Reworking Assignment 2

I was advised to rework the assignment - trying out a larger range of compositions
- thinking about the effect of the relative size of the image within the background
- trying out different ways of drawing water

What was I thinking the drawing should be about?
'what I kept coming back to was the lovely photo of a duck with her ducklings on a , and the difference between what a duck looks like and the strange distortion that I see in my mind's eye.'

How could changing the composition make this contrast clearer?

Assignment Two

For this assignment I want to carry on exploring the possibilities of using the mallard skeleton. What is interesting to me is:
- the contrast between the idea of a duck that I have in my head vs. the actual complexity of a real duck.
- explore further how to use a darker background and lighter tones to bring out the structure of the object (and this difficulty I seem to have getting the whole range of tones into my drawings)
- I don't want it to be completely naturalistic - perhaps exploring the funny side of skeletons doing things?

But what I kept coming back to was the lovely photo of a duck with her ducklings on a , and the difference between what a duck looks like and the strange distortion that I see in my mind's eye.

I had a go at drawing one of the more extreme versions of 'mental duck':

Rubber duckie in a more accurate range of colours

Rubber ducky in Sharpie
Clearly far too naive, glossy, and
yellow to be an actual duckling.

Photograph by Charles J Sharp (see earlier in blog for website link)

It has great composition - are those ducklings on the golden section? - and the warm feelings you get when you see a mother and children. The water looks as though I could manage something like it in a drawing.



I tried it out using crayon, which was too scrappy and low intensity.

Using watercolour was more effective. This was a bit too deep and green, so would need more white and less yellow.

The marks I did initially underneath the watercolour to show the movement of the water did not work as wel as the ones I did afterwards (with crayon). My attempts to scratch the surface were not so effective in this case.

So, by this time I was wondering if I could use ducklings and skeleton together in this composition to illuminate my point about mental images and reality?

Sketch of my idea for final piece
Various titles came to mind, but as the point is about the differences,
my preferred title is Generation Gap

Planning:
I have decided on cream paper that can take watercolour and have a bit of texture but not too much. My intention at first was to use narrow masking tape round the outside to make it look like those Audobon type paintings, but on reflection that plan was in fact for one option of the previous exercise, and would not add to the meaning or appearance of this one.

I have already worked out which media I will to use - colour pencils for the skeleton; felt tip pens for the ducklings; watercolours and pencils for the water background.

The blue flash on the mallard would not be necessary as the water will be showing through between the bones.

My intention is that the yellow and red ducklings on the blue background are quite intense and attractive colour combination, and the skeleton bones and delicate tone detail only dawn on you later.

I haven't done anything with watercolour background like this before, but I'm hoping it will work OK.

First stage
It was helpful to have the phrase 'Spend time gradually building the drawing' to calm
my nerves at this point. I tried to emphasise the boniness of this, and the amount of empty
space, with the marks I used. I really like the way that, because it comes from a standing rather
than swimming duck, it seems to be craning forward a little in a slightly anxious way,
which will go well with the role of it as mother of rather too many little ones.
At this point I realised that where it touched the water would be different from in the photograph
I was adapting for this drawing. The colours and material I picked were intended to
give a feeling of age and dryness. You can just see where I lightly sketched in the ducklings
to make sure they would be in the right places.

Second Stage (sorry about the wire across the photo)
Drawing in the rubber ducklings. I tried to put the shadows where I thought they would be.
Doing this it seemed wrong to give them black felt pen eyes (they would stand out too much), so I went for brown instead. I tried to make some of them look in other directions so they would look more characterful. In retrospect I think having them all looking exactly the same might have been better. Anyway, After this I put in some of the reflection marks and looked at it as a whole in terms of composition. I found that I had put the ducklings too high up after all, so I would need to remove some of the bottom of the paper to compensate, and perhaps some from the sides too. 

Stage 3
It took me some practice to be able to make the right marks with the watercolour and brush (cobalt blue). This is ok but I'm sure it could be a lot better. And I made the heads of some of the ducklings green and/or different shapes where they overlapped. Anyway, it does give the impression of wavelets and the water going off into the distance, as I wanted. The shadows were a bit more difficult and I think not so effective, especially under the mother duck, and in the top righthand corner. I think, having looked at this photo, I will do a bit more work on them before sending my assignment to my tutor.

