WEEK 14

Monday 8th December
What I did:
-given a new project called "Small Change"
-outlined and discussed issues concerning sustainable development, sustainable resource use etc.
-given a lecture from three individuals working in 3DDA industry
General reflection:
-the difficult part was to concentrate in the lecture, because I found all three speakers irrelevant to what I am planning to do in future and they did not inspire me at all for this new project
-I found very enjoyable starting a new project, because I like to get on with things
-I have learnt that people are very concerned about sustainable resources and many actually base their careers on research into methods of production and materials which are sustainable
-my time management was great because I was not late anywhere, however I did feel that the lecture was a bit of a waste of time
Tuesday 9th December
What I did:
-given a Library lecture on how to research resourcefully and deep into the topic of sustainability in the fashion industry
-given a talk about sustainable and innovative materials
General reflection:
-I found it difficult to find appropriate books today. This was because I could not find a book which had examples of sustainably produced fashion items. So I had to search for books which either talked about sustainable materials or production methods.
-I enjoyed the most today learning about innovative methods to produce materials, this is because I never realised that you could for example produce a plastic-like material from beetles!
-I have learnt how to research using library services and about different sustainable materials
-my time management failed today, because I stayed researching in the library for the whole second half of the day, and then it turned out that my group came back to the class and actually did a short task! I am planning to find out on Thursday from my tutors what I have missed and do this task over the weekend
Thursday 11th December
What I did:
-traced cap patterns
-cut out patterns and made sewing holes
-stitched together the pattern pieces
-started to personalise the cap by adding strings of black beads to the front and painting the cap in black
General reflection:
-the most difficult part of today was making sure that pattern pieces fitted edge by edge when I did stitching. It was hard because they kept overlapping. I solved this problem by checking them and adjusting them after every stitch I made. This meant it took longer time, but the final outcome was perfect
-the best part was getting a perfected outcome which looked very crisp, finished and professional
-I have learn the techniques of pattern cutting and sewing patterns together and also making a very specific 3D shape object
-my time management was good, because I have finished my cap an hour before the end of the lesson and had time to start personalising it
Project/Ideas development:
-my initial idea for personalisation of my cap was to cover the face of the wearer (eg. a veil), however it has recently become a common thing to add a small veil to an everyday head accessory I decided to look for other ways of obstracting the view of the wearer's face
-my second and final idea (I did not have a lot of time for idea development -5 minutes) was to use threads of black beads which hanged from the visor of the cap. I liked this idea because the threads would move with the movements of the wearer and create an odd overall perception of the headpiece - not normal/standard/everyday/ready-to-wear
-although my ambitions have not changed since, I was annoyed at myself for not taking into account the fact that making the bead threads is a very lengthy process
The making process:








 The final outcome:







Personalisation process:


  



Final outcome:

 Experimenting with movement:








WEEK 12-13

24th November - 4th December
What I did:
-worked on bespoke project
-my client was Ivo
-he was a german 21 year old guy who liked fashion, women, Mucha, Modnrian and gold jewellery
-I designed a accessory for him which represneted a female hugging him
-I produced a 3-times smaller model
-I completed the final outcome in plastic painted on top with acrylic

General reflection:
-most difficult part of this project was making myself like JFFA. I was so focused on fashion before, that switching to accessories was really hard, because at the start I though I really didn't understand and respect them.
-the best part of this project was finding out that my client liked the same artists as me - Alfons Mucha and Gustav Klimt. Also, working with female body as an accessory for a man, because I find female body exceprionally beautiful
-I have learnt how to make metal jewelley, shoes, how to work with plastic, how to make presentation A2 sheets
-my time management was good overall - I finished the project, however if I was more focused I would have allocated my time more wisely

Project/Ideas development:
-the initial response was "what do I focus on?! there is so much!!"
-to start the ideas development process I narrowed my choices down to the neck area and the gold colour
-I started looking at Ivo's head, neck and shoulder area and designing on him by following the lines and natural curves his body has
-the first developments were a collection of helmets
-I then looked solely at shoulders and came up with a concepts of being uncomfortable (something that he likes) by being constrained by a piece of jewellery/fashion accessory
-I examined how Ivo's body reacted to him putting his arms up in weird positions
-I then decided to add a female to this concept because he likes woman
-it turned out to be a female hugging Ivo and by doing so constraining his movements and making him feel uncomfortable by this
-attempted to try out the female body shape in foil, however it was so easily distorted due to its high flexibility qualities
-I spoke to the technician about casting a female body and it turned out to be a very expensive, lengthy, complicated and hazardous process
-due to the lack of a long time I decided to abandon this idea
-I proceeded onto developing more head-shoulders pieces and then through the design process realised that I can simplify the female body by just using the hands and even them - simplifying to simple leaf-like shapes
-the final design looked like a females is standing behind Ivo and is hugging his shoulders and head and by doing so making his head turn at an awkward and uncomfortable angle

