Sunday 23 December 2012

Ideas for my final project...

My final project for my BA is looming and i've be thinking about which techniques, inspiration and ideas i'm going to take through and develop further. Usually, I take inspiration from natural sources such as birds, trees or butterflies however, for my final project I really want to push this further so have decided to research into skies and skylines. This will involve bringing in elements of man-made architecture such as rooftops, street lamps and headlights. I believe that this contrast of delicate skies and harsh line could create really interesting and innovative outcomes. 


Experimenting in the dye kitchen and with discharge printing 






I have really enjoyed my recent experiments within the dye kitchen, and print room and feel that this will make a good start for exploring techniques and processes. As part of this project I really want to explore the idea of building up pattern, and layers of techniques but in a more sophisticated way. Thinking about the placement of the 'motif' will play a huge part of this experimentation, and is something my tutors have advised me to focus on to create more successful outcomes. 

Here are some initial photographs take from my journey to Norwich and also visiting my Dad on his farm. I really like the idea of bringing different tones and layering colour possibly from using dyes and discharge printing. 


Photographs from my journey to Norwich










Visiting my Dads farm






Experimenting with dyes and discharge printing...

As part of my final third year studies, I really want to get as much out of the textile course as possible and in order to do this, I really want to experiment and learn more about the dyeing process as well as other screen printing techniques. 



I decided that choosing a different selection of fabrics to what I would normally decided to work with, was a good start. I decided that both wool and silk would be a start as these are quite different from the normal fabrics I would choose. 

Using a combination of dyes including Easidyes and acid dyes which are most suitable for dyeing natural fabrics such as wool and silk I chose my colours, taking inspiration from my previous butterfly and moth project. The colours included Easidye hyacinth, Easidye beige and also acid dye navy. For the acid dye I added a level teaspoon of fixative, and as Easidye's already contain this I didn't need to add any. To make up both dyes I used the following formular;

Diluted dye + Fixative (if necessary) + Boiling water 




As part of my time within the dye kitchen, I experimented with different ways of creating resists for tye dye. Examples I used include; stitching, dip dye and tying fabrics with yarn in a traditional tye dye method. In particular I really like the stitching method as this is subtle but effective, I also think it works well alongside other techniques such as the more traditional method. 

After dyeing wool and silk, I decided to experiment with discharge printing as this is also something I haven't done since my first year at university. I really like how the discharge isn't completely white as this adds other colours that I may have not considered beforehand. I particularly like the effects that have been achieved on both fabrics as this shows a comparison in terms on weights of material.  






Overall, I'm really pleased with my few days working within the dye kitchen and print room as feel as if my confidence has really grown with being able to make up dyes for different fabrics, as well as producing lovely effects with discharge paste. 

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Folksy

I have just set up my very own online Folksy shop selling some of my recent prints onto note books. I am really pleased with how my work comes across online and hope to get my name out there using this simple idea of a printed notebook. I feel that my work looks pretty professional in relation to other similar items listed for sale on Folksy within the same price bracket. 


A screen shot of my Folksy shop, lacking stock but you have to start somewhere!



Examples of similar products within the same price range. Overall i'm really pleased with how they have photographed and how well the prints turned out using the different elements of pigment ink, foil and flock.







Wednesday 5 December 2012

Printed butterfly books...

After finishing my first project of third year, I decided that this was an excellent chance to experiment with printing processes further, and also combine this with making cute little Christmas presents!

Initially, I went back to my first drawings from my recent butterfly project and produced new screen designs from these using Photoshop, taking into consideration my interest of using multiple screens to create interesting and new designs. 

Here are some photographs of my printed mini books. By combining elements of black pigment ink, brown flock and also bronze foil, I feel as if I have produced really cute little outcomes. I would really like to use the idea of printing with multiple screens in future textile projects as I feel as this method give really interesting effects.








Printed on the back: Megan Haney Textiles. Hand printed.. With love..