And sew on...

I love this image. After considering what I'd taken from Nick Cave's work and how he'd described it during interviews, I was envisioning an 'environment' for the wearer. I wanted to create a sense of safety with this masking pattern piece, which came up past the lips. I used pattern paper - folding to create curves and effectively slashing and opening / closing in places.

Though looking at this image alone, I appreciate the lightness of the piece. When I actually constructed it in the laminate, it was far too heavy and so didn't retain the curved shape. I wonder whether I can recreate this kind of thing with a lighter material - perhaps by actually closing out volume and anchoring this way with featured tucks or darts?

In the end, the piece was opened, which made more sense as I hadn't otherwise considered an opening in the garment itself. Proceeding my content with the neckpiece, I experimented with plastic tubing, which I'd stuffed into my garbage back during my Resource Rescue journey.

Surprisingly, the tubing ant though my machine relatively well. In many hours of sewing, I only broke one needle. I was excited to discover the movement within the tubing. The zigzag stitch allowed the panels to curve in itself and also when sewn with another of the same. I also quite liked the transparency of the tubing - revealing the stitch, whether successful or not. (See the sample with black thread.)

I created pattern pieces for both the laminate and the tubing and attempted to connect the two. 

Fail. Both materials were far too heavy and impossible to construct with a sewing machine.

And far too rigid to hand sew without losing your fingertips. 

I remained adement not to lose any of the work I'd already done with the tubing. I took the finished laminate piece to the stand and experimented with the shapes it created - particularly with the front panel, which I'd purposely left open. 

I found the side view interesting and also putting the garment back-to-front on the mannequin, which resulted in the shoulders really popping forward. Perhaps there's potential here in terms of design process - creating a sculpted sample to apply to the body in different ways - in turn, creating new silhouettes and ideas for pattern design. 

This garment had lived nine lives before it got here. I put that nagging tube to good use by applying it as a piping, which acted as a kind of binding / boning for the armholes and sleeve cap. I really like what happened with the armhole. The tubing highlights its spiralling structure and brings forward the curves of the laminate. 

Happy with the result, yes. But unsure about where to go next.

Thursday 15, 1:12 am

So I went to bed and couldn't sleep, so had to get up again.

Brain dump, here we go:

A talk with Glen is potentially prompting a long awaited epiphany. Thank God. That, in conjunction with my last blog entry, in which I wrote about the difficulty I experienced while putting together my Creative Intent. Glen mentioned that you have to get stuff down in order to 'sift through the crap'. So true! And possibly an idea that I need to be more conscious of.

I've had lots of fluffy ideas about where I'd position my work and I stand by the fact that what I create is somewhat personal. My words to Glen were that 'at the end of the day, I don't want to make something that doesn't mean anything.' Well it will. It will be a reflection of my aesthetic. And individual aesthetic is always personal.

Taking a step back... Or maybe a side step? There are lots of constants that I can draw on.

And what did I really get out of my catalyst project?

I seemed to not be able to find the words when asked in front of the class. I thoroughly enjoyed working solely on the stand. I find that often my pattern making skills, (or lack of) hold me back and so I wasn't restricted in any way. Mid way through the project, I also attempted to further explore the design in 2D, but I found that the complexity of the shapes meant I struggled to translate into a drawing.

I really enjoyed bringing together various curved panels, (I always seem to work with curves) to create
3-Dimensional shapes.

Building structure is something I'd like to continue. I'm unsure as to whether this indicates the use of unconventional materials, but I'd certainly like to experiment. In what other ways could I achieve structure without crazy, stiff interfacing? I wouldn't mind experimenting with plastic and leather, too. In an earlier post, I mentioned an intrigue with building up and out from the neck and shoulders.... Maybe a good starting point in terms of toiling?

The exaggerated form. I have always been drawn to design that plays with proportion; distorts, exaggerates or disguises the human form.

So from here, I think I'll look at silhouette. Starting basic. And then fill in the gaps. That sounds like a nice process. Like, slowly building up from the foundation. There's potential too, for exploiting known or traditional garment forms. Excessive detailing. Interesting colour combinations. Yes, yes, yes. This all sounds good for me....

Now for bed.