Weave

I found some of these images on the internet and they completely inspired me for my own weave!

I love the use of different sized threads and wool's and the use of colour fits my brief entirely! 

Ideas..

This photograph taken from one of the windows in the Liverpool Tate made me think about how we always want to see what other people are up to. Nosiness. This made me think about design for a partition that still created privacy but had small parts cut out or transparent? I think it is good to be able to see what our peers are up to as they can sometimes influence us. 

Ideas...

From the beginning of this project I've been interested in designing a fold away partition for the new building. I struggle to make work without reason therefore, I was thinking about the facts I found about Claustrophobia and how I could use them to influence my design. One of the facts that stood out to me the most was that when Claustrophobic's have an attack they tend to remove clothing as they feel it relieves symptoms. I was thinking about maybe using clothing in my design and removing something from it? Another fact I found interesting was that only 2-5% of the worlds population suffer from Claustrophobia, perhaps I could remove 2-5% of each piece of clothing before I use it in my design? 

Liverpool!

Liverpool Tate 

A piece I particularly liked was one of the first we saw by Martin Creed. It was four TV screens of people making themselves sick, this wasn't what I liked about the piece but the meaning behind it. Creed seems to do things for a reason and a reaction from the viewer. I feel like everything I do within my own work has to have a reason. 

Another piece I liked was this by Edward Rushca, just because it took me so long to work out what it said!

After visiting the Tate, we went to Edgehill Metal Gallery to support Robyn Woolston in the Liverpool Art Prize. I really liked the building and it was interesting to go on the first night of opening.

Robyn Woolston is an artist and filmaker, she uses waste materials within her work that probably wouldn't be used otherwise. 

Sigrid Frenson

Once establishing that i would base my work around flowers and gardens i took to the internet to find an artist that would inspire me; when i came across this AMAZING artist/blogger. the media mainly used is colour pencil. 

Progress

For the second part of the project I wanted to move on from Botanical Gardens as a whole and concentrate more on the individual flowers. I love the idea of flowers as my usual downfall with a project is concentrating on blacks and whites. Choosing this as a theme will keep me from doing so (hopefully!). 

Here are some images I have taken:

Movement

Research

Wanting to know more about the gardens in Manchester I started to research botanical gardens in the area (ish)….

To name a few:

Alexandra Park, Oldham

Walkden Gardens, Sale

Vicarage Botanical Gardens

Prestwich Forest Park

Clowes Park

Clayton Vale

The Secret Gardens

From the start I knew I wanted to have a unique take on this ‘Arrivals task’ I knew I wanted to involve Manchester but not in an obvious way.

When first arriving in Manchester I was excited by the chance of living in a big city. But being from Bournemouth I knew I would miss things like the beach and forests that surround me. In my second year of being in Manchester I tried to familiarise myself beyond the city centre to find gardens and parks which I loved! This was unexpected to me as living in the centre for my foundation year I rarely escaped the centre of Manchester. Now living opposite a park, this gave me the inspiration to choose my project ‘the secret gardens’ of Manchester. 

Unit X

 The new school/old school brief is so exciting! Unlike the previous projects I feel we have the chance and potential to create a project that really envelops our own style and personalities within art and textiles. Transforming the new building in which we will be working in next year means we can create an area of which we enjoy to be working in.

I love the idea of incorporating Manchester but I don’t want to pick the obvious options of using the streets as inspiration. I want to look beyond Manchester’s stereotypes.  Idea’s are on the way……

Iv taken a look too and i love these pattern images here! The use of colour is amazing and they entice you to look deeper! Thanks ursula!  

projection

Whilst looking at projection pieces, i stumbled upon Ross Ashton who has created some fantastic, elaborate projections on a very large scale. Once again i am drawn in by the colour, scale and intricate detail that form these pieces of art.


Thought id share so take a look!

http://rossashton.blogspot.co.uk/

Link link link...

Just a little link to PATTERNITY website, interesting way of looking at finding similar patterns in a wide variety of sources. Might be useful...http://www.patternity.co.uk/

Hotspur House...

I think it would be a good idea to create our own space in Hotspur House, as I've been here today and seen other groups working together here?? It would be good to meet up and see how our ideas could merge together as a group?? 

Thinking about colour...

Just a few thoughts about colour...

Looking through imagery I have collected so far, I have found the colours to often be worn muted tones. This fits well with the idea of marks left behind on a place, old and faded rather than bright and fresh. 

Something to keep thinking about...

Attempting to draw the feeling of claustrophobia..

 

I found trying to capture this feeling quite difficult so decided to use quick simple drawings to try and represent feeling surrounded and claustrophobic. The photograph on the right was drawn using inspiration from the maps at the Infra Manc exhibition at The cube, taking the dots and dashes from the key. 

Claustrophobia

After visiting Cabot Tower I began to research Claustrophobia and what it actually is. Here are a few bullet points I found interesting.

• From the Latin word 'claustrum' meaning a shut in place and the Greek word 'phobus' meaning fear.
• Opposite of Claustrophobia is Claustrophilia - an abnormal desire for confinement in an enclosed space.
• Some Claustrophobics fear trivial matters such as sitting in a barbers chair, simply out of fear of confinement to a single space.
• Some Claustrophobics remove clothing when having an attack as they believe it will relieve symptoms. 
• Most Claustrophobics avoid any situation that might cause and attack. 
• There are many theories for Claustrophobia one them being Amygdala. This is one of the smallest structures in the brain but one of the most powerful it is needed for the conditioning of fear.

