{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