Category: Exposure

Over the course of this project, I feel that I have really developed my own style and grown as a designer. I have found a way of working that really interests me, I plan on carrying this through into the future. This project has taught me a lot as I have done extensive research into new topics and have experimented with new processes in the workshop. I have enjoyed being experimental and not really knowing the outcomes, it makes the process exciting and different.

‘What you hear is what you see’ is the title of my Final Major Project. The title has been inspired by the quote Frank Stella once said, ‘what you see is what you see’. I chose to name my project this as I felt it summarised my project as whole. In reflection to my brief, I used all my research to guide me on my journey through this project. The research that I collected influenced each step as I was constantly reminding myself of the powerful quotes I had found, reading up on colour and emotions, and making new connections each day that would link music, colour, emotions, line, shape and form together.

Due to having an emotional connection to this project as it was all about how I felt as a designer, I sometimes found myself lost in creating what felt was right for the music, emotion and time but also trying to make my collection commercial so it would be appealing for the interiors market. I believe if I had more time to develop my ideation then I would have created more designs as a whole that could work throughout multiple rooms in the house.

The colour palettes for each of the sub collections were carefully crafted through how the music made me feel, along with what shapes and textures were used. This way of working left so much scope for me to experiment and be free with my marks and motifs. However, this also hindered me when making repeat patterns as some sections of mark making I would love and could see in an interiors setting where as other marks I wanted to take out as the colour, shape, or placement wouldn’t be appropriate.

I continued being experimental in the workshop where I have been trying out new processes. A technique that I have used a lot in my samples is painting with procion manutex mix onto fabric. This new way of creating allows me to make marks straight onto the fabric, it has worked perfectly with my project as it has allowed me to be expressive. I loved how freeing it is. I felt that I was not limited to what I was doing as I could use this process in multiple ways. Another process that I have spent time trying out is devore. I have had fun with this process trying to create in an exciting way and mix light with it for interesting outcomes. One of my final outcomes was a lampshade that shows uses of fabric that I have devored, the final look of the light was different. The light shines brighter through the devore areas.

I have found a new love for hand embroidery as I used it a lot throughout my samples. I have found it very therapeutic to sit and stitch into my samples. It has allowed me to have time to reflect on my work and think about new ideas for my project. My favourite hand embroidery technique is French knots, they are a classic way of adding a 3D element to my work. I plan on furthering my knowledge in this area, discovering new ways of stitching, and trying out different combinations of threads. I also used machine stitch for some of my samples. I spent a lot of time trying out new ways of creating a raised effect using the fringing foot. I was limited in some respects when doing this as my machine only has a certain amount of stitch settings that would work using the fringing foot attachment. However, the final outcome is one that I am proud of, I spent a lot of time sewing the hoops carefully to ensure the pattern was perfect.

When looking back on my project I am happy with my final outcomes and samples and feel they best represent what I have been focusing on. If I had more time, I would have made more patterns as I have so much mark making that could be translated into beautiful patterns. This project has opened my eyes to the interiors market, making my own lampshades and seeing my designs and ideas come to life has been rewarding. I have realised that this is something I would like to take forward into my future career. My pattern collections show a fluid transition from mark making into repeat pattern designs and placement designs. I am happy with my execution and feel that the hand embroidery really adds a unique flare to my work. It ties the four sub collections together well as they are all different in their own way. If I had more time, I would have liked to explore making more products and styling them for my lookbook. Overall, I feel that I have achieved what I set out to do in my brief and created a cohesive collection that could be seen in an interior setting. I have enjoyed the freedom of writing my own brief and having a self-directed project, this has set me up for being able to create independent projects in the future.

Wow what a busy Easter it has been!

Over Easter break i have managed to – receive all fabrics and embellish them, create a lookbook, create a technical file lookbook and put together my professional practice presentation.

It was a long 3 weeks of sewing but it felt rewarding when looking back at all my fabric samples. I have used a range of techniques such the whipped back stitch, French knots and also the fringing foot on a sewing machine. By adding stitch it has allowed me to add another detail and layer to the patterns.

Due to having so many fabric samples with lots of small details I decided to make a Lookbook that explains my processes and what I have used to create them. I felt like this was the best way to showcase all of the details in my fabrics and for the views to full understand each process.

As part of my project I created some lampshades and styled them in my room. I had so much fun doing this and definitely want to carry on making lampshades in the future.

Creating my Design Lookbook was an enjoyable experience. I love making CADs and seeing my designs being used in there environments. I have also used flat range plans for two my collections to add something different to my Lookbook. I wanted it to tell a fluid story of my design process.

Professional Practice was difficult to get right. I found that I was unsure on what content was needed. When making my business card I had fun deciding on what I felt would best represent me and look commercial. I wanted to make sure that it is appealing to as many people as possible. My CV was difficult to get right, it took a lot of different layout before i found one that I was happy with.

As part of my Professional Practice I signed up to be part of the H.Art organisation. On there website I have my own profile which show cases my work and has a description about me and my practice. I felt that this is a good way to get my name out there but to also connect with others in Herefordshire that have similar interests. I am hoping to show case my work if there art week goes ahead. This could lead to me making useful contacts and network so i can keep growing as an artist.

https://www.h-art.org.uk/explore/artist/chiodi-burton#details

The next few weeks before my deadline are going to be jam packed with refining everything and creating my digital sketch book.

