For the next 5 weeks I will be learning the old Japanese technique of resist dyeing using a rice paste and stencil. This technique originated in the Mie prefecture in the late 8th century and during the Edo and Meji periods (1600-1900) the fabrics were considered to works of art. It is a natural process, the stencil is made of lots of layers of ‘washi’ (handmade paper), coated with fermented persimmon juice, dried in the sun and then smoked. This process lasts one week to 10 days and is repeated many times over a month. The tanin from the persimmon makes the Katagami (stencil paper) very strong and water proof, ideal for the rice glue to be printed through it many times. We then use rice paste which is just rice and water, and a natural dye.

We started off by cutting circles, squares and triangles of different sizes out of black paper. The stencil will be 40x45cm so we made this from two pieces of squared A3 paper. We spent nearly two weeks arranging and rearranging the shapes; which was a bit tedious but I understand that the design is so important and I think time and care is something we really lack in the UK.

I think symmetrical geometric designs are good- the black on white is so bold I don’t think it needs to be overcomplicated. The language barrier means that I only get a general idea of what we are doing- it is interesting to learn in a non-verbal way- something you can only do with practical hands on work. Because the white paper will be the part cut away to print the glue- this stencil cannot work as the black shapes are freestanding; the black needs to all connect in order to make a design that will work.

Then I worked on some designs with the black touching so the white can be cut away, also realising that if the touch is corner to corner- it will be very difficult to cut and result in a fragile stencil. Another difference in the way we are working is not designing from reference images- something I have had drilled in me. It is nice and liberating to design in a new way but actually really hard to jump straight in at this stage- but I am realising that it is about learning the process and that why I am here.

We then reversed the colours to white on black, I prefer the look of this, to me it feels bolder. At this stage I am struggling a bit to create any original designs and keep repeating myself.

We then worked with both black and white shapes on black paper, this really inspired me, as the scope of pattern and shape expanded. Being able to overlap created interesting forms and I moved away from the symmetry that I had used previously. I now needed to make a final decision; non of these designs were the right shape, and if it is going to repeat I need to work out if the design will connect or stay as separate squares.

This is my final design, we will use it to make a Yukata, which is a light simple version of a kimono. The design will be repeated 3×2 on the front and back. To make this final design, I cut a piece of black paper to 40×40 (after deciding on a square) and arranged the shapes; looking at earlier designs and combining the strongest parts. I then scanned and put into photoshop where I made the black and white stronger and edited any dodgy parts. I also realised that I had a few floating black shapes (as the white will be cut away) so I added shapes as connecters. I then printed this in A3 then enlarged to A2 to cut.

This will be one half of the front of my Yukata; I think it looks strange and disjointed so I will add in some shapes to connect the three panels.

This is my finished stencil, I have added sections in along the bottom and top that will connect to making a more free flowing piece, for some reason I kept making them uneven and not matching but eventually I got them right. I am happy with my final stencil; although I think a symmetrical pattern would look more effective when made into a yukata; I think the abstraction of the shapes will look interesting.

For the Autumn term of my second year I am in Japan at Kyoto university of Art and Design. I wanted to come here to learn about the culture and art and design. Japan has an interesting mash-up of traditional minimalism zen lifestyle and modern western-influenced consumption and technology. Understanding this culture really puts the art; both traditional and modern, into context. I am going to be learning traditional resist dyeing; an ancient technique that is organic and slow. I also am taking a drawing class and an agriculture class. Japanese people traditionally value nature and the agriculture class is about understanding the connections and thinking differently, and it is interesting to see indigo and cotton grown in the greenhouse.

 

I was looking forward to starting a blog as it’s a good way to process and evaluate my work in a more professional context. In the past I have kept journals but always ended up with unorganised notes and never kept up with putting in pictures. I found having my thoughts gathered digitally really useful, and being able to blog from anywhere meant that I didn’t have an excuse to get behind. I did keep on track with the posts, but didn’t blog as regularly as I’d planned and felt like I was writing quite vaguely and so went back and added in parts. Initially I was really efficient with my study visits, but as the term went on I did leave some till the end, but was careful to do the exhibitions before they closed. I think I would have got more out of them if I had done them with the lecture fresh in my mind.

