Today was the last day of this week project we presented our video and despite none of us knew much about video art it turned out OK seing others videos makes me want to experience with this form of expression more.

Creating a narrative with image and text is something that fascinates me wherever is part of writing, poetry ,drawing or moving image.

We also presented the work we accomplished this week to our peers and for once I felt fine about my final piece, it looked more less finished not too messy or "in progress".

Overall this week was very enjoyable, researching any subject we wanted was a great opportunity to learn new things and discover new artists as well as bringing some personal elements in the design process.

Today we continued developing the project in our sketchbooks through drawing and collage and started developing new design ideas based on our researches.

Today was probably my favorite day on the foundation so far because we had The opportunity to develop our researches using fashion illustrations which is something I really love doing ,as experimenting with prints and textures on the body really gives it another dimension. it is a intuitive way to work with shapes as well as patterns.

For me it is easier to visualize the prints and volumes on the body. I also find fashion illustrations interesting to express the narrative of the project as it brings research into a concrete vision on the body. It creates a strong figure of character essential to the development of the story in a form of symbiosis with the initial research that provides the Scenery for the project.

For me iniating fashion ideas feels like writing. It involves characters, metaphors symbols and details. In a text those details are assonances, aliterations, rythms. In a collection it becomes a pattern an embroidery a innovative texture a specific association of colours. All those elements add in the narrative in the objective to create an atmosphere,a emotion a message portrayed in the aesthetic of the fashion garments.

For the what's the point project I decided to develop the jacket project. I used the concept of my final piece which revolved about the difficulties of still feeling like a child in an adult world.

Through that I decided to research the idea of coming of age and portrays that it is a emotionally and troubled time. we had to explain to the people in the group what we researched and relation with our three previous projects explaining your researches and ideas to someone else who knows nothing about that was interesting because it meant simplifying our thought process and allowed through that s to clarify and understand better our own ideas.

We were also asked  to use video format to reflect on this week project. I never used this media before but it's always time to learn and challenge your confort zone.

This morning we had to bring our samples for the exhibition in the afternoon. We first presented our samples to the people at our table to get feedback.

This proved to be very efficient as I was advised to simplify the design and use less red in my textile samples. thanks to this feedback, I produced two new textile samples with less elements and less red and also decided to incorporate drawing in my samples as it's something I like and think I am quite good at.

In the afternoon Emma and Laura came back and looked at after work produced during the project. I was very happy because at the end of the day they mentioned my work along with a few other people in the class.

They said they liked my sketchbook and illustrations which felt like a real motivation to work even more and try to do my best. It made me feel a bit more confident about my work and more positive that I was doing OK on the course despite being worried I was not good enough.

Today we had to make different prints of one color red, yellow and blue I enjoyed this activity because it was instinctive and fun.

The brief was very simple so It me allowed to not overthink and go with the flow for some reason this simple exercise based on color made me think of automatic writing used by the surrealist at the beginning of the 20th century where the writers wrote things passing through their mind without trying to make it make sense almost like the subconscious side of the brain was taking over during automatic writing.

I felt like that while drawing the colours like I was in pause mode. I would like to revisit this exercise and let the subconscious not overthinking part of my brain express itself as it felt liberating.

We were introduced to the practitioner project today. Meeting Laura and Emma was very interesting, it offered us a glance into a in depth research process to build up a real fashion collection.

The researches particularly appealed to me as I used to do climbing for three years and had also noticed a colorful synthetic clothing climbers wore. I enjoyed the idea of finding links between two completely different things. Moreover researching a type of traditional dress linked to your own culture, experience and memories seemed interesting as it was a way to feed the design process and make it more personal.

For me art always felt like different reflections of the artist personality, that's partly why I don't really see creation as a collective work but more like the expression of oneself.

However Emma and Laura proved e that it is possible to create unrestrained as a pair and to generate new exciting ideas that will encourage me to try and get more feedback from my peers.

We were then asked after doing some observational drawings of our object and traditional dress (I choose to research Greek folklore)  to create primary textile samples although I liked the colors scheme in my samples, I felt they were all a bit flat and lacked textures and dimension. I think I'm going to incorporate different materials and more 3D elements in my next samples. 

When combining fabric/material what did you consider ? I choose to express a paradoxal approach with my materials. By contrasting the high quality fabric of my jackets, pure wool lined with silk and carved with embroideries.I paired it with a cheap plastic material,  shiny and bright. Creating a interesting visual effect the stripes of the costume juxtaposed with the little squares of the plastic bag, the two fabrics are clashing. Choosing blue adds up with the narrative as well, In the original novel the little bear is carrying a bright blue balloon. Moreover a general harmony is kept because of a monochromatic use of the color blue. 

