Unit X- Craft Fair 17/5/13

Within the unit one of the most interesting aspects were the professional lectures to have the chance to listen to the views of professional practitioners is very helpful as they know first hand what it is like to work in the current market and they have passed on some very useful knowledge, in particularly Manifold Studio and Ismini Samanidou.  One piece of invaluable advice that was given to us in almost all of the lectures was that you have to be proactive about having your work seen, whether it is networking at events, having an up to date website or ensuring you apply for commisions. From the group sessions and tutorials I found it interesting to see the work of other student from others courses and find out more about what they do as part of their practice and to see the wide variety of media being used. At the group sessions although I was present I feel that I could have contributed more to voice my thoughts and opinions.  

As a result of this project I have learnt several things about my practice. I have discovered that I can adapt and take on the challenges of a new brief and be able to work for a new context using new ideas. I also think that my organisational skills have improved as there were several parts of the project that needed to be completed at the same time, in the past I have often left everything to the last minute but with this project I planned my time more efficiently.

An aspect that I need to improve is that I should push myself to further my work as at times I can become complacent with what I have achieved, this will be particularly important to improve on for my final year.  Furthermore, I would like to develop my confidence in public speaking and giving presentations as this is an essential skill to have to be able to show and explain my work at its best as well as being vital in securing commissions.

From my work in this unit it has reaffirmed that I would like to continue exploring the connection between hard and soft materials, colour and pattern. Moreover, going into third year I would like to carry on investigating the idea of data and mapping as I feel that there is a lot of scope for it to be explored further. The unit has also confirmed that I would like my work to sit within the field of making and to be seen at galleries as well as be available for commission. Over the summer I intend to discover and view the work of artists and designers working in the same context as my work.  

Overall I have enjoyed the unit and although I did not fully know what the project would entail at the beginning, I am very glad I chose the Craft Fair brief as it has given me the chance to further my practice in a collaborative and exciting way. 

My final Presentation. 

Unit X- Craft Fair 16/5/13

In the final stages of the project I have refined my ideas down to a large scale wall piece. I have moved the idea on so that the work focuses on the location of the National Trust properties in the North West of England. By connecting all the properties together,  a spatial quality is given to the piece seen by the geometric pattern. I have created a wall piece using 3mm ply wood with 3 adjoining squares which are connected with cotton thread. Although I originally planned to take the colours from the Kelim rugs in the National Trust Online Archive I decided against that as I discovered that recently the iconic National Trust logo has been up dated using a range of 9 vibrant colours to give it a more modern feel. From the 9 colours applied to the logo I chose the combination of blue, purple and orange as when put together they provide a striking outcome. I think that one of the strengths of my work is that the overall design and concept can be applied to a range of locations and ideas therefore giving it scope to be developed even further beyond the project. Furthermore the size of the piece can be adjusted, by adding or taking away pieces depending on the size of the area being mapped. 

A weakness of the project is the quality of wood that I used, although the plywood which I have used is practical in terms of it durability and weight, the piece would have had a more professional outcome if I had used a wood of a greater value and a more interesting surface such as oak.

Alongside the wall piece I have created a small framed hand cut paper piece to sit alongside my work. Although I began the project with the initial starting point of the National Trust, I have furthered my ideas so that the work will appeal to a wider audience. Using the same method of plotting locations, I have proposed mapping peoples ‘personal data’. Through this idea the work becomes more personal and affordable. For example, the data may plot a persons favourite places, a memorable journey or significant locations in their life. The work would be open to commission to allow for each piece to be customised. I have kept the geometric design and the colour scheme the same as the wood piece so that the work has a sense of cohesion and continuity.

I feel that my project is appropriate for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair as there are several designers and makers who have exhibited their work here who are creating wall based art in mixed media and have a range of products and price ranges in their collections, such as Ella Robinson (http://www.ellarobinson.com/) and Clare Knox Bentham (http://www.clareknoxbentham.co.uk/).  Both artists have also created a collection of smaller more affordable pieces such as jewellery to sit alongside the larger pieces of work

I think that my presentation on Thursday went ok, I said the majority of what I had planned to say, not necessarily in the right order and my sentences became slightly jumbled. If I was to do the presentation again I would ensure that I had written some cards with some clear points to help me keep on track and allow the presentation to flow more fluidly and I would ensur that I maintained eye contact with those watching. It was however good to see all my work compiled together and seen as a whole rather than lots of scattered parts.  If I was to do my project again I would ensure that I carried out more research at the beginning of the project so that I could progress my concept further for the final piece as I would have had more time for development.

Unit X- Craft Fair 03/05/13

Continuing with my project I have researched further into the facts and figures surrounding the National Trust and this has proved to be of far more interest and generated more ideas than my previous lines of research. By looking at numbers, figures and the distribution of the National Trust properties it has allowed me to start mapping the organisation and I have been able to portray  my work in a more precise and analysed manner whilst also giving a stronger connection to the National Trust. 

I am still working towards a wall based piece that will represent the distribution of the properties in the UK. I have also considered creating a smaller form of my idea that could be seen as framed artwork. From the Interim Crit, a fellow student suggested that my pieces could work well as textile products (such as a tea towel or a print) to be sold in the National Trust shop. I had previously not considered this approach, but it is something I will research further into as it could be an interesting more affordable collection to be seen alongside the larger pieces. The Interim Crit proved to be very useful as it made me analyse my work and realise what were the important and most successful points of my project, as well as the weaknesses. From compiling my work together onto boards, it has also allowed me to see what I now need to do to finalise my intended outcomes. It was also interesting to see fellow students work, particular those on other courses and view the range of ideas and concepts that have emerged. 

I have begun to develop and sample my ideas using a range of materials. I am still working with the idea of incorporating wood and stitch, but as wood and using the laser cutter can be a costly, time consuming and more permanent process I have used fabric and paper as an alternative to sample with. By using these materials I can begin to get a feel of the scale and the relationship between the hard and soft materials.

I had a dotted grid cut out on the laser cutter so I experimented with ways of displaying the information using stitch on a wooden surface. Although it has been useful to see the relationship between the wood and the stitch and colour, the grid is restricting and too simple in terms of the patterns that can be made. I have decided that for my next wood cut sample, I will consider the design more thoroughly to ensure that each piece is more of how I envisage the final product to be.  My samples are becoming more geometric in their pattern and have started to slightly resemble the patterns of the Kelim floorboards. I have introduced the bold colours of the floorboards to create a stronger link with the National Trust.

The samples that I feel are more successful are those that combine bold colours and line as this allows the viewer to be immediately captivated and drawn in to look closer at the piece. I looked at the work of Casual Data who undertook a project called 'Sense of Patterns' which looks at the behaviour patterns of humans in public spaces, in particular journeys carried out in cities. Through their research they have created strong visuals  showing daily activities that we all undertake without even thinking about. I particularly like the designs where there is a build up of line and repetition used with strong colours as this makes the work  adds more depth and interest to the work. (http://casualdata.com/senseofpatterns/)

                                    (Images from Casual Data)