The Stripe project was a great experience in learning and revisiting techniques.  I had used the heat press with disperse dyes last year on my previous course.  On this occasion we got to mix our own from scratch experimenting with application as well as density of colour.  I was intrigued by aboriginal face and body painting seeing how it cracked on the skin when dry forming texture as well as lines of paint on the skin. 

I also looked at other cultural stripe such as North American native clothing and Aztec tunic border pieces. 

We were sent around the college searching for pattern, texture and rhythm.  I sketched various corridors marking down window shapes and rhythm as well as picture placement and brickwork.  Along side these sketches I took rubbings of various textures such as radiators, metal grids and tiling patterns.

Using these sketches and rubbings I started using the corridor sketches in collage of wide and narrow strips of paper and metal tape mimicking the rhythm and patterns emerging.

Texture was important, as I didn’t want the colour to be flat with no interest so I experimented with different ways of applying the dysperse dyes to paper before printing.  I also collaged with these painted papers after looking into tessellation. The patterns were very busy and colours rather bright.  I also work in large amounts of colour finding it hard to choose between so many wonderful hues.  Finally I settled on three main colours with two background colours.  These main colours were to work on their own bold in the foreground and fading lightly into the background.

At the same time I was working on screen printing and had to develop a pattern that would work with the dysperse dyes and well as alone.  With the collage work giving lots of different lines to work with I again took these into tessellation and found some interesting patterns to explore.

Whilst designing, I experimented and learned about binders and foil glues that produced different effects in screen-printing. 

I was determined not to use black in my designs, I think it’s over used and relied upon.  Why wear such a dark colour when there are so many beautiful hues to choose from. 

In my colour palette I took inspiration from the Aztec tunic border that has blue green red white yellow and black.  Straight away I choose to replace black with a rich chocolate brown and once I trialled the screen it took on a 1950s look.  I was encouraged to look and Lucienne Day a 1950s textile print designer.  Amazing abstract shapes layered almost collaged with a fine line detail across the top.  The colours linked with my previous connection.  So I remixed my colours to match both themes.

Some of the collage work with papers were just to clumsy and too large a scale to work properly.  I reworked my ideas after experimenting with water colours and a sign writers brush.  I had noticed how a lot of old print or illustrations used a basket weave texture and using the light to dark idea washed the background in a light watered down colour.  I then built up texture using a basket weave stroke layering colour over each other and allowing each to dry so as not bleed into each other.  I also did the inkblot technique where the paper and paint is still wet and to apply copious amounts of paint on the brush allow to drip and flick.

I then flicked and spattered paint onto the paper using a stiff bristled brush.

I chose to use the shapes that had appeared with the tessellation patterns but scaled down and more freely applied this suited the misalignment and imperfection I strove for.

This lead to two collections to emerge one of clean line and block colour with some texture and very bright.  The other greyer with more subtlety and free hand, with the tessellation to bring it together.

I’m really pleased with my collection both the 1950s styling of collection 1 and the clean bright line of collection 2.  

Well can’t believe I’ve been home nearly two weeks.  Paris is still a fresh memory.  I got a lot of inspiration and met some interesting people.

The muse D’Orsay was lovely, an incredibly beautiful building.  I’m really glad it never got torn down.  Our visit was at the end of a long day but the architecture and surprizes made it worth every blister.  The surprizes came from the art, Monet and Van Gogh, never thought I would see Monet’s Waterlilies and Bridge or Van Gogh self portrait.  My main excitement came when I spotted a picture of a church by Van Gogh that had been used in Doctor Who.  It was great knowing something about an image and the genre. 

My lecturer for contextual studies last year was excellent she really fired my enthusiasm for art inspiring me to explore my own tastes and opinions.  I managed to thank her the other day and told her of my excitement.  Her name is Sally Stone.

