I have just written my Degree Planning Proposal, so I have identified what I want to produce in textile print and why. My tutor sent me the Self-Assessment form for this degree module and I need to consider what the criteria mean, in order to have any chance of completing the form prior to my mid-module review in February.
Knowledge and Understanding of media and processes appropriate to Applied Art
In my area of textile print, I define this as the media I use for the whole textile print process. This will include art media for monochrome and colour drawing, media for design preparation (Photoshop, silkscreen preparation, binders and inks, screen cleaning materials), materials, health and safety requirements, manual and digital print practices, and methods of fixing print. I know a fair amount now about each of these subjects, although I would assess my skill level as that of a developing apprentice, rather than someone approaching master status. I have not yet made a 'masterpiece'.
Knowledge and Understanding of the significance of the works of other practitioners in Applied Art
I feel I am developing in this area. I find it difficult to find exhibitions of applied art, particularly that which identifies the textile artist. I work at Warners Textile Archive and one of the facts that is repeated, is that textiles rarely had the designer attributed to them - the company had far greater status and publicity. Attributing the designer is a very late 20th century development. However, I do attend various exhibitions and museums to look at other people's work and my field of interest is in the practical application of art, not in art installations. I am interested in the integration of art into the domestic environment when the work might literally be described to be "wallpaper" - so well integrated into its environment, that it is no longer actively noticed. Also, my sort of applied art can support the quotation "Anonymous was a woman" because the designers of domestic furnishings is mostly unattributed.
Knowledge and Understanding of the relationship between form and function
My work has a very practical application, so the link between form and function is critical to me. Domestic furnishings need to be fit for purpose - durable, well made, light resistent, appealing to the touch, with a predictable lifespan to enable replacement to maintain a contemporary feel and support commercial artists without creating unnecessary landfill.
Conceptual Skills and attributes to generate, critically evaluate and apply ideas and concepts independently in response to self-initiated study
I don't think my ideas are particularly original because I am working with repeat prints of fruit for textiles. However I am very clear about how my work is contemporary because it reflects the age in which I created it, as the pomegranate is significant to my year in Australia, plants were significant to both me and my father (who is recently deceased) and digital print is a technique of the 21st century. So this indicates I have generated and critically evaluated the theme to which I am working. I am developing skills in a print field which is new to me and I am quite good at defining and working towards a goal via self initiated study. I don't need to be managed and monitored constantly by tutors in order to produce an end product by a set time.
Conceptual Skills and attributes to employ both divergent and convergent thinking in the process of observation, enquiry, visualisation and realisation
At this stage I am working with divergent thinking about my pomegranate digital print. I am working with different art media, exploring the pomegranate as a drawn object. I am using different styles of drawing as I observe it in single units, groups, whole and dissected. I look at how fruit is depicted on household objects - in department store displays, magazines and museum shops. I can visualise my hand drawn pomegranates being manipulated by photoshop and applied to tea towels, and oven gloves; mugs and other crockery; etched onto glassware, on stationery and greetings cards. I can see digital textile print being embellished with stitch, screen print and manipulation.
Over the next couple of months, I will explore the 'enquiry' stage of this criteria, by sampling many different options and combinations. Then once the evaluation of the experimentation has taken place, I will funnel down the multiplicity of ideas, towards the realisation of the final product(s).
Conceptual Skills and attributes to develop ideas through to material outcomes as appropriate to Applied Art (digital textile print)
I think this is about showing how the initial idea of working with a hand drawn pomegranate has developed beyond the idea of printing the initial drawing on fabric. So, exploring singles and multiples, using various media, cropping back to show a section of a fruit, enlarging and reducing the scale, layering different drawn images, using more than one print technique on a piece of fabric; applying the imagery to different domestic objects and other disciplines. This exploration of an idea is what I enjoy.
Practical skills - employ appropriate materials, media and material processes systematically and coherently with skills and imagination, whilst observing good working practices
I think I can do this quite well. Once I am on a roll, I practice a lot. I am keen to work systematically, and having a plan that works through a lot of samples in an ordered, disciplined manner is very helpful. I have set myself a weekly programme for the next 3 months, and this has brought home to me just how much work I am proposing, and that I need to get stuck into the drawing stage right now. I need lots of sample drawings in order for there to be variety at the fabric print stage. Writing my essay provided a lot of the base information for options on integrating hand craft into digital print. This was time well spent.