How did your observational drawing's influence your jacket reconstruction ? It influenced my construction because I liked my mark making as well as detailed sharp lines which I think can be found in the garment, contrasting patterns squares and stripes aimed to create a optical illusion. I used as well simple and sharp lines; a hood and a cape.  I also used a monochrome color palettes like in my fashion draping illustrations.

What did you learn from the exhibition plus your peers ? I learned that I can work at the larger scale's bring more volume in my textile samples as well as different materials such as metal or plastic...I also need to improve my sewing skills.

Who influenced your design direction  within your researches?  My work is inspired by the artist Rebecca horn who used the construction to create new shapes for the body and new ways to move . Elongating the hands allow the person to pick a object from the floor while standing,  however the person is in there enable to shake hands or have Autre interactions with peers it creates a hybrid in adapted to the society we live in I was also interested by Alexander McQueen vision of hybridity;  in the garment of the women wearing the bird costume she seemed swallowed by the fabric almost like if her physical appearance changed who she was inside, in that same idea, I was also inspired by Yquing yin work in a design where to portrait mental illnesses, the mannequin was devoured by glorious amount of fabric placed on her face so she could not see. Construction seems like a way to change the meaning of jacket just jacket is tailored it looks like a passport for social institution and respect paradoxically I used it in my project like a trap stopping social interactions and conformity, it symbolizes the idea that sometimes growing up and leaving your child's dreams behind is just to hard and results in the feeling of being trapped away from who you are in a corporate world that you never wanted to exist in. 

We experienced more with draping, I really start to like it, there is an idea of creating transforming something into something else and that is very intriguing to take every day garments and combining them to create a hybrid structure for the body.

I like this idea and tried to kept it in mind for my research, i have looking at Rebecca Horn at work, it  was really interesting in ceratain ways because when she uses structures to expand body parts, she from my perspective transforms the body giving it a new shape a new abilities while  suppressing others, she creates a form of hybrid between the body and the structures.

I would like to use this idea of changing the silhouette but also its abilities in my final piece.

Today we got introduced to technical drawing I liked this technique because it meant I could draw closely all of the details of my jacket. However I need to learn how to work faster because none of my technical drawings were finished.

We also had the chance to work with draping again I find it quite challenging because the fabric seemed too heavy to connect my eye deer of volume for the body it kept falling apart, I guess I need more practice..

However the activity was also enjoyable because we could properly experience the fall of the clothes on the body, using the volumes and the contrasting patterns and textures to try and reflect on the kind of silhouette we would like to create for our final piece. 

Poem : Surnaturellement possédé  Le rêve envolé  S'accroche de ses ailes brisées  Au corps survivant  A l'âme enchaînée  Le songe suivant  Se plaît et rit amoureusement La certitude éhontément  Hurle tel un chant  Un cri, un envoûtement  Une idée précieuse et brève  Qui souffle l'enchantement.

The solid and brief realization that all I have is a dream and a mind to try and make it happen. My sum up of a very exciting week !

1) what new techniques, processes or way of thinking did you encounter this week ? I encountered numerous things this week indeed, I learnt that I could use volume to initiate original design idea, because it is a new way to visualise the shapes you want to create in relation with the body, this was experienced by draping our paper shapes on the body. It also allows to create a 'prototypes' for future garnement made out of textile, to see if certain effects work. I also loved the process of mark making because it means you can start a fashion illustration from drawing the textures rather then placing the lines. I liked that because I really enjoy drawing patterns and textures I think thats because I am an observant person and always looks very carefully at the details in a object. Moreover, I discovered a technique to make fashion illustration where we had to draw everything we could see apart from the silhouette with we had to leave blank. Gradually the only white spaces remaining was the outline of the silhouette we than had to mark make the inside of the body still leaving some white areas. This exercise was interesting because it was unusual an completely different from all the other ways I usually do fashion drawings, however it was challenging because i am not very good at drawing architecture and backgrounds. By projecting prints on the body we saw how they were distorted by the shapes underneath. This was very interesting to see patterns in relation to the body in such literal way. This week I also got to experience more the technique of continuous lines wich I like because it is more care free and spontaneous, because you don't think as much about where should the lines fall... Finally, I feel like two things really came up to me this week, the first one being to think about all the elements part of the design as an "all", the shapes in relation with the prints in relation to the existing curves of the silhouette. The second was discovered while browsing books in the library, it is the importance of the narrative in the designers collections, the story expressed by the clothes.. As someone who is passionated about literature, the concept is what I will focus on in my future projects. The story behind the design.

