The Moss Carpet

I so want this! While doing some research for my Object Analysis presentation which I have on Friday I found this amazing bath mat. 'Amazing' and 'Bath Mat' don't usually go in the same sentence but imagine the sensation of stepping out of the shower onto a forest floor... It's made using (fancy new word coming up) imputrescible foam, meaning that it is not liable to decomposition, called plastazote. The mat includes ball moss, island moss and forest moss and these mosses thrive off the humidity of the bathroom and the water that drips off you when you stand on it. It was designed by Swedish artist Nguyen La Chanh who is now looking to commercialise the product after several people have expressed an interest in buying one on her website. Her design process is a simple idea. She deconstructs items and then recreates them with a green purpose and function. Such as in her piece 'Kitchen Garden' in which she has created a holder for kitchen utensils out of a textiles through which the thin roots of herbs can pass. The herbs can grow vertically and live off the water that comes from the drying utensils and, depending on where you place it in the kitchen, the draining board. 

Things I want/like...

Dying to see the John Stezaker exhibition at the Whitechapel gallery. Have heard very good things from a friend who does mainly collage who's doing Drawing at Camberwell and also picked up a postcard for it at the cinema. From what I've seen on the website and online I'm thinking maybe my chronic hoarding of magazines, postcards, leaflets, newspapers etc might not be such a terrible habit after all...

Will come back to this later am going on a very impromptu trip to...ahem...Wetherspoons. 

Unconventional Materials

I've been trying to find other artists who use unusual materials such as human hair and I came across the artist Wendy Freebourne who felts cat hair and human hair. It's a horrible thought to be handling other peoples' hair but I one I'll need to get used to! Here's the only example I could find of her felting technique online and I have to say I'm not a fan of this particular piece but I love how innovative her techniques are. I suppose I'll have to attack my hairbrush in order to make my own felted hair piece...

Transitions Project Developments

Have had a total change of mind and direction on the 'Transition' front. Have decided to use hair for my project and to work into clothes, make new clothes etc. out of hair bought in afro-carribean shops and salons. I got my inspiration from a section in CONTRIBUTOR Magazine called Folklore Nouveau which was styled by Robert Rydberg.

I love this idea because it's fun and has the potential for being really different and exciting. Went down to the hair shop (you'll not likely to hear me say that often) with Alicia today and bought a combination of fake and human hair. The benefit of the fake hair being the price (£2.49 for quite a long section) and the fact that you can change the style of it easily by simply placing it in very hot water and plaiting it to get curls, for example, and blowdrying it. The real hair is more expensive but it does look better and less synthetic. It's actually quite depressing though how the price difference isn't huge and someone somewhere is being paid very little for their lovely hair. Anyway, it's not a big concern of mine for the hair to look real because its with a view to working into other fabrics and plaiting rather than actually styling to someone's real hair. The ladies in the hair shop thought it was for me and were trying to dissuade me from choosing such a dark colour, at which point I said I wasn't planning on attaching black and auburn coloured hair to my blonde hair and that it was for an art project. They were really helpful actually; they told me to using thread on the long synthetic hair while it was wet from the hot water then wring it out and dry as normal to create kinks. I even managed to find a possible model for the show. I know I'm being quite previous but I'm just excited! She did however seem slightly dubious when I pulled out my bag of hair...

Stumbling...

Been incessantly clicking away on 'Stumble Upon' and found this rather cool drawing tool on a website. It's just a bit of fun but I've always been envious of people who can make graphic designs look like this...hard to explain, have a go for yourself to see what I mean- www.zefrank.com/scribbler/scribblertoo/

Pigeon Food

On the way to Deptford Creek today I took us on a little detour to see if my primary school tile was still on display on the bridge over the Greenwich-Maze Hill train line. When we were in Year 5(?) we each made a tile to be fired and put in this small walkway to brighten it up and deter graffiti. I for some reason did a man in a suit feeding the pigeons. Bizarrely enough the pigeons are bright yellow and I definitely don't think that at this age I was capable of being ironic or making any kind of statement to do with a guy feeding canaries pigeon food. I was delighted to see it was still there. I think the theme was 'people in the community' but I can't quite remember...

