AMALGAMATION PAD by Katy Ros MacDonald

amalgamation

process analysis document katy macdonald 00132820 e19ca i e19cb

3-4 DESIGN CONCEPT

RESEARCH 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16 17-18

MYB TEXTIILES SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS BRAIN SCANNING BRAIN TEXTURES NEUROLOGICAL PATTERNS COLOUR PERCEPTION

DEVELOPMENT

CONTENTS

21-22 23-24 25-26 27-28 29-30 31-32

FRINGING WOVEN PANELS SAMPLES FABRICS LINE UP PROPOSED OUTFITS

PRODUCTION 35-38 TOILES 39-48 FINAL GARMENT PRODUCTION

FINAL GARMENTS 51-52 LOOK 1 ‘ANGER’ 53-54 LOOK 2 ‘ENVY’ 55-56 REFERENCES

amalgamation refers to the idea of mixed emotions WITHIN THIS COLLECTION I HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN EMOTIONS AND SENSATIONS. FOCUSING IN ON VISUAL AND TACTILE PERCEPTION. WITH INSPIRATION STEMMING FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, I HAVE AIMED TO CREATE A VISUALLY AND MENTALLY STIMULATING COLLECTION WHICH CONVEYS THESE DIFFERING INFLUENCES. I WANTED TO CREATE AN EXTREMELY EMOTIONALLY CONNECTIVE COLLECTION. A SOMEWHAT INTERACTIVE RANGE WHICH WOULD EVOKE NUMEROUS FEELINGS WITHIN THE VIEWER. AFTER READING VARIOUS STUDIES SHOWING THE RELATION BETWEEN SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS INSIDE THE HUMAN BRAIN I WAS EXTREMELY INSPIRED BY THE NOTION THAT DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE MIND ‘LIGHT UP’ WHEN A PERSON IS EXPERIENCING DIFFERENT FEELINGS. THESE EMOTIONS THEN CAUSE THE PERSON TO PHYSICALLY FEEL THEM AS A SENSATION. SUCH AS NERVES CREATING BUTTERFLIES IN THE STOMACH OR RAGE FILLING YOU WITH HEAT AND WAVES OF ADRENALINE. FURTHER PUSHING THIS IDEA OF EMOTIONS BEING CENTRAL TO THE WAY HUMANS WORK, I DECIDED TO EXPERIMENT WITH MAKING PEOPLE FEEL PHYSICAL AND MENTAL SENSATIONS WHEN VIEWING MY COLLECTION. EACH OUTFIT CARRIES ITS OWN EMOTION, THIS EMOTION BEING PRESENT WITHIN THE COLOUR FEATURED IN THE FRINGING. TO DO THIS I CONDUCTED A SURVEY TO PUT TOGETHER MY COLOUR SCHEME. TAKING A GENERAL OPINION FROM THE SURVEY SUBJECTS AS TO WHAT COLOUR EVOKES PARTICULAR EMOTIONS I WAS ABLE TO ESSENTIALLY CREATE A RANGE OF EMOTIONS IN GARMENT FORM.

DESIGN CONCEPT

TACTILE PERCEPTION IS ALSO CORE TO THE EVERYDAY FUNCTIONING OF A PERSON. WE GAIN A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND US FROM THE WAY OBJECTS FEEL. USING A RANGE OF FABRICS AND WOOLS WITHIN MY COLLECTION HAS ALLOWED ME TO FURTHER PUSH THE INTERACTIVITY. USING A TECHNIQUE LIKE HAND WEAVING ALLOWED ME TO CREATE MY OWN FABRICS WHICH COULD HAVE AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE TEXTURE AS I DESIRED. USING DIFFERENT WEIGHTS AND TYPES OF WOOL BEGAN TO PAINT A TEXTURAL PICTURE, FEATURING BRAIN LIKE WAVES. THIS IDEA IS SHOWN AGAIN WITHIN THE SHAPES OF THE GARMENTS, PLAYING WITH PROPORTIONS AND HOW THIS WOULD FEEL ON THE BODY. TYING EACH GARMENTS UNIQUE EMOTION NOT ONLY IN COLOUR BUT ALSO IN SILHOUETTE. ELONGATED ARMS AND EXTENDED LINES CONVEYING MYSTERY WHILST ELSEWHERE IN THE COLLECTION SHORTER HEMLINES ARE ILLUSTRATING A FAR MORE LIGHTHEARTED AESTHETIC. RELATING BACK TO LACE, I WAS FURTHER INSPIRED BY THE VISIT TO MYB TEXTILES. FOCUSING ON THE INITAL STAGES OF LACE PRODUCTION. THE VERY THREADING UP OF THE MACHINES WAS BEAUTIFUL IN ITSELF. THOUSANDS OF STRANDS OF THREAD HANGING AND LOOPING THROUGH A SERIES OF SPOOLS. THIS SET UP WAS WHAT BROUGHT ME INTO USING DRAMATIC FRINGING AS A FOCAL POINT WITHIN THIS COLLECTION.