I think my writing for the study visits was successful, I tried to expand on the questions and link the content to other research and reading I was doing. I also included a lot of photos to my posts which were good quality and relevant. I found it difficult to blog little and often, if I was to start again I would try to post every few days, I feel I would have more interesting reflections on my work. I also didn’t go into enough detail about technical processes, if I had included more pictures of works in progress, mistakes and written specifics of what was going wrong and right I would find it more useful to look back on in the future. I find it hard to write eloquently and thoughtfully about my own work. I can ramble and skim the surface of what I am trying to say, whilst not going into enough detail.

I found it a lot easier to write about the blocks that I had enjoyed, then the ones I hadn’t. For example in knit, I struggled to make anything that I was pleased with and was generally lacking enthusiasm, but I couldn’t explain exactly why and what I didn’t understand about it, so it was had to critically reflect without simply being negative. I found the stitch block really inspiring and was a lot more engaged, so I found it easy to write up about my progress and design process.

Through blogging I have learnt to reflect on my work in a more ordered and considered way; in the past I have mainly scribbled notes in loads of different places, but I can now gather and refine my thoughts. I plan on continuing my blog after the end of this unit, and I will post more often, with more detailed descriptions of what I’m doing and more pictures and comments on specific textile techniques. In the future I would also like to include more posts on further research, articles and exhibitions I have visited.

Currently, the Royal Academy has got an exhibition ‘Klimt and Schiele, drawings from the Albertina Museum, Vienna. This was the first time I have seen Klimt’s drawings, only his large heavily decorated paintings. It was a very interesting comparison, Klimt had a soft, sketchy style whereas Schiele a more jagged and unsettling.

Egon Schiele, Seated Female Nude, Elbows Resting on Right Knee, 1914.

Gustav Klimt, Standing Female Nude (Study for the Three Gorgons, ‘Beethoven Frieze’), 1901.

One of my favourite drawings in the exhibition, was Schiele’s Old Gabled Houses in Krumau, 1917. This is not a great photo, but I don’t like to spend ages on my phone as I usually grab better quality images from the internet afterwards. I have never seen a picture by Schiele that is not a portrait, I just love the thin delicate lines and empty spaces.

References:

Klimt/Schiele Drawings from the Albertina Museum, Vienna. (2018-2019) [Exhibition]. Royal Academy of Arts. 4 November 2018 – 3 February 2019.

Royal Academy of Arts (2018) Klimt/Schiele Drawings from the Albertina Museum, Vienna. Available at: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/klimt-schiele#image-gallery (Accessed: 28 January 2019).

Anni Albers brought weaving into the art world with incredible and considered woven compositions, defying ideas about modern art. A student at the Bauhaus in the 1920s, Albers was pushed into weaving and went into the subject unethusiatically but found a great passion for it. Obsessed with the weavers of Peru, she made many visits during her life, learning from the masters and modernising these ancient techniques.

‘I think that in regard to art, pictorial weaving, that is, a kind of portable mural, has a new future’.

I went to her recent exhibition at the Tate modern, her first major show in the UK. It was almost overwhelming seeing her work up close. Her weaving is so simple and effortless yet so carefully put together; the colours are perfect. On show was a huge collection of her pictorial weaving, work for interiors and furniture, and many detailed drawings and plans. Also included were woven pieces from around the world. She pays homage to the weavers of ancient Peru through her work and research.

This piece With Verticals (1946) seems so simple, but look closely in the shifting diagonal weave and the placement of each vertical line.

This one called Black white and yellow (1926) has a distint Bauhaus feel. Albers work has bold graphic qualities and interesting geometrics. When you first glance at this piece, you think it is a simple pattern design, but she has done clever things with colour, using blocks of black to break up and alter lighter shades.

The exhibition has inspired me to continue weaving. It fascinates me that this ancient textile process is used in everything; clothing, furniture, technology, science yet is also a beautiful form of visual arts.

References:

Albers, A. (2018). Anni Albers. Exhibited at Tate Modern, London 11 October 2018 – 27 January 2019

Tate (2018) Exhibition Anni Albers. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/anni-albers (Accessed: 29 January 2019).

