Sketchbook Review

The beginning of my sketchbook is made up of drawings I did when I visited the Botanical collection at Manchester museum. I actually feel that I could have done a lot more initial visual research as I don’t have many drawings to really work from and become inspired by here. The drawings I have done I am quite pleased with, I employed various line drawing methods; I do wish I had used some colour though, as the only colour I worked from were those that were taken from photographs that I took during this visit.

In my sketchbook I feel that I’ve quite clearly displayed my sample work, especially from the hand processes workshops that I attended. As they are too bulky to actually put in my sketchbook, they’ve been shown through photographs. I like how I have worked with these photos, and incorporated my own sketching into them, or combined them with other photos to clearly show how I could work with them.

I haven’t made many annotations in my sketchbook towards the start, but later on when it perhaps becomes more complex in how I wish to show my ideas I have made more notes. I feel this makes the sketchbook flow pretty well to my audience, I am hoping that my thoughts and ideas throughout the project are clear and understandable.

I am happy with the various methods I used in my drawings – I didn’t just stick to traditional drawing materials. I worked with texture and colour, and I think that these also tie in with my botanical study too.

Although I have done some contextual research and looked at some artists and designers, I could have done a little more. The things I have looked at, though, have good relevance to my work and have helped me with my development of ideas, sampling and design work.

Within my sketchbook I have tried to keep the layouts interesting and I enjoyed working on various different backgrounds, prepared papers and different scales. This makes the sketchbook more interesting for others also. The prepared backgrounds also made it easier for me to work onto; with new sketchbooks I am often a little apprehensive about working onto a bright white page!

Overall I’m pleased with my sketchbook work, however I do feel it could be a little more in depth with the initial research and contextual studies. I wish I had worked a little harder at the start with my observational drawings as this did restrict me somewhat with my later development work.

Circles

In my investigative work I noticed that many of the botanical forms were centred around circles and rings and I wanted to use this idea in my 3D work. I made various sized rings in calico fabric – if I was given more time for this project however, I would like to work with different textures and colours of material, ones that would better emulate the plants and forms that I have been looking at. I worked straight onto the mannequin with the calico rings, experimenting with the different ways I could attach them. My favourite is the one where the rings looped together and through each other, creating an almost chain like effect across the chest and shoulders. 

3D Construction development work

As part of the sampling and experimentation in my 3D construction development work, I worked with paper straight onto a mannequin. I used curling, shredding, folding and scrunching techniques with the paper to emulate forms that I’d seen in my botanical investigation work and created various pieces to fit the upper body, mainly working on the shoulder and neck. It was a quick and simple way for me to work through my ideas in creating my 3D neck piece.

Deconstruction and Reconstruction of our 1mx1m B&W drawings

Over the period of 3 days we were given the task of creating a drawing at a scale of at least 1mx1m, using only black and white media that related to our Sleuths, Spies and Lies project. A week later in a drawing workshop in the studio we had to deconstruct and then reconstruct our drawings in whatever way we wanted. At first the thought of destroying my work was worrying, but we were shown how this reconstruction task can progress our drawings as they become more than just a static 2D piece. I set about shredding my work, and curling the ends to create a trail of fringing that was connected diagonally across the middle of the 1m square. This reminded me of how the tendrils and fronds of plants curl and twist and move. I have also photographed the process, and my experimentation with how the shredded ends could be worked with. When hung, the fringing trailed down like vines, and when laid across the shoulders it reminded me of a scarf. I’ve seen the possibilities of what I can create from just a 2D piece and how I can apply this to other areas of my work. 

Hand Processes

In hand processes I have been making samples from everyday objects that are not usually found in the world of textiles. These include plastics and rubbers, sponges, tin foil, cling film, drinking straws.... the list goes on. I scanned these into the computer and experimented with scale and repetition. This helped me to create drawings from them, and I could work straight onto the body. I found this working straight onto images of the body useful in my 3D Construction workshops. Working physically onto the mannequins I experimented with folding, cutting and shredding paper and pinning it to the body. This was a simple and effective way of working as it allowed me to see the physical forms on the body and how I can work in fabrics. 

Sleuths, Spies and Lies

 For this project I have decided to investigate the Botanical Collection at the Manchester Museum. My research began with visiting the museum’s collection and drawing and photographing some of my favourite plants and botanical forms. I have also looked at some of the drawings that artist Ernst Haeckel made in his Art Form in Nature collection. I also made studies at home, drawing from botanical forms that I’ve seen. I became interested in onions and the shapes inside them especially.

Summer Project - Build a Dog

Over the summer we were set a task to design and create a dog. After some initial research into various dog breeds, I was drawn to the Afghan Hounds. My dog has long hair, made from blonde hair extensions, and his body is a mix of cream and toffee coloured felts. I found the pattern for his body from a toy making book I had as a child, and modified the design to suit an Afghan hound’s head shape and size etc and to test how these looked I made a few prototypes. I had a lot of fun creating my dog especially as we had complete freedom with what materials we could use and what type of dog to make!