Day 2.. A useful lecture

Similarly as yesterday, in the morning again had an amazing big breakfast thanks to the lovely Patsy who runs the B&B.Then this morning got back into the studio for some more loosening body exercises and re-thinking of our specific, everyday ritual.... So i ended up choosing the motion of wiping my window when i get into the car.. from this we we asked to make something in relation to this movement. The concept has been slightly hard to understand considering i don't do garment making or make anything functional. But eventually i simply came up with a wiping tool which can be slid onto the hand and has cushioned parts to the pressure points of the hand which wipe the window.

It has been interesting to learn more about the body and thinking further into the shapes which it moves into, however i feel slightly uncomfortable creating a product rather than learning about the fabric and other uses of print design. So far we haven't yet been introduced to any lazer cutting, screen printing, heat pressing or embroidery techniques. I have felt similarly to what i felt in my old drama lessons - slightly pointless.

However at 1pm we had a lecture on new innovative materials and other printing materials. This on the other had was very useful and we all learnt things which will be very useful back home when carrying on with our uni projects. But they'll be no telling til the end of the year ... will be fun to see what i can come up with. Everyone else had some interesting things to come up with.. for example one girl made a pretty amazing dressing gown-like outfit... pretty see-through but it was to represent "just...hanging around" lol ... i haven't been in such hysterics like that for a long time! i just thought it was a brilliant way she said it.

Looking forward to tomorrow, hopefully they'll be some printing going on. 

So I'm in Belgium...

Suddenly i'm in Belgium !... Well the opportunity was mentioned by our technician at uni with an application for a completely free experience to go to Belgium and do a skills tour. Run by CrysaLis (the same organisation run in Calais who created the exhibition of Iris Van Herpen, the Skills tour is a 5 day workshop experience new textiles techniques including lazer cutting, Silk screen printing, weaving, electronic fabrics, heat press and more! The whole journey completely free (food, accommodation and travel) all they would like in return is a report about the experience hence why i'm writing up about my journey here :) 

Day 1:

I am so very lucky to have been given this opportunity as it definitely does not get given out every day. It all very exciting so far, the B&B couldn't be more lovely, my own room with an bathroom and breakfast made for me ready in the morning (could definitely get used to this!). Got up and ready for the introduction for 10am and met the other students. A mixture from Plymouth, Farnham and Belgium. the first exercise was all about the body and movement. We were asked to all be in one large room and simply be free with our own body and get to know it using all movements that feel natural. We experimented with also musical movements weight interaction and space to interact with other people but also to be aware of our own feelings. From their we then had to come up with a movement of a particular part of the body and then go outside or around the studio and fine objects to make a relating form for that particular body movement. Anthea created a movement which originated from the finger tips and wrist moving and so created this which i have cleverly modelled for her:

i on the other hand created this in relation to the structure of the head, upper arm, elbow movement and lower arm (sticks i think were the best thing i could find in half an hour) and then a load of elastic to demonstrate the constriction of the arm movement and also interpreting a firm locking motion. 

                                           

It's all quite interesting how our teacher has a history of dance and brings movement into her designs. Later on we will be thinking about everyday movements and then interpreting those into designs and will then start the making part of the course!

Iris Van Herpen Exhibition - Calais

Thursday i took a nice trip over to Calais to see the amazing exhibition by the great 3D fashion designer Iris Van Herpen. The exhibition is currently showing at Cite Internatonale de la dentelle et de la mode de Calais. Her work is stunning. She creates some of the most remarkable 3D sculptural Fashion garments. Her work involves ideas from everyday circumstances and unique materials and transforms them to take on the body's shape.

                                

                            

I would absolutely recommend going if you can afford the trip to Calais, obviously they look amazing in the photos but seeing actually up close, and really being able to appreciate the craftsmanship of these pieces and see them in all angles.

Also in the same museum currently showing an awesome exhibition 'Lace Effects 1'. Exhibiting are some brilliant designers from all over England and France plus some exclusive work of students from UCA campuses - WELL WORK SEEING!

http://www.cite-dentelle.fr/

"Thread" Exhibition !

Sunday the 3rd of November will be the first exhibition i will be participating in which will be held at the Farnham Maltings, along with my fellow 3rd year girls. Our work includes 2nd year level textiles both print and weave specialists. I will be showing 5 pieces in the show and looking forward to people coming to see it. I'm not sure yet how much it is to get into the exhibition but will be posting more towards the time. There will  also be other artists and textile designers holding stands of their work to both sell and show. Looking forward to it!.. The future is only just beginning for the 3rd years :)....For more info follow the link bellow:

https://farnhammaltings.com/festivals/thread/

EASYBIB!... The referencing time saver

I can't believe i have only just heard about this app to help me with bibliographies!... I would definitely recommend it to anyone who struggles with referencing. This free app literally does it all for you in 3 seconds! All you have to do is hover your camera over the bar-code on a book and the app will simply load in a couple of seconds and as if by magic all the information you need comes up, including the title, author, place, publisher and date. genius! ... and no its not cheating... just saving you so much time!... plus it really helps if say you're in a book shop and want the reference quick this is all you have to do ! :) being a student i would like to thank the designer of this app very very much its so nice and simple.

I'm back!

I'm all back at uni and have officially moved back onto my desk and already to set up camp for the next 8 months. Excited but really need to get my head i gear and start the real work a.s.a.p. ... printing!... so here i go lets see what i can make out of this load...

Pinning most of my work up in front of me always helps to try and keep my mind flowing and link things up to what I've already done.

So many books!

So the research is slowly progressing by literally raiding the university library!.. i always tend to research different areas of art so that i can get a larger perspective of compositions, colours, shape etc. Even though I've been writing out bibliographies for a couple of years now i still can't seem to get my head around it! The Farnham library is huge! I am so grateful that we have such a range of books that really interest me... although the only bad thing is when some books are available on 3 week loans and there is only one copy of the book! Some of the books i adore have already been taken out so it looks like i'm either going to have to wait 3 weeks for them to come back or dip into my pockets and buy some... looks like i'll be asking for some books for Christmas!?

All of these books i highly reccomend especially "Cutting edges (Contemporary collage)" 

Robert Klanten, Hendrik Hellige and J. Gallagher... which includes many of the best collage pieces from around the world... and even if you're not that interested in collage i can almost garentee you will be if you look through this.. i found it on amazon for around £22. Although that maybe slightly expensive for a book its well worth it!