Albers, A. (1946) With verticals [cotton and linen]. Available at: https://www.craftcourses.com/blog/a-preview-of-tate-moderns-anni-albers-exhibition (Accessed: 29 January 2019)

London College of Fashion has an extensive periodicals collection; the oldest magazine I found was an edition of L’Officiel from April 1951. It’s interesting how the advertising is so dated and clearly from the 50’s but Chanel’s marketing and packaging has stayed the same, with the addition of Keira Knightly from time to time. I suppose this is a clever way of keeping themselves timeless and elegant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was fascinating to look at issues of magazines from the 50s-90s; you can tell so much about what was happening in culture, society and also technology at that time. One thing I found interesting was the way that magazines were beginning to acknowledge the environmental impacts of the fashion industry. One example is a page from an early 90s edition of the Italian fashion magazine ‘Collezioni Donna’. They have featured catwalk photographs of high-end fur coats with the title ‘Luxurious or ecological?’ It is not very well translated, but they are commenting on a shift in fashion away from fur; funny to look back to when that question was being asked – now there is no question. Last year, London Fashion Week banned real fur after a campaign run by Paloma Faith and PETA. Where once it was the celebrities flaunting fur, they are now the ones pushing for its decease.

In the last few years, PETA have launched another campaign, outing the coat brand Canada Goose for using coyote fur and feathers from mistreated animals. In this video an animal rights activist who calls himself ‘The Veganologist’ confronts owners of Canada Goose coats. Although I defiantly have a problem with his methods of publicly shaming and antagonising the consumer, it is interesting to see how defensive and guilty people are about wearing fur, claiming ‘it was a present’ and ‘I’ve been a vegetarian my whole life’ showing how massively attitudes have changed towards fur. I do agree with PETA on this, and of course no animal should be harmed for fashion, but it seems odd to me that the people being confronted are not the millions wearing t-shirts stitched by a Bangladeshi five-year-old in horrific conditions.

 

This page is also from an edition of Collezioni Donna from the 90s. The way they reference other cultures’ clothing as ‘costume’ feels like blatent cultural appropriation. The reference to ‘mysterious nights of the Orient’ and ‘fairy tale places’ carries problematic western ideals of decadent and exotic Asian countries. This ‘desire’ that the Italian fashion houses have for their styles is just a nice way of saying ‘wants to appropriate’. This feels strikingly similar to the recent Dolce and Gabbana ad scandal, where there was huge uproar after they released a video on instagram advertising their upcoming show in China. The video showed a Chinese girl struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks, and a condescending male voiceover. The message it gives out of Italy educating and inflicting western culture on China is hugely problematic. Both examples have a scarily colonial sense – the west can take their beautiful clothes and jewellery, and then laugh as they try to eat a pizza.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are two pages in an edition of ID magazine from between 1988-1989. They quote facts about plastic pollution and energy consumption alongside trash art and re-worked fashion. If I looked at more magazines from the 80s and 90s I’m sure I would find similar spreads. It seems like being ethical could have been trendy, but it never quite caught on, and since the publication of this magazine, consumerism and consumtion have rapidly grown. It’s funny that although the figures from back then are clearly alarming, it’s taken almost 30 years for the public to become aware.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two pages are from a magazine called International Textiles from 1991. It is so interesting to see the current trends in textiles from then, and how dated they look, but as with many styles and fashions, a lot of elements can be seen in designs today. The image on the left is part of a section showing developments in digital textiles, this is where you can really tell the age compared to hand drawn print, it is amazing to think how far we’ve come since. On the right is from a section on the work of textile design students from around the world, this is an amazing snapshot into what was being taught at the time.

References:

The Veganologist (2018) Confronting Canadian Canada goose wearers for the first time. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qa5WpZtkRw (Accessed: 28 January 2019).

Leaper, C. (2018) ‘Could fur finally be banned from London fashion week?’, The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/london-fashion-week/could-fur-finally-banned-london-fashion-week/ (Accessed: 28 January 2018).

Sconlon, S. (2018) ‘London fashion week vows to be fur-free’, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/sep/07/london-fashion-week-vows-to-be-fur-free (Accessed: 28 January 2019).

