The Blood Bag Project Workshop With Leigh Bowser

A few day's ago I wrote a post on Leigh Bowsers project called The Blood Bag Project. You can find that post by clicking here. 

Today I did a workshop at university with Leigh Bowser. Firstly we sat and watched Leigh give a presentation about her project. Although I had already researched it quite a lot I was amazed by how many people from all around the world had taken part in this socially engaged project! I then made my own blood bag to be part of the project which you can see in the picture above.

To make your own blood bag you can download the template off The Blood Bag website which is linked below. I was so happy to be a part of this project and the story behind it! 

Its amazing to see craft and textiles having such a world wide effect on people.

The Blood Bag Project Website - Click Here

The Blood Bag Project Blog - Click Here

The Blood Bag Project Facebook Page - Click Here

Leigh Bowser's Blog - Click Here

Leigh Bowser's Website - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Portfolio - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Facebook - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Etsy Shop - Click Here

Free Machine Embroidery

During the first year of the course I am studying, You do workshops in rotation through out the year. Then you chose which to specialise in for your second year. I am currently doing the embroidery workshop which I am throughly enjoying as I love doing messy and layered stitching  mostly free machining, So I decided I would share with you a couple of samples I have created in my own time just experimenting with colour, stitch length and type. 

Setting my stitch to straight stitch and putting the thickness of the stitch quite low, I got my fabric and embroidery hoop ready. To do free machine embroidery you MUST have an embroidery hoop, They are not at all expensive and you simply cannot free machine without it. This is because the embroidery hoop creates tension on your material which allows the needle to have more control. To free machine you also need to take the foot off your machine and put down the teeth of your machine, Their is often a button/switch under neath or at the back of the machine to do this. I had pink thread in my bobbin and blue on my spool. I linked it into my most recent work which was based on colourful nature. I began by free machining a flower, I tried to layer it up a lot and make it quite sketchy and messy!

I then changed the colours and did a smaller flower, A little more messy. In green and pink.

The back of the second flower I created, I though it looked better than the front!

I then did a second sample focusing on leafs.

For this sample I set my stitch to zig zag and set my stitch length to a higher setting just to play around and experiment. I found that with these settings I was unable to create a 'messy' looking effect however it did look quite 3D. I used yellow and orange for this first leaf. I then added a few other leaf's at the side of this sample and put the settings back to the original straight stitch and layered it up to create a more sketchy effect.

I really love the colour's on this sample. They really compliment each other. 

Whilst examining my work I realised how amazing it looked when put up towards a light. As the fabric is quite sheer you can see the shadow of the thread at the back of the fabric and it gives a really nice effect.

I was in such a motivated good mood to get lot's of samples done however when I started my next sample my needle decided to snap and I don't have any to replace it, However I will buy some more and do some more sample's and show you guys as I would like to incorporate different materials into it to make it more interesting!

Commercial Designer Project | Feedback

If you read my blog regular you will know I have been doing my first ever university project for the rotation of commercial designer.  

Today I got my feedback, I was so scared as it was the first feedback from university and I had not experienced this since I got my grades for my final major project at the end of college. The marking system is quite different from what I have seen before, It was rather alien to me.

It turns out that I did rather well and got 71, This is the equivalent of a 1st! I am super happy with myself and I have inspired myself to work harder and harder to keep my grades up. I am at university for 4 years and I want to make each day better than the last and make each moment matter!

I can not wait to look back in 4 year and see how far I have developed whilst at university. 

Leigh Bowser - Blood Bag Project

Leigh Bowser is an illustrative embroider, specializing in portrait, Using free hand machine techniques. Leigh graduated Huddersfield University with 1^st class hons in textile craft. She creates wearable and affordable hand embroided unique works of art. The blood bag project is a project that Leigh Bowser has created for her niece chloe. Chloe has a rare blood condition called diamond blackfan anaemia. The project is to create awareness of this rare condition, By welcoming people to create their own textile blood bag to be apart of the exhibition/project. There are over 300 blood bags that have been made! I think this project is really amazing, Not only is it art, It is raising awareness of this rare condition and promoting the use of textile art for a good cause. Each blood bag made has a tag on with the name of the person that made it, where they are from and their age.  Each blood bag is as creative as the last, Using techniques such as stiching, hand embroidery, applique, etc… each bag is made with love. Although The Blood Bag project is Leigh Bowser project, The art is a collection of artists/students coming together to support the project, Making the project a community. Whilst researching into Leigh Bowser I saw that her Blood Bag project is on exhibition at the Lawrence Batley Theater in Huddersfield, Although I was not able to see the exhibition I was impressed with all the photography online of the bag’s. I was also impressed with the website for Leigh Bowser, The website for the Blood Bag project and all the links to her portfolio, etsy page, facebook etc…  In conclusion, I am really pleased that someones love for textile art has been driven into creating a community project for such a good cause so close to home.  

