Julia Kuston, January 2016
As part of my primary research I looked for inspiration in London’s art locations best suited for my brief. The Museum of Childhood prompted thoughts of toys and objects from childhood that aren’t just things as some of them are reminders of events you will never be able to get back. Memories of events and times of our lives that we want to preserve when we bring those items into adulthood with us. Just like in the museum where they are all displayed for many years is the same when a person grows up emotionally attached to their old belongings. The other place I visited was the Museum of fashion and textiles, where I saw the Thea porter: bohemian chick exhibition. Thea Porter owned the Bohemian look from the late 60s onwards. She grew up in the middle east in Damascus and was born in Jerusalem. The influences of her childhood made her designs new and exciting. The London population hadn’t seen the rich textures and lose robes before which Porter has been around as child. At the time the London crowd still dressed in the opt art and modernism styles of the early 60s. As inspiration she used objects such as: Persian paintings, Moroccan robes and carpets which she then printed on silk. This influenced my decision when it came to the choice of the material. I decided to use white silk satin for a part of my garment. This is because silk absorbs ink very well and was a natural choice for my project.
esearch R VISITING GALLERIES
Influential Artist ANNETTE MESSAGER
The artist that influenced me most during this project was Annette Messager who is a french painter, sculptor and photographer who’s dark installations made up from old toys, pictures, prints and needlework inspired me. These pieces showed the refined cruelty with which she dealt with memories drawn from childhood. The idea of dealing with memories by collecting objects from childhood and making artworks based on grouping of those object was very inspirational to me. Annette was releasing bad memories, using objects associated with the past. Based on that, I had an idea to collect various childhood collectables and feature them onto fabrics.
Emotions connected to objects would be resurrected on top of fabrics creating the opportunity for wearing childhood memories. My initial idea was to create a repeat pattern out of the collectables and transpose them onto fabrics. At this stage I am considering the possibility of using transfer inks to create a very vividly intense print background. To gather information about what my target audience (16-21 year olds) collects, I questioned people in public places and my college about what their collecting habits were. Faced with an almost infinite number of objects I have decided to chose just few of them. This led me to come up with ideas for various motifs for my garment.
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Being an artist means forever healing your own wounds and at the same time endlessly exposing them
Human mind gets attached to items that hold important thoughts and feelings, as if they were still somehow present within the object. This fascinated me and led me to explore the idea of constraints. Constraint of not so much physical but emotional and invisible in nature.
C
emotional
onstraint With the idea of emotional attachment to objects being like an invisible veil, came thoughts of a constraint. Some objects hold positive memories and vice verse some can give rise to negative and often depressing recollections.
Each item may carry a memory of something that lives only in the past as an artifact of time gone by. And this idea of ‘stuck in time’ although fascinating can at the same time be extremely painful if the focus is placed on the unfortunate memories. Some things are too valuable to dispose of, which bring sadness but they are necessary to the individual. It ‘s a concept that identified with me on an emotional level. I decided to show that constraint in a placement print, and an element of structure on my garment. This is when the idea of “heart over mind” started to develop. When this happens you choose to keep possessions you no longer look at or acknowledge but still horde away in storage following your heart over your mind. That attachment to your memories will always cloud your mind when it comes to clearing out your house from clutter.
Imagery
Exploration HEART OVER MIND
I had to gather ideas to form a successful placement print that would reflect my idea of choosing heart over mind when it comes to objects with sentimental value. In the drawings I play around with imagery which represents the ‘heart over mind’ thinking and my theme of childhood. I used buttercup flower to represent childishness and youth. The heart and brain stand for mind are always placed in a way that the heart is clearly higher to convey the idea that heart wins in a battle of opposites. In one drawing I placed the heart inside of a woman’s head as a representation of thinking ‘from the heart’. Exploring different ways of representing this concept helped me arrive at a design conclusion for my final placement print.
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arment Struc I tested three different ideas of garment structure, focusing on simple tops and skirts. I didn’t want an overcomplicated design to draw attention away from my printed patterns. I decided that the best idea would be to use a skirt as it represents the free spirit of children and growing up. Finally I drew a simple flared circle skirt. The t-shirt is a v-neck design, loosely fitted around the body. This structure would maximise the possibilities of screen prints, as well as maintaining a very comfortable shape that would wear very well. Pink as a feminine and comforting hue, representing gentle loving energy. Pink calms and reassures our emotional energies, alleviating feelings of anger, abandonment and neglect. This very well ties in with Annette Messagers concept of releasing bad memories from childhood. My concept focuses on keeping both, good and bad memories in a positive view.