Transferable Skills - study independently, set goals, manage workloads, meet deadlines using initiative and taking appropriate decisions
I am quite good at this. I have set up a good plan for study, taking in a variety of learning styles - classes; museums; shop displays; reading; taking advice, etc. I know what I plan to do and when, and have the funds and motivation to complete my aims. I am confident I will be ready for mid module review.
Transferable Skills - analyse information and experiences, formulate independent judgements and articulate reasoned arguments through reflection, review and evaluation
With the various classes I have booked at the V&A and City Lit, I will need to sort the interesting information from the useful information to this module. Then I need to work out how to apply the salient points to my work so that I can articulate the environment to which I am designing, and how to apply my art in a coherent way that makes it contemporary to the domestic interior.
Present ideas and work to audiences in a variety of situations
I have explained my work over the last 6 months in tutorials, to tutors and other students, both in group sessions and one-to-one situations. I have discussed my work with family members who have no experience of textile print, and who have limited sight, so my powers of description have been stretched.
Research, evaluate and employ information from a variety of sources
I am getting better at using a diversity of sources. I surprised myself when I finally grasped how to use magazines(!) by scanning through back issues of interior magazines, keeping a theme in mind, and ripping out all the pages that had printed textiles on them. I then reviewed them, cutting out anything I liked, and stuck them in my sketchbook. Previously I had only ripped out things that I thought pertinent, but beng less selective gave me more to think about, and more diverse ideas to explore.
So, I am using books, magazines, journal articles, museums, classes, internet art searches, and stately home and other tourist visits to explore my subjects.
I know what I need to do - roll on the next 6 weeks until mid module review and see what the evaluation of my research concludes.
Saturday 22 December 2012
Thursday 20 December 2012
A slow student
I had all sorts of good intentions having completed my essay and got it handed in.
I was going to get really stuck into drawing pomegranates - colour, black and white, both whole and sections of broken fruit. But I have only managed 4 pencil versions and 2 colour ones over the last 10 days. Instead I have had a couple of day trips up to London and then my neck started playing up. I thought it was because I had been sitting lop-sided to draw, but when I went to the chiropractor, he said my symptoms fitted well with falling off my bike about 10 days ago. So I am back to stretching and icing my shoulder!
However, having said how little drawing I have done, I am very, very pleased with the pencil drawings and can see how digital print would convey the tonal values very well. Also, I used the inktense pencils to draw the pomegranates in colour, and when I apply the water with a paintbrush it makes the imagery come alive, with a rush of brilliance in the colours. Once again, digital print will make this work very well.
I have also been thinking about how to enhance digital print, when applied to home furnishings. I drew the pomegranates with the calyx facing me, and it occured to me that if this were a cushion front, I could hand stitch the calyx to make it physically stand proud and come forward, to give an element of dimensionality. What about greatly increasing the scale of the calyx? Also what about drawing the pomegranate from the rear, and stitching the end of the stalk so it stood proud, and using this for the back of the cushion.
I was going to get really stuck into drawing pomegranates - colour, black and white, both whole and sections of broken fruit. But I have only managed 4 pencil versions and 2 colour ones over the last 10 days. Instead I have had a couple of day trips up to London and then my neck started playing up. I thought it was because I had been sitting lop-sided to draw, but when I went to the chiropractor, he said my symptoms fitted well with falling off my bike about 10 days ago. So I am back to stretching and icing my shoulder!
However, having said how little drawing I have done, I am very, very pleased with the pencil drawings and can see how digital print would convey the tonal values very well. Also, I used the inktense pencils to draw the pomegranates in colour, and when I apply the water with a paintbrush it makes the imagery come alive, with a rush of brilliance in the colours. Once again, digital print will make this work very well.
I have also been thinking about how to enhance digital print, when applied to home furnishings. I drew the pomegranates with the calyx facing me, and it occured to me that if this were a cushion front, I could hand stitch the calyx to make it physically stand proud and come forward, to give an element of dimensionality. What about greatly increasing the scale of the calyx? Also what about drawing the pomegranate from the rear, and stitching the end of the stalk so it stood proud, and using this for the back of the cushion.
Monday 10 December 2012
Feeling virtuous!
I am feeling very virtuous today. I have been to uni and handed in my essay! It was due this Friday 14 December, and I finished mine last night, so I could submit it 4 days early. I hate working right up to a deadline, so I planned to get it completed early, in case there was any illness or upset to delay completion.
