Summer 2010: Le'Etang de le Breche: France: Keycamp Courier In Charge.
This was a great opportunity for me to work abroad, something I always wanted to do. The campsite was fairly small but challenging enough for a small team of 3 for Keycamp, and 4 for Eurocamp. Set next to the picturesque Loire River, we had great days off cycling to the local town of Saumur. Below is an image of our live area, the tents would get roasting hot so as little time as possible was spent in them! Luckily we had a small gazebo to seek shade and coolness!
A typical day would consist of:
9am-10am: Reception duties: dealing with any customer problems/enquiries and administrative tasks such as campsite bookings. 10am: Team debrief: Allocation of tasks for the day including gas bottle changes, linen counts, stock checks, mobile/tent cleans and any maintenance issues. 10.15am-3pm: Complete tasks set. 3pm-6pm: Reception duties: Welcome guests and check them in guiding them to their holiday home and informing them on campsite times and facilities. 6pm onwards: Emergency Call Out: Check the customer notepad every hour in reception till 11pm and deal with any problems and enquiries. Welcome any late arrivals even in the early hours of the morning!
Above, shows my final exhibition at UWIC. The pieces are scaled to A1 and are made out of acrylic and foam board. My main aim with my final pieces was to create a sense of layering and depth, just like a story has. I was very fortunate to have been selected by tutors to exhibit my work at New Designers in London.
'Fabricated Tales' Fabricated Tales is a collection of laser cut designs based on Greek and Roman myths and legends, with particular concentration on the story of Cupid and Psyche. This story was chosen for its romantic quality steering away from my usual monster like illustrations. I wanted to achieve a collection that was aesthetically pleasing with elaborate swirls and beautiful silhouettes something similar to that of Robert Ryan’s illustrative cut outs. Robert Ryan has a drawn quality to his cut outs which I love; his quirky figures not necessarily are in proportion but his very unique folk style carries the image off perfectly. At the beginning of this project I attempted doing my own hand cut outs within a concertina book. I was happy with the overall outcome but the intricacy in my drawing was lost so I was thrilled when the opportunity came to use the laser cutter.
Although there were numerous problems in understanding the new machine and programme such as how to allocate different segments of an image to laser different effects, I pursued with the help from Martin the technician and we managed to eventually overcome most problems. However, this did not come as a disadvantage I feel as my constant experimentation on the machine enabled me to become confident enough to design my final samples and pieces on my own. In order to translate my designs on to the APS Ethos programme I had to first convert my drawings into a vector line on Illustrator. As this programme was also not familiar to me I found this a challenge to get to grips with the different tool buttons. My final collection has been designed for the purpose of stationary items; however, as I have continued growing in confidence on the machine I would love to design for more adventurous products maybe with the use of metal – outdoor features? I would also like to play with light more as the shadows cast from my cut outs really interest me and has opened up a whole new avenue of design work to go down.
As you can see by viewing my previous posts on lectures held this term, I found them of great help towards completing a successful business plan with my team. Nicola Wilkes lecture was the most influencial in terms of creating a good press release and advertisement strategies although each lecture provided useful in sights into the creative industry. Personally writing a blog is a big step for me but now I realise this is one useful tool to have!
Warm Weaves I feel was a success, but only due to good research and preparation. Helen was excellent in suggesting individual tasks to be getting on with and our equal contribution into research really helped in group meetings. Mair's mood boards summarising our research was an extremely useful tool to refer to as the business grew. Our previous skills obtained on our textile course meant we were not alien to the processes of design and colourways, however, coming up with an accurate finance statement was difficult. It made us realise all the extra expenditures in starting up a business and the desperate need for sponsership. Angela Giddon stressed in her lecture that when you first start out you'll be lucky to break even in the first couple of years. A good business is an established business. I have thoroughly enjoyed this project, especially working as part of a team to successfully fulfill all aspects to our business plan. This project has really opened my eyes to the fact that work experience is going to be essential in establishing a good knowledge of the creative industries.
(Image obtained from http://castorandpollux.co.uk/category/artists/rob_ryan/)
Robert Ryan, is my main inspiration for this final major project. I love his work and his folk style illustrations.
Much of his work is initially done by hand before sending it to be reproduced by the laser cutter. The image above shows him at work at his huge desk!
(Images above obtained from www.rob-ryan.blogspot.com)
Thesebeautiful shadows are created just by placing his cut outs in the window. Within my project I'd quite like to play with light.
