Task 1, 2 and Verbs

This week we were given Tasks 1 and 2. They were very useful as it made realise how much I would be using the images I took in MOSI.  The data verb sheet also made me reflect on my subject matter and take it apart trying to define the brain in 5 words is difficult but finally I chose:

• Creasing 
• Bending
• Folding
• Mapping
• Cramming

I feel like these words best describe my subject matter of the brain and relate well to Data. 

I then gathered materials that I thought would relate to my concept such as, sponges, toothpaste even tofu. I was trying to get things i thought would be able to mimic the surface texture of a brain. 

These words link to the brain but also had me thinking of Origami, the folds and creases which go into each piece have to be so precise and they are very intricate. My tutors had told us to start thinking of making paper samples. 

These are what I came up with the help of YouTube tutorials.

Data

At the end of our Origins project we were told to meet at the Museum of Science and Industry for our assessment feedback. I had a look round, at the time I visited there was a Brains Exhibition on which I found very interesting and luckily look a lot of photos. There were many interactive areas, which were fun to get involved in; I enjoyed my time there. Whilst in the museum I started documenting my time there, where I went how many steps I took etc. I did this for the Data project that we were just starting. It was all about recording data, translating it visually.  On reflection I should have taken more photos i.e. of all the doorways I walked through.

These are just a selection of some of the very interesting photos I took whilst visiting the Museum. These images inspired me into picking the human brain as my subject matter. The brain is one of the most interesting and mysterious organs in our bodies which co incidentally holds all the data we know or have the capability of knowing.

Evaluation of Origins Unit

Evaluation of Origins Unit

Whilst spending my time in the Print world I have learnt many new skills & developed my ideas into new & interesting designs. The whole time I was doing that, I was constantly referring back to my initial images & thoughts. I want to have a recurring colour mood & good consistencies between my practical techniques & my final designs. I had many images, these photos developed into drawing which resulted in my motifs. I think that my research correlates directly with my practise as one directly relies on the other. The colour palate was very effective & ran throughout my project tying all my work together. In the first few weeks & as a result of the Chance cards I had many drawings to select my favourites to develop further, which I did & I have been using in the print room to make various prints.

I have found a way of viewing my work more critically & visually. Displaying it out on a table & making sure, I have everything I need to get the images to translate from my sketchbook into my designs & prints. I also have found that I enjoy using the digital printer. I think that the fabric samples done in silk especially are very luxurious & it is something I would carry on developing if we had more time. I have achieved more confidence in my work to use different equipment that was a mystery to me beforehand.

My contextual references have helped me a great deal, as my practical work helped me to develop producing work.  It has shown me how to print & dye fabrics in different ways with different methods all producing an interesting result.  I found it very useful as I could see a progression point in my project to make my motifs & designs more creative & colourful.  I think that I do manage my studio time well.  I have found that staying late in the studio is the best time to get work done. I find it easier to cut back my independent study for studio time, as I am far more productive in the studio than I am in my halls.

I feel that I have been thinking laterally, I have worked hard & creatively to connect my contextual references to the rest of my project. I have done this using my blog along with my sketchbooks & designs. This helped me with the development in my project & visualising further ideas for development.

Second digital prints

Since my first digital print session I have been pretty excited to get more sample so I was quick to make some new designs & get them printed. In my first digital printing session I stuck strictly to silk but this time I went for silk & cotton. Silk gives a more luxurious deep colour & cotton gives a flat bright blocky colour & I think they both have merit. I like them both, I printed some new designs that are more in tune with my colour palate as my firsts ones were not in proportion at all, they were also a lot brighter than my source image so I toned it down & I think these prints will link my project together a little better.

These are the designs I got printed,  I got 8 printed but this is just a selection of them. I got four printed onto the cotton & four printed onto the silk.  Below are images of them being printed, I was still there when they came out so I thought I would take a a few pictures.

Silk designs being printed

Cotton designs being printed

Mono printing & Wax stencil paper

Today in our print room session Rachel showed us some more interesting techniques in the print room that I hadn't come across before. One was called mono printing which is where we mixed up some water dyestuff which was very similar to water colour & then we painted our designs directly onto the screen. It was nerve racking but I enjoyed the freedom of it & got a cool print out of its.  The one problem with mono print is you can only get one print out of each design as the dye comes out of the screen. There fore it’s not a easily repeatable process which is something I shall keep in mind for future references.

The wax stencil paper was also pretty cool, its like a print with in a print but instead of absorbing the dye it resists it & leaves a stencil of what ever shape you made. I thought it turned out really well I liked the effect. I think I will definitely use these two methods in future.

 This is my mono print, I don't think I left it to dry long enough as you can see some smudging in the patterns but it was a good way to learn & I won't do it again. But over all I think it works pretty well.

 These are my print with the stencil paper on & after I had removed it. In hindsight I think I would have left the stencil paper on my print as it think it makes it look more dynamic & the pink colour works well with the colour of the print.

Sample Ideas

I have printed off some of my motifs to cut up & to collage into new possible ideas & different lay outs. We were given a sheet of samples of layouts & I think it would be good to have a page full of sample lay outs. This is a good way of working as it is a visual layout of how my work could look, these designs can relate to screen print, digital print or I could choose to just do the by hand. It's just very useful & helps me pick my favorite ones & also gives me lots of options of ideas. I have done some in my sketchbook as I find it easier to flip between the pages & refer back to previous ideas for inspiration.

These are some of the compositional layouts I have done on Photoshop as it is far fast than doing a repetitive pattern by hand.