Context Sheet

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Screen Image Ideas

Digital Print

Today I picked up my digitally printed image that I sent last week. I chose to have it printed on cotton voile, a thin and lightweight fabric with an almost "see-through" quality. This print out is of a much smaller scale than I actually am designing for. The sample is 150cm by 15cm, and my design proposal is to stretch the height of three or four floors of a building. Having this sample makes my design feel real and existing rather than hypothetical.

Colour Examples

Further Visualisations

Here is an updated version of my visualisation. After creating this I have found it is quite difficult to put in smaller details of each floor e.g. doors. I would like to create a visualisation of just one floor to show that I am actually trying to communicate the colour schemes throughout the floors.

Visualisation 2

I have created a less photographic visualisation using photoshop. I think that this looks better than trying to superimpose my design onto a photograph. Creating my own space on photoshop was easier than trying to find a photograph to fit the idea that I had in my head. I really do think that this works well as a communicative tool, it shows my idea clearly. It would need some explaining, for example the viewer would have to know that I intended to have to design printed on fabric, able to move freely in the air and that the colour schemes for each level would preferably be used for other things such as doors, furnature etc.

I am pleased with the result.

Visualisations

After creating my print design, it is time to create some visualisations to communicate my idea. As I do not feel completely confident in creating these visualisations I went to seek help from Mary Stark. She was very helpful and embraced the task at hand. We spent around an hour trying to create something that portrayed my idea, and these are what we produced:

The photographs are not great, they do not show the space in which I am seeing in my head. However I think that they do show the scale that I am picturing in my head. I will produce some more visualisations to communicate my ideas more thoroughly.

Lantern Spaces

Using the original image that inspired me to use the lantern spaces I have put my design into that image. Although I am happy with this image, it is far too small to use for my visualisation as it will be impossible to blow up into the scale that we need it for the big screen on Oxford Road.

I am unable to get hold of any higher resolution pictures, I have spoken to Mary Stark and she has said that she will try and email the owners of these images and ask for larger versions.

Until that happens (if it is possible to get hold of them) I will try to find other images of similar spaces that I can use. If this does not work then I will try to create my own spaces on photoshop.

Digital Print

The nature of the images in which I am produces means that it would not be possible to produce a screen print design. Therefore I would like to produce a digital print sample, a small scale version of my final design proposal.

I have been working more with my rock imagery and have come up with a design that I would like to use.

I started off with this image:

The colours of this image are the original colours of the photograph. I like the way that the colours don't look as though they are the natural colours, even though they are. This blurring of natural/industrial has really excited me with me work and I would like to bring this out more in my work. I set out to devlop a colour palette for my repeat pattern. I wanted to use colours that are not usually found in nature, but I actually found when I visited the rock collection.

My second step was to create a repeat pattern. This was my result:

I believe this colour is a perfect example of the colours I was aiming to use. I love the rosey hues in the image. I find it quite ironic that by using an original photograph of a rock, I have managed to create a pattern that has reverted back to my idea of creating something very floral.

My next step was to introduce some more colour to the design:

To communicate the scale that I am designing for I have added the image of the man stood next to the piece. I envision the piece the cut through the open space that is the "lantern space" in the new build. It is a section of the building inhabited by the famous concrete pillars cast with the traditional floral pattern. Something to run along side this piece is the idea of the colours as a landmark to each floor. I would like to propose that also the floors take on the colour scheme from the piece. Ground floor to be accessorized with yellow, 1st floor orange, 2nd floor purple, 3rd floor blue. Perhaps the doors/railings/window frames or other sections of the floors to take on those colours.

I have sent this design to be digitally printed and will post an image of the design on here. It is a much smaller scale than what I am designing for, it will be 1.5m long and 15cm wide. I plan on creating some visualisations from this idea!

I decided to "find" the colours I want to use in some more of my own photographs of rocks. These are the photographs that I used:

Visualisation

I have begun to think about how my designs will relate to a space in the new build, and as a starting point I have created the following visualisation.

It's not perfect but I think it shows how my design would look on a wall, as wallpaper or a projection. I think that although it looks good as part of a wall, the colour is not how I envisioned, and it is a bit too much of an obvious repeat. I will work on my visualization making as I don't think I am great at creating them. However it is a learning curve and will take practice.

Rocks and Realisation

After some deliberation I have decided that the print design that I sent to be exposed on a silk screen is actually quite boring and isn't saying exactly what I want it to say. I think it is too literal for my project. Although I would like to portray nature, I would not like to use such a literal floral pattern after all. I am glad, however, to have been through the print process once more. My memory of the processes have been refreshed and I remembered how much I enjoy working in the print room. As well asm this, if I hadn't been through this process I would not have realised that my print design was actually so boring.