2) How do you plan to use these in future work ? I will think more about developing ideas using volumes as well as drawing and reflect on how the shapes of the garnement and the patterns would work together. I am also going to try and be more care free when drawing and developing ideas, because original concept does not always comes out of something  smooth and still, a drawing can also we loud and imperfect because it could initiate new ways of working, sometimes happenstance is better than controlled, it can be more creative. I am also going to use mark making and continuous lines to draw in project development because I feel it works well for me.

3) What were the benefits of the structure of this week ? This week was interesting because it made us try a broad variety of techniques in order to create either fashion or textile design. We worked with observational drawing, shapes on the body, creating a installation, print making, draping, fashion illustration... We experienced so many different things in a spontaneous and free way to see what we liked and did not like. Not questioning some of the exercises but going with the flow, I feel like I learned a lot already this week I will for sure experiment again with all the different techniques and processes in future projects.

4) What were the throwbacks ? The only throwback I can think of is that this week work was not as conceptual as I would have hoped but more based on "making", however having learned all those techniques, I am now free to revisit my work to make my end piece fit my likings more.

My approach to research really changed, going to that group tutorial this morning really helped me understand what the tutors want to see in research; specifically your thinking : what you find inspiring,what you like, what you dont like, what does it remember you off, how you could use something you learnt in a future project.

I researched what structures, shapes, colours expressed in the design process, by looking at designer like Mcqueen or Iris Van Herpen, I learnt to think of shapes in relation with the body, to hide certain parts reveal others, create new volumes almost independant from the body. The same goes with the use of pattern, with Mary katranzou designs, I learnt that patterns could work entirely with the silhouette creating optical illusion.

All those different way to build the design developpement creates different effects adding to the visual aspect of the collection but also to its narative. Using a particular cut or pattern can strenghten the design.

However the concept that really spoke to me was the idea of creating a hybrid between the body and the garnement that I discovered in Iris Van Herpen designs. I like that idea because I myself sometime feel like a hybrid. Still feeling like a child wanting to read and dream all day but also being a adult and having to deal with a lot of stress, problems and responsabilities.

I feel expressing these emotions through a garnement could be interesting, I think thats where I am going to be taking this project.

1) How does observational drawing/mark making inform the design process ? Through observational drawing and mark making your analyze every aspect of the subject from textures, shapes, to its reaction with life. Looking at the subject in a observational way makes you see things that you were not aware of before. Observational drawing is a good way to analyze the shapes independantly where as mark making is a good way to perceive prints and texture in any subject and to use it later in project developpement.

2) Timed exercises are important to the creative/design process and why ? Timed exercise are very instinctive as a result, you focuse on the most important parts of the subjects/what you feel is the most intersting. Without time to think about the drawing outcome, it is spontaneous almost random. However it makes it original, it is generated from lines you created rather then inspired by the work of another designer. Your chosed subject; your drawing; your design developpement. It also allows a prolific amount of work wich is a good way to try a lot of different drawing styles, as well as other techniques plus improve your drawing skills quickly. 

Today we created installations with objects we really cared for. My dear little cuddly toy got wounded, a tiny hole in his corpse. It really affected me in the moment, I cried I know I care too much but I always been like that. I attach so much meaning to certain things, I am very sensitive and deeply tied to things that carry a strong emotional value.. 

Drawing print was enjoyable as it made me see I could create patterns from the textures of a object but also from their shapes , projecting the prints on the manequin was also very interesting because it made me see my prints applied to 3D, how they worked on the silhouettteand how I could move them to create a more impacting visual effect. 

Today we did observational drawings at King Cross, I enjoyed it because when i draw I feel resolutely insouciant, very absorbed and driven by the profusion of the lines, colours and patterns on the page. Uncomonly unanxious if things did not look perfect, absolutely transended with expressing my reactions to what I noticed, instinctively.

Draping paper on the body was extremely interesting, first of all because it is a exercise I never tried, it iniated the creation of original shapes thet felt like sculptures on the silhouette.

Its weird to get all of that from draping paper on the body, but this experiment showed me that the creative process is a challenge an on going quest that you have to question with the most absurd and instictive idea.

Sometime all you have to do is trust yourself and let your instincts your automatism drive you in the design process without thinking to much. Fashion seems to be as much of a concept than it is a transcendance, it is a vision, a touch, a music, a poem that offers an always changing perception of the world. An ongoing discovery that I feel will leave me marvelled everyday. 

In the end piece the head and the hand were hiden. I think it really reflect how I can feel sometimes, wanting to hide/to disapear from somewhere, usually a social situation, the hand trapped in paper symbolizes how I feel blocked, unable to interact with others, to scared often to even try. 

1) Reflect on your group presentation, what would you change ? What in your opinion, makes a successful presentation of ideas ? To make the project developpement easier to understand, we should have shown the final piece at first and then explain how we got there. We should also have explained more how would the person physically interact with the elements inside the installation and what they would realize/learn, instead of almost entirely focusing on the concept.

