E ss enceL e e ds...
A publiction depicting the work of students at Leeds college of art and their lifestyle within Leeds
CMUSIC IS LIFE. MUSIC IS EVERY WHERE! a
It is often that you hear of creatives stepping out of boundaries and creating innovative work, here at Leeds college of art we have a student jumping into music, expriementing in a very different way to he usually works this is changing the way music can be precived, Sion Hebert explains to us his expressive mark making techniques and why he felt he wanted to explore this avenue. Music is creation to many things, the beautifully created prints that Sion has created are telling a story, telling a story through the brush strokes the expressive lines, the negative spacing,, A theory was put in place that the different types of music you listen to whilst working can effect your mood, The rhythms, the bass, the drums, harmonics all create different sensations to every single person, everyone doesn’t have the same of taste in music so this varies extremely, evidence shows that when listening to heavy bass and quick instrumentals creates hard, bold lines constantly moving. Whereas listing to classical music creates a more soft slow flow of lines. Sions hopes that the outcomes of his prints are to hopefully be used as fashion prints for menswear! Not only does Sion take influence and inspiration from designers but his surroundings, his surroundings in Leeds, it’s architecture, the weather. ‘Everything is an inspiration if you look at it the right way’.- Sion Hebert Instagram- @sionhebert. Photgraphy&Article by Neveen Sammour
T o d a y W e W o r e . . .
by Neveen Sammouor
Speaking to two fashion communication students, Sarah Woolley and Abbie Treadwell who are founders of the fashion blog TodayWeWore, understand the way they work and what they do. what is is that you are really trying to show in your blog? Sarah: I would say that TodayWeWore is a platform for Abbie and I to display our take on fashion and lifestyle that we love, whilst adding our own street style and an insight into how we spend our time. Abbie: purely showing the fashion today really but obviously styled very differently to how other bloggers may do so.
How do you go about your selection of your images that go on to your blog? Sarah: really we don’t fake the style that we image, we know what our style is, so when it comes to picking the image we choose the ones that reflect our styles the best, the have to be good haha, but we are showing the clothing and how they are styled by us and hopefully is shows through, i pick the clothes that i feel best in. Abbie: getting the right image can be quiet tricky sometimes, the lighting is a must, lighting is a huge part of the creation of the image, we always go for a natural lighting and sometimes artificial lighting when in studio but we are mainly on location and it shows personality and a stronger focus.
Going onto your Instagram blog, your layout and theme is beautifully choreographed if must say,what makes the image stand out? Sarah: out of all the images we take and we take a lot haha, thinking were models. no being serious, we only use about 3 images from the whole set, we always go for a long shot and close up image and a flat lay image of the clothing we are picturing, Abbie: we don’t wanna bombard people new feeds all at once, we want hem to want more if we just give a few. we do have a theme, our colour palette really compliments each other doesn’t it Sarah? I tend to go for nudes, some people think it’s bland haha, however when editing images
sometimes, mixing it up really does show innovative, Sarah goes for darker shades and editing but gold is her fave, really helps, when editing an image knowing how the image will turn it and not edit too much, no what really goes with the image abd help it really stand out
And onto your layout of your images? Abbie: as for layout, our Instagram blog is purely made up of images, very visual, we have no text, well as little as possible! we usually as i said go in threes,so the 3 images on Intsagram are posted having below it a sentence describing what is going on in the image, however on the blog online, the images that are posted are more of a blog post, including text describing topics that they are interested in, go into detail of the clothing, how we felt that day what our plans were. giving information out.
Has and how has Leeds inspired you? Sarah: some aspects yes, not so much the student side of it, because we do go to the college here, but it’s more the cosmopolitan side, i personally don’t think the the college has influenced it style, because it doesn’t reflect it ash well as it should. Do you feel the same way abbie? Abbie: yes i agree, the college hasn’t influenced our style however it was birth of the blog because that is how myself and Sarah met and decided to create this fashion lifestyle blog.
Knowing that your blog is on it’s way up the ladder in the fashion blogging world how would you further yourself and the blog? Sarah: to further our blog i think we both need to be more consistent with our posts right abbie? i mean we’ve been quiet recently for being third year and deadlines galore happening. Abbie: yeah consistent is key really in any blog, because they will just lose interest if they have no feed, but we will get back into it very soon
Leeds newest & edgyest hotspot recently opened in Leeds City Center! Many would say it was to be a twin to the well known bar, Belgrave, this bar/restaurant/venue is the place to be.
Here at head row house you will get a sense of comfort and welcoming. With a cocktail bar just upstairs and the Ox club if you are feeling peckish. Headrow house a the vibe that is suited to many. Here there are many exciting stuff happening live music is key here! Everyone loves music. So for a nice chilled beer!
Also being a venue, many bands and artist commute here to showcase heir music in the music hall, recently, a graduated student Benjamin Craven who was a printed textile student here at LCA had his work showcased through the use of light boxes, the vibe that was inserted in this music venue with this printed patterned changed the mood extremely
Benjamin Craven-London - Surface Pattern Design info@benjamincraven.co.uk
A day in the life of a fashion student...
