Evaluation

Time management was a weak point for me during the Practice unit, but by creating a plan and forming a time table at the beginning of Unit X, I have overcome this by keeping up to date with all my work and avoiding a rushed panic at the end.

My design research has been extremely useful throughout my practice as it has influenced the decisions I have made to complete my work to a professional level, resulting in my design knowledge involving finishes, embroidery and print techniques improving greatly. I have a better understanding of the Ethos, as I can now create a blending technique between threads. This was something I wished to achieve before I graduated.

By networking I feel that I have a better understanding of what direction I want to go when I graduate, as I see myself as a designer for interior surface patterns. It has made me consider how other people see my work, and how I should present myself in a professional way and show ownership of my work. Whilst volunteering at the Antiques Fair I enjoyed being able to speak to so many likeminded people with a passion for textiles so I have decided to join the textiles Society. 

My overall aim for this unit was to combine print and embroidery to create repeat patterns. I am happy with my designs so far as I feel they reflect the variety in design I was hoping to achieve. I feel that detail is important in my designs, and I have emphasised that by including detailed embroidery.

I feel that my designs strategy has become stronger as I now try and create many variations of the same design, which can result in a variety of designs that look completely different yet use the same motifs. I think it is important to include variations of the same design, including different colour ways as they may appropriate for different audiences, such as in Cole & Son’s Whimsical collection that features the same vertical plants in two different wallpapers.  

Crown Paint

I have decided to take part in a very open live brief by Crown Paint, which involves reinventing their colour fan deck and colour palette. I have decided to participate in this project with another student who specialises in print, as she would like to redesign the colour palette as I concentrate on the fan deck. We have decided to work together as we will cover both aspects of the brief.
I began by researching how other companies present colour. I found that a variety of companies dedicated a whole page in their fan deck to one colour. As this was something Crown had mentioned they were considering doing, I devised a solution where by a fan deck would be made for each collection.

 

I then realised that as the fan deck was intended for trade use, it may be possible that they would want to combine colours from the colour palettes provided to form their own, or one for a client. This meant that the colour cards need to be detachable to the fan. 

I undertook further research on different fastenings that could be used instead of the current screw and ordered a temporary one from Amazon, to make sure that my idea was viable. 

I have also suggested that extra pages are added to the fan deck, providing sections where the customer can keep their own colour palette at the back. I thought this would be useful for trade's people who are working with more than one company to keep their colour palettes separate without getting lost. 

Another page I am suggesting is one that includes the range of finishes provided by Crown, as some paints are available in matte, gloss and floor paint, I feel it is important for the customer to see the differences. 

I have enjoyed the crown paint project because I feel that I have made realistic changes to the fan deck that could be put into practice. We will be presenting our ideas on Wednesday 13th May, but have a practice run through on the previous Monday. Even though I don't feel that this project has directly influenced my current practice, I feel that it has improved my presentation skills. I want my ideas to be displayed at a professional level, whilst keeping them simple and easy to understand. 

Making it Building it: Craft Your Future

On Thursday 5th March I took part in an emerging makers day at the Whitworth Art Gallery called Making it Building it: Craft Your Future. It consisted of a series of talks by artists and designers explaining how their careers started. We were also able to network and I managed to speak to a few people about volunteering opportunities and possible jobs within Manchester. I have taken note of a couple of email addresses of people I was introduced to, and I plan on contacting them again in the near future.
I was also asked to create a stitched response to the day, so I created a series of panels to represent certain aspects that stood out to me, these range from work shown during the artists talks to a cup of tea offered at the beginning.
I found the day to be a really positive experience as I was able to interact with a lot of makers, and people who took a keen interest in their final products. This has made me consider where myself and my work will fit in the industry. I have always enjoyed making, however as my photo shop and Ethos skills have improved I find myself more interested in design and sampling. I would consider working freelance, however when graduate my plan in to find a job within a fabric design company.

Stitched Response

It was after this I decided to create a professional online presents by making a website. I have displayed a range of my work with a small description about myself, however I intend to add more so that it is completely ready for when I visit New Designers in June. My web address is www.claireowens.co.uk  

Embroidery

As my intention has been to create a collection where embroidery is used to enhance the detail within print designs, I have gathered research on existing decorative embroidery for interiors.
I volunteered at the Textiles Society's Antiques fair and noted the different ways traditional embroidery was used to add tone. The image below is one that particularly interested me because tone is added through the use of a looser zigzag stitch over two closer together stitches. This technique will have been completed by hand, however I can create the same effect on the Ethos by using different stitch widths, below is my design using this technique.

