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. 

Feeling Inspired

After messing about with paper models I produced something I was very pleased with, and once shown to peers and tutors, I feel like it has really brought all my ideas together and I'm now working on creating samples that I'm really excited about!

So now I'm experimenting with using superstitious objects such as magpies, black cats, clovers etc. as yarn. I then intend to experiment with different materials to create my warp and use my laser cut yarn as the weft to weave new fabrics. I am really glad I have discovered this way to sample because I really enjoy weaving and feel like that is where my strengths lie, and the laser cutter and 3D printer will really help to produce some textured and interesting woven fabrics.

This is an artist I have found who makes rugs using a similar technique I intend to use:

http://www.dwell.com/how-they-make-it/article/little-field-flowers

 

Friday Drawing: Magpies

I really enjoyed today's Friday drawing because it allowed me to think more about how to use multiples in my work. We were asked to create a very small sample and then to expand from this sample for the rest of the session.
I used wire to make a small magpie and expanded on this by creating a chain with gradually larger magpies. I decided to make a stop motion animation of the process:

After this sesssion I think I'd like to experiment with chains of shapes and how I might use them to make samples. Will experiment with some paper cutting and folding and see if that provides any inspiration. 

Lazer Cutting

Having done lots of line drawings, and being shown how to manipulate them accurately on illustrator, we booked a session on the lazer cutter. We chose to work with wood for our first session, so I came up with some designs, this was my favourite:

 I really like the effects you can create with the wood and will definitely look to use it again in the future.
At the moment I'm still not sure what my context should be, and I need to think about using a wider range of materials.
I talked to Hazel today who suggested some kind of interactive element, so perhaps looking and childrens toys and linking it to my work.
At the moment my main problem is working out how to fit multiples into my samples and how using the lazer cutter will make this easier.

Superstition Stop Motion Animation

Over the Christmas holidays I have been trying to expand the superstitions I can represent visually. After collecting lots of responses from family and friends, I thought I'd have a go at "step on the cracks, break your mother's back".

After watching all the Wallice and Gromit films as part of the christmas tv schedule I thought it might be fun to experiment with stop motion animation so I bought an amateur stop motion animation app created by Aardman. This is the animation I made:

 

I think next time I make an animation I will have to be sure to make more frames that accurrately represent the movement. I did quite enjoy making it though and feel like it might be helpful later on, whether to record techniques, progress or as a piece with in its own rights. 

The Language of Progress

Streets Clock by Fluid Forms and John Briscella

2008.

This clock is made by superimposing a street map onto a clock face. This data is then sent to a laser cutter, to cut the clock face out of a sheet of acrylic or wood. Fluid Forms has set up an online shop so that customers can choose their own place and create a personalised decorative piece for a gift or their own use.

I really like this piece because each clock is likely to be unique, even if the same place was chosen, due to the map image selecting process. I also really like the intricacy of the clocks and the find the concept of combining space and time very clever.

This work reminds me of Rob Ryan's papercutting in style, because of the cutting away of negative space element. This work also reminds me of Claire Brewster who also uses paper cutting, to create images of birds from maps to represent their migration routes.

The only real relationship between Fluid Forms and my work is the process of mapping data but our design concepts are not very closely linked as I am more interested in fashion/fashion accessories and this work is more homeware.