RESEARCH

MYB TEXTILES UPON VISITING THIS HISTORIC MILL, I WAS IMMEDIATELY STRUCK BY THE AGE OF THE MACHINES CREATING THIS ELEGANT LACE. I WAS ALSO SURPRISED BY HOW MECHANICAL AND ALMOST MASCULINE THE HUGE METAL OBJECTS WERE YET THEY WERE STILL PRODUCING SOMETHING SO DELICATE AND BEAUTIFUL. WHAT PARTICULARLY STOOD OUT TO ME WAS THE INTRICACY PRESENT WITHIN THE PROCESS OF CREATING THIS FABRIC. THOUSANDS OF THREADS, EACH WITH A VERY DISTINCT DESTINATION, ALL STRUNG UP NEATLY AND REGIMENTED READY TO BE WOVEN TOGETHER. THE WAY THESE STRANDS HUNG DOWN FROM THE MACHINES INSPIRED ME TO USE THE IDEA OF FRINGING WITHIN MY COLLECTION. USING THIS AS MY STARTING POINT TO RECREATING LACE. I FELT USING FRINGING WAS SOMETHING NOT PARTICULARLY OBVIOUS AND WOULD GIVE NOD TO THE INTRICATE PROCESS OF MAKING LACE.

FIG 1

SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS TO RELATE MY PROJECT TO THE IDEA OF SENSATIONS I DECIDED TO LOOK AT WHERE SENSATIONS BEGIN - IN THE BRAIN. WHEN I PERSONALLY THINK OF A SENSATION I RELATE IT BACK TO THE IDEA OF AN EMOTIVE SENSATION. A PHYSICAL FEELING THAT ARISES FROM A MENTAL EMOTION. TAKING PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THIS I LOOKED INTO WHETHER OR NOT THERE WERE ANY EXISTING STUDIES TO SHOW HOW INTERCONNECTED THESE SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS ARE. STUDIES SHOW THAT THEY ARE INFACT PROCESSED IN THE SAME WAY BY THE BRAIN, /zaki 2013/ AND CAN EACH ARISE AS A RESULT OF THE OTHER. THIS IS A CONCEPT WHICH I DECIDED TO CARRY THROUGH MY COLLECTION AND USE AS THE BASAL INSPIRATION.

BRAIN SCANNING LOOKING DEEPER INTO THE BRAIN AND EMOTIONS, I DISCOVERED THAT A RECENT STUDY HAD ONLY JUST DISCOVERED HOW THE BRAIN PROCESSES SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS. THE ‘CARNEGIE MELLON STUDY’ (/2013/ DISCOVERED THROUGH ASKING A SELECTION OF METHOD ACTORS TO GET THEMSELVES INTO THE MINDSET OF AN EMOTION AND RECORDED THE BRAIN ACTIVITY. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT WHEN A PERSON IS FEELING A CERTAIN WAY, SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE BRAIN ‘LIGHT UP’ AND BECOME ACTIVE. DESPITE EVERYONE PHYSICALLY FEELING AN EMOTION DIFFERENTLY, OUR BRAINS ARE PRODUCING ALMOST IDENTICAL PATTERNS. THE STUDY FOUND THAT POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS HAD VERY DIFFERENT NEURAL PATTERNS AND COULD NOT BE CONFUSED. FURTHER MOVE, LUST HAD A PATTERN OF ‘LIGHT UP’ SECTIONS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TO ANY OTHER EMOTION INDUCED WITHIN THE STUDY.

FIG 2

BRAIN TEXTURES

FIG 3 THE LABYRINTH-LIKE TEXTURE OF THE BRAIN WAS AN ASPECT I FOUND PARTICULARLY INSPIRING. THE CURVATURE AND MEANDERING LINES WAS SOMETHING I WANTED TO RECREATE WITHIN MY SEAMING. AIMING FOR CLEAN SILHOUETTES, ADDING INTERESTING SEAM DETAILING APPEARED TO BE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO ADD INTEREST WITHOUT OVERLY DECORATING MY GARMENTS. BY ALLOWING SOME CURVED SEAMS TO DICTATE THE WAY THE FRINGING WILL FALL WHILST OTHERS ARE MERELY AND EXTRA DIMENSION ON THE FABRIC ONLY VISIBLE UPON CLOSER INSPECTION. TYING THE WHOLE COLLECTION TOGETHER.

