27th September Visual Sheet

On Tuesday 27^th Of September I continued to create my first visual design sheet for the project “Natural World”. This sheet has been taken from my specialised workshop textiles and I continued to work onto the design and develop further initial pattern ideas and thoughts. All the initial pattern ideas have been inspired and developed from my sketchbook and moodboards. Elements have been taken from these and I have adapted and developed them to create unique patterns for my screen print. Throughout my design sheet I have considered keywords in textiles for pattern designing which include:

·         Line

·         Texture

·         Repetition

·         Symmetry

·         Scale

For my layout, I have gained inspiration from an image taken from Glastonbury Festival which included a diamond shaped fence. I have taken this idea and developed it to create my final outline which will allow me to place individual pattern designs onto the surface. Previously, I started to create a pattern which has been inspired by my flower illustrations in my sketchbook. I continued to work with the design and include colour which was also inspired by my mood-board sheet. For the materials, I decided to use watercolours as it is a colourful material which can also made shadows and blending very easily. I continued to use watercolours throughout the day but to improve next time I will use and experiment with a variety of materials. I was pleased with the pattern outcome as the piece demonstrated my thought process and my understanding of keywords. However, I didn’t like my chosen colour for the background as I believe it didn’t allow the pattern drawings to stand out. I will consider a different colour choice as I develop my visual sheet further. After creating my first design, I moved onto my next idea and outline. Before I continued I found creating an idea for the layout difficult as the visual sheet was the first page I have created with this process. However, I overcame the problem and analysed my moodboard thoroughly. I was inspired by my Lake District research and started to create a boat design layout. This piece followed the keywords repetition and symmetry thoroughly and I was pleased with the outcome as it created a repeated pattern which would be suitable for my project. My visual design sheet progress is presented below.

 

22nd September Coating Screen And Visual Sheet

On Thursday 22nd of September, I continued to gain skills in my specialised workshop "textiles" through learning coating my screen correctly and safely. The workshop allowed me to work independently and gain the knowledge of creating a screen which will help me in the future for creating my own screen print designs. The screen is relating back to the project "Natural World" as I am going to be developing my designs and ideas to create a pattern which will be placed onto the screen to create a final outcome. My design is going to be inspired by my research and thought process throughout the project. The workshop has allowed me to apply practical skills, knowledge and understanding of the characteristics and operational context to produce creative solutions for textiles.

Previously, I collected a screen and started to strip it which allowed a new design to be placed onto the surface and ready to be used. In the workshop we continued with the process and coated the screens in a dark room in order for the outcome to work effectively. Before starting the process, we had to check to make sure screens were ready to be used and dry. Throughout the task we followed health and safety instructions to avoid the risk of dangers and injury. Firstly, we collected gloves as we were working with an emulsion which can be dangerous and stain very easily when in contact with skin. We also collected aprons to avoid the risk of staining clothes. Finally, we tied our hair back to avoid the risk of it being caught or damaged. These instructions were maintained throughout the task.

Emulsion and trough

Screen and emulsion

Firstly, we collected a trough which had to be fitted onto our screen frames correctly. This was important as the trough must be fitted correctly in order to place the emulsion evenly onto the surface. Next we placed the photo sensitive emulsion into the trough evenly by using a spatula. This process was completed in a dark environment as it would damage the emulsion if it was placed in sunlight. Then the trough was placed onto the frame with two hands and dragged along the screen through portrait angle to allow the screen to be covered evenly. As the screen reached the top excess emulsion was collected and the process was repeated to capture the uneven area. I was nervous to complete this task, as it was my screen that I would be using for my screen print design. However to solve the problem we practised previously with recycled screens to gain confidence with using the technique. Once the screen was covered, I placed the screen face up in the cupboard and left it to dry over the weekend. The outcome was effective as it allowed me gain a new skill in textiles which I will continue to use throughout the project and course. Also, the workshop was useful as it gave me the confidence to coat my screen independently which will be taken and developed further into the course. After coating our screens, I continued to develop my visual design sheet for my patterns which is inspired by my primary research. To create my visual design sheet I took elements that have inspired me from my sketchbook and moodboard and these were developed into creating my own designs. I was inspired by flowers for my first pattern which was developed from my sketchbook to my moodboard. Then I took elements from the flowers and started to create a pattern from specific parts of the design. The pattern is on display below.

