The brief for this project was 'Too Much Information’ and
was set at the end of the first year as a summer project. We were to collect
different types of information, as well as primary and secondary information
and produce as sketch book displaying this research. We were to combine our
research with different medias to produce visually exciting pages in our
sketchbook. As this was a broad subject choice, I began brain storming ideas
before beginning my research. I started collecting bus, train and tram tickets
and before long I had collect many types of information ranging from food
packaging to comic strips and football badges. I also collected images on
clocks and graffiti.
During a trip to Scarborough, we had the chance to collect
primary research. However, I only had my phone camera to take photographs with
and the picture quality was quite poor. I did manage to take photographs of
arcade machines, shops along the street and signs along the beach. I did
collect a few leaflets as well but I wasn’t very inspired by the trip.
Throughout the project, time management has been an issue
for me, as I didn’t start my sketch book till late in the summer and have had
to catch up in my own time outside of college. I found it difficult to get
started with my sketch book at first as I wasn’t entirely sure which specialism
I would be going in to this year. When I had finally decided, I was much more
positive about the project but I did find it stressful having to catch up
whilst in class we were moving on.
This project allowed me to look at the work by artists I
have previously studied and enjoyed such as Banksy and Lichtenstein. I also got
the chance to look at a new designer I haven’t come across before. Janine Basil
is a hat and hair accessory designer, who creates retro, geek and glam head
pieces that she sells all over the world. I really admire her work and it
related really well to my work on comics strips. Banksy’s art work was perfect
to support my graffiti research, and Lichtenstein also supported my comic
research. I also looked at the Campbell’s Soup Can and Coca-Cola Bottles by
Warhol, as I could use them as research towards my food packaging research.
We were then asked to create two A3 visual sheets combining
the research we had included in our sketch books. I focused mostly on signs and
logos, and the image of a clock I had found whilst browsing for ideas on the
internet. Once these were completed, we began our tracings for our screen. I
really enjoyed producing this and was most pleased with how the clock and
'POW!' looked. Our tracings were handed over to be transferred onto screens. I
was really happy with how my screen looked and even more pleased at the prints
I produced.
This project was the first time I had used a sewing machine
properly, and I really enjoyed it. I did have a few problems with the machine I
had first, as it wasn't able to free hand machine well, and it did knock my
confidence slightly. We first produced a sample of all the stitches the machine
could do and then a free hand sample which I had to finish later due to the
problems I experienced. However, I found a machine that I was able to use
confidently and soon began to enjoy working with the sewing machines.
I particularly liked the layer and burn free hand machine sample. For
one of my samples, I incorporated sewing with heat transfer and layer and
burn and was one of my favourite samples.
In the print room I had a lot of fun trying out different
techniques and experimenting with them. The first prints I produced were onto
paper. I decided to test my repeat pattern straight away and was more than
pleased to find it worked and looked good. I then decided to try out puff
binder on to muslin. I coloured the puff binder with Blue B pigment. I really
enjoyed working with puff binder and went on to produce three more puff binder
samples, this time experimenting with the fabric and procion dyes. I created a
sample on cotton, dying it first with watered down procion dyes Yellow MX4G,
Red MX5B and Blue MXR to make them paler. I this time used the puff binder
without adding any pigment. I liked the sample but the pale yellow on the
cotton made it hard to notice the white print.
I really like working on the muslin so I for my two other buff
binder samples I used white muslin and cream muslin. The two varied not only in
colour but also in the gaps between the stands which allowed me more options
for my final choice. I dyed both of the muslin samples using Red MX5B and Blue
MXR on the white muslin and Yellow MX4G, Red MX5B and Blue MXR. For the white
muslin I used uncoloured white puff binder and on the cream muslin, I used
Black SNG to colour the puff binder. Out of all the puff binder samples, the
white muslin was my favourite. The dyes really complimented each and the white
puff binder print was defined and clear. My least favourite was the black puff
binder on cream muslin. The pint was slightly smudged and some white puff
binder had come through the screen too.
The devore samples were fun
to do but the outcomes weren't as good as I would have liked. The devore on to
Azeta worked the best and was the clearest out of the three. I like working on
the Devore Velvet but the print was reversed due to having to print on the back
of the velvet, and it wasn't very clear once I had applied the procion dyes
after. The Devore silk was my least favourite as the print had smudged, and the
print wasn't clear at all after the procion dyes were applied. I also produced
some heat transfer sample from having my tracing photocopied onto magic tough
paper. This worked really well and I extended these samples by combing layer
and burn and sewing to them.
For my final piece, I chose
the white muslin sample. I was very pleased with the final outcome but would
have liked to have added more techniques to it, such as sewing or heat
transfer.
As a whole, this wasn't my
favourite project. I feel I didn't manage my time to the best of my abilities
over the summer holidays, as I would have like to produce more pages in my
sketchbook. This left me limited in choice when producing my visual sheets and
tracings. I thought I would have more time then I actually had, and I had to
work quite hard in order to catch up. The project was over 15 weeks and I don't
think my work fully represents that amount of time. I am, however, very happy
with my samples and experimentation, as well as my screen design.
