This
assignment demonstrates that you are developing a clear understanding of colour
theory and are able to apply this to subsequent project and sketchbook
work. There is also evidence of an
increased understanding of the design process and this is shown in the extent
to which you have successfully drawn upon your own starting points and imagery
in order to develop your creative ideas further. You are aware of the
importance of presenting your work in a coherent and logical way and your
thinking about the development your work is clearly articulated in your
learning log/blog. Your ability to reflect on this is also becoming more
apparent. Try to develop your critical thinking further by making more explicit
reference to exhibitions you have visited or artists’ work which has inspired
you in your own practice.
Assessment
potential (after Assignments 2 and 4)
I understand your
aim is to go for the BA Textiles Degree and that you plan to submit your work
for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this
assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I believe you have the
potential to succeed at assessment. In
order to meet all the assessment criteria, there are certain areas you will
need to focus on, which I will outline in my feedback.
Feedback on assignment
Project
3 Colour
Aim:
- To help you to understand and actively explore basic colour theory
- To develop an understanding of the relationship between colour and mood
- To apply your knowledge of colour theory to the development of sketchbook work
I was pleased to see you
experiment with a variety of media in this first project. This allowed you to
see the differences between these and to assess their value for the intended
purpose. You expressed some dissatisfaction at the lack of density of colour in
the colour wheels. I think that maybe using gouache would yield a more satisfactory
outcome for you.
Further experimentation with
colour relationships and colour matching strengthened your colour mixing
abilities. I agree with your comment regarding the purples. With the printed
image sample, you could try adding a little more white to the mix. It’s also always
worth remembering that it’s very difficult to match colours exactly across
media i.e. from printing inks and fabric dye to paint. Your still life analysis
made very good use of complementary colours e.g. in the purple shadows under
the citrus fruit. This has the effect of heightening the colour intensity of each
complementary; a point worth remembering when selecting fabric and thread.
Your increasing confidence
in combining mark making and colour was very much in evidence when creating
mood and feeling within your drawings. I particularly liked the contrast
between fire and ice. Howe do you think you could apply this knowledge to
working with fabric and stitch?
In your coloured stitch
samples, I think you realize the value of using basic stitches to vary the
density of colour and to explore the properties of optical colour blending. I
found the seed and detached chain stitch particularly interesting. The character
and appearance was totally transformed when you reversed the colours. Which did
you prefer and why? It’s also always worth remembering with this exercise that
the black background leaches the colour from the primaries and the red in
particular appears less vibrant.
Your French knot samples
were two great examples of how you can make the gradual transition from one
solid block of colour to another. Although you felt that the technique of
mixing the thread colour in the needle wasn't successful, I thought that this
lent an increasing subtlety to the gradual colour changes. It would be
interesting to work another sample where you didn't do this, to compare.
The final sample, where
you translated your ideas into stitch was a strong piece, supported by a very
good choice of visual imagery. I liked the way that this became very much a
mixed media piece. This strengthened the lovely textural effects you achieved
with the barnacle/knot stitching. Is this a sample that might go further do you
think?
Understanding
the textile world
Christening
Gown
This was a lovely personal
choice and good for you to return to something you had created many years ago.
This gave you valuable insights into the technical constructional and materials
detail. However, to what extent do you feel that its design for example,
reflects the era in which it was made? You could maybe have broadened your research
somewhat by considering the wider social, cultural and historical implications
of garments that reflect rites of passage. There is also the interesting
question of heirlooms and what they mean to families and individuals. For
example, what is its significance to your daughter?
Project
4 Developing design ideas
Aim:
- To help you to develop your compositional skills
- To help you to understand the interrelationship of the elements of design
- To use a design process in order to develop your visual ideas
I felt that from your
reflective comments in your learning log, you did not fully understand why you
were asked to carry out the first exercises. What you are looking at here are
basic principles of composition so that when you talk about a more dynamic
line, it is this which is creating visual interest and vibrancy within a
defined space. You might like to return to these exercises and use them to
analyse a painting or one of your own compositions which you produced for the
next stage. Here you worked well with combining the visual elements to produce
some great starting points from which to develop your ideas further. You might
like to give some further thought as to which media best suited your purpose.
For example, the two collages gave you a very strong graphic image to work with
whilst the pastels were much softer and more diffuse. Which medium was most
suitable for achieving the effect you were looking for? How might this
influence future choices of textile materials and techniques through which to
interpret your designs?
I liked the idea of the
pottery shards very much indeed and I thought that the bleach and tissue was a
really good way of interpreting your designs. Could you take this further by adopting
a more random approach to combining the different patterns such as tearing and
layering the different pattern samples, with the same randomness as the pottery
pieces?
Interlude
experimenting with printing and painting
Experimentation here
included some valuable work with repeat patterns, based on earlier design work.
You showed good understanding of what makes for an effective repeat as in the
burnt paper sample. This reminded me of Islamic tiles. Further research maybe?
In the same way, with the seed head, which was a very stylized interpretation,
you might like to refer to some of Charles Rennie Macintosh’s designs or the contemporary
designer, Angie Lewin.
Project
5 Painting and printing.
Aim:
- To help you to develop design ideas through the use of paint and print.
There was evidence of a
good range of experimentation here with different combinations of inks, dyes,
fabric paints and crayons. As you discovered, by varying the fabric surface and
absorbency, you can create some very different effects even when using the same
printing process e.g. the ‘stamped design sample sat on the surface of the
linen, highlighting the textural quality of the print whilst the brush stroke
sample quickly absorbed through fabric.
I felt that this project’s
strength came from the consistent way in which you tried out and then refined your
design ideas. This came through very strongly in your final print of the seed
head where you brought together earlier designs very well indeed. In your reflection,
try to analyse why you think this was so. Is it maybe the combination of the
more solid textured geometric background shape with the simple line drawing? To
what extent did your choice of a half drop repeat enhance the final design by
giving it a strong diagonal line? How would a different colourway alter the
feel and appearance of this design?
Learning Logs/Critical
essays
Your learning blog
continues to give some good insights into the development of your ideas and
your own progress. Try to extend this to analyse outcomes further in terms of
identifying possible ways forward. I feel that you are still uncertain about
the extent to which you can use your drawings as a starting point for your design
ideas but you are in fact doing this! Maybe you are imagining this to be a more
complex process than it is.
Sketchbooks
I like the way that your
sketchbook is feeding directly into your project work. Where this is the case,
can you maybe cross reference by pages numbers? There is also a good balance
between observational drawing, experimentation and design possibilities. In the
case, of photos, beware of including them indiscriminately in your sketchbook.
It can tend to start to look like a scrapbook if you are not careful. Ask yourself
why you have included an image. What aspect of it do you want to work from to develop
further? You may choose to annotate the photos explain this; otherwise, it can
look at though you are just filling up pages which I am sure you are not.
Suggested reading/viewing
See
in report
Pointers for the next
assignment
The
next assignment is concerned with primarily concerned with exploring techniques
and processes many of which I suspect will be familiar to you. You might like to
think about using some non-traditional textile materials for your samples. Try
to push yourself beyond what you already feel confident with and experiment
freely. I think you will enjoy this assignment!
