Karla Black: Materials

After exploring the theme of idealism/perfection through a series of spider diagrams and bullet points, I felt that it would be useful to look at some artist reference points. When exploring perfectionism in terms of our appearance, I thought that it would be interesting to look at cosmetic products and how I could use these as a way of drawing/painting. I intend to use make-up products alongside other materials that could be associated with beautification in an unconventional method.

2011 Turner Prize nominee, Karla Black, also explores using these materials to create other-worldly sculptural forms, primarily focusing on materials. In YouTube interview "Karla Black: Structure and Materials" she explains that she is "not using toiletries for their connotations". I, however hope to explore the connotations of these materials in order to translate my theme from language to visual imagery (which can be a challenge at this early stage in a project).

Black's piece "At Fault" (above) showcases an entire range of materials including bath bombs, plaster and paint powder, petroleum jelly and make-up. The blend and combination of materials is deliciously tactile and almost dares you to touch it. The range of ice cream colours are not intended to be feminine, however the association with the colours exude a girly childishness. 

The soft nature of the colours are beautiful and I feel that some of the pastel shades may apply to my work but my colour palette will be established once my own visuals start to take shape. Additionally, I want to be bold and brave with my colour choices and perhaps clash a series of unexpected colours.

I also love the dynamic 'movement' to the sculptural forms. The torn edges of paper, the scattering of powders and liquids and crushing of bath bombs give life to the work. I would also like to retain a sense of life to my work and could use the actions of what make-up is intended for when creating my paintings and drawings eg; to cover, to enhance, to colour, to decorate, to layer

Final Major Project; ideas

Deciding on a theme for my Final Major project has been horrid. It seems like a very important thing and I have felt that it is imperative to get it right. I wanted to approach my project in the same way that I had loved when creating my trend book with Beth in last year's Unit X. 

We identified a problem or issue that could affect the design world, listed the issues surrounding it and then began to translate it into visuals that formed the basis of our trend book. I intend to then push the visual imagery that I generate further and use these as a springboard towards creating final outcomes towards the end of the project.

After much frustrating deliberation, I had identified that as a society, we are very much fixated on our appearance and aesthetic. We are obsessed with body image. Make up, diet and even surgery are all avenues that are explored in an attempt to be what is now deemed to be "perfect".

After brainstorming a huge collection of ideas, I wanted to make it clear to myself that it was possible to make these ideas visual before carrying it any further, so I decided to make a 'verb list' that I could then use to explore with materials.

I firstly considered what make-up is used for;

To conceal

To resurface/smooth/cover

To enhance

To colour

To alter

To decorate

To layer

To add shine/mattify

I was satisfied that this would give me lots of avenues to explore and with a selection of materials this would mean that the outcomes could be varied dramatically.

I also looked at cosmetic surgery;

To reconstruct

To enhance

To cut

To remove

To make bigger/smaller

To tighten

To pull

To fill/inject/smooth

I then considered the materials that could be associated with cosmetics and cosmetic surgery. I immediately thought of using the products themselves (make up etc) and silicone, plastics and synthetic materials.

Manchester School of Art: Degree show, 2014

Towards the end of the year, the usual buzz of the studio space had begun to patter out and eventually, the space that was usually a hive of creative activity and colour became a sterile, white area. Upon my return to university to visit the degree show, the usual explosion of presence and colour had returned and the final year work was displayed throughout the space.

As I will be entering my final year of the course at the end of the summer break, I wanted to look at as much of the work of fellow students from my course as possible. I wanted to see the standard of which I must strive to be at and I wanted to know what was expected of me in order to stand out from fellow students in our degree show next year. 

Looking around the show also provided me with an opportunity to look at the ways that students had decided to present their work. Some had used conventional techniques that allowed the work to speak for itself. Others opted for more complex methods, suspending, hanging and draping their work and fabric and a select few had used objects such as light-boxes and wooden display boxes for the work to sit on top of.

Jessica Beardmore's degree show work was one that stood out for me. Her clean, minimalistic style looked crisp and professional and it was clear that she had an eye for presentation and layout. In addition to the work looking professional, there was a substantial body of work that was relevant to her audience. She had created a webpage (that was presented on an iPad) and a lookbook to sit alongside her printed clutch bags and accessories.

Beardmore's development of a brand identity was another aspect of her work that stood out. Her label, Intangible Notion works incredibly well and is suitable for her intended audience. Knowing which context your work sits within is paramount and she has identified where she sits in the fashion market.

Her simple, yet considerate approach to presentation means that the Intangible Notion lookbook is a beautiful document that links perfectly with not only the products, but the brand as a whole. As part of my own practice next year, I'd also like to develop a strong visual aesthetic that my entire project will follow, from my initial research, sketchbooks and photography, right through to the presentation of my samples and garments.

As a knit specialist, I wanted to look at the work of the knitters in the year above for inspiration. All students had created a range of knit samples but some had further developed these samples further and created garments. I feel that this is the path that I will want to take next year so I was interested to see the types of garments that some of the students had created.

I was particularly drawn to Rosie Brett's collection of samples and final garment. There appeared to be a strong visual link that ensured her samples looked like a collection, drawing on tribal-esque fringing techniques in a select colour palette of greys that are accented with blues and flashes of yellow.

I also like the ways in which Brett has used matte yarns such as lycra/elastic with fluffier, more natural looking fibers in the fringing. I also think that the use of a charcoal/grey and black colour palette with accents of rich blue and yellow keeps the collection looking refined and fresh.

Rosie Brett's final garment draws on several techniques that can be found in some of her samples. The heavily fringed sleeves and torso section of the jumper gives the garment movement and the individual strands of yarn create a piece that feels alive.

The intricacy of the fringing must have been rather painstaking and taken many hours of care and effort. the finish is professional and well executed. Finish is something that is very important in order for the work to look professional. I did notice that some of the knit samples from other students had not used the correct tension on their first row, resulting in a slack and sloppy edge.


The dip-dyed effect of the bottom portion of the garment is also done well and compliments the blue individual strands found in the fringed sleeves.

One of the only disappointments I have with Brett's final collection is that I wish there had been more garments. I think the garment that she had made was finished beautifully and works really well but I would have loved to have seen more from her.

Whilst looking at the Degree show work, I also wanted to identify some designers that work in a different way to myself. I wanted to use this opportunity to broaden my horizons and look at a range of work that challenges the way that I work. 

I am usually quite reserved with my use of colour and I feel like I should use my forthcoming final major project to challenge myself and be much braver with my colour palette. With this in mind, I was intrigued by Josie Satchell's playfully tactile printed fabrics.

Satchell not only applies colour bravely and freely to her designs, but she also uses a range of skills and techniques to enhance the tactility of the fashion fabrics. She combines both screen and digital print techniques with embroidery and laser cutting aspects that add depth and dimension to the fabrics. She also touches upon using foils and small beads that are integrated into the designs.

This is something that I have touched upon in previous projects but I feel that it is something that I want to explore further in my final major projects. I'd like to use my developed knitting skills along with foiling, embroidery and laser cutting techniques to my work, in the hope of creating fabrics (and hopefully garments) that are exciting to look at and to touch.

Additionally, Satchell has created a professional website to showcase her work that has been beautifully documented and photographed. This is similar to how Jessica Beardmore has presented her work and seems to be a natural progression when moving into the working world of employment/freelance design work.

Looking at the work of final year students has made me feel a strange blend of fear and excitement. I know that the year ahead will be challenging and difficult but I'm so excited to develop my own skills and build a collection of work that will see me progress into employment.