Context Sheet
Below is my context sheet for my project, I have chosen a selection of images that show my journey through the project, including my inspiration, sampling, digital work and final outcomes. I enjoyed putting this sheet together, as it allowed me to realise and reflect on how I got to the final design.
Strong Image
Final Visualisation
After struggling to get the desired effect with my visualisations, I had another attempt focusing more on creating a sculptural wall piece. In a digital session, Mary helped me to create a pattern using my folded paper designs which were then placed in situ in the new build, using an artists impressions photo. I prefer this visualisation as it shows what I want to achieve as well as looking more professional than my previous attempts. I decided to place it in the reception area as it relates back to the use of maps in my projects of arriving somewhere new and not knowing where to go, therefore needing a map to guide you. The build up of layers on the image too reminds me of maps when the relief is show of hills or mountains.
Displaying My Piece...
I've started to thinking about different ways in which to arrange my sculptural piece. I did a few quick sketches to illustrated how it could be displayed. I definitely like the idea of hanging, whether in space or against a wall. I also like the idea of bringing light into it somehow, maybe arranged a around a hanging light bulb (bottom left sketch) or having light behind it, such as a window or using artifical light that will shine through the piece and create a interesting effect and shadows.
Mia Pearlman
Having just changed my idea for my final proposal, I saw that Hannah had posted about the artist american
Mia Pearlman on the group blog and I really like her work. I feel that it is along the lines of how I envisage my final piece to look if it was to be made. Her paper
installations have a similar look to my work in that it is very sculptural
and plays with form and I like the draping look to it whilst still being a solid structure. I love how they go from wall to ceiling and onto
the floor, something that I will consider for my piece and think could look could in the new building where the walls are very high,a sculptural piece could help to close the space down and make it feel more intimate in areas.
More Visualisation Work...
Whilst working on my visualisations and playing around with different ways of arranging and photographing my folded paper designs I started to think that maybe my ideas were not that suited to a room divider but something more sculptural. They have become alot more 3D and form based, which are not what a room divider is about. I like how they lay on top of eachother and drape in different ways. I started to play around more with my ideas and the more I did the more I realised that a sculptural form was more suitable as my final outcome. Thinking about my idea practically, a wall divider made of paper may not have been the most suitable as its likely to have not withstood the wear and tear of being used constantly. Here are some of the photos that helped me to conclude that a a sculptural piece/ wall piece was what I wanted to do.
My Visualisations
I went to the new Business School here at MMU to photogrpah the interiors as this is similar in style to what the new art school will look like, and could work well as a background to my visualisations. I started to play around by putting my ideas into the space...
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| This was my first attempt at a visualisation using Photoshop. The background is one of the images I took inside the Business School and then had a pixelated effect added. It looks too much like I have just put my designs on top and looks too solid and structured. |
I then tried using a photo taken from the Living It groups visit inside the new build, as it gives the feeling of the new space. My paper designs all look too neat and perfect here which is not how i envisaged them to be at all.
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| This was my next attempt, although it looks a little bit less forced and it place it still looks too perfect to me. I feel like I need to play around with my ideas a little bit more and see what happens and if a better outcome can be achieved. |
My Work...
My Work...
Having printed the scanned images ( that were then manipulated in Photoshop) on A1 I wanted to do more with them to make them more interesting and attractive, so I screen printed onto them. Although I like the pattern and design, I do not like the quality produced. When printing onto the tracing paper with the procion dyes, the paper tended to ruffle when it dried so a completely smooth surface wasn't created. I tried to press this out, but the crispness of the tracing paper never came back and I could get smooth finish. I carried on working into them more in the machine room, using the embroidery foot and the pin tuck foot to achieve parallel lines. I really like the effect the stitch gives, as it reminds me more of the original lines on the maps and adds a bit of texture to the paper. Using the A1 tracing paper on the sewing machines was a bit of a challenge as it isnt as easily manipulated as fabric, I lost a bit of the crispness of the paper from the folding and crumpling I had to do in order for it to fit under the needle.
Room Divider
I have done some more research, as I have decided that it is
a room divider that I’d like to propose. I have decided upon this over a blind
as I feel that as the new building is so open plan that to be able to make it
feel more intimate when need will be very beneficial while still having the
feeling of space.
Here are a few more images that are helping me to design and
think of ideas for a new room divider. I have chosen these because they split a
room up, but are not solid walls which ensures the feeling of space is
maintained while still adding the feeling of closing the room down to a smaller
space.
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| I really like the simple graphic pattern created by this room divider by Apartment Therapy, which has been made using old painted vinyls. |
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| 'MOLO' have created a room divider with a honeycomb design that can be easily moved and stretched up to 4.5 metres. I like the innovative use of cardboard that has been developed to created a simple but elegant design. |
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| This wall divider, by 'The Brick House' , made using rope cleverly splits the room in two while still keeping the room as one. |
Bloomming Design Studio
I have found a company that makes interesting wall dividers amongst other products such as vases, clocks and tables. Bloomming is a Dutch design studio who have created a stainless steel blind/ wall divider whereby the diamond shaped components can be moved and tilted to created varying patterns and allowing patterns to be created by the shadows. I really like this idea as it allows you to change the design and allow different amount of lights to penetrate through. I want to see if I can do something with my ideas to achieve a changing pattern or let different shadows be created.