cture
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arment Struc This simple circle skirt design flows longer at the back and shortens towards the front of the model. This idea stemmed from princess gowns and fairy tales. This structure should resemble the moment of entering the enchanted world of play, magic and imagination. The underlying idea behind this structure was to ensure full comfort regardless of the position being it: dancing, crouching and jumping. The choice of blue is just one of many possible combinations of colours I could use in the latter stages. I realized using blue in excess can result in a cliche like feel and therefore should be combined with other colours.
cture
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arment Struc Here I experiment with layering of the fabric on a skirt. The shirt in this design is a combination of cowl sleeve (hanging in draped folds) which hangs few inches above the elbow. The other side is a loose quarter sleeve. I considered this structure ineffective because it is not simple and informal enough for the leisure purpose I intended for it. The layered fabric would hide some of the repeated print which is what I didn’t like about it. This design doesn’t simply maintain enough balance between structure, colour and screen print. My goal is to achieve a harmony between the above elements in one garment. The choice of red colour came from an idea of romance, energy and adventure mirroring childs spirit.
cture
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rint Combinations When all ideas were gathered, I drew them in different media such as: chalk, ink, biro and fine liners to create motifs. All the drawings had to be black to be then scanned and printed on acetate. When that was done, I had to expose them onto silk screen which was covered in photosensitive emulsion. This was necessary for motifs to transfer onto screen. Black elements of the drawings blocked the light from the exposure unit in the dark room. This step is crucial as otherwise the emulsion not covered by light wouldn’t expose. This allowed me to wash off the excess emulsion
leaving the image stencil ready, to be printed numerous times. This technique is very useful for testing different backgrounds and colours of the print while experimenting. I decided that the most suitable colour for my repeat would be white. When the colour of my repeat print was settled I began thinking about various options for background colour. This had to compliment the repeat print and make it stand out and at the same time blend it with it.
GARMENTS
IDA
Colour Exp eriments GALAXY BURST
I colour experimented with transfer inks by painting abstract combinations of splats and colour formations on transfer paper. This allowed me to print the dark inks onto white silk satin fabric. I did this using the heat press which results in the inks becoming vibrant and eye-catching. I made plenty of different fabric samples with various colour mixes. I wanted to add an edge to them so I decided to create splats and making the background look like they have stars. Splats were included to add to the screen printed pattern on top. I started looking for a good ink resist to produce these areas untouched by the transfer inks. I found that the best resist would be poster paint which would dry on the painted paper and stop the splats from getting dyed. I chose to use a galaxy colour scheme for my final piece. It reminds me of a dress I had as a child. I would wear it over and over again due to its joyful princess colours. I believe the galaxy scheme adds to my theme of childhood memories and contrasts with the white screen print in a very successful way.
Colour Experiments STRAWBERRY BLAST
Strawberry blast was the colour scheme I considered because I liked the way it blended with the black. The merging of the colours was a result of adding water to the transfer inks. This made the colours collide beautifully in the fabric. In Eastern cultures such as China red is the colour of good luck. Although times are changing and many Chinese brides now wear white, it is traditionally the colour for weddings. In Indian culture, it symbolizes purity and is often used in their wedding gowns. I thought it went well with my theme of growing up and staying emotionally attached to our childhood. Red is also energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action which is similar to youthful energy. This controversial colour can be interpreted in many different ways in cultures around the world. I knew it shouldn’t be used exclusively due to its wide interpretative latitude. I combined it with the black and scattered my white print on top to tone down the intensity of red. The material I used was white silk satin. It was my fabric of choice because of its glossy nature and a delicate feel. In my first experiments I realised how the shine from the fabric becomes enhanced by the bright transfer inks. The sheen of the material gave the impression of the colours being multiplied in different tones. Testing out various combinations allowed me to explore
the possibilities of this special effect. The illustration features a model sneaking around with the teddy bear trying to keep it all to herself. This shows emotional attachment to the object as she watches her back, to make sure no one takes away her memories. She also has bright green hair to show that we never really grow up because we still desire to be carefree and adventurous. Her high heels contradict this idea because the reality of adulthood is inevitable, but we can stay young in our minds.
