This is one big reason why its good to come home....

Morning walks around the cliffs, getting sprayed by the waves due to the high tide.

A little list of discoveries i've made this week...

A tea towel by Anrol designs, i just laughed, i think its brilliant...

'LU FLUX'

I discovered her last week whilst wondering through spitfields market, she has a pop up shop throughout december which just looks so simple and beautiful. She makes her clothes out of recycled fabric. I love her whole concept and how she styles her work just as much as the pieces themselves.

I was in Liberty today and stumbled across a denim brand which i looked up a few weeks ago. They reuse old denim, mush it up and create new jeans. Pricey, but amazing. If you have time you should deffinatly watch this video about there process.

'Collections' is the theme of my christmas project. Christmas projects suck in general, but its quite a good topic. I went to the Horniman Museum, which is quite bazar but amazing, and they have a whole room full of every type of instrument you can imagine, i thought these harps were rather lovely....

I have come to the end of my list, i had to keep myself occupied seeing as i don't have 'sufficient bandwidth' to watch made in chelsea :( x

Since i last posted i've come through 2 weeks of drawing/photoshop and 2 weeks of knitting.

Which have ultimately concluded in me handing all 4 of my projects from this term, in for assessment on friday. So i feel quite liberated right now! 

We had to be very experimental for our knit project, to quote our tutor...

"If you aim for Dior you'll end up with Topshop, But if you aim for Topshop you'll end up with Etam."

Can't really see my work gracing the shelves for any of those labels, i think mines more natural geographic...  but who knows maybe thats next seasons inspiration?!

For our photoshop project we had to make colour charts out of images we took around our local area.

My colour was Green....

 Interestingly, where knit was 'experimental' apparently this project had tight restrictions. My first attempt was the chart bellow, which was wrong - and the chart above was right. I however think the chart bellow is much more interesting.

Colour charts have been and will be a frequent event in my future im lead to believe...

We had to do colour studies on location so hears a couple of photos from v&a, Kew & south bank...

This term has been really full on, but i feel like i've achieved a lot. I forget that not only have i started this course but i've set up home in a new place, joined a new church and explored London. Its been crazy. I realise i've spoken mostly about my course on hear, but over christmas when im back in Wales and have a chance to process whats happened, i'll try and post about other aspects.

Im going home in 9 days!! I can't wait to run on the beach, chill by the xmas tree in my pj's, not have to cook, see friends. Very excited! x

{Route 49}

I have never been one to champion the bus over the train, the amount of hours i've spent 'too(ing)' and 'fro(ing)' from school, then college, then uni. At any available opportunity i would of taken the train.

However, i have been in London 2 months now, and i am slowly discovering the benefits of the bus! 

Route 49 = Clapham Junction to South Kensington 

Today is a drawing day, and no, tomorrow is not a colouring in day. I spent the morning in the V&A, to begin with sitting on the floor (wriggling around to get comfortable) perching next to a pillar not to be tripped over by school trips. Then a lovely staff member brought me a stall. 3 hours went by easily, and it was really enjoyable and relaxing. 

Now - back to the bus route. For along time i've been quite disorientated, i've know where i live in regards to tube stops and church, but anything further afield is just a bit blurred. The biggest issue with the tube, is that you can't see whats above you! But with the bus my mind was suddenly like 'boom boom' i know where that is, i can't believe im so close!

So this morning, i discovered where battersea park is (very close) and we went through Chelsea and down the Kings Road, with all the luxury shops and tall white houses with big door knockers. And because your on the top deck - you can see in and over the walls! Its great! We also wen't past the Royal College of Art - so i peaked into the studios. People are just more relaxed on the bus, it's amazing what a bit of light can do to a persons mood! 

{Weave.}

Sitting hear now, i am officially half way through my first term. I have just come out of two crazy paced, but tranquil, weeks of navigating a loom. 

I really enjoyed weaving, having access to my own loom for two weeks was a real luxury after the people/equipment ratio of 'Print'. Although we didnt have long to learn to weave then produce our samples, i found the process really tactile and exhilarating. It takes hours of patience and concentration which was a welcomed challenge and working amongst the second and third years in the studio was really inspiring. 

Learning to weave is like learning to read music, and understand what each sequence refers to or create.

Below is a copy of my technical notes for my first sample....

The project focused alot on drawing and designing from your initial inspiration, mine was trees and bark, so i used alot of texture and focused on colour in my samples. 

We took a few days to try out different patterns and colours, so bellow is my test sample...

It was important that our samples sat well together as a 'collection', the whole 'collection' thing is something im just starting to get my head around, the idea that every piece is different but they all have a common thread running through. So selecting our colour pallet was really essential. I did this pretty badly in 'Print' and ended with 6 samples that had very little relation to each other, i did it much better this time round....

The final stage was the 'visual application'. The fabrics in many cases have to become something once there made, i visualised a kind of travel blanket/shawl, inspired by Gudruns Joden...

Im really enjoying every aspect of london, and feel like im learning loads. Next week becomes more techincal as i focus on photoshop and drawing, so hopefully i'll have time to blog about what else i've discovered.

Enjoy the fireworks, i get a good view up hear in my attic! xxx

 

{Print Project.}

For our first 3 day project we were put in groups of three, with the task to combine our drawings together to create an image which we could print.

It was alot of work in a short space of time, we had a great tutor who helped with the vision. we ended up with an 'Edwardian Dog' style print!

Heres pictures i took of the process...

It took ages designing and settling up and only 5 minuets printing our work, so it was so exciting when it all came together!

End of stage 1 - our final collaborative image.

After we had burned our image onto the screen, settling it up on the table.

Starting to print, you do every other one, to let them dry in between.

The final Product! 

My contributions are the scary dog faces!x

{A new journal for a new day.}

Today's been a weird one, i had a day off but alot of stuff to get on with, along with washing and babysitting and food shopping. So at 9.30 i stopped and thought about it. So in poem format, i give you my day....

I ask

you show -

how the angels mark the flow,

dainty dreams, heavy feet 

solid positioning amongst spirits beat.

All i am

within designed glass walls,

is a bright contrast 

sometimes afraid of my call.

What i see

is more than me,

a 9000 pound fishing trip,

to selfish to keep,

pass round the buckets we got our first catch, 

a popular school with money to match. 

On my first day, I heard a lecturer say to a group of freshers; 

"The reason your hear is so that you will leave able to get a well paid job."

I disagree. 

Im doing textiles, there is a slight possibility that i could leave in 3 years and walk into a high paid job at DIOR. That would be an experience! 

I am spending a lot of money to learn these new skills, and if it only benefits me that would be a huge waste!  So my scale on how successful i am, and whether my degree was worth it, will be judged by how many people my new 'skills' and 'creative thinking' has affected in a positive life changing way.

I will not pigeon hole myself now in my first week, as to what career path i shall pursue. However, i shall stand by the statement above.

Have a good weekend, im off to the royal festival hall tomorrow eve to see Ghost Poet & Soap and skin! excited.

Also... me and warren were walking out of M&S in Covent Garden, we opened the door and there was standing Judie Dench! She was so Serene!

xxx