PETA (2017) Maggie Q to Canada Goose: Murder Is Never In Fashion. Available at: https://www.peta.org/blog/maggie-q-canada-goose-murder-never-fashion/ (Accessed: 28 January 2019).

 

Lucian Freud, Cedric Morris 1941

Both Morris and Freud were male. In this representation of Lucian Freud the focus  is on his face rather than his body, which is completely clothed in a turtle neck and loose fitting shirt. Cedric Morris was Freud’s teacher at the time and freud was only 19. Due to the nature of their relationship it would have been inappropriate for the body to be exposed or exaggerated, but also because of his gender, he is taken more seriously. The muted colouring of his shirt blends into the background of the painting, his face is centred and his pink lips and striking light blue eyes implies innocence and draws the viewers attention. Freud’s expression is serious and almost distracted, as though he is deep in thought, this conforms to the male binary of intelligence, he is not looking at the viewer nor inviting their gaze. I can’t notice much symbolising freud’s identity, the way Morris has painted his pink lips, flicky hair give an androgynous look, and he is sat in more feminine way.

John Frederick Lewis, The Seista 1876

The artist was male and the model was his wife, Marian. The composition of the painting draws your eye to her diagonal body and the red of her dress, matching the red of her lips is one of the brightest and most alluring parts. The scene is of Marian in the couples home in Cairo, surrounded by luxurious fabrics, screens and flowers, her dress blends in, making her into a purely decorative item. There is a strong sense of the male gaze in this painting, that women are to be looked at, and the way she sleeps with her arm behind her head and body stretched, invites the audience to watch her sleep. She is also conforming to the female binaries; of passiveness and beauty. The furniture and decoration imply that they are upper class and wealthy, and paintings such as this one have been criticised for implying British superiority over the middle east. The hand mirror lying near her symbolises vanity, as though she spends her days admiring herself in a sunny room and napping, it implies female weakness and feebleness.

Tate (2018) Sir Cedric Morris Bt, Lucian Freud, 1941. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/morris-lucian-freud-t03231(Accessed: 20 January 2019).

Tate (2018) John Cedric Lewis, The Siesta,1876. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lewis-the-siesta-n03594 (Accessed: 20 January 2019).

I missed a week of print due to illness, it was a shame as I was really looking forward to it, but it was probably the best one to miss as print is what I have done the most of before and I am not really considering taking it as my specialism.

My photoshop skill level was so low before I started the digital print block, I had taught myself very basic stuff over the years but I was very keen to be properly taught it. On the first day we learnt how to edit colour and basic transformation skills as well as how to make half drop repeat and offset patterns. As Melanie said, you can learn simple processes in photoshop and use them well to create really interesting designs and patterns.

 

 

This was my first design done by repeating my drawing from my swatch book and changing the colour to a light pink, then copying and enlarging in a dark colour and layering on top. It’s a very simple process and colour palette but I am pretty pleased with it, although I could improve by changing the background colour to maybe a very light grey pink. This design could work for fashion but might look better for interiors.

This is another one of my designs, using an abstract painting that I had done, I extracted parts, overplayed and played around with the transparency and effects, and then with my previous design as the top layer. I think it looks good with the black pattern as it really stands out over the painterly background. I seem to have this kooky illustrative style that always emerges when I do print, that I actually don’t like that much but I know looks quite good and has a consistent theme.

This is another design using one of my drawings. I made the design into a paintbrush, and then printed multiple times onto of the original, changing the placement to create darker and lighter sections. I could take this further by changing the colour but I am quite satisfied with it in black and white. The paintbrush effect created a soft edge, I think it would look better if the lines where a bit clearer and sharper.

On the second day we continued developing our designs then learnt how to create digital fashion illustrations. I have done a lot of fashion illustration in the past, but by printing out designs and physically cutting out the garment shape and sticking it on to the drawing. This has a really nice hand done look to it, but I can see how learning to do this on photoshop can be so much quicker, giving you more time to edit and scale your design and produce more professional designs. I traced photos from magazines then scanned and put in my patterns. I was amazed at how quick this process is, you can realise how your work would look as a garment so easily.