Colour Experiments SUNSET SHADES
I have tested multiple colours several times in different combinations to arrive at results that would be most satisfactory. In this particular sample I used yellow and orange. Yellow relates to acquired knowledge. It is the colour which resonates with the left, logic side of the brain stimulating our mental faculties, creating mental agility and perception. Being the lightest hue of the spectrum, the colour psychology of yellow is uplifting and illuminating, offering hope, happiness, cheerfulness and fun. Yellow also is the colour of the buttercup flower which symbolises childishness. The model standing hunched hands akimbo represents responsibility and adulthood. The
memories of childhood might be on her outfit, but that does not mean that she is immature or childish. The same concept goes for her hair style. Although it might look as ponytails, she still looks grown up and mature. This is also shown in her serious face expression. The design for the skirt is too tight around the thighs for comfort in outdoor activities. For that reason this design although with lots of potential did not make the final one.
over heart
mind
For my final placement print I chose the piece that I drew using fine liners. I decided to use roses as they convey deep emotions like love, longing and desire. It relates to my theme of missing our childhood years and yearning for objects that reminds us of those times. I wanted to combine a more serious part of the concept for this project with playful childhood related ideas. I decided to draw an open skull with brain sticking out the top so that I could connect it by handcuffs to the heart. This represents the constraint which heart has on our minds. Especially when were faced with a situation where we have to let go of our memories related to our happy or unhappy past.
We do not want to get rid of memories that come from the positive times in our lives. That emotional attachment to a physical object is important in my project as it is the focus of why I wanted to wear memories on the garment.
chosen
one THE
I have decided to choose this combination of placement and repeat print as I wanted to show two ideas. I have made into a placement screen print in white on a black vest. The white is meant to stand out and show all the detail in its best light. The image represents heart over mind concept. This was to show emotional attachment to memories and objects that possess them. On the skirt I used white for a repeat print as I don’t want the bright colours to be overwhelming the pattern I designed. I chose this particular colour combination of transfer ink colours relevant to my own childhood memories as they are dear to me and perfect for the playful look. I chose this structure of high waisted shirt and a stretchy vest to preserve the young, energetic and comfortable garment.
I picked this structure of the garment, because I wanted to be able to show my prints clearly and in their full potential. I desired them to stand out on the body instead of being overruled, like in some of my other structure designs. The ink resist was successful because the poster paint dried thickly enough to block the ink. This effect added a hint of mystery and puzzle. I decided to add the netting last, to see where it will look best comparing my design ideas.
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The process of sewing this vest was relatively simple. Fining of the appropriate fabric was comparatively more time consuming. I wanted a stretchy and soft fabric which proved more difficult than I initially thought. Shops are full of soft fabrics but non of them were stretchy enough. Eventually, I decided to buy an extra large t-shirt and cut out my size pattern out of it. At the rear I made one large hole which would later be covered by the netting element. The netting was the crucial element symbolising emotionally charged constraint. I made the net out of black wool to compliment the ‘dark side of memories’. The net piece was made by tying up the wool using fisherman’s net method. By arranging all the loose ends in this fashion I achieved a simple and yet very meaningful garment. It gives a great sense of accomplishment knowing that the initial idea holds together well and tells the story I wanted to tell.
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Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world; it is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius.
p
wra U
ping
Creating the skirt out of the already printed material was a gentle process. used a simple sewing pattern for a high waisted, flared skirt and cut all the pieces out of the material. I made a waist band a lot thinner compared to examples I have seen, out of personal preference. I added a zip on the side of the skirt to keep the skirt from falling down and make it easy to remove. The skirt has two seems going down on each side and a clean, round edge all along the bottom. A button at the top of the zip completes the garment and adds a gentle and cute touch. The size of the button was important as I wanted it to be a tasteful detail. I still have much to learn about sewing, and I Look forward to this undoubtably eventful journey. All in all, the garment effectively conveys a deeper meaning in a extremely simple form. Wrapping up all elements of the project was very rewarding and enjoyable phase. The finished garments put together seem to be taking a life of their own far beyond my expectations. Because of the conceptual structure of my project not being definite, it lands itself to variety of interpretations depending upon the person reading them. I look forward to displaying the finished piece in front of a large audience and collecting much needed feedback.
My final photographs were taken in a natural setting. The morning sunlight made the vibrant dyes show their full potential. This made memories printed on top visible and eye-catching. Belongings that remind you of certain events and important years of life are significant to each person. In my case I have many objects which bring out positive thoughts and feelings connected to memories. However, a certain significant occurrence in my life has changed them. Looking at them now brings me pain and suffering as the event has changed the way I feel about those memories. As the negative situation at the time changed the life as it was, I realised I wouldn’t be able to get good memories like those again. That made those happy objects a curse to look at, making me want to store them away. I wanted to turn this around and showcase those objects on my garment in a lively and joyful way. The objects that have sentimental value to me and others are placed on the fabric creating a repeat pattern that has much hidden meaning. Each being personal and significant to a person. Trying to retrieve the happy memories they once possessed, throwing away the pain they might make a person feel looking at them. Not being able to get the good memories back shouldn’t be the end of it. The great events and experiences remain in those possessions and shouldn’t be erased.
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earing emories