Pathway - Bestowed Grace Pictures

Bestowed Grace - Photoshop Development

Playing with different locations for "communion" that bestows grace / a sense of belonging

I like the contradiction, it's pretty graceless!

I wanted to consider what unites us - faith, political leanings, socialising, eating together.

Pathway Stage - Bestowed Grace videos

Bestowed Grace - Development

These videos are experimenting with the idea that "communion" can happen when consciousness is altered. Meditative states in church, singing either hymns or at concerts, sharing a dancefloor on a night out - all of these bring people together. I want to think about the qualities of that communion and show parallels with becoming one with god and becoming one with drunken revellers.

Exploratory Phase - Fashion

Exploratory Phase - Fashion

I was confident going into this week. My tall, sometimes fat body has often been awkward to dress and I have developed an eye for fit and proportion that makes charity shopping a lot easier.

My research included Gareth Pugh, Graeme Armour and I have a very strong affinity for gothic aesthetics. 

Bin bags, plastic cups and coat hangers felt a little like a safe choice, but I was challenged by the tutors to make 60 different samples. That really made me think outside my box of preconceived ideas, and improved my mannequin a lot. While the overall shape and feel was similar to how I envisaged it, there were some significant developments that came from experimenting. I would very much like to work in the fashion discipline more, but have felt drawn to other areas by subsequent briefs.

I swapped samples with another student to see how a fresh pair of eyes would hold and use these items. We also used video to capture how the samples moved while in motion.

Exploratory Phase - 3D

Exploratory Phase - 3D

The theme for 3D week was "Fragment" or "Fragmentation".

We were inducted into the plaster casting and ceramics rooms, where I cast a selection of objects. My favourite to work with was an old cow bone I found on the banks of the Thames. 

I found the medium of plaster and the archetypal image of a bone being bleached white and chalky sat together nicely in my mind's eye. I experimented with fabric inclusion and other different ways to fragment or fracture my plaster bones.

I think the jewellery pieces represent a fear to deviate from my comfort zone this early in the course. Having said that, I would never have considered casting bones for commercial jewellery pieces, so I'm glad I had the opportunity to see how my past and present thinking worked for or against each other. 

I have begun to work with more of my mudlarking finds in jewellery, so this week has had an impact of my professional sphere already!