DIGITAL PRINT

During week three at Ravensbourne, we learnt about digital print. This consisted of taking on the many challenges of Photoshop, the process and development of coming up with our own original print ideas and how to display it onto an actual garment via Photoshop. Overall working out how to use Photoshop from scratch was difficult to grasp as it had so many different aspects to it. However, I relished in the moments I had done something right especially the feeling of triumph when I managed to make a repeat pattern (amateur).

The brief behind our own personal prints was to generate 3-5 prints for selection that reference a 'group or family' of prints. They had to reflect or be inspired by family history whether it be through ethnicity, geography- journey/travel/language or even evocative- family secrets, loss, reward.

I chose to focus my prints on my family background and our place of origin. Being from all over the Caribbean, I decided to make my own floral print but rather than use the usual roses etc. I chose to use tropical flowers such as the Birds of Paradise, Anthurium and Plumerias. I changed the sizes and grouped them together to create a small bouquet and made a repeat of it. I then placed it onto a black background to really make the colours pop.  

My tropical floral print:

 

I think for a beginner it went better than I expected however I would love to work on this and create some more prints with more time. As a placemen print it looks a lot better than as a repeat. I would change the repeat, sizes and play around with the colours. What would have helped was if I had written notes as I went along, then I would have had a greater result. Overall it was lovely to learn and experience another aspect of the industry and really delve into the process. Not too sure it was for me but with more time and assistance from a few YouTube tutorials, I'm sure I could become the next Mary Kantrantzou.

 

 

 

STYLE SPOTTER: LFW @ Somerset House

This weekend I went down to Somerset House to capture the buzz and excitement surrounding London Fashion Week. Many men and women were dressed in their best, whilst photographers were all fighting to get a good shot. This time of the year really embraces every ones own personal style. I personally opted for an all black number (consisting of a jersey turtle neck midi dress and leather jacket) to keep it low-key but managed to break it up with the different textures, silhouette and contrast trainers. Since Friday and Saturday the atmosphere had calmed down - with help from the rain -  letting individuals stand out from the crowd.

I managed to capture the style of those whose style really stood out to me personally from sharp tailoring to contrast textures and unique layering. Experiencing the mood of fashion week within the space of a few hours, left me fascinated as to how the ambience in the shows would feel.

  

PAPER MANIPULATION DESIGN

Week two at Ravensbourne, we started a paper manipulation workshop. From previous work we had to find a symbol that is significant to us and cut out 20 of them in white card and one large symbol in brown paper. I chose the 7- point star as my symbol mainly because it is not commonly used and there are many shapes you can make from it. Also this particular symbol related to the space/universe image on my concept board.

We had to create 3 designs and I chose to design a top, skirt and dress out of them. Taking inspiration from these 3D designs, the next step was to sketch designs from these. This on going development has encouraged more design ideas and has led to many possible outcomes.

SAATCHI GALLERY: PAPER ART

During a visit to the Saatchi Gallery, I was intrigued by the amount of art work made by just paper, whether it be paper bags, newspaper or even coffee cups. The many methods used to create different textures and to construct the pieces were very inspiring. Whilst some focused on surface pattern and colour, the majority of the work made up sculptures on a larger scale or small intricate 3-Dimensional designs.

What inspired me the most were the various outcomes of using a simple material. My personal designing style doesn't consist of many colours, as I tend to focus more on the silhouette and structure of a garment. This reminded me of a quote from my favourite designer Yohji Yamamoto "‘White is the absence of colour, black is the presence of all colours". However some of the colourful installations were very awe-inspiring.



Miler Lagos
Fragments del Tiempo (Fragments of Time) 2012

Yuken Teruya 2005-2006

 

Paul Westcombe

Coffee cups 2008

Marcelo Jacome

Planos-pipas n17 2013

Jodie Carey

The Daily Mail - Arrangement Three 2005

 

IDENTITY CONCEPT BOARD

During week one of my Art Foundation (Fashion & Textiles) course at Ravensbourne, we were introduced to our main topic of 'identity'. This topic consisted of the production of concept boards made up of images that represented ourselves. Inspired by abstract words from my identity mind map, this led me to source images to represent each of the words and that reflected my personality through different types of pictures.

During a workshop related to the concept boards, in groups we rotated each of our boards and had to rearrange the images to create a flow and construct a better layout for each board. After going through a range of layouts, I finally felt as though one specific look stood out to me and in a way reflected the mood of the picture, uplifting it.

Final Concept Board:

TATE MODERN: ENERGY & PROCESS

The Arte Povera and Anti-Form is part of the Energy & Process exhibition at the Tate Modern gallery. The exhibition focuses on the Italian art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. During this time many sculptors explored the process of making and also the portrayal of natural energy in their work.

In the Arte Povera and Anti-Form room, curated by Mark Godfrey and Helen Sainsbury, the works of Giuseppe Penone, Robert Morris and Lynda Benglis are displayed in a very minimal yet effective way. The simplicity of the room emphasises the natural theme used in their work. Artists began to use a diverse range of materials from industrial to organic. The use of these materials allowed natural forces and energies to alter and manifest through gravity, electricity and magnetism.

Walking into this exhibition, I was certain the sculptures were purely made to look as they did rather than being the product of natural processes. Once I learnt that it was a mixture of the two, it opened my eyes to the effect science and nature had in the process of making the pieces of art. When viewing this exhibition, an open mind is essential as it may not be as straightforward as you would expect. It is not only about the final product but the process in which it is being made.

In relation to my work in fashion and textiles, this exhibition inspired me to not focus on the end product, whether it be a garment or print but on the development and how other useful resources, techniques and mediums could add to an effect and make my ideas more unique with a lot more to it than meets the eye.