COMM TECH; Evaluation

Primarily i was disappointed at the prospect of another brief questioning my relationship with technology as i considered my work to be fairly distant from it. But when i was reassured i could take this brief anywhere i wanted, i soon began to see the positives. Coming from a fashion and textiles background, i had wanted to pursue this area for some time.
I researched old and new techniques including applique, devoure, gouache, embroidery, screen printing and fabric manipulation. I found out the practical and visual expectations needed to produce work of a high standard and applied them to my own work. Some of my practical work had little relevance to my final objectives but i wanted to address a wide range of technology based skills in order to maximize the potential of my understanding. For example, i did some machine knitting but didn't plan to use this in my final product, as knitting is a time-consuming and impractical solution for decorating a canvas bag.
I decided i wanted to apply the work i produced in this brief, so it had a purpose. I took issues such as cost into account when making this decision and wanted to create screen printed bags that were mixed with applique. I eventually wanted to sell these bags but due to lack of money i couldn't afford buy the equipment needed for this. However i used some second hand canvas bags i already owned and created a mock-up versions using an illustration, using fine-liner straight onto the bag and i also produced an applique. I thought the outcome of the dog applique was pretty successful, but the illustrated bag lacked the professional quality i was after. Using my experience of printing i can predict the use of printing equipment would solve this problem. To progress within my work i need to gain a greater understanding of managing my work around the costs of producing it. If i have been able to afford the canvas bags and printing costs i have no doubt my work would have been of a higher standard and a quality final piece would have been available. I would have also been able to develop my skills by spending more time in the print room, developing ideas and trying out new techniques. However, i have concluded that illustration and printing is an area i feel strong in and with time and effort, it can only grow stronger. By carrying on with this within the new project and my own time i can open my work up to a wider audience and feel it has a purpose. I want to create strong pieces of hand-made, individual, original work.
I consider the relevance of all my work and research important to the understanding i have gained about my own ability and my future within this field that i would like to continue with.

COMM TECH; mock up canvas bags

Due to being a poor student, i couldn't afford to print so i have had to do a mock up if what my bag would look like by simply drawing straight onto a canvas bag. Also being a poor student, i couldn't afford to buy canvas bags so have had to re-use free ones i have been given . The final outcomes are only mock ups for what i hope to achieve with more time and money. I do eventually want to create these bags in a professional manner.

This is one of the bags i made using applique. (the dogs eye fell out, it was a sad time)





And this is another, i sewed the shoes on and drew the rest but i would ideally have screen printed this for a final piece.




Other possibilites are using scraps of recyled material within my print , like this;

COMM TECH; Illustrations

I did some new illustrations for designs for my canvas bags. These are just ideas for the kind of designs i want to print, not final ones as i feel they need more work. I would want to incorporate sewing into these bags so i would use applique onto them.

COMM TECH; Screen printing, devouré

I created a heart shaped stencil using thick paper and a craft knife then used this to screen print onto some recycled fabric.
I liked the results even though it probably wasn't as effective as i would have hoped i think with some beading or extra substance it could translate nicely into a interior print to be used on curtain fabric.



I then used this same stencil to try Devoré. It is a process of chemically destroying a component of a composite fabric. Normally the burnout technique uses protein-cellulose or synthetic-cellulose composite fibres especially constructed for this purpose. The technique described here refers to burning-out of cellulosic fibres, such as cotton, linen, viscose from composite blends.I used velvet in this example but the fine fibres in the velvet and the detail of the stencil meant sections of my sample peeled away. If i tried with a thicker fabric this method could work on cushions or even suite material. However, I don't plan to use it again as i found the process too time-consuming and difficult as well as expensive.