DEsignEr MAkEr
Chelsea Bodell
C
ontents
Lessons Risk taking Collaboration Destruction to reconstruction Play
Proposals First proposal Second proposal
Glossary Journals Designer Makers Words Websites
R
eviews
Aesthetica Selvedge
001.
D
esigner Maker
What is a Designer Maker?
I feel a designer maker is someone who is inbetween contemporary practitioner and commercial designer. It is someone who doesn’t know what the final outcome will be they almost work blind. Go down every avenue not just in one straight line to get to the final outcome (if there ever is one.) Has more time than a commercial designer more time to develop ideas. They have a number of skills and willing to try new ideas or techniques and very open minded. Play with characteristics e.g scale big and small, purpose, touch, senses. Having no idea what your doing. .
002.
R
isk Taking
003. not knowing end result scary frustrating unaware annoying adventure courage daring working blind unrestricted gambling possibility exploring innovation irregular no boundaries ambition initiative discomfort dare opportunity discomfort responsibility anarchy questioning against the current panic
004.
M 2
y Method of Making
1 draw 3
use the internet (pinterest) as a starting point
also use dictionary to look up the word and use thesaurus
4
5
if stuck always go back to research
MAKE LISTS
005. L
ikes
cats animals vibrant colours texture knit oil pastels to work big large strokes glitter metalic luminous 3d work
D
New Rules 1. Only work in the colours white, tan and cream. 2. Work in small scale 3. Make lists in the style of a comic strip
islikes
bows buttons net curtains brown beige neutral sparse plain burnt orange coloured pastels flat
4. Don’t use oil pastels 5. Ask the first five people in my phonebook to text me a number. These numbers equal a book in the libary
006. A
fter having a taste into what a designer maker actually does I feel this is the rotation for me. I love the sense of play. I love the idea of doing and looking at things in a different perspective. Unlike commercial designer, I feel that there is more of a sense of time and following your ideas right till the end. I feel like with designer maker it allows you to follow your ideas and lets you work with them to create something very original. In the first lesson there was a vast amount of unknowing and uncertainty. Especially with some of my peers who were very confused to say the least. I found it to be a bit of a rollercoaster and every lesson was so different a bit like contemporary practitioner. In the first lesson I felt there was a great amount of knowledge to what designer maker has to offer. I enjoyed the idea of risk taking and working outside of your comfort zone (which I did in visual research and I feel it paid off) so you could say I’m very willing to work outside of this zone. It’s also really nice that you get to concentrate on one thing at a time unlike commercial which you need to roughly see that final outcome. Even though the photos didn't turn out great I feel it was an exercise that could be developed. I did get a great amount of ideas through this workshop. There is so many ways to photograph now and different ways to edit photos. I feel this workshop could be developed about what to photograph where to photograph and how. This could all be determined on the risk taking workshop we did. It also inspired me to look at some photography journals and cinematography and even music videos as I know they use a vast amount of filters and angels. I always think that photographing your work well is a big part of communication and presentation.
007. If I had more time in this project I would like to see the relationship between the filters and the objects being photogrphed. Maybe different filters could convey different feelings or emotions? Then see how that can change the context of a photo or image.
008.
C
ollaboration
Before this first year at Huddersfield I always thought that collaboration was some sort of cheat. That you can’t let people help you or do your work for you, especially if your are getting marked for the piece. However, I have seen collaboration in a new light whilst at university and that two or more people can combine thoughts to creat something on another scale or dimention. Ideas can be braught together and tecniques can be shared.
009. W
hen I participated in the collaboration workshop I was really intrigued with the idea of how one motif can be used in so many different ways and in just one colourway. I really like the idea of the different layers on the first table and how the tracing paper is translucent so the images can be seen from underneath. I also like the shapes it translates into. I also really like the idea of how one simple rule of using biro to colour in can be so effective. It’s interesting how different people perceive this task. For the wallpaper section I especially liked how some people took the rules on to show their style or individuality with different patterns and marks. Maybe this could work as simple questionnaire or give everyone in the class one or two rules and see what they come up with. This could even be a great starting point for a project.
010. ‘Does collaboration mean compromise or a new creative direction?’
Alison Holt and Steven Tai Collaboration. Through this fascinating collaboration Alison was able to push her own boundaries and co-create something truly original, a piece of wearable art.
