Birds, Statue colour palettes, Polkadots & Visualisation

Colour has always been an issue within my work. I can never settle, and i need to graduate with a distinctive palette. I have alot of research from edinburgh but i am looking in the general direction of architecture and tourist hotspots for my concret colour, then ill let each location determine some other colours which i will weave within my concrete palette. This palette here, shown in the bird print,

Statue Palette.

Polka dot sections of a print! This would make an interesting screen-print.

The start of my visualisations. this is how i play with the surface image to create the sections i need :)

Getting Somewhere..

Okay this project is officially driving me insane! Surface design, no matter how concise your idea is, so so broad. i change one tiny thing and ive got a whole new idea of how i can make something.. eurgh!

So basically i am trying to get the look of water-colour and the sketchbook look onto fabric with a screenprint, using methods that would be commercially available. id love to sit there and paint each small part individually but realistically, i cant!

I am using a techinique called Halftone. Its usually used to built up shading and shadows on a print, with a screen. You can use a program that changes a colour picture - a poster for example - into four halftone images, so you can print a bit like CMYK. anyway i quite like the look of halftone and it looks graphic, and it picks up detail that a block shape cant..

I didnt know if i wanted to halftone the birds over digitally printed splodges.. or what... infact im still not sure i just need a cup of tea and to look at a whole bunch of designs! But i could make hundreds of different ones!

This is the first image that i have made all day that has kinda made me sit here and be like.. okay we are GETTING SOMEWHERE! yay!!

I know the blue doesnt really go with the magpie but the plan is to make it like a colour palette - a large splodge and bird in blue, large in purple, and a slither or line of orange, that sort of thing, so that it is in keeping with the colour palette but in a different way. it could go completely wrong; i wont know until i burn my screen tomorrow and give it a test run!!

The result of todays work - after lots of hand drawn and photoshop work, i made this using paint and microsoft word (giving up on understanding abobe)

The thing that worries me is this is not like anything i have done before. I dont see any links or patterns in my work.. apart from drawn line. Ive never done anything that looks this digital before!

New Project - British Birds

My new project is self-driven. We had to create our own brief.. which is kinda scary!
I am currently working from drawings to create my second fabric collection. I thought i would share a few of my drawings and ideas! Im thinking classic british birds, onto eco-friendly unbleached linen, with screenprint and resist dye techniques. Im back into the studio next week where hopefully i can get some techniques started and hopefully have a collection sorted by the end of the month! Things move too quickly for my liking.. But i cant work properly until i have the pressure of a deadline looming! Really bad habit i know :c

Kingfisher.. with fish!

Kingfisher Colour-ways in ribbon.

Embarressed to say that i dont know what bird this is! I just found it in a magazine and it didnt say!

One for Sorrow; Two for Joy.

Some quick ideas!

The Travel Collection

I think i would like create travel collections with my fabrics; there is something luxurois about designer travel cases, whether its travel wallets, makeup cases or full weekender bags. It all adds to experience of a weekend away! I think some of this has something to do with the way i was brought up to be honest! My Mum is a woman who always travels first class and refuses to go on the London Eye without a glass of champagne (Okay, this one is my fault, i took her on a champagne flight for her birthday and now she cant go back to a normal flight!). She always has lovely weekender bags and accessories.. It really does complete the experience!

The plan for these fabrics, i would like to make two weekender bags and perhaps some travel accessories. I think i will only have time to create one, i always set myself too much work for the timescale. But we will see how it goes, and how annoyed a get with my sewing machine!!

Thanks for looking at my blog :)

World of Wool featured project

For my last project at university, i made these felt pods. It started as a feltmaking workshop, just making flat pieces of felt. I developed this technique and created some 3D shapes.. which then developed to be these little felted pods! They were designed for a brief called 'Inside Outside', and designed for placement in Centerparcs. They are made of completely sustainable materials and made in a sustainable way. I also dyed the felt myself using natural sources; plum skins, spinach leaves, betroot and onion skins. It was great fun and im proud of my little pods - And the company that provided me with the tops asked if i could submit a tutorial.

So here it is. Februarys featured project! They even put together a little kit for people who want to make it - how cute!!

There are currently only two featured project on the website. If you would like to apply to submit your own project, simply log onto the website and find the form!






A screenshot from the project page on the World of Wool website!


Click here to be taken to the feature project - How to make a felted pod

This link opens in a new window :)

Thanks for looking!

Louise x