James Turrell

Artist James Turrell's work consists of experimenting with light and projections, his work on projection in particular connects a lot with my ceramic research, within this particular piece on the left Turrell has managed to create a pyramid shape by manipulating the light onto a square placed within the corner of a room. I like the idea of creating a form or shape which is not actually there almost like creating an illusion using light and projection.

Michael Craig-Martin



'Glass of Water'.

Whilst looking through work within Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery i came across Michael Craig Martin's piece titled 'Glass of Water' which i felt connected really well to both my ceramics and textiles themes as abstractly it reassembled a map while also looking similar to a black and white photograph i had taken for my ceramic visual research on casting shadows.

I decided to researched the the conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin as i was curious to see his previous and present work, whilst researching i came across some really interesting pieces. The painting displayed on the left really caught my eye simply because of its vibrant colours, i also felt the imagery used was quite 70's inspired and related well to my textiles work, the blocked colours used work really well together and i plan to use similar groupings of colours within my textile prints to make them as bright and eye catching as possible. The image displayed on the right shows multiple line drawn images layered on top of each other i find this particular piece quite inspiring in reference to my textile mapping imagery, i would like to use this idea of layering line images related to my work to help create map like lines allowing me to almost create an image map.

 

The piece displayed on the right is another vibrant painting by Michael Craig-Martin, when looking closely at this painting it almost looks like small square prints placed together to create one large piece, i like the idea of creating smaller prints in the same colours and placing them together within my own textiles map work as it could make the end results interesting.


The sculpture displayed on the left was again created by artist Michael Craig-Martin, the hammer shaped piece is like a drawn sculpture, i like how a flat line drawing has been made 3D almost like bringing the flat form of drawing to life, i felt that this piece connected really well to my current ceramic research as it is almost like an illusion.



 

Sophia Webster

I recently came across the work of up and coming shoe designer Sophia Webster and loved everything about the first showcase of her collection titled 'Welcome to the Doll House', each model was placed within a box-like display almost like living barbie dolls, each box and barbie had a selection of shoes displayed on shelves and each box came with its own theme from 'Leopard Scribbles' to 'Rio Fun Time'. I love how Sophia has managed to make her collection with a fun and girly theme, i also like how each doll on display has a collection based on its own theme making each one diverse. I feel the use of bright vibrant colours and loud prints really brings this collection to life, i would like to use Sophia's prints and chosen colour pallets as inspiration for my own textiles prints as my chosen theme of 'maps' usually project bland colours however i plan to make my map themed prints pop with colour taking them away from the original boring map.

 

Maiko Takeda

Japanese designer maiko takeda work displayed on the left really interests me as it deals with all the elements i am looking at within my own project  1) Jewellery pieces 2) Projecting Shadows 3) the human body and 4) photography, her collection titled 'cinematography' consists of metal accessories covered in hand-drilled holes in various sizes which cast photograph-like shadows onto the skin. I like how within each piece the shadow is almost a secret until worn creating the concept behind the jewellery, i would like to look at the idea of secretly projecting shadows within my ceramic pieces almost making them performance pieces as well as jewellery.

Individual

Palm lines.

I have recently started taking black and white photographs as part of my visual research within ceramics, my chosen subject for my photographs has been the human figure, each of my photos have been intentionally taken as close ups in order to make the body parts unrecognisable. Within my collection of photographs i had taken a close up look at the palm of the hand, when looking at the close up image of the lines on the palm i began to think about how they resembled the lines on a road map which connected nicely with my textiles research so far, i like the idea of how each persons palm lines are one of a kind individual prints, this idea will help me later on when creating prints based on mapping.

Sharks

Shark on British Coast Line.

Over the past few months reports of shark attacks or encounters within British waters close to the beach have been increasing, i find these stories to be my guilty pleasure as i am fascinated by sharks in general, i have started to look more in detail at the shape and form of these intriguing predators as part of my visual research and feel they could be Incorporated into my designs in some way.

One of the most obvious signs of a shark is its large fin which is usually seen sticking upright above the waters surface creating a spine tingling atmosphere, this trademark almost half crescent shape could be played around with and duplicated to create a sharp striking ceramic piece, i also feel that the shape could be incorporated into a print or even projected onto the body using shadows etc as i have previously been looking at.

Another part of the sharks form i found interesting was its gills on either side of its body which they use to breath, i liked the flowing thin shape of the sharks gills and feel that i could incorparate these indented forms into my designs and sketches particuallarly within ceramics.

Illusion

When first viewing this image above i immediately seen four black figures, however after further inspection i came to realise that the images displays five ceramic pieces which have been carefully placed together. The five ceramic vase like pieces are quite nice in general but the idea of creating these shadow like figures between the pieces was something i felt was key to making these pieces intriguing.

Illusion

When looking online for work related to creating shadows i came across this image displayed above, although i am not interested in the image of birds in general i liked how it was hard to distinguish the birds themselves from the mixture of shadows projected, this simple shadow projection could be a good way of creating prints later on within textiles.

