Final evaluation
My FMP theme was splicers, who are citizens of Rapture who have altered their DNA using the drug ADAM. The drug is extremely unstable and causes a lot of side effects, and I wanted to show these changes through my work. I have explained the context of my book well and shown that I understand what my book is about. I have also stated on my blog that I intend to create six A4 samples for a unisex fashion collection, and I am not going to follow current trends as I feel this goes against my theme.
I have researched a range of different artists and designers, and used different sources of research such as books and the internet. I first looked at the Apu Jan A/W 15/16 collection but it didn’t end up being relevant. I then identified three key trends for spring and summer this year, and I identified tulle, florals, and pink as the key themes. Doing this research helped me to decide that I didn’t want to work to current trends and that I was more interested in focusing on my theme instead of trying to make my theme fit a particular trend. I researched Claire Coles, and then I explored working in a similar way by drawing with stitches and threads on the sewing machine and by hand. This was a key piece of research and it led me to discover the work of many other artists. I also looked at the Yiqing Yin Couture Spring 2013 collection, and artist Megan Mitchell, who both inspired me to explore using loose threads and beading. Megan Mitchell also inspired me to experiment with stitching and sewing into magazine pages which helped me develop my project a lot.
The first problem I was faced with in this project was deciding what I wanted my theme to be. The book had so many interesting characters, places, and themes that it was hard to edit it down to just a few. I began exploring underwater themes as that is where the city in the book is set, but I found myself uninspired and bored by it. Because of this I started to research into splicers and plasmids; and I then decided I would focus on splicers. Another problem was trying to figure out what techniques I wanted to use that related to my concept. I had initially planned on digital print but after experimenting with stitch I thought these textile techniques would be better suited to expressing my concept, and so I researched textile artists such as Claire Coles and Megan Mitchell who inspired the work I created.
I have struggled with organisation and time keeping, but once I started using my calendars at the front of my sketchbook I found it easier to keep track of my progress. Also making checklists has helped a lot. I have also struggled to keep up to date with my blog and posting research and experiments as soon as I do them.
I have learned a lot of new practical skills. These include embroidery and stitching, which I have used throughout the project. I have also experimented with colour and illustration, but I already had these skills, and I enjoyed exploring something new such as sewing and embroidery, and I have experimented with both hand stitching and free machine embroidery.
I have used my blog to evaluate my work, and have analysed different ways of developing my work and ideas, and discussed my own opinions of my work. Regular evaluation has helped me to decide what path to take next, and which areas to develop further.
I think I have presented my sketchbook and blog effectively. My sketchbook is clearly laid out and I have written small notes and annotations to explain the development of my ideas and my processes. My blog is easy to navigate and I have tagged my posts and reblogs accordingly. I have an introduction page about me, a checklist, and a tag list which can be used to find certain posts easily.
Overall I think that this has been a successful project but if I were to do the project again I would try to pick one theme earlier on in the project as this would have given me more time to explore different techniques and research a wider range of artists. I would have also tried to organise my work better and tried better time keeping techniques.