Assignment 2
Generation Gap
Coloured pencil, felt pen and watercolour

Reflection:
1. Development of technical and visual skills
Well, I don't think there can be any doubt that my skills in these areas have improved, but they're still in the adequate or limited boxes. Lots of work to be done, but I feel that I have made a good start on this.
I've just been reading lots of emails from other Drawing 1 students and there seems to be a groundswell of feeling that this assignment is a long and difficult one for many. I certainly found it a challenge at the beginning, but in retrospect I can see how much I have learned, and have perhaps an idea of some of the areas I could explore to learn more.
2. Quality of outcome

I think the quality of outcome varies a lot for me - partly due to ignorance of the effect of particular techniques before I do them, and partly because I'm still learning what is needed in preparation for a drawing (as opposed to a piece of textile work). I think I have presented the work for this part two quite coherently despite doing the exercises the wrong way round, and understand conceptual/ visual ideas ok.
3. Demonstration of Creativity
Well, I haven't always been so creative during this part of the course as I would normally expect myself to be. I find it much easier to be free and experiment visually when I am working out how to make a particular thing eg in my preparations for the assignment piece, for example, rather than in the exercise trying out different materials for its own sake (although of course that has been useful). As for a personal voice it seems a bit soon, considering how much I still have to learn and try out.
4.  Context
I guess I think I have done some research, some of which has informed what I have done myself. eg I found the research about animal drawings enlightening - that they are not always realistic (or even real animals), and often used metaphorically. Which freed me up to make a lighthearted but serious point with my duck skeleton.

Submitting Assignment One again

Assignment One drawing

Additional Reflection (to be read with original reflection on assignment one dated 11th December):

This drawing is very different to the one I did the first time I drew these objects, in December. Working on them in the way I now have has led me to think much more about composition, but it has also allowed me an opportunity to put more of myself into the drawing - by using collage, colour and emphasising the parts that are most interesting to me. In this case the hairy scary troll foot and the yellow simplicity of the chair.

What I could do better if I spent more time on it - taking the crinkles out of the paper - they reflect the light and cast shadows that interfere with the image. It's a bit of a shame to take the colour and reflections out of the copper spiky candle holder, but I thought that would detract from the 'story' element of the drawing. I might use the candle holder in another picture, and if I were doing this one again I would take it off the chair and perhaps have something with a simpler shape instead.

Assignment One and Reflection

Assignment One: A Personal Still Life
Pencil on cartridge paper 

Why I picked the objects I picked:
Objects that interest me, and say something about me...

• My favourite cap - practical, and warm and comfortable for wearing in the garden, or in town. 
• An upholstery tool that I used only yesterday, which was made and used by my grandmother, who was born in the 19th century when they had to make their own tools.
• A beautiful copper candlestick in the shape of a lotus flower, designed and made by one of my daughters at school.
• One of a pair of ridiculous (and rather battered) troll foot slippers which my husband used to wear to tell our children 'scary' stories.

How this assignment went:

I have to say that I did not, at the beginning of this project, believe that I would be able to draw something like this already. 

The troll 'toenails' went much better than I expected, using the spots and lines shading together to make the shape of them. I was expecting the cap to be the easiest part, but in fact it is the object which worked least well of them all. I think this is at least in part because it is dark brown so it was difficult to get the contrast between that and the shadows correct. I don't think I managed that. 

The copper spikes look much more of a contrast with the background fur in real life, because of the copper colour, but I think that I managed to get the soft reflectiveness of them rather well (for a beginner anyway). I'm thinking now that perhaps I could have got a sharper line for them if I had used a harder pencil. 

While I was drawing the hairiness of the ankle of the slipper, I was kicking myself for choosing it, but in the end tried shading the negative spaces and that worked reasonably well to show the shagginess. 

Overall, I can see that the range of tones is limited by my decision to use only one pencil for the whole thing. I found it much more interesting and engaging doing this drawing than it was the previous one of a bauble on a plate, and I hope that the affectionate and amused feelings I have when I look at these things will have come across in the drawing.

Reflection on my progress: 

Demonstration of technical and visual skills: I have to say that I don't feel very skilled at drawing, but I have already experienced a great improvement in what I draw in the few exercises I have done so far, and keep finding that there are things there that I didn't see before, suggesting this improvement reflects something real. Examples are in my sketchbook work after exercise 1, where I drew a still life, and the longer I worked on it the more I saw (and the better the drawing got). I can also see a lot more expressiveness in my sketchbook, since I stopped trying to get all the details right and went for how it feels. I am going to have to get into the habit of this, as its a new way of doing things for me, but I think the life drawing is a good way to see that this change is coming. 

Quality of outcome: Not sure I can really judge this, other than that I am pleased at how most of my drawings have turned out during this project. In fact, I'm worried that you'll think I always draw as well as this and will think I'm going backwards in future projects! The ones that went not so well were often the ones I was less interested in, like the shading four tones exercises, and drawing the tones on a dinner plate.

