Saturday 20 November 2010

Digital Disperse

Being a great purveyor of innovation and tradition I decided to use digital disperse within my work, as I am working on a modern project. I was incredibly happy with the results. This was my first time using the mimaki for disperse, and it worked fantastically! Here are some of my digital designs prepped and ready for the mimaki (and adhering to the colour atlas):


Sunday 14 November 2010

Origami Obsession

As part of embracing different levels and elements of Japanese culture I began to indulge in the art of origami. Origami is something Ive never quite got to grips with in the past, so with patience and determination I set out to learn how to make one of the most recognisable symbols of Japanese culture; the Crane. After a few attempts I was pleased with my Cranes and soon became origami mad. I found the pass time both soothing and relaxing, and began working on the concept of creating a graphic print from 'crane chains', which reflect the Japanese tradition to make 1000 cranes and have a wish come true. With that in mind I designed the graphic prints below. I also adapted this idea to the concept of making fabric from actual cranes (below).




Wednesday 10 November 2010

Japanese project

As my Japanese project begins to develop I find myself once again turning to text and typography as an inspirational force. I seem unable to turn my back on my love for type, but I will try to limit it within this project!
After studying Japanese textiles for 2 years at college I initally found it dificult to move away from the traditional themes I enjoy, but after some project research I had a more clear focus on modern Japanese design, as opposed to ancient.

But, for old times sake, lets take a look at my bold step into the modern world!

From hand made, hand embriodered Kimono (and a rather ridiculous model :P):





To modern, graphic prints:





And Ill leave you with that stroll down memory lane!

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Future Beauty at The Barbican

Our new project has been roughly outlined and will revolve around the exhibition 'Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion' which many members of the second year visited today, myself included.
This was my first trip to The Barbican Gallery, and I must admit I was shocked by its humble and hidden exterior. Inside the gallery was obviously a very modern and airy space.
I found some garments within the exhibition inspirational, particularly those by Mint Designs and Rei Kawakubo. Seeing Issey Miyake's work first hand was also a useful resource for my on going essay on Innovation and Tradition.

The exhibition runs until 6th February 2011, for more information or tickets visit:

http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=10771

And here's a rather ridiculous photo of me wearing my new 'political statement' hat at Covent Garden:

Monday 1 November 2010

Final Prints: Screen

Here are some of my traditional prints created using the designs on my screen and/or disperse. They also use free motion emboridary in areas. These are some of the final prints within my collection:




Final Prints: Mimaki

Here are some of my final mimaki prints for the 'Rule Britannia' project. The digital prints were always intended to be a base fabric for my collection, with overprinting using a screen an intended feature to create a mixture between old and new (possibly an idea influenced by my essay on Tradition and Innovation). I also decided to leave some of my prints as purely digital designs.
Here are a selection of my favourite final prints, all are digital print with traditional screen printing and one also features free motion machine embroidery: