PRAQUE

I love to explore different places, recently I visited Prague. I found the architecture so inspiring and beautiful; different from any city I have visited before.
 Prague had a Gothic and medieval atmosphere about it; when I was walking down some alleyways I feel the buildings encouraged me to feel slightly uneasy. I felt inspired by the small, intricate details on large buildings.  I love the colours of the building, I found some surprising as some were pastel and bright colours. Decorative  aspects such as the window surroundings and large doors also made the buildings visually interesting. While I was exploring Prague I keep admiring the grand buildings and was considering how these could be used in design.
  

DISSOLVABLE

During our second stitch workshop we used Dissolvable. I have used Dissolvable previously so I had some experience, however I still enjoyed making my samples.

Firstly, I focused on a Rose that I had previously drawn in a drawing workshop. Once completed I noticed that the sample looked either side I turned it. I liked this as it allows more options and encouraged me to look at the sample differently. The first image (see below) is how I intended it to look and once the sample was turned around a much darker colour palette was created from the bobbin thread.

I created two more samples using Dissolvable fabric.For one sample, I wanted to stitch the dissolvable flowers onto background fabric; I felt the colour choices improve the sample.

STITCH-APPLIQUE AND FREE MACHINE

From our life drawing sessions we had to free machine stitch and then add clothes to the body in form off Appliqué. To add detail I also used a decorative stitch from the machine on the walking stitch (shown below). This adds texture and detail to my sample.

I wanted to experiment using these techniques with the floral drawings that I drew during our  taught sessions. I liked the subtly in them and how I could suggest colour using stitch in a intricate way.

I particularly enjoyed using the free machine foot to create loose, free lines and how areas of shadow are created by using a darker shade of colour.

ADDING COLOUR TO FLORAL DRAWINGS

After practising drawing flowers with a range of hardness pencils we added colour to them. This encouraged them to look more similar to the Botanical drawings we had been working from.

I used the subtle colours in these examples to try and portray the softness in the drawings. Even though I like the appearance of the colour I would like to improve the consistency and overall quality of the paint.

RE-WORKING BOTANICAL DRAWINGS

Experimenting with work by collaging hugely inspires me. I love the excitement of cutting my work up and rearranging it; not quite knowing what will happen and not having to much control on the outcome . I feel collaging works well for me because if I spend to long looking at my work and trying to make it perfect I tend to over think and worry about it.

For both of these examples above I cut geometric, identical shapes and lay them next to each other.  I like this technique but would also like to experiment with layering and irregular shapes.

I admire many artists work that focus on collaging, shown below:

Hannah Hoch (1889-1978)

Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)

STITCH

Our first session in stitch mainly consisted off learning to use the machine and experimenting with the different stitch the machine could do. I learnt about decorative stitch, twin needles and hanging the bobbin thread to add texture. I loved the appearance the decorative stitch can give and would like to experiment with them further.

BOTANICAL DRAWINGS- MUSEUM VISIT

We visited the National Museum Cardiff on Monday 19th October 2015. Working from the botanical drawings archives was incredibly inspiring for me; I thought the drawings were soft, sensitive and beautiful.

Whist drawing at the Museum I wanted to experiment more in the way I used the pencil. I pressed much harder on the paper when suggesting dark areas; I used a grid drawing technique to again express shading which I feel worked well. I also left some areas unfinished such as the stem to express where the lighter areas were. I feel this makes my drawing seem more sophisticated at thoughtful.

Botanical drawings is popular in pattern for design. After drawing from flowers and learning more about  the history of botanical drawing I began to notice it much more whilst I was shopping, or looking through magazines for example in vogue.

ASOS skirt

Jaeger Jumper

Vivienne Westwood Dress

INTRODUCTORY DRAWING SESSION

Our first drawing task was to draw from an Image found in a book. I wanted to choose something I was familiar with and fairly comfortable drawing; because of this I choose plants.

Above is a photograph of my drawing from the book. I attempted to pay attention to detail in the petal shapes as I wanted to make the drawing sensitive and subtle in the mark making. I was also aware off the shading to try and encourage the drawing to be more realistic.

To develop them more I wanted to create a repeat pattern using each drawing separately; I experimented with composition.

I feel the drawing of repeat pattern on the left worked better than the second. I like the natural movement and how the shapes flows well from one to another. I could imagine both of these working well on interior products such as duvet covers, wallpaper and cushions.

THE PANOPTICON.

Following our first lecture we were instructed to complete some reading from ‘Regulation Bodies – Foucault, power and control – why don’t men wear skirts?’.

The text discussed the idea of the Panopticon; This is a tall circular building in the centre of a prison with windows to allow staff to watch the inmates, however the inmates are unable to tell if they are being watched by prison staff as guards staff would not be present all the time.