Visual Sheet

Next I am going to continue to complete my visual sheet in studio practise and continue to develop further patterns and methods through textiles.

21st September Printing Jonathan Ashworth And Angie Lewin

On Wednesday 21st September, I continued to generate further research around the work of Jonathan Ashworth and Angie Lewin. I continued to create further critical studies of both artists through printing techniques and designs which were taken further into the print room to create print outcomes. The workshop allowed me to developed my skills further and explore different printing methods which included the technique poly-printing. Also, the task allowed me to continue to complete further artists research and gain inspiration from the research for my development of the project "Natural World". Finally, the task allowed me to work independently in the printing room to create a series of prints and outcomes which include the critical studies of my chosen artists.

Firstly, I decided to collect further research about the artist Angie Lewin who creates prints and pieces around the theme and topic of nature. I gained information about the artist from my visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park where I visited the exhibition “Editions and Objects: Yorkshire Sculpture Park St. Judes”. I continued to generate further knowledge about the artist and gain information to create Critical studies about Angie Lewins work. After collecting research, I continued to create designs of Jonathan Ashworths work through Lino printing and poly-printing. Previously, I gained knowledge about lettering and I learnt from my previous mistake and placed the lettering correctly when tracing the design onto the surface. I decided to explore the technique poly-printing as I haven't explored this process before. Poly-printing is a technique where you place a design onto polyester through a pencil which engraves into the surface to create a pattern. Then the design is transferred into the print room and ink is placed onto the surface to create print finish. When working the design onto the surface, I found that placing lettering onto the layout was difficult as the polyester was delicate and difficult to work into as it broke very easily. To solve the problem I decided to transfer the design onto the lino board and continued to work with the same process. I repeated the lino-cutting process to create the critical study and learnt from my previous mistake of lettering. On the design, I presented the lettering backwards so that the design would be spelt correctly when printed which made the layout ready to be placed onto the roller. After creating the lino-print of Jonathan Ashworths work, I decided to focus on creating prints for Angie Lewins work which included poly-printing and lino-printing designs. I repeated the lino-cutting process to create a flower design outline which included a variety of depth and lines in order to create an effective board. For poly-printing I decided to use Angie Lewins work as she uses simple lines and patterns which are effective for the process as I have learnt previously from this technique. After learning previously from this process, I created simple outlines with my pencil and created depth for the technique to work. The outcomes were effective as I built up Angie Lewins work through the strong patterns and outlines. After creating the all the critical study boards, I went to the print-room to create a variety of print outcomes.

"Save The Polar Bears" Jonathan Ashworth

Poly-print outcome of "Save The Polar
Bears".

Poly-print of Angie Lewins work



Angie Lewin full design print

Save The Polar Bears Lino-cut outcome.

Tracing Outlines Of The Design

Lino-cut outcome of Angie Lewins work

 

Previously, I have knowledge of using the print room so I was really confident to use the area again to set up my prints and materials. Throughout the task, I followed health and safety instructions in order to stay safe whilst creating prints in the room. I placed my lanyard away from the rollers to avoid the risk of getting caught in the machine. Also, I tied my hair up to avoid the risk of injury when printing. To create the prints I collected the materials which included a roller, plastic sheet, water base ink and paper. I used a variety of paper to demonstrate how the material ink is effective on different surfaces. Also, I decided to use a variety of paper surfaces to analyse which surface is most effective to present both artists work. Firstly, I decided to use the lino-boards first because I have previous knowledge using them in the print-room. To set up the ink, I placed the material onto a plastic sheet and used a roller to even out the texture which also covered the tool evenly. Next, I placed the roller onto the surface of the design and used a board to cover the design evenly. This was transferred to the printing roller with paper and fed through the wheel for the technique to work. The outcome was presented through the wheel and the designs were successfully printed onto paper. This process was repeated for all lino-prints and the outcome is presented below.

Ink and Prints

Printing Sheet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Printing Roller

 

Ink on the surface

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lino Board covered in ink

Jonathan Ashworth Print on Parcel Paper

Leaf print outcome on A4 paper



Look after our world outcome



Angie Lewin Outcome

Save The Polar Bears outcome on parcel paper

 

For the poly-printing the process was different as the rollers weren’t used as they would damage the material. Instead I transferred the ink designs and placed them straight onto paper and used a roller to even the material out. To match the style of Angie Lewins work, I used different colourful paper and repated the process. Finally to match the style of Jonathan Ashworths work, I used black ink throughout as it is the same material used to create his pieces. The outcomes are presented below.

