Fashion Illustrations (Sample Illustrations)

      Reviewing my previous samples and stand work, it inspired me to develop these designs for coming to a better understand for what I would want for a final outcome. I feel that these garments are perhaps too developed as it needs to be toned down a tad more to show the minimal, yet subtle aspects to the garment ideas I have in mind. Most of the shape and scale of these designs have come from when I produced the knitwear headpiece accessory, nonetheless the knit within these samples seem way to much then I originally planned for, but this is the whole point and process of design so that they can improve and become much more focused towards my Final Major Project (FMP) theme. I wanted to dissect some of the main aspects from the knit samples to focus much more upon texture with these illustrations, but also to get a depth and perspective of different fabrics considering I am looking at wool, mesh and organzas which will be held and hung in different ways in terms of weight or length.

     Draping and burning were probably the top two processes I wanted to really show off with my designs as I felt that they would look much more effective in terms of detail and shape. I haven't added colour to these designs purely because I don't know yet whether I want to use block colour or perhaps even use the hand prints I produced not that long ago. Using the previous quick sketches and samples for inspiration, I began by drawing initial silhouettes and shapes for my illustrations; creating ponchos, dresses, skirts, trousers and much more which is what I need to taking this project further and get the highest grade possible. 

(Sketchbook Illustrations produced by Myself)

     From this process, I found myself most engaged with the top half of the body and this heavily involved knitwear. I have never really made a full garment using knit, although I feel that it would be a really hard challenge to make everything from knit, hence why I want to use other textures and experimentation to add more detail and perspective, let alone all the processes used on the knitted garment piece. In addition to this, in terms of the models, I wanted them to look rather relaxed and mute with their facial expressions as I feel this may be relevant or perhaps similar if I produce a shoot/film towards the end of the project. If anything could have been done any differently, it would have perhaps been to add colour whether that being in block or the prints I produced for experimentation. Moreover, the shapes of the garments could have been much more experimental, similarly to the knitted headpiece accessory as it was very structured and distort.

    I am pleased that my designs look even more developed and detailed in contrast to previous illustrations produced prior to these. I feel much more comfortable how my designs are looking, although I still feel that I could push myself in terms of development, not only this but I can begin focusing more on certain/specific fabrications to make my illustrations look much more realistic, although these designs would still need to be transferred onto the stand to work on and see whether that will give me any further ideas in terms of shape and form on the 3-D silhouette. 

Quick Designs

(Sketchbook designs produced by Myself)

    From producing the knit headpiece accessory, I felt that it was necessary to carry out more quick designs to move on from accessories and focus more upon the shape and structure of garment(s). I still have so many ideas to carry out prior to making my final piece(s), although I don't want to rush into anything. These quick designs show my thought process rather well as it represents all of the sample processes and experiments I have carried out since the beginning of this project. The juxtaposition between delicate prints and burnt/decayed texture expresses the nature to my theme of having positive and negative aspects to "Living with Dementia", the combination of both print and decay could look disastrously beautiful, so it would be good to experiment with both either with collage or illustrations. My designs have not got quite up to the standards I want them to be produced, although I plan on producing many more to improve my drawing skills and also get more of an idea as to what I want to make for the end of my Final Major Project (FMP). 

   It is clear that I need to do more stand work to get more of an idea of scale and shape, which will really help me develop my quick sketches further. In addition to this, I really like how my designs are beginning to look as I want it to have quite a minimal perspective, but at the same time, I want it to have descaled, miniature details to represent my theme by expressing a message to show that people with dementia still look the same from the outside, but from the inside, there are small malfunctions within them that eventually puts them to rest and I want to show this through a garment. 

    When it comes to designing my concept illustrations, I want to be focusing more on the top half of the garment, referring back to my knitwear samples which I think will be more effective to add more perspective. Furthermore, I feel that the top half shapes will be much more fun and interesting as I do not want them to be in the usual or expected form. I want to try go for see through/baggy fabrications as it represents my FMP well, such as the space between the body and the wholes on the knits to show dislocation of memories and emotions. Illustrations are crucial to this stage now for myself and I need to get these produced rather sooner than later, but I will use these quick sketches and previous samples to inspire me for illustration designs. 

