Amelia Zandra Textiles

My local museum holds a collection of the town's history, fine art and Egyptology. I was particularly drawn to the photographs of my town showing the original scene superimposed with the modern vision, a collection called Southport Double Take.                                                      A local road in Southport This scene shows an image of Churchtown village an area very well known to myself, blending the old buildings, still relatively unchanged today with addition of modern cars.                                                   Part of the Egyptology collection                                 ...

Tatton Park, an early 19th century, neo classical mansion in Cheshire and the former home of The Egerton family, is now a National Trust property. The house holds an array of fine art and collectables mainly acquired by Maurice, the last Baron Egerton, who travelled the world extensively in the early 20th Century. British Aristocracy have for many years collected pieces and displayed objects in their homes, a reference to their status and luxurious living. Along with the usual collection of furniture, ceramics and textiles, there is a large selection of hunting trophies which are displayed on the walls.  The late Baron was a keen hunter and many of his kills are displayed on the walls                                   A sample of the many ceramics on display at the house                               ...

Merseyside Maritime Museum is based at the Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool. On display is a vast variety of archives and objects relating to the history of the port of Liverpool. In addition is a large exhibition of Liverpool's connection with the Titanic and Lusitania ships. The museum also holds archives relating to Liverpool's role in the American Civil War, due to the areas strong financial and political links with the Southern States, the end of the conflict and The International Slavery Museum.                                                      John Stobart's painting of 'Obuasi loading cocoa in Accra, Ghana 1959       A crew list from the ship Batanga, showing the names of African crew members.                                  ...

After a summer working in ibiza it is back to earth with a bang and back to university life…  Year 2!! Our brief this unit is ‘Archives and Collections’ and my primary research has begun.  Independently I will be researching individual archives and collections and intend to visit a number of different museums and National Trust properties to aid and guide me. The images taken, to be reproduced later by pencil, paint, or pen. The task to fill an A3 pad with various different drawings and images, using a variety of mixed media.The idea is to research, experiment and further develop a collection of samples to be used as inspiration. The first thing to consider is ‘What are archives and collections?’ A collection is a gathering of objects or historical documents providing information about a place or people. Collections don't necessarily have to be based within a museum setting they can be private collections on show in private homes. Individual people can also be collecto...

The beginning of the Unit X project seems a long time ago. At the start of the unit we were given free licence to do whatever we wanted as a designer. At first this seemed very exciting, not to be restricted to a certain brief and to choose our own way, however this in turn brought its own challenges. It was difficult to fully understand the objectives of the project, what exactly the brief entailed and what as a group and myself as an individual was to be achieved. We were a collective group of people all with differing views, our own personal design ideas and creativity. Ultimately, I now realise that was the objective of the unit, to bring together various individuals from different disciplines to complete a task and display the finished product. On reflection I feel working as a group provided a stimulating environment, allowing a team to collaborate and formulate ideas as a platform to build on. I feel my work has developed and evolved over this process. Much of my primary resear...

The success of any project involves research, whether as an individual or as a group. As stated before, we have been split into working groups of six. Weekly meetings with my group have helped bring together this project. Ideas have been discussed and shared, which have helped me to consolidate my own intentions for this project. It is through research and experimentation that I am able to broaden my ideas, aims and to visualise my objectives in this project. I have researched the ceramic artist Gordan Baldwin OBE. A designer who has worked with both earthenware and stoneware. He is now in his 80’s, but during his career he has worked as a teacher at Eton College and produced many unique art forms and is known as one of the worlds most renowned ceramic designers. His sculptural forms are works of art. His work includes ‘vessel forms’, hollow or concave items, unique designs, a world away from the regular bowls, vases and typical practical pots. More than a hundred of his items were...

Have you heard about The Radcliffe Red List of Endangered Crafts? I hadn’t, but through research I have learnt that many of the UK’s craft skills are at a high risk of disappearing. Heritage crafts including basket weaving, wood turning, button making and many more. Unit X is a collaboration of different areas of art, students from print, knit, weave and embroidery putting forward their own ideas and bringing their own skill set. As a group we began to voice our ideas and thoughts of endangered crafts and which themes interested us as individuals. On further discussion we decided to research Ceramics and Pottery.  Pottery is considered one of the oldest human creations, first used for storing water and food thousands of years ago. It’s history is embedded in most countries and cultures especially China, Greece and Japan. Ceramics are part of functional material culture and the visual arts. In the early seventeenth century small towns in Staffordshire began to produce pottery...