Deptford Creek

Today our tutor didn't show up and since I wasn't really in the mood to sit in the studio I went on a little jaunt round Deptford Creek. I thought it was relevant to our project because it has several previously derelict areas that are being made into subsidised artists studios such as The FairCharm and also the Creekside Project, a community based project in which they get together to clean up the river at low tide and try to recycle the dozens of trolleys etc. that they find. I've signed up to their next low tide walk because I thought those waders were a good look. Not really, I'm quite intrigued as to what kind of objects you find on such an outing. Unfortunately that's not until March 26th so not much potential for using my findings for my current project unless I have a complete outfit overhaul in 4 days! I took several photos but in particular I found the contrast, especially in today's grey light, of the violets and greens of the Trinity Laban building and the greens and browns of the river very striking. The reflection of the Trinity Laban building in the water was also fascinating. 

Transitions project Moodboards

Ok so I was very skeptical about the idea of making a 'moodboard' and I had images of Carol Smillie pointlessly running about in late 90s episodes of Changing Rooms in my head. However...my ideas were thin on the ground and I saw the potential for this exercise generating a few more. It actually really helped me just put down anything I found relevant to the project and link these visual images. I am still keen on the idea of using everyday objects bought in Brixton and ones that represent Brixton in some way such as the teacups and turning these into materials. I also found in a charity shop in Brixton a vintage dress making pattern. I thought this would be really useful to use with unusual materials and fabrics bought from the area. There could be a wonderful juxtaposition between the very English and quite dated blouse being made out of bright African textiles such as the one I have placed the pattern next to in the photo. When we were looking around Brixton we found some quite shabby backstreets including one sort of courtyard called 'Clifton Mansions' surrounded by really rundown buildings that were surely occupied by squatters; I got this impression from the loud music coming from inside at about 3pm and double door (hard to explain, see photo). I've always been interested in getting ideas from what appears to be worthless junk as you can make it really beautiful if you deconstruct and reconstruct a little. Such as in the courtyard there were tyres filled up with earth and with a tiny plant poking out; this could be the starting point for a concept combining a material such as rubber which is totally non-biodegradable with something completely natural and compostable. I am really keen to use mainly ecologically beneficial materials. This links nicely with my object analysis project in which I am researching the work of Annie Sherburne who has her own range of recycled yarns, eco-annie. 

Object analysis proposal

I have chosen to base my object analysis theory task on the rug 'Soft Cobbles', designed by the textiles artist Annie Sherburne. I came across Annie Sherburne whilst doing some last minute yarn shopping on the way to the Oxo Tower and had never expected to find such an inspirational range of pieces in such a small space. Whilst the rug I have since become interested in wasn't on display, there was a vast range of yarns called 'Eco Annie'. Using textile waste from London, Eco Annie, her yarns that reflect a long time passion for sustainable design, are an established manufacturing chain making recycled yarn for use by knitters and weavers; she also solely uses these in the production of her own rugs. Her ideas incorporate a heavy emphasis on Textile Environmental Design and aesthetically pleasing and physically pleasing (in terms of touch) design. 'Soft Cobbles' uses ecologically friendly materials; rare breed wool fibre from small holdings in the UK, are felted into balls and sewn together with cobblers twine. The balls look like pebbles and are especially effective in this way on a large scale and yet they're soft to walk on. This design won the Peugeot design awards in 2001 and reached the final of the classic design awards at the V&A. I am really excited at the prospect of similarly emulating my natural surroundings using ecologically friendly materials. 