(Sketchbook designs and knit sample produced by Myself)

    When it comes to designing my illustrations, I plan on adding slight touches of colour, although I still want it to extremely minimal and blank to represent the theme; the hints of colour will represent the positive moments and emotions of those with dementia for when they regain their memories or feel happy when they're doing activities such as painting, reading, music and much more. In order to develop further designs, once I have the illustrations I will begin to take aspects from the designs out of my book and transfer them onto a stand using either paper or calico to get a 3-D perspective of what I will be wanting to create and get a greater understanding of the silhouettes and how they will look on a model.

Knitwear Accessory

   

(Photographs & Accessory piece produced by Myself)

      I have finally been able to construct my accessory piece for an experiment for my Final Major Project (FMP) "Living with Dementia". I must admit that I would have liked to have completed a better shoot but due to short time, I kept it quick and easy with a white background to get more perspective of the details and shape without it being in a really busy background. In addition to this, the photo above I decided to do a minimal layered drawing, which brought me back to when I did the paintings referencing back to Francis Bacon's work. My accessory piece came out rather successfully as it highlighted the majority of the processes I experimented with from my samples, not to mention the gaps, holes and ladders on the knit which refers back to my first mood board which was purely texture, similar to what I have constructed. 

     It is crucial at this point in time that 3-D stand work should be carried out as more quick sketches need to be produced by myself to develop deeper and more effective concept ideas as I am drawing closer to the deadline. Using these photographs, it may be a good idea to use these as inspiration for shape and scale on the stand, but also for my design ideas. Subsequently, the accessory piece was rather minimal and basic from perspective, although I used around 5/6 processes on the knit. Nonetheless, I need to sample further with my knit and I want to see whether I can incorporate my print via weave within the knit to express and show this through in both my designs and final piece(s).

     I was impressive to see  how my headpiece accessory would stay in a stable shape once placed, but it was very hard to get it back into the original shape once disturbed; this referring back to dementia and how their memory has gone. Although, using the creative arts and in my case womenswear design, I want it to be an indication of memory as oppose to being the "lost" memory itself. I would really like to experiment further with this accessory piece and this can be done on the photocopier and perhaps even to photograph it in a more professional manner like I have done with previous accessories and garments. 

      From looking at these photographs, they remind me of a similar style to some of Alexander McQueen's 'Savage Beauty' looks with the distort shapes and positioning. If I could have done anything differently, I would have liked to have perhaps added more details onto the knitted head piece, despite this, there is enough to see from the photographs. I used processes such as honeycomb, ladders, weaving, lace holes and a few others, but they seemed to combine very nicely and eventually got to a stage where I was happy with the outcome. Once the piece was constructed, I had to take it to the sowing machine to attach it together so that it would stay placed around my head as oppose to being loose or falling off. It would have been interesting to have created different accessories such as a bag, neck piece, cuffs and many more, but we will see in due time when my designs begin to develop further to see whether they will involve knit or not. 

Knit Collage/Sample Illustrations

(Collaged sketchbook illustrations produced by Myself)

     Being a designer for my Final Major Project (FMP), it is crucial to try produce as many designs as possible now to elaborate more with my ideas and inspirations to come to a final concept for a capsule collection, then eventually a garment(s). I am really happy with how the illustrations above turned out; I did this by using the photographs I took of my knit samples and used them to collage on top of my hand drawn illustrations. In addition to this, I am focusing a lot on shape and structure and I can see how my earlier work and research has pushed me to this stage in time and I am happy I have kept up to date with what I have planned. Honestly, drawing the surface texture on the 2-D illustrations would have been better from my behalf, but due to a limited amount of time, it was easier to do it this way. I am still planning to make my accessory piece shortly after this process, but I want to make sure I go at one step at a time and not rush anything too much before it is too late. Looking at these designs they remind me of somewhat what Alexander McQueen looks at for structure or perhaps Comme Des Garcons with the avant-garde styling to the shape and positioning. If I could have done anything differently with these illustrations, I would have perhaps constructed more but also edited the photos I had taken, blown them up or maybe change the colouring, although I do want it all to merge together to look more like a capsule collection.

