Final Piece

This is my overall final piece, i am glad that i did a variation of photographs as i found this was the most successful. I like how i have incorporated a difference of photographs, some of my initial photography and some of my final garment as i think this gives the piece a balance. Overall i find my pieces shows a clear indication of decaying that portrays my initial intentions.

Development of Exhibtion

I wanted to include some of my initial photography into my exhibition space including some macro shots of my final piece. I tired different variations of the photographs to see which was more effective. I found more of a random selection worked best rather than in a straight line as this added to the decaying effect as they had a broken down look as if they were falling down the wall. 

I also developed my photographs by scratching to one of them, i found this would add more a more scratchy look to the pieces lining them more to decay, however i found these were not as successful as intended as they looked more tacky taking away from the clear photography which i wanted to portray. 

Development of Exhibition

These are the samples i created for my exhibiton piece, i used an incorporation of the textures i created throughout my project including inspiration from the different artists i researched. I used hanging threads on each samples to portray a decrepit tone including a use of melted acetate over me second sample from inspiration of Alberto Burri, i also combined different papers with a rustic colour palette inspired by both Lynda Monk and Heather Komus. 

I first hung my samples by threads, however i found this was too much as i also including hanging threads, i therefor changed to hanging them off a nail which lead to the samples being more powerful. I developed my samples by adding nails and bolts onto the ends of the threads which also linked into the use of these on my final garment, i found these would link also to the rustic tone of the project. 

Final Piece

 I incorporated all the different techiniques i learned throughout the process of my experimentation and development and combined them into one to create this textural decaying mixed media garment. I used various stitch including leaving hanging threads to portray more delicacy. I also incorporated a use of synthetic materials including cellophane inspired by Alberto Burri. The use of the rustic colour palette was inspired mainly by Lynda Monk who also used these tones within her work. The use of scrim combined into my samples was an idea i found from Christina Chalmers who incorporated scrim like materials into her dress sculptures. I found using this lighter material would include a use of delicacy within my rougher samples to even out both effects. And finally the composition was inspired by Heather Kellner who used a rough edged composition which i took on board to create my own style which i then incorporated many latex samples to create this garment. 

In the end i added some screw, nails and bolts onto my piece as i found this would add a 3D element into my piece, i found this was successful in adding texture and a rough, rugged surface.

  

Garment Ideas

When creating my final garment i wanted to create a minimal back just using string as i thought this would best show a decrepit tone. I tried different ways in which i could situate the strings. Here are two examples of the different backs i tried, i tried a straight back and also a corsetted back. I found the corset back was iconic of the genre and linked well to my theme however i found it was hard to create a high quality corset without making the garment look tacky. I found the straight strings worked best, was simple and still looked effective. I developed these strings by adding coffee stains to the thread to change it's colour to a rustic colour palette, i also added brown thread around to add texture and to create a more delicate base. I found the use of this coffee and string was powerful and very successful leading me to using this as part of my final design. 

Development

I started to combine some of my initial latex experiments together to form the start to a garments. I developed into this by having part of the latex crawling up the neck of the garment as i thought this would ass to the decrepit tone.

Carrying on with my development i carried on with incorporating different materials into my latex samples, for this sample i used netting and melted parts of it to link to Alberto Burri, i also used stitch and left the threads hanging to add a fragile tone. I found this piece was successful in creating such and delicate and also decrepit piece however i think it would be more successful if incorporate much more stitch and hanging threads which would create a decaying nature. 

I carried on with using the latex samples with more latex and started to create a top piece of a garment. I am going to develop this latex style piece by combining latex together in different forms and compositions to find the best fit for a decaying garment. 

Development

Developing my latex samples by combining more different combinations of different textural materials onto the surface of the latex. I tried different materials such a straw to capture a rugged texture, i found this was a successful sample as it created a rough edge to the latex making a more decaying piece. 

I created longer piece samples and placed them onto the mannequin in different compositions also making a more 3D element by pushing up the surface of the latex, however i found more of a flat surfaced worked best to create the perfect decrepit garment. 