Large Scale Printing
Not being very good with technology I have kept putting off
going to use the large scale printers, but I have finally gone, and although it
is quite complicated it is easier than I thought it would be! I scanned my maps
in using the A3 scanners in the Mac suite in Chatham, I edited some of them and
made them into patterns by layering and repeating them on Photoshop, shown below in the pictures. I have never created patterns on Photoshop before, but I surprisingly really enjoyed the process. It was so quick to make a pattern, just by duplicating layer and then layering them. This is a process that I definitely want to keep on working with and seeing what effects and patterns I can produce. I printed
these off onto both A1 paper and A1 tracing paper and will now work into them
and see what results will come out! It was great to see my designs on such a large scale rather than just on a screen. Seeing them big allowed me to see them in a new way and help to visualise what I wanted to achieve alot more, it was also satisfying seeing your work come out so big.
My Ideas... Tracing Paper
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| The above two pictures are my samples using tracing paper with drawing, stitching, masking tape on them, and then folded to distort the pattern and make it more 3D. |
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| This is various of layers (including acetate, tracing paper and handmade paper) on top of each other. The printing didn't work very well on the acetate, where the green has crumbled, but I still like the layered effect and the combination of shapes and lines produced by a combination of screen printing, drawing and machine stitch. I am going to carry on this idea of layering. |
CV
ALIX DESSAIN
EDUCATION
2011-
Present Manchester Metropolitan University
BA (Hons)
Textiles in Practice
2010-2011
Oxford and Cherwell
Valley College
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design-
Distinction
2002-2009
Bloxham School
3 A Levels in French, Geography and Spanish (B,B,C)
1 AS Level in Textiles (A)
10 GCSE’s - grades A*-C
WORK EXPERIENCE
November
2010- Present: Inn at Farnborough
I work as a waitress in this busy
pub having contact with the customers, handling money and occasionally working
behind the bar.
July
2008- August 2012- Rachel Jones Flowers.
I assisted this local florist on a variety of events, such as weddings, parties and corporate events. I would prepare the flowers and help with putting the arrangements together.
I assisted this local florist on a variety of events, such as weddings, parties and corporate events. I would prepare the flowers and help with putting the arrangements together.
June
2007- August 2011: K2 Recruitment
I regularly work at a variety of
venues as a temporary retail assistant at a range of designer shops in Bicester
Village Outlet Centre, including Mulberry and Matthew Williamson. I have also
worked at Silverstone Race Track at motor racing events as a waitress. As well
as in 2009,I had the chance to travel to Abu Dhabi to work at the Grand Prix.
I
am currently in my first year of university studying Textiles in Practice. I
have really enjoyed my time on the course and being able to discover new techniques
as well as improving those that I already knew. I have particularly enjoyed
using the facilities of screen-printing and the machine embroidery room. Combining
these two techniques has been key to my work and sampling this year, and I am
sure will carry on throughout my degree. I like the speed and effects produced
from machine embroidery combined with my own designs from printing that helps
make my work feel like my own.
My
ideas for my work often lead to back to the theme of travelling combined with
geography. Having lived in France and Belgium when I was younger, travelling
has always been in my bones and since then I have visited a number of countries
including Morocco, Peru and Brazil. I always find myself looking to these
countries for inspiration, from the colours, patterns and my memories of my
time spent there, maybe in the hope that I could go back to visit them one day!
Digital Workshop
I went
to the digital workshop yesterday with Mary Stark, as using computers and
Photoshop is definitely not my strongest point! This session was really helpful
as she showed us how to digitally visualize our ideas in the new
building. This is essential to the project, and the design world today, as a
digital image of the piece allows it to be seen in context. I started to get to
grips a bit more with Photoshop and this is the result of the session. It isn't
the best quality, but once I have decided on my final image and get to know
Photoshop more it will hopefully look a little bit better! The piece below is not an
idea of mine, but a found image that vaguely relates to my project in that it
is a hanging and placed against a wall.
My Work....
After looking at more maps, the map that stood out to me the most was the tram map,
not only are the trams iconic to Manchester but the bold graphic colours stood
out to me. I started to draw more from this and started to like the results more than what I was doing before. I went into the machine
room to begin sampling my ideas, which are shown below.
These were just sowing onto strips of bias binding and webbing, i like the results of the the lines and colours together, but I need to find a better surface to sew into, maybe something more delicate and paper like but that can still hold its structure when folded.
Inspiration....
I have been looking at artists and designers to inspire my
work and help to visualise my ideas on a larger scale. I have been thinking more about creating a
wall or a room divider, as the space is open plan to be able to divide it up
with a temporary structure could prove useful. From my drawings, my ideas could be translated
well to create a wall.
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| I like how Christoph Niemann has translated the colours of the New York Subway map into a colour bathroom design. |
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| These 3D wall dividers by Mike and Maaike remind me of my original drawings using the coloured masking tape, but they also remind me of lines found on maps, in particular the Manchester tram map. I like how it is not all one solid block and that you can see through it as well as the combination of colours |
My work...
After all the maps and diagrams that I saw at the Cube Gallery, I have continued to use them to draw from. I was initially using only a few maps, but after a tutorial it was clear that I needed a greater variety of maps to work from. I complied a collection from various places, and it has definitely helped me having more to look at. What stood out to me the most from the maps of Manchester, were the striking bold colours used, something which I intend to use in my work. My ideas have moved on from the original 'Arrivals Task', but I feel that this did help get to where I am now, as the idea of getting lost in the alleyways is related to getting lost on a map and not knowing where to go or where you are.
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