Fish Therapy: Week 4

Context:

Over the past week, I have been working towards a different context. The idea of an installation for Alzheimer's patients didn't inspire me enough, and I found it difficult to imagine it in context. In my tutorial last week (24/10/13) with Mark Beecroft, we discussed the idea of designing material for smaller, more everyday items for around the household. For example, coasters, tea towels, mugs, blankets as well as canvas wall art. I have also been reading a book "Designing for Alzheimer's Disease" in which it gives advice on pattern design in domestic environments for Alzheimer's sufferers, including research in to how they generally reaction to types of patterns. I feel smaller settings for my prints would work best as both stimulating materials and a brand, because of the way (from what i have experienced and researched) household objects that catch the eye of the patient will produce a more relaxed, less forced reaction, rather than if you were to make them look at, or touch an installation, or interactive wall piece. 

I am going to look in to using embroidery machines to re-create my digital drawings of the fish. I also want to use the laser cutter to provide layers and depth to my designs. 

Practical:

With this in mind, I have been carrying on knitting to build a portfolio of samples to use digitally in prints:

Another idea of context I have, inspired by the market research I have carried out in to what 'toys' are available for patients, is to create 'feelers', knitted and material hand held objects which provide tactile stimulation. Something for the patient to hold and exercise their hands whilst sitting down, watching tv or having a conversation with a care giver or family member. 

Mark introduced me to a project similar to what I have been doing myself, but on a much larger scale!:

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project:

I think this is a great piece of community work, and impressive! The use of colour is inspiring for me, as it is full of so many different colours, which go so well with each other as they're all bright, and weirdly, natural colours!

This week I also worked digitally, on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. I found it difficult to sit down and start this, so just began experimenting, creating motifs and scenes, using my visual research and knitting samples:

(above) I thought this motif worked really well as my samples have been both fluid, and heavily structured

  (above) I really experimented trying to use my own digital drawings as well as my own photographs here, trying to create prints which abide by the research I have found. Designers are discouraged from using geometric designs as it can make the patients unnerved and confused. I want my designs to have depth, to catch the eye but also provide something to concentrate on.

Fish Therapy: Week 3

My tutorial with Julie at the end of last week (17/10/13) involved a discussion of what I am aiming to create for this project, Julie had suggested an installation, something on a wall, or in a space in the room for patients and their caregivers to look at, feel and discuss. At the time I thought this sounded like a great idea- as it really involves the use of senses that I want to respond to, however having never designed/created an installation before, I'm not sure where to start.

Last week I was working on a digital sketchbook on Illustrator, so it was very flat work. This week I decided to start working with materials- to inspire my installation design. I have always enjoyed hand knitting, and so responded to my visual research with knit:

I enjoyed working with knit again, and felt really inspired using different techniques and needles to create these samples. It also made me begin to think about colour. My next tutorial is an option tutorial with Mark Beecroft- I chose to see him because of his use and knowledge of materials, and I hope he will give me a bit of a different approach to the project to think about. I created a new moodboard for this tutorial to show my project up to date- which also helps me present my project to a group tutorial:

Fish Therapy (working title) project: Week 2

This week we had our first CP3 tutorials, so a lot of my week was spent doing research for that, however it has been a bit of a learning curve to manage my time a little better than I have done this week. 

In terms of this project, I have began some visual research focusing on movement. I spent the whole day on Wednesday refreshing my Illustrator skills (one of the reasons I need to manage time better is because everything takes so long!). 

I have experimented with different Illustrator techniques to create a moving effect in my digital sketchbook.

I have tried to approach images in different ways, also looking at forms of the fish as they move.

I would like to use digital print to convey the movement and pattern of the tropical fish life, and then work over it using materials to add texture to the design.

I found a textiles artist, Rachel Gornall who explores colour, light and patterns in her work which has been commissioned for hospitals:

Gornall's work has reminded me that my designs don't have to be literal, and that I should be experimental with materials and techniques (I am interested in doing some laser cutting to aid my designs).

A quote about Gornall's portfolio on her website:

"Light is very important to the work, often informing an inspiration or starting point and always influencing the viewing of the work, creating shadows and interaction between the layers"

http://www.rachelgornall.co.uk/index.htm

Practice Unit: Summer Project and the beginning of Third year.