Projections

When looking further into the idea of shadows i began to notice how they have been used alot within fashion magazines to create striking effects on the models bodies and faces. Im starting to think that i would like to play around with the idea of projecting shadows onto the body or face in order to produce ideas for facial/body jewellery making the projected shadows the base for my sketches and designs, the images shown above are perfect examples of projections which could be adapted and turned into facial jewellery pieces.

 

The image displayed on the right shows the shadow of an umberellas pattern projected onto a brides back, i chose to add this image as i felt it was a great example of projection and how a design idea could be created from the imagery projected, the pattern shown on the females back could be taken to the next level and influence the idea of a draped shoulder piece for example. I felt this image was quite charming as the black shadows displayed have come from a crisp white umberella making it quite opposite from the white wedding day theme i also like how the projection looks acidental and un-planned.

Photography & Shadows

The image shown above is of a model in the 50's/60's with shadows cast across her body, the idea being that the shadows cast create floral images making the model appear to be wearing a floral dress or top almost like an illusion, the obvious give away would be the shadows cast over the models hands and neck. This image made me think more in depth about how i could use my own shadow photographs that i plan to produce of the human body etc, i like the idea of projecting my own shadows onto the body and producing prints from the random projections.

Fairytale Fashion Show

I wanted to take a look at other work produced by designer Diane Eng and came across this footage of her 2010 show titled Fairytale Fashion Show, although i liked her overall idea the one outfit which stood out to me was a corset styled belt which lead into a ruffle style skirt. I like the idea of being able to attach a longer flowing piece of fabric onto your own original skirt making it look expensive an worthy of a runway show, once i start creating my collection of experimental prints i think i would like to look into this design idea of adaptable skirts.

Laser Cutting

Diana Eng.

Designer Diana Eng creates some stylish pieces of clothing with the use of a laser cutter, her basic tops shown above are placed onto a laser cutter leaving her own design carved into her chosen fabric, i would like to use a laser cutter to help with my own experimentation within textiles, i think that if i create a few varied print designs originating from my map imagery idea i could then use the prints under the laser cutter using the map imagery as the cut out design and create a cover up/caftan styled garment...

Abstract Photography

Kim Keith.

I came across a photographer named Kim Keith whos main photography focus is bodyscapes, her work is shot in black and white working with lighting and angles to show the abstract beauty of the body which is often overlooked. I love the idea of capturing an abstract image from an everyday form or object, i would like to use this method of photography as my starting point of research for my future ceramic project as i feel the abstract photos would help produce some interesting sketch ideas.

Maps

I recently booked a holiday to Majorca and just for some general knowledge checked it out on a map, when looking at the image above i began to think about maps in general and how much imagery is added such as lines and markers and also how the countries all connect almost like a jigsaw, i would like to play with the idea of maps later on as i feel i could use it within my experimentation.
{Almost like mapping the body in textiles or re-arranging the map of the body in ceramics by rearranging the forms as mentioned before...}

Emogayu...(Yuri Fukuda)

Ceramic artist Yuri Fukuda's work spreads across into clothing, the piece pictured above is one of Yuri's free form vases which looks a lot like solidified liquid. When looking at this particular vase i see a link to fashion and clothing as the clay form looks almost like a broken body cast, i like the idea of creating a cast of a body part and displaying its form and shape on another part of the body. The piece shown above looks like it could have been cast on the body before being broken and punctured , i feel like this could be placed on a part of the body like the shoulder almost like re-arranging the body's form using ceramic clothing....

Zips

Although the form of this piece above is far too plain for my liking i do like the slight zipped detail at the bottom of the vase as it brings clothing attributes and elements to the clay, i also feel that the zip is an interesting feature of clothing that could be explored further...  {Ideas: Buttons, Zips, collars etc...}

Sound Waves

I have recentley came across an interesting concept of using sound waves as imagery within textiles, the picture displayed on the left shows a typical looking stitched sound wave, the same designer has then used this imagery within his textiles prints to create the garments displayed below.



Jonathan Saunders, Spring Collection 2009.

I found the idea of turning sound into imagery quite an interseting concept, i love how designer Jonathan Saunders has

Nomandic Wonderland

This textile piece on the left was created by a recent graduate named Eunsuk Hur, i found this design really eye catching as it can be displayed as a wall piece or alternativley be worn as a body piece, I loved how each part of this design is very detailed and intricate and also how each piece of the design clicks together almost like a jig saw puzzel. I plan to make my own future textiles work and experiments more intricate with the use of a lasercutter as i feel it will make my work look more clean cut and professional.

Living Jewellery

Whilst searching for insperation i came across these two interesting facial designs above, i like the idea of facial designs/jewellery as i feel the face is the main focal point of the body, however i am now thinking about how i could adapt my own textiles or even ceramics piece to the face.

This fractural body design pictured on the left is almost like an extention of the body in a jewellery form, i like how each small piece thats been clustered together to create this design looks cold like ice which has been formed on the body when in fact this piece would be warm as they have been created using LED's.

Virtox

"A standard curve chasing itself, speeding up and then braking suddenly,

resulting in collision after collision, jumping back and ducking forward.

Always ending up where it started, right next to itself..."

When looking at the piece above i instantly liked the spiraling effect, the links, loops and the idea of a continuous shape or form, i also liked how the solid piece almost looks flexible like rubber bands or plastic.