DESIGN
CRAFTS
2020
Design Crafts BA (Hons)
Graduates of 2020
A tactile, sensorial experience is fundamental to Craft practice, for the maker and consumer. The unfortunate timing of the pandemic lock down had an immediate impact on us all, but particularly on our students. With no access to the workshops or the studio everything changed. Design Crafts graduates successfully shifted their practices over night from a physical, tangible one to a digital, virtual one. They can be proud of what they have achieved! I wish them all good luck for the future.
Imogen Aust Programme Leader for Design Crafts BA(Hons)
contents Abi Watkins textiles Aimee Hall ceramics Blake Roberts silversmith Chloe Green mixed media Chloe Rogers ceramics Grace Allen glass Heather Bolton glass Heidi Padoin metalwork Jessica Stooke jewellery Karina Wyroba mixed media Kate Hancox textiles Kaya Isaac ceramics Kirsten Macken mixed media Lucy Naylor ceramics Rowan Firmin metalwork Samuel Lack metalwork Sandra Gonciarova jewellery Suzanne West glass
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Abi Watkins textiles
6
organic
intricate informative tactile heritage
tapestriedtextiles tapestriedtextiles@gmail.com
I explore the colours and textures obtained from nature using heritage craft techniques and historical skills such as plant dyeing to create my mixed media textile pieces. My pieces are an educational opportunity to share the knowledge and skills from the past and to learn greater sustainability in the present.
Abi Watkins
11
Aimee Hall ceramics
authentic intention mood patience
purposeful
ahall.crafts ahallcrafts@yahoo.com
Ardys - earthenware and terracotta ceramic vessels explore the essence of home, sparking comfort and warmth. Bold, hand-drawn patterns in a minimalist design, emphasise the individuality of each wheel thrown piece. Focusing on how colour, form and texture can affect the ambience of an environment, making honest design choices is a key part of my practice.
Aimee Hall
17
Blake Roberts mixed media
18
decorative narrative illusion
luxurious geometric
blake.nicole.design blake.nicole.design@gmail.com
I am a jeweller and silversmith that highlights narratives and illusion through the medium of metal. Having experience in traditional and contemporary approaches to making, the printed designs are later etched to create a highly detailed, decorative and tactile surface. I have also spent time perfecting a long – established skill of hand scoring. By strategically placing the imagery across the one of more of these vessels it challenges the point of view and only reveals its full narrative in certain perspectives. It is important that my work is functional and engaging to the audience.
Blake Roberts
23
Chloe Green mixed media
colourful humourous bold unique
quirky
craftitgreen makeitgreen101@gmail.com
I am a multi media maker who uses, colour, print and pattern and humour to create my pieces. Word play is my forte. The way we use words fascinates me. I love to collect bits of overheard conversations, illustrate and play with them creatively. Having a small part of a story in such a way really can take your mind anywhere. I also look into putting fun and important twists on the way we get our news and the way we speak to each other. Words our powerful and should be used wisely.
Chloe Green
31
Chloe Rogers ceramics
complex digital-renaissance
narrative artefact
hybrid
c.rogers_designcrafts rogerschloe@btinternet.com
Acquired technical knowledge, skilled material exploration and subject interpretation are for me components that define craftsmanship. The urge to formulate an accomplished visual and tactile response drives my practice as a maker. Considering the profound existence of ceramic artefacts and our current understanding of their properties, the potential for further exploration of clay and its capabilities is vast. A passion towards art and design culture from Renaissance Italy is something that, when paired with contemporary styles in the digital era and ideas of collection display, creates a juxtaposing yet harmonious relationship within my work.
Chloe Rogers
37
Grace Allen glass
playful optics
colour combining
techniques
grace.a_crafts grace.e.allen98@gmail.com
My work reflects my love of the workshop and desire for learning and developing techniques. The most predominant process I apply is the pulling coloured glass like taffy to be used as a trail, which allows for a playful making process and expressively coloured pieces. Combining pieces to create anew has been achieved by creating two pieces, an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ to be combined while hot. This practice creates a thicker piece which enhances the optical properties of the glass allowing the coloured trail to ‘bounce’ creating an illusion at the rim.
Grace Allen
43
Heather Bolton glass
variety
pattern colour
experimental
murrine hrl_glass hrl.glass@gmail.com
I have found glass to be the medium best suited to me as a designer / maker. My inspiration comes from various sources, including talking to other people about my work, I often find differing opinions and challenging questions bring new ideas helping my projects develop. In recent work I have been inspired by stained glass within Cathedrals. Looking at the colours, patterns and optical qualities of the windows in relation to the cathedrals in which they are placed and how they relate to Christian beliefs. Creating collections of vessels, tableware and wall hangings using various murrine techniques.
Heather Bolton
49
Heidi Padoin metalwork
whimsical
saw-pierced riveting
handmade
political
hjmpadoin heidipadoin@tiscali.co.uk
My focus is handmade jewellery specifically made through the practise of saw piercing. My work is a reflection of my opinions and competitive spirit. I enjoy making work that challenges my capabilities because I aim to surpass myself with every new piece; I can be a tedious person by nature and I believe that may play a part in influencing the intricacies within my jewellery. I also enjoy turning heads; being outlandish, which has come to fruition in my most recent collection.
Heidi Padoin
55
Jessica Stooke mixed media jewellery
classical form texture architecture
mark making
jessicastookecraft jessicaclairestooke@gmail.com
Taking inspiration from mark making, form, colour and textures, I develop my 2D ideas into 3D pieces using a variety of materials and techniques. For this project I have focused on really experimenting and pushing my ideas in different materials and scale, comparing the finish and aesthetics each piece holds. Playing with a variety of forms inspired by Rome and its architecture producing one-off jewellery pieces that reflect the aging city. The pieces will be hand pierced copper with snippets of the Colosseum, St Peters Basilica and other beautiful buildings etched onto the surfaces. The etching will be layered with patina, creating a textured and aged effect to the piece.
