Business Cards

All my business cards and postcards arrived this morning which could not of come at a better time as I have my mock interview tomorrow with Alison Willoughby, and I'm very happy with them...

 

I ordered three different images onto my business cards as each one shows a different element of my work, from the dyeing process to manipulation and stitch.

When ordering my post cards there were numerous options of paper choices. I knew I wanted a thick gsm so they would not be too flimsy, but I also wanted to make a statement with them and as my work is inspired by the environment and nature I decided to go with a 100% recycled paper.

 

Photoshop

While Photoshop is not neccessarily my strong point I do find it very useful to create simple moodboards incorporating colours and imagery to begin my projects. I am still mounting and preparing my portfolio for next weeks interview with either Alison Willoughby or Lauren Barfoot, so I decided to create some extra mood boards using photos from my previous projects in the second year.

A Change of Scenery

While I do love what I do, my work load at the moment is quite overwhelming, so I decided to have a change of scenery and travel home to work for a bit. It is always so calming, I always instantly feel inspired when I get back to my own room and go for a walk...

 

A Trip Down Memory Lane

While I have been currently focusing on my Extended Major Project I took an evening out to select more samples for my portfolio; it was nice to look back on my second year work and see how my design skills have progressed...

This particular project was only 4 weeks long and was an Innovation unit where we were given a real freedom in the techniques and materials used. I experimented with papers and fabrics and burning and breaking them down, while incorporating simple geometric shapes. While I enjoyed the freedom of this unit I would of liked more time to push my ideas further and also experiment with a larger scale.

For this project I gathered my imagery from my allotment at home and I wanted to create an illustrative range of samples using imagery and fabrics reminiscent of an allotment. I used purely recycled materials, reminiscent of gardening and allotments such as hessian, denim, suede and corduroy. By incorporating simple pigment prints with applique and stitch techniques I feel I was able to create some interesting fabric samples.

My starting point for my final project in the second year was the Botanical Gardens; I wanted a range of samples that were more vibrant in colour and still incorporated stitch. While I feel that the colours were a success I think that I needed more detailed stitch and manipulation techniques to add more interest.

When looking back and comparing my second year work to my latest projects it is nice to see the progression I have made in design choices and how my technical abilities have evolved, I have definately come along way in the three years at university.

Creating my Portfolio

So after meeting with my tutors I finally decided on what samples/drawings/moodboards to take forward and mount for my protfolio. These images are all from my previous project, which was aimed at the interiors market and focused on a more illustrative view of Nature, using a romantic, ethereal colour pallette.

Photography was a key element in this project and I enjoyed experimenting with different techniques. The above moodbaords were created with my own photos and while Photoshop is not my strong point, these simple experiments allowed me to define what colours I wanted to use and in what weighting.

Below are my mounted pieces of work for my portfolio...

  

My own little studio...

After feeling very creative this morning I set up a mini studio in my bathroom, creating some large scale simple prints to work into.

Current Project

 I am currently undertaking my Extended Major Project so here is a brief overview of what I am doing. My title is ‘Inspiration from the past, East meets West’,  I have chosen a topic close to my heart, being of both Indian and English heritage, and I am focusing on modernising and putting my own twist on traditional Indian techniques and patterns. Nature is the main focus in much of my work as my surroundings are always my inspiration, (living in the countryside has its upside) and to tie in with this I have been using purely natural materials, such as cottons, muslin and linens.  I have been dyeing up my fabrics and pigment printing imagery with stitch and manipulation as an accent to this. So here is some of my work so far...

   

 

Hello...

So I am new to the Blogging World, which is shocking considering I am in my third year at University. But seeing as this is my last project while I am a student it seems only right that I document it and then graduate and go into the big wide world. I promise to upload pictures and update this journey whenever I can :)