Ethical Consumerism

Just had another instalment in our series of lectures and seminars on consumerism. Really interesting in terms of highlighting our lack of understanding of whether something is as ecologically and ethically sound as the advertising and manufacturers make out. Many companies, Primark being one that comes to mind, are accused of creating a 'Halo Effect'. This meaning that they implement very small measures such as ensuring that one product out of hundreds of others is made with organic cotton or from Fairtrade farmers so as to give the consumer the impression of a company involved in ethical initiatives. We had a seminar on Ethical Consumerism shortly after this lecture and were each given an initiative or charity to do a SWOT analysis of (very useful analysis I wasn't familiar with that categorises strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). I was given the Ethical Trading Initiative, which seeks to make substantial improvements in the lives of poor working people around the world by developing, and encouraging the use of, a set of standards in trade. This is known as the ETI Base Code, a set of guidelines that constitutes the minimum standards that members have to adhere to in the workplace, http://www.ethicaltrade.org/eti-base-code. Whilst this is definitely a step in the right direction for the member companies, there are several drawbacks. For one, the ETI is almost a victim of its own success; it has 40 major companies under its wing that combined have a revenue of several hundred million. Just to give an idea of the number of workplaces ETI therefore has to monitor, Gap which is one of its members currently manufactures clothes in 300 factories spanning 50 countries worldwide. It is thus very difficult to ensure workers' rights at every stage of the supply chain. Furthermore, the improvements made by companies can be very gradual as they are only required to submit a report of their movements related with ETI once a year. They can also afford to make changes in some factories and not others and simply highlight the ones they have made. There had recently been a general feeling that the ETI hasn't fulfilled the hopes of many in terms of making change; when it was set up ten years ago people believed it would be very efficient in changing working conditions. Nowadays it seems more like a shield for major companies to prevent further investigations into every stage of their supply chain. Having said that, the ETI can address many thorny issues that the company could not tackle on their own. As most companies don't actually own the factories in which their clothes are manufactured and they simply contract with garment manufacturers round the world, it means they don't know how to approach issues within these factories. By this I mean that if they found children working in a supplier's worksite, they might be inclined to evict them and think that  they've addressed the situation. This is not the case as it could paradoxically make the lives of the children worse; the ETI could very quickly pinpoint who they needed to have discussions with and address the situation in a more appropriate manner. They can collaborate with NGO and Trade Unions to make workers feel as comfortable going to work with the reassurance that they have rights as you or I would.

Workshop Inductions and a few more Brixton ideas

Today we had our workshop inductions and whilst I had already been shown everything at Chelsea last year on my foundation course they were useful in giving me some ideas for this Brixton project. For one, it was interesting to see how in some students' work that the various technicians had used as examples the sheer amount the specialisms all overlap. For example, there was an MA Textiles student who had worked into different types of wood such as walnut with leather detailing and she had made a collection of these tiny but beautiful wooden blocks. Furthermore, there was a student who had used plates sourced only from charity shops and printed onto them in the ceramics workshop. This was my biggest influence today, simply because it got me thinking about using objects and clothes from Brixton charity shops, tea cups being particularly relevant given the number of coffee shops in Brixton Village Market. Whilst tea cups aren't so much geared towards an eventual design for the Fashion Show as I would have to use them in a very literal way, possibly by printing, I could use them in a more Gaga-esque outlandish context...

Brixton Transitions Project- Initial thoughts

Having already been assigned Brixton for our 'Rough Guide' I feel at a slight advantage, mainly because I had a good sense of the geography of the area (which even in Greenwich, where I live, is at times hazy)! On first impressions of Brixton Village it seemed a bit derelict and uneventful; there were several places closed or closing up already at just 2pm and it stank of fish and raw meat. However, after my friend found a lovely little vintage handbag we got talking to the shop owner who informed us that Thursdays and Fridays were a much better atmosphere; apparently all the shops are open late and there's food stalls and craft stalls everywhere. In terms of the 'Transitions' project I've had a few ideas. I really enjoyed the idea of the Brixton pound and the little quirks that make this small market such a community such as the coffee shops that reduce the price of your coffee if you use your special Brixton mug, it's also very ecologically friendly. There are a few pop-up shops and galleries in the market where you can buy clothes made in the shop and look at local artists' work. Today I was really interested in a shop where the lady produced handbags and clothes using salvaged and recycled leather. She stitched on the irregular shaped pieces of leather in very asymmetric designs with lots of folds to a very aesthetically pleasing effect. Hopefully I can get some photos of these designs shortly but the designer wasn't in the shop at the time and I wanted to ask her permission. There was also a gallery called Viewfinder (http://www.viewfinder.org.uk/) in which there was the work of 3 photographers, Catlin Harrison, Kerry Clark and Kelly Brown in an exhibition called 'Constructs Spectacle and Self'. In particular I loved the animated and intriguing photography of Kerry Clark (pictured below).