Over the Summer we were asked to find inspiration which we could bring to the new Practice Unit- the first of third year. I found this difficult to start. The initial thought of third year for me has always been that all my work must be perfect for that year- so finding inspiration was the first struggle, especially since my summer consisted of work! I soon got over the fear and just started to take photographs of everything I liked. My Mam and her boyfriend got a tropical fish tank over the Summer, which I enjoyed helping tend to, and take photos of:

 When it came to starting a sketchbook I was inspired by the colour, movement, and forms which were in the fish tanks I looked at (I went to a couple of aquariums, too):

Initially, I wanted to use this theme for children's wear again- a context I enjoyed working with last year. However, then I REALLY struggled with a concept. Having prided myself last year on introducing original, interesting concepts to my units, the thoughts of fish and children felt really over-done and uninspiring- which my tutor agreed with in the first tutorial (3/10/13). Queue another panic as I was convinced after this tutorial that I was going to fail my degree. I took a couple of days off and threw out my timetable (to help relax and not let organisation ruin the exploration this unit should include). 

I tried to think of other contexts which weren't young women's fashion, or children- which has been a good context for me because of all of the children in my family. Also in my family, is the matriarchal figure of my Nanna Sheila, who has suffered with Alzheimer's and Dementia for 5 years. Much like the young children of the family, she requires constant care, has difficulty with language and needs stimulants to keep occupied, unfortunately, much like other families, I don't feel the service she receives  has included enough stimulants. In the nursing home she lives in, they specialise in Dementia care:

 

The interior decor is uninspiring, but not old fashioned per say, and includes a lot of memorabilia in the hallways such as records, old movie posters, and "Then and Now" columns from the Hartlepool Mail on the walls to jog the memory of those who look at them. Sufferers like my Nanna pay no attention to visual objects, and when they do it is often described by them as distorted versions of what they actually are (e.g feet are often small dogs, hand bags are stroked like cuddly toys). However, despite difficulties with reasoning and language, a lot of patients still have all of their senses fully working. 

As a textiles designer, two senses I can work with the best are vision and touch.

Fish tanks are often placed in the lounge areas of nursing homes because they have a calming effect. I want to use my tropical fish inspiration to design and create sense-stimulating materials for the context of Dementia patients and their care-givers. Possible outcomes of this are: wall paper and soft furnishings, toys, puzzles, clothes and homewares. 

I will focus on colour, movement, texture and pattern throughout the project. I would also like to showcase my branding skills in this unit, as I feel it is professional and something I do well- I am keen to feature branding and contextualising abilities in my portfolio more.

Concept Proposal board for "Fish Therapy" (working title):

Unit X- National Trust Craft Fair- Reflection

Unit X this year has been an interesting experience. Being introduced to other courses such as 3D design and Interactive Arts was a great chance to see what other disciplines produced with the same brief as Textiles in Practice. It was also because of this that I experimented with ceramics- something I am very happy I learnt and intend to take further in to my own practice. The unit as a whole has been different for me from the beginning, as I have focused on Children's wear mostly throughout my 2nd year, so I am glad we were given a particular briefing to work towards and feel I settled in well with it. 

In terms of collaboration, I worked on this project on my own and was happy doing this, however I did engage with others doing this craft fair option both in tutorials and outside of them, giving and receiving feedback. I felt the Interim Crit was the most helpful example of this as we could all see each other's work via boards and presentations. 

The professional lecture series was a staple for my experience on Unit X, not only learning about other people's experiences after university, but also Paul Scott's Ceramics work inspired my whole project! 

(Paul Scott's Cumbrian Blue(s))

(My toile du joug designs on ceramics)

My sketchbook work developed a lot over the course of the project, and I feel this was a strength. Without my drawings I would not have been able to produce my abstract designs. In addition to this, I created my toile prints on photoshop, a practice which I am very familiar with. However had I had more time, I would have liked to create more designs, and perhaps do some work on Illlustrator- which is a skill I have learnt quite basically in my last project but should have taken further with this project. 

At the beginning I was a little lost with what to do with this brief. I gained momentum with only around 5 weeks to go, when I found my key inspiration from toile design. Then by the time I had printed on to ceramics and thought it would be a final design, I wanted to take that further too. Although I'm disappointed I only thought of ceramic ware and picnic ware within the last 3 weeks, I think it is a good sign of a working designer- that I show I can see when and where I should improve my practice. 

My concept board shows my final proposal of a picnic set, which I am happy with but didn't find enough time to explore materials properly. 

As mentioned earlier, I have been focusing on children's wear throughout my second year, however this project has shown me that I can always learn new skills and have been inspired to design some dinner/breakfast ware for children at some point. I also feel it has been a great brief and final outcome to add to my portfolio. 

Maid's Quarters at the National Trust:

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Unit X- National Trust Craft Fair- Refinements and Conclusions

After a successful and inspiring Interim Crit, I went back to my design work and created more abstract motifs from the one I presented in the crit, as I felt I could create less obvious Toiles with my drawings.

Whilst design these prints I took into account  composition, back ground space, size of motifs, and thought about how they could be applied to ceramics. I felt some were more successful than others, however as abstract toiles they work well. 