Demonstration of creativity: I suspect that my choice of objects for the assignment still life would be called creative, and a little risky, as was my trying out drawing with charcoal on fabric. I think it's a bit early for me to have a personal voice in my drawing. However, it is already being used in my own personal creative process as I have been using what I have learned from the exercises to progress my own interest in my sketchbook. An example of this would be my series of drawings of bean pods exploring further the effective differences between using outlines vs. shadows vs. incomplete shapes, after I had found this out in exercise 2 and talked to my tutor.

Context: I did some research about Schiele as well as the assigned research, because my personal interest had been piqued, and I think that it helped me towards being a bit freer with my drawing. I guess I am generally quite articulate (she says inarticulately), and aware of what I'm doing, thinking and feeling, and I think this comes across in my learning log.

Assignment 5 Tutor feedback

Tutor report

Overall Comments

Christina this is a well-executed assignment following a strong structure of drawing, research and sample making.  You have used these three elements to successfully explore your ideas and ambitions for this final part of the course.  It was interesting to read your feelings on receiving feedback, these emotions are all too common and I know them well.  Feedback is a balancing act of showing you what you have done well and guiding you to further improve your work.  I think what we make comes from a very personal place that finds criticism hard therefore creative people like you (and me) who put their work out in the world have to be brave.  

Feedback on assignment 

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity 

For this final assignment you developed ideas from the previous work that stood out for you in this course.  This is an important way of working and I encourage you to continue to reflect on earlier outcomes and ideas to move your creativity forward.   It was an interesting review of your work so far showing you to be honest with a deep understanding of what you are interested in and what stimulates your creative ideas.  This thoughtfulness and freedom to think broadmindedly has led to some interesting outcomes.  I believe it is good that you have found the course material restrictive.  This suggests you have a strong idea of how your own design process works which if you follow will come up with the best outcomes for you.  The course material become more of a guide as you move through the levels and even at this level it is not necessary to follow it exactly.

Through research and drawing you created some interesting samples to work through your design idea on revealing light through a hole or slit.  This idea of the ‘slit’ is strong both visually and as a concept.  You used drawing and sample making to explore its value and to understand how to take it into a final piece.  The samples you have sent are constructed with skill yet remain experimental.  You have communicated through them what this ‘slit’ might be.  The samples have been made in a range of fabrics in vibrant colours.  I particularly like the sample where you have used fabric and stitch to create the space of the ‘slit’.  The colours are feminine and sumptuous with the potential to frame a view or scene in the gap they have made.  It would have been interesting to see what you could have come up with if you had made a whole series of these samples, constructed from fabrics and other materials like plastics and metals.  It would also be interesting to explore how the size and shape of the ‘slit’ affects the impact of the sample.  Would a narrow gap give a different feel to a wide one?  Does the gap need to be vertical, if so why?

I find your final piece rather eerie and provokes an emotional response in me.  This is partly because you have displayed it on a mannequin’s hand but I think it is also something to do with the textures and colours you have chosen.  The ribs on the surface of the fabric remind me of the raised veins on the backs of hands.  Your cutting through is as you intended very like the surgical cuts seen in your research.  These reveal the bright delicate structures below.  The piece has been well constructed and looks like it would function well as a glove if that is your intention.  

Sketchbooks 

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity 

For this assignment you have continued to use drawing to generate ideas and work out design problems.  This includes using collage and mixed media to explore texture and colour.  You have used your drawing effectively often by repeatedly drawing the same idea until you come up with something that seemed right to you.  This is an excellent way of working out ideas and planning any sampling you intent to do.   

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays 

Context 

Your assignment contains an interesting and broad range of research.  You used contemporary fashion imagery and your own photography of surfaces and textures to stimulate ideas for this assignment.  Some of the research, particularly the images you collected on Pinterest are very vibrant and exciting.  To make the research more useful I suggest you write about what it is that appeals to about the work and how you can use this in your own work.

Throughout this assignment you continue to reflect effectively and show yourself to be self-critical.  You write articulately about the thoughts and feelings that relate to your creativity.  Your learning log contains technical information, exploring decisions you needed to make and reflecting on previous feedback.  I am particularly impressed that you are able to embrace the idea that concepts and artistic ideas are of value when producing a piece of work.  This is evident in your notes on what using a glove might mean in this assignment. 