Angie Lewin print outcome repeated

Angie Lewin flower print outcome repeated with poly-printing process.

Poly-printing process

Next, I am going to transfer my prints onto artist research boards and save some print outcomes for my technical file which will show my development.

20th September Jonathan Ashworth Prints

On Tuesday 20th September we started to collect Artist research and create 2 A3 boards for the project "Natural World". These artists related to the path and theme I am following from my primary sketchbook, mood-boards and specialised workshop which is textiles. By collecting artist’s research, it has allowed me to generate further ideas for the project and gain inspiration from techniques and skills that the artist uses. Also, the research allows us to create critical studies and explore the same materials and techniques that the artists use. Finally, this research allowed me to develop my confidence with using new materials and techniques which will be developed further into the project and course.

At the start of the task, I found collecting artist research difficult as I was unsure which theme and inspiration from my moodboards and sketchbook I was wanted to develop further into my project. To solve the problem I decided to create a Pinterest board and collect a leaflet from my visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I visited an exhibition which was called which held a collection of artist’s work that has been inspired by nature. From my visit I found an artist called Jonathan Ashworth who creates prints that explore nature campaigns and textures. I found his work inspiring and I continued to develop my knowledge further and create an artist sheet around my primary and secondary research. After collecting information about his work, I decided to explore artwork which had campaigns and captions about saving the environment. This was inspired by my primary research at Glastonbury Festival. I remembered an artist called Tracy Emin previously through my course who creates textile work with campaigns and captions. I decided to develop my knowledge and research this artist in further detail. This was also useful because it related back to my specialised topic of textiles and it will allow me to gain confidence with working on fabric and sewing techniques. After collecting research of my chosen artists I started to create my boards.

When I was collecting research about Jonathan Ashworth, I discovered that the artist creates prints using one colour. I decided to use the same process and create Lino-prints for my critical study. I have previous knowledge of this technique and I was curious to develop my skills further for the task.

"Our World"

  





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Throughout the task I followed health and safety instructions. Firstly, I used a board in order to have an even surface to work through. Also when I was working into the lino, I placed the tools away from my hand to avoid risk of injury. These instructions were maintained throughout the task.

Lino board

I gained confidence throughout the lino-cutting task and I started to create strong patterns of Jonathan Ashworths work. However, a problem I faced when creating a design was the lettering on the surface of the Lino board. I placed the lettering incorrectly onto the surface which will make the lettering appear backwards when printing the final outcome. However, I will still continue to use the design for my critical study but also learn from this for further designs in the future. The designs I created are presented below.

I traced the outline of the design onto tracing
paper.

The traced outline was transferred onto the lino board which was ready to be cut out. 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Outcome which presents my development and confidence I have gained from
completing the task.

Final outcome which includes the mistake of placing the letters incorrectly onto the surface
of the design.

I created a variety of depth and textures through using the tools which created an
effective outcome.

Overall, the workshop was successful as it has allowed me to collect further research and develop my ideas for the project "Natural World". Also, the task has allowed me to gain confidence and develop my skills further through Lino-cutting to create prints. Next, I will continue to create further prints around Jonathan Ashworths work and use the printing process to create the final outcomes of my designs.

15th September Textiles

On Thursday 15^th of September, I started the journey in my chosen specialised area for Art and Design which was “Textiles”. I have chosen “Textiles” as my specialised subject for this year as I have enjoyed the workshop tasks we completed last year on the course. These tasks included the techniques such as Batik, embroidery, heat transfer and embroidery. Furthermore, I am wanting to develop my confidence with these techniques as I enjoyed exploring and experimenting with the methods previously and I believe that they can be developed to fit “Natural World” and future projects on the course. Textiles will also allow me to learn new skills and techniques which will be developed to match my project and further course projects. I have always wanted to learn how to use a sewing machine and gain the confidence to create pieces of clothing and accessories. I believe whilst completing textiles I will be able to gain these skills which I will take into the future. Finally, I have decided to choose textiles as my specialised area for this year as I am also wanting to learn how to knit, weave and gain further sewing techniques and patterns.