I have been thinking about the purpose of the under-graduate essay. Lots of people complain that they get fed up of reading other people's opinions, and want to write their own thoughts in their essay. The conclusion that I have drawn about this is that you only get to write your own opinion at doctorate level. Under-grads are meant to write their essay with the purpose of creating an informed opinion of their own. Opinion means "personal view, not necessarily based on fact". By reading widely around your subject, you are able to gain enough knowledge, hopefully, based on quite a lot of fact and well reasoned conclusions, so you gain an informed opinion. Under-grads spend 3 years assimilating a lot of knowledge, none of which is original thought. The knowledge acquired is new to the student, but is not new in the wider educational establishment. Lots of students want to write their own views, because they think their own thoughts are more interesting, but really we do not need to re-invent the wheel. Just read what has already been written!
If we continue with further studies, a Masters is, I think, a more specialised and narrow field of study, but still does not require original thought. It is narrower than previous studies, so needs a greater depth of analysis to enable it being a higher qualification. It is only a Doctorate where original research and design needs to take place. I'm a long way off that.
I have been thinking about the purpose of the under-graduate essay. Lots of people complain that they get fed up of reading other people's opinions, and want to write their own thoughts in their essay. The conclusion that I have drawn about this is that you only get to write your own opinion at doctorate level. Under-grads are meant to write their essay with the purpose of creating an informed opinion of their own. Opinion means "personal view, not necessarily based on fact". By reading widely around your subject, you are able to gain enough knowledge, hopefully, based on quite a lot of fact and well reasoned conclusions, so you gain an informed opinion. Under-grads spend 3 years assimilating a lot of knowledge, none of which is original thought. The knowledge acquired is new to the student, but is not new in the wider educational establishment. Lots of students want to write their own views, because they think their own thoughts are more interesting, but really we do not need to re-invent the wheel. Just read what has already been written!
If we continue with further studies, a Masters is, I think, a more specialised and narrow field of study, but still does not require original thought. It is narrower than previous studies, so needs a greater depth of analysis to enable it being a higher qualification. It is only a Doctorate where original research and design needs to take place. I'm a long way off that.
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Positioning my work and making it contemporary
I went to a plenary session yesterday and had a very interesting conversation about whether people on my course this year should have studied Product Development or Contemporary Applied Art. Some students are struggling to write their essays or develop their final project, partly because they want to use items in commercial catalogues as inspiration. On the CAA course this is not acceptable. I was absolutely staggered that anyone would want to use anything in an Argos catalogue (Yuk!) as inspiration. It would never have occured to me! But as one of the younger students (who is very bright and astute) explained to me, if you want to design commercial products, like lengths of fabric that Debenhams might buy, you would look closely at what is commercially available.
Our course module from the first year, on Post Modernism, made it quite clear that applied art tended to be used in short run, limited edition art works, if they were applied to a commercial product. They tended to use hand techniques, supported by digital technology. They were not run in wholly mechanised or digitised processes. Does it show my limited thinking that it had never occurred to me that Product Design was the high volume, commercial, version of our CAA course? It would just never occur to me to look to commercial catalogues to gain inspiration. I have certainly looked at the displays in department stores to gain inspiration on how to display goods to best effect, and how to apply hand drawn imagery to commercial textile and ceramic products. I just did not see my work in the mass market context, although I am interested in practical applications for my output.
This student said that she looked at commercial catalogues because she was interested in the practical application of her artwork. As she does the "with Marketing" option, her work is focussed on identifying a market to which to play and then exploiting it to maximum capacity. Whereas my work is about me enjoying the design process and working out how my liking for practicality, can best utilise digital print to create short runs of limited edition furnishing fabric. It had just never occurred to me that the Product Design degree could be an option for an artist! I think I have spent too much time worrying about being seen as a middle age, middle class hobby crafter, and consequently not even considered commerciality.
I have also thought quite a lot about the specific attributes of digital print and how it fits with my work. I think my coloured pencil weekend will give me the ability to use a lot of different colours from the hand blending techniques. Digital print interprets fine colour changes very well, so this shows how my drawing linked with this style of print makes my work contemporary. Digital print is expensive because of the amount of ink used for detailed colour interpretation, but technology enables specific tailoring of design to be completed. I like cushions where the image is cropped eg you get a pomegranate design, but you place the image so that the right side and bottom are cropped out of the image and only two thirds of the fruit can be seen. If this were cut out of a repeating pattern on fabric, there would be a lot of wastage. But with digital print, you could just section out the area that you wanted, and print just the one square. Or if you wanted 20 exactly the same, you could do a tile repeat of just the section you wanted, and maximise fabric usage. Or if you wanted a couple of cushions with mirror images to sit at either end of a settee, you could just do two, using the flip function on Photoshop. Once again, using technology to make work contemporary.