From these points I find myself interested in the belief that removing clothing will relieve symptoms. This could be an interesting concept. I also find myself interested in researching the Amygdala, and how it works. 

Cabot Tower - Bristol

I visited Cabot Tower in Bristol to see this amazing view.

However,  whilst climbing the 108 tiny spiral steps to the top I felt so claustrophobic and began to panic as only one person could fit at a time. Although it wasn't the same feeling it kind of reminded me of a busy Saturday in Manchester city centre. It was a strange feeling to be in such a large building but to feel so small and suffocated. Should the new building be an escape from the busy city, or should it reflect it?

Each step was like a small sense of relief that I was a little closer to the top. This got me thinking, should my work make people feel something in particular? 

Manchester Vs Middlesbrough?

After living in the small town of Middlesbrough for most of my life, moving to Manchester was a massive change, as the two places are so different. Although I miss home, I love Manchester just for the feeling I get when I'm here. Manchester is always busy and so lively, it has a completely different atmosphere to Middlesbrough. However, as Manchester is always so busy I sometimes find myself feeling crowded and almost claustrophobic. The estimated population of Manchester is 504,756 compared with Middlesbrough's estimate of 142,691. After visiting the Infra Manc exhibition at The Cube I started to think about using the maps as inspiration to create guides for visitors to the new art school, as I imagine that will also be a very busy place. 

Textiles Students have dirty hands!

See what happened to a few bits of paper on the studio doors for a few days...

Video Inspirations...

Thought it'd be useful to be able to look back at the videos that Mary showed us. Possible inspirations for our own Digital Outputs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONgeDJryXks - The Rug Company

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpnYnq8fF20 - Willy Vanderperre for Dior

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Et7UQh1tg - The Pen (Olympus) Stop Motion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUAEPvacH_Q - How to Make a Liberty Oven Mitt

And then a few possible useful websites...

http://www.fashioninfilm.com/

http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/content/liberty-tv/newsarchive

http://www.laurabuckley.com/

http://sarahpucill.co.uk/films.php

Lauren Bowker

"You can do a lot in a day if you use your own initiative."

Incredibly inspiring talk from Lauren Bowker a graduate from TD4F at Manchester...


Found her talk both extremely inspiring and also very thought provoking. Thinking about new technologies and the digital. Her work seems so far away from anything that could be achieved right now and yet all the technology is out there..."the public just isn't ready for it yet" as she put it.

I always seem to think that moving forward into a technology fuelled textile world as a bad thing, I like the handmade and the traditional technique. Lauren has started to sway this view...


Just because we start to use new technologies does not mean the traditional will be forgotten. I like the thought of combining both, using old and new together. This idea is the basis of this project I guess...New School/Old School. Reflecting upon the old and embracing the new.

I was particulary drawn to this video of hers...http://vimeo.com/25403654 
The colour changing feathers incredible, and a good example of new technology combined with hands on making.

SO many points to take from this talk, so I think bullet pointing some of them is the best way -

• Collaborate! It can produce some incredible results

• Not to be afraid of going to explore other departments whilst  studying - could influence and change ways of working

• "Don’t be scared, if you don’t do it someone else will"

• "If something doesn't feel right, it's probably not right"  

Unseen Marks...

Thinking about the marks created around the visible mark when being placed there. So here…thinking about all the finger marks made onto the surface whilst tape was being placed there. Not visible, but skin will have touched the surface, so something will have been left behind. 

Accidental ink marks here, surrounded by small pencil lines to show the area surrounding that may also have been impacted upon, but the marks less visible.

Here, showing possible marks around the dropped cigarettes…ash, heat marks, places the cigarettes could have first landed and moved from. Here there are two sets of marks. Physical objects left by a person and then the marks that the cigarettes themselves will have left.

Thinking about...

The hidden. Marks left behind unseen. Hidden away or invisible to the normal eye. Without thinking or looking closely they’d never be seen again once initially made there.

Also…traces. Trails. Journey’s of marks. The idea of a trail of footprints (although I am purposely trying to avoid looking at actual footprints). 

Possibility of trails of marks disappearing into the hidden marks… 

Rachel Whiteread

I've recently been looking into Rachel Whiteread's work. Her casts of objects, show all the internal marks and features of the objects long after the object itself is gone. A trace of the object still visible, documenting it's existence.

Her piece "House" shows this wonderfully. A sculptural cast of a house that was going to be demolished. Her work keeps the idea of the house alive (well,an internal mirror copy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEtsYIIIfkw

I like this idea of preserving something. A mark of it being there, even though it's no longer there itself...this I guess is what I'm trying to explore at the moment.

Cube Gallery - Infra_MANC

"The Manchester that never was of hellipads and unseen trains..."

Manchester Evening News Feb 23rd 2012

Going back to thinking about this exhibition further to Hannah's post...intrigued by the idea of parts of some of the projects being left behing, remnants hidden in Manchester.

Interesting that it has been named "the Manchester that never was" and yet it was...to a certain extent, traces have been left, hidden and unseen but still there.