Holt, A., & Moses, T. (2016). Alison Holt BA Textile Artist - Fashion collaboration. Alisonholt.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016, from http://www.alisonholt.com/jumper_detail.php
Cas Holmes and Anne Kelly found each other by viewing each others exhibitions. They started off by only doing site specific work and then started this pieces. They have been working on this project for six years. It involves and incorporates a range of recycled materials and are altered using a number of fine art techniques. I really enjoy their work as they can give that wow factor by having quantity but I feel as they are both renowned artists they have that sense of quality. You can clearly see that they are trying to tell a story which makes the work consistent.
011.
Two artistic paths, two stories. A unique location source: Lake Como. Mantero, with its materials, its precious prints, its savoir faire that comes from more than a hundred years of experience. Paola d’Arcano,
Craftsmanship and uniqueness merge together, reinforcing a proven cooperation between two excellences The theme of the collection is the infinite array of colors and contrasts of Lake Como. Landscape can provide. Silk and cotton jacquard
I feel this is the epitomy of desinger maker bring two forces to combine something unique and beautiful. Bringing two artists or desingers that wouldn’t necessarily wouldn't work together. The website conveys the use of craftsmanship and handmade which again is what ultimately a designer maker is.
012.
I have chosen this collaboration as I feel it ties in quite significantly with my visual studies work. The use of vivid colour and black describes something very layered. It almost looks like something from a sketchbook. I feel that you can see the signatures of both artists in this work. I love how the personal styles are made into one that neither of them could do separately.
013. D
ada movement
I stumbled across this movement while I was in the libary and I felt I should pop this in my sketchbook. I felt the imagary of the peices and how they have used collage is something that I was looking at for my own studies but also the piece on the left. I like the way how they have taken something and it visually looks like they have put it back together again. It’s a movement so it makes a bigger picture but if you look at it from just an aesthetic point of view it demostrates something very powerful and strong. That is how I want to portray my work something very powerful and strong, something eye catching. As I looked into this movement more I gathered the sense of formity and collaboration to come as one to try to change the politics of the day but on a massive scale. People from all around the world got involved to star in this art protest. What if this was today? what if people from all around the world could make a bigger picture as big as Dada was in their days? I understand this sounds as though it is coming from a contemporary practisioners veiw but I belive with a few ideas this could be something to create in the designer maker and contemporary group.
014.
I started off by listing the characteristics of my fabric and seeing which ones I could change. bobbly, bubble gum, pastel, woven, soft, knobbly, windy, coarse, nipply, hairy, fluffy, looks like maggots firstly I cut all the fluffy, knobbly bits out from the surface and to change the fabric to a completely different feel.
015. P
ersonally I really enjoyed the destruction of our fabric lesson. It made me think how this could be done in different aspects with different materials like wood or metal. Instead of stitch what else could I demonstrate like oxidizing or burning or hacking. I could use different tools instead of scissors. I could use an iron, soldiering iron drill, hammer and chisel. How could something could be put back together, stitch, glue, fusing.
016. P
lay
The second half of the lesson we did story time. It’s something that definitely something that took me back to my childhood making up silly stories with my friends, playing with barbies and creating stories that I have picked up from adults and how they live. I like the opposition of this and how now as an adult to look back on my childhood and how my day to day life then can influence me in my playful art work almost like a continuous circle. I feel quite strongly about having a set time for play in your work and how not thinking could be the new thinking. The idea of play in the work time lets people see differently and this could be the materials they use or the engineering of something if playing with a material like lego. It also give you the ability to destress and enjoy work with releases endorphins.
There was a boy who was quite the loner at university. He desparatley wanted to study fine art but his Mother and Father made him do accounting. He was also an exchange student from Barcelona, his family moved there for a better life when he was younger but he hated it there. He was so alone he made no friends on his course. He wanted to feel happy he wanted to feel. He finally had enough with his life and turned to drugs. It was just this once he told himself over and over again. They would make him feel powerful. He used to see people in lights but they wouldn’t see him. So he decided to make people. His own friends were happy in his company and that’s all he wanted. He used the cocktail of drugs, and alcohol and his new found friends to build up the confidence to change courses. He is known as Bryan Lewis Saunders.
017. This is the peice we made to convey the story of our character. We made the faces by thinking how would we feel under the influence of drugs. As you can see it looks very messy and unworldly. I found the material almost misleading as it was quite rugid and compact but once worked into it was a delight to work with.
I love how something so unique can come from something so trivail. I would like to incorporate this lesson in one of my final proposals. Personally, I feel there are so many things and areas you can go into with just playing or being a child for an hour. The sense of not knowing and doing something with nothing else in mind is so radical for me as I have always worked to a brief. I am looking forward to choosing desinger maker and what comes of taking this specialism.