(Knit samples produced by Myself)

    These illustrations above were much easier to construct as they only consist of me placing one of my knit samples on top of my drawn illustrations. Nonetheless, I think this worked well because it added real texture to the illustration and enables people who look at my book to touch and feel the textures and get a more realistic perspective of my theme, "Living with Dementia". Furthermore, the knitting process of creating these small samples were very easy and this was a quick method to speed up my design process, although I don't want to use this process again using the same fabrication (in this case, knit), but perhaps digital prints, hand embroidery and much more. If I could have done anything different with these illustrations, it would have been to use different process samples to add even more texture and shape, but I feel very restricted time wise and the last thing I would want to do is fall behind schedule on my brief. Overall, it is clear that there is much more design ideas needed, but by using this process it has inspired me to focus more on the knit samples details and see how I could position/scale them on both a design and illustration in the near future. 

Knitting Part 2 (Samples)

(Photographs and Samples produced by Myself)

      I am really happy with how these knitted samples have come out overall via the knit machine. As I said in the previous post, I would have liked to have worked with different colours, yet I still admire the minimal approach to these samples. Moreover, these photographs have given myself a real insight to how my final garments could actually end up looking like, hence this will inspire me for future design development and hopefully be a huge benefactor going towards my final garment(s). If I could have done anything differently, I would have liked to perhaps weaved different types of materials into my knit, but I did manage to use ribbon and mesh to represent colours and textures I have been working with previously. In addition to this, I want to photocopy these samples and perhaps use these on the stand to shape with and see what it would look like on a larger scale on a mannequin, plus this will enable me to work with different effects such as negative, black and white, sepia and many more, thus compensating my physical knitting challenges. Furthermore, I am now more prepared to begin to start constructing my accessory piece to go alongside my Final Major Project (FMP) as an experiment, but also something to show at the end of the project to show my diversity and skill at the assessment. There are many other ways that I can still use my samples to experiment with such as printing or painting on top of them, pullings them apart and much more, but for my time frame I am very pleased with what I have produced so far.

     After my accessory piece is completed, I really need to enhance my skills in regards to my design process because a few students in my class have shown theirs in our group tutorials, although it is not in my brief to start designing yet, so I am trying to not let it bother me so. In addition to this, coming away from the knit samples, I would like to dive back into looking at my print designs that I did previously in my FMP and it would be such a waste to not find some way to incorporate it back into something, whether that being more samples, designs or illustrations. Nonetheless, seeing how this accessory piece will turn out, I will see how well it works, but also see if I have time to develop on my work further so that I can get the best grade possible for the end of my FMP, "Living with Dementia".

Knitting Part 1

(Photographs taken by Myself)

     I have now finally been able to say that I have experimented using knitwear. I am so happy that I have finally been able to do this for my project as I feel that it is very relevant and potentially what I will make my accessory piece out of. The knitting itself wasn't too much of a struggle, but it involved a lot of holes and ladders which I feel is very relevant to my project involving empty spaces and disconnection relating to dementia. With my knit samples, I feel that the holes represent the lost memories throughout their lives, but the coloured ribbons are the triggers that bring some of them back, even if it is short lived, but it is interesting to see how this process can make so much sense in comparison to my theme of "Living with Dementia". It is agreeable to say that I actually find knitting to be rather therapeutic which definitely helps to calm my nerves for this project! Nonetheless, I seem to have quite a knack for knitting as I was surrounded by more than a few frustrated students. If I could have done anything differently, I would have liked to have tried out with different coloured wools, but there wasn't any to take unfortunately. Despite that, I managed to bring in different coloured ribbon to weave into the knit via the machine which I felt worked very effectively and saying that, I think the mute, minimalist colour also goes along well to my theme.

    As this project has progressed, I must say that I seem to be on a stable pace with my brief itinerary and I also don't feel that I am pushing myself too much, but it is still a challenge. I would like to make an accessory piece out of knit but I need to make sure I gather enough samples and get more into grips as to what I want on the accessory piece. I plan to relate back to the grannies when I placed my heat press samples on top of their head, but this time I want to make a head piece that isn't just a hat, scarf, snood or mask, but something that a person can interpret for themselves as it will never look the same once removed. Hence, this relates back to the dementia disease and sending a message to say once it is gone, it is gone forever. Furthermore, from my group tutorials my tutor is very pleased with how I am working, but it appears that I need to try link my work in more together so this will be my next challenge so that the next time I see my tutor, it will be just as she asked. Moreover, after doing these samples, it would be great if I could start on my design process so that I can have a much stronger outcome for the end of my FMP, but I need to make sure that I follow my brief accordingly and try not to cut any corners. 

