Alex's FMP- Weather
Cloud hat
I made a cloud hat inspired by the theme of weather and you can see it modelled above by yours truly. I also took inspiration from extreme costume design and the runway, similarly to Andreas Kronthaler cloud dress for Vivien Westwood shown on the right. I really enjoyed making this actually despite at first feeling daunted by the task at first. My initial drawing plan for my hat is below.
Wind drawing
We did a workshop on wind drawing, I found this quite challenging and a little far outside of my comfort zone! We made a wind drawing machine that was not that successful, it toppled and was uneven at the bottom. We created the image above by making 'artificial' wind with different pens and pencils.
Handmade sketchbook
I created my own sketchbook out of a variety of materials including cardboard, tracing paper, black paper and bubble wrap. This was a challenge for me because I am a perfectionist and I really struggle to leave things messy and rustic looking but I have pushed myself to try and be more free and let the materials guide me with this mini project. To fill the sketchbook I have included collage, digital art and painting. I really wanted the mixed media idea to run through this piece, to make it not only look like the unpredictability of weather but feel like it too.
Cloud time-lapse
We made a time-lapse of clouds by making a video over the course of about ten minutes the we edited in premiere pro to make it faster and look more like a time-lapse. We also removed any audio and added music in the background. Whilst we were outside we also took photos with a normal camera and a film camera. The photos with the normal DSLR camera are on the right. The film has to be printed off in the dark room so I don't have them yet.
Dystopia, fire, cut
Above are my plans for my dystopian, fire, cut inspired pieces to generate ideas on the topic of weather. I am planning on making an A3 piece that will defy the laws of physics and gravity. I have been also inspired by the Olympic flame and how bright that shines, it is truly beautiful (an example is below). I have created a collage representing the ideas of dystopia, fire and cut. I included things that have inspired me following these themes. I have drawn a burning dystopian city for my 'final idea' kind of thing (it is above on the right).
Cloud edits
Today we edited some photos of clouds in Photoshop some are more surrealist than others. I enjoyed experimenting with different special effects, filters and gradient maps. We remove any dust spots from the photos using the spot healing brush tool. We made the images a higher quality so that they would neater and more presentable.
Wedding dress initial ideas
Yesterday we started to sketch out or initial ideas and then consider different ways of idea generation. For example I used a technique that is an idea by John Booth, this is to create a basic human form in the style of a collage. I drew over the top of this to create more detail. I think that I will probably try this method of idea generation again because it really opened my mind to different possibilities within collage and fashion design. I also think that I will create some digital wedding dress designs on my drawing tablet, this, I think, will add a more clean element to my dress designs. I think that I need to re-link it to the theme of weather and really think about I can represent that in my designs.
Larger hand drawn ideas
I have done some larger drawings to get a general feel for what kind of shapes and designs that I like when it comes to wedding dresses. I really liked the way they turned out! I will definitely import these drawings into my digital drawing app on my tablet and develop them further. I think that this has helped me to get a better idea of what shapes and forms that I would like to use in my work. I based most of these designs on the wedding dresses that Vivienne Westwood designed for the 2022 spring/summer collection that I researched on my 'research' page on Wix.
Weather front pattern designs
I have done some primary drawings based on the patterns created by weather fronts. I have also made a little 3d dress and put it on my mannequin. I have photocopied my swirly pattern drawings and cut them out then stuck them down in different ways to create patterned designs then also made some dress designs. Below is my favorite photo of a weather front.
Concertina dress
I made a little dress out of folded up paper with my digitally created patterns (below). I now think that creating an entire dress out of paper is a little bit ambitious; so I am now set on creating a repeat pattern quilt and then going on from there! I think that I will probably discard the dress/ wedding dress idea because it is just too complex and time consuming.
Digital drawings
These are my digital drawings that I did to show pattern design and potentially dress designs. However I am now not creating a dress but I will still use the pattern design so that is still useful. My original plan was to create the skirt part from a structure made of chicken wire and paper mashe the to staple folded patterned paper over the top. Then the top half would be a printed t-shirt with my simple, weather front inspired designs. Now I am thinking of making 3 different types of prints that I will sew together to create a quilted pattern. My original design for my first idea is on the right.
Head in the clouds ideas
I was going to screen print onto a T-shirt, hats and a tote bag however the screen printing stuff that we have at the collage doesn't work at the moment so that idea kind of went down the pan. All of these ideas are based on the patterns that are created by weather fronts.
Cyanotypes
I have made some sample cyanotypes out of the designs that I made in my sketchbook and printed them onto see through plastic paper. I put them in a UV light chamber to expose them and create the patterns. I have made these so that I can quilt them together with the Lino cuts and the wax melt things, as well. I really liked the way that they came out but the process was a bit lengthy. I have now made more but I have developed some of them out in the sun which turned out great!
Lino Prints
I have made a Lino cut that didn't work out too well I think that I will put this down to a bit of failed attempt at experimentation. I think that there are a couple of reasons that this didn't work out too well, for example, the ink wasn't made for fabric and it just didn't work!
Cyanotypes on paper
I printed some cyanotypes onto paper to create a different effect. I liked the way this turned out because at first it was just an experiment, I could do more of these but I think that I will stick to fabric so that I can sew them together.
Fabric book
My fabric book is made up of squares of fabric that I have sewn together. It didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to but it has become a part of my body of work. So that is still positive and progressive for my final major project.
My patches
I made patches to then make into a quilt but it didn't quite get that far so I then made some of them into the book above and the others I have spare. I think that individually they turned out really well and I'm super proud of them.
My Collages
I have done one digital collage so far and will probably do more at some point. I have also done allot of physical collages that I think are better than my fabric works. I first photocopied the fabrics and then cut them up to create more repeat patterns and collages. I think that my final piece will be a collage because I think that I am stronger with that.
My final body of work
These is my final body of work that I have completed for my Final Major Project. This is not quite as wow as I would like it to be but it does show the variety of things that I have created from one concept. I think that I will display this as a collection displaying the patterns created by weather fronts and weather maps.
Professional photos of final body of work
Collages
Fabric book
Fabric swatches
These are my final studio taken photos for my FMP. They are at a better quality that the photos that I took on my own accord. I think that they have really shown the royal blue of the fabrics. I also think that the scans of my collages have come out really clear.