018. Shape Happy Crazy Funny Bright Jupiter* Happy little splodgy tamagotchi
S
tory
Whilst been at school, tammy got a fuzzy feeling in his spikes. He told his teacher and said he felt rather ill. After that his mom came to pick him up and asked him what the matter was so he hold her. She thought for a moment then realised oh you’re becoming a star, it’s your light powers. That evening tammy woke up in his favourite pj’s. The room was bright and full of warmth and joy. He had become a real actualy star. He was so pleased as all his other friends had turned just not him yet. He was so happy he couldnt get back to sleep even though he knew he had some homework to hand in to Mrs Quotemonstois in the morning. At school all his friends were really happy for him apart from one star called rupert man poop face who was the meanist boy in school. That night he went out for tea with his family to eat porqupines needles and green glitter to get his stength up.
019. 019. A
rtists that use play in their work
Japanese artist Toshiko HoriuchiMacAdam is considered one of Japan's leading fiber artists, using knitting and crochet as the foundation for much of her work. Her website explains that she specializes in "creating large, interactive textile environments that function both as imaginative and vibrant explorations of color and form, at the same time as providing thrilling play environments."
This peice is a walking rollercoaster sculpture where people can follow the tracks of a rollercoaster without the fear and nervousness of an actual ride. I really enjoy how they have taken into consideration people and how they commonly feel on a rollercoaster to provide something completely different. Something that encourages fitness and enjoyability through the motion of the rollercoaster. It’s so inventive and ironic. I feel it promotes the sense of destressing and walking is very calm and slow but they have made it more playful like an adult climbing frame.
Tiger and Turtle – Magic Mountain. Created by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth.
I have recently found an artists called Victor Nunes on a site called Buzz Feed and he turns everyday objects into sets of cute and quirky doodles. He works in a number of materials from lettuce to cashew nuts to create art that has a sence of play and playfulness. Instead of drawing something he uses these objects as a starting point. I like how he uses his imagination to draw something that reminds him of the shape or colour of some mondane item.
020. I
deas for proposal 1
For my first proposal I wanted to incorporate one of the lessons I had at the beginning. I really enjoyed how something can be destroyed and then put back together in someones own style or taste. It really got me thinking about sustainability and how this technique could be used for lot’s more everyday objects in our day to day lives.
Items we throw away -tea bags -old food -old clothes -old make up -packaging -plastics -contact lenses -baby wipes -plastic bottles -razor blades -coffee filters -tarnished necklaces -jigsaw pieces -scratched CD’s -socks with holes -expired medication -flowers -broken toys -friendships -envelopes -paper -batteries -felt tip pens -bus tickets -out of date newspaper
021. A
rtists who use the notion of sustainability in their work often are designer makers. I have currently been looking at the Ecochic award online and there is also a publication.
Sara Kiani from the United Kingdom created this dress and pleated jacket from secondhand hotel linens (below right). “I became deeply shocked at having followed the big environmental and social issues caused by the fashion industry,” Kiani said. “But I realized that I can turn my career around for something better. I want to be proud of my job, not ashamed. I want to be a part of changing the future of fashion.” I think this is genious how so many hotels in the world and therefor how much linen is discarded. I often wonder when I go to hotels how much washing they must do. I love the way her fabric manipulation can make just a bed linen into something beautiful and fashionable.
On the top right is a pom pom playsuit by Amy Ward who uses discarded textiles.
The bottom right photo is of a garmant woven of discarded clothing labels by Esther Lui.
022. I
wanted to go further into how mundane the objects could get so I delved further into what objects or components artists use to make into garment or accessories. As I wanted more of an avant guard outcome I had a look into sustainability and coture.
This is a necklace by artist and designer Noémie Doge. It is made up of a broken football, which at first glance is unbelievable. Her thought process and ideas are so unique. There is actually an ecochic designer competition and this is something that I am thinking about entering next year.