Quick Sketches

       It is now reaching the time within my Final Major Project (FMP) to begin designing for my final outcome(s). I really enjoy producing these quick sketches as they are easy and an extremely quick process to carry out to help inspire my future designs, plus rough designs are crucial for anyone who wants to create their own collection as it enables you to exhaust every thought process you may have. In addition to this, I feel that being a designer, it is crucial to have many of these quick sketches to move on and be more creative with potential outcomes. In some aspects, I find quick designs to be rather difficult when you have done quite a few, whereas when I am doing illustrations, it enables me to have a better perspective of scale and also the details on top of the garment pieces. As you can see, some of my designs reflect off of details, shredding, singeing, pleating and much more which I have worked off from my stand works and experiments. 

     The collars were probably my favourite sketches which I did, although if I am planning to use knitwear, it could result in being very difficult to shape and keep it in position, but this must be a task I will face in due time. If I could have done anything differently, I would have liked to of created more of these sketches, but I was quite limited on time considering my brief, not to mention I still have an accessory piece planned to construct very soon and I don't want to rush that process. Also, it would have been quite interesting to see how my quick sketches could have looked with templates, although I think that would defy the point of calling them "quick" sketches, but perhaps in another project I can try that idea. 

(Sketchbook drawings produced by Myself)

    Overall, I am very happy with the sketches I have produced and from the start of this course, I can definitely say that my drawing skills and capabilities have developed much more and I feel that I am more confident with my sketches. Moreover, I am really excited to start developing much more designs to make my final outcome even stronger, along with my samples and processes. Not to mention, I have a lot of ideas that I can work from with all the work I have due in my FMP up to this point. Despite all this, I hope to be doing many more quick sketches and have at least 3-400 overall throughout the whole of this project so that I have true evidence of exhausting all of my ideas and link to how my final garment(s) got to that point. 

Physical Sample Illustrations

       As time is drawing in, I really need to start developing my fashion illustrations further and I thought the easiest way to do that was to continue with my collaging. The image above shows my own hand-drawn models with the heat press samples on top of them, not only this but they also have a piece of mesh on a certain section of the garment to add more texture and perspective to its overall look. I am really happy with how these turned out and if I had more time, I would have liked to have collaged more illustrations and perhaps even stick physical heat press samples on top also, but I think I will use the heat press process for a potential accessory piece and I will soon decide whether to actually make it or not. In regards to my theme, "Living with Dementia" I feel that these illustrations really represent that with all the processes I have used so far. For example, the burnt holes represent the lost/faded memories from those with the disease, but the fabric that has been burnt itself was once so beautiful, delicate and light and these models show the outer image of a patient, but it doesn't truly represent what they are like from the inside. In addition to this, all my models have very blank, emotionless faces, but I purposely made the hair cover their eyes which is another hint towards my theme as to it blocking their vision. 

(Sketchbook illustrations produced by Myself)

       Above are probably my favourite illustrations that I have done so far within my whole main sketchbook. Despite the fact I didn't draw a complex, detailed garment on top of the models, I used some of the physical burnt samples to contrast the other heat press samples I did. I think this looked worked very well as it is drifting towards more of a concept I like and possibly want similarly for a final outcome. In addition to this, I am trying to free hand my drawings without using templates as I feel this will develop me further as both a designer and illustrator. I only kept these illustrations as a small capsule collection to make it seem more realistic in terms of a real fashion collection and also to keep it rather minimal considering my FMP theme. If I could have done this illustrations in a different perspective, I would have perhaps worked on the samples a bit more and then figure out where to place them on the body which would add more detail and texture. Furthermore, I would have liked to have distorted the models in some way, whether I would make them look more elderly or perhaps make them look even more mysterious, as if we are the ones with dementia and can't recognise who or what they are. Nonetheless, I think I now need to start focusing on quick sketches and more sampling for the time being to inspire myself for both shape and textures. 