Our course module from the first year, on Post Modernism, made it quite clear that applied art tended to be used in short run, limited edition art works, if they were applied to a commercial product. They tended to use hand techniques, supported by digital technology. They were not run in wholly mechanised or digitised processes. Does it show my limited thinking that it had never occurred to me that Product Design was the high volume, commercial, version of our CAA course? It would just never occur to me to look to commercial catalogues to gain inspiration. I have certainly looked at the displays in department stores to gain inspiration on how to display goods to best effect, and how to apply hand drawn imagery to commercial textile and ceramic products. I just did not see my work in the mass market context, although I am interested in practical applications for my output.
This student said that she looked at commercial catalogues because she was interested in the practical application of her artwork. As she does the "with Marketing" option, her work is focussed on identifying a market to which to play and then exploiting it to maximum capacity. Whereas my work is about me enjoying the design process and working out how my liking for practicality, can best utilise digital print to create short runs of limited edition furnishing fabric. It had just never occurred to me that the Product Design degree could be an option for an artist! I think I have spent too much time worrying about being seen as a middle age, middle class hobby crafter, and consequently not even considered commerciality.
I have also thought quite a lot about the specific attributes of digital print and how it fits with my work. I think my coloured pencil weekend will give me the ability to use a lot of different colours from the hand blending techniques. Digital print interprets fine colour changes very well, so this shows how my drawing linked with this style of print makes my work contemporary. Digital print is expensive because of the amount of ink used for detailed colour interpretation, but technology enables specific tailoring of design to be completed. I like cushions where the image is cropped eg you get a pomegranate design, but you place the image so that the right side and bottom are cropped out of the image and only two thirds of the fruit can be seen. If this were cut out of a repeating pattern on fabric, there would be a lot of wastage. But with digital print, you could just section out the area that you wanted, and print just the one square. Or if you wanted 20 exactly the same, you could do a tile repeat of just the section you wanted, and maximise fabric usage. Or if you wanted a couple of cushions with mirror images to sit at either end of a settee, you could just do two, using the flip function on Photoshop. Once again, using technology to make work contemporary.
A weekend at Missenden Abbey
This weekend, My sister-in-law, Shirley, and I went to Missenden to do an art class "Drawing Fruit and Vegetables in Coloured Pencils". We had a wonderful time. Roger Reynolds is a botanical artist who uses Castell Beyer pencils, which I had never used before. Neither have I ever been taught how to use coloured pencils. Castell Beyer are watercolour pencils - soluble in water - but we did not use any water, although we were shown how to blend them with Zest-it, which is a solvent. I did not use this technique.
The first session showed us how to layer colour. I expected to have to layer colour, but did not realise it is easier to layer from the shadows up to the highlights. Also Roger explained how to deal with the "daffodil problem". Daffodils have a lot of shadow and there is a technique how to get subtle shadows in very light toned colour. To blend shadows on a yellow flower, ie shades of grey in yellow, you use the exact opposite colour. I knew how to do this with paint and dye, by using a tiny spot of the opposite colour to tone down the brilliance. In coloured pencil, you use the pale lilac pencil to shade yellow, because you have the equivalent tonal value purple to the yellow. I had often wondered why anyone would use a pale lilac pencil, as it is the colour I never use. But if you just want to knock back the brilliance of a yellow pencil, use a bit of lilac underneath. Like most techniques, it is obvious, once you understand the principle.
We spent the weekend drawing pointsettia plants. Botanical drawing takes a long time. Everyone else worked at about life size - the plants were about 3" tall - but I instantly enlarged them so my drawing fitted the page, with leaves touching the edges of the paper. I learned a lot about blending coloured pencils and although my drawing was not as detailed as everyone else's, I was very pleased with my progress. I can see me using this technique for subsquent digital print, and my purpose is not to draw in a photo-realistic style, but to get fairly good representation that shows it remains a pencil drawing. If you want a photograph, take a photograph. I want my imagery to look like it is hand drawn, without being stylised.
I did not complete my image, but it is good enough to put in my pomegranate sketchbook, as it reminds me a lot about the different skills I used to create the image. These included sketching the initial outline in HB pencil; regularly dusting the pencil crumbs off the page with a soft brush; using a really, really sharp pencil; press fairly hard; observe in detail; analyse colour by identifying the main overtone, then work out the shadow by using the opposite colour on the colour wheel.