This was a collection designed by Pan Wen and Amy Ward that consisted of only Ford car upholstery. Pan expressed surprise at how easy the fabrics were to work with. “We were expecting the materials at the challenge to be a lot heavier and more difficult to manage,” she said. “Working with Ford’s fabric today has definitely inspired me to look for more sustainable fabrics in my future designs.” I love how these two designer have taken a risk to work with a new material and yet, found it to be something that it’s not. Chua, J. (2016). Fashion Designers Transform Ford’s Recycled Upholstery Fabrics into Couture. Ecouterre.com. Retrieved 24 February 2016, from http://www.ecouterre.com/fashion-designers-transformfords-recycled-upholstery-fabrics-into-couture/
023. P
roposal 1
During the lesson of destruction to reconstruction I had an idea on how something like this may work in a collection and started to look at artists and designers who actually looked at sustainability in their work. I found some really fascinating articles and websites including one designer who has actually made a fashion collection out of Ford car upholstery. This got me thinking as a designer and how I can take something, use the components, and take these to make something original? but the issue is what do I use? I decided to refer back to the risk taking workshop and let one of my close family chose three objects each in my house that I could start to dismantle. I shall then choose two of the suggestions given to me to see how I could come up with a final outcome that was something out of the ordinary. As this is hypothetical scenario I shall say I chose the T.v and the alarm clock, from these objects I will also have the knowledge and understanding of something I have never had the chance to study and a new perceptive on these objects and maybe learn a few techniques i can adapt into textiles. I will also see where the components live and how something like electronics can add to my understanding and how maybe if i have enough understanding could even use this in my work in future briefs. I shall use manuals for a little help but as I am more of a kinetic learner I want to do most of the work, working blind. I am not sure what the final outcome will be but I feel this project is also about the journey and how to understand something that you don't necessarily know how it works. I will also make lists of each components properties and how the properties could be changed if I burnt, oxidized, soldiered, unravelled to name a few. I also want to see how the two objects relate and make a list of their similarities and differences and how i can relate all this information into developments and just to try out different methods of the components into interacting with each other to form one or a collection of visually aesthetic pieces in fashion.
024. I
deas for proposal 2
Hands inc is a company that offer creative support in the workplace and have a number of activites they provide. They claim “The creative process can be a valuable medium for exploring change, identifying skills and strengths, team building, developing concepts and action plans.� I feel this is something that designer makers could really get their teeth into and work with employers to create something visually pleasing but serving a purpose. Using play as a starting point from my recent lesson I looked into some other artists who use play and from this saw that scale is a great variable to use. As to children everything is on a much larger scale. I also looked into companies such a Google and Disney who turn and transform their offices and work spaces into interactive art pieces for their employees. Researching into art therapy in the workplace I found a number of companies who work with employers to create a workshop or scenario. For my proposal I want to create something that ties in with this theme.
025. W
hat could the media of art or textiles bring to a company?
? Developing Personal Potential – – Letting go of Stress – – Using the Arts to Re-charge your batteries – – Communicating Creatively – – Relax, Relearn and Revitalize: Artmaking through Guided Imagery – – Your Professional Journey: Crossroads, Obstacles and Detours – – Creating a Personal Treasure Map: Developing Goals and Desires ? Managing and Coping with Change – – How to Cope with Transitions and Changes – – The Anatomy of Change – – Self-Circles: How to Avoid Going around in Circles ? Enhancing Personal and Team Creativity – – Motivating People Creatively – – Creative Problem Solving Techniques – – The Art of Avoiding Burnout – – Harnessing Creativity in the Workplace – – Creating Failure: Learning to Live with your Mistakes ? Improving Teamwork and Productivity – – Creative Techniques to Enhance Team Building – – Exploring the Creative Process – – Humor and Art as Coping Strategies – – The Art of Letting Go – – Building Self-Awareness and Thinking Skills – – Border Patrol: Recognizing our Boundaries
026. Whilst researching for the lesson risk making I came across something that really caught my eye the meaning of Stochastic or a Stochastic painting. It is the method of chance and how colours and or colours can be structured randomly. As I wanted to create an interactive piece for my structure or wall based interative art I though this was a wonderful starting point. What about creating something that moves or where you have to paint the colours on the wall itself? By using this theory I can go on to create my 2nd proposal.
Whipple, F. L.. (1968). Stochastic Painting. Leonardo, 1(1), 81–83. http://doi.org/10.2307/1571909
028. S
cale
As i know what scale I want to be for the art instillation it got me thinking what if it was on the opposite scale of the spectrum. What if my instillation piece was tiny. Could it be infact used as a broack or some form of embellishment? I would also like to challenge this idea in the media of embroidery and how I can use different techniques and materials to create one of these but a very small scale so that it can be decorative but interactive almost like a decorative toy for adults. It could also be a broach or on some form of garment. I have also looked into how adults, like children play or fiddle when they are nervous. Could this be it’s selling point?