Here is my Pecha Kucha presentation showing my progress up until now of my project. Thank you for taking the time to listen.

I have had a really positive week with getting lots of work done resulting in a feeling if accomplishment. At the start of the week my fashion formula fabrics arrived for my first two sub collections which was really exciting. I am really pleased with how they look, I was worried that I might have chosen fabrics that wouldn’t work so well but they turned out really good. Since getting the fabrics I have spent the week hand embroidering my hero design for the Female Vocalist Collection. It is taking me a long time but it is slowly getting there and starting to come to life. I didn’t anticipate the sewing to take this long but hopefully when embellishing the other fabric samples I will be a bit quicker.

This week I also finalised the other two sub collections; Indie and Hip hop. I found these collection harder to create but I am happy with the final outcome. After having a good tutorial and taking on all the comments made I then sent off for these fabrics to be digitally printed. The Hip Hop collection will be embellished with a lot of stitch so it is harder to see how the collection will be formed however I am looking forward to creating it.

Here is a picture of the first sample I am sewing into. It is still a work in progress.

I created the last two sub collections this week, Indie and Hip Hop. They took a while to perfect but I feel that they are close. I am planning on sewing into each fabric to add more detail and bring the collections together.

I also spent some time on last terms Consultancy project. I had a few things that I wanted to change in my final collection. I spent some time changing the patterns and trying to make them more cohesive. I feel that the collection works better overall.

Plan for next week

Hopefully my fashion formula fabrics will arrive for the Dub and Female Vocalist collections allowing me to start sewing into them and finalising them.

Lots of new and exciting things happened this week. I spent some of the week in the print workshop trying out new processes and creating lots of samples. I have been trying out combining heatpress dyes with devore as well as procion dyes with devore. I have loved testing out lots of different fabrics and seeing all the different outcomes.

Another technique that i have been using is resist dying using the heatpress dyes and paper with black images which have been photocopied. The heatpress dyes avoid the black ink areas meaning that these parts are resisted. This is a technique that I have really enjoyed and feel has great outcomes.

I have also completed another collection board this week. I was focusing on creating the Dub Collection.

I have had a positive busy week this week trying to get lots done as time is flying by so fast. This week I started off with adding to my research and reading books about abstract work and Hilma af Klint which were really inspiring.

I then spent the day in the workshop on Wednesday. I was sampling lots of different fabrics and testing out heatpress/disperse dyes and devore. I felt very productive and now have a better understanding of what materials work best with what fabric and what I like.

Thursday we had our Interim Presentations which I felt so nervous for however, I felt it went well and that I know what I need to change to further my first Female Vocalists collection.

I have attached my presentation as it shows all my work up to date until this point.

This week I have been focusing a lot on trying to get ideas for one of my sub collections; Female Vocalists. This collection is all about soft feminine shapes and looks at direction of marks. The collection board is the start of what this collection will look like. The patterns will be made from digital printing, hand dying, Screen print, devore, hand stitch as well as digital stitch. These techniques will all add more detail and textures to the base patterns.

Hero Design – I will be digitally printing this pattern and then working into it with hand stitch details.

Secondary One – This is a base repeat which will be digitally printed. I then would like to digitally stitch new soft shapes and forms on top

Secondary Two – This is a repeat pattern that will be digitally printed and then hand stitched into to add soft details.

Blender one – This is a page of mark making that will be recreated using disperse dyes and the heat press. There will be small running stitch details to also show direction.

Blender two – This pattern will be slightly changed when i come to make it in the workshop as the rectangle shapes will have softer curved edges. This pattern will be made in the workshop using disperse dyes and the heat press. This method allows me to create the textures by hand and experiment. The cut out semi circles are there to show where i will be using devore to create the pattern.

Blender three – This pattern is a repeat that will be hand screen printed and then I will sew in little French knots for detail.

I have decided to do four sub collections for this project. Each collection will be influenced by a different genre of music meaning that the colours shapes and forms will be dofferent in each collection.

Here are the inspiration moodboards that have been created using my previous mark making.

This week has been a good week. I carried on with my mark making, went to uni for the first time in ages and also had a good tutorial which has set me up ready to get on with loads on new exciting work. The tutorial I had with Sian helped me understand loads of question and ideas I had surrounding my possible pathways and how to create my collection. Which was so helpful this means that next week will be very busy with lots of new ideas on how to take my project further and how to start creating patterns.

I have been focusing on collaging and creating layered cut outs which has been a really fun process. I wanted to explore form in a new way by defining what shapes fit best with what genres. Here are some of my sketch book pages.

I also tried mark making with my eyes closed which was a new method I had not previously tried before. I found it hard not to sneak a peak! The results turned out well with some really interesting shapes formed.

The next couple of pages shown are some of my favourite. They show the process of mark making to reggae and then cutting out shapes and layering the pages. I love the textures and depth to the pages they are really interesting to look at. I then went on to collage the left over cut outs to construct a new piece entirely. I love the woven look of colours and shapes.

I enjoyed collaging so much i then went to Uni and photocopied my mark making to then go back and collage new shapes and add a different perspective to the pieces. Here are a few pages that show that. I was thinking about form and shape and how different genres of music portray different shapes.