Jessica Stooke
61
Karina Wyroba laser cut materials
curious
mixed-media
decorative
modern peculiar
karina.w.design karina.wyroba@hotmail.com
My work has been heavily inspired by the clash of natural & unnatural, and how these two qualities could be represented within hand crafted items. Trends have proven that wooden home decor and accessories are desired due to the visual warmth they bring to an interior. The natural qualities of raw wood can be accentuated so much when it is placed next to carefully saw pierced metal, or laser cut acrylic; materials which within the home, are seen as quite cold and modern. The aim has been to explore how natural and unnatural materials, forms and patterns can compliment each other, and how these compositions can come together to create unique decorative pieces.
Karina Wyroba
67
Kate Hancox textiles
textile art sustainable
natural dye
kate_emily_textiles kateemilytextiles@gmail.com
As a designer-maker, I hold sustainability at the heart of my practice. I aim to keep all the materials I work with as natural as possible. I draw my inspiration from the natural world, primarily focussing on colour. My values surrounding sustainability remain constant, and so I choose to colour my fibres with natural dye processes. Through this, I endeavour to extract as much as possible from the materials I use, with the goal of eliminating unnecessary waste.
Kate Hancox
73
Kaya Isaac ceramic
ceramic organic handmade imperfect
narrative kayaisaacdesign kayahisaac@gmail.com
I consider myself a mixed media ceramic artist. I love the feeling of producing something entirely handmade, and the power that the craftsman has upon their own work. I strive to create imperfect pieces that have a narrative and personality that cannot be replicated by mass manufacture.
Kaya Issac
81
Kirsten Macken mixed media
well-being innovative connections communities
environment
kimac_design macken.kirsten@gmail.com
Well-being and communication are the main focus and inspiration for this project, to incorporate the sensory elements through colour, texture and shape, were all pivotal parts in influencing the end product and how they are received by the individual. The project started with simple line drawings that I documented from anonymous participants. These lines represented the emotions sad, happy, angry, nervous and excited. Participants change the shape and colour of the line dependent on what they felt that emotion provoked. The intention was to turn these emotions into tangible objects that could then be used as a tool for communication, exploring this idea through a combination of materials, including silver, cotton, pvc, rope and many more. These objects would eventually create a range of sensory jewellery, sensory cushions and a book to allow for different mediums of communication for varying individuals.
Kirsten Macken
87
Lucy Naylor ceramics
naïve lively joyful disjointed
flippant co_rd lucnaylor@gmail.com
Architectural Memories. Abandonmed buildings, power stations, cement factories, quarry’s and other sites of an Industrial nature are often seen as blots on the landscape, but hold a playground-like fascination for me. I want to get inside them, play in them, document and absorb them. Through the imperfect process of hand building with clay slab, use of colour, texture and scale I have left faithful reproductions behind to try portray the joy of these building bringing them together in a landscape of my own.
Lucy Naylor
93
Rowan Firmin metalwork
sustainable minimal
contemporary
functionality
innovative
roco_co_craft rowanfirmin@gmail.com
I wish to create a brand which is responsible for its energy consumption, producing minimal homeware, jewellery, sculpture, wall hangings and more. To ensure ethical production I will resourcefully use only locally produced sustainable material, this will be achieved by designing with high regard to function and to a minimal use of material as I wish to be focusing on batch production. My design work will stand out as something different through my interest in the natural world. Every little rough edge and imperfection will be made to stand out through a high contrasting polished finish. I wish to utilise various elements of nature in my development of materials, form and function.
Rowan Firmin
99
Samuel Lack metalwork jewellery
historical mythological
nature organic
elementary
slk_Jewellery slackss32@gmail.com
I approach each of my projects with the expectation of learning something new, for example my most recent project is based on birds, where I am using historical and modern information to help influence my ideas. To create my pieces, I tend to blend every aspect of my creativity, which include Graphic Design, Fine Art and Craft.
Samuel Lack
105
Sandra Gonciarova jewelery
liquid clear see-through
droplet playful
sandra.g.craft gonciarova.sand.craft@gmail.com
My values as a maker and designer are to produce beautifully made, unique jewellery with a personal connection to the wearer. One of the most important features of my work is that it is handmade, that gives it a special kind of value. The “Droplet” collection was made completely out of eco resin, filled with coloured oil. The coloured oil inside the droplet piece gives it a playful and quirky aesthetic. This collection is flexible - the customer can request whatever they want to be sealed inside. This feature makes every piece of jewellery sincere and one-of-a-kind.
Sandra Gonciarova
111
Suzanne West glass
stories mystical
fairies fables
mythology suziewoo40 zannywest66@gmail.com
I’m a glass and textile artist fascinated with mythology and storytelling. These drinking vessels were inspired by the Norwegian legend The Kraken. I re-created the story through my own illustrations and series of handmade books. The seascapes influenced my collection of coloured, blown glass.
Suzanne West
117
acknowledgements The nature of a Craft course means that we as students of De Montfort University have had the privilege of working closely alongside our academics, technical staff and visiting lecturers. Their continued support and bestowing of extensive knowledge has enabled the development and shaping of our own practices. A carefully considered balance of direction and encouraged independence has allowed us to become critical thinkers and unrestrained makers, confident in our working environments. It is important that they receive from us the gratitude and acknowledgement deserved; thank you to everyone, it has been a pleasure. Design Crafts class of 2020
DESIGN
CRAFTS
2020