26/09/16 Your Surroundings: 1 Observational Drawing
Firstly we had we to walk around the college and simply draw the shapes we see in our surroundings, I found this extremely freeing as it gave me the chance to draw in a more abstract way in which I'm much more comfortable with and allowed me to incorporate the observation skills I developed in 3DDA as I took my time to really notice my surrounds and develop the shapes that appeared in chair legs, lights etc.
27/09/16 Your Data: 1 Drawings
Firstly we had to bring in five objects of importance to us and then place them in a aesthetically interesting way, the main object I brought in was my Russian nesting doll which due to its size and interesting shape turned out to be the main focus in the exercise. We experimented we many types of drawing, some of which I'd never even heard off, such as implied line and had to do them very quickly (often only 30 seconds) which initially I found frustrating as my images were often incomplete but after a while I began to absolutely adored this exercise as it felt as if there were no restrictions and it was perfectly fine if the drawings were messy or unfinished. It gave me the confidence to experiment with new material when drawing, such as string, and to be completely content if the page was messy or unfinished.
26/09/16 Your Surroundings: 2 Developing Shapes
From our initial observation sketches we had to find shapes within the image, at first I found this a bit challenging because I think I was trying to be too over ambitious with my shapes instead of focusing on just getting one that simple aesthetically pleasing. Once that was complete we experimented with stencils and then taking it even further to make them into 3-D shapes which I found extremely interesting as when creating the 3-D designs I was always thinking how this could be incorporated into perhaps a garment of some sort.
27/09/16 Your Data: 2 Collaborating
The first exercise in collaboration was to do quick observational drawings of all are joined objects on each others sketch books, I think some people were a bit unsure about other people drawing in their books but after the drawing exercise in the morning I had no more reservation and did not mind at all if my booked looked messy because it showed the creative process and everyone else's pages were just as chaotic as mine. This then progressed to us having to display all our object together, very quickly as well as we were running out of time, so we hung pieces of string around the studio and the stuck on our personal objects. We really had to work as a team due to the time restraints and a collective goal of finishing our piece which I think turned out very well, I can imagine if we had more time we could of created a very interesting installation with string all over the studio holding all our objects which are so personal to us but are also connected to complete strangers items, creating a collective of memories unique to the viewer.
26/09/16 Your Surroundings: 3 Making the Garment
We then took our initial shapes to a grander scape by creating larger images of them on brown paper to create into a garment, I struggled a bit with only my shapes as I think I made some of them too small but when mixing shapes with my partner we creating some really interesting designs. While sketching our final products I found it fascinating to think that these garments came from initial sketches of our surrounds which gave me a real insight into ho fashion designs can come from anywhere.
27/09/16 Your Data: 2 Experimenting with Texture
We then progresses to experimenting with texture which is something often done within Textiles and we were given a piece of acetate to create a part of a image from our 'sculptures' made from our personal objects. I incorporated the the dolls face on my Russian doll in a abstract style and then experimented with different fabrics such as string, plastic and tape, it required a bit of experimenting to get the desired results as you never really knew what effect the material would have did you placed it on the projector. Overall though I loved my final design and was glad I could incorporate my somewhat eerie style that I have not been able to use in a while and found it worked perfectly when we merged our whole groups designs together.