Monday, 14 June 2010

Textiles 1

My second workshop that i completed was textiles due to the endless possibilities such as weaving, screenprinting, heat transfering and knitting that were available to me. For our task we were each given 3 randomly generated and completely unrelated words. One was an object, a location and an occupation.
My random words were:
Location: Austria
Object: Quilt
Occupation: Train Driver
Once i had my words i printed off a variety of pictures which illustrates these. I began working in my sketchbook and integrated the images together so that each page was different and in some cases you could not easily make out what the original images were. Below represent a selection of my outcomes.






















































Fashion Fanzine continued

Once we had completed out fanzines we had to pick 2 of our favourite images and draw them. One had to be in black and white only and the other had to be in colour. These are my 2 images that i drew below. For the page and white image i used for the media graphite, HB pencil, 4B pencil and a 6B pencil. For the coloured image i used colouring pencils and in some areas colouring pens.



Sunday, 13 June 2010

Fashion Fanzine


Our task was to QUICKLY complete a fanzine from scrap materials and magazines. We had to produce 20 images, which must include a specific shape - in my case a diamond, which can vary in size. Below represents a selection of my collages.
















































































Using my own lino for printmaking


Once i had experimented with printmaking i wanted to cut out my lino so that i had a permanent stencil for printing. First of all i printed off the butterfly image that i wanted to use, and then photocopied it in black and white. I then transfered the image onto a piece of lino using screenwash and the press machine. This produced the image on the lino so that i could cut it out. Using lino cutting tools, i carefully cut the outline and produced the stencil opposite. The more prints i did, the more i cut into the lino to add detail. The images below illustrate my final outcomes.



















































































































Experimenting with Printmaking
























































For one of my workshops i decided to pick Printmaking. The images below are very quick prints where i begin to understand the possibilities and include stencils, collage, scraping the ink using an implement or reprinting the block without applying more ink for a shaded effect.








































































































Saturday, 29 May 2010

Short course project

For our assessment we had to produce a series of A2 sheets where we could pick a pathway of our own, to research and create a detailed analysis of a beginning, middle and end result. The artist that i decided to study was William Morris, the English textile designer. His major contribution to the Arts world, was being a designer of repeat patterns for wallpapers and textiles. Many were based on a close observation of nature, which included a floral or foliage motif. These designs i found to be intricate and eye catching as i also like to draw floral patterns. Morris designed patterns for diverse items such as stained glass and textiles. The workshop that i used to complete this task was 'printmaking.' I began experimenting with different medias such as water colours, colouring pencils and 6B pencil. I then started doing some experimental sketches and ideas illustrated above. From this i then researched more designs by Morris, for inspiration to grasp a better understanding of his work. I also included some information about his background to state some factual information. To follow, i picked my 3 favourite designs, evident opposite, where i intend to transfer them to lino. I scanned them into the photocopier, reducing the images to 70%, printed them off in black and white so that the design can be duplicated onto lino using screen wash. Ithen went over the designs in permanent ink. For each of the lino's i wanted to cut more and more out each time so that added detail can printed separately, therefore in a different colour. The picture opposite shows my 3 images where i have just cut out the basic outline. I then printed 10 sets of each of my designs to be the basis of my prints. I put a piece of paper over my lino and used graphite to do a rubbing to show how much i cut out. Once i had my 30 prints, i then cut out more of my lino such as the detail of the flowers. I had to use a variety of lino cutters to create the detail. For the areas that were larger i used a wide cutter so that i could cut away more of the lino each time. With the 30 prints that i already had, i simple inked up my lino in a different colour and had to carefully line up the lino with the design that was already present so that this can be printed on top and create the desired effect. If it isn't lined up correctly then the print is ruined as the ink will go in the white spaces which i have already cut away. For my third and final cutting i removed practically all of the lino as what i had already printed i wanted to keep. The page intilted 'third cutting' below, illustrates the indentation from the graphite rubbing which shows that most of the detail has now vanished. Once again i had to line up the border of the print exactly to finish off my prints. This time it was even more nerve wracking that i lined it up efficiently otherwise i would ruin the previous prints, knowing that i had already removed the lino which i wouldn't be able to stick back on again! Each time that i printed the sets of lino i had to opt for colours that would work. For example my base colour had to be fairly light so that i could print a darker colour on top. Therefore, my final colour that i printed is the darkest colour. Below shows an arrangement of my three finished designs which include a variety of colours. Overall i enjoyed this task although it was very time consuming cutting the detail in the lino and waiting each time for 30 prints to dry to then re-print another colour on top.





























Thursday, 27 May 2010

Weaving!!!


During my textiles workshop i became interested in the idea of weaving. To begin with i was simply weaving paper with different images printed on them to see what effect it would result in. From this i then moved on to actual weaving. The first weave that i attempted is illustrated on the left. I had to learn the process as well as technical terminology such as the warp and the weft. I completed this weave by hand, using a wooden frame which was very time consuming but i like the end result. In areas i either weaved using a single warp or i doubled it up so that it was thicker and looked different. I also experimented by putting ribbon in there or thicker pieces of material. The ends had to be tied correcty, crossing over two pieces of yarn in a figure of four, with another two pieces. Although the weave has narrowed towards the middle, i am happy with my first attempt. Once i had understood the technique i decided to use the weavers loom. This was far less time consuming and i was taught weavers knots so that material could be placed in there aswell, to move away from the common weaving. Once i had completed as much as i wanted to i cut the warps from the loom and once again tied them in the same manner. The vertical warps evident in the picture were already on the loom set up for me so i could not pick these colours, however the other colours were my choice. The final image illustrates a weave, still using the loom, but this time i had to set up everything myself. I selected the colours that i wanted to use. The two pictures at the bottom illustrates the very time consuming process that had to be undertaken for completion.