Links

The Blood Bag Project Website - Click Here

The Blood Bag Project Blog - Click Here

The Blood Bag Project Facebook Page - Click Here

Leigh Bowser's Blog - Click Here

Leigh Bowser's Website - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Portfolio - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Facebook - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Etsy Shop - Click Here

Please share this blog post to raise awareness of The Blood Bag Project and support the amazing work of Leigh Bowser!

String Art - Memory Drawing

I am into my new professional practice rotation now and I will be learning all about contemporary practitioner's. My first lesson was rather different than my first lesson of commercial designer. We was told to meet up at university then we would be taken somewhere, That place turned out to be the local shopping market called the packhorse centre in Huddersfield. We will be working in there most wednesday's. The task set for this lesson was memory drawing - with string! 

I was put into a group of 6 other peers and we went outside to the square and looked at different view's and we all had to memorise one of the views to then go back upstairs into the area in the shopping markets to draw it out in string.

The area we decided to draw was the entrance to the shopping market's; It was the packhorse centre sign and christmas lights underneath it. 

We started by recreating the view on the wall, As a group we decided to take advantage of the column just a couple of meters from the wall we were drawing on and decided to bring out our string drawing off the wall. So from one angle you can see what the drawing is of and from others it looks completely abstract.

We also screwed up balls of masking tape and used yarn to hang them this way it looked like christmas baubles, We also twisted the hanging string to make it look like fairy lights!

I am really happy with how our drawing came out and I really enjoyed doing this activity.

My First University Project!

Recently I have been not posting much about university - If you have followed me since I went to college you will know that I kept you updated all the time however my first university project has been crazy mad. 4 modules, A blog and a social life is hard to balance out but I am slowly getting the hang of it. Today I shall be sharing with you the development and process of my first university project as it is my hand in date on Monday.

The brief

The brief stated that the project requirements were to create 3 boards. An 'inspiration/trend' board, Market/Product board and a final fabric board. As well as a research journal which I just did as a sketchbook showing my research and development. My project was to work within pre-set parameters, To engage with global trends and use that as inspiration for my project. To develop an understanding of the role of commercial designer. To develop samples from my workshops that are relevant to my project either for interiors or fashion market. This project is also based around the brand Anthropologie, This means my final fabric samples will be researched and created for Anthropologie. I thought about it as to think that at the end of the project that I would really be presenting my work to Anthropologie that way I would make my project suitable and professional as that is what commercial designer is all about - Working to set requirements and being professional.

Research

To start off my research I looked into one of the A/W 15/16 Macro trends on WGSN which I was set in my brief. I decided to look at Every Utopias. As it all about finding paradise in the everyday and my everyday utopia is going on nature walks - I though this was amazing and so beneficial as I can always find so much inspiration in nature. This also ties into the mini stories in each macro trend which is micro-adventure's which is all about nature and earth. My second everyday utopia is blogging - This also ties in with the second story in the macro trend which is stock fantasy - This is all about digital and futuristic. I also looked at the A/W 15/16 for print and graphics and it is based on landscapes and digital printed landscapes that are abstract.

Project Comparative Shopping in NEXT | Leeds

During this weekend I have been focusing on my Commercial designer project based on the shop 'Anthropologie' I have decided that I will be focusing and basing my project on the fabric for a cushion.  Taking in mind that the cushions I have seen on the anthropologie website are very layered up, They like to use more than one technique on their cushions. Keeping this in mind I went to NEXT in Leeds to have a look at their home section to compare the products. 

Project Inspiration

Hey everyone, Getting stuck into my first independent project at uni was not hard at all. In fact if anything I had missed it. It's been some while since I was looking for inspiration for a project, producing mood boards and sketchbooks. I would not even call it 'homework' anymore, It's something I truly love and hopefully one day will be my career. I thought I would share with you the begin of my project, My inspiration. 

Making A Circuit With Textiles

In todays future materials class, I created a circuit using textiles and it actually lit up a LED light! 

Photoshop Improvements | UNIVERSITY

This morning started off with a CAD class, Which is probably one of the better ways to start a Monday morning. I learnt how to scan things into the mac and use photoshop to change the image and to draw over it. I really enjoyed doing this and it is something I can do at home as I have a scanner and I just bought a new Wacom Bamboo!! So exciting!

Using two photo's I scanned in from my sketchbook I layered them up and used one for my background and one as a starting point to build upon.

Using layers I made my image more sketchy and added colour.

Opening the same image as the background layer in another tab I copied and pasted some bits of it to add it to another layer on top of this creation to bring some life to the foreground.

I then experimented with brushes and colours to make my creation a little more unique and colourful.

After adding more colours and textured brushes I felt like I had completed my creation. I really enjoyed creating this and feel like every time I have a session in photoshop I learn more and more skills which I can put into practice both at university and at home. 

Thanks for reading!

