Today I started to work into the prints and I started to research into the more scientific side of growths such as the rotting and how it occurs I went to the local library and got books out on building decay and landform decay such as acid rain, weathering. How the earth naturally decays and deconstructs. I started to look at the shapes and forms or rusting and rotting and the textures.
This made me realise that if I was intending on creating textiles I would further need to consider the materials, perhaps create the texture of mould on a piece of fabric? I should look at materials like felt, wool an hessian and perhaps consider processes like devore, where the upper part of the fabric is eaten away much like rust each away at the surface of metal. I started to read and look at Radical fashion a book I got out from the library, I found more images and inspiration by looking at work by Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier. Margiela has created work using sunlight and fading and the ripped aspect of clothes.

Printing

I started some screen printing today using many of my edited photographs as images, I started with fabrics from the college shop such as calico, white cotton, scrim in natural colours as well as white, I decided to use these first as test pieces to develop my ideas and to see if the images worked well as prints. The colours I chose reflect the natural colours found in aged or rusted or rotten products.

Experimenting with materials

I wanted to set up my own methods of decaying objects and find other ways in which to decay fabrics other than just burning them, something a little more interesting and different.

I loved the way that the decayed fabrics turned out as the nature of decay cannot be controlled it is organic and happens naturally and this is almost liek burning as you cannot choose how quickly it burns or which parts it burns you just have to wait and see.
The colour the burnt fabric creates is beautiful, the oranges, browns and blacks are all organic and colours which we find in nature, such as in the earth.
These are colours which I would like to base my palette around when choosing fabrics, dye and inks.
I loved the effect burning made on paper, the different photocopied edits I made would transfer nicely into prints, it is something I should consider...

Tutorial

After a tutorial with Susan I realised I need to explore a range of possibilities such as fabric manipulation, I should perhaps experiment with projecting images onto garments and using transfer films but i need to consider the scale and the detail I wish to show, I will have to extract the right parts.

I need to consider lengths an if they translate onto fabric, like some of the lenghts I have already made do I want to try different approaches on one length.
I could buy garments that exist and work into them with different methods and processes.

First Crit

It was the first day back and time for the first crit, I had compiled a research file and done a few experiments and sketches, I found that I had too many ideas and the work seemed to be broad as I was looking at different means of decay such as the beach, rotting, fraying, my tutor Susan said that the idea had been done before, I needed to say something new.

The examples of burning had been well recieved but I needed to start looking at the warn aspect of things such as the way you mend them, the way you change them. Ineeded to look at the depth of my concept more and carry out more research to carry out a successful research file.

I am going to start looking at how I can explore manipulating the images and research I have compiled.

Visits

Yesterday I went to the beach in hastings, it was great opportunity to capture different forms of decay and deconstruction. I was able to photograph some great pieces of rust from beneath the pier on the iron/steel gurders.

I also came across driftwood, broken fishing nets, frayed ropes etc which I was able to photograph, they were great examples of decay and deconstruction especially the way in which the threads untangled.

I was able to do a few sketches of some decayed and worn things I had seen such as a pillar and door handle.

I was able to take some great photographs of the inside of parts of a rusted car that had been abandoned.

Today I went to the Irving Penn exhibition at the National portrait gallery, although the subject matter was not entirely relevant to my project I found it to be a really good source of inspiration as many of the images were thought provoking.

The image of Alfred hitchcock showed him sitting on a worn and frayed carpet section, the colours and some of thebackground settings were inspiring. I loved many of the silver and platinum prints as the contrasts with use of light gave me ideas of how to photograph some of my own objects. The sepia tones and vintage look also portrayed an air of ageing or decay.

I found the exhibit useful and it sparred me to extend my areas of research and to look at more photographers for my file.

Now I need to collect more for a research file and begin to experiment with some idea and materials to create decay and deconstruction.

On Tuesday i visited the barbican to see the Ron Arad ‘Restless’ exhibition, It was a great opportunity for research and inspiration. I loved all the sculptural forms, the colours and the shapes. One piece in particular gave me a lot of inspiration 'The quick fox and the lazy dog' (pictured below). It was a highly polished curved and then bent shape place around and old rusted chair frame to which the seat was a typewriter. It had moss growing within and through its keys, there were parts that were missing or had been decayed.
I started to wonder if this was something I could adapt or achieve but create it using a series of photographs?
I took lots of pictures of the different pieces both as a whole and some of the textures, patterns and shadows created by several of the pieces they gave be ideas to create images from which I could perhaps create some prints.....