029. P
roposal for 2nd idea
For my next proposal I have used another lesson to refer back to which was the lesson on play. I really enjoyed this lesson and loved how not necessarily thinking could be so excited and new and joyful. My proposal is to use the theory of Stochastic paintings to create a number of moving arms which in turn would be an interactive piece that people can move and change for their taste or enjoyment in the work place. After reading articles about art therapy in the work place I feel there is a big gap for artists and designer makers to really get their work shown in a different setting and environment. The piece would be made up of separate arms and moveable compartments almost like a game and use the media of paint to really get the vibrant childlike colours into this piece. Whilst looking at art therapy I looked at how colouring in has become big and how that is also a form of destress. I have also though about scale and how could something be on the wall say in a wall street office or a hospital for employees to use to calm and settle down but be completely altered to be a small motif or embellishment on a garment or accessory. Still allowing that motion of movement and turnable arms with beading or even electrical-switches sewn in. Adding to this it could be something to help adults with nervousness and again another way to destress either in the office or in day to day life. Just that sense of fiddling or playing could make a person at ease or comfortable while say presenting or if in a stressful environment.
G
030.
lossary of Journals
-ID -Dazed and Confused -Tank -Selvedge -Aesthetica -Crafts -Wallpaper -Elephant -Ammo -ARCH+ -Curve -California home -Juxtapoz -Web Design -Eye -Textile forum -Cover -Wrap -Layers -Print -Azure -Core77 -Cymk -Foam -Apollo -Wrap -Computer Arts -Art Review -Hole in Corner -Oh comely -Sheet
031. G
lossary of Designer Makers -Dawn Dupree -Ali Pretty -Alison Willoughby -Ptolemy Mann (weave and print) -Aimee Betts -Stella Harding (knit and stitch show) -Rachel John (extreem knitting) -Sherril Jennings -Mary White (printer) -Georgia Bellamy (embroider) -Hannah Bass (printer) -Julia Triston -Isobel Hall (3d) -Kei Ito (3d) -Susse (tea towel) -Sunayana B Goswami -Katey Jane Smith (print) -Chelache (knitter) -Yanii Akeliah (printer) -From Brighton with Love -Huckleberry -Rose Nisbet -Sophie Digard (crochet) -Jill Denton (patchwork) -Sue Dove (patchwork) -Helen Pailing (3d)
032. G
lossary of Words
Oxidizing -The most common example of oxidizing is rusting Site-specific - Art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork. Post-consumer - Once a material or finished product has served its intended use and has been diverted or recovered from waste destined for disposal, it is then considered “post-consumer.’’ Striated - Refers To Fabric Purposely Given A Narrow, Linear, Streaked Color Effect . Dada - Artists produced satrical and nonsensical art, poetry and performance in response to the horrors and folly of the First World War. Sensorial - Describes art that seeks to engage the audience by activating the senses. Tableau - A painting in which characters are arranged for picturesque or dramatic effect and appear absorbed and completely unaware of the existence of the viewer.
033. G
lossary of Websites
034. R
eview of Aesthetica
Asthetica have branded them selves as ‘Intelligent, beautiful and informative, Aesthetica is one of the leading publications for art, design and photography.’ Starting with the front cover, I am drawn by the photography on the covers. As I want to specialise in fashion rather than interior I really like the way they suggest and convey fashion in photography. I wouldn’t call this fashion photography though as the photography is more about the whole picture that the fashion/ model. I also really like Aesthetica’s layout and how the layout is approached. I feel for all kinds of design it’s hard to present but especially textiles as its more 3d so to present it in a 2d way is difficult for me but however I feel this journal can help with this. the articles they provide are very informative and inspirational. There are a fair amount of exhibitions and reviews from these exhibitions to music bands. I would also put it in the group of a lifestyle magazine as there is a wide variety of most aspects. To me it gives me the feeling of a lifestyle magazine. The lifestyling reminds me of other journals like ID and Dazed and Confused.
035. R
eview of Selvedge
Unlike Aesthetica, I feel there is a different type of feel throughout this magazine. It has the feeling of being much more floral and less contemporary than Aesthetica. I also feel it’s less of a lifestyle magazine , focusing more on textiles and textile artists. They offer a number of articals ranging from being a designer maker to exhibitons. The layout is much more visual and less contemporary layouts than say an illustration journal. As a designer maker I feel this is something to purchase regularly to see what is happening in the textiles world and have that knowledge of who is who. They even have their own blog on their website which is quite interesting and also something to keep ontop of and read quite regularly. In the back of the magazine they have event and fairs in the textiles industry. They also work with different artists and designers at fairs and events as I saw at the knit and stitch show.