Mixing it up.

This week I have thought long and hard about what I want to make after taking considerations into order, such as time, materials and my concept.

I have decided to stray away my shoulder/brooch piece.

I want the main part of my design to highlight my circular layered piece that shows the point of field perception I have developed from the start, I've decided to go along with making a collectors item, something that you could display, collect and exhibit. 

I want people to look at this object and feel the same emotions you have when looking at a scenic view, or a nostalgic thought for a place or time in their life.

Here's my bay, I've arranged it and narrowed it down to samples I find interesting and that can relate to eachother, although I will be sticking to the circular shaped piece as the main feature I'm still working on what materials I'm wanting to use for the handle, I've researched into magnify glasses and vintage glasses with handles and believe I could do something quite unique with this object.

Here are a couple of the maquettes I've made this week using card and polypropylene.

Designing process.

This week we're finally thinking about our final pieces for our brief.

I experienced trying to write a learner agreement, which is quite difficult when writing isn't your strong point!

Well besides writing this week has been nice to have a clear out of my bay and look at the work and find samples with potential to develop.

On Friday we were set a task to create 10 different looks for our final piece.

I've decided to make a elaborate/exhibition jewellery piece.

I was really inspired by work from Catherine Wales, 

I love how her pieces are molded around the human form into something elaborate and interesting.

http://showtime.arts.ac.uk/CathWales

I found it really helpful to draw ideas out before making them and here is what I came up with.

Update.

I've been thinking about the whole learner agreement part of this project this week.

I think this is the hardest part considering all the other weeks have been fun with experimenting with materials and finding out new techniques.

I have a lot of samples to choose from and this week we also had a group crit.

The rest of my group picked out samples they really liked and how I could make products from them and what I could do next.

I really love getting a second opinion or more on my work because when you look at it for too long you start to over think what other people would find interesting.

I'm still not 100% sure what I want to make but I'm thinking about a decoration object and then accessories

focusing more on jewellery and ceramics.

A lot of people liked the cylinder shape so I've been working with that, my tutor suggested I work with a sphere shaped moulds to try it out and experiment so that's my plan for Monday, I really like the idea of sticking with the rounded shape because it was successful in jewellery and I want my pieces to look like a collection in the end.

In my own time I'm trying to get back into painting, I'd love to take some photos of my own and paint them later on so they're more personal but at the moment I was just browsing the internet and came across this.

 I really love the style of Francoise Neilly and expressionist painting

I did this using acrylic paint with pallette knifes and black ink with brushes on a plain while canvas.

Young Enterprise.

This week in professional, in our groups we had to make some prototypes for our Young Enterprise project.

It's been very difficult this year staying on top of everything but I'm excited to hand-in Contextual early this year and have more time concentrating on my studio modules and professional.

I think the Young Enterprise opportunity will be great for my future and give me confidence selling my own work when I'm self employed.

We have a lot of work ahead of us but I think we're managing everything very well.

I've learnt a lot about buyer behavior and the process we go through when purchasing a product.

Here are just some of the prototype rings I made last week.

This week we have to make a buyer behavior profile of the kind of person that would buy our products.

We're wanting to settle in the hand-made/craft fair and new designers market

we also have to link some of our products to trends if we can.

What kind of trends do you like that are happening right now and which ones do you really hate? 

Here is the young enterprise website:

http://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/

Here is Jenni-Lou's website a member of my young enterprise group!

http://jennilouappliedarts.blogspot.co.uk/

Into The Swing of Things

This week has been much more relaxing than any other week and I think that's because the weeks of experimentation are winding down but I've been more organised in textiles because it's not my strongest subject so I had an idea of drawing a mini design for a sample down in my sketchbook ready for my workshop days, then going ahead and making it or just playing and improvising.

I've enjoyed working as a group in textiles on our mini brief and also looking at textiles in a new light. Last year I struggled thinking about what I could make in textiles because it was difficult to make it 3D and something different and contemporary.

I've been using polypropylene and wire as structural bases then think materials such as stretchy plastics, elastic, fishing wire and slightly transparent cotton materials.

Project update; point of field.

Hey guys so the last 2 weeks I've been in the Jewellery workshop whipping up some samples and breaking lots of saw blades.
I'm really excited what I've been making and I've been really enjoying my theme and using plastics.

I've also being making some ceramic decal tiles and playing around with plaster bats, painting colored slip on them then covering them in normal porcelain slip to create a colorful tile.

Finding Inspiration: Visits part ll

Some more images and places you can go for inspiration:

Mima: http://www.visitmima.com/ Unfortunatley I didn't take any photo's at Mima but one of the rooms was actually under construction at the time anyway.

The Dorman Museum: http://www.dormanmuseum.co.uk/WWW2/index.html

which was very useful for anyone who needs history research and is just a all around great family museum.

Huge collection of Linthorpe pottery and amazing Christopher Dresser designs

and a random photo of tribal layout I found quite interesting:

 

I also visited The Winter Gardens in Sunderland: http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/sunderland.html

which  displays somewhere inbetween History, ceramics/glass and of course The Winter Gardens them selves.

Finding Inspiration: Visits part l

Hey guys so I've been collecting lots of inspiration this past week.

I went to The Biscuits Factory on Friday night and took a few photo's below for inspiration.

I only took images of objects that inspired me during my current project but there's some fantastic paintings there and beautiful larger sculptures.

http://www.thebiscuitfactory.com/