Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Cardboard loom

Wrap the thread around the cardboard, inside each dent in the card, then weave through the pink thread, as follows:
1)
2)
3)
4)


Peg looming - Arts and Crafts


A loom is a device used to weave cloth. Any loom's basic purpose is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads.

With this technique I had:
One peg board with ten pegs
Wool
Needle
Scissors
Ruler


I took the scissors and cut 30 cm of wool. I cut this up ten times, then tied each strand to the bottom of each peg.
I then began weaving the other colour of thread through the pegs; under and over. I had to make sure to keep tightening the thread as I went, so it wouldn't unravel later on.
I carried this on until it began building up.
If you want, whilst weaving, you can change colours half way through.
Eventually, the pegs will be almost covered by the thread.
Once I'd worked my way up to the top of each peg, I gently pulled it off of the pegs, then tied each loose white thread at the bottom.



Wednesday, 11 February 2015

Evaluation Arts and Crafts



For this project, I used both primary and secondary research.  An example of primary research I used a photograph of a dolls house which is a replica of Mackintosh White House in Glasgow. I used this photograph on my historical mood board. Examples of my secondary research included Pinterest and websites showing Morris and Mackintosh work. I also used a book of Andy Warhol work to assist me with my contemporary mood board.

On my historical mood board I focused on both Morris and Mackintosh because I liked Morris pattern wallpaper and Mackintosh stain glass designs. However, for my historical research sheet I focused solely on Mackintosh – I liked his nature work and loved how vivid and detailed his watercolour paintings are. I think they are very interesting and eye-catching.


I put the historical mood board together by separately researching Morris and Mackintosh. I looked at every aspect of their work (stained glass, architecture, printed scarfs). I chose which pieces appealed to me, printed the images out, then cut and composed them. For my contemporary mood board I used mainly Pinterest for research.

For my contemporary mood board I decided on Peter Blake to support my theme. I compared him to both Morris and Mackintosh work and then decided Blake and Mackintosh work (nature studies) were similar in vivid colours and the use of the same media of watercolour. Some of Blake’s work includes collage. For example in one of his pieces he has a pattern of butterflies which reminded me of Morris wallpaper.
  
I worked on different aspects of experimentation in this project which included mark making, batik, and puff binder, sewing in my images (I stitched detail onto a painted rose). I used several tools in mark making including lolly sticks, straws, forks, sponges and rollers. In Batik I learned how to use hot wax and use it to draw a design on paper, then later iron off the wax. Puff binder is painting the design onto the paper then with the use of heat gun to make the paint rise.


An example of a health and safety I covered in this project was when I was learning about Batik. When using the wax pot you have to be careful when using it as it is metal and when heated it becomes hot. You also had to pay attention when pouring the wax in case it splashed and you could burn yourself. When scooping up the paraffin wax with the tjanting, again you had to be careful in case you burned yourself, as the metal tip becomes boiling. You have to ensure you hold the wood part when pouring the wax onto the paper. In Puff Binder you have to be careful when using the heat gun as this becomes very hot and this is another example of when you could burn yourself.

An example of where I action-ed feedback from peer assessment is when I received a comment on negative space. I filled the space in like it stated I should.

I felt my strengths in my designs were the use of scale seen in my drawing of my roses. Another strength is my use of colour reflected in my butterflies.


If I did the project again I would change my time management. I would spend an equal amount of time on each piece of work and I would ensure I would plan each sheet as I only planned a few in this project.

The processes I used throughout this project include Batik, Puff Binding and Mark Making.

I believe my mood boards went well as I am happy with the designs and drawings on them. I am also happy with how the weaving and hand sewing turned out – especially weaving as this was my first time I had tried this process. I believe the processes could have been a lot better; I did not have much practice with them so I was hesitant when using them. To improve this I need to be more confident. I would change the amount of time given to produce my final piece. I feel it would have been better if I would have more time in the workshop this would have allowed me to have more practice and become familiar with them. On a positive side, I did enjoy learning about and using these processes.
I do not feel I have managed my time as effectively I could have in this project. I did not plan some sheets of work and I could have done this if I had planned my time more effectively.

Arts and Crafts Project Bibliography
I used Pinterest and Wikipedia for general ideas and notes for research for my images. I then visited websites which were specific to the six artist I have researched and utilised in this project.
arts.brighton.ac.uk/staff/peter-blake/research-interests
www.emmabridgewater.co.uk
www.fabricsandpapers.com/brand/view/william-morris