Granny Headpieces

(Sketchbook Collage produced by Myself) 

    I am going to be quite brief with this post as I have recently become interested in the concept/idea of producing an accessory piece alongside my final garment(s), saying this it does depend on how much time I have to construct it and photograph it also. In this example above, I have used my heat press samples to use as collages for a headpiece which I thought worked rather successfully. The heat press process was fairly easy to carry out, thus it will be quite a quick making accessory session which is ideal! Despite this, I think I like the look of the burnt out samples substantially more than these heat press samples, this is due to it being much easier to work with, plus I think it adds a more subtle amount of detail that looks more drawing the closer you get to it. I wanted to use an elderly woman as the model for this head piece and this is due from previous research that people with dementia are commonly diagnosed at 65, hence I wanted to get a true perspective as to what a real person with dementia would look like with my accessory piece on. The singed pieces of fabric are also fairly easy to produce as it just involves the fabric piece and a lighter, but it was fairly difficult to reach some spots considering how light and thin the fabrics are, hence it is more hazardous than the heat press process. I will see how much free time I have to complete this as I am running out of time till I begin to construct, but I think this could really help boost my final mark for my Final Major Project (FMP) assessment. 

     Overall, this process was very useful and I am glad to say that I have tried to exhaust it as much as possible. Nonetheless, it will be really exciting to see if I really do create my own accessory headpiece, but it may not necessarily be from this exact process, it could even be one I haven't used before but we will find out in due time. From my most recent group crit, my tutor is really excited to see what I make for my accessory piece as I am the only one in my group who has decided to put it in their own brief and physically make it. I would like the accessory piece to relate back to some previous research I have done to really link the ideas together, for example from my stand work or perhaps secondary images I have found from magazines and the Ravensbourne Library. 

Stand Work Illustrations

      Post my past stand work experimentation, I decided to bring it back to 2-D and layer the structures on top of my illustrations. I really liked the minimal approach to this process as it reminds me of the photoshoot with Alexander McQueen's "Savage Beauty" collections with the floating organzas and silks. I wanted this to be a quick process so that I could begin to work on more illustrations, but considering these are the first official ones with models, I wanted to make the look count and stand out as if they were real garment pieces. I focused a lot on the shape and positioning of my stand work as it reminds me of one of my earlier photoshop processes with the grannies. I plan on constructing more stand work, but for the time being I feel that I need to experiment further and come to a further conclusion to what shapes I want to be making and how I will construct it on a stand. If I could have done anything differently, I suppose I could have played around a bit more in terms of scale and colour, but saying that, I really like the opaque minimalism to these collaged illustrations and I also think that my Final Major Project's (FMP) theme is finally beginning to show through these illustrations, alongside my stand work.

(Sketchbook Illustrations produced by Myself)

       It is fair to say that I do prefer the collaged/layered illustrations as oppose to the models with only one piece on them as I feel it lacks more texture and detail without more. I hope to try construct something similar to this on the stand next time I get the chance, although I want to try it with multiple processes. This can range from photocopies I have made, samples, knit (which hopefully I should be doing soon!), digital prints and much more to widen my variety and keep myself optimistic. Furthermore, I hope to be doing more illustrations using physical samples that I have made to add more depth and perspective to them, plus seeing how my samples may look on a larger scale. So far I feel that my FMP is going well and I am pretty much up to date, although I still feel that I have a lot more to do, hence I need to try be as quick and effective as possible to prevent rushing and low quality workflow. 

Burnt Samples w. Process

(Samples produced by Myself)

    I have taken it upon myself to work on the sowing machine with the samples I had just made to see what they would look like with additional process from the sowing machine. I am happy with how these have come out because I see them being more of a design as oppose to an experiment. The example on the bottom reminds me of atoms being connected within the body and particularly in the brain to see how neurones work, although dementia deteriorates the brain until it eventually dies and kills the whole body along with it. I really like the minimal approach to these samples, although there could still be a lot more done to the samples, but for the time being I am happy with how they have come out. I can see this sample having a lot of potential, whether that being an accessory piece or the physical material for the outer laying of a garment. I am really pleased I tried this process as I wasn't quite sure how well it would work as all materials have different melting points or chemicals that shouldn't even really be heated, but it is my Final Major Project (FMP) after all! 

    I would like to take this further and see how much I can do with these experiments as it could lead to even more processes I have never tried before or perhaps it may inspire me for shape and structure on the mannequins or even my illustrations. I have got more samples of this and I feel that it would make my illustrations have much more detail and perspective if I add some of the physical samples on top to get a deeper sense of texture and structure on the garment piece(s). In addition, I need to crack on with my quick sketches and it will be interesting to see whether this process will inspire me for them. If I could have done anything differently, I would have liked to have perhaps done more and tried to be a bit more extreme with my experimentation, but nonetheless, I feel that this is a true starting point for becoming more focused on texture and shape for my final developments. 

