When choosing a starting point for this brief, I knew I wanted to explore print as I felt the workshop samples would compliment my style of working , and therefore aimed to structure my project around an idea that would lend itself well to this technique. This proved more difficult than I thought as I had to produce a print design quite quickly, which in hind sight, I didn't feel related to my work fully. After fully assessing my work to date, and experimenting in the areas of devore, discharge, hand painted and pigment dying, I now feel I have a collection of prints that are successful.
I initially aimed to focus on the plumage of birds, focusing on colour and form, and begun by creating a range of drawings in relation to images I had collected. These proved vital as I continued to refer to these when printing, as well as when creating designs. I also aimed to create certain qualities i.e. feathers, bones, through the use of texture. This was something I struggled to achieve through print, samples exist as flat, and I was only able to convey texture in a limited manner. I did however realise this quite quickly , and chose to reserve this aim for the second task, when exploring machine embroidery, I feel I can achieve such qualities easily. As a result of the aforementioned decisions, I chose to focus on a second collection of prints,( fig 1,2,3,4) using hand painting techniques directly onto my screen. This immediately suited me, I felt the designs were coherent in relation to my visual research, and I was able to develop my initial ideas further.
In terms of colour, the first set of prints relate to a certain palette, I was pleased with the silks I dyed and several tie dyes mimic feathers found in my research, enhancing my designs. My second collection, created from hand painting, run parallel to my initial drawings, I again produced my colours with plumage in mind. I did however struggle to define my palette initially, I usually work well with colour, but feel it took a while to convey the tones I wanted. I continued to experiment with silks, as from development they proved most successful for my designs.
When considering which samples to develop, I looked to the theme evolving with the later prints created, I hope to experiment more with my hand painted designs for the second half of this project as I feel these where most successful and suit my way of working. I can here follow my usual way of working; focusing on an image related to my starting point, and exploring the ways I can interpret this idea with the aid of my primary drawings, through the use of medias.
When completing the second half of this task, I hope to improve my colour palettes, towards the end of print I began to interpret the dyes well, and feel I can now build on such colour work when working in embroidery.
I am yet to decide on the presentation of my designs, I may present my prints alongside the drawings or ideas in my sketchbook that led to the development of my final work, however like to use my sketchbook as a working sketchbook , I brainstorm and sketch continuously and see this as an important tool when sampling. I feel at this point I have not been influenced contextually, I hope to gain inspiration for the later part from future CP lectures, which will enhance my ideas further, broadening my working method.
Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
Fig 4.
