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!

Exploratory Phase - Site Specific Installation

Exploratory Phase - Site Specific

"The Loving Hut"

My pain levels at the beginning of term were phenomenal. I began the course in the first week of September, was diagnosed on the 23rd and prescribed medication that was effective immediately. My life has been SO much better since then.

Trying to access Student Support was difficult and delayed. Some of the ideas college came up with - using hand gestures to communicate that I needed a break - I found insulting. Removing myself to a "Reflection Room" was useful if I needed to stretch or lie on the floor, but it had no seating suitable for back problems and the aspect of being "hidden away" felt very shameful.

The Loving Hut came about as a response to these issues.

The goal posts were moved by the maintenance team on campus, and the survival shelter is tucked away at the end of a long path, out of the way and not terribly accessible from classrooms.

Coffee pots without running water, teabags with no kettle, scratched and unplayable relaxation CDs, dead flowers... this piece is basically a giant unsubtle sulk. Got to get this stuff out of my system! 

I spent time alone in the shelter while crocheting a Prozac pill or eating lunch. It was lovely to hear the sounds of nature and lie down on a relatively comfortable foam mattress, albeit one I found in the street. It was also very satisfying to see the fascination it inspired in the sports students. One even asked if they could use it to hang out in.