Materials and methods:
-I originally wanted to use plaster to cast a mould of a female body, however due to the expense and time lengthiness
-I turned to plastic as to an alternative because it is light, very flexible, strong and takes short time to manipulate
-I calculated all measurements and drew out in pencil and ruler the shape I wanted to cut out of plastic on three A2 sheets, I then cut out this shape so I could easily trace it onto plastic
-however it turned out that there wasn't big enough piece of plastic available at the time, so I turned to vacuum forming plastic which is thinner and is therefor more flexible (this proved to be a major plus when I tried to fit my accessory on to the body, because the person had to physically fit into the shape first, before s/he could wear it)
-to bend the plastic I used localised heating method by using a special hairdryer, this is because I only had two arms and would not of been able to make 10 bends in one time (this is if I had put the whole piece of plastic into the oven to soften it - it also was too big for the oven)
-I had to consider that my client has a specific shoulder shape, so when I was bending the shoulder area, I made sure that it fitted him by putting it on him
-I was initially planning to use spray paint to paint the surface of my fashion accessory, however there wasn't my desired shade of pink and not at all gold in the shop, so I turned to acrylic because it is thick enough to cover the original colour of plastic and it dries out very quickly.

My client:



Modelling a female on a male body:










Putting my client into uncomfortable arm positions:














Modelling just female hands on a male body:





















The making process of a model:











The final making process:





THE FINAL OUTCOME:











Presentation sheets










Saturday 7th December
What I did:
-written the first draft of my personal statement

“I’ve always been fascinated by human physical body, so fashion’s relationship to the human body is the main goal in my artwork” – a quote from Ana Rajcevic which fully describes my ambitions for my future creative career. The silhouette of the female body makes me want to create artwork which can be practically worn and not just exhibited in the gallery. In my opinion there is not an art that has a more immediate relationship with the body than fashion.

Apart from the three dimensional shape of the female body, I am enthused by two dimensional floral patterns, ornaments and prints, such as in William Morris’ textile artwork. For example, for my major A-level Art project I designed my own floral ornament sourcing primary research from a garden, then sampled different printing techniques and chose most efficient to produce my own fabric. I then went on to design and sew a dress with a wire carcass which created a beautiful shape for my textile to be presented on. This is what I aspire to do in future – make beautiful garments with beautiful textiles to be worn by beautiful women. (Dolce&Gabanna and Phillip Lim)

I am astounded by the natural world and I am constantly inspired by it. The inability to have my sketchbook by my side everywhere has cited me on to develop an individual and quiet unique approach to capture things that I find beautiful. I make short films which I really enjoy editing by making the moving image fit the rhythm of the soundtrack that I put over the natural sound. Over years this has evolved into my ongoing project called “#VRvideo”.

I like being self directed, so throughout the foundation course I have been carrying out individual work with trials in different media in search for my own personal style across various art disciplines. Furthermore, my interest in textiles and fashion lies not only in the design, but also in their history. My fondness of my cultural background and curiosity in garments has brought me on to writing an Extended Project Qualification dissertation on “How big a role did 20th century fashion design play in the preservation of Russian cultural heritage?”.

I enjoy exploring and finding unusual colour combinations, for example, recently I fell in love with the grapefruit hues - a combination of orange and pink. I am fond of painting, and I respect accuracy and symmetry at the same time. In my opinion these qualities are combined in the Fashion Print techniques. Attending life classes every week for two years has made me very familiar and aware of the human physical body. I have a rule to visit at least two galleries every week.

Being on the Foundation Course and creating artwork alongside so many talented and creative students, has both been a major source of inspiration and an aspiration to carry on being part of this environment. I have been, I am and I will always be working hard to produce many innovative creative ideas sourcing my inspiration from the immense cultural heritages of different countries. I want to enlarge my skills set and knowledge of the fashion industry to feel even more confident in this creative career pathway I am pursuing.

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