my sketchbook as well, i focused on dragonfly wings at first. Looking up and photocopying from insect books in the library i got some primary research to support my idea's. At this part of the project i had done a lot in my sketchbook, i had experimented with techniques and i found something i really liked to do, this was layering up my work. As you can tell from my work i like to work messy and busy, i'm not really one to do simple. I found a new love for layering up my work when i had created a page i did not really like in my sketchbook then i taped a plastic wallet over the top and used permanent pen to draw over it. This gave me the idea to do screen printing to create my final piece as i can layer it up and use more than one screen. I had also done some more research in my sketchbook using man made objects but with natural patterns on, such as stained glass windows, and tiles. I also bought a plain tile and drew my own floral pattern on it and stuck that in my sketchbook.
To support my work and to get inspired from, i researched into three artists/designers. I created a sheet for each. The first artist i researched was to support the man made mood board and visual sheet i had done. The artist i researched is called Liz Steel, she is a traveling artist who creates wonderful water colour paintings of famous buildings, I thought this would fit into my work perfectly as i had being researching buildings for the man made theme and i had featured a lot of water colour in my sketchbook. To create a sheet on her, i gathered some pictures from her website, http://www.lizsteel.com/, and glued them orderly on my sheet, i then used pen and water colours to extend the pictures. I also added a paragraph about her and what she does.
The next two designers i researched was to support my natural theme which i was more focused on. The first designer was Alexander Mcqueen, he features feathers, flowers and swan like looks in some of his collections and don't forget the swan dress designed for Bjork for the 2001 Oscars. The second designer was Zandra Rhodes, in her sketchbook collection she features bold block colour dresses with floral patterns and floral head wear.
I then started to create my development sheets, these are the next step after visual sheets and these are the sheets which i will create my tracing from to expose onto my screen/s. I did a development sheet for the man made theme as i did not want to use this for my tracing but i had already created a visual sheet for it and i wanted to develop that sheet to show i had explored both themes. To do this i used different thickness pens to create 'sketchy' outlines of buildings which are featured in my visual sheet. I like how i have created depth and shadow just by using different thickness pens, all though i like this sheet, i still did not enjoy researching and developing man made theme. The next two development sheets i created was for the natural theme, to create these i looked at my visual sheets and looked how i could combine everything and develop them onto this sheet, i wanted to include the things i wanted to focus on the most for my final piece, i started by doing a background of a dragonfly wing, i then built on top of that with flowers and fly's. I used my colour scheme to add colour and i really happy with the outcome of my development sheets.
The next step was to create my tracings, as the final piece is a meter of wallpaper i wanted my tracing to repeat both horizontal and vertically, but i also wanted it to look exactly like my last development sheet. This was not as easy as i thought it would be,at all! With a little bit of help i figured out how i could make this happen and i created my original pencil tracing. I did not manage my time at all on this as it took so long to try recreate my development sheet, i had to stay behind in class for 4 hour to get my tracings perfect as i wanted to use four screens, so i had to create a tracing for each one, and they had to line up perfectly! With a little motivation and effort i got it done in time for the print technician to expose my screens.
By this point of the project i had come to a stop in my sketchbook as i wanted to focus on my samples and my final piece. I had done a few pages in my sketchbook on colour theory to support my colour scheme and i had researched into wallpapers and got some samples.
Once my screens were ready i was ready to start my samples! I was determined to manage my time better for this as this is when it starts getting stressful. I bought 10 meter of wallpaper lining and cut it up to use for my samples, i also did the backgrounds for my samples at home to save time. I did this by using the same technique as i did on my development sheet, fine liner and water and water colours to create a dragonfly wing textured background, i did this on a few backgrounds but i used different coloured watercolours to experiment with colours. I was prepared to get stuck into the print room and do my samples, although when i got there and printed with my first screen (as i had four) it had not exposed properly and left lines across my first sample. This was disappointing after the effort i put in to get it done, i could not afford to lose anymore time so whilst the print technician exposed me another screen i carried on printing with the screen i already had, this would effect my design meeting when it came to presenting my samples to a group of people. As i wanted my samples to look perfect, i went into college on my day off and hoped my new screen had exposed properly, it hadn't and i was left with a second screen which did not work, this one was far worse than the screen with the lines though. Third time lucky me and the print technician exposed my screen for a third time and it came out perfect! Although this made me happy, i was behind on sampling and i had only a few hours to experiment with colours and backgrounds on my samples. I tried to stick to my colour scheme but was asked to experiment with different colours, so i stuck to my colour scheme on screens 2,3 and 4 but changed the colour of screen 1 so it would just be the outline that would be different. I also experimented with batik. Once all my samples were dry i put them all in my technical folder, labeled with what techniques and pigment i used.
The next step was the design meeting, i was placed into a group of four people (including me) and asked to present all my work, when it came to presenting my samples the others in the group were to write down positive and negative comments to help them decide which sample they would like me to recreate as my final piece. I was not pleased with the chosen sample, as it was the sample i did to experiment with outline colours and it does not really fit in with my colour scheme but i could not do anything about it, i had to just focus on making it the best i could.
When it came to printing my final piece i was quite confident. I taped my wallpaper lining down onto the printing table and mixed my colours referring to my technical notes with the recipes of colours i used for this certain sample i was asked to recreate. I then started printing and everything was going fine as i got my self into a routine, as i did not want to rush it and ruin it. After i had printed my first two screen's, repeated on the whole of the meter of wall paper lining it was time to print my third screen, This is where the problems started. The third screen would not line up at all,i printed it once and it looked a mess, and ruined my work, I was so upset. I had a problem which i needed to solve, i decided i would use a brush and my pink pigment and paint all the pink in, this took a lot of time and left brush marks but it was better than my screen not lining up. My positive thoughts had gone drastically down hill as i thought my final piece was ruined. I had one more screen to print which i used yellow pigment with, i printed the whole meter with this and was so happy with the results, it brought my final piece back to life and took my eyes off the things that were wrong with it.
During this project we also learnt a range of techniques which included knitting,weaving using the peg loom and loom, felting and needle felting. The first technique we learnt was knitting, i had never knitted before and it took me a while to understand how to cast on and off and to learn not to drop stitches but i got the hang of it and found it very therapeutic. We then learnt how to weave, first on the peg loom, although this is very time consuming i loved the final outcome and would defiantly consider using this technique in future projects. However i did not feel the same way about using the loom, i did not like that at all. We then learned how to do felting which i had never done before and i really enjoyed doing that, same as the peg loom, it is tiring and time consuming but the outcome's are lovely. I did not like needle felting as much, as i did not like the process of doing it or the outcome.
I think throughout the project i managed my time very well, i had a few times where i was behind but that was not due to me, and when i was behind i put the time and effort in to catch up. I am a very organised person, i could not live without making lists and i think this helped me a lot!
I really enjoy keeping a blog to write posts throughout my textiles journey, it helps me keep organised and i think i am good at updating it.
As i was applying for university at the same time as doing this project it really helped me find what i want to do as a career and what i want to study further at university, i really enjoyed screen printing and would love to create my own prints and have them printed on soft furnishing's, although before this project i was not too sure on what i wanted to do.
In conclusion, I have really enjoyed this project. I feel like i have come along way since my last project which i did not enjoy as much. I have gained a lot more confidence during this project and had fun along the way too! It has helped me a lot as i now know that i want to study at university and maybe even get a career out of it! I feel i have shown my strengths throughout this project and i am happy with my final piece. If i could go back and change anything i would not, as every mistake or problem i have had, i have solved them and its taught me not to do them again. I have really enjoyed this project from start to finish and i am looking forward to the next one!
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