Collecting things, collecting people

Ok so this should have been posted way back along with my writing on 'What would you collect to symbolise how you think about life?'. In our lecture from Clare Rose, on November 5th 2010 she talked about how people have collected things throughout time and the different reasons for which people have treasured certain things. We discussed a huge range of objects large and smalls that have been collected and kept in a somewhat in a somewhat controversial way. More on that later. Museums originated from personal collections and were very often a means of showing your wealth and extensive travels. Whether or not these collections were merely a display of status once upon a time for the collector, they are hugely important to us today because they document a period of time. The collections displaying wealth and status were known from the 1500s as 'Cabinets of Curiosities'. It was incredibly fashionable for the upper class to acquire objects of interest from around the world from as many exotic places as possible. One man who broke this tradition of collecting things that were beautiful or unique was Augustus Pitt Rivers. His insistence on collecting the everyday objects was his most important methodological innovation and it has in many respects shaped museums' collections since. Another massive innovation of his was to arrange items typologically- by what they were in order to highlight the evolutionary trends in human artefacts. Within these collections based on type they were also arranged chronologically. The several thousand objects he collected in his lifetime have been added to since to form a collection of roughly half a million and they now form the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. 

The Handmaid of Capitalism

Along with our trip to the Museum of Brands, Advertising and Packaging we had a lecture. In this we discussed the negative effect of cooperations and their heavy influence upon our ethical choices. It is important to highlight the fact that people are becoming increasingly aware of the consequences of the apparently banal decisions that we make based on the price of, say, a sofa. Our current rate of consumption is through the roof and it seems that both consumers and the workers for large companies are feeling less and less comfortable with buying and producing according to price given the enormous environmental effects. Most worryingly, we learnt that if the US carries on manufacturing and consuming at the rate it does, it would need the equivalent of over 5 worlds worth of resources to do so. Whereas many countries in Africa would need less than a quarter of the worlds resources to carry on. How can this obsession with ever increasing growth make us happy let alone justify the means by which these never-ending shopping lists are manufactured? We were given the task at the museum of choosing a cooperation to analyse. I chose to look at Guinness and its very clever advertising over the years. First of all the basics. Guinness sells mainly a dark beer that gains its colour and distinctive burnt taste from a little roasted unmalted barley in the brewing process and its signature moussey 'head' simply by adding nitrogen when poured. On their website they describe a pint of Guinness draught beer as 'Swirling clouds tumble as the storm begins to calm, settle, breathe in the moment, then break through the smooth, light head to the bittersweet reward. Unmistakeably GUINNESS® beer, stout, or draught , from the first velvet sip to the last, lingering drop. And every deep-dark satisfying mouthful in between. Pure beauty. Pure GUINNESS®'. Pretty much every adult in the country knows the phrase 'Guinness is good for you' from the 20s and thus came the loyal Guinness drinkers who drank it because of its beneficial qualities of a high iron content and several calories when they weren't as cheaply and readily available in food. Even doctors recommended it. I have several issues with Guinness and  their so-called legacy, one being that every other middle-aged beer belly that comes to the microbrewery I work for asked for a pint of it even though we have a far superior stout. Anyway, Guinness sell to mainly men and a large portion of their market is in Ireland; in spite of a decline in consumption since 2001, it is still the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland where Guinness & Co. makes almost €2 billion annually. They also have a huge market in Africa; Guinness has a significant share of the African beer market, where it has been sold since 1827. About 40% of worldwide total Guinness volume is brewed and sold in Africa, with Foreign Extra Stout the most popular variant. Guinness' brand values are their distinctive style of beer, being so unique that very few pubs in the UK offer an alternative stout on draught, their so-called Irish heritage despite the fact that a porter such as the original Guinness originates in London, and an emphasis on advertising, having coined several phrases over the years including 'Good things come to those to wait', a reference to the fact that it should take 119.53 seconds to pour the 'perfect pint' of Guinness due to a 'double pour' method. The social and environmental impact of Guinness is also to do with its advertising, well at least the social aspect is. Up until the late 80s there was still advertising in Africa that claimed Guinness had health benefits which is totally illegal due to various laws in place to prevent excessive consumption of alcohol. It only became such a popular drink because of clever campaigns that always had some kind of catchphrase- "Guinness is good for you", "It's 17.59 it's Guinness time", "Guinness for Strength", "Lovely Day for a Guinness", "Guinness Makes You Strong," "My Goodness My Guinness". In terms of the environmental impact, there's the obvious impact of transportation and also bottling. Furthermore, there is a huge amount of water wasted in the brewing process.

