Unit X Project - Week One

Continuing on from where I finished my placement, I started my project by studying Selby's three current collections, so to understand her way of working, as well as enable me to create designs which have her influence within. I am strongly drawn to her current pieces; her bold choice of colours and geometric shapes link well with my style of work, however as previously mentioned in my evaluation, I also want to take inspiration from her kaleidoscope range, with focus on the 'bubble wrap' style in particular. 

This week, I've also enjoyed playing around with the selvedge I collected and was intrigued to see how it looked when woven with. What struck me initially with the selvedge, was the depth of colour that it portrayed; the richness from the number of weft ends within it gave a real energy to the woven pieces. It also linked well to the 'graphic colour' trend, so I hope to continue this through my own work. Creating these weaves has helped me hugely and been incredibly inspiring; they've given me a lot of excitement as to where this project will take me and I'm looking forward to pushing myself out of my comfort zone. 

I've spent a lot of time looking into the 'mark making' trend and considering how I can bring it into my work, without it seeming too print orientated. I envisage my pieces will make a statement - due to the strong influence from the 'graphic colour' trend, as well as Margo Selby's current collection - therefore I hope to incorporate some mark making, to create an intricate contrast. 

I started off with a basic 0.1 fine liner, before moving on to using black ink, to compare the effect on the illustrations. I've chosen to work with a monochromatic palette to start with, to enable me to keep the focus on the lines and images, rather than any distraction from colours. I prefer the crispness that the liner gives; I want that definition of shape to be shown in my fabric designs, and I feel that the ink gives a softness which isn't as powerful. I also think that using the mark-making to add detailing to a shape is a good way to incorporate the trend into a woven fabric. It's not something I'd considered before, however on reflection it links well to the new collection by Margo Selby. 

During this week, I had a really positive tutorial with Lesley. As a student, I work best when I know that my tutors understand my ideas throughout my project and are able to give me feedback, rather than just after the deadline. I really feel that Lesley recognises what I want to achieve, not just from this project, but from my entire degree and this really helps. I have struggled to comprehend what it is that I'm doing wrong in past projects as I don't feel that I have reached my true potential, so after a long talk with Lesley, it is all a lot clearer to me now. I hope to push myself during this project in ways that I haven't before, and combine different aspects within 'Textiles' to strengthen my development work and final collection.