Do you ever wonder how an fashion student spends their day? Where they seek inspiration or for how long they procrastinate? how do they feel? I spoke to a handful of Leeds college of art’s final year Fashion students to discuss their daily routines within the Leeds college of art fashion studios.
Kirsten
Grimes...
Not the kind to sit around in a pair of pyjamas, gets bored so easily, so my morning, first thing before anything and I mean before anything happens, i have to have the biggest cuppa of tea. After arriving in the studios early in the morning, while they’re all still quiet, sitting down with the laptop by her side playing the radio and a cuppa right beside her she will begin with her work and creating flat drawings and developments from a each and every single one as she is hoping to create one of the many she had development, using the same outline but changing it ever so slightly, hand rendering, with the use of colour pens, watercolours, experimentation into different media. sometimes she will stay until, 7pm/8pm othe days she feels that the studio is sometimes chlostaphobic and can loose her attention span.
Emma will always strive in her work, her personality shows through her work, her personality is spread through out the studio, engaging with the tutors, and other students, she’s comes in for 9:30am every morning and can sometimes stay till the last one in the studio, when its silent, she says that the studio is her factory, where all of her work comes to life, from it being in the sketchbook to her toile While she has days where she doesn’t get as much done as she would want, she finds that working in the studio everyday, even if the time isn’t always spent relating directly to her current project, just being there and doing something contributes to her practice in some way. she writes about her ideas, makes plans around them, conducts experiments with them and then shortlists the any worth further exploration. she has a avenue she would like to reach, she is motivated when she feels absorbed by her work and surroundings.
Emma
Brown...
Harriet
McHugh...
Addmitting spending most of her time in the studio procrastinating and struggling to find ideas and inspiration, it all hits at once towards the deadline, seeming to work so much better under pressure and for some reasons the designs seem to come annd come, more a of a free flow of designs rather than forced. When deadline is looming she is in the studio everyday from 9:30 and most nights staying until the studio closes at 9pm. Harriet feels it is easier being in the studio rather than at home doing work as its nice to get opinions and thoughts on ideas from peers around her in the stuido. There is also the use of printers and technical help too which is always a bonus.
E xplor ing t he Nature of a Sur face&Pr inte d text i le student E l lie
By
Cur ran
Ne ve en
Sammour
If there is one thing that will surely play with your mind while being creative , it may very likely be the fact that you may not need a solid concept behind your work and your work is your concept, it is your story, the techniques used, when they are being used. Ellie Currans designs are fresh and a new world of vibrant colours. Sitting down with the the one and only Ellie to really understand.
Could you tell us a bit about your art practice and what your work is about?
I’m a printed textile student and my work is currently about making interactive textiles for children. My subject matter is usually some kind of natural form, I’m currently looking at the theme: Under the Sea.
Your work is very vibrant, does that play a part?
Yes! I’ve really started to love colour this project and it plays a massive part in my work as it is currently aimed at children.
Do you think this plays a part in children’s moods and how? Definitely, it is something that I have looked into in my dissertation! Colour can affect anyone, no matter what age! I have chosen to use such bright, vibrant colours in my work because I’m looking at children in the early development stages where they are most beneficial to visual development.
What do you think about art and fashion working alongside each other? I think this is when the most exciting stuff happens!
What is your dissertation about?
My dissertation title is ‘How can design be used to create appropriate spaces and environments for children?’ Within this I look into child development/psychology and environmental psychology. These helped me understand what is needed to create an effective environment for children. My work has lots of different textures and techniques to create depth and an interesting surface for children to interact with.
You wear a lot of black don’t you, why’s that?
I express a lot of colour in my work, if I wore a lot of colour too it would probably get a little overwhelming! ..and clothes always look better in black.
We’re all mad in here.
Be Alice and have a wander down The Rabbit Hole.
and so we begin. Speaking to the glamorous couple that own fairy tale inspired bar. Jack Vaughan and Ashlea Cromack Jack Vaughan owner of The White Rabbit ,taking its name from Alice in Wonderland Before you even set foot inside, you’re invited to dilve into the rabbit hole, but what awaits within? According to Jack it’s “A subterranean garden of unearthly delights featuring an eclectic mix of music, nostalgia and curiosities.” And on first glance, it doesn’t look like he’s wrong. So you can expect a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at The White Rabbit, Jack talked us through their offering. “We have a great choice of draught lager, bitter, bottled beers, ales, wines, spirits and cocktails and a new food menu. Ashlea feels like that The White Rabbit has become apart of them now, it has become their baby. Both heir fashion style really has really grown, she feels like they have become characters within their bar, the ‘theme’, that general style of being dark yet chic shows through both hers and Jacks personality, they both have a very unique style which enables a new innovative generation to grow in Leeds. i personally feel that this bar is the new it place, having decorative art and work surrounding, its individuality will draw many in, keep your eyes peeled.
IT’S SET TO BE HUGE IN 2016
By Neveen Sammour Leeds college of art Instagram- @essenceleeds Tumblr- Essenceleeds.tumblr.com