My Project:
Recentely I have just completed a concertina book of cut outs. I love the way each one is like a window enticing the eye to look through. Below is an example of one of my cut outs:
At the top of my blog, you can see some more of my cut out designs. I have taken these images into Illustrator and converted these into vector lines to carry forward to the laser cutter. So far I have only experimented with etching and cut through on acrylic on the machine but it's amazing!!
To create a range of illustrative designs for a stationary collection inspired from myths and legends from around the world.
Objectives:
To refine research to Chinese, Mexican, Roman and Greek myths and legends.
To document all research in a series of sketchbooks and research file.
To produce a variety of drawings illustrating Roman myths/legends in a range of books of varying scale.
To experiment with a range of drawing techniques and styles including digital rendering.
To collect information for a Technical File and Research File.
To create a range of mood boards summarising theme, colour/trend, companies and client profile.
To research the target market.
To explore and experiment with laser cutting techniques.
To produce a final collection of prototype samples.
To produce a collection of stationary designs.
To visualise products using CAD visuals.
Introduction:
For thousands of years, all around the world, people have been telling stories. Often, they were not written down, but told aloud, passed along from person to person. Every time they were told, they changed a little, with a new character added here and a twist to the plot there. From these ever-changing tales, myths and legends were born.
'A myth is a traditional story that tries to explain the way the world is, or the relationship between gods and goddesses, and human beings. Myths are made up, but they often help to explain local customs or natural phenomena.' - The Kingfisher Book of Mythology, Page 7.
'A legend is very like a myth. The difference is that a legend might be based on an event that really happened, or a person who really existed. That's not to say that the story hasn't changed over the years.' - Ancient Greek Myths and Legends, Page 2.
The personal journey I have taken as a textile designer on this degree course has led to a great interest in illustration, largely as a result of the Welsh Literature project set in 2008. A great influence to my work has been the illustrator Margaret Jones who has produced beautiful drawings for the Mabinogion. To develop my own original illustrative style I would like to explore laser cutting. In Mexico and China paper cut designs are used to decorate and celebrat religious festivals and national holidays. I would like to use this idea of 'celebration', and bring to life the myths and legends that are close to home and part of our culture.
Proposal:
I intend to concentrate on Roman and Greek mythology due to a keen interest in the city of Bath where I live; situated here is one of the largest tourist attractions in South West England, the Roman Baths. I intend to collect primary research by making sketches of the gods and goddesses created by the Romans. These sketches will inspire my illustrations for the myths and legends that I select. I also intend to visit the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon and take photographs and collect relevant information via leaflets and guide tours. The secondary sources I intend to research are listed below:
Cardiff Library
Llandaff and Howard Gardens Library
Llandaff journal room
Internet
The research I collect will help aid my drawings. A strong development of a personal style should be visible in my sketchbooks and a progression of ideas, experiments and resolutions. I intend to expand out of the confinements of a book and draw on large scale sheets such as A2 and A1. Once a range of illustrative scenes and characters have been created, I then intend to make a collection of laser cut samples. I have been inspired by the illustrator, paper cutter and artist Robert Ryan who uses this technique. I aim to research and trial materials appropriate for the laser cutter and also research paper cutting techniques abroad, for instance in Mexico and China.
The final collection of designs will comprise of gift wrap, cards and other suitable stationary items. Main designs and co-ordinates will be selected.
Possible Outcomes:
A range of drawing books exploring myths and legends around the world, specifically Roman and Greek.
A series of drawing books exploring scale and media to find suitable shapes, characters and scenes that can be paper cut.
A Technical File and Research File.
A range of mood boards.
A studio book.
A collection of laser cut samples displaying illustrative scenes from one myth/legend chosen.
A collection of digitally rendered surface patterns suitable for gift wrap and the insides of envelopes.
In July we aim to go to New Designers in London; an event where a some of 3,500 newly graduated designers come together representing the top 200 design courses from across the nation to meet industry employers, the media, trend predictors and a design hungry public. It is seen as an essential resource for all who attend and an invaluable springboard for all who exhibit.
However, the sum of £10,000 needs to be raised in order for us on the Contemporary Textile Practice Course at UWIC to gain a stand. We are doing all we can currently to raise the money, including cake sales, bag packing, sponsership letters, craft sales and much more.
Below is an image of the rest of the team:
