Using furniture as moulds.

I really like the shapes and aspects of some furniture, from my drawings I thought they would make some usual forms.  So I used an old chair that I found as a mould for the leather...... 

This is one of the pieces after it had dried l like the corners and the fold it made.  It took on the shape successfully but I failed to visualise it for use on the body as the shape is too obscure  did not fit in anywhere.

Dai Rees - Carapace...

This is the piece Carapace by Dai  Rees, shown at Aware - art fashion identity this year.  Unfortunately  I missed the exhibition but found this work when researching Hussein Chalayan, who had work at the same exhibition.  He uses pattern blocks and manipulates them with thick leather hide.  These are really interesting processes that are very subtle like leather marquetry. 

Leather hide, leather marquetry, stainless steel, enamel

 and iodine, each piece 180 x 70 x 50 cm.

Triptych, The Butchers Window, 200

Screen print workshop....

From looking at the Proenza Shouler collection, I decided to test methods of quickly creating pattern and texture to the surface of the leather.

During this enjoyable workshop I used photocopies of my favourite samples of weaving.  I liked how the scanner picked up the texture of the leather that had been woven through.  Interesting idea of texture on texture.  To exploit this I blew up the picture and had it made into a screen.

Practising at first with with paper and plain white cotton and light polyester fabric I thought they made quite nice samples on their own.  I then moved onto screen printing onto actual leather, and to my amazement it worked quite effectively, giving a clear image. 

.I explored with marbling browny tones on the leather so that the screen printing was not so obvious to add subtle detail. 

I then moved onto using the special die which poofs up when heated.  This produced some very interesting effect on the leather.  

One of my favourite samples was when I used a black ink on the leather and then when heated turned into multiple colours rather like the colour of oil on the road.  If I had time I would explore this idea further.

Even thought the print looked affective on this scale I don't think it would be possible, with the facilities  in the workshop to make smaller detailed screens which I could use on my jewellery pieces.

  

Proenza Schouler spring/summer 2011 collection....

This is the Proenza Schouler spring/ summer collection.  I am particularly interested in the shoes and patterns.  Far away it looks like woven material but in fact is intricately stitched into the leather.  If this project was longer I would love to explore this idea.

Photos from jakandjil.com,  a very inspirational fashion blog, where I am a frequent visitor.

Mould Making...

After researching on how to make plaster casts of the body it appeared like it would be a big waste of time and money.  I would have to buy two types of plaster, one to mould the part and one to pour onto the cast.  It would also take a very long time to dry and the person/ I would have to sit for a very long time in the plaster.  After it was done I don't know how I would secure the wet vegetable tanned leather around it well enough to let it dry and take on the shape.  So to solve this problem I decided to make wooden moulds of some parts, like my arm.  This way I can hammer nails into the mould which I can use over and over again.  Rather like a last for shoe making.   The wood was free because I found it in the scrap bin in the 3D workshop.

I made this arm mould by drawing on the silhouette of my arm on each side and cut it with a band saw making the rough shape.  I was then going to sand down the corners to make it like a life like rounded arm but I thought I would do that later after doing some test pieces with this interesting shape.

This is a rough model of a shoulder, I couldn't find a big enough piece of wood so I glued a few together then cut the shape and then sanded the corners to make a rounded finish.   Even though there is a ridge this wouldn't matter because the leather it too thick still to be that impressionable.

I am really pleased with my moulds as they were very easy and enjoyable to do,  further down the project it will be just as easy to make more moulds of other body parts.

Maurizio Anzeri

Round Midnight

2009

Embroidery on print

Penny

2009

Embroidery on found photograph

This artist does amazing intricate work with stitch, I have seen his work last year in the Jerwood Space for the Drawing Competition and recently  in the Saatchi Gallery part 2 of the Newspeak exhibition. 

Again like John Stezaker he uses found photographs then adds elements to make the most beautiful images.  Maurizo Azuri looks like he could be a milliner or designer as it looks like he is designing extraordinary hats and these works are the very beginning stages of his work, his initial ideas. 




PUT IN MY BIG PHOTO EXPERIMENTS!!!

Susan Collis Since I fell for you

Work on it 2002
New wooden table, adhesive vinyl.

Oak stepladder, diamond, topaz, picture agate, white opal,
Brazilian opal, fossil coral, freshwater pearl, cultured pearl,
white motherof pearl, gold mother of pearl, white howlite.

Wooden broom, opals, turquioise, garnets, seed pearls,
mother of pearl, black diamonds, fresh water pearls,
coral,black onyx, maracite

Linen, embroidery thread

Sonokelling rosewood, carved lapis lazuli, silver,
 bronze, smoky quartz, black diamonds

18 carat white gold (hallmarked), white sapphire, turquoise, onyx 

Although I will not be working with furniture directly with furniture, my inspiration for the shapes will come from furniture.  Such as the rounded top of a chair, the right angles and smooth edges of where a leg of a table connects to the top etc...