Development

From inspiration from both Heather Komus and Christina Chalmers i created responses which incorporated a use of various textural materials including latex, scrim, paper and stitch. I found the use of the scrim would improve my samples by adding a delicate tone to the harsh decrepit nature of the piece, this would balance out the two making my piece more successful overall. I created these two latex samples with an incorporation of scrim and stitch to add the delicate tone creating a more fragile tonal piece. I found these samples where successful in creating such tones and textures, i wanted to further develop these samples by creating more large scale latex samples with a combination of scrim, paper, netting, stitch and other textural elements. 

Responding to peer comments

After a peer suggested i expand my size of the latex samples i decided to take this on board and create larger scale samples, this was also shown throughout my artist response to Heather Komus where i created a large scale latex piece and incorporated it with other background materials. The comment also suggested in creating layers within the latex, to do this i have combined different materials into the surface of the latex. I found this latex sample was successful as it had a large use of textures which conveyed a decaying tone, also the latex was easy to peel from the bubble wrap background. The only problem with the use of the latex it can be quite messy and it's also hard to stitch into however this can easily be resolved with using a papered background which can be pulled from when finished.

Another comment on my blog suggested i create larger scale romeo samples and combine them into my latex. I found this was time consuming due to creating such large romeo samples however when added to the latex it emphasised on the decaying tone of the piece which i found was successful. From these latex samples i think i would like to use latex in my final designs with a small use of romeo as i find too much would overpower the rest of the mixed media making the samples more clumped together rather than a decaying effect. 

Christina Chalmers

To carry on with my development process i found i needed to research an artist who focused more on the delicacy of the piece and preferably a more sculpture/garment. Christina Chalmers is a mixed media sculpture who focuses on creating large scale dress sculptures from materials such as lace, paper and scrim like materials. In response to Chalmers i created samples using newspaper, parcel paper, netting, scrim and stitch. I used a calm colour palette of white, cream and light brown shades to capture the same delicate touch as Chalmers dresses. I found from researching both Chalmers and Komus has helped to widen my thoughts on how to carry on with my development process.

I found my responses were quite successful in creating a more fragile tone, this is something i would like to include into my samples when developing my work to add a delicate done to the decrepit nature of my samples. 

Heather Komus

To expand on my ideas i decided to further research some artists that explored similar materials or composition to me. Heather komus was an artists who caught my eye, she is a mixed media artist who uses a combination of handmade paper, embroidery and corporeal materials such as human hair. From looking at the composition and different materials Komus uses i have been highly inspired to take a similar composition and materials into my own work. I started my creating a sample in response using various materials such as papers, plastic, dyes and stitch leaving hanging strings to represent a decrepit tone also to represent the use of hair as of Komus. I also created a similar sample yet combine latex into the piece which ccreated a similar texture. From my blog comments i decided to extend the size of the latex sample i created in response to komus, this was an effective piece as it was more powerful and striking. 

Composition

 

Continuing to explore composition i have created some mixed media collage pieces which incorporate a use of my shibori samples with other textural elements such as cellophane, inks and stitch. I found these samples where successful as they showed a range of different textures and patterns.

Linda Vachon

Another artist i have explored is Linda Vachon who is a fine artist who creates scratchy inks and chalk pieces. In response i first created a similar scratching technique with the use of printing ink, i then incorporated this technique into some samples i created to expand on my samples. 

I found this a successful sample as i find it shows a great contrast between the pure white crisp background and deep rugged black lines. I think this piece is a great response to Vachon's work and could be expanded by combining with other materials to add texture and depth. 

Shibori

      To explore different pattern and composition i create shibori samples using different dyes to capture different tones. To develop my samples i added stitch which gave them shibori a scrunched effect expressing decrepitness and a fragile effect.

I again developed my shibori samples further linking to my artist Lisa Kellner who creates large scale sculptures using silk, organza, thread and various pigments. I re-created samples of her work using a shibori technique using marbles to capture the round like shapes. I also added latex and pulled the shapes through some bubble wrap to express a crumbling tone. 

Romeo

I experimented with Romeo, a water soluble fabric which leaves your stitched piece alone. This creates a tactile piece which shows much depth and dimension. I found these where successful in the fact some threads became loose which added to the delicate effect. 

How could i incorporate this into my other samples?