Textiles Society Antiques Fair - Embroidered Silk 

My Tonal Design 

I have also taken into consideration current embroidery designers. Vaughan is a design company that create a range of embroidered fabrics intended for interior uses such as upholstery and curtains. One aspect of their designs I found interesting was the stitch width was very wide. This could be for a number of reasons, one being to save money by using less thread, and another being to avoid creating a raised surface on top of the fabric causing it to become unsuitable for upholstering furniture such as chairs, which are intended to be sat on. I found that opening my stitches out causes the least amount of change to the fabric and is therefore a technique I intend to use.

Vaughan Designs.com

Fabric

After visiting a fabric store in Manchester and not finding enough variety between repeatable fabric for an interiors collection I decided to visit Berwick Street in London to buy fabric suitable for my project.
I found the research carried out earlier in the project useful when making my decisions as I had noted the different fabrics used for present interior designs were usually thick, not stretchy and durable. I had also discovered that interfacing can be used to make a fabric thicker; Christopher Guy for example backed silk to make it more suitable for upholstery. This technique has widened the possibilities of fabrics I can use as I can make thin fabric thicker.

Christopher Guy Backed Silk Sample 

When selecting my fabric, I thought it best to keep to whites and creams as they are in my colour palette, but also easy to dye, but I still wanted my fabric to be durable so I taking into consideration the market research executed during the practice unit, where I researched a range of bedding, and the research carried out during this unit I selected a range of cottons, linens, and wool. I also came across bamboo fabric and have decided to test this in my collection because it appeared to be a thicker softer cotton. After researching it's qualities I found that it is extremely durable, soft and antibacterial, therefore I consider it suitable for an interiors collection.
I dyed a range of cottons and beige and purple by using the facilities in the print room. My fabric dying successful because the colours match my colour palette. I then bought some dye to use at home but not many of my samples were successful. This was because I used a washing machine dye which was distributed unevenly over the fabric. Because of this I have bought a range of pre dyed fabrics too. I plan to use this fabric to create a range of screen printed samples and some that only feature embroidered motifs because I want my collection to be varied by including complicated and simple designs.

Fabric Dye Experiments 

Designing

I have been undertaking composition research appropriate for interior fabric. I like the composition of Paolozzi's work, however I intend to be working in repeat so I have been analysing what I like about his work so I can reflect this into my designs. I have concluded that I like his use of random shapes, interlocking pattern and abstract scenes, which is also present in the Scandinavian styled work I had researched during the practice unit.

Doris Gregg, Welwyn Garden (1926)

A design I specifically liked the composition of was Welwyn Garden City by Doris Gregg (above) because it displays an abstract scene in a repeat. I wanted to recreate my own abstract scene in repeat and for my first attempt I decided to use my mountain scene inspired motifs because I wanted to include natural forms within my design in order to keep in line with my concept of Mechanical Nature. I have also included linear forms as well as cogs in the design to give the impression of a working machine. I'm happy with my design as I think the half drop repeat joins up well, making an interlocking repeat, however I feel that more depth can be added to the design through embroidery.
I have been trying to create designs with varied colour ways, as shown below, as I learned that this was important during my initial research at the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre.

I have also decided to create more than one collection, I feel this will enable me to create a varied range, however I was concerned about using the same imagery and motifs throughout. I have looked back through my research and discovered that Cole and Sons reuse designs and ideas within different collections. For example their 'Woods' design is displayed in their Contemporary II collection, which features bold, large scale designs with contemporary colouring, but has also been reworked as another design called 'Woods & Stars' in their Whimsical collection, which features a nostalgic range of designs inspired by a fairytale theme. I feel that this works because the collections are portraying a different vibe, which has made me consider what atmosphere I want to display through my collections.

Drawing

During the Practice unit I experimented with using a range of drawing media including a Chinese brush to create bold motifs, however because I plan to create more tonal designs I have decided to use pencil and charcoal as I find it easier to control shading. After taking photos from the Natural History Museum I created drawings that focus on translating texture and shape in a direct way.

I felt that during the practice unit my motifs could have been more varied if I had practised different drawing styles, so I created a series of motifs by watching an Moving Art: Forests by Louie Schwartzberg as he films his journey to the Redwood coast (California, US) and Olympic National park (Washington US). The compilation is a display of forests, meandering rivers and interesting landscapes. I found myself working at a fast pace to translate what I saw before the scene changed, making my drawings freer. I feel that these abstract drawings will contrast to my detailed motifs, and create more variation within my work.

Fast Paced Motifs                 Detailed Motifs