FURTHER INSPIRING THE IDEA OF USING FRINGING WITHIN THE COLLECTION I LOOKED AT THE SHAPES OF NEURONES AND BLOOD VESSELS IN THE BRAIN, THEY CREATE INTRICATE ALMOST LACE LIKE PATTERNS. THE DIFFERENT WEIGHTS OF LINE PRESENT WITHIN THE PATTERNS THEY CREATE I HAVE TRIED TO MIMIC WITHIN MY WOOL CHOICES. USING TEXTURAL ALPACA WOOL ALONG SIDE SOFTER MOHAIR.

FIG 4

NEUROLOGICAL PATTERNS 15

IN ORDER TO CREATE AS INTERACTIVE AND ACCURATE A TAKE ON EMOTIONS AND SENSORY PERCEPTION AS I COULD, I DECIDED TO CONDUCT A SURVEY. I PUT TOGETHER A RANGE OF COLOURS AND ASKED 50 PEOPLE TO COMMENT ON THE INITIAL FEELINGS THEY ENCOUNTERED WHEN VIEWING THEM. I DECIDED TO THEN USE 6 OF THESE COLOURS ON INDIVIDUAL OUTFITS. USING EACH ‘LOOK’ TO CONVEY A FEELING. USING TONES OF GREY AND BLACK AS A CONTINUOUS COLOUR WITHIN ALL GARMENTS IN ORDER TO TIE THE COLLECTION TOGETHER. I DID NOT, HOWEVER, WANT THESE COLOURS TO BE USED TOO MUCH. I FELT THAT USING THEM WITHIN THE FRINGING AS A FOCAL POINT OF EACH OUTFIT WOULD NOT BE TOO OVERBEARING.

COLOUR PERCEPTION

DEVELOPMENT

FRINGING

TACTILE SENSATION (/TOUCH)/ IS AN ESSENTIAL MEANS ON NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION. USING THE IDEA OF FRINGING NOT ONLY TO RELATE BACK TO THE IDEA OF LACE BUT TO ALSO USE IT TO PROVOKE EMOTIONS THROUGH TOUCH. IN ADDITION TO THIS, WHEN THE WEARER MOVES THIS WILL CAUSE THE FRINGING TO BE BROUGHT TO LIFE. THIS WILL HAVE A ‘CONCEAL AND REVEAL’ EFFECT, SHOWING PARTS OF THE GARMENT HIDDEN WHEN STATIONARY.

FIG 5

USING THE TEXTURES ON THE BRAIN AS INSPIRATION I DECIDED TO ALSO look at TEXTURAL WEAVING. THE WAY THE YARN MOVES UNDER AND OVER THE WARP YARNS CREATE A TEXTURE THAT MIMICS THE SHAPES PRESENT ON THE HUMAN BRAIN.

WOVEN PANELS

FIG 6

SAMPLES

FIG 7 TO ACHIEVE MY FRINGING AND WOVEN PANELS I DECIDED TO BUILD MY OWN LOOM. DOING THIS MEANT I COULD BUILD IT TO A LARGE ENOUGH SIZE TO CREATE PIECES BIG ENOUGH FOR A GARMENT. I DID VARIOUS EXPERIMENTS WITH DIFFERENT WEIGHTS AND TYPES OF WOOL BEFORE DECIDING UPON ALPACA WOOL PAIRED WITH A SOFT MOHAIR FOR THE COLOURED PARTS. USING SUCH TEXTURAL YARNS ALLOWED THE GARMENTS TO MOVE IN INTERESTING WAYS WHILST ALSO STIMULATING SENSES WHEN TOUCHED. THE LIGHT WEIGHT QUALITIES OF THESE YARNS ALSO ALLOWED FOR MAXIMUM MOVEMENT AND FLUIDITY WHEN WORN. FOR THE PANELS OF WEAVING I OPTED FOR VARYING WEIGHTS OF UNSPUN SHEEP AND YAK WOOL TO CREATE A TEXTURAL EFFECT.

FIG 8

WHEN SELECTING MY FABRICS I WANTED TO YET AGAIN INCORPORATE THE IDEA OF TOUCH. SELECTING BOILED WOOL FOR ITS ROUGH, TEXTURAL APPEARANCE. A SOFT GREY KNIT FOR A COMFORTING FEELING. TO CONVEY THE IDEA OF LUXURY I SOURCED A SILKY MOLESKIN. LASTLY, I USED A COATED COTTON TO ADD A SLIGHT CRISP HARSHNESS TO THE COLLECTION. BUT AS THIS FABRIC IS LIGHTWEIGHT IT DOES NOT OVERPOWER THE OTHER HEAVY FABRICS.

