Holly Fulton

 I love pretty much everything Holly Fulton does and how she does it. Her prints are intricate and detailed while maintaining a highly graphic style that I love aesthetically. While the cut of her garments can be simple or more complex they work with the prints to create something totally eye catching, playful and original. Her jewelry works as an extension of her garments, utilising the same shapes and colour pallet with silver and perspex.

Yingzhi Luo

I just came across Yingzhi Luo's Graduate collection (2011). I found it a fantastic sensory experience of colour, texture and movement.


The combination of beautiful soft draping and embellishment is really effective. Although there are clear references to traditional craftsmanship and clothing the finished collection remains modern and stylish.

http://chichiluo.com/graduate-collection-2011-chichi-luo/

Applied Arts - Metalwork

Here is the final outcome of my metalwork taster. I found the acid etching followed by colouring with the micro welder produced my favourite effect. I made sure I added texture using either the press or by hammering the steel before etching it. Any metals that were not etched complemented the piece better when they were heated and tarnished. I found carefully heating the copper produced a beautiful pink hue that worked well alongside the purples and blues of the steel.

For inspiration I mainly just let the materials and processes guide me; I tried to keep the individual pieces irregularly shaped and allowed some of the narrower pieces to curve around the cube to create interesting shapes and negative spaces around the cube. When a space needed more detail I tried to use the offcuts of my different samples to keep my process as organic as possible.

I went on to start applying my favourite process to a second cube. I found when I pressed a steel mesh into the tin plate steel. The reverse side reminded me of crocodile skin so after acid etching all but the very peaks of the metal I tried colouring it in stripes which I thought could look animalistic and exotic. I like the final outcome although I ran out of time before I could apply all the pieces onto the cube.

During the metalwork taster I found lots of unexpected ways I can work with metal, some of which I could apply to fashion work as embellishments or accessories. Some of the metal colouring is so beautiful it could even inform fabric prints.

Martin Smith - Applied arts

This series by martin smith uses a format associated with 2D and giving it a third dimension. The colour combined with the clean metal finish gives it a modern look.

Steve Dixon, Applied Arts

'Flower Brick' is covered by beautiful delicate ceramic flowers. Whilst looking pretty traditional and gentle to me its intricate texture and simple clean whiteness against its surroundings draws the eye, as does its juxtaposition with the rough surface of the brick.

Dale Chihuli, Applied Arts

These huge, lit up glass vessels have an unreal quality to them like flowers from a rain forest or alien lifeforms. The rippled edges remind me of seashells or coral. The random look of the edges gives them an organic form.

Matthew Shlain

 During my 3D and fashion tasters we did lots of work manipulating paper. I found the cleanness of the scored and folded paper really attractive After completing the tasters I found this artist. He works predominantly with paper and creates very clean intricate sculptures using geometry and the working process itself as inspiration.

This one appears to be made by layering different sheets together. The circles within circles appears to me to be referencing the Op Art of Bridget Riley.

 This one is cut and folded so when stretched it expands. It responds like flexible mesh and and a similar technique in a different material could create a viable feature on a garment. I like this piece, especially the long curved form this creates as its arranged in a twist. Although the clean white paper and the uniform cuts gives this a modern look the shapes inside could have been inspired by basket weaving or other traditional crafts.

 

Although this shape is strong and architectural the smooth curves and layering give it a feminine, floral look

 

3D final piece

Heres my final piece from the 3D taster. I'm pleased with the outcome, the shape and cut-away sections work well.

3D Work

We started off having a go at 2 point perspective and rendering with pastel. I enjoyed learning this technique and thought my outcome was successful.

Next we did drawings of objects My first drawings were quite detailed. My composition worked well and there are nice elements to my results I think.

Taking elements and shapes from my pictures I created 3D shapes from paper and card. here are the best results.

 

Scoring and folding the card definitely gave the best results.

Next we paired off to develop a shape out of plastic. We started with one of my folded shapes and developed cut outs.

