Final Evaluation Unit X 2020
During Unit X I have developed some ideas which were started
towards the end of the practice unit. In
this final year, I started by eco printing using natural forms and, at the same
time, I was producing watercolour paintings of plants. Getting inspired by the marks and patterns
created by the steamed leaves onto cotton and silk, I started to produce digital repeat prints from
my watercolour drawings and paintings, using Photoshop. For Unit X I developed and progressed this
approach further.
Practice Unit
Practice Unit
I started
the project by visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Liberty, and the
Foundling Museum in London. I visited the
Foundling Museum because I wanted to adapt Indian and Western plants together
and thought they might have something about identity for children who were
separated from their birth families. It
was mainly historical and about children who were separated from their parents
and later put into service, so there was not really anything to inspire my work
in looking at identity through nature.
However, Kew and Liberty were both very inspiring and gave me a lot of
opportunities for photography to use in development. Later, I went to the Royal Botanic Gardens in
Edinburgh, with a friend from India who knows a lot about plants, and she pointed
out that many plants grow in both countries.
This gave me the freedom to explore designs based on how well the forms
in my drawings combined to make repeat patterns, rather than concentrating
totally on origin.
The development of colour palettes was from a selection of the
photographs from Kew Gardens. After the
palette was ready, I could experiment creating patterns using Photoshop and visualise
the design onto room settings. Thankfully,
before the lockdown, Tabina (another student) helped me with visualisation as I
was stuck. The tile and designs I developed
in the beginning are definitely not up to the current standard, and with further
practise they should get even better. I find the process of creating tiles for
repeat patterns exciting because when it is a tile, you cannot see what it will
look like, and it’s just fascinating to see the final pattern emerge. The designs are for interior purposes, such as wallpaper, bedding, sofas
and cushions and they would be printed onto natural fabrics, such as cotton and silk,
and wallpaper.
Drawing used - Tile - Pattern
For the final Portfolio I have chosen designs I believe to
be high standard. I have considered the
market and the purpose of my designs. I
see them being used for bespoke soft furnishing and wallpapers which are high
end rather than mass produced. Having researched
Osbourn and Little, an example of a large company, and Abigail Borg, an
individual designer with her own business, it shows me the possibilities for my
future.
Finally, over the lockdown I have been volunteering for the
Manchester Scrub Hub, sewing for the NHS.
I find this beneficial because I get to developed garment construction
skill making trousers and tops and it feels good to put these skills to good
use.
