Chiodi's Textiles Blog

To find out more about my subject matter I began to research from different books. The first book that i looked at was one of my own called, The Space Book By Jim Bell this is a very interesting book all about everything to do with Space. I felt that it was relevant as many star signs are linked to planets so i wanted to find out more about these planets. I have referenced this book in my sketch book referring to one of the pages that i found particularly interesting which was how the moon was created.

The second book that I looked at was Understanding Dream, general editor Rashid Ahmad. I believe that dreams are just like the zodiac, some people believe in them and think that it is really and others don’t. I felt that this book linked to my work for that reason. Eyes kept cropping up in my motif drawing so I looked up the meaning behind if you see Eyes in your dream. I have put this in my sketch book as well.

The last book that i looked at i got from the library which was called The Secret Zodiac, Fred Gettings which was all about Mediaeval Astrology. I found this book hard to understand and couldn’t easily pick points up from it which would be relevant to my project. If I had more time to study this book i may be able to find its relevance and some interesting facts.

Over the course of this 7-week project I feel that I have learnt a lot about myself as a designer and how I like to work. I have also seen the way other people have interacted with the project and interpreted it differently and feel that, that has also shown we a new way of learning.

At the beginning of the project I struggled to get my head around what I needed to do as there wasn’t an outcome and It was very self-lead. This throw me off track but once I understood this, I feel that I then took everything in and began to complete it in my own time.

I started off with the research task which I really enjoyed as it allowed me to explore lots of artists/companies work and find out what really draws me in. Also, through researching different areas of textiles it allowed me to open my eyes to the broad spectrum that textiles is, it made me realise that there is much more to it.

At first when I came to do my marking making, I thought that it would be easy as I really enjoy experimenting with different media and collaging and trying out new things. However, I found it difficult as I didn’t really know what motifs to draw and found myself a bit stuck. To resolve this, I went and did more research on my trend ‘Spiritual Journey’ and looked deeper in to Zodiac Signs. This really helped me get started on drawing motifs and mark making.

I feel that this project has been a journey of finding out my style and who I am. There has been a lot of problem solving along the way to see where my interests lie. I feel that if there was more time, I would have approached the project in a completely different way and most likely taken a different route. That would be down to the fact of now understanding what the project is about I would have approached it differently. I think that what I will be taking from this project is that you need to always be researching throughout, to linking artists together, to find out new techniques that might be associated with what you are doing, and to discover new styles. I feel that I have also learnt, I am someone that needs time to think things through before doing things which in this project was difficult as it has flown by. This has taught me to manage my time better and set myself mini targets and deadlines so I can achieve everything that I set out to do.

Overall, I have really enjoyed myself, finding out new things about myself and comparing how I work to others. It has allowed me to open my eyes to different methods of learning and approaches to projects that in future could help me a lot more. I feel that I have achieved what I set out to do in my agenda which in result Is a success.

I found that when creating a Pecha Kucha presentaion that sourcing the images was the easy part, however discovering what i was going to say for 20 seconds on each slide really difficult.

I think that the concept behind a Pecha Kucha is really inventive as it keeps you to time and allows you presentation to have a steady flow to it. It means that you get straight to the point and talk about what is most important to you.

In the studio I have been creating lots of different types of pieces. To start with I was building up my research and creating mood boards about my ideas, colour pallet, and company, and client.

I then started to do some drawings which I then took in to mark making. I used different medias such as bleach, ink, lino, gouache, oil pastels and fine liner. I found when mark making I struggled with what I wanted to draw so I went back and did some more research in to zodiac signs so I could have an idea of different motifs.

This really help me as then I had lots of drawing ideas that I wanted to create into stencils ready to try out in the workshop.

When i have free time i have been trying to use the workshops as much as possible to get the most out of them. I have been in the print workshop using all different techniques such as heat transfer, the dye lab and screen printing.

For the heat transfer i wanted to create background and my colour pallet so i spent a lot of time making samples of different colours so i could make sure i got the perfect combination. I then created some galaxy looking of the sky piece with my chosen colour pallet.

I also wanted to dye some fabric samples in the colours of my company so i used the dyspers dyes to dye a synthetic silk. i believe that this turned out really well as the colours were all as bright as i wanted them to be.I also tried a method which we spoke about in the studio where you plait the fabric and knot it before you dye it so when you take it out it leaves beautiful affects on the fabric. i thought that this method look like starts and a night sky.

i creates some stencils to screen print as i had lots of motifs that i wanted to try screenprinting that wouldn’t all fit on one screen. Some of the stencils worked really well and others not so well. I coated up and exposed one screen which went well. I am hopefully going to create lots of different samples and do some devoure with it.

Self-set Written Agenda

1)General Aim

To create a paper and fabric-based series of samples for the stationary company ARK Colour Designs that will be suitable for females of the age 18 – 24 years inspired by a ‘spiritual journey’ theme.

2) More specific objectives

– The season for the theme spiritual journey is A/W 20/21. I will be referencing mystical spiritual astrology, star signs and the zodiac. The colour trends will be quite bright to in keep with the company’s style but also adding foiling for the extra shine and sparkle which the company already do.