Susan Collis is one my my favourite artist that I have found this year, I think her work is so beautiful.  I thing I find most fascinating is how much time and effort is spent on the pieces even though this is not obvious.  I want to achieve the same quality finish for my final piece, doing intricate weaving on the creases of the leather.  Small patches where I have worked hard to develop the surface, in places where it is not obvious to the viewer making them have to look harder and closer at my work.    

Hussein Chalayan presents his work as 'wearable architecture' it is interesting how he has blurred the boundaries between the traditional function of clothes and furniture,  this applies to my project at the moment as I wish to strive for the same effect and purpose for my outcome.

He has broken down the barriers between art, architecture and fashion, in doing so he has introduced a new concept of fashion and wearable pieces.  His work is very versatile standing alone as pieces in different categories like furniture and fashion I like this limitless way of thinking and working.

Geotropics s/s 99

For the collection Geotropics he integrated 

a chair into the garment so it appeared the 

model and the chair were as one but the model

 could sit down whenever she wanted.



Although I feel like I have come far with my project, it is starting to slow down.  I'm not thinking and not having as many ideas as I should be having when I feel like I'm on the right track with it.
The idea of getting a broken wooden chair and then researching methods of attaching, whilst looking for a suitable for for which would be appropriate is very daunting and not very inspiring to me.   I really  like the work I have done with the weaving and braiding samples and the test shoulder piece which look like they have been cast from a banister.  So thinking about all these ideas I think it would be suitable to make just a wearable piece.  Using the inspiration of shape and form from items and furniture around the house, so it almost looks like your wearing parts of it.  Cutting out the confusion of working with two elements ; the body and the chair, just sticking to the body.  I think this will make more impact in the final show because if the pieces are hanging on the wall they will looks almost like abstract sculptural hall hangings but are also wearable.


The next step to get a head start on this idea would be to make moulds of body parts to start wrapping the soaked vegetable tanned leather around so that it could take on the shape.  I think it would be interesting to cast body parts in plaster like an arm, knee or calf, with this method all the details of the body will be included like the skin surface and little bumps and nooks of bones.  Keeping the location quite unusual to get some interesting shapes.

photos from the blog : http://lindsay-usich.com/

The images above were taken by Lindsay Usich captions of her everyday life.  They are not only images that I admire but some of them reminded me of what I had already experienced in my project so far.  For example the chandeliers reminded me of the ones in the design museum.  The form and crushed effect of the bed sheet reminds me of the work by Cathy De Moncheaux and my experiments.

My new idea has some gaps in it- Would I have to make a chair?  What kind of chair would I use?  What will it be made out of ?

Talking with my tutor has helped me fill in these gaps.  Making a chair would require a whole new project, there is no way I would be able to make one successfully in the time allowed for the project so I thought about using an already existing chair.  As I using leather I wouldn't want to used a material like plastic or metal, like the ones in college, because there is too much of a contrast with the materials. I didn't like the effect when I did the piece with the metal backing. Wood is the best option, the natural with natural would make a nice effect and wooden chairs are the most popular, so would be easy to source.  

Brit Insurance Designs of the Year @ The Design Museum and my New Idea!

I went to the design museum to see if I could get any inspiration for processes and form, and also thought it would be interesting to see other areas of design.  Here are some of my favourite pieces....

Amplify Chandelier by Yves Behar for Swarovski

Inside each paper faceted shade there is one LED light shining though one crystal making the pattern and colour hit the paper giving the illusion of big crystals.

Lanvin S/S 2010

I like the mix of metal and leather like in the sculptures by Cathy de Monchaux.

Giles S/S 2010.  

I was interested in the leathery scales which looked quite complicated from far away but up close quite easy to make.




After visiting the design museum I wanted to be more innovative about my idea and I how I think the design should be practical as well as beautiful.  So looking back to my idea of having 'Transferable' jewellery from furniture to the body seemed somewhat pointless and very unusable, not a clever idea!  Also  having to look at the 2 aspects separately can get overwhelming and not focused.  So I came up with the idea if combining the body with your furniture.  Jewellery that extends from the body to your home.  So when the person is using or interacting with the item such as a chair or table then they become joined together with it like they are wearing it and it is wearing them.  

Designing for a chair or chair design is quite a broad aspect.  I think chairs are  very important in out lives and are always in need by everyone everywhere.  They take so many forms and shapes which are constantly being redesigned by contemporary designers, a chair will never go out of fashion.  So I think  this idea has a lot of scope to it as there is a need.  When people sit on chairs there is a lot of contact made so I think this would be the best item of household furniture to use for my design.  I still would like to keep the one off crafted image for my piece, an intricately made item.


I am interested in looking at ways of attaching the piece to the body and the chair, using ties or clasps or moulding so that everything can slip or clip into place.   

Photograph by Yulia Gorodinski, which I feel represents my revised idea.