PE Task 2

During this unit I feel like I have really discovered how important the context of my work really is. Doing contextual research has helped inform my choices of fabric, the scale of my work and the way it is constructed.

One of the first artists I looked at was Nani Marquina. I feel I can relate to her work because of her use of weaving and a yarn that is made up of shapes. Although she only really had one piece that I feel is particularly relevant to my work, it really helped my visualise some ideas that I had only previously been able to create in paper. After discovering Nani Marquina was the first time I'd also really considered interior design as a context, previously thinking more along the lines of fashion.

 

My second artist, Art Sign Interiors, I felt that I could relate to, gave me a much stronger understanding of what kind of audience I was creating my work for. I felt I was really interested by the way multiples could be used in interior design, and it was nice to see the way art sign interiors explored these. However I still felt a little bit lost due to 'interiors' encompassing such a large range of products. Although I quite liked the wall hanging sample, it felt a bit too much like creating a final piece rather than samples, also this was a rare opportunity to work on a larger scale, which I did enjoy but felt was time consuming and expensive to pursue on the laser cutter. 

Which brings me to my third artist, Rag Art Studio. Discovering rag-rugging artists really helped me to narrow down my field of work, and the kind of samples I was
wanting to produce. Finding this context allowed me to efficiently use my time on the laser cutter, and provided an excellent basis to present my 3D yarn on. This was particularly helpful because I was struggling to find an appropriate material to weave into. I am glad I was inspired to do some rag-rugging because I also prefer the more 3D effect created by the rag-rugging as opposed to the wall hanging and love the way multiples are used to make textured surface. 

At first I found it quite hard to do contextual research, stuck in the mindset that I needed to find artists that used superstition in certain contexts. After realising that it was more to do audience I felt a lot more comfortable finding artists and using them to inspire my work. I really feel having this experience will really help in my future units, and will encourage me to experiment with different contexts to find out which I prefer as well as considering all the possibilities for my work.

Feeling Confident in Context

Having used my final laser cutting session to make more 3D yarn I felt a bit stuck about what kind of material I wanted to weave through. So I did some more contextual research and took a great interest in rag-rugs.

This is a rug I found particularly inspiring by Rag Art Studios. I feel I can translate the way the shapes of the flowers are arranged directly to my superstitious 3D yarn. Also relating to my work the way the rugs, although generally of a flat nature, have a very 3D element about them. I also feel that they make a good use of multiples to create a very nice textures.

This is the work of Jenny Salton which I liked.

 I felt this really confirmed my earlier thoughts of making fabrics for interior design and helped inform my choices of fabric. It has definitely helped me progress my work, knowing who my audience is, and I am now very excited about producing my own samples.