Centre De Pompidou was really interesting and was able to take plenty of pictures.  Off the top of my head the art that remains in my memory are numerous.  I’ll start with the weirdest, a strange installation made from nylon tights and sandbags!  This was suspended from the ceiling like a cross between a jellyfish taken from the sea and a cave full of stalactites.  Great pendulous legs dripping from the roof.

Another strange but memorising was what looked like a millipede turning over and over while holding its tail in its mouth.  Less strange but maybe slightly sinister was room which contained a long table with different turntables on that span a range of different everyday objects.  The room was darkened to enable you to see the shadows of the spinning objects dancing on the wall.  You were able to sit and watch the dancing shadows. 

I really liked the chain-link fence panels that had areas re-woven as flower lace and a multicolour textile that was allsorts of objects hidden in a random pattern without any two colours the same next to each other.  It was if two patterns existed one floating above the other.

There was many other which you’ll find in my photos.

My only regret was that I didn’t have longer.  My reason for visiting Paris in the first place was to attend a trade event called Premier Vision Indigo.  For the most part in seemed all about doing deals in secluded booths.  With textile swatches on display that you were not allowed to photograph or sample in any way because of copyright.

The area Indigo was about textiles for fashion and looked a lot like and indoor market but this help to evoke a more relaxed and informal feel.  It was here that I made a couple of contacts and hopeful work placements.  The first lady I approached was Sarah of Johnson Cheyne from London.  She even took my details.  This company seemed to be in a minority of not overloading the stand with digital bangouts of pressing the effects buttons in photoshop.  The stand was carefully piled with appliqued print and digital design, seeing the applique swatches is what drew me in to look closer.  Another that caught my attention was Acorn from Nottingham.  This stand had a large range of digital but also knit and crochet sampled and for people who know me will understand my draw to things woollen.

After leaving the show my friends and I made our way into Paris where we went to the Pompidou centre and then on to the Eiffel Tower.  It sparkled on our approach which felt like an omen maybe we would go up the tower after all, hope glimmered.  It was by chance that we decide to go up the tower.  We were expecting the queues to be massive because it was Valentine’s Day.  In the end it took a mere 50 minutes to reach the ticket booth at the foot of one leg and yes I took the lazy way.  My legs would have been jelly before I reached the first floor if I had used the nasty scary open steps.  Always had a phobia about falling through the treads of those steps and I’m not great and heights either.  The height problem I vowed not to let me succeed in reaching very top.  I knew if I hadn’t I would have had that niggling feeling of annoyance knowing that I had been within a few feet of the summit.  We were treated to a rose each and a steak dinner on the Champs elesey that evening by one of my friend’s cousin.  A special day.

A highlight was receiving star treatment in Louis Vuitton’s as I purchased a book.  Couldn’t seem to find any other designers, the area is not set out like a shopping precinct.  We wandered for miles feeling a bit disgruntled and snappy. 

I would not have believed how big the Louvre was until I saw it. It made Buckingham palace look like it should be on Lilliput Lane!  We were completely overwhelmed and lost.  We hadn’t researched our visit and so couldn’t find what we intended see.  One of our group was pleased to see Napoléon’s apartments loving all the opulence.  Even I was in awe of a chandelier that filled a large room that my pictures failed to do justice to.  We found out later that we needn’t of entered the Louvre as the exhibition we wanted was in an annex on the other side of the building.  Hay ho just have to return to see the Mona Lisa.

Our last morning we went to a market where I bought custom painted baseball hats for Alicia, Josh and Nathan.  I really like the graffiti style art they were producing and had never seen anyone putting it on hats.  I watched for a while and introduced myself I even got the contact details before deciding to spoil my children.  I now follow them on Facebook. 

While wait a family came along and we got chatting I found out that he is the CEO of a Shakespeare company in a castle in Denmark.  We exchanged details.

After my terrible arrival in Paris I feel my trip was a success, I left wanting to return and confidence high with meeting new people that were as interested in speaking to me as I them.  Even on the train back to London I sat next to Jody an interesting young lady who is on a Textile FD at Bath Spa.  She is full of enthusiasm for what she does and she likes knitting!