19.1.12

RSA competition - year 3 / semester 1

My short interpretation of the original brief:

Something for everyone

Research shows that young people having a consistent and caring relationship with older generations going to achieve more success in their future. Bringing the different age groups together would be beneficial for everybody. By creating the opportunity to communicate with each other older people wouldn't feel isolated anymore and it would help participants to share their knowledge  and experience.
I started to think about a community space where both generations would feel comfortable and be able to have fun together. Tea culture is very essential in Britain and a basic form of socializing. I imagined a place where everybody could make their own cuppa, bake cakes and be involved in other creative activities like art and craft.
My aim was to use the power of colour and light to create a positive, welcoming atmosphere. Designs of the final panels are based on the interests and beloved colours of different age groups. During the making process I was experimenting with different layers to achieve a special light effect. 

Thinking process on the wall:



Sketchbook:




 I was paying way too much attention and time on the interior of the community space...




Research on colour: it was very interesting and probably will be usuful in the fututre but I couldn't manage to use the gained information effectively at the end. Next time I'd like to spend more time on mixing up the exect colours.








 Babies'


 Capturing movement and energy


This design remind me of a football advert so I moved on...

 Kids' - the dancers became fairies

 
 Tennagers' - as an inspiration I used the movement of equaliser lights


The conductor refers to classical music

Elderly's - floral pattern: evoke the tranquility of rural life

I found interesting the relation between graffitis and children drawings so I took a couple of pictures in Dundee to get inspired.


I also used classical record covers as an inspiration.


It was time to figure out the composition. I thought chintzy wallpapers can give me some ideas. And they did.


I produced plenty of monoprints to bring nice textures into the design because I wasn't happy with the bold shapes of colour.


Then I tried to set up the final compositions of the three panels. The colours are just indications.

I didn't have too much time for the facric samples mainly because I wanted to use so many layers on them. Well, I just went for it. I've choosen silk-viscose mixture fabrics. The velvet ones turned out to be the nicest.

For the first layers I exposed these ethalons onto screen then I used acid dyes:
 

Then I printed the texture of the far right one onto the top as a second layer.I used a mixture of discharger + Illuminating acid dyes. Then I used the rest of the ethalons to print on a layer of devoré. As I found out later I could have had a much sharper result if I print it onto the back of the fabric. Devoré allows silk to burn out of the fabric to create a see through effect. 


Then I hand-painted small areas of the sample with acid dyes. For the final layer I monoprinted contour lines to give depth to the design. I hand-painted this layer with reactive dyes onto a screen. Although I'm not entirely happy with the outcomes I've learnt a lot during this project. Next time I'd like to leave more time for experimenting and mixing up the exact colours. It was a great experience though and I can't wait to use what I've learnt in my next project.




Context