Textures

   Today I decided to create some illustrations with inspiration from research I found in the Ravensbourne Library. The images I found were in a Japanese book called BoroBoro, which as a whole represents clothing which would have been worn by Japanese peasants who couldn't afford lavish silks and such. I found an extract on the history of 'Boro' from a web page called, http://furugistarjapan.wordpress.com, they stated:

      "Boro is the clothing that was worn by peasants, merchants or artisans in Japan from Edo up to early Showa (17th – early 19th century). In feudal times, the majority were peasant farmers… Literally translated as rags or scraps of cloth, the term boor is also used to describe clothes and household items which have been patched-up and repaired many times. Once clothing was made, it would be maintained throughout the owner’s lifetime, or perhaps even longer."

     Moreover, when I was glancing through the book, it was clear that the traditional meaning now made sense, as the fabric itself wasn't extravagant to start off with, but they managed to manipulate and shape the fabric to make it look a lot more impressive and unique. A lot of the textile designs in the book were minimalist and simplistic, although the made a great affect by carrying it throughout the swatch, giving it real depth and texture. Hence, when I found these designs, I wanted to become inspired and see what they would look like on a mannequin or illustration, so I cut out garments from the photocopies and I think they worked very well. Not to mention, they relate to the theme of 'Structural Attachment in Mono' very well in the sense it has its historically cultural background and the structures and forms they create with the fabrics. 

    I am really happy with the results of these illustrations and it is such a nice feeling to start producing my own research now, but it is still very useful to document our workshops as well because they influence to push us further along the course by learning new things and this work of mine has defiantly been inspired by myself and perhaps the digital print workshop because the 'BoroBoro' book included secondary photographs, which I then photocopied and cut up to create these designs. If I could have done anything different, it would have been to perhaps create even more designs or use more photocopied prints, however the book itself did not contain many pictures, the majority was writing about the fabrics themselves and how they were produced. Nonetheless, there are many books similar to these and it won't be hard for myself to get even more ideas for creations. I also really liked doing this because I am trying to focus upon the aspect of textures. Recently, I have been evolving around fur and knitwear (current workshop), however these illustrations include frayings, lace, sublimation prints and more! Thus, I am really trying to dig deeper within this project so that I can get a very strong and supportive final piece to relate to this project.