MODULE HAND IN

My concept board

Last week was a busy one so I thought I'd share some imagery of what i handed in. I'm pleased with the samples i experimented with. There's no rest for the wicked.. I'm now cracking on with a new project that steams from my previous one, the outcome will be 6 A2 finished designs that will be taken to Premiere Vision, Indigo Paris (trade show) in February and hopefully sold! Every year students from my degree programme travel to Indigo along with other international studios to present their collections of designs, whether that be fabrics, knits, embroideries etc. We sell our work to leading buyers from as far afield as China, US, and the Netherlands. It's a massive trade fair that welcomes professionals from around the world to exhibit their work and gives up and coming designers a chance to be seen.

Also in my spare time, I am designing a few prints for an ongoing Surtex brief we've been given. This month the topics are Christmas and Conversational. I'm superrrrr excited about these topics as there making me feel festive. I've been drawing camels and stars for my Christmas print.

Surtex is a global trade fair based in New York, similar to Indigo Paris. It's a marketplace for sourcing original art and design, where artists, art agents and licensing agencies connect with manufacturers and retailers to create the next best-selling product in every category imaginable. Wall coverings, patterns, accessories, bed linens, stationery, giftware and so much more! The designs we submit will be taken along with two students chosen from our programme to sell at our stall in May! It's a big anniversary for Surtex as it'll be their 30th year running in 2016. Once I've finished my designs i'll upload a sneak peek.

There is a lot going on, i think i may drown in work however i find it motivating and it makes me giddy just thinking about it. So many opportunities one cannot turn down, this is also the reason i have closed my online shop for a couple of months.

One of 5 A2 sample boards 

One of 5 A2 sample boards

Deadline morning - soooo relieved!

Ceramic Workshop

Hello! Me and a friend from my course organised a ceramic workshop for everyone on our row. It was nice to spend a day out of the studio learning a new skill. It was really fun and i am keen to finish my ceramic makes. I made a few tiles using (i think) stoneware clay and then decorated them with embossed papers, smashed sea shells and mark making. 

I also made a vase and with left over clay, i made a food bowl for Ruby! I didn't add markings on my vase as i wanted it to be smooth. For ruby's bowl I used lasor cut wooden letters and pressed them into the clay. I aim to paint them both after firing.

My ceramic makes will now dry out over the couple of days and then they will have their first biscuit firing at 1000 degree celsius!!

INNOVATION SAMPLES

My work space

Lately for my Innovation project I have been busy in the print room experimenting with techniques such as Direct and normal Screen Printing with Binder FF and Puff, Natural Dying, Foiling and even hand painted back into different fabrics such as Calico, Cotton, Silk, and furnishing fabrics. I have just began to fuse my samples together using bondaweb and a touch of embroidery.

Furnishing fabric samples

Colour samples are coming together nicely 

Natural Dye workshop

Natural Dye samples, dried and cured

Natural Dying fabric with Conchineal - Female Bugs!

Direct Screen Printing

I am yet to experiment with Devore, Ceramics and working back into my prints using the Lasor Cutter. Reflecting on my attitude - i think i have been more organised, positive and have put extra effort in. I truly hope it shows and pays off!

PRICELESS AND WORTHLESS - MINI EXHIBITION

Priceless and Worthless is a mini recycling exhibition where students from my course take something worthless and upcycle it so that it becomes priceless. There was no set brief really, we just had to find the beauty in something that needed a new lease of life. It's really fun and we all ate cake, drank tea and socialised with students from all levels of my course. My piece was a rosette that i put together using applique with odd sorts of fabric and embroidery thread i had collected from charity shops.

Lasor cut wooden flowers and upcycled bottles by Jodie Smith

Screen printed coat upcycled by Amy Hodkin

Train tickets upcycled by Katie Punton

A mug, sauce and plate upcycled by Megan Read

Notebooks handmade from raw materials by Isabella Solito

A sloth made from a pair of socks by Emily Pearse

There were so many innovative ideas, these were just some of my favorites. It'll be fun to see what next year's exhibition brings.

Roisin Johns - Colours, Styling & Material Portfolio

My work is progressing a colour palette with the help from Wilko’s emulsion pots. I used what i learnt in a recent cad workshop to separate my CMYK and Spot colours from paintings and collages. This enabled me to expose painterly marks for possible backgrounds. I feel like a switch has click and i am now getting to grips with screen printing!

Roisin Johns from the University of the Arts London (and also from Leeds College of Art) was a guest lecture today. She spoke about her journey from BA to MA and how she took found materials from landfills, skips and factory floors and turned them into objects of desire. I am really fond of her concept of recycling and i particularly liked her colour palette of pink, purple and orange.

Second Year at University So Far...

At the moment I am carrying on from my summer project which was originally themed around homeless people and their pet companions. However I decided to save this theme for a future project as I couldn’t draw from it observationally whilst in the studio. So in the end i chose to draw objects from the seashore (as i have quite a collection) in the style of fauvism. I chose this style for its expressive painterly qualities that have no colour resemble to their realistic values. I liked the idea of warm coloured shells..

Pink seems to be a default colour choice

A little bit of collaging with house paints

Painting with bits of card instead of a brush

For inspiration i have been looking at Britt Bass Turner, Katie Craig, Henri Matisse and Jenny Andrews.

Katie Craig

Henri Matisse

Britt Bass Turner

Jenny Andrews 

FIRST STEPS TO BEING AWAKE, CONFIDENT & ORGANISED.

My name is  Amy and I'm a second year student, at Leeds College of Art currently studying Printed Textiles & Surface Pattern Design. I adore large chunky knits and slow crafting. You will often find me knitting or searching for a new pattern.

I intend to blog because I want to use this space as a platform to share ideas, inspirations and to also document my degree journey. I hope to connect with like-minded people.

If I blog successfully throughout the 2015-16, i hope to have accomplished my goals of

+ finding my practice
+ learning to drive
+ being more sociable

This is my attempt at being more awake, confident and organised because it feels necessary.

Image from Pinterest. Source Unknown.