Thursday 18 April 2013

Thursday 18th April - Tutorial

I spoke to Jo today about my blog and my idea. I had an idea of what I wanted to make at the end for my final piece, but that's not the best way to go about FMP. I have to make sure I have a clear mind and I am not narrowing everything down from the start by thinking about what I want my final piece to be. This way, my whole project will be limited and I won't be able to be open to new experiments, samples and ideas as I need to research contemporary artists, paintings and explore surface, pattern and texture. 
Despite the fact that I know what I want to make at the end, I should explore different techniques and materials, so if I was to just create a sari, it wouldn't be anything new even if I was to create my own designs. So, to bring it up to date and make it contemporary, I'm thinking of using recycled materials such as plastic bags, carrier bags, paper, straws etc. As India is a poor country, these materials and more such as rice bags which have been woven, flour bags, newspaper etc can almost tell a story about India. This could by my way of making it contemporary, and I could use traditional patterns, or, instead of using traditional pattern, I could do what artists such as AJ Dimarucot have done. In a particular piece of his, the theme is India, and he has used Indian themes and things which are associated with India. 



This piece is a heady mixture of images of faces, birds and traditional Indian motifs which has been digitally manipulated to create this repeat. I love the idea behind the piece. When you look at it, it shouts India and I want this to be conveyed in my piece as well. The one thing I am not too sure about however, is the colours that have been used. To me, when I think of India, I think of bright, energetic colours, bangles, vibrant clothes and I think this particular piece does not show this. 

A second artist by the name of Julie Ingham has created a piece with summer in mind. 


This piece features paisley patterns of leaves and flowers which have been layered with details of orange and pink with is contemporary yet draws upon the traditional. 
I like the way the different images and motifs have been layered on top of each other yet are all still visible. It creates a sense of depth to the piece and the more you look, the more you see and discover. It's almost like some bits are hidden and are there to be found/discovered. 

Hannah Werning is an artist who creates pieces that also tell a story about a place. 






Combinations of flora and animals characterize these works. Zebras peer out from stylized plant forms. For me, it might not have been the designer's intention, but I feel these pieces could be about Africa. The trees, flowers, animals - zebras and elephants are all related to Africa. I could perhaps use the same sort of ideas but apply them to India and use the building, architecture, fashion and colour to create a pattern/design. 

Another piece by Julie Ingham  almost looks like doilies that have been stencilled, and has been inspired by the art of paper cutting.


 It combines oriental style and western style floral sprays, to produce a pattern that unites 2 cultures. It doesn't look as complicated as it seems, and I think it is actually quite a simple design, but very effective. This shows that for a piece or design to be effective, it doesn't have to full and overpowered by flora and pattern - sometimes, less is more, but I do and probably always will prefer more. Personally, less doesn't work for me as I always think that I could add more, and it will enhance the overall design. 

At first, I had thought that I had everything planned out, what I was going to research, how I was going to do it, right down to my final piece, but actually thinking about it and talking to Jo about it     made me re-think practically everything. As I have mentioned above about using recycled material, which if it could be, from India such as the woven rice and flour bags. As I work at an Asian cash and carry, I might be able to get hold of some of the woven bags as the products that are sold there are from India and Pakistan. I would be able to experiment with these, such as print onto them, sew into them, drape them, combining different materials. 
With plastics, I could use the idea of a doily, and make it look like lace as lace is used on Indian dresses, but not in this way. I need to EXPLORE India - the buildings, traditions, architecture, animals and the culture of the place which would help me create a design which could be turned  into a print. As a lot of Indian dresses have a border, using the ideas of some of these artists, I could perhaps have a story line that creates the border such as people on market stalls selling colourful, bright Indian clothes, which could then be photographed and drawn from, creating a design. Perhaps not even clothes.. maybe fruit and vegetables as when they are all piled up high next to each other, they look like a work of art! This is an example I found from an Indian market stall in India. 


I think that now I should start collecting all these materials that I will need for the experiments such as newspaper,rice bags etc. 
I found a dress that has been made from bits of old saris on a website called OUTBLUSH. It has been created in layers. 

recycled-sari-dress-lg.jpg

I'm not too keen on the actual dress itself, but I love the idea of using bits of different things and putting them together to create a unique piece that tells a story. 





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