Pointers for assessment

• Refer to the assessment guidelines on the oca website, Research ▷ By Course Area ▷ Textiles ▷ scroll down to page 2 ▷ Assessment Guidelines: Textiles
• Aim to organize your work so that it tells the story of how you went about achieving the outcomes.  You did this by conducting research, doing drawing and making samples.  You may wish to display this on a board.  For example, for this assignment an A2 board with some of the most relevant imagery from your research along with a number of your drawings and samples would explain to the assessor how you went about developing the glove piece.

Well done Christina and congratulations on completing Exploring Ideas. 

Tutor name	Rebecca Fairley
Date	10th December 2014
Next assignment due	Course complete

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Reflection on Assignment 5

Can you see a clear line of progression from source material through to finished piece? Was there enough information in your source material to stimulate your imagination and sustain your enthusiam?

There is a clear line of progression from my source material of light in the darkness and my drawing of a slit in cork bark through to the finished piece. I did bring in some of my sketchbook work on roots and bark half-way through developing the finished piece, and while I was constructing the piece this aspect came more to the fore. This was not because there was no further interest in the source material, but more that the sources had less to say about what was surrounding the slits than what was within them.

I have some ideas about developing the light in the darkness idea further, for example a series of experiments with mixed yarns, and using light emitting wires, which shows that there was plenty of potential in the source material for me.

Do you feel you made the right choices and decisions when selecting at each stage of the project? If not, what would you change and how would it alter the outcome?

The main forks in the path were
1, Decision to go with the purple/yellow colour scheme, rather than the alternative. I think this was a good choice as it allowed me to pursue my interest in the dark light idea, and in fact I think it works well in my final piece
2. Using repeating pattern rather than single slit. This decision became more obviously the correct one once I had decided to make a glove, as it allowed an interesting rhythm to the outer layer, and variations in what 'shines through' the slits. My sketchbook drawings showed me that the size of the glove required smaller and repeating shapes to be in proportion with the size of the fingers. This led to my using the source images, and incidentally the roots images, on a smaller scale than I had initially anticipated. I think this worked well.
3. Choosing a fabric which was already in parallel folds. This supported the development of the roots/bark symbolism in the final piece, but also resulted in the fingers and thumb of the glove being less smooth-edged and elegant than I had initially intended. In context this is perhaps even an advantage, and it is not obvious to me how it could have been avoided, other than by not lining the fingers, with the consequential effect on the colours.
4. Choosing to make a glove rather than a mask or lampshade. I think that a glove does have the reference to identity of the person inside that I was aiming for, without the weight of contradictory symbolism that a mask might bring. The idea is not hiddenness but something interesting showing through. A lampshade might have been a good choice too, but I had some reservations about being restricted to non-flammable materials and other practical considerations. This would not necessarily stop me from making something of this sort in the future, but for this project it would not have been possible to address the identity issues that I thought were more important.

Which stage did you find the most exciting? Which stage was most arduous and difficult to get through?

For me the most exciting time is when I have decided what I am going to make. I love the adrenaline it gives me that means that everything else in my life has to go to the bottom of the to do list for a while. What my husband calls my 'sewing frenzy'. I have to slow myself down a bit at that point to stop myself from just diving in and making something from what I had in the house. Rather than being more thoughtful about using the best materials I can find for the purpose.

I found that the fixed structure of the stages in this last project was a little frustrating at times as my own natural way of working uses experimenting with textiles and then returning to the sketchbook in a more iterative way. I mean that I do some sketches, then go to textiles and other materials, then return to sketches, then feel the physicality of the materials again, several times, rather than the one or two cycles described in the stages. I was sometimes uncomfortable torn trying to stick to the 'rules', (and not always successful).

For me the most difficult period was after the feedback from my tutor about the last assignment. I found it difficult to disentangle my own motivation and creative direction from what I thought she would want me to be doing. And the result was that I did very little during the weeks afterwards. I am aware that this is because I only 'see' the things I could do better. I think that every time this happens I learn a bit better how to 'see' the positive bits of the feedback too.

Do you like your finished textile? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

I am pleased with the finished piece.

Initially the colour contrast and textures give it the light through the darkness feel I was looking for. The texture of the outer layer is pleasant, reflects the rhythm and organic regularity that appeals to me, but, perhaps because of the deep colour, it does not overwhelm the overall glove shape as I had feared it might.

It may be that the bark/roots aspect of this will lead some people looking at it to think of it as the 'arm' of a tree, rather than see the intended meaning. Making it life size was intended to refer to its representing a real person, but I could perhaps have tried out the effect of larger or smaller gloves. I'm not sure.

