I am currently experimenting with pattern making, my obsession with spots & dots is deeming quite useful as i think taking a section of a sample like below totally transforms it into a more contemporary piece.

Spots & Dots

I have decided to split my project up into three elements.

• Exploration of fabrics & media in order to create one final textile piece, that will then in turn become a digital fashion fabric for my final collection/outcome.
• Experiment with embroidery and creating my own designs through this form as a design feature for the final outcome.
• Research trends & styles, particularly fashion shapes so i can be on-trend for what is hopefully going to be a spring/summer collection.

I really LOVE the drawn element, as a layer.

Chaotic.

Hmmmm..

This samples growing on me, I think the colours and the fragility of the piece works really well, and was what i wanted to achieve.

The textile piece I create, is further down the line going to be made into a digital cotton print.  I have a weakness for creating intricate textured pieces, to then make them flat as for example a print.

Colours I prefer to work in are more earthy, light delicate tones. Rather than vibrant bold colours. Thats why at present, I'm preferring the back of this sample to the front. I used pipe-cleaners in order to give me a steady edge to join the stitch together, this started out as what i thought a pretty ingenious idea. However 6 broken needles later and the fear of one hitting me in the eye, i decided it probably wasn't!

My research has taken me down a path of exploration - what fragile, delicate surfaces can i create? using at the moment, stitch..

The child-like undertone of colour & shapes is still present, as i want to experiment how i can turn this concept into a contemporary textile.

I love dissolvable fabric. Leaving just the stitch i think adds an excavating quality to the left over piece. 

My inspiration of stitch leads back to Edrica Huws. I thrive on stitch that can be visible & embraced. Even in order to create a totally new piece of textiles?

Victoria Baths.

More Victoria Bath photos on the way....!x

Vicky Baths!

I recently had the pleasure of visiting The Victoria Baths of Manchester.  Although the building is still in a semi-derlicit state its a unique & fascinting place. I would URGE you to go, miss out at your peril! As I'm still searching for inspiration, I fully took advantage of the situation and took some beautiful picture's.  I focussed on the decay & corrosion rather than the architecture of the building.

I understand the big fat green 'watermark' ruins the picture.. apologies! I love this picture, the intensity of the layers of decay are striking! The contrasting colours, teamed with the obvious texture, I think, make this picture stunning!

Im Guilty of changing my ideas erratically & not writing things down! boo.

I really LOVE that wool!

Ideas into samples? hmmm..

I take a hands-on approach with my work, in one sense my samples are my research. I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing at the moment. I know I want my outcome to be a collection of garments, rather than a sample based collection! 

Being a more textile art led person, Im taking the challenge of converting my fabric exploration interests into the world of fashion!

The use of LAYERS is an important aspect of my future project, as is shape & colour. This sounds a little vague at the moment but I'm hopeful it will all fall into place!

I enjoy knitting and am wanting it to be present in my project, as one of the many layers. Colour is something I really want to get to grips with, and push the boundries of what is acceptable? 

Edrica Huws is a name I have stumbled across in the March/April issue of The Embroidery Magazine. The name is unfamiliar but i found the illustrations wonderful! Through research I have found out that Edrica's work is already well known in France & Japan. I absolutely adore her work! Its the definition of creativity!

Edrica broke the rules; the rules they had been taught of good practice in quilt making. Her stitches were visible and often erratic, she showed no concern for the fabric grain and often used fabrics other than cotton. This practice is something i really like, stitching neat & tidy is dated, the more rough and rugged the stitch, the better in my opinion.

Alberto Burri - abstract painter & sculptor.

Alberto Burri served as a doctor in the Italian army in North Africa and was captured in 1943. While incarcerated as a prisoner of war in Texas, he began painting. After his re

lease, he moved back to Rome and devoted his career to art.

 In 1948, his work became abstract and a year later, he was working in collage. Although he had a shy demeanor and lived fairly reclusively, Burri gained an international reputation. His use of unorthodox materials, for exampl

e charred wood, burlap & industrial metal inspires me to push the boundaries!

