Arts and Crafts Evaluation

Arts and Crafts Evaluation

For our research we split the categories into two, Primary and secondary research. We were unable to collect any primary research on our chosen artists due to no art shows broadcasting their work were close/ in region.

For my secondary research I used most the internet scanning blogs, images, websites and biography’s to create an image of my chosen artists. I also referred to books to find images and more factual information surrounding my chosen artist giving me a better understanding of their work.

We were given two artists to study during this project, deciding to study one or both; I chose to study William Morris over Charles Renie Mackintosh due to the style expressed by his work, using more floral detail with dark colours against Mackintosh whose work was more abstract light and modern in design. Though both artists argued formidability in my decision, I felt that Morris held a higher rank in his choice of design and fame with in the artist’s community.

For my mood boards I studied Morris’s work and collected a range of images drawn by my chosen artist and applied them to a sheet, then by following the design cycle of using only my chosen images, I managed to create a mood board consisting of extended images that are reproducible and consistent in patterns whilst still retaining an Morision Style (Morris style) this example of detailed styles is what influenced me most in my final piece.

For my decision of my contemporary artist I looked for someone modern whose work was very exuberant and out there , combining Macintoshes style of abstract with the complete counter part of Morris. I eventually decided on Grayson Perry because his modern work combined abstract art with human integer and design whilst still keeping the raw example of emotion empowered by his unique style and persona. I found that by combining counter parts together you can create unique high quality pieces that still incorporate mackintosh and Morris, though this style and claim is shown through Grayson Perry’s work I believe it’s a fine example of artist combination

For my experimentation we were taught 5 different techniques, each paragraph will explain what I did during these tutorials.

Puff binder: Puff binder is a produced applied to paper that expands when heat is applied (heat is created by a heat gun) we were taught to apply to colour to the puff binder via colour dyes the less that was put in the, lighter the colour of the puff binder, talking advantage of this allowed for different colour tones to be applied to the final pieces (as shown with my Morris style flower) there are visible changes in the shade of my pieces. Though plain puff binder is white it is still visible when heat is applied this is shown in my sample pieces there is no colour shown in the piece.

Health and safety of puff binder: ensure that the puff binder doesn’t get in eyes or body, not for consumption may be fatal if consumed. Keep away from hot areas to prevent puff binder from expanding, ensure heat gun is fully functional, asses for any damaged before use (report if damaged to prevent potential accidents) keep body away from heat gun exit and tie long hair back to prevent fire hazards and potential accident (injury’s/fatal injury’s) ensure gun is held at distance and no objects or people are in the way (apart from object being dried) ensure object doesn’t burn to prevent fire hazards.

Weaving: for our weaving tutorial we were shown how to create a fabric piece made form thick yarn, this consisted of 7 strands of equal length (30cm) threaded through small holes drilled though poles, all the strand then are pushed through the front to create 14 threads which are tied in 3,2,2,2,2 3 tying to the next strand to create an interlocking system of connected thread this is to prevent the weaving from collapsing when the poles are removed, thick yarn is waved between all the poles in a figure of eight motion till the yarn is at a high point of the poles (not breaching the poles thresh hold) the poles are then pulled through doing each alternate pol from the middle avoiding  the end poles till the end . When all the pole are pulled through then need to be snipped and removed, the threads are tied in the same frequency of 3,2,2,2,2,3 then pulled to neaten any areas .

Health and safety for weaving: ensure all equipment is fully functional ( if broken report to prevent potential accidents e.g impalement causing injury/ fatal injury ) ensure risk of chocking from yarn is covered and student are away of implications of violence towards other via strangulation from the thick yarn.

Batik: To start we had to melt the wax in the form of wax beads these were placed in the wax pots and melted down to liquid consistency of water, we then used to tganting tools inserting the melted wax into to the pool/ oasisies displayed as holes in the tools. We then drew with the tganting tools basic shapes related to our artists and the styles that they would use. We then drew designs with brusho inks to colour areas we needed. The idea behind it is the wax doesn't absorb the ink leaving the space under the wax the same colour.  Layers can be applied to keep the previous colour. Once the wax has cooled it needs to be ironed of to stop the wax from chipping and marking, the art work is place between two sheets of news print and the wax is melted and absorbed by the newsprint. Once all the wax has been removed the peace is left to cool/dry.

Health and safety for batik: ensure all equipment is fully functional ( no breaches in the wax pots, tganting tools have not breaches in the oasis area of the tools, wooden handles have no splinters to prevent injury / fatal injury’s) student are shown the correct way to use the wax beads ( not overloading the pot to prevent splash back against the student not over loading the tganting tools, to prevent burning injury/ fatal injury) ensuring allergies are clarified before usage so special glove can be provided (not plastic as it may melt  causing burning  injuries.

Sewing: for this part we were given the choice between hand sewing and machine sewing, I chose to do hand sewing as it gave my work a more vintage edge and I felt was a lot more to my taste than using a machine. We had to thread cotton though the needles and sew around the lines of our image in allocated colours, for mine I sewed blue leaf in detail into my drawing to give it a more intricate look and appeal.

Health and safety for sewing: ensure students are away of how to use equipment, tie long hair back to prevent injuries (mangling of hair in machines) ensure student doesn’t have allergies to the materials being used (skin conditions cause skin irritations and rashes) ensure hands don’t go close to moving needles (causing injury/fatal injury) hand stitching are aware of hand positioning during the needles decent back though the material.

Mark making: we used pigment ink we then used a range of textured equipment to create patters on our images these added edge and diversity giving a unique look in design and vintage style of workings. This method of creating texture is effective as it just uses standard house hold objects to create the piece.

Health and safety of mark making: ensure student don’t consume pigment ink as it may be fatal if consumed< ask for allergies and provide gloves to student (plastic as they area water proof and can’t be penetrated by liquids.

For my peer assessment I was given good reviews all round and so I didn’t have to improve my work dramatically, though this did encourage me to keep producing work of a high quality and aim for higher marks.

My strengths with in the design are that my artists are similar in the way that there styles were easily reproducible and I was able to create pieces that I knew would exceed expectation looking into depth of my images and designing a final piece that is easily relatable to my artist sheets.

If I was to do the project again I would change anything as I feel that my work was of a high standard and I was able to create the piece time efficiently with quality as my main priority, I felt that the artist were chosen with deep meaning and showed deep thought towards all my art pieces.

During my project I felt that I created good quality work with in the set time limit, personally I felt my final piece was the best part, more in depth I thought my puff binding was my best work throughout the entire project. I didn’t feel anything went wrong as I was careful with what I did I wouldn’t change anything.

I felt that I managed my time exceptionally completing all pieces on time and to a high quality

Personal comment: thoroughly enjoyed the project as it covered everything I like, felt more encouraged to use different techniques and will use these for future projects.

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