I am pleased with the texture and pattern of the underlying yellow parts. I think that if I made this again I would try to make the slits a little larger to allow more of the interesting complexity/regularity of this netting to show through to the surface.

Generally, I like the ideas/ symbolism that come with gloves, and I may well make more in future.

Experience of this course in general, referring to my initial hopes and expectations:

My initial hopes and expectations were as follows: 'When I was looking for a course I wanted one which would allow me to learn by experimenting...I have some themes at the back of a lot of things I make - femaleness, beauty and disgust, hidden secrets and transparency - I want to learn how to express these things in what I make'.

I have certainly done a lot of experimenting. Some of my experiments have been apparently dead ends but have turned out to influence what I do later (eg the roots). I like the way I have learned that this is more than tolerable, it's actually the process. This has been very freeing for me, as can be seen in my regular sketchbook practice during the research section of this course.  My experiments have led me to adapt techniques for my own purposes eg the knotted nets used in friendship bracelets, making visual illusions by printing computer images onto organza, and using PVA to mould coloured tissue paper, among many others.

Exploring ideas has brought me to expand my themes to include light and dark effects, and some gender issues, but also to find something of the common theme of all of these, which is about the way we can hide our own infinitely interesting light under a rather less flexible shell of our own making. I am certainly getting better at expressing this in objects, but of course there is still a way to go before my intention is clear to other people!

Assignment 4 Tutor Feedback

Tutor report

Overall Comments

Christina this is a well planned and executed assignment.  The results show you to be willing to explore widely and question what you find.   

Assessment potential 

 (after assignments 2 and 4)

I understand your aim is to go for the Textiles Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, and providing you commit yourself to the course, I suggest that you are likely to be successful in the assessment.

Feedback on assignment 

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity 

Project 1

Research of the ten artists/designers

Overall you have succeeded in researching the ten required artists.  There are a good number of images from a variety of websites and some publications.  Sadly I found some of your handwriting difficult to read so could not assess all the content.  I have a number of suggestions that would improve this work.  Firstly and importantly I will start with your use of Wikipedia.  It is an important social encyclopedia but is academically unreliable so must never be referenced when searching for evidence based work.  You are welcome to use it as a starting place following the references included on the site but I would keep this to yourself.

My suggestions to improve your research;

• The book you have used is rather small, hence the imagery you have used is also small and leaves you little room for annotation and written discussion.
• The list of references you have made (bibliography) is very useful but you should also attach a reference to each image and piece of writing added to your research.  This ensures you can retrace your steps to where you found the information and recognises the author/website/artist etc.
• You have made some very poignant and intriguing notes, which I feel, could have been expanded.  Your own responses and links made between artists and pieces of work are what make research personal new and exciting.  I have a feeling you have some interesting and valuable ideas that would benefit from being put down on paper.  For example you allude to Vivienne Westwood when looking at Zandra Rhodes.  I would have included Westwood and maybe explored why Westwood wasn’t there when possibly she has been more influential.  
• The work would have benefitted from a brief introduction to each artist.  This could include the era they live/lived in, their cultural background, political influences.  And for me I always want to know if a female artist was married and had children, and what sort of support she had/has.    

Critical Essay

On the whole your essay reads well with a strong direction and conviction.  You have included a varied and appropriate amount of referenced research, which is woven into the writing smoothly.  Some parts are well written with a balance of your own opinion and analysis.  Well done.  I do have some suggestions that I feel could improve this piece of writing. 

• The referencing system you have used though perfectly functional is not the Harvard Referencing System, which is the oca’s preferred system.  Universities can be very fussy about these matters so I would suggest you use it.  Here is a link to the oca Harvard Referencing booklet http://www.oca-student.com/content/harvard-referencing-system-1
• Again, never use Wikipedia.  
• I would suggest you write a stronger introduction.  Start by outlining who Judy Chicago is and her background.  Then introduce the areas you are going to cover in this piece of writing.  In this case Chicago’s artistic values, her aesthetic, context, (political and artistic) collaborations, biography (I would discuss these separately) and legacy.  Then finally in the introduction briefly explain to the reader what your conclusions are going to be.  It is good practice to be really explicit about what you are going to cover in a piece of writing. 
• I wouldn’t put the imagery behind the text, this can make it uncomfortable to read and you don’t want the assessor to find it difficult.  
• The section on artist collaborations and biography jumps about but I think if you split the two topics you would be able to write about them more clearly.
• You don’t need the sentence toward the end “which begs the question ………” This is a whole other essay if not a thesis!
• The conclusion could be fuller, by this I mean you can revisit the topics you have written about, adding any links you have made and your own opinion. 
• Finally and more of a sides issue I would question is why Chicago used all female teams to do the embroidery?  To my mind this compounds the idea that this is woman’s work.

