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26/11/18
Intro
I have now started my Urban Landscape project and began by discussing what an urban landscape is and what can be found in it. For me, this was a good reminder of some things that I had forgotten from the previous year and also helped me think broader. For example, instead of thinking about the word houses, I can think of the different types of houses: old, new, flats, cottages, terrace house, tree house, house boat, huts, mansions etc. This would help broaden my ideas and options for my theme. I started to think about what my chosen urban landscape would be and what I would find in it, and due to the trip to Manchester UCAS fair we would have the following day, I decided that I could choose Manchester as my urban landscape. However, because I cannot go there often or by my self, I would consider using Buxton or leek as an extra set of alternatives because it is easier for me to get to alone.
I created some mind maps to show the potential things I could find and use in my outcome.
Robinson, A (2014). If women built cities, what would our urban landscape look like? [Photograph]. theguardian.com. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/05/if-women-built-cities-what-would-our-urban-landscape-look-like
“I hate to stereotype,” says architect Fiona Scott. “Male architects are often quite sensitive, artistic people and any suggestion that buildings designed by women are more curvy, tactile or colourful is wrong. But I don’t think there are many women who think, ‘Oh, my ideal project would be a massive tower.’”
Initial ideas
Idea 1- Inception costume
This idea would be done in the same way I did my project last year, where I chose a movie to design a costume for and made the design inspired by buildings and then edited the costume unto the body of the movie character.
in this case, I would choose the move "Inception" and use the idea of the dream and link it to the reflections of the building. It looks like something (the distorted shapes on the buildings reflection) but the real thing is different. And then I would make a pattern with it and put it unto a garment. Either print the design onto a body template or maybe even sublimation print the design on real fabric to make the garment.
Idea 2- Bird dress
for this idea I thought of creating a dress based on the dress from the movie "Snow White and the huntsman". This means my focus would be on birds, therefor I would need to photograph birds and then I could have a range of feather designs to use. I could laser cut these feather designs and put on a garment or make a cape. The character in this movie has a garment made of crow feathers, so maybe I could make one with feathers from a different bird that I might find in my chosen urban landscape.
Idea 3- Bird house
This idea would be related more to stage designing where I could create a bird house and cover it with with the design of a building as if the bird was living in one. This could have some meaning or message, that the birds are found making their nests within the urban landscape (e.g. bird nests in chimneys) or that the buildings and urban landscape have surrounded and almost invaded the bird's environment.
Idea 4- Plague mask
Last year I made a bird mask which people said looked like the mask from the movie "Plague". This gave me the idea of making producing a costume specifically for this movie. I could photograph people with long black coats and use them to develop my design ideas for the garment. I have not yet thought thoroughly through this idea but maybe if I choose to do it I could develop it.
27/11/18
Today I went to Manchester for the UCAS fair and used this trip to photograph as many different aspects of the urban landscape as I could, so that I then could look more closely at them and decide what I could base my outcome on. Unfortunately the time was not a lot and the rainy weather affected how my images looked like. Despite this, I tried to focus on as many elements as I could such as colour, line, shape, pattern, texture and even the composition of how it's been put together.
Manchester Photos
I was quite happy with the number of photos I took and believe I have a good variety of elements which I could inspire my outcome on. Some of my initial ideas though, had elements which I didn't manage to photograph closely, so I'll should try and take photographs of these elements in my own time.
I kept thinking of what would I choose as my theme. I had the choice of developing ideas from my last year's urban landscape project project (birds) or to choose a new theme. I thought maybe I could do something different this time because at this time of the year (winter) I think it would be harder to photograph many birds. I wanted to have a theme I could come back to often if I needed to.
03/12/18
Power point presentation on proposal
I was slightly nervous before starting my presentation as I felt weird that people didn't seem very interested. However, I tried my best to explained my proposal.
I believe I did slightly better than my last presentation as I managed to speak more fluently and louder without having too much writing. I think this works better as I can speak using my own words and if I want to say something in addition I will add it into my presentation, although some notes help remind me of what I want to say and keep on track with my ideas. I think that the room I presented in was better than the last as it was more spacious and cooler, I struggle to concentrate in a small and crowded room.
KEEP UP TO DATE WITH BLOG!
Tutors have been reminding students to keep their blogs up to date and I noticed I had not be keeping up with mine as much as I should. I want to find time to do my blog daily, instead of one blog post a week or once a while because this way I will just forget about what I have done and not reflect on it, therefore not showing my progress and development. From now I should make notes alongside my work so that when I am blogging I have these notes to remind me and this way, even when I don't have a slot in my schedule for blogging, I have the notes to help remind me when I come back to it.
I will find out the date of the images I took from my work so that I can see what I did each day and reflect on it.
Collage inspired by Ruth Allen
This test was inspired by Ruth Allen where I tried recreating a collage with the same technique. I believe this looks quite nice and shows that I was freer and experimental (paint splash). I noticed Ruth Allen's collages have one colour paper, I wanted to try using different fabrics instead, to have different textures and feelings from different decayed surfaces (some smooth and some rough).
"canvas and paper, using collage and a delicate black line to capture these beautiful buildings."
