Plan Of Time...

Lots to do...but by setting myself deadlines I hope i'll get explore and learn everything I have left to do.

Theme.

GAH. This has felt like the 'be all and end all' for me these past few days. With all the print techniques that I need to explore done. I now plan to design wallpapers/a collection with a running theme, then to create a few mocks and THEN to print my finals traditionally and digitally.

I really had not thought about how hard it was going to be to come up with theme, and so have had a few chats with Nick and Christian over my frustration. I am very indecisive and so I don't think any subject I come up with will feel totally 'right'. 

Although final pieces and context don't matter TOO much, I think everybody in my group feels as though they want to produce work thats worthy to go into our portfolios.

A couple of ideas I had were...

- 'Historical Fashion', taking pattern design ideas from 50's fashion and interiors. I got out a couple of books to read.

- 'Historical', I really enjoyed visiting temple Newsam, looking at the textile collection and the historical side of it is something I'm interested in, so possibly taking these old designs/textile swatches, and making them my own whilst giving them a more contemporary feel.

- 'Doll culture', looking back at my final major project subject and creating wallpapers with this subject. However I feel as though it would be stupid to go back to something.

Plan B was to either go into the library and take a random book out taking my subject from that or as christian suggested pick a random word/s from the dictionary and creating a theme from it?

BUT ...I think I'm decided on a historical fashion/textiles theme, loosely tied together by thte fashion of an era or a couple? It seems appropriate as I have already been looking at drawing from textiles.

I've got a couple more 'wallpaper' books out for inspirtation...

Here is one...

 This book has infact got some wallpapers from Temple Newsam in it! As you can see below...

RE-EVALUATION - of Last Few Weeks...

We had a tutorial today which really made me think about the current position I'm in with my work at the moment.

WHAT WAS SAID.....The general feeling within the group, was that we had all enjoyed exploring these print techniques but that now everyone was just stuck on how to move their work on, or how to actually make a project out of what I have.

Live briefs were suggested...

I looked at breifs from places such as 'D&AD', 'YCN', also 'Shoplift Gallery'-however the project set is about greed, and I don't think for what I wanted to produce a live brief would be appropriate.

Evaluating my time spent so far on this brief, I have successfully explored traditional print techniques that should help me in creating wallpapers. The project I am doing has taught me that the way you present and create something can have a big impact on how people percieve work that you do. Throughout the time I have been experimenting with print techniques, I have also been casually asking people what their feelings towards the piece are. I have found that people appreciate traditional print techniques as they can appreciate the work that's gone in and aslo feel that the work is more personal. However I'm going to try and get them digitally printed aswell as a comparison.

Perhaps in these last few weeks, and as I put the wallpaper designs and final things together I should be asking for as many peoples opinions as I can, (my audience)?

As far as learning goes, I think that all the traditional print techniques that would be useful to me are covered. Although things I will learn now are how to put designs together for wallpapers on photoshop or illustrator and how to use the digital printers. But also how to sew and stitch fabrics.

ANOTHER PROBLEM: 'ACTUALLY COMING UP WITH THE IDEA OR THEME FOR A COLLECTION OF WALLPAPER AS A DESIGNER'.

I need a running theme for my wallpapers to actually make a project out of this. With only

three weeks to go I am starting to feel apprehensive about it alll. However I have now explored

all the print techniques that I really need to and thus can now get on with creating a theme and design work.

I think to get stuff done and be sucessful in this project I need to write myself a timetable of things I need to do and give myself deadlines, such as creating designs... 'design work done for ?'

Lino Print 2.

This is my lino cut into... cutting it was easy enough, you don't have to go very deep. But It was very easy to slip and end up with a straight line through your image, which ISNT suposed to be there!

Again I tried to do it on a couple of different papers...Below is Newsprint. Infact the lino print seemed to press better on tissue paper than anything. You can see from the newsprint that some papers more than others, really pick up the way you even roll the ink onto the lino.

Unfortunately they weren't totally dry when I picked them up and there for in an effort to not get ink on any other work I folded the tissue paper over onto the image which inevitably got stuck to the bloody image!

The prints aren't really very amazing but I think I will trace them on illustrator using the pentool, this is something I want to practice anyway, and then try to make a repeat pattern from it.

Embossed Wallpaper?

From looking back at my simpler print techniques and seeing embossing, I thought about the rubbings I'd done as a print technique. Thinking about rubbings and the shadows they seem to create 'through' the paper. 

Wallpapers I have looked at all seem to have some sort of ink or material applied to them, but what if an emboss could be done as a repeat pattern? 

I want to try and create a wallpaper out of an embossed repeat pattern. The embossing will create a shadow-like rubbings, and be a different approach to wallpaper of today. Perhaps different colours will show different strong-ness of emboss/shadow? Perhaps look a little 3D. Everyone loves to touch flock when they say it! What about an emboss!

Just a thought...

FOILS.

Foiling was also very exciting, but is put under the heat for a lesser time/12 seconds and uses different glue, other than that flock and foils use exactly the same process.

Here is the foiling that I did...although the scans really don't do the actual things justice!

Applying foils to the paper I'd made gave and interesting effect. It wasn't such a clear difference as the flock had given but gave the 'simple' look of the paper a nice clean finish.

These are the negatives of the images which I thought just looked pretty interesting in themselves. Using negative space could be an interesting way of forming wallpapers?

I looked for websites that had more about foils and flock, and came across this website...

http://www.impressionsfoiling.co.uk/

Impressions Foil Limited are one of Englands leading foilers and embossers based in Essex and have 28 years of experience. The website gives a clear idea of what they use and how they work, but i really just thought that the website was pretty amusing. Is there any need for the sounds on it? aha!

FLOCK.

Today I prepared my screen for flock and foils, then to screenprint my images onto various bits of chosen paper I bought, to see what different effects I could achieve.

To apply the images to the screen, your images have to be on acetate these are the two designs...(which I have used throughout)...

You screenprint a flocking glue to apply flock to any material and a Foils glue to any material for foiling. The first time I managed to use the flock glue for everything meaning that the foils just didn't work... DUH.

Time and temperature for flock is: A temperature of 170degrees and a time of 20 seconds in the heat press. I did it on different papers including the paper which i made. The scan below has had the colour contrast changed in photoshop, i did this because you can't really see the white flock on the grey newsprint(made paper)... and then decided that the image below looked really pretty nice and rustic!

This is white flock on grey, it is unclear to see... but gives the colours go together to give a delicate and gentle feel. I don't know whether i want my wallpapers to be bold or soft like these colours?

This is the maroon colour, which is really quite beautiful! ...onto paper i made. The difference in printing flock onto the made paper rather than flush paper, was the fact that applying the flock onto made paper meant that the flock glue-(leading to the actual flock that's applied) spread further as the paper is quite lumpy and not flush and even. This means that up close, bits of the lettering weren't crisp and looked smudged!

My own paper is probably not appropriate to use as wallpaper especially with flock, the image doesn't look as clean as wallpaper i've been looking at for research.

Some interesting images came form the negative of the flock. I've had to put them all through photoshop to really show up the flock taken away. As I said before, using the negatives of the flock is a possible way of printing an image for a wallpaper?

You can see the difference in the image above and below. The one that looks smudged is the one that I used on my made paper.

The image below is actually white flock but shows up yellow after being through photoshop. You can see that the where the flocks been taken away the page almost looks embossed?