To conclude on the essay my impression is that you chose an interesting artist that I judge as relevant to you and your own work.  This is a great place to start but you have also been open minded about the information you found, balancing the criticisms and accolades.

Analysing two pieces of work

Birth Tear by Judy Chicago and Abakan Red by Magdalena Abakanowicz

Both these pieces of analysis are well researched and constructed.  You have made a good attempt at answering the course material questions and have expanded the information where necessary.  There are a number of things I would suggest you could have included in your analysis.  In Birth Tear is Chicago not attempting to share or describe the feeling of childbirth.  The representation of the tear displays it how it feels; it feels like you are being ripped in half, though thankfully this doesn’t happen.  You have described the rhythms expressed in the woman’s hair well.  I would suggest you could go on to say that childbirth is an all-consuming event that feels as if every hair and cell is involved in the process.  I would therefore suggest that the function of this piece of artwork is to express the feeling of childbirth.  I would also question if this woman were having a good or bad experience.  Can all that pain and hardship be positive?

When exploring Abakanowicz’s work Abakan Red I wonder what sort of impact living in Nazi occupied Poland made on Abakanowicz’s work.  Her father was a sculptor but she would have been cut off from the vibrant art that was happening in America.  It could be suggested that her use of salvaged materials came from an understanding of the value of materials that she grew up with during a time of shortage.  As a female artist there is something very poignant in the idea of her rolling up her work to store under the bed.  This combination of the domestic and artistic cannot fail to influence the way women create.  

The only other thing I would suggest is that you work in A4 ensuring that you don’t need to fold the images and that the reader can refer to the writing and the images at the same time.

Project 2

Research of six of your chosen artists/designers.

Apart from William Morris you have chosen an interesting group of artists to research.  I can see why these artists are attractive for you and could possibly influence your work.  My suggestions for improvement are as above.

Analysis of three chosen artworks

These three pieces of writing are overall well written and researched.  Interestingly the Woven wall hanging by Ismini Samanidou that you have seen in person is your strongest and most in depth piece of writing.  As I said before these pieces of work would benefit being seen in an A4 format.

Sketchbooks 

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity 

You have submitted a fine little sketchbook with a number of pencil drawings, reference material and some interesting research.  Well done for keeping up with your drawing during this assignment.  There is evidence that the research you have done for the written work has begun to influence your ideas about design and creativity.  This is excellent.

Learning Logs or Blogs 

Context 

Christina your blog (learning log) shows you to be self aware and analytical.  You are adding material to it regularly; it includes imagery and written work.   There is a good quantity of research with reflection and your own understandings.  

Well done Christina, I look forward to assignment 5.

Tutor name	Rebecca Fairley
Date	20th August 2014
Next assignment due	27th October 2014

Assignment Three Tutor Feedback

	Open College of the Arts
	Tutor report

Student name	Christina Rogers	Student number	510830
Course/Module	Textiles 1: Exploring Ideas	Assignment number	Three

Overall Comments

Christina this assignment has been a pleasure to explore, you have presented the work with care and thought.  The sample pieces are experimental and reflect your exploration of the materials and your visual research.  You have included some nice sketching along with collage and photography to investigate your subject matter. The online log is interesting and easy to navigate.

Feedback on assignment 

You appear to have followed the course material in a thoughtful and active manner.  Using it to encourage your ideas and develop new skills.  Through recording your thoughts and ideas online and in your small sketchbook you have developed, sifted and sorted ideas.  This has led to some experimental and in some cases rather beautiful samples.  There is thought to placement, colour and texture.  Yet you are comfortable with risk taking and the possibility of failure.  I do like your note in the small sketchbook which says “You don’t have to do what other people think looks good!” This attitude releases you from self-consciousness and allows you freedom to explore all possibilities.

I would suggest you continue to use photography as your main source of primary research, possibly building up a library of images you can access and work from.  I really like how you projected the tunnel image on to your own belly but this piece would have been much stronger if the photograph had been your own.  Keep looking for new angles and ways of capturing what you see.

Sketchbooks 

The drawings you have sent me consist of both pencil work and collage.  Your visual skills are very competent, working both creatively and imaginatively. There is evidence that you use drawing to explore ideas developed from visual research and your own primary research.  

I would suggest you continue to draw regularly, using your research to inspire new ways of looking and recording what you see.  Don’t forget to use other mediums including stitch and paper folding to trigger ideas.