FABRICS

FIG 9

LOOK 1 ‘ANGER’

LOOK 2 ‘ENVY’

PRODUCTION

TOILES

WHEN TOILING THE JUMPER-DRESS I REALISED THAT THERE WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM WITH THE CURVED SEAM AND INSERTING THE FRINGING INTO THAT SEAM. DUE TO THE FACT THE FRINGING COULD ONLY BE WOVEN IN A RECTANGULAR PANEL I WAS GOING TO EXPERIENCE SOME BUCKLING WHEN INSETTING THE FRINGE. I MADE A SAMPLE PIECE AND DISCOVERED I COULD MANIPULATE THE WEAVE INTO A CURVE WITH THE IRON.

FIG 10

THE BIKER JACKET PRESENTED NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WHEN TOILING. I DISCOVERED I HAD TRIED TO CHANGE TOO MANY ELEMENTS OF THE PATTERN, WHICH STARTED TO OFFSET PROPORTIONS CONSIDERABLY. I RE-TOILED THE JACKET 6 TIMES, DROPPING SLEEVES, DECREASING THE SIZE OF ARMHOLES AND GETTING THE PANELING TO SIT CORRECTLY. THE MOST PROBLEMATIC ELEMENT WAS THE COLLAR. I FOUND IT INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE THE STRAIGHT EDGES I WANTED. HOWEVER I EVENTUALLY ACHIEVED THE SHAPE REQUIRED BY CUTTING DIRECTLY ON THE STAND.

FIG 11

FIG 12

FINAL GARMENT PRODUCTION GOING INTO PRODUCING FINAL GARMENTS I FELT CONFIDENT AS THERE HADN’T BEEN TOO MANY PRIOR PROBLEMS. HOWEVER WHEN IT CAME TO INSERTING THE FINAL WOVEN FRINGING INTO THE ‘ENVY’ JUMPER-DRESS IT FELL APART ATER THE FIRST ATTEMPT. USING THE KNITWEAR OVERLOCKER TO SECURE THIS PIECE IN PLACE I DISCOVERED SOME OF THE WARP YARNS HAD SNAPPED AFTER FINISHING THE ENTIRE GARMENT. I THEN HAD TO UNPICK AND RE-WEAVE THE GREEN FRINGING BEFORE RECONSTRUCTING THE GARMENT. I LEARNED THAT THE SAFEST WAY TO SECURE A HAND WOVER PIECE OF FABRIC INTO A SEAM IS TO RUN A SIERES OF STITCH LINES ACROSS THE HORIZONTAL OF THE WEAVE, SO IF ANYTHING SNAPS IT IS CAUGHT AT THE NEXT STITCH LINE, AVOIDING THE INITAL PROBLEM OF FALLING APART THAT I HAD FOR THE REST OF MY GARMENTS.

FIG 14

FIG 13

WHILST WEAVING THE LARGE UNSPUN WOOL FRONT PANEL FOR THE ‘ANGER’ CROP JUMPER, I MADE IT TO THE EXACT SIZE PLUS 3CM SEAM ALLOWANCE FOR ERROR. HOWEVER WHEN I REMOVED IT FROM THE LOOM AND ATTEMPTED TO TRANSFER TO A PATTERN PIECE IT HAD INFACT SHRUNK 3 CM. AS THE WEAVING OF THIS PANEL TOOK AROUND 8 HOURS I DECIDED TO INSTEAD ALTER MY PATTERN PIECES TO FIT THIS PANEL. BECAUSE I HAD ALREAD DESIGNED THIS JUMPER TO BE OVERSIZED, THE SHRINKING OF THE SIDE SEAMS BY 3 CM AND INCREASING THE HEM BY 3CMS WAS NOT AN ISSUE FOR THE AESTHETIC OF THE JUMPER.

FIG 15

ALTHOUGH I WAS ASSURED BY ROBBIE DURING WORKSHOP REVIEW SESSIONS THAT MY ‘ENVY’ OUTFIT DID NOT REQUIRE A 3RD GARMENT, I DECIDED TO ADD A TOP UNDER THE JUMPER DRESS DURING THE EASTER BREAK… AFTER TRYING THE JUMPER ON A FRIEND I DISCOVERED THAT THE ADDITION OF A HIGH NECKED TOP AS AN UNDERGARMENT WOULD PROVE TO BE AN INTERESTING ASSET. I DID HOWEVER FIND TIME PARTICULARLY TIGHT IN FINISHING THESE GARMENTS. I THINK THIS IS DUE TO THE VERY PERSONAL AND TIME CONSUMING PROCESS OF HAND WEAVING. EACH PIECE AVERAGING 4-8 HOURS TO WEAVE.

