To conclude part five I want to reflect on what I have learnt during this project and how I have embedded and personalised what I have learnt during parts 1 -4
I have found during this course that context wise I am probably more at ease with fashion or art textiles than I am with interior textiles this inevitably influenced the direction that I took during this project.
This course has helped to give me a framework to work to which has helped hugely in how I organise my work. It is clear and gives great direction. This has not always been the case in previous courses and it is a way of working that I have found very helpful and will hopefully continue into the future. I also feel that I am finally getting to grips with sketchbooks vs learning logs which seems to be an issue for most OCA students. I am working far more in my sketchbook than I have ever done before. I took my time developing an idea before rushing to start the next idea or section, this meant that the project did take slightly longer than I would have liked this also meant that I had to set myself boundaries which I would not have done prior to taking this course
I have tried hard to place a greater emphasis on my visual research and give the project a more solid visual identity in response to the trend. In previous assignments I found that I needed to conduct more extensive visual research, exploring more imagery and ranges of drawing approaches before to choosing what to develop into designs. I used drawing, collage, digital printing and image manipulation and of course more primary research such as the beach combing day where I looked and collected actual items to use as both inspiration and materials. My theme itself strongly suggested the use of unusual recycled materials so this had a very strong bearing on my approach. I continually referred to the colour palette as I worked through the project especially when it came to the development and sampling stages. This was not always easy to keep to as the materials were restricted to found and recycled ones. They were not able to be re-coloured either so sometimes I was not as successful as I would have liked in this. I took a lot more risks and used some more experimental and unusual materials for this project than I have done previously. This meant that I could not use the machine as much as I would normally which pushed my mind to think of totally different approaches.
I felt deconstruction worked so well for assignment four as it was such a strong theme which really spoke to me rather than just a concept based on the photographs I found at the start of the course. I wanted to explore this kind of more political topic again for my independent project. The issue I chose is very close to my heart but I found it quite challenging to find a way to express my feelings on the issue in a completely unique way mainly due to the issue being such a popular one for artists. I wanted to find new ways to look at it. I feel I achieved this in creating very unusual samples using materials that would not immediately be considered as textile like materials
Review against the assessment criteria
Demonstration of technical and visual skills: Materials, techniques, observational skills, Visual awareness, design and compositional skills. I used some very unusual materials for this project which used all my technical skills to work with and demonstrated them. I was quite difficult to design the samples to avoid them looking purely like a mass of tangled mess but actually to convey the message and feelings I was intending them to. I feel I was successful in the main with one or two samples not working a s well as I had hoped. The samples were very varied in composition, materials, and technique.
Quality of outcome: Content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas. I feel that I have communicated the narrative of this concept successfully and applied the knowledge that I have gained through research and knowledge of techniques to a high level and in an individual way. I have endeavored to present it in a coherent manner keeping everything in order and clearly labeled.
Demonstration of creativity: Imagination, experimentation, invention, development of personal voice. I chose this subject as it is one that I am quite passionate about and I tried really hard to look at it in a personal and individual way. I experimented and invented as much as I could with my materials and style to try to achieve this. I feel I have created some interesting and imaginative responses to the theme.
Context: Reflection, research, critical thinking. I had thought that this subject would be easy to research as it is such a well known and popular subject at the moment. It was actually quite difficult to find primary research as the main effects on the environment are taking place on the other side of the world, so I had to depend on images and information found on the internet and in documentaries more than I would have liked. I still struggle with the concept of critical thinking but have tried hard to evaluate rather than merely describe my techniques and samples.
Textiles2OCA 