Learning Logs or Blogs 

Your Blog is well laid out with a balance of your work and research along with annotation and reflection.  The written work where you are exploring how the assignment is going is very informative and will assist you in working through your ideas.  Well done for being brave and including images of yourself.  This and your honest annotation indicate to me that you as a person are at the heart of your creativity.  Therefore you will create work that is personal, dynamic and interesting.   

I suggest you continue to discuss your work in an open manner, exploring both feelings and ideas.  I would suggest you elaborate more on your thoughts of the work designed by other people.  Try and pin point what it is that interests you.  This can be a positive or negative feeling.  It can be about shape, texture, scale, colour, placement, environment, light, etc.  Your thoughts may be about vibrancy, drabness, discomfort, shock, warmth, calmness, etc. This will encourage you to develop a language in which to discuss the visual world and therefore inform your work.

Pointers for the next assignment

• Continue to work with care and imagination when creating samples.
• Maintain an interest in other designers and makers.
• Build on your skills in drawing and sketching.
• Use photography to capture what you see and inspire your work.
• Develop your language when discussing yours and other peoples work in you Blog.

Well done Christina, I look forward to your next assignment.

Tutor name:	Rebecca Fairley
Date	5th June 2014
Next assignment due	4th August

Assignment Three: Reflection

Do you feel that your finished samples fulfilled your expectations and fully explored the topic of reveal and conceal, light and transparency?

My hope and expectation was that doing this assignment and making these samples would open my eyes to the effect of light and shadow in the world, and allow me to explore ways of expressing this and creating it myself through textile work.

The immediate effect was that I started looking and seeing these effects in the everyday, in a way that I had not seen them before. (See blog entries showing the range of photos taken early on in this module). I tried to write a list to encapsulate all the ways that light and shadow, reveal and conceal, can be used in art, but it was quickly obvious that this is too broad a subject to summarise easily.

My research into textile artists who predominantly use this aspect of materials in their work was a great pleasure for me. I wanted to use the experimental workshops to try out new techniques as much as possible, rather than sticking to ways of making things that I am already familiar with. The result was sometimes surprisingly uninteresting (eg knitting with different sized needles in Workshop 2) but mostly interesting and inspiring - giving me lots of new ideas to follow up. So many in fact that I can confidently say that no, I have not fully explored this topic. In fact, there is a life-time's intrigue ideas and challenge right here.

Workshop 3: Stitched nets, grids and structures: This worked well and produced a light lacy sample with a delicate feel to it. Workshop 4: Woven structures allowed me to explore the use of holes, and the effects of using translucent yarns and reflective materials in contrast to matt or light-dense ones. Workshop 6 illuminated the challenges and pleasures of layering fabrics and yarns to explore shadow and colour effects. Bonding techniques led me to a further exploration of the relative light-blocking qualities of various materials, with sometimes surprising results. Workshop 7 Deconstructing and disintegration: I started trying out thread-pulling and heat-distressing, with some interesting outcomes. I immediately had lots of ideas to develop this further. Workshop 8: Working with inkjet printers: I only just hit the tip of this particular iceberg - there is so much potential for using this fantastic technique.

Reviewing these materials and processes made me look again at what I had done, and combine techniques to produce new effects. I felt particularly inspired by the effects from sewing onto soluble fabric, and using bonding fabric. I combined these to explore shadows and coloured layers further.

My work on these, and on the multiple uses of these ideas in fashion this season, produced conceptual ideas of masks and concealment which led to my making a woven/ shadow mask sampler.

Issues that I would like to have had time to explore further include:
More thread-pulling samples using different fabrics, and to include adding threads of different qualities by weaving them into the fabric.
How shadows change with the qualities of the light making them, and the texture and shape of what they fall on;
How colours are changed by light going through them;
Changes of pattern, or of texture, with changed direction, or intensity, or colour of light;
The size and relationships of holes as the important quality of textiles (the negative spaces);
Conceptual aspects of masking/ revealing in human beings; skin as exposure and as mask.

Since these are not things that I was consciously thinking about before, I would say that yes, making these samples has more than fulfilled my expectations of this part of the course.

How important was the choice of material in terms of determining the qualities that you achieved and how much did your choice of technique contribute to the overall results.

If someone had asked me this at the beginning of this assignment I would have expected that materials would make by far the greatest contribution. That was why I made a page comparing the translucency of a variety of materials.

This is true for some if the techniques - for example, the effect of bonding fabrics of different colours together depends very much on the qualities and colours of the fabric. And the effect of deformation of material by heat is different for each material. 

