Locating Unit Evaluation

In contrast to the geometric theme of the last project I chose to focus on curves and movement for Locating, introducing a more expressive element to my work. Drawing on A1 was daunting, but an exercise I enjoyed. My drawings could be a lot freer, and I think they still have a sense of constraint, but are more fluid than my usual sketchbook style.

I wanted to continue trying new techniques and combining traditional and modern methods, a theme which has come to underpin my practice. After identifying interior as my context, I researched wallpaper and paper sculpting and began mark-making with pottery tools. I enjoyed creating three-dimensional forms and see myself embracing a more mixed-media approach in future projects. I found working with paper cutting and modelling a better way for me to explore curves and movement than through the large-scale drawing, as I could focus on the separate elements of shape rather than a whole drawing. I love making things with a tactile quality, and although the paper maquettes are ornamental, If I could take the project further I would like to make them in malleable materials, to make them interactive.

Following this I had some of the shapes from my paper cut forms laser cut. I moulded the laser cut pieces to take my designs from wall-based artwork into more ornamental pieces. I have enjoyed seeing how I can take my designs from one context to another and back again.

My digital wallpaper collection represents a more traditional outcome which could be seen in an ordinary home setting. I would see my designs as feature wallpaper. Working with half-drop repeats on photoshop presented a challenge for me. In some of my designs there is a misalignment between the motifs. If I had managed my time differently, I would allow more time to learn the technique and resolve these issues.

To balance the digitally printed wallpaper I made a repeat design screen but unfortunately, it did not quite align, so my samples ended up looking miss-matched. I was disappointed with the results, but realise now that because I cut through the motif, it was harder to match up the screen. When I make a repeat in the future I will practice matching my repeats up on paper thoroughly before making a screen.

I chose to do FFF as my live brief because I wanted to challenge myself to learn new techniques like pattern cutting and 3D printing. If I had the chance, I would love to try printing more ambitious 3D samples, but time restrictions and access to facilities meant that in the end I chose to develop a fabric based collar design. I kept my collar design simple so that I could practice making it several times. I decided to keep the design the same and experiment with different fabrics because I felt that this would be the best way to include texture and curves by sublimation printing my designs onto fabric.

Overall, I feel that I managed my time during Locating reasonably well. I split my time roughly half and half between my self-initiated project and the live brief but ended up with a larger output for my own project. Working from the same body of research, my initial development phase was easy to manage, but as the unit progressed I found it harder to allocate equal time to each project and didn’t leave time to resolve unexpected issues like my repeat screen. If I could do the projects again, I would assign specific days to each project to avoid getting overwhelmed. I enjoyed doing the two projects at once as I was constantly coming up with ideas and I never got bored of either but I feel I have only scratched the surface of each project which could have been resolved with more efficient division of time. ­_­