Bacteria In Textiles

Textiles just like any other subject is innovative and always improving. In my future materials class, I was really impressed with how many new idea's had been thought of and experimented with. One of my favourite was using bacteria in textiles, I had already touched on this subject slightly in my final major project at college, You might have seen my final exhibition blog post but if not you can find it by clicking here. My project brief was based on science and I briefly looked into some artists and textile designers that had grown textiles with bacteria. 

What does bacteria do? How does it work?

Bacteria can be used in textiles in so many different ways. It can be grown, This is what London based artist Suzanna Lee has done, She uses microbial-cellulose which is just lots of bacteria grown using green tea to feed them as it contains all the nutrients they need. She grows this in bathtubs. After a few days/week when the bacteria has grown thick enough, she uses a human form/mannequin to sculpt the bacteria to and lets it dry to the shape of that form, or she can just leave the bacteria on it's own to dry then use the more conventional way of making a pattern out of it and then sewing it. Many people have used bacteria in their textiles and fashion. Contemporary artist Donna Franklin has teamed up with a research lab that started out with the hopes of creating a cyborg with self developing skin and created skin tight dressed created from fermented wine. Artist Anna Dumitriu has created a quilt which was coloured/stained with the MRSA bacteria. You can read more about this by clicking here.

Anna Dumitriu - MRSA Quilt 

How could it potentially be utilised in the future?

Mixing science and textiles together is creating a whole new world of what ifs? and experiments. Of course bacteria could be utilised more in the future. I'm sure textile artists and scientists are already teaming up and experimenting with creating more textiles from bacteria. I'm not sure myself how it could be utilised in the future but I am excited and intrigued!

How would I utilise it?

 I would love to be able to see more patterns made out of bacteria in textile's. I would love to team up with the right research/scientists and create patterned bacterial textiles on a large scale, in a similar seamless way like Suzanne Lee does, But with patterned grown bacteria not just plain colour's. I think that would be the next step to improve. From then on the possibilities are endless.

What designers/artists are utilising it at the moment?

Suzanne Lee is the artist I have found to have made the most improvements with growing her own bacteria. Anna Dumitriu is another artist who is also making improvements in this field. I think any one with new ideas and the right connections can do just as both Suzanne Lee and Anna Dumitriu have done and create a whole new world of possibilities for fashion and textiles.

I have really enjoyed researching into bacteria in textiles and would really like to do an experiment of my own including science and textiles, Maybe that is an idea to keep for a big project. 

Thank you for reading!

Becca. 

References: http://www.biocouture.co.uk
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/artist-dyes-clothes-quilts-tuberculosis-and-staph-bacteria-180949511/?no-ist

Summer Project | Textiles

During the summer I was asked to do a summer project, The brief I was given simply stated to 'Get an A1 piece of paper and do something with it'. It did not state if I could use other materials and did not say I could not cut up the paper. It did state to think outside the box or to communicate visually - So that's what I did

I decided to turn my A1 piece of paper into a visual journal. To communicate visually and show what thing's inspired me over the summer and to use different techniques to do so.

I cut up my A1 paper into A4 sized pieces and hole punched them all, I then got some string and tied them together to make a book. 

Thinking about things on my recent holiday to Lanzerote that inspired me, I decided to use different techniques such as line drawings, left hand drawings, watercolour, pastel, masking fluid... etc. I also used photo's from my holiday to show what inspired me.

As you can see I used lot's of different techniques to do this journal. I wanted to make it look as tactile as possible. I'm really happy with my summer project and it's got me in the right mind frame to start University and be creative. 

I hope you like my summer project. Leave me some feed back on how I could have improved or what you would do with an A1 piece of paper.

Thank you for reading!

Becca

Sketchbook Ideas

Hello lovelies! 

With university very very close, You textile/crafty guys and gals are probably still working on or not even started your summer project yet. I thought I would make this mondays blog post a little motivational and inspirational with some sketchbook inspiration I found on pinterest!

Tree Texture | Textile Inspiration

In textile design, As in any other creative subject it can be so easy to get unmotivated due to lack of inspiration. This summer I have been thinking about texture's and how different people perceive them using different techniques. Texture is literally everywhere, Nature is the key when it come's to texture, Weather it is the rust on an old iron gate or the back of a leaf, It could be the wing of a dragonfly or the tiniest grains of sand, Each and every one has a different texture. Today's blog post is focusing on the texture of tree's and different ways to develop and inspire to create something using different techniques.

A Day In The Life #9 - Summer Textiles

22 Degree's today. Soaking up the sun doing a little bit of needle felting was lovely. These past couple of day's I've not been really well and I have been trying to rest but the sun was calling my name today. I've not done too much, just a few needle felted bits to sew onto my big scarf, Doing a few a day has minimized my stress levels a lot as I wanted to do it all in one day and get it out of the way, Rome was not built in a day!! I also took time out to paint my nails this lovely coral/pink colour which matches the colour's in my project just perfectly.

Sorry for the short post again people. I am currently juggling between being poorly, preparing for my exhibition and starting up a new blog, so keep your eyes peeled for that!!

Thank you all for reading x