Floral Geometry - Summer Project work

The summer project title ‘Floral geometry’ really inspired me. Although it’s a very wide-ranging brief, I was encouraged by the thought of lots of avenues for experimentation, and the abundance of primary source material available.

Initial drawings using the left handed techniques learnt in Friday drawing.

As a printer, there is a risk of becoming derivative when it comes to florals, as they are such a huge part of the textiles industry. However, by going out and drawing what I saw in front of me, and employing the techniques developed during last year’s Friday drawing sessions, I hope to have brought something individual to the concept of florals.

Rather than try and focus on one idea, for most of the summer I simply drew. I think this helped me become less hesitant and more inclined to just pick up a pen and go for it. Whilst this was beneficial at the start of the project, I think it did limit my use of media somewhat as it progressed. I tended to gravitate towards Pro-Markers, fine liners and gouache. These are my usual materials of choice, but because I didn’t have a clear focus within the floral brief I think my outcomes became a bit samey.

Detailled drawings of plants on my bedroom windowsill.

With this in mind, I started experimenting with paper cutting and a bit of collage which I really loved. Something about the creation of negative space and stencil like shapes really appeals to me, so I definitely want to develop paper cutting in the Intentions unit.

Paper cutting.

Looking back on my summer work, I realise that very quickly I started ‘designing’ rather than just drawing. I need to try and reign this in a bit and return to a looser style of drawing for the next stage of the project, otherwise my ideas will run out of steam quickly and I’ll lose inspiration for the development of my samples.

I was fortunate over the summer to travel to Venice and Amsterdam, where I was able to experience new environments which were very stimulating in terms of ideas for drawing. I think the biggest thing I took away from traveling was the use of colour in my work. Pre-travels, I had been sticking to a fairly limited gouache and watercolour palette, but the sunshine and vivid colours I saw abroad (particularly in Italy) encouraged me to be more adventurous with colour mixing.

Vibrant Flowers in Venice.

As well as travelling I made the most of some spectacular natural environments at home in Cumbria. Wordsworth House near where I live has a beautiful garden which I went to several times in order to draw the abundance of plants they have cultivated.

Flowers in the Wordworth House gardens. 

One thing I tried towards the end of my summer work was lino cutting. I’d really like to develop this further this term. I love printing directly onto paper and can potentially see myself designing for a paper context.

Lino cutting experimentation.

My next steps for Floral Geometry and the Intentions unit will be to focus on a specific theme. The summer has been all about gathering as much visual research as possible for me and now I intend to refine my work and draw with more attention to context and theme.