Data - Development with colour

We were given the the starting title for our next assignment which was data, a very broad title to work with I began by brain storming ideas starting with mind maps making connections through various areas. The next thing we were asked to think about was a colour scheme to think about before even coming up with an idea I wanted to just play around with colour a bit. Using ink and bleach I began playing around with how the bleach changes the tone of the ink. I then transferred the colour combinations onto yarn wrappings, through doing this its helped me think more about how I can take something from a drawing into a textile approach. Although it doesn't directly link with the data project it helps with my development process and thinking about how I can bring the ideas from this into my current work. 

Evauation of Origin Unit 1.

I began by working from my drawings, the main connections I feel that I have used were from my shoes  by drawing more different shoes and bringing the different types of shading and mark making into my embroidery work. I also photo copied my collages of some of the shoes and using image maker put the image onto material and embroidered over the top of the image. I took it further and looked at different way I could create patterns from my sketches again. 

Within my sketch book work I looked back over some of my drawings and picked out specific ones and worked from them again. I did this by looking at drawings that had specific areas of shading using different medias that I found interesting. 

The main thing that I discovered through this body of work is the fact that I work better when I find or give my self a topic to work from. At the beginning of this project I found it very difficult to very submerge myself fully into my work. But once I set specific areas to look into I found it easier to develop my work further. 

I also realized that the term "drawing" in this course is a very broad term as anything can be classed as drawing I have always had it drilled into me from a young age that a drawing is something that replicates something e.g a very detailed impeccable drawing. But I discovered that a drawing could be mark making or simply developing shading etc. 

I know that this project has really made me realize that I need to use my own independent study time more wisely really make use of the facilities that we have. After having a meeting with one of my tutors I really realized that I hadn't been pushing myself to my full potential an this is something I really intend on improving! 

Within my embroidery work lateral thinking played a key role as I was constantly having to start again when something went wrong and I was forced to think of solutions. I took a lot of inspiration from my work by looking at what others had done in the past and gaining ideas from that and also looking into artists work of their own.   

Machine Embroidery - My favorite Samples

I have sieved through my machine embroidery samples and picked out my favorite and the samples that I feel have worked best. 

What I find interesting Is the fact that looking at these six samples together I can see a link between them all, the odd thing being Is the fact that they weren't done in the same week. I looked at all of my machine samples from the first 3 weeks and then picked. Surprisingly what stands out for me Is I seem to actually be good at creating my own materials which is something I hadn't even noticed before. I think if I looked at each sample individually I wouldn't have realized this it's given me a whole new perspective of my own work. From looking back through my work now I'm feeling a lot more positive and has given me new ideas to work with. 

Hand Embroidery - 10 samples

Above are my 10 samples of hand embroidery for this week. When I have created my sample pieces before Iv found it hard to work from my drawings, so when I created them this time I really tried  hard too. I always seem to revert to creating my own patterns through the different stitches and this is where my strength is I feel. What I don't like is looking at them altogether Is there is no very visible connection, which I didn't realize until looking at them altogether as a group. I can see links between different ones though. The other thing that If I'm honest I see is they look rushed there some that don't quite look finished other look more advanced than some and I don't like this. I want them all to look perfected and finished. 

I feel these have the strongest link between one another, they are using simple techniques to create simple but sophisticated patterns. \I really want to take these links further take creating patterns further as well as linking the with my drawings. I'm going to look into some more advanced stitches an see where they take me as well. I need to look at all these aspect and really try my hardest to make some more advanced links between my work. 

Creating a Repeat Pattern.

Creating a Repeat Pattern. 

After creating drawings of shoes from collage I wanted to take this further so I photo copied the images and printed them out several times. I did this so that I could play around with images. I tried looking at the shapes of each shoes and thought about whether I could make shapes with the shoes that would tessellate into one another, or if the shapes of the shoes would almost slot into each other. What I was trying to think about while I was doing this was what it would look like on a larger scale. I want to create a repeat pattern by doing this. What I really like about all of the images is the tones when I photo copied them, as I printed them out in black and white. I feel the monochrome colour scheme really suits the images, looking at them all together like that in the image above reminds me of wallpaper.  

Light and Dark with a Drawing.

The two images here are again from working with the chance cards each one is a different card, the top relates to drawing an image onto a dark background. I did this while In a session at university where there were objects In the center of the desk for us to work from. To create this image what I did was using charcoal darken the paper and then using a putty rubber create my image. Its a technique I enjoy using as instead of using the media to create the image instead your rubbing away at it taking more away from the image rather than adding more. The image below Is of a pattern that I created It relates to the card create a image using 50 different pieces of paper. So I came up with the idea of using sticky notes and layering them on a piece of paper and creating the image on top of that. It was difficult at first to draw on top of all the pieces of paper as they would lift up but the over all image afterwards paid off. I'm really pleased with how this piece came out, I used white and black charcoal and blended them so the tones faded into one another. What I really liked about this piece was that the sticky notes lifted in areas so you got the colour of the white paper coming through from underneath. Layering up small pieces of paper was something that I hadn't thought of doing before but by doing this it gives the image a whole new perspective. Looking at the two images together I feel they both play around with the idea of light and dark with in a drawing. One concentrates on using the tones and fading in and out between the two.The other challenges the norm of doing a dark drawing on a light background. For me when I look at these two images together I can see a relationship between the two.  

Paper collages.

 In our drawing sessions we worked from our own shoes, we were asked to create our own composition and to sketch from them. The image above is just one of the sketches that I did that day and it was the starting point I used for my collages that I did afterwards. Using found papers and paper that I have inked up myself I created my collages, I concentrated only on one pair of shoes and looked at it at different angels. I worked from the images and also worked from the shoes them selves rotating them. 

I've never been fond of creating collages as I've always found it difficult to create good images using this technique. I took my time and started by cutting out a silhouette each time of the whole shoe and then working from that I layered paper on top of that. I manly used block coloured pieces of paper but I also used receipts, I used them In areas where It should be light but a shadow would cast over that area. By using the receipts I feel it really adds to the images its the black text that gives them the appearance of shadowing. I surprised myself at how much I liked these images I found that when it came to creating these collages it was easier to work from an actual primary source, so I placed the shoe right in front of me. I really looked at each shape and the colour and tried my hardest to represent this using the papers I had. I plan to photo copy my collages and create patterns from them I do this by printing off several of each image and then play around with them creating different patterns. 

Beginning of the "Chance cards" drawings.

The images above are for a drawing task which we were set to do, we were given "chance cards" each card gave you a starting point for a drawing so for instance the first image above is of the Manchester Library. This related to the make a drawing onto a folded or crumpled piece of paper. I generally take inspiration from a variety of places, which Is why my drawings here vary. We were asked to go around the city and take photos and find inspiration from around us. To start I found it hard to work from photos of the city which Is why you can see above illustrations of people. I got the idea when I was sitting In a cafe, I'v always found it easier to take inspiration from people. The illustration of the person on the left relates to a card which had written on it make a drawing using 5x different pencils. The one on the right was make a drawing using 20 lines. When making the 20 line drawing I thought it might be interesting to not rub out or start again at any point. Although it is a slightly abstract image I actually really like it. Below are of some quick 5 minute sketches I did from photos that I took from around the city. At first I really hated the task but once I started I really got into it, which I didn't expect. What I noticed after doing this is that I was looking for the shapes in the buildings as a starting point which I never realized before. These drawings are just the start of a series relating back to the "chance cards".