Using some of these designs and my sketchbook drawings, I developed ceramics prints a little more:

I took inspiration from IKEA's Promenad range, which I found when I was buying my ceramics I was drawn to it straight away because of the colour palette which is similar to my own, and also because of the use of composition. Just because they are from a traditional toile practice, doesn't mean I can't use more modern ways of demonstrating my abstract prints on to the ceramics. 

I was really happy with how this breakfast set turned out, and really enjoyed learning a new skill of ceramics transfers.

However, I couldn't help but think I could refine my ideas a little more. I found Anorak picnic ware online, and was inspired by their use of simple motifs and repeat patterns, which create interesting shapes in the background space:

Although my theme and designs are very different, I felt inspired by their designs, as well as inspired to transfer my prints on to picnic ware, this context is even more fitting than kitchen linen and breakfast ware to my site of National Trust Gift Shops as they are a popular picnic destination, it is also fitting for my theme of the Maid's Quarter's, where one prepares the food in the kitchens and it is taken outside to be eaten. Before I began transferring my prints on to picnic ware I wanted to refine my final designs, to create a strong range for a mix and match picnic proposal.

These are the design boards I have created for the final presentation of my work:

Because of time constraints, I am only able to produce picnic ware proposals, however I feel they works really well as a mix and match set and I am glad I have gone for picnic ware, with the final designs I have created. The picnic set includes: Melamine plates (£3.50); melamine cups (£2.50); platters (£4.50-£6.50); bowls (£3.50) (the prints of which are inspired by my ceramics development); flask (£9.50); picnic rug(£18.50); cotton napkins (£5.50) and a food cover (£7). I decided on the prices after looking at the National Trust gift shops prices, and Habitat and Anorak's picnic ware because their picnic items are made of the same materials I would be using for mine, as well as being the same dimensions.

I refined by boards from the interim crit, because my work has come a really long way in just two weeks. My boards below were presented to around 10 students, 4 tutors and Ann Marie from the National Trust who we have had contact with throughout the project. I feel my presentation went well, as I said everything I needed to say, however it was a little nerve racking! 

I didn't change my Inspiration board as my research hasn't changed. However I did change the Context board, keeping my initial inspiration for the whole project, Paul Scott, and adding inspiration I found in IKEA for ceramic development and Anorak Picnic ware. The new Concept board features my picnic ware as a scene, to show what it all looks like together, as well as my 4 final designs.

I ended up enjoying this project once I knew what I was doing- and I would love to develop this picnic set as well as my designs further, I feel there is a lot of room for improvement, but I am very pleased with my final proposal nonetheless.

Unit X- National Trust Craft Fair: Ideas Development

Since my last post, I have gone back to my initial drawings and used Karisma coloured pencils to refer to the colours I can use in the Toile de Jouy I will design, inspired by Paul Scott's ceramics. 

 I feel these drawings have become much stronger and had brought my theme together more already. Using a variety of blue shades will also give something more to my Toiles as often they feature only one or two shades of blue. I have also continued to create more images in my sketchbook based on the gardens. Featured below, a flower drawing over layered by plants and branches. I used black ink to draw the thick outlines then used a scalpel to cut out the spaces, I then used this stencil to colour in the spaces using my new colour palette:

By creating this stencil, I have created 2 effective drawings, one with the outlines featured to create a graphic tone, and the other which is much more toned down and soft. I can't decide which I like better as i feel they are both effective in different ways.

I was keen to begin my Toile designs so developed a drawing of a kitchen scene from one of my photos from Dunham Massey:

I want the feel of my Toile designs to be modern and slightly abstract, compared to the detailed images on Toiles I have seen sold in the National Trust gift shops, as i would like to bring something different to them. I have used my colour in a way that it represents details and portions on the initial drawing I have done. I have used this image to base my Toile "scene" around, therefore used minimal colours. I also thought it was effective for my first design so I could include plenty of kitchen ware.

The theme of this Toile de Jouy is the Gardens from the windows of the Maid's quarters. I feel it is an obvious setting,  however have tried to use my kitchen ware drawings in quite an obscure way, repeating them, blending them and using composition carefully. I have also used the "garden" in this Toile as a sort of border around the scene to encapsulate the Toile, rather like the Maids were encapsulated in their "Quarters".

I am happy with my first design, especially how it looks in repeat. I will keep in mind to create designs such as this which can be effective as a scene by itself, or as a repeat pattern.

I have had a successful interim crit with a peer group where we discussed our work so far. I feel confident to carry on my work and have began to organise ceramic printing to create some coasters and perhaps table ware. 

These are my boards which I have presented my research and ideas on so far:

 I have included the idea of blue and white Toiles throughout each board to keep the theme strong, as well as using relevant contextual research of the National Trust Gift shops and Ferm Living, who create designs and sell them similar to how I want mine to be.