Amelia Zandra Textiles

Reflection on any project is an important and beneficial aspect, allowing us to develop our own effectiveness and skills. As always, as a designer I take inspiration from the world and the things that surround me, whether that's consciously or subconsciously. At the beginning of this project I wasn't inspired immediately to produce designs. On further visits to various museums I eventually found which path way I wanted to pursue. Once I had made this decision I then found the whole process flowed more easily and I was inspired to create effective designs using various different medias. During my research I explored many different possibilities of different themes. In the first unit the poppy theme derived from my visit to The Atkinson and subsequently The Imperial War Museum. As it was 100 years since the end of the First World War, I was constantly surrounded in various media forms ...

The second part of this unit required us to visit the Royal Armouires Museum in Leeds. Housing arms and armour from all over the globe and and exhibiting warfare from many different times. There are many different exhibitions on display including the Oriental Gallery and The Swords of Middle Earth.  I feel a lot of the items on display were more applicable to students specialising in weave or   knit, however, I did take inspiration from markings and thin linings. Rather than looking at the image as a whole, I zoomed into certain sections to highlight individual areas of interest. This enabled me to produce simple drawings that could be used as my motifs to form overall prints.  Although I am not particularly interested in warfare as a whole, I do feel the trip was beneficial for me to visualise and take inspiration from objects and translate this into a design form.  Scanned in pages of my sketchb...

Inspired by the abstract artwork I had viewed I decided to create my own version of abstract poppies. Using the principles of shape, form and design I created a basic flower consisting of straight lines and triangles using a ruler. The image was drawn first with pencil and then finished off with water colours in various shades of red, orange and pink. I intend to experiment with more colour and media. I aim to explore using new techniques I have been learning on illustrator. Here I have started experimenting with simple motifs that I have created by scanning in my drawings and creating them into paint brushes. I have mixed motifs together to form various designs. Next time I will start to incorporate a range of different colours. 

I have decided to research the poppy theme further. I feel I can experiment with simple images and more intricate designs. I also intend to further explore the possibility of abstract images of poppies in various colours and designs, This way I can bring together a broad and varying collection.  Pages from my sketchbook showing the research and experimentation into the range of colours for poppies. Through this I can explore colours to create my own colour chart to advance in the development of my personal designs.

The piece of artwork on display at the Atkinson. A solid glass and metal creation with the imprint of a rifle and soldiers helmet. The bleak black and grey background is brought to life by the vibrant red poppies at the fore front. A simple image that has inspired me to research further into the victims of war.  The poppy flower I felt was the perfect image for me to interpret in many different forms. This poignant flower evokes emotion remembrance and hope.  My interpretation of the above image... "In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row" John McCrae, 1915 Here I have used various paint brushes with water colours to create a muted watery background to the bold original image that I took as a photograph. On another piece of paper again using water colours I used a small fan brush to create the illusion of rows of poppies which is a common image of remembrance. Abstract Art is like Marmite you either love it or hate ...

At the Victoria and Albert museum I was particular drawn to the Japanese section. Within this area was housed a large collection of objects, clothing and historical documents. Giving an insite of Japanese culture and lifestyle from thousands of years ago to modern times. I was particularly drawn to the textile section where on display were many beautiful examples of silk embroidered kimonos. One of the kimonos I took a photograph of was embroidered with a beautiful intricate design of a flower, which I have re-produced in my own interpretation. I think my drawing works well and I am pleased with the final outcome which was achieved using pencil sketching and then water colour paints. the stem of the flower was created using a metallic bronze acrylic paint. This was to interpret the gold thread which was used to embellish and embroider the silk of the kimono. This drawing was taken from a zoomed in section of the kimono which I found interesting.  An antique kimono o...

Wallpaper is a form of material which can be used to decorate the inside walls of houses and public buildings. Paste is applied to the reverse of the paper to allow it to stick to the walls. Where it all began... The Chinese invented paper, and as early as 200BC the Chinese were gluing rice paper onto their walls for decorative purposes. In 1785 Christophe-Phillipe Oberkampf invented a machine used for printing colours on sheets of paper. Later in 1799 Louis Nicholas Robert made a machine that was capable of producing continuous lengths of paper, which could be used for wallpaper.  In the 1860's the British wallpaper market was booming as it was a much cheaper alternative to the previous textile based wall coverings that succeeded it.  Wallpaper has always been considered the inferior area of the decorative arts, being fragile, transient, fleeting and short lived. The designs...