Where I position my studio practice in the art world?

This is a general question I would like to ask myself and what other people are probably asking themselves about my studio practice. I would like to think my work has a political side to it by referencing how the government is effecting our day to day lives including the way we function as a person, are past and future and the world we live in today. Some of them things are a big part of peoples lives and most of the time we are controlled by what we can and can't do, and money is a big part of that. That is were my studio practice fit's in with the type of art I am creating. Last year my work was purely about the community I live in and how it is run on a daily basis and it's perceived to the public. I referenced this by photographs showing a large detail on how the council estate appears due to the council, residents and the government.This year my work has a more diverse angle and theme but still trying to incorporate the community. This year my studio practice is concentrating on how we are perceived as an individual and how are thoughts can overlook a persons personality and confidence basically like stereotyping. Example someone who is poorly dressed, scruffy looking and not well presented you could probably guess what kind of background they have and the life they are living. It all so has a twist with what we want and what we can't have due to funding (money), responsibilities etc. Also I would like to state that my work somehow has something to do with the community and society. In my work I am going to try and concentrate on using found objects with the acceptance of using a lot of paper and tools I will need to use. I would like to think I have explained this as clear as possible because it was quite difficult to try and convert it from an idea to my actual studio practice.

Dress Making Course - Lesson 2

Wednesday 18th September 2013

This was my second lesson we were learning how to do zips and cuffs. From our last lesson we were told to bring 10" zips and I got a great deal of five for a £1 on Ebay. She done a demonstration first to show everyone how to do it and It was completely confusing and as soon as she finished I completely forgot everything. I still had a go and tried so I done section by section and asking if I needed help. It took me about half an hour to complete one then I was told to do another one so I got the hang of it, The next one I got the idea of it and was much easier and was able to complete it in ten minutes. After that I was taught how to do cuffs. This process was quite simple but I did do it wrong by sewing it to close to the edge so when I turned it inside out it had wholes in the corners but it was easy to fix.

Dress Making Course - Lesson 1

The whole reason I had this idea for my studio practice is because I started a Dress Making course at the beginning of September so I thought it would be good to blog my experiences of the lessons.

Lesson 1: Wednesday 11th September 2013
This was my first lesson and it was about getting to know your sewing machine. We had to bring our own sewing machine so the sewing machine we learn on is easier for us to remember setting's etc. I got my sewing machine as a gift for Christmas when I was 18 and now I am 23 so it was 5 years and I remember it was from Woolworth's (That explains how old it is). I never tried it to see if it worked before I went I just took it to the course and when I was been showed how to thread it I was told that there was something wrong with the bobbin part because it weren't catching on to the thread from the needle. So I took it to a place that specializes in fixing sewing machines and I was told that there was no point in fixing it because it would cost me how much the sewing machine was worth, so he said the best bet for me would to buy a new sewing machine. I had a look round and on the internet before I purchased one and found a great deal at TJ Hughes and it was a Brothers sewing machine which seemed good quality and it was for the agreeable price of £80 which I thought was a good deal. Back to the First lesson, as I never had a sewing machine for the first lesson the teacher was kind enough to lend me a sewing machine. I was then told to learn the threads of the sewing machine by using each setting and running the material underneath to see what kind of pattern it created. Then I was taught how to make button holes, and for some reason when she was saying it it wasn't registering in my brain I kept thinking she meant sewing a button on but then I was thinking to myself surely you can't sew a button on by a machine, then it clicked. I found that lesson really informative and fun and was eager to learn more.

Attachments

One of the things I was inspired by