A productive weekend.
The first session showed us how to layer colour. I expected to have to layer colour, but did not realise it is easier to layer from the shadows up to the highlights. Also Roger explained how to deal with the "daffodil problem". Daffodils have a lot of shadow and there is a technique how to get subtle shadows in very light toned colour. To blend shadows on a yellow flower, ie shades of grey in yellow, you use the exact opposite colour. I knew how to do this with paint and dye, by using a tiny spot of the opposite colour to tone down the brilliance. In coloured pencil, you use the pale lilac pencil to shade yellow, because you have the equivalent tonal value purple to the yellow. I had often wondered why anyone would use a pale lilac pencil, as it is the colour I never use. But if you just want to knock back the brilliance of a yellow pencil, use a bit of lilac underneath. Like most techniques, it is obvious, once you understand the principle.
We spent the weekend drawing pointsettia plants. Botanical drawing takes a long time. Everyone else worked at about life size - the plants were about 3" tall - but I instantly enlarged them so my drawing fitted the page, with leaves touching the edges of the paper. I learned a lot about blending coloured pencils and although my drawing was not as detailed as everyone else's, I was very pleased with my progress. I can see me using this technique for subsquent digital print, and my purpose is not to draw in a photo-realistic style, but to get fairly good representation that shows it remains a pencil drawing. If you want a photograph, take a photograph. I want my imagery to look like it is hand drawn, without being stylised.
I did not complete my image, but it is good enough to put in my pomegranate sketchbook, as it reminds me a lot about the different skills I used to create the image. These included sketching the initial outline in HB pencil; regularly dusting the pencil crumbs off the page with a soft brush; using a really, really sharp pencil; press fairly hard; observe in detail; analyse colour by identifying the main overtone, then work out the shadow by using the opposite colour on the colour wheel.
A productive weekend.
Approaching Essay Deadline
I have spent the last 7 days working on my essay. It has reached a fairly refined state now. I have about 5,200 words written out of 6,000.
I was worrying about taking on board the advice from my tutor to include some information about the slow textile movement, but have now worked out my rationale on why I shall ignore the advice. I have received a case study from Linda Kemshall, a top English textile artist. I want to make best use of this data, and use another 300 words to bring the analysis of her work to about 800 words. This means I have 500 words left for the conclusion. Unless I prune other parts of the essay, I won't have the word count to add another section. And I have remembered one of the key points made at the beginning of our plenary sessions. "Make fewer points and explore them thoroughly". So I shall ignore the slow textile movement, explore the case study thoroughly and make sure that the conclusion sums up well. The introduction will be re-written to explain the themes of the essay, the main body will explore these themes thoroughly, and the conclusion will reiterate the themes and link them together. In other words, "Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you've told them".
I have 10 days to the deadline. I have to finish the case study (300 words); write the conclusion (500 words); source images, write the Illustrations list; and conduct final edit and proof reading; then print, bind and hand in. This is achieveable in the time available. I aim to hand in on Monday afternoon, 10 December. I absolutely cannot handle rushing at the last minute - if I worked up to the deadline of 14 December, I would be at emotional melt down. This is not good for me or anyone else!
I was worrying about taking on board the advice from my tutor to include some information about the slow textile movement, but have now worked out my rationale on why I shall ignore the advice. I have received a case study from Linda Kemshall, a top English textile artist. I want to make best use of this data, and use another 300 words to bring the analysis of her work to about 800 words. This means I have 500 words left for the conclusion. Unless I prune other parts of the essay, I won't have the word count to add another section. And I have remembered one of the key points made at the beginning of our plenary sessions. "Make fewer points and explore them thoroughly". So I shall ignore the slow textile movement, explore the case study thoroughly and make sure that the conclusion sums up well. The introduction will be re-written to explain the themes of the essay, the main body will explore these themes thoroughly, and the conclusion will reiterate the themes and link them together. In other words, "Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you've told them".
I have 10 days to the deadline. I have to finish the case study (300 words); write the conclusion (500 words); source images, write the Illustrations list; and conduct final edit and proof reading; then print, bind and hand in. This is achieveable in the time available. I aim to hand in on Monday afternoon, 10 December. I absolutely cannot handle rushing at the last minute - if I worked up to the deadline of 14 December, I would be at emotional melt down. This is not good for me or anyone else!
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