Evaluation

Initial ideas & theme

Aiming to do something challenging and different from previously, I decided to have a contrary element then my individual interest i.e. traditional patterns.

I intended to produce my samples inspired by Futurism for interior i.e. a car, public space like hospitals. Something futuristic and modern for a public space; unusual and ‘future forward’ for a car, as the theme of the brief suggests.

Futurism is a common theme throughout this entire unit. To have one element in common throughout a project helps me come up with one directional body of work.

I managed to gather some very modern architecture found in Manchester, Bury and Leeds, in order to begin some ideas through drawing and mixed media. Geometrical structure, is what I found mostly everywhere but that is just the overall structure; zooming into those structures, gave me some very interesting designs to bring into my work.

fig no.1

Nevertheless, I realised a fact that having so many simple geometrical shapes could be very challenging for me. It could get boring and obvious. During the process of experimenting, I made this surface that almost looks like concrete rubbing, see fig no.1; but it was actually foil print using PVA glue and netting fabric as a stencil. My primary imagery had a lot of sky and clouds in it see fig no.2: as a human takes high angle shots. Primarily, this process of thinking through making helped me to have a strong Base to start a project with contrasting elements.


fig no 2

I tried to recreate the foil print on leather, repeatedly. To develop, I wanted a warmer background for the print rather than the dull white paper. After making multiple samples and getting the same result, I assumed it does not work. I took risk and put it through for engraving, and it actually looked very interesting. I believe, it looks very interesting with the concrete, see fig no.3

fig no.3

Techniques

Artist, Debbie Smyth, use of pins inspired me a lot, as I was already trying to create this crisp and strong look in my samples. How I could create those big structures as small samples? I wanted it small but detailed. As I developed my work, I started hammering pins down clear linoleum sheets. The initial thought was that these sheets look like the glass buildings due to their green tint. However, they are actually malleable so I could cut shapes into them.

So how I developed this thought was, if I can cut through it, I can hammer pins down; if I could pass pins through it, why not try using it under the sewing machine needle? And it worked; but very time-consuming, once the needles goes in, it makes a hole and if the stitches aren’t to my desire then I had to waste it. 



Due to its rubber like texture, it sticks to the machine foot and the part where the feed dogs are, so it doesn’t move by itself very easily. It just has to be at an angle where it’s almost hovering but also slightly touching. Therefore, I tried using Stitch 'n Tear, thinking it would tear off easily. However, it can be seen, it didn’t come off, even after using a coarse brush.







fig no.4

The stiches going in and out of something that almost looks like glass, was very unusual see fig no.4 Due to this reason, I believe my work could also fit within the hand and lock embroidery prize brief.



fig no.5

To help the viewer and myself, envision my samples in a real world, I have visualised them on cars. Assuming a car could one day have this technology to press the button and get some juice served. Or the car’s roof opens up like gills on a fish for fresh air, or swing to fan the insiders or used as heaters. If the little triangular pieces could tug up from a siren, light up and spin around in emergencies. Examples can be seen in fig no.5, 6 



fig no.6

Some more images of my final outcomes



Development

Visualising

• Select samples that are interesting and have a feel of futurism.
• Visualise them through quick drawings and choose from them, what could be visualised digitally for a more understandable picture.

Scale of the samples

• Time-consuming techniques could be done on a smaller scale.
• Visualising them is a great way to decide what I want to choose to do more of. Meaning, I could pick a sample that I liked the best, and make a series of small samples, in given time; instead of, physically, increasing the scale.
• If I wanted to make something bigger scale, it could just be visualised.



For instance, I have visualised this from my sketchbook on to a car roof, digitally. I could now make a longer version as a resolved sample.

Resolving techniques

Understandably, I could not make my final samples using all the techniques and experiments that I did to initiate this project.

Therefore, it has to be refined so they are more about what I discovered while experimenting then just using a technique that is already known. And I will be considering the following:

• Use netting fabric to create concrete inspired texture.
• Silver leaf, to achieve that futuristic metal like feel: such as underneath impasto prints, because to achieve that metallic background in a print is almost not possible with any other technique.
• Consider using metallic leather, from sketchbook, for a contrasting warmer tone with the cooled tones.
• Pinning and wrapping threads around them.
• Clear Linoleum sheets – to stitch and pin through.
• Laser cutting –I find this technique works a lot for me, not only because I like it but also because I feel the need to translate my drawings on to physical samples to bring that extra detail, and it works amazingly.

Time Management and CP2 35%

 

The pre laser cutting process is very time consuming. It gets even more time consuming when I have to sit for hours and delete those multiple lines, individually on Corel draw. It has always been the case. In my first project, I had to deal with even four lines.

In Intentions, the first unit, I could switch an engrave design with raster engraving as it is quicker and the laser didn’t have follow a specific line. Four lines, meaning the laser will draw over the same line four times, hence multiplying the time and cost.

• Whereas this time I used leather and I wanted crisp lines of engraving.
• Raster engraving could work on heavy materials like wood but not on soft materials like leather, therefore, I had to spend that time deleting all the lines.
• When cutting, there is no other way; you just have to delete all the multiple lines.

 

Solution – Technician help: how to overcome double lines?

• Investigate how to overcome or ‘over killing’ double lines on illustrator
• What to do differently is, after doing all the tracing steps, window>pathfinder>select the image>object>group>pathfinder>outline.

35% assignment

First draft feedback – improve the quality of images, perhaps access the photography lab.  

•  Induction – I was scheduled to be inducted in the last week due to, the photography technician’s and mine, timetables overlapping before; hence, all the sessions had been booked for the next two weeks.
• I had to hold this assignment until the last week, due to this reason. Therefore, I had to fix those images on Photoshop as best as possible. An example is shown in fig no.1
• Book the photography lab session 7 days in advance, unless someone cancels.

fig no.1