Burnt Experimental Samples

(Samples within Sketchbook produced by Myself) 

    As you can see above, these are samples that I have created using the fabrics I have purchased at my local fabric shop. I got the idea to do this when I was previously researching decayed/rusted objects from a book in the library, plus I thought that it could also be an indication of a dying brain by the way it is burning up and holes can represent the lost memories, hence it really relates to my theme of "Living with Dementia". I really enjoyed the process as it was easy to do (a fluid lighter), despite the burns on my fingers! It was interesting to see how all the fabrics individually reacted to the same process, for example the see-through plastic took slightly longer to burn, although it spread the fastest, whereas the mesh was quick but it spread fairly slowly. Nonetheless, I thought that it was very successful and I would like to create more samples with these and see if they will help me develop my illustrations soon to come for my Final Major Project (FMP). In addition to this, I decided to use the heat press technique again, but this time they contained the burnt pieces of fabric within to again, represent the troubled, decaying brain that I would see as being similar to a person who was diagnosed with dementia. I also think that I should try to go to some more exhibitions whilst I still have time to see if I can develop any more inspiration for my FMP and perhaps consider trying out new processes.

     Overall, I am very happy with the progress I have made so far in terms of experimentation, but this should push me in the right direction when it comes to the beginning of my design processes. As a designer, it is crucial to complete as many different processes as possible as it will give me a stronger idea as to what I want for a final garment(s) and what it should look like and this should reflect back from my research, experimentation and designs. Hence, I am looking forward to my group crit and seeing how anyone can suggest on how I can do better or even give me new, fresh ideas which I may have missed on my brief proposal. 

Heat Press Samples

(Sample produced by Myself)

     Looking back to the samples I did previously, I liked the idea of when I pocketed one of the samples with a print I made previously with paint inside the pocket. Although, this time I have decided to heat press it between the plastic layers to get a tight, sealed formation and also to compress some of the items inside being cut outs, paint, beads, glitter, fabric and more. I thought that this process might look quite interesting as an accessory piece or perhaps a section of a garment to represent more perspective and texture to the garment piece. I like the use of colours I have decided to use as I feel that it is beginning to look a lot happier and referring back to the documentaries I have watched about patients with dementia having their memory come back by using the creative arts and bringing out all the hopes and positivities to dementia. 

(Sample produced by Myself)

     Below are some further samples I have done via the heat press, but these ones seem to use more paint and I really like the way the paint hides what is contained within the pocket or perhaps even making it harder to figure out what is inside it. I think these work really well in terms of my Final Major Project by the way some of the samples look like the brain being mentally corrupt or diseased from the inside, hence relating back to the negativity of my theme, but it something that those diagnosed have to face as there is no cure to date, but hopefully with all the work and donations put into alzheimers.org.uk, they will have something to help end it during our generation to prevent the death of millions of people a year. 

(Samples produced by Myself)

Prints, Experiments and Samples

(Digital Print samples produced by Myself)

     I have finally managed to get my digital prints transferred on to fabric! Although, considering I transferred it onto calico, the inks didn't convert very well. Nonetheless, I like the minimal, opaque look to the print, despite how bright and colourful the original print is. Despite this, having flat samples doesn't look as interesting, so I decided to experiment with creating samples on my sowing machine using both fabric and paper samples. In addition to this, I also went out of my way to the fabric shop to buy some materials to extend my range of samples. I have also purchased a wool cone to work with for the knitting machines next week when we have our workshop with Bid, which I hope to make a lot more samples with. Although, I will probably need to purchase an additional book to stick my samples into to reduce clutter and disorganisation within my main sketchbook. 