FIG 16

AFTER THE LABORIOUS TOILE PROCESS FOR THE ‘ANGER’ BIKER JACKET, PUTTING THE FINAL TOGETHER PROVED FAR EASIER. THE ONLY PROBLEMS AROSE WHEN TRING TO INSET THE SEMICIRUCLAR SEAM TO THE ARM HOLE. THE MOLESKIN FABRIC IS FAIRLY THICK AND IT TOOK A LOT OF GENTLE EASING AND PRESSING TO MAKE THE CURVLE SIT PERFECTLY. THE OTHER PROBLEM AROSE WHEN TRYING TO ATTACH THE TOP LAPELS WITH THE FRINGING, THE WOVEN EDGES ADDED EXTRA BULK TO THE SEAM AND MADE NEATENING THE OUTSIDE CHALLENGING.

FIG 17

THE ‘ENVY’ FALRES AND ‘ANGER’ CULOTTES DID NOT PRODUCE MANY ISSUES DURING PRODUCTION. THE FLARES I WANTED TO HEEP AS A SIMPLE YET DRAMATIC SILHOUETTE SO ALL THE WORK WENT INTO THE PATTERNING TO ACHIEVE THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF ‘FLARE’ WHEN USING THE COATED COTTON FOR THE CULOTTES, I REALISED THAT IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO UNPICK AND RE-SEW A SEAM AS THE WAXED NATURE OF THE FABRIC MEAN THAT UNATTRACTIVE STITCH HOLES WERE LEFT ON THE GARMENT.

FINAL GARMENTS

LOOK 1 ‘ANGER’ FIG 18

LOOK 2 ‘ENVY’

FIG 19

REFERENCES

fig 4. jeanna bryner, (2011), baroque blood vessels [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.livescience.com/14413-brain-images-portraits-mind.html [Accessed 13 April 15]. fig 5. elise joseph, (2013), fringe [ONLINE]. Available at: http://elisejoseph.tumblr.com [Accessed 13 April 15].

GILBERT RYLE (1949). THE CONCEPT OF THE MIND. MIDDLESEX: HUTCHINSON. Jamil Zaki et Al. (2013). The heart and the mind. Available: https://thepeoplesscience.forumbee. com/t/62gv5. Last accessed 13th april 2015.

fig 6. All roads, (2014), ledges weaving [ONLINE]. Available at: http://adult.bloglovin.com/ blogs/i-dont-want-realism-3324487/all-roads-ledges-weaving-by-all-roads-commissioned-2284884143/link=aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRmlkb250d2FudHJlYWxpc20udHVtYmxyLmNvbSUyRnBvc3QlM kY3NTE5NTY2ODY4g== [Accessed 13 April 15].

Shilo Rea. (2013). Press Release: Carnegie Mellon Researchers Identify Emotions Based on Brain Activity. Available: http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2013/june/june19_identifyingemotions.html. Last accessed 13 april 2015.

fig 7. katy macdonald, (2015), sample 1 fig 8. katy macdonald, (2015), sample 2

melissa osgood. (2014). Study cracks how the brain processes emotions. Available: http://mediarelations.cornell.edu/2014/07/09/study-cracks-how-the-brain-processes-emotions/. Last accessed 13 april 2015.

fig 9. katy macdonald, (2015), lineup fig 10. katy macdonald, (2015), envy jumper toile

maria popova. (n/a). Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion. Available: http://www. brainpickings.org/2012/08/17/goethe-theory-of-colours/. Last accessed 13th april 2015.

fig 11. katy macdonald, (2015), biker collar fig 12. katy macdonald, (2015), biker toile

IMAGES

fig 13. katy macdonald, (2015), envy jumper process

fig 1. katy macdonald, (2015), MYB lace loom fig 2. damasio et al, (2000), brain arousals [ONLINE]. Available at: http://emotionresearcher. com/the-emotional-brain/panksepp/ [Accessed 13 April 15]. fig 3. bob schuster, (2011), corpus callosum [ONLINE]. Available at: http://bobschuster.com/ personal-injury-litigation/brain-injury-attorney/brain-injury-facts/ [Accessed 13 April 15].

fig 14. katy macdonald, (2015), envy jumper hole fig 15. katy macdonald, (2015), anger weave fig 16. katy macdonald, (2015), polo neck top fig 17. katy macdonald, (2015), anger biker close up fig 18. katy macdonald, (2015), look 1 anger fig 19. katy macdonald, (2015), look 2 envy