I am pleased with these illustrations, I like to keep it simple, I think too much detail on the face and hair or background just distracts from the design. I pasted in the original face from the photo as I am not good at drawing faces and I felt as its so close up it would be the focus of the image if I drew it myself. I would like to do something a bit more interesting with them but I don’t know exactly what, I might look online or in some books to get some ideas.

I scanned in lots of my drawings and overlaid them to create designs, I want to find a way of making more abstract designs, I might cut sections up and create a kind of collage, changing the scale of different parts. I have realised through this that photoshop can be an amazing tool not just for creating pattern but for creating and changing illustrations and compositions.

 

This exhibition is about our capitalist society, with works representing political and class issues, in particular the modern fashion industry. With the merging of Karl Marx references and mock designer clothing, Rainer Ganahl casts an ironic message of the consumer world we live in. With the avant-garde clothing and white walls, you feel as if you’ve stepped into a low budget Dover Street Market. Looking closely, the clothes are deliberately badly made and present clever messages in each piece.

Fun knitwear pieces are displayed with messeges such as ‘I just lost my job,’ a reference to the many brands sourcing cheap labour in countries such as Bangladesh and China. This is a symbol for the huge class divide in late capitalism. The most expensive luxury goods are being produced by some of the poorest people in the world, in the worst working conditions to then being sold in the shiniest of stores. The use of Marxism symbols on the garments alongside the Comme des Garcons symbol clearly represents the contrast between capitalism and marxism.

A piece of of ceramic jewellery adorning a badly made dress states ‘as the repulsiveness of the work increases, the wage decreases.’ This is in reference to low paid workers and the clothes they are forced to produce, both in high street and high end fashion. As a product is cheaply mass produced, the creativity involved is lost along the way.

Also in the exhibition is a ‘Snowden’ dress, in the shape of a whistle with a slit in the front. This reference to Edward Snowden in clever and in the middle hangs a Hermes communist flag/scarf. The work of Rainer Ganahl is full of wit and you have to study and think about each piece to fully realise the messege.

During the industrial revolution, dress-making changed from being a highly skilled and respected craft to the job of low-skilled factory workers. With the increase in demand for cheap clothing and the mechanisation of the textile industry, girls were forced to work extremely long hours and sleep in the factories until completely exhausted by the labour-intensive work, they would often end up blind or disabled as Engels writes.

As a result of globalisation, the demand for cheap fast fashion has boomed and consumer capitalism has taken hold. This has happened so fast that the producers can not affordably keep up without out sourcing labour to less developed countries, at the expense of lives and the right to make a fair wage in a safe environment. This is the human cost of modernity. Whilst the rich can thrive and wear lovely clothes, the poor are suffering to produce them. Whilst the Rana Plaza disaster did alert the world to the horrendous conditions- it seems only minute changes have been made.

 

 

Van Der Watt, L. (2016) ‘The Checkered History of Checks’, Selvedge, Volume, 72, pg52-56.

I started my swatch book at the beginning of term when we had a workshop about it, but then lost it before taking any photos or blogging about it. This was very annoying as it is so time-consuming, but lucky no special equiptment or materials needed. Even though I love mark making, for some reason I found it quite difficult to do fast, interesting swatches. First I stuck to different varieties of black ink pens- with 4cmx4cm squares. I will try more alternative drawing materials such as nib pens, sticks, bits of paper etc. These squares are OK but I don’t find them particularly inspiring.

I did a series of 8×8 squares using just a brush and ink, in a way, limiting my material like this forces more creativity, I think each couple of pages I might stick to one process and really explore what I can do. Ink is great as you can add interest and tone by diluting.

I then did some larger 16×16 squares, with intricate pattern. These simple lines with a thin pen, create really effective pieces, you can create pattern just by slightly tilting and making uneven lines. I am going to do more uneven experimental swatches, and also bring in some simple colour schemes.

I like simple colour schemes, using watercolour paints gives you tone and texture so don’t always need additional colours.

A simple study of small squares using only ink and water. By changing the amount of dilution and ink on the brush, you can create really interesting effects, they seem to have a depth to them. I would love to photocopy, enlarge and reduce and collage these textures.