A Reflective Statement

I feel that my blog has become somewhat less prioritised in favour of our practical work and, being mindful of this and some of the last minute updates I've had to make for this assessment, I intend to try to become used to updating regularly and viewing it as a tool as opposed to a task. I feel that there was a strong level of research for my Brixton and Science Museum study tasks and the presentation was successful. My photographs for our Brixton research project are amongst my favourites. In relation to other blogs I have been looking at Clare Vuletich's blog, http://www.loveandthrift.com/; whilst there is a great deal of information there I enjoy its chatty style with immediate photographic references to all her writing. I now see it as essential to the whole idea of blogging to maintain this very readable, free writing style and avoid getting into large chunks of writing without anything to break it up a little bit. Furthermore, it makes for a much more interesting blog to be constantly updating it with your wider concerns and your own opinions; things you have independently been to see, things you have found that you are really passionate about. Not just images that 'I loooove!!!' with far too many exclamation marks but things that are important for you and you want to share. I have achieved this to some extent with my blogging before the Christmas break but this can be improved and certainly will be. One blog where you can feel the passion and genuine concern of the writer is Emily Campbell's, http://projects.rsablogs.org.uk/; it isn't as involved with textiles but I enjoy her approach of sourcing such a vast range of articles and opinions and her writing is full of questions for the reader. One thing I am thoroughly pleased with is the layout of my blog; without being too intrusive in itself it compliments my writing and photographs.

Trade Between East and West

Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising

Certainly not your average exhibition; what some have described as a 'time tunnel' of British consumerism and advertising, Robert Opie's collection combining perfectly British nostalgia and advertising memorabilia is an amazing contrast to the displays we were looking at just a couple of weeks ago at the V&A. Allegedly and perhaps romanticised, Opie came home in 1963 clutching a munchies wrapper, aged 16, and vowed never to throw anything away again. Surely one man couldn't have amassed this amazing range of things but a man with a mission he was... I really enjoyed the unique style of presentation, it is rare for you to see objects crammed into spaces and stacked on top of each other supermarket-style. In this way the exhibition sort of elevated these essentially very ordinary things. On other blogs I have read that talked about the exhibition people have touched on the sentimental attachment they have to some of the packaging. This is key to advertising memorabilia as it due to the friendly face companies put on say, a cereal box that means you remember eating that cereal with fond memories. It has a lasting impression as opposed to the totally unimpressionable basic packaging. 

Technical Blocks- Knit

I really struggled with knit at first. I found it frustrating because my almost finished samples kept falling off for no apparent reason. That was before I discovered the chunky machine. I loved working on it as I could use several different yarns on one sample and I could create far more textural effects such as cable knitting which you usually do by hand. I was most pleased with the effect of simply creating ruffles. My punch card was supposed to look like the cross section of a mushroom but I feel it it somewhat too angular. 

Technical Blocks- Weave

Just had our final block which was weave. It was funny because just as I had done in knit I really loved using the chunky loom because I became more involved with what types of yarns I used. Unfortunately on this loom you can't seem to do lots of the patterns because of the way its threaded so I made up quite a few. Also, on the sample where I dyed the wool this was very time consuming as it took ages to dry. It also came out quite patchy. I'm really pleased with the effect I got by brushing the mohair sections with a wire brush once I had cut them from the loom.