Preparing to Print

Today I spent some time sat at the light box matching up my designs on sheets of acetate. I will use these pieces to expose the designs onto my screens tomorrow, ready for screen printing. I plan to print on heavy cloths and linens.

 I have mostly been designing digital prints in recent times and so I am looking forward to putting on my wellingtons along with my dads old shirt and hitting the print room!

XOXO

Narrowing Down

Last week I worked on narrowing down the prints I have designed to create a collection. This collection will be based around mark making. It is important I can demonstrate lovely colour, a range of techniques, varied scales and I will also print the designs onto different fabrics. Our digital print deadline is at the end of this week. Time has flown by and we only have 4 weeks left all together. At times I feel fine and under control and then I'll have a random panic in my head! 

Fingers crossed all will go well. After all we're not saving lives here, it's just textiles...

Colour Control

My latest designs have been put through colour control camp. I felt like the colours were letting them down and as a result my mark making was loosing its strength. I also found the complexity of each design meant I was able to extract several designs from one. I have really enjoyed this process of simplifying and although adjusting the colours can take a long time, I am finding the appeal of this latest collection worth while.

I turned some of the designs into a very dark aubergine colour and the rest into a very neutral palette. This week I will be looking at materials to print onto.

X

Colour Matching

Today I spent some time adjusting the colours of my prints to match a specific colour palette. This took a while, I mostly used the colour reduction tool on photoshop. Now I feel confident I can change the feel of my designs simply by altering the colour. Designs can also be dramatically changed by changing the scale. Colour Collective is a good source for selected colourways to work from.

Have a nice week

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Leisurely Painting

Yesterday I travelled back to Bath. On Monday I will resume work again after the easter break. I met up with my wonderful boyfriend in Reading on my way to do a spot of shopping. I had never been before and so it felt quite spontaneous. Matt bought me some funky printed trousers from one of my favourite shops called Mango followed by dinner. I also got a dress and some shoes courtesy of my mum for a birthday treat as I'm going to a wedding today. This week I had a break from textiles but this didn't stop me from painting. I enjoyed being creative without having the pressure of making a so called masterpiece, as well as trying to work out how the design could potentially repeat across a length of fabric.

Home

I have really enjoyed being at home this week and I am excited to say I can finally eat chocolate again after giving it up for lent! Yesterday I went riding and I fell off my horse which wasn't so great, but I also went for a walk in the woods with my dad. We took the dogs which was nice and I took my camera with me. I practiced taking some action shots and I was pleased with the results. Let me introduce you to the pack...

Minnie doesn't have a lot to say because she's a fairly shy springer and running in the woods is her favourite activity!

Happy Easter

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A Life in Colour

I recently went to a fabulous exhibition at the Fashion and Textile museum. I was lured in by the beautiful colours used to advertise the displays. The exhibition celebrates Kaffe Fassett's career in textiles, which has spanned an incredible 50 years. 

There are examples of his influence in quilting, knitting, needlepoint and mosaic and all of these categories are linked together via Kaffe's extraordinary use of colour.

'Textiles with their rich depths of colour, gave me a motivation far beyond my painting.'

'Quilts would give me a grand sense of scale to dramatise my use of colour, which my knitted garments could only hint at'

There was also this fabulous wall which you could touch! Well I had my hands all over these wonderful fabric swatches. The colours and patterns were fascinating. I thought the exhibition was really well put together.

This morning I plan to take my horse for a ride through the fields and this afternoon I am going to do some baking with my mum. Only one more sleep to go until I can eat chocolate!

XO