The concept behind this design is the unknown; because the prisoners can’t tell if they are being watched, it creates a sense of control and order at all times in comparison to if they were aware of when staff were present. The paper stated ‘visibility is a trap.’ and ‘he is seen,but he does not see’.

This is reflected in society. For example, CCTV  is an attempt to stop the public misbehaving such as surveillance in shops to prevent stealing. The education system also has a similar system- the power and control of teachers stop children from misbehaving or cheating in tests.

This lecture encouraged the idea that our bodies are controlled more than many people are aware off, but in subtle ways. It made me more aware of my surroundings, such as the amount of CCTV everywhere, including pubic transport such as buses and trains.

CARDIFF CULTURAL JOURNEY

During Freshers week we had to explore Cardiff with our new peers. We decided to visit Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Castle and the City Centre. Living in Cardiff for a year previously, I had some knowledge on the city but still enjoyed exploring some new places.

Cardiff Bay was a beautiful place to visit. We went on Friday which was just a short train journey away. The bay was relaxing, peaceful and quiet in comparison to the hustle and bustle of Cardiff city centre. Personally, I loved the bay because it reminded me of home; living in Cornwall my entire life and then relocating to a vibrant and busy city was daunting. However if I want to get away from the crowds and noise, even though that is also an attractive feature in a place, I know to visit Cardiff Bay and I will feel calm and comforted.

Whilst we visited the bay, we had fish and chips overlooking the water, the sun was shinning and there was a jazz musician playing in the background. Whist overlooking Cardiff Bay I appreciated how beautiful the sea was. It was calm and glistening from the sun. I thought about how vast the world is and how the water is something that connects us all but also keeps us apart. I watched all the people strolling around, there were couples, family’s and friends; Everyone seemed cheerful and I think that is the effect Cardiff Bay can have.

Cardiff Bay is probably my favourite place to be in Cardiff, as much as I love the centre with the shops, bars and nightclubs I feel a comfort in Cardiff Bay; it is a home away from home. The sea relaxes me and it always inspires me to be creative.

We also decided to spend one day in and around the city centre, St Mary’s street, The Hayes, Queen Street and The Arcades is where we explored most. Many of the girls in my group were new to Cardiff so we wanted to get to know the area more. My favourite place in the centre was the Arcades, they were beautiful, I loved the independent shops and small alleyways, I loved that some had fairy lights or bunting, which made them more picturesque.

I have always been interested in people; I find human behaviour incredibly interesting, and being a capital city there are many people walking around. I often wonder about peoples stories, as everyone has so many, I wonder so may things. Humans of New York is my favourite blog, the creator, Brandon Stanton, he takes photographs and interviews people he sees on the street. The interviews can be emotional, they open your eyes to others peoples struggles and happiness, and makes me realise life is what it is and this helps me if I ever feel down, I find it very uplifting. Stanton also does work outside of New York, currently he is doing a piece on the refugees in Europe which sees through the heart of many people, this is incredibly emotional. There is also a blog called Humans of Cardiff which I also enjoy reading.

Whilst were explored Cardiff we had a coffee in a café in the Arcades, it was nice to get to know the people in my course more. I also enjoyed seeing people coming and going, and walking around the arcades.

I visited one of Cardiff’s leading attractions, Cardiff Castle. I thought the buildings were beautiful and as we climbed to the top of the tower the view was incredible; you could see beyond the city of Cardiff and out towards the greenery. I liked the difference is the Urbanisation of Cardiff, many buildings compact together and then the open space beyond. Whilst looking at the view I was surprised how small Cardiff was in comparison to other cities I have visited. Whilst exploring the Castle grounds I noticed that there was many international tourists including Australians and Italians.

Cardiff Castle was influential as there were many small windows in the castle tower that looked out towards Cardiff city centre. The walls surrounding the windows were dark and dull in comparison to the bright light and beautiful city which was visible in the background. From this I began to think about layering shapes above others to reveal something else underneath; this could be a similar pattern or a juxtaposition- similar to the light of the outside shining through into a dark enclosed tower room.

To reach the top of the tower we had to walk up extremely steep and narrow stairways. Looking through stairways created negative space were I could see through them. I thought of incorporating this into clothing; the negative space could represent cut-outs in clothing revealing areas of skin. Both of these ideas (from Cardiff Castle) excite me as I feel there is structure and simplicity but with possibly unexpected ideas that could create a more playful idea.

Whilst I was exploring Cardiff Castle I noticed there are many interesting shapes and structures within every day items such as stairways, railings and brickwork. As I continued to look around Cardiff I continued to see this in many other areas such as the roof of Cardiff Market.

I enjoyed exploring Cardiff and from each destination I took a range of photographs and created two pieces of work using a range of media, such as drawing with my wrong hand, stencilling and collage.