2) Reflect on the group process : what are the pros and cons of working as part of a team ? Working as part of a team can help generate original/deeper ideas. Sharing your ideas with the other persons in the group helps explaining them in a easier way to prepare for the presentation. But working in a group also means loosing a lot of time explaining your ideas to the other people because whats logic/clear in your mind is not in their. Also quite often I end up doing most of the work because people usually are not workaholics like me. However, I am not a fan of group working because things are usually not organised/done the way I prefer and as a perfectionist, it stresses me out.

For further researches we went to the CSM library, it was filled with so much books it felt like I had crossed the door of Heaven! Picking up from were we left the project we decided to try and expand the video idea we had. One of the person in the group suggested we could use installation as well as video art to explain the project better and create a real sensitive experience for the viewers.

The benefits of working in group is definetely that we could split up the research process and while some of us were looking about the impact of plastic and synthetic textiles on the environement others looked into books about perfomative installations and video art.

We had finally decided what the project out come could be like and each went home with a assigned task. I was in charge of doing a 3D miniature of the installation aswell as doing the storyboard for one of the videos. 

It ended up taking most of the night, the rythm is as I was expected quite intense, but hopefully all that work will be worth it when we present the project tomorrow !

This morning I went at the British museum with my group where we researched more about polytheism. I looked into the religious rituals such as ceremonies and offerings. As I thought all of the customs surrounding the cult were fascinating i decided to look more into the act of offering in the polytheist civilizations.

The offerings to the gods such as food and beverages were often gifted in packages like jars and boxes, nicely carved with various patterns that I reserached after for example the creamics were ornementated with geometrics or floral patterns for example.

In the afternoon I looked more into neoprene, what it was and how it could link with both the idea of polytheism and package in a way that somewhat made sense. What I thought was particularely interesting was how neoprene was made rather then how it was used for.

Neoprene creation causes a lot of pollution because it is made from petrol as are most plastics and synthetics materials adding to that the fact that plastics needs hundreds of years to disapear is quite astonishing ! If they really was a polytheist god of nature it certainly would not be pleased by all the plastic humans are dumping on land or in the sea.. This seemed like a idea to explore further. 

Sharing it with the rest of the group, we decided to use video art to present in a metaphorical way humans offering a package made out of Neoprene to a sort of "Nature" god, to show human negative impact on the Earth.

At first "Polytheism" was not the word I wax hopping for because it did not carry the same lyrism as idealism or Romantism. However researching, I discoverd that it was not only the Greek and Egyptians myths. But more broadly was a way to practicate cult in a varieties of maners.

First I was intersted in the Japanese religions known as shintoism, a mix between Animism and Polytheism, a worship of all the things in the universe each rock, mountain, river...ect was believed to be inhabited by as soul, a protective spirit. Those spirtits are called Kami (wich I liked the sound of) by the japanese wich is somewhere inbetween of the english terminology of god and spirit.

I researched the different kind of Kami's and came accros a variety of myths, one of the most interesting exposed the birth of the sun Kami Amaresatu. I found prints representing the Kami, in one image I noticed she wass represented wearing a garnement embellished with golden suns.

I researched the japanese religious clothing and the various weaving techniques such as jellyfish weaving or puffed block wich is obtained from a photocopied image of folded cloth, tightly twisted yarns are used in the weaving causing the fabric to shrink; I thought this process was extremely interesting because it mimics the appearance of a tigthly closed package and applicates it to textile.

Tomorrow me and my group are going to the British museum, I hope diversify my researches about Polytheism.

1) Describe the research process and its importance for generating original ideas. The research process is mainly looking at interesting images and texts to pick up inspiration for the design developpement. It could involved learning new techniques from the work a artist, finding out about interesting concepts but also simply interrogating the look of a particular "thing" living or inanimate and how it could be translated into something else. In addition research is a way to build up your own collection of imagery. The research is important because it is the base of all design developpement, through learning new things, it enables creative thinking and the emergence of original idea coming from your own response to what you felt and learnt.

2) How could your written reflection feed back into and strenghten your research process ?  written reflection is a way to pause the research process. Look back on the day and explain what you did regarding your work and why, what effect/techniques you liked/did'nt like and why, where is your project developpement going and why. It also make you look at your work critically and brings out the key points of interest and allows to set a direction for future researches or design developpement. Moreover, it is important to document your work to go back to it and explain to others your idea in the best way possible.

3) How could working in a team enable the generation of original concept ? Working in a team, can bring original idea because everyone in the group respond differently to the same research, by sharing your thoughts you can learn new things and experience a broader variety of idea on how to work with the subject. It gives different angles to the brief that you might have not thought of.