– The target market for my theme is based around females of the ages between 18-24 years. The theme is playful, young and quirky with a hint of mystery to it, so I think is best suited to that kind of target market. Women like to have fun stationary as it can reflect their personality. With the theme linking to horoscopes and zodiac signs it allows the clients to have something that is more personal to them.

– The theme of ‘Spiritual Journey’ is all about looking into horoscopes, star signs, the zodiac. I will be taking inspiration from horoscopes, tarot cards, the moon, sky, stars and mystical creatures.

– My Theme will be evidenced through many different medias, I will mostly be using ink and fine liner in my book but then transferring that into the workshops and use heat transfer, screen print and dying.

– Due to wanting to foil and heat press I will be using synthetic fabrics as that’s what works best with the processes. For the paper cut work in my sketch book I will be using coloured card and then for the papers that I have created myself are just from normal printer paper as that’s what I use to ink up before heat pressing.

-The colourway that I will be using will be the same as my clients, bright and bold with hints of sparkle and shine.

– The CAD visuals will be including mock-up designs on different types of stationary.

 

3. Your research base

Due to the nature of my theme collecting primary research is difficult however I will be looking in books of my own that are based on space and the meanings of dreams. I will also be looking in the library for books about horoscopes and astrology. I am hoping to find out more about the history of star signs. Water is a big part of astrology so for inspiration I am going to do use it as a primary resource, looking in to the way it moves and flows.

 

4. The actual proposal/brief

The market area I have chosen is stationary as I find that It appeals to me as it’s something that I enjoy and always like to have funky stationary. Through the stationary that you have I feel that I conveys a lot about a person. It’s the small things in life that are pleasing such as a cute little notebook or a quirky pencil case. The company I have chosen ARK Colour Designs is a bright and colourful company that design and make all their products themselves in the UK which was one of the reasons I went with them.  The Theme that I have chosen is called ‘Spiritual Journey’ which is all about the zodiac, astrology, horoscopes and the night sky. I feel that it fits in with the company as due it the theme including star signs you can create items of stationary that are personal to the client. I feel that it will fit in with the companies look as it is a trend that is current with what I believe their target market it is. Its different from other stationary and appealing to clients who are looking for something a bit edgy.

The concept behind my theme is to create samples that are personalised to client’s star signs. The materials I will be using are synthetic fabrics for heat press and dying. I will hopefully be trying out some screen print stencils also lino printing on to a good quality sketch book paper and fabric.

For my design collection I want the samples to look all uniformed and colour coordinated however the imagery to be different to represent different star signs and zodiac groups.

In conclusion working for ARK Colour Designs I will be creating paper and fabric samples that are based along the theme ‘Spiritual Journey’. I will be using bright colours with pops of shiny foils for a clean and quirky finish.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Strengths

I believe that one of my strengths is mark making and experiment so through doing this I create a varied range of different techniques that then can help me progress my work further. I am also a very organised person in the way that I carry out my work, I like to do things in order which means I tend to make lots of lists and am always creating mini timetables so I can visualise what I need to do and when things need to be done by.

I really enjoy both stitch and print workshop meaning that I like to invest my time into screenprinting and sewing.

Weaknesses

I feel that one of my weaknesses would be that I don’t have enough confidence in myself and my work and sometimes hold back on trying new things as I may not be good at it.

I am also not the best at using photoshop or other programs on the computers, I struggle with the tech side of textiles as its all very new and complicated.

I feel that one of my weaknesses is that I am not overly experienced in the dye lab so would like to improve in that area.

Opportunities

Every new day there is a new opportunity waiting for you to discover it. In Uni there are so many different workshops and facilities waiting to be used you just have to go ask the tech dems and they are more then willing to help you. The library is also another huge learning resource with loads of opportunity to find out so many knew things just from books but also from there online databases.

I feel that there are lots of opportunities to use new fabrics as there is such a wide variety in the stich room.

Threats

I feel that I don’t cease my opportunities to the fullest. I should go to the library more and do research using the books and the online database however I tend to shy away from this as it is almost entering the unknown.

I think that I should do more research in to the materials I am using as I should explore different ones as there is more to what is in the stitch room.

To start the new project off i began looking on WGSN for new trends that i though t would be of interest and best represent me. I feel that my work before wasn’t a true representation of me so i wanted to find something that i could really relate to.

Knowing that i wanted to work for a stationary company further on in the project i began looking in the Interiors and Lifestyle section as they best fit what i was looking for. There are so many different trends on WGSN it was really difficult to just narrow one down but i finally made the decision that i wanted to go for one that was called Free Style. it was all about bright colours happy affirmations and bold shapes.

I later discovered that this trend was in the current season of A/W 19/20 which meant that for this project i would be creating something that technically would be outdated. So i then went back to WGSN and had another look at different trends in the future. I came across this new trend called Spiritual Journey which is a trend in A/W 20/21 which meant it was in the future so my work would be in season.

This new trend is a funky trend about horoscopes, tarot cards, glistening moons and the starts. I felt that this could work really well with a stationary company as it is relevant to birthdays and different times of the year for example Halloween. I believe that i am quite a spiritual i person so that means that hopefully it will be a good representation of me.