Having tried out some of the techniques, though, I can now see that different materials can produce different and sonetimes unexpected effects depending of which technique you use, and how you use the more translucent holes within and between materials. For example, results from soluble fabric techniques and from weaving loosely in the way described here, do not rely on the materials sewn to it so much as the holes left after it is finished. 

Assignment 2 tutor report

	Open College of the Arts
	Tutor report

Student name	Christina Rogers	Student number	510830
Course/Module	Textiles 1: Exploring Ideas	Assignment number	Two

Overall Comments

Well done Christina, you have submitted an interesting and well thought through project.  The work is well laid out in the A4 Sketchbook with supporting work in the smaller ‘Man Made’ sketchbook and ‘my textured world’ blog.  The print work is experimental and full of colour, with evidence that you are willing to test and work through new possibilities.  

Assessment potential

I understand your aim is to go for the Textiles Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, and providing you commit yourself to the course, I suggest that you are likely to be successful in the assessment.

Feedback on assignment

There is evidence that you have explored with some thoroughness screen-printing.   You have made a good start to a new technique, producing work that appears to be looser than assignment 1 work with some dynamic results. The designs have been carried out on a range of fabrics with some interesting results.  There is good use of colour, a variety of shapes and evidence that you have used your sketches to create and think through the design process. 

The scaffold motif is very simple but you have used it well, exploring a wide number of colours and layouts – playing with shape and line.  You have added texture with stitch and weave, thinking about scale and placement.  The work is usefully annotated with reflective ideas and technical information.

Continue to follow the course material with diligence.  When executing the work remain thoughtful about placement and the scale of the design elements.  Be experimental, remembering not all sample pieces can be successful but in trying several ways of forming a design there is the possibility that exciting and energetic results can occur.

Sketchbooks

The drawing for this project consists of mark making and working from life and photography.  You have used a number of different mediums, occasionally on coloured papers.  There is evidence that you have taken your sketches through to the print processes and continued to develop them there.  This assignment shows you to use drawing to generate design ideas, explore a subject matter and to work out design ideas.  

I would suggest you keep pushing your drawing forward, developing and perfecting your skills in using the mediums and capturing what you see.  Look at the way others draw.  There are a number of oca films where students drawing work is shared.  There is one in last week’s oca e-bulletin of a painting student, Jereme Crow.  Look at how many times he paints the lemon until he finds the best way of expressing it. Try Googling sketchbook images and see what you come up with.  

Learning Logs or Blogs 

Your online learning log is straightforward to navigate and is updated regularly.  The blog contains information about the research you have conducted on Constructivism along side your responses to this art movement.  I can see how Constructivism has influenced your own creativity.  You could have possibly written about how this came about for you.  There is also imagery from your sketchbook and the print work you have carried out for this assignment.  Your photos could do with being clearer but I do like the way you have used the grid of images to collate and explore the work to take it forward.  

There is some very personal and relevant self-reflection about the creative process, which shows you to be articulate and self-aware.  There is analysis of the print work and how you have used drawing to solve design problems.  It is nice to see you are looking out for and capturing those serendipitous moments (blue filler and tracing paper).  There is thorough colour work in finding pleasing colour combinations from magazine snipping’s then capturing them in paint ready to use in the print work.  

Continue to write at length your experiences of working through the course material, reflecting on how things are going for you, detailing any design ideas that may occur and the ways your visual research influences your design work.

Suggested viewing/reading

Books you may find useful to enhance your drawing skills.

• Draw to Stitch: line, drawing and mark-making in textile art.  Gwen Hedley 2010. Batsford. London 
• Henry Moore textiles.  Anita Feldmen. 2008. Lund Humphries. Aldershot.
• The encyclopedia of drawing techniques.  Hazel Harrison.  2004.  Search. Tunbridge Wells.

Books you may find useful for the next assignment.

• Folding techniques for designers. From sheet to form.  Paul Jackson. 2011. Laurence King Publishing. London.
• Supersurfaces. Folding as a method of generating forms for architecture, products and fashion.  Sophia Vyzoviti. 2010. BIS Publishing. Amsterdam. 
• Folding Architecture. Spatial, structural and organizational Diagrams. 2010. BIS Publishing. Amsterdam. 

Look at magazines such as Embroidery, Selvedge and Crafts to research methods and design ideas.

Pointers for the next assignment

• Continue to advance your skills in drawing.
• Maintain in supporting your design ideas from a wide range of visual research.
• Continue to develop your reflective and analytical skills
• Retain your good working practices

I look forward to your next assignment.

Tutor name:	Rebecca Fairley
Date	24th March 2014
Next assignment due	26th May 2014