After packing up my things in the print room, I went back to the repeat pattern that I created yesterday using one of my primary photographs of the colourful rock from Manchester Museum. I took a few more of my photographs of rocks and created some more repeat patterns from them. Here are my initial creations:

The following three images are my favourite of my experiments. I think that although they are mechanically produced and everyone has seen this way of producing repeat patterns before, they still hold an element of natural form within the image. The colours are not exactly what I am looking for, but I can change that easily once I have decided on a design to develop.

More Repeat Patterns

Whilst playing around with photoshop I have created a digital repeat pattern from one of my own photographs.

I really like the vibrant colours in this repeated image. It was originally a small section taken from this photograph:

I took the original photograph on a visit to manchester museum. I thought that the pinks and browns complemented each other quite well, linking in with my ideas of natural vs man-made, as the vibrant pink does not look like it is a natural colour. I really really like the repeat pattern that I have created from this image and plan on creating some more. I think that they would be good to digitally print them onto fabric, or even project the images onto a surface.

 



Print Room

Today I sent off two images to be exposed to a screen for screen printing. They were these images:

As you can see these images are negative and positive of each other, reflecting natural vs industrial as complete opposites. I am hoping to create some interesting prints with these.

I have bought a polyester, thin floaty fabric that I will use for my printing.

As I have said before, I would like to use both natural and industrial colours for my prints, so perhaps clashing a muted green with a flash of gold foil.

As an obvious idea, the repeating pattern would be a good place to start. But I am most excited about creating work with the negative image, and I am aiming to try to create some sort of "invisible" image on my fabric.

My screen should be ready tomorrow afternoon and I am going to spend the morning mixing my pigments and gathering my ideas. Tonight I will map out my colour palette in my sketchbook so I am exactly clear tomorrow morning.

Unit X Bibliography

BOOKS:

Saunders, G. et al, (2010) Walls are Talking: Wallpaper, art and culture. 1^st ed. Manchester: University of Manchester, Whitworth Art Gallery.

Keble, W. et al, (1986) The new concise British flora. 3^rd ed. London: Mermaid.

Reader’s Digest Association, (2001) Field guide to the wild flowers of Britain. 2^nd ed. London: Reader’s Digest.

Quinn, B., (2009) Textile designers at the cutting edge. 1^st ed. London: Laurence King.

Dore, H., (1990) William Morris. 1^st ed. Secausus, New Jersey: Chartwell.

Parry, L., (2005) Textiles of the arts and crafts movement. 1^st ed. London: Thames & Hudson

Sweeney, G., (2007) Britain’s favourite plants: over 1000 plants chosen by the nation’s top nurseries. 1^st ed. London: Think

DVD:

Emin, T., theEYE Tracey Emin (2005) England: Illuminations

e a t r e p e a t r e p e a t r e p

After much deliberation I have created a final design that I will expose to a screen in the print room.

I am aiming towards creating an extremely exaggerated long piece with this image, repeating the one screen a number of times in a long line down my fabric. I want to use a very sheer and luxurious looking fabric. I have bought a long piece of poly chiffon which I will first sample with some different colour ways of my design and then will produce a long piece.

In my design a square-ish shape has evolved, which I would like to have one of my other flower designs lazer cut into that shape, however it may be quite difficult to get the lazercutting exact.

I am very happy with this design, i like the simplicity of using just one image over and over.

Photoshop 3

As well as creating some floral imagery with the aid of photoshop, I have been looking at the flowing line drawings I have created from the metrolink maps.

Although I do like the flowing and repeating lines, I don't feel that I am connecting with these drawings. The metrolink system has been a starting point for me, however throughout the project I think I have lost the literal connection with it. I am following the floral route of my project.

Even though I do not wish to use these images as a final outcome, I think that idea of the metrolink system as stuck with my work, the repetition and the cycles have led me to where I stand now, looking at nature and floral imagery.

I am going to use inustrial colour and texture, influenced by the metrolink system, in my work and this will be my connection to the metrolink system.

Photoshop 2

I have created these flowers in the hope of them being a bit more of a natural image and less perfect. I like the idea that they actually look hand drawn and the imperfections of the images are still in tact. I think this links more with a real flower, as there are no two flowers/petals that are exactly alike.

I like the third flower down the most, and I will explore this drawing in more depth in my sketchbook and hopefully create an exciting repeat pattern from this.

Photoshop

I have been playing around with photoshop recently making various brushes and images to create some repeat patterns.

I have created these images from my photographs and although I really do like the shapes that I have created I am looking for a more natural shape. Something that looks a bit more realistic. I could have produced some really nice repeat patterns from these images however they are not exactly what i am looking for. I will carry on creating more images until I find that I am satisfied with the results.

Arrivals Task Part 2