The evident shapes in his work & use of layering is something I want to move forward into my own work. Im drawn to each piece as the diverse textures are apparent even through photographs.

Dan Perfect

.. It's all in the name for me! His work is a total mix between surrealism art with the visual impact of graphic design. His influences are from sources as diverse as street-art, art-deco, pop & explosions. Although his work seems spontaneous, it is a carefully considered process, and built up over layers. The aspect of different layers really appeal to me, as well as the chaotic nature & beautiful use of line.

I recently had the absolute pleasure of attending a lecture with textile artist Michael Brennand-Wood famous for his national & international reputation for innovative & imaginative combinations of ideas & media! His interests of putting contrasting materials together, absolutely mirror my own! The pieces he creates can be read on many levels, They can be wonderful, visual forms - full of colour and different materials; they can also be read as a story on a more intellectual level. This particular piece of work is one of thirty-five pieces in the collection 'Stars Underfoot' 

 

For this project Michael teamed up with a florist & photographer. Th

e aim of the project was to question the relationship between flowers and textiles? The flowers were used as a mater

ial, rather than an image, He told us how he would play for hours re-arranging the flowers in order to create the final photographed image. Aside from the wonderful colours another part of the 'Stars Underfoot' project that interests me, is the way Micheal would spend time making something so tactile, full of textures & so aesthetically pleasing for it to be photographed as flat. This is something i also embody as a designer!

MMU Graduate Lucy Smethurst's work really interests me! She reinvents and interprets traditional embroidery techniques to achieve contemporary designs, which are aimed at the textile & fashion markets.

Lucy uses several techniques but at the moment specialises in machine embroidery.To be up to date with current trends, she hand-dyes all her fabrics, using mainly silks and linens, aware that the aesthetic quality of the fabric is an integral part of a successful design.

I particularly love the 'child-like nature' of the piece. The pastel colours compliment the textile perfectly! & I'm really loving dots 'n' spots aspect! simplicity really is the key!

Initial Inspirations!

My names Claire Roberts I study Textile Design For Fashion at Manchester Metropolitan University! I am currently in my 2ND year, & I'm documenting my current project in the hope some wonderful person will be interested by my work & rescue me from the delights of a life-time in Grimsby! Here's a brief insight into my project!

TD4F Level 2

Assimilation and Testing – Spring / Summer Terms 2008

Introduction

The aim of this project is to produce a design collection or outcome and then to test its quality by placing it in a situation where people outside the university and (preferably) inside the fashion business can interact with it. This might be via a website or web space, some form of work experience, putting your work on sale or an exhibition, show or screening. The process of how you might go about this is important too – for example, putting a portfolio together, or the design and layout of a promotional magazine or package.

The project is extremely open which has it's pro's & con's as you can imagine! First of all i would just like to share with you some of my initial inspirations!! I decided rather than to follow a set path, i would just look at artists/designers that interested me to generate some ideas! One being Marian Bijlenga, I've given you a short insight of what she's about below.

Marian Bijlenga uses textiles in her work - cotton, paper and horsehair, for example - but the application of the textile itself is not her main goal. The suppleness of the material enables her to discover new forms, transparent patterns and complex closed shapes. Structure is the constant factor. In her earlier work she developed structures resembling written symbols, like handwriting, calligraphy and Chinese characters. Her later work draws inspiration from shapes found in nature: streams, spirals and leaves.

Over the years Bijlenga has developed her own technique, and she uses materials that are generally unfamiliar in the textile world. Before the 1990s she constructed spatial drawings with fabric thread - spatial, because the pieces, fixed with dressmaker's pins, are slightly removed from the wall or surface so that they seem to have a floating quality. These 'drawings' consist of pieces of coloured fabric fixed with glue. However, these proved to be fragile and vulnerable, so Marian looked around for a material with a greater natural stiffness. Horsehair from horses' tails turned out to be the ideal material. It enables her to simultaneously construct dense complex patterns and transparent, open structures. Although these later pieces are strong and resistant, they still give the appearance of fragility.