Thursday 16 December 2010
December Work
These are the grounds from some of the silks I've been printing this week. Silks are still to be steamed and worked into however these give an impression of the cios they entail.
Whats the theme? Nada. Sometimes its just fun to throw an paintbrush around.
Whats the theme? Nada. Sometimes its just fun to throw an paintbrush around.
Friday 10 December 2010
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Dissertation Proposal- (?)
After meeting with our semenar group I'm starting to become slightly, ever so slightly more confident in finding a topic which suits me for my dissertation. I discovered half way into our last essay that maybe the subject "Culture & Design" was a tad vague to discuss in depth and to explore the reationship between the two.
However I'm still keen on considering this as a basis to begin my research for my final idea.
I'm interested in the way that cultures have been manipulated and expanded, particulary in the past centuary. I thought it could be interesting to discuss what triggered these changes and consider the key events in history that have become a catalyst for social change.
Pro-active !
However I'm still keen on considering this as a basis to begin my research for my final idea.
I'm interested in the way that cultures have been manipulated and expanded, particulary in the past centuary. I thought it could be interesting to discuss what triggered these changes and consider the key events in history that have become a catalyst for social change.
Pro-active !
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Botanic Gardens
More research for our GvE project.
Batchy-P and myself took a trip to the Botanic Gardens in Dundee for some source drawings and photography.
I was hoping it might get some ideas flowing for our studio project. I'm fully aware that the main attracting of the Botanic Gardens is generally the mass of flowers it holds, however, I am determined not to go down the "textile students love flowers and doilys" route, and instead of using pretty pictures of flowers, maybe use the images for colour references and consider the shapes and ways of considering them as abstacted forms.
Batchy-P and myself took a trip to the Botanic Gardens in Dundee for some source drawings and photography.
I was hoping it might get some ideas flowing for our studio project. I'm fully aware that the main attracting of the Botanic Gardens is generally the mass of flowers it holds, however, I am determined not to go down the "textile students love flowers and doilys" route, and instead of using pretty pictures of flowers, maybe use the images for colour references and consider the shapes and ways of considering them as abstacted forms.
GvE Studio Project
We recently attendted a talk hosted by the textile designer, Georgina Von Etzdorf.
It was an interesting insight into the workings of the design industry and the ways of approaching the business.
She showed us a selection of her work and spoke of her experiences as a designer.
http://www.gve.co.uk/
This is one of her many many scarfs. She does alot of work in fashion which i find really interesting, another aspects of her work which appeals to me is the ways most of her fabrics are hand painted, which is what i tend to do in my studio work. By hand painting fabrics i think gives more character to the piece.
Most recently in studio, Georgina Von Etzdorf has created a brief for usIts the exporation of journey and senses.
As posted on the VLE...
"Consider the KEY words - 5 senses / Journey / Interpretation.
Thinks visual, think meaning, think surface. You can interpret or translate through ANY medium or combinations of media.
Without wishing to repeat ourselves – this project is centered around your “interpretation” and sense of “journey” aligned to on of “the 5 senses”.
NB: although “sketchbooks” were mentioned as not being a fundamental requirement you will obviously need some form of ‘depository’ for your research, thoughts, development and outcomes – whatever that may be !!"
Rocky start to this brief as its very vague. In every aspect of like we embark on various journeys and everything in its own way has a sensory value.
SO, after much brain-storming i decided to interpret the brief as simply as possible. After all simple is what i do best...
I want to continue painting landscapes and create quite pictorial silks, as i'm still trying to ween myself off the last studio project i decided, why not let this project be a continuation of the last?
I've decided to document the last few months of my life in photo/ painting form; the jouney's i've been on. Where i've been and where i am now. When looking through my camera i found loads of landscapes of Crieff (my home town), the Lake District and ofcourse here, in Dundee.
Got a new camera for my 21st so thought i'd go for a wander around creiff and take the badboy for a test-drive. Not entirely sure how to use it but gave it a bash, being from Crieff, not gonna lie its not the most hip-happening of places but its got some beautiful landscapes...
(Crieff)
Still getting used to the camera but when i went to the lake discrict at the beginning of the summer i took hundreds of photos, the landscapes were amazing, and i definately think could be used as ideas for creating fabrics.
(Lake District)
Lastly, i'll be using images i've collected from being in Dundee. These are some photos i took at the waterfront...
(Dundee Botanic Gardens....)
so we'll see what happens with the project...
It was an interesting insight into the workings of the design industry and the ways of approaching the business.