We then created our final piece out of plastic using a combination of hand scoring and folding and using the laser cutter to remove sections.

David Mellor Cutlery Design

This cutlery is simple and practical. It retains a classic, tried-and-tested handle shape while being completely minimal and without decoration. It's striking in its simplicity. And its rounded, smooth shape is elegant and modern.

Eileen Gray 3D Design

With a combination of Art Deco and modernism these designs are clean lined and elegant. the animal skins and sculptural elements evoke the exotic while the use of white and chrome create a look that is effortlessly modern.

Fashion

After seriously distorting some basic bodice blocks to create wacky shapes out of paper, the task was to cut, manipulate and ultimately make my wacky shape fit a mannequin, and here are my results! With hindsight a little more simple and elegant could have been good but there's some nice contrasts between the fluid flowing shapes and the boxy cuts into some of the pieces.

My piece has the combination of structure and fluidity that I associate with the internal workings of shells. The paper lends to its bone like quality. For some reason (probably the swirls and the shape over the shoulders at the back) it also makes me think of ancient Greek architecture and imagery.

As an exercise in design development there are certainly shapes and lines that I can bring out onto other pieces and it strikes me as a highly fast and effective way of generating ideas.

I went on to digitally develop my design by taking elements and positioning them on the figure.

 A bit sketchy for an illustration but great for developing my garment.

Surface Pattern

 I worked on these observational drawings as a starting point to my pattern.
Using different grounds definitely improved the final image quality. The most effective method of working I found was to work mainly with ink, I accentuated lines with a graphite stick and worked into negative spaces with emulsion and masking tape. I think the limited use of masking tape on the left drawing was effective at improving the outline of the shape.

These are the second set of observational drawings I created. This time I put a lot more thought into colour and technique and I believe the outcomes are much stronger. Layering different sized images created attractive negative spaces that I could take into my work.

I took shapes and lines from these drawings and created mono prints which aren't visually to my taste. Although there are patterns and textures that could be incorporated into future work.

Taking inspiration from my previous studies I created these two final panels. They both share colours and techniques that help them to look cohesive as a pair of panels. the wool stitching running through both designs helps bring them together while the collaged grounds improves the texture.

The final stage was to create fabric samples developed from my panel. So far I have only managed to develop one but I will update with more soon.

Rodarte

The combination of colour and texture adds severe drama to this collection. Mixing sheer and opaque fabrics creates a visually complex yet stylish effect.

 This dress has a femanine silhuette but toughens it up with fabrics and surface quality. Thw longer sleeves and high neckline reminds me of a less theatrical Alexander Mcqueen.

The wide ranging textures and fabrics on this dress are brought together by an extensive use of dark shades and black with only a small amount of neutral tones and purples.

Lee Fredlander

The composition of this piece makes it look crowded and busy. It gives me a sense of the crowds of the city despite the lack of anything living. I think this could represents both the claustrophobia and desolation that can occur by being a faceless individual in a heavily urban area. The addition of a chain link fence imprisons the image. Obscured by the fence the scene behind looks chaotic and decayed.

Hiroshi Sugomoto - Bass Strait, Table Cape

This forms part of a series of seascapes. The image is made up of large areas of light and shade and is divided perfectly in half which gives it effortless (looking)balance. It is devoid of detail which gives it a eerie, unnatural feeling.

Tony Ray Jones

The juxtaposition of the cartoon fantasy image in the background and the real life couple beneath makes this image. The contrast is as obvious as possible with the cartoon in each others arms and the real couple facing away from each other with unenthusiastic expressions on both their faces. The sign behind appears to represent the long forgotten hoped and dreams of two people just getting on with life.

Composition in the style of Torsten Brinkman

This is my work in the style of Torsten Brinkman, It transforms a human subject into a abstract object by covering the face. I like the haphazard way the elements of the photo come together, a lot like a collage. the finished image has quite an oppressive quality due to the widespread use of black and white. I think the garden shears and rock give it a violent edge alongside the metal clips holding the fabric around the model.