The problem with this test is that because the building design was quite detailed, it was harder to cut the fabrics to exactly the right size and I would have spent too long filling in every single space. The fabrics I was using looked a bit messy when I cut them up due to their thick threads. I was thinking that maybe next time I could use the light box to trace the sections on some dress pattern paper to then make it easier to cut the fabric to the right size. Also, I should try doing this on a simpler design and if I want more detail, I could make the design bigger.
I feel I am getting better at being more creative in my tests and I am making progress in not spending too much time just doing one test. My tutors have said often that we (students) should try exploring more things that we are not used to do so that we discover more things and show more development, maybe find things we did not know worked in such way and could be used in our work.
My understanding about fabrics has also improved as well as finding different ways in which they can be used along with other materials.
Leek Photos
The photographs I took seemed good enough for me as I showed a variety of different sorts of decay. Most images had not been photographed from the front which is something I think I need to start getting used to doing, unless something is in the way that I can't get to, I should try to photograph things from the front so that I can capture it all and use for testing.
I was happy to have been able to go out and take more photographs to support my theme as I didn't have as many as I could have from Manchester.
10/12/18
I have talked to my tutor this morning and discussed where my progress was at. We have agreed that I will continue with my decay theme and I have been suggested the different ways in which I could interpret my ideas.
This has made my mind much clearer and inspired, whereas before I was a bit lost as to what I was doing and it was leading me somewhere.
My decision so far is to look at the apocalyptic world of decay and its urban landscape as I was quite interested in the theme and I like watching these sort of movies about zombies, with abandoned and destroyed cities. Some examples of movies could be "the walking dead", "I am legend".
I have decided that my aim is to design a costume for a character based inspired by the urban landscape, but it doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a decayed costume. For example, in "I am legend" the characters are in an abandoned city overgrown by nature, invaded by zombies and infected animals but they wear their own clothes. So I would design a set of clothes for a character(s) in the movie.
I am Legend
The Walking Dead
Leek Images
1
Texture block tests
I started making surface texture designs to explore different techniques and materials and start to see what sort of elements create a better and more realistic effect.
I cut out blocks of cardboard which I thought would be the easiest surface to test unto apart from paper as it would give my samples a more three dimensional effect as well as making it easier for me to hold them and move around without touching the surface. If I was to mount these test blocks it would make them more emphasizing to look at and more professional. It would give form to the piece and give the
In this first test I looked at the rough texture in a decayed or rusted wall and though our using sand for it. Unfortunately there was no sand that I could use and instead I used tea, which when I found in a box it seemed to be mixed with some sand, if not another type of tea. I used PVA glue to make the tea stick on the cardboard which at first I did not think it would work and would just fall off, however I followed my tutor’s advice to be experimental which for me was about trying out things and finding out how they work, and even if they don’t work they I am learning to develop these tests and try more tests in. different ways. in the end, I really enjoyed testing with this as for this particular test it felt like gluing glitter on a surface but on a higher level where I’m trying out other media.
At the end of this test I started thinking about ways in which I could develop this and so I thought about adding or taking away things from it. I looked at one of my images of walls from Manchester and found a wall which had it’s paint pealing off.
paper glued on cardboard
tea glued on paper
paper pealed off
2
Test 2 was more interesting and detailed. I was really emphasised in the making and interacting with it (feeling the texture). I felt positive about the way I developed this test from the first one as I was adding more to my previous test and thinking about how to improve and what other alternatives I had of creating an effective texture.
I thought of making random, distorted shapes when pealing the paper to represent the wearing off and broken sections of the surface and also creating an ageing mood suggesting it has been the for a long time and been corroded by time.
Next time I could use other types of paper in the back ground and maybe even use another surface to test on such as wood. If I emulsion transfer on wood, it might create a similar effect of some of the paper being pealed off.
I started considering exploring and testing more with textiles and see the different techniques and processes I could use to manipulate fabric and create an effective and realistic design. My plan is to be as creative and loose as passive so that I can get the most of my ideas in my tests, use as many different media and mediums as I can and also, make sure that rather than stopping at one point and wasting time, if I am to stop I will review my work and develop it or ask for a tutor’s advice
Marbling
When I researched this artist I was emphasised by the effect created and the contrast of the colours. I also was inspired by the different ways this can be used.
When I did this test I was slightly annoyed that there were very few colours I could use. this seemed like a quite straight forward technique, what I could show development of is what I used it on, what fabrics I used like cotton or calico or silk or even different types of paper. I tried to experiment with what I had although it wasn’t much and I feel they turned out nicely but I could still think of ways to develop it. I believe with the right colours and shape movement I could link it to the decay theme, although I would have to think of something it could represent.
Next time I could try different tools to shape the inks in the water and try marbling on different fabrics and mediums which might produce a different effect, colour intensity or value. This could also allow me to produce and test different moods on the viewer
Natalie Stopka
“The earliest known examples of marbling date back to Japan in the 12th century, where a technique known as suminagashi, meaning “floating ink” was used to create papers. Some scholars believe this art form was practised even earlier in China, though no known examples exist. Suminagashi is still practiced in Japan today.
Similar methods also arose in central Asia in the 15th century. In Turkey, marbled papers were used to help prevent document forgery, since the designs were impossible to replicate exactly. This gave marbled papers a greater significance within the powerful Turkish empire, and the tradition remains strong in countries such as Iran and Turkey.
Finally, these methods spread from the middle east to Europe in the 17th century, where various countries each made their own adjustments and created signature patterns. This is the period in which marbled end papers became popular in bookbinding, and you can still find these in use today.”
https://www.seamwork.com/issues/2015/02/the-art-of-marbled-fabric: 10/01/19
Up-cycling
Alison Willoughby
When I looked at this artist I was emphasised by the use of up-cycled clothes. The composition’s abstraction inspired me to be as experimental and creative with my tests as I can and really think about the composition of how things are positioned. Also think about my colour pallet and how the colours could be laid out.
I tried adapting it to my theme, but instead of using strings and fabric I used buttons and glue gunned them on a spare set of trousers which were cut to look like shorts so this seemed easier for a test as I didn’t have to think about covering the whole piece.
I laid them in a way that it would look as though it was growing in like rust or moss, starting from the corners. The variety of colours made it look more realistic from a distance and this was something I really tried to think about from a stage point of view. I tried not to make it too complicated because in the end, as long as it gives the right image to an audience, the costume is doing its job. Initially I glue gunned the buttons onto the piece, although eventually they where falling off so I had to hand sew these. I could have used the glue gun to stick them back on but because I did not have one of my one, I sew them instead. This made sure they would be secure.
I enjoyed doing this as I like to experiment with textiles and be able to manipulate materials to create an effective and emphasising piece.
Considering my good progress in these tests, I was suggested to test with elements I could find outdoors, such as dirt. This could link to the idea of nature outgrowing into an apocalyptic environment.
Slashing
Karina Thompson
When I looked at this artist I was quite emphasised by the detail in her slashing technique which I thought could look quite good in my theme as it looks like it has been ripped or torn apart. I was encouraged to look for fabrics that I could easily take apart such as scrim, muslin, calico.
In my own tests I tried using darker colours instead of bright. I wanted the mood to relate more to my theme’s dark, sad, rusty and decayed.
Here I used denim because I wanted to apply this technique as if it had happened to a piece of clothing such as a pair of jeans. I used a thread cutter to fray the edges and make it look as though it had been dragged and ripped. So in the end I am using these textile techniques in an apocalyptic point of view. I believe the result wasn’t too bad, however I could still experiment with the muslin fabric for example and if the colour is not the right colour I could try to dye it in the right colour.
This test looked more interesting as I managed to make the other layer be seen through the first one. This reminded m a bit of when zombies tear the skin, rather than only tearing though the first layer they tear deeper through other layers. Maybe I could add to this test by dying some areas between the torn parts or even add texture around these areas.
I was not very happy with this test as it didn’t look as exciting as the previous tests. I noticed that the shapes specifically did not really relate to my apocalyptic and zombie theme. I believe at the moment I was drifting of and focusing on the different techniques I could do with textiles and the development, but was not linking it back to my theme.
I need to make sure I keep linking back to my theme. Keep thinking about the colours and shapes I used so evoke this apocalyptic effect.
Next time I should keep being experimental but make sure that I am sticking to my theme. maybe I could do the same technique as the second image but try dying the fabrics. I’ve used denim fabric for these tests, so next time I could try using other fabrics which might fray more and cause a better effect.
I wanted to create more texture blocks and for inspiration I was show a sketchbook from a previews student who had done some texture blocks based on nature.
Getting inspired by Student's work
This reminded me of the idea of nature overgrowing in an apocalyptic environment. With this in mind, I went outside to gather my own primary reasearch of nature overgrowing the urban landscape.
Some of the images I took I thought quite resembled the apocalyptic view, for example the leaves climbing the fence. This showed a mixture of live and dead leaves with could link to things like the zombies being dead and also alive (living dead). It could also represent decay in the way that things wear off over time, like a painted wall eventually looses its paint or a tree will eventually loose its leaves
Next I began producing texture with different materials such as hessian stitched it together with fabrics to recreate the textures in the images. I also used expander print which I found quite exciting to work with. The process to make it work is simple but very interesting when heated up. As made each test I learned to be more loosened up and creative with my exploration of media and this way I could get a wider range of sampling and alternatives. Unfortunately I was limited by the time I had, however next time I will not be scared to be more creative and experimental with the things I have access to.
This lead me to my new set of tests where I wanted to use fabrics more.
I have used felt, hessian, calico and cotton for these tests. My aim was to see the deferent effects of dirt on them. Hessian was a good test as I could then fray it and give it a more worn off look. the cotton and calico worked differently, with their smoother surface I could scrape the dirt on easily and also, when I rinsed the excess dirt off and squeezed of the water there were quite a few creases which I thought looked quite effective as a zombie would not have tidy clothes. The felt did not work as I expected as not much of the dirt seemed to have stuck to it, however this could have been due to the black colour making it unnoticeable.
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