She showed us a selection of her work and spoke of her experiences as a designer.
http://www.gve.co.uk/
This is one of her many many scarfs. She does alot of work in fashion which i find really interesting, another aspects of her work which appeals to me is the ways most of her fabrics are hand painted, which is what i tend to do in my studio work. By hand painting fabrics i think gives more character to the piece.
Most recently in studio, Georgina Von Etzdorf has created a brief for usIts the exporation of journey and senses.
As posted on the VLE...
"Consider the KEY words - 5 senses / Journey / Interpretation.
Thinks visual, think meaning, think surface. You can interpret or translate through ANY medium or combinations of media.
Without wishing to repeat ourselves – this project is centered around your “interpretation” and sense of “journey” aligned to on of “the 5 senses”.
NB: although “sketchbooks” were mentioned as not being a fundamental requirement you will obviously need some form of ‘depository’ for your research, thoughts, development and outcomes – whatever that may be !!"
Rocky start to this brief as its very vague. In every aspect of like we embark on various journeys and everything in its own way has a sensory value.
SO, after much brain-storming i decided to interpret the brief as simply as possible. After all simple is what i do best...
I want to continue painting landscapes and create quite pictorial silks, as i'm still trying to ween myself off the last studio project i decided, why not let this project be a continuation of the last?
I've decided to document the last few months of my life in photo/ painting form; the jouney's i've been on. Where i've been and where i am now. When looking through my camera i found loads of landscapes of Crieff (my home town), the Lake District and ofcourse here, in Dundee.
Got a new camera for my 21st so thought i'd go for a wander around creiff and take the badboy for a test-drive. Not entirely sure how to use it but gave it a bash, being from Crieff, not gonna lie its not the most hip-happening of places but its got some beautiful landscapes...
(Crieff)
Still getting used to the camera but when i went to the lake discrict at the beginning of the summer i took hundreds of photos, the landscapes were amazing, and i definately think could be used as ideas for creating fabrics.
(Lake District)
Lastly, i'll be using images i've collected from being in Dundee. These are some photos i took at the waterfront...
(Dundee Botanic Gardens....)
so we'll see what happens with the project...
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Golf Project
Our most recent project for uni is to design a fabric to be used in a golf course currently being constructed in carnoustie.
The breif is fairly flexible and within this i chose to design a cloth depicting a sea landscape, i considered this a continuation of my summer project.
Our trip to Auchmithe helped build a body of research and coinsided with my previous sketchbook as my source drawings were all gathered from beaches.
Although my images from Turkey differ from those of Auchmithe, i wanted to take elements of each to create a fabric.
Although the bulk of my sketchbook contains structural drawings of Auchmithe, i refered to my summer project for a colour pallet. I thought by taking some of the reds and peaches from the summer project, it would create a slightly more exciting, warm colour pallet. (It rained pretty heavily on the trip to Auchmithe)
The breif is fairly flexible and within this i chose to design a cloth depicting a sea landscape, i considered this a continuation of my summer project.
Our trip to Auchmithe helped build a body of research and coinsided with my previous sketchbook as my source drawings were all gathered from beaches.
Although my images from Turkey differ from those of Auchmithe, i wanted to take elements of each to create a fabric.
Although the bulk of my sketchbook contains structural drawings of Auchmithe, i refered to my summer project for a colour pallet. I thought by taking some of the reds and peaches from the summer project, it would create a slightly more exciting, warm colour pallet. (It rained pretty heavily on the trip to Auchmithe)
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Assessment 1- Culture & Design
Culture & Design
Culture characterises a society. It brings a sense of identity to a person, the culmination of their social and economical status, history and way of life. The world is made up of many different cultures bouncing off each other, often containing conflicting ideas on the way a person should live and how a society should be maintained.
Culture buries itself within every aspect of the world we have created. It shows itself through agriculture, religion, architecture, art, music, fashion and lifestyle and is forever being manipulated and transformed through the modernisation of societies all over the world.
Culture does not necessarily affect the physical wellbeing of a person, but it enriches countries, giving people definition and a stronger identity.
Cultivating a sense of identity within a community is a way of bringing people together regardless of social status as it is an aspect in which these people can relate to one another. The word “culture” provokes the idea of the accumulative beliefs, values and experiences of a society, thus creating a strong sense of community. Through using these similarities such as religious ideals, history and experiences as a foundation we can begin to build the idea of a society.