Firstly, in the workshop room we were given used screens which included previous designs and patterns. For the task, we were learning how to scrip the screen which will be ready to be used for our project. Our project outcome is to create a repeated screen print which will be a design around the project theme “Natural World”. I was excited to start the project task as I was wanting to develop my previous knowledge of screen-printing and continue to learn the technique further. Firstly, we removed gum strip from the board and wet the screen thoroughly with a jet wash. A problem I faced was that I couldn’t remove from parts of the gum strip. To solve the problem, I used the jet wash further to remove the gum strip. Next, I collected a clean brush and Pregasol paste and covered the all of the screen front and back. While leaving the paste to dry we cleaned the brush which was ready to be used. After 5 minutes, I collected the jet wash and used the highest pressure to remove the blue emulsion away. Once the blue emulsion was washed away it left a clear screen which was ready to be used. To check if the screen can be used I placed it through the light to check if the sunlight came through.

screen with gum strip

 

Pregasol Paste

screen coated in paste

Outcome

Throughout the task I followed Health and Safety instruction in order to avoid the risk of injury. Gloves were worn to avoid contact with the Pregasol paste onto hands. Also, aprons were worn and hair was tied back to avoid the risk of staining and damage. These instructions were followed throughout the task.   

After completing our screens, we started to think about creating visual sheets for our textiles project. A visual sheet presents inspirations and ideas that have been generated from primary and artists research. These are then taken into mood boards and transferred onto visual sheets where you start to create patterns from elements that have inspired you. Examples of visual sheets are presented below. I started to develop my visual sheet through creating a rough sketch on a whiteboard. I will continue to develop my ideas further and start to create my board.

Design outline for my Visual Sheet

 

14th September Visit To Wigfield Farm

On Wednesday 14th September, we visited Wigfield Farm in Worsborough to collect further primary research images and drawings for Unit 10 "Natural World". The trip allowed us to continue generating Primary research through completing observational drawings of a variety of farm animals and textures within nature. Also the trip allowed us to continue with completing observational drawing techniques such as continuous line drawings and quick sketches. The trip has allowed me to analyse the characteristics and context for a chosen art & design activity. Finally, the trip has allowed me to develop my research through activities which includes observational drawings.

For my materials, I decided to use dry materials as I believed it was most effective for exploring the farm and collecting a variety of drawings in both inside and outside environments. For my surface, I decided to use an A4 sketchbook as I could capture a variety of drawings onto the sheets and capture my progress throughout the day. As well as collecting drawings, I captured the animals through my camera which will also be added to my summer primary research. I decided to use my camera to capture animals and objects at different angles and perspectives. This included capturing textures of fur within the animals and the environment they were surrounded by.

Firstly, I captured the meerkats at Wigfield farm through my camera and collected the animals’ movements and actions. I decided to complete observational drawings of the animals as they fell asleep because I believe I could capture the textures and features of the animals. Once I started to draw the meerkats, a problem I faced was that the animals kept moving around which made it very difficult to complete the observational drawing. To solve the problem, I decided to create a series of quick sketches of the meerkats to capture each movement they did. This allowed me to show my development and observations I collected whilst drawing the meerkats. Overall, this was an effective page because it allowed me to demonstrate the features and movements I captured when observing the animals within the time. Also, it allowed me to adapt my drawing techniques to suit the actions and moments of the animals.

Throughout my drawings I used Pen as I believe I could capture the shadows and surfaces of the animals quickly and effectively. Also, I feel confident with this material to create free-hand observational drawings which was very suitable for the task. Finally, I decided to use this material as I could create depth and shadows effectively on the page to capture the variety of animals.

 

Whilst capturing animals, I also collected images of the aquatic animals at the farm which included fish and turtles. By collecting these images it has allowed me to observe the bright, vibrant colours and textures within each individual species.

Throughout the day, I developed my confidence with creating observational drawings when visiting different animals within the farm. My favourite animals to draw were the sheep and goats as I believe capture the facial features effectively and quickly on the sheet. Both animals contrasted with textures which was interesting to capture as the goats horns had a strong structure compared to the sheep soft fur texture.

Overall, the trip to Wigfield Farm was useful as it allowed me to continue generating primary research for the "Natural World" and develop my confidence of creating observational drawings. Also, the trip was useful as it has allowed me to capture a variety of animals through the technique of observational drawings. Next, I am going to place my images from the trip into my sketchbook and continue to generate primary research for my project the "Natural World".

All the images and drawings from my trip are presented below.





Observational Drawings Of Sheep and Chickens.

Observational Drawings Of Meerkats

Observational Drawings Of Goats and Objects Around The Farm.