(Mixed Medium Experimental Samples produced by Myself)

    Above are some mixed medium samples I have managed to construct and produce using different materials and fabrics. In addition to this, I have also used other objects such as beads, threads, paint and much more; I was also interested in the idea of trapping objects within plastic that I bought from a fabric shop. I thought that this would be a good way of representing memories or clutter within the brain which is potentially lost or being taken in a short period of time. I wanted to use mediums such as paint to reference back to the documentary I watched called "I Remember Better When I Paint"which was based on an elderly woman who had been diagnosed with dementia and suddenly came back to life once she was handed a paintbrush. These are the sort of aspects I want to focus on for my Final Major Project that are to bring happiness and hope back to those with dementia or people who know anyone with dementia and want them to try remember as much as possible. Furthermore, I then wanted to look into texture and looked at layering, scrunching, tucks, pleats and more to try experiment with the types of textures I see as a final product. Although, I feel once I have knit samples, I will have more of an idea as to what I want to make in terms of a garment with additional texture to represent my FMP and its theme. 

(MISAN (Brothers & Textiles) Fabric Samples collected by Myself)

    To conclude this post, I have taken a photograph of some samples I managed to grab whilst I was strolling along Berwick Street in Central London. For this FMP, I was looking to find rather light, minimal samples, this being fabrics such as mesh, organza, clear plastic, cotton and much more. Obviously I would have liked to have collected more, but I am planning to go to Berwick Street again when I have more time and also to get even more samples when I have a much more structured colour pallet and aware of the sorts of materials I want to use for my FMP. 

3-D Mannequin Developments

(Photography and drawings produced by Myself) 

     To develop my Final Major Project (FMP) further, I wanted to focus more on recreating stand work from all my previous stand/sketchbook work. For these stand works, I focused on the mannequin drawings I did for my first attempt of 3-D stand construction. On top of this, I wanted to use different mediums to expand on my perspectives, textures and detail. I feel that this worked rather well but I would now like to construct samples to add onto the stand to work with to show even more texture and shape. In addition, I have drawn the mannequin structures whilst I was there to get more detail from a close up perspective, plus enhancing my drawing skills. I feel that once have my digital prints converted onto fabric and worked on by the machine, I will have something better to work with. In addition, I am hoping to get the knitting machine out to work with as I feel that it could work well with my FMP. I am drawing in closer to my experimental weeks and I really want to try do as many samples as possible to enrich my production and quality for this project. 

    The next thing I would like to do with this project is to get fabric samples from Berwick Street to get more of an idea of what colour pallet I would like to have and also to have more of an extensive range of fabric samples for inspiration. If I could have done anything differently, I would have liked to of perhaps used different paper textures, mediums or even working some of them on the sowing machine to see what I can achieve as an experiment or sample. Nonetheless, I am happy with the standards of these drawings and I hope that these may even inspire me for future illustrations soon to come. 

Greenwich Park Observational Drawings

(Photography and sketches produced by Myself)

    To keep my research up to date, I wanted to dig deeper in terms of natural observation. This led to taking a little trip into Greenwich park and trying to find certain trees or plants that I saw relevant for my Final Major Project (FMP). The top left image of the tree I had drawn was because I thought it related to brain nerves and connections and how the ends of the branches are limp. Hence, by drawing that tree, it shows how even nature has its own endings, but then there is always potential for growth and development. Throughout my FMP, I have wanted to keep away from the cliche images and sketches of brains considering my theme, but I feel that looking at other sorts of objects and scenery can represent it in a more unique and unusual way. The top right image is of a tree/shrub and I liked the way it hid the sturdy branches underneath with a colossal amount of leaves, hence hiding the structure from the inside. I think this contrasts with dementia in a sense that the mind is being taken over from a mental overload of confusion and fear. I wanted to use different mediums in my drawings to express the depth of texture but also the message I want it to portray, I see the thicker pen hiding what is laying underneath and this is how I see the way you would look at someone without even knowing that they had dementia. If I could have done anything differently, I would have tried to use different colours, thickness of tips and perhaps even location, but I am pleased with the drawings I have produced and see whether I can take these further or not. 

(Photography and sketches produced by Myself)

     Instead of focusing on the overall structure of nature, I looked deeper into the trees and plants and came across this really interesting, flowering bush. From a distance, you can see beautiful yellow flowers all aligned on the branches, but when you got closer to it, you begin to see these small, dense formations that juxtapose the beauty of the flowers on the same bush. I found these even more interesting because they reminded me of miniature brains with all the ripples and textures on the surface of the form. Overall, I think my trip to the park was rather beneficial in the sense that I got to go out and explore the great outdoors, work on my drawing skills and see certain formations on plants that I have never seen before. Moreover, the plants were useful in helping me become inspired for my FMP and I feel that these may come in handy for future processes that will soon unveil.