Factors such as habitat, upbringing and lifestyle can be considered as a catalyst for the way a person thinks and chooses to live their life. When a person is born into a society, be it consciously or subconsciously they are manipulated and moulded by its surroundings and background, absorbing the information they have been taught and observing the behaviour of the people close to them, they themselves begin to reflect these traits and in turn are able to create a sense of self. Cultural groups can have conflicting ideologies but this is not to say any one is wrong. The constant modernisation of these factors such as habit, lifestyle and backgrounds allows cultures to expand and therefore allows people to express them selves creatively within the standards set within their communities, thus creating an eclectic range of cultures through out the world.
History of Culture.
Throughout centuries cultures have developed and expanded in order to cater for the ever transforming and modernising world. The phrase “History of Culture” is one which can open an endless debate. Culture is a word which categorises and characterises people from all different areas of the world. It is a word that has no beginning and no conclusion. As long as there has been a civilisation, some form of culture has been prevalent.
"both sides of human consciousness - the side turned to the world and that turned inward - lay, as it were, beneath a common veil, dreaming or half awake. The veil was woven of faith, childlike prejudices, and illusion; seen through it, world and history appeared in strange hues; man recognized himself only as a member of a race, a nation, a party, a corporation, a family, or in some other general category. It was in Italy that this veil first melted into thin air, and awakened an objective perception and treatment of the state and all things of this world in general; but by its side, and with full power, there also arose the subjective; man becomes a self-aware individual and recognises himself as such." – Jakob Burckhardt
In this passage Burckhardt refers to the Renaissance in Italy. He discusses the idea that people are manipulated by their surroundings and are in a sense indoctrinated to fit into a structure. He refers to a time in which people seemed to be breaking free of this predetermined formation and in turn allow themselves to become an individual. There has certainly been a prominent change in the structure of many cultures, particularly that of western civilisation, but we can still recognise today many societies and religions that maintain the strict moral codes which were enforced thousands of years ago.
Gender for example, is an issue which has affected many cultures for thousands of years and is in constant flux. In Britain for example, no more than 50 years ago, men were considered as superiors and women were given little rights; unable to work and vote. Over the past decades, after woman’s rights activists groups such as the suffragist and the suffragettes fought for the case, the social status of women began to shift. This in turn can be considered a development in our culture. Social and political issues change, and therefore allow us to move forward as a society. By doing this we are granted a form of freedom and identity, yet still maintain the basic foundations of our cultural backgrounds.
Considering gender as a cultural issue, we can examine current societies, in which religion dictates patriarchal ideals. It is still common in many parts of the world for woman to be the submissive and inferior being, a structure which is conformity of various religious beliefs. This is an example however of a strict religious stance. As Society moves forward and allows people to express themselves, many religions have also incorporated their ideals into modern society, again allowing people to have their beliefs yet not constrict themselves into living a specific lifestyle.
Political, economical, social status, religious ideals, life-style and backgrounds amongst many other issues, collectively create a society. As these factors expand and transform, as do cultures.
Culture and Design
“Ethnography, as I use the word, consists of the processes and products of research that documents what people know, feel and do in a way that situates those phenomena at specific times of individual lives, including pertinent global events and processes…If we pay attention to cultural variability among individuals, we make the reality of social groups, the existence of cultures and the location of cultural boundries empirical issues that require explicit test for construct industry.”- The Construct Validity of Cultures, Culture Theory and a Method for Ethnography- W. Penn Handwerker
Culture is an area of design which must be well considered in order to create a successful product. A design must be made with the intention of a target market. Awareness of social, political and current affairs is an integral part of an effective design.
In Roland Barthes essay “The Rhetoric of the Image” he discusses these ideas in depth. He investigates ideas of the semiotic theory, linguistics and epistemology- a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin of human knowledge. This exemplifies the idea that a design cannot be created purely for the sake of design. A design must be contextualised and relevant to the consumer.
We can look at clothing as an example of the ways in which culture effects the outcome of a design.
Clothes can be used as a way of expressing religious views, beliefs and social status. We can recognise this throughout the world through various cultural groups.
“What accounts for the discrepancy between Kalabari claim and the director’s dictum? How does this relate to dress ethnicity? The answer emerges from Kalabri history, geography and culture. As traders in a global marketplace, they established a reputation for independent spirit and were selective in their taste for trade goods. Their competitiveness and fierce pride, as members of one of the smaller ethnic groups in Nigeria, resulted in a continued effort to distinguish themselves visually from others, and produce their unique Kalabari forms of dress.”- Joanne B. Eicher and Tonye V. Erekosima
To consider culture in relation to design we as designers must hold an extensive knowledge of the market our design is aimed towards.
Cultures throughout the world have conflicting ideologies, beliefs and backgrounds and this must be considered throughout the design process.
The Fabric of Cultures: Fashion, Identity and Globalisation.
Handwerker, W. Penn, American Anthropologist, The Construct Validity of Cultures, Culture Theory and a Method for Ethnography.
Eicher, Joanne. B (1995), Dress and Ethnicity, Oxford, Berg Publishers Limited
Material Religion; Religion & material culture at the V&A museum.
Barthes. R, Rhetoric of the Image
Culture characterises a society. It brings a sense of identity to a person, the culmination of their social and economical status, history and way of life. The world is made up of many different cultures bouncing off each other, often containing conflicting ideas on the way a person should live and how a society should be maintained.
Culture buries itself within every aspect of the world we have created. It shows itself through agriculture, religion, architecture, art, music, fashion and lifestyle and is forever being manipulated and transformed through the modernisation of societies all over the world.
Culture does not necessarily affect the physical wellbeing of a person, but it enriches countries, giving people definition and a stronger identity.
Cultivating a sense of identity within a community is a way of bringing people together regardless of social status as it is an aspect in which these people can relate to one another. The word “culture” provokes the idea of the accumulative beliefs, values and experiences of a society, thus creating a strong sense of community. Through using these similarities such as religious ideals, history and experiences as a foundation we can begin to build the idea of a society.
Factors such as habitat, upbringing and lifestyle can be considered as a catalyst for the way a person thinks and chooses to live their life. When a person is born into a society, be it consciously or subconsciously they are manipulated and moulded by its surroundings and background, absorbing the information they have been taught and observing the behaviour of the people close to them, they themselves begin to reflect these traits and in turn are able to create a sense of self. Cultural groups can have conflicting ideologies but this is not to say any one is wrong. The constant modernisation of these factors such as habit, lifestyle and backgrounds allows cultures to expand and therefore allows people to express them selves creatively within the standards set within their communities, thus creating an eclectic range of cultures through out the world.
History of Culture.
Throughout centuries cultures have developed and expanded in order to cater for the ever transforming and modernising world. The phrase “History of Culture” is one which can open an endless debate. Culture is a word which categorises and characterises people from all different areas of the world. It is a word that has no beginning and no conclusion. As long as there has been a civilisation, some form of culture has been prevalent.
"both sides of human consciousness - the side turned to the world and that turned inward - lay, as it were, beneath a common veil, dreaming or half awake. The veil was woven of faith, childlike prejudices, and illusion; seen through it, world and history appeared in strange hues; man recognized himself only as a member of a race, a nation, a party, a corporation, a family, or in some other general category. It was in Italy that this veil first melted into thin air, and awakened an objective perception and treatment of the state and all things of this world in general; but by its side, and with full power, there also arose the subjective; man becomes a self-aware individual and recognises himself as such." – Jakob Burckhardt
In this passage Burckhardt refers to the Renaissance in Italy. He discusses the idea that people are manipulated by their surroundings and are in a sense indoctrinated to fit into a structure. He refers to a time in which people seemed to be breaking free of this predetermined formation and in turn allow themselves to become an individual. There has certainly been a prominent change in the structure of many cultures, particularly that of western civilisation, but we can still recognise today many societies and religions that maintain the strict moral codes which were enforced thousands of years ago.
Gender for example, is an issue which has affected many cultures for thousands of years and is in constant flux. In Britain for example, no more than 50 years ago, men were considered as superiors and women were given little rights; unable to work and vote. Over the past decades, after woman’s rights activists groups such as the suffragist and the suffragettes fought for the case, the social status of women began to shift. This in turn can be considered a development in our culture. Social and political issues change, and therefore allow us to move forward as a society. By doing this we are granted a form of freedom and identity, yet still maintain the basic foundations of our cultural backgrounds.
Considering gender as a cultural issue, we can examine current societies, in which religion dictates patriarchal ideals. It is still common in many parts of the world for woman to be the submissive and inferior being, a structure which is conformity of various religious beliefs. This is an example however of a strict religious stance. As Society moves forward and allows people to express themselves, many religions have also incorporated their ideals into modern society, again allowing people to have their beliefs yet not constrict themselves into living a specific lifestyle.
Political, economical, social status, religious ideals, life-style and backgrounds amongst many other issues, collectively create a society. As these factors expand and transform, as do cultures.
Culture and Design
“Ethnography, as I use the word, consists of the processes and products of research that documents what people know, feel and do in a way that situates those phenomena at specific times of individual lives, including pertinent global events and processes…If we pay attention to cultural variability among individuals, we make the reality of social groups, the existence of cultures and the location of cultural boundries empirical issues that require explicit test for construct industry.”- The Construct Validity of Cultures, Culture Theory and a Method for Ethnography- W. Penn Handwerker
Culture is an area of design which must be well considered in order to create a successful product. A design must be made with the intention of a target market. Awareness of social, political and current affairs is an integral part of an effective design.
In Roland Barthes essay “The Rhetoric of the Image” he discusses these ideas in depth. He investigates ideas of the semiotic theory, linguistics and epistemology- a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin of human knowledge. This exemplifies the idea that a design cannot be created purely for the sake of design. A design must be contextualised and relevant to the consumer.
We can look at clothing as an example of the ways in which culture effects the outcome of a design.
Clothes can be used as a way of expressing religious views, beliefs and social status. We can recognise this throughout the world through various cultural groups.
“What accounts for the discrepancy between Kalabari claim and the director’s dictum? How does this relate to dress ethnicity? The answer emerges from Kalabri history, geography and culture. As traders in a global marketplace, they established a reputation for independent spirit and were selective in their taste for trade goods. Their competitiveness and fierce pride, as members of one of the smaller ethnic groups in Nigeria, resulted in a continued effort to distinguish themselves visually from others, and produce their unique Kalabari forms of dress.”- Joanne B. Eicher and Tonye V. Erekosima
To consider culture in relation to design we as designers must hold an extensive knowledge of the market our design is aimed towards.
Cultures throughout the world have conflicting ideologies, beliefs and backgrounds and this must be considered throughout the design process.
The Fabric of Cultures: Fashion, Identity and Globalisation.
Handwerker, W. Penn, American Anthropologist, The Construct Validity of Cultures, Culture Theory and a Method for Ethnography.
Eicher, Joanne. B (1995), Dress and Ethnicity, Oxford, Berg Publishers Limited
Material Religion; Religion & material culture at the V&A museum.
Barthes. R, Rhetoric of the Image
Friday 1 October 2010
Auchmithe
Auchmithe- "Its the Blackpool of scotland".
Shortly after returning to uni, we took a day trip to Auchmithe to do some drawings.
Its a borderline village which has a handful of houses, a single worn down public toilet and a cafe which is closed on tuesday, being the day our trip fell on.
However, if drawing or photography is what you're in need of, its a great place to go. I must have spent about 2 hours (minimum) walking about the beach finding things to photograph and came away at the end of the day with hundreds of photos. The idea was to gather together drawings to lead us into our next uni project, i managed a few drawings despite the hurricane winds but was mainly focusing on photography and considering images which could be used for our next project.
I started to consider images which i could translate into our studio project.
Our most recent brief was to design a fabric which could be used in a golf course currently being built in Carnoustie.
Within this brief i wanted to look at sea landscapes, and ways in which i could abstract them in order to create an intresting fabric.
To achieve this i began to look at rock formations and the linear stuctions in landscapes.
Wednesday 1 September 2010
Turkey- Summer 2010
During the summer me and a friend went on a weeks holiday to Gumbet, Turkey. AMAZING fun and beautiful place.
I'm planning to go back mid-eurotrip next summer.
When i was away i took a few photos i could develop into interesting paintings. I also thought i could take advantage of the scenery and base my summer project on Turkish sea landscapes.
I thought these images could be developed into both interesting fabrics and paintings. I wanted to capture the colours which seemed to seep from the sky into the sea. The silhouette of the buildings and hills could act as an interesting focal point in a composition.
I thought i could maybe encorporate elements from previous photos i'd taken during the holiday.
I decided to look at the shapes of the boats in attempt to create a stronger composition. This would allow a contrast between the soft, natural colours of the sky and sea against the hard, linear structure of the boats.
Over the past few weeks i've been playing about with these ideas and painted a few canvas's and fabrics.
I'm planning to go back mid-eurotrip next summer.
When i was away i took a few photos i could develop into interesting paintings. I also thought i could take advantage of the scenery and base my summer project on Turkish sea landscapes.
I thought these images could be developed into both interesting fabrics and paintings. I wanted to capture the colours which seemed to seep from the sky into the sea. The silhouette of the buildings and hills could act as an interesting focal point in a composition.
I thought i could maybe encorporate elements from previous photos i'd taken during the holiday.
I decided to look at the shapes of the boats in attempt to create a stronger composition. This would allow a contrast between the soft, natural colours of the sky and sea against the hard, linear structure of the boats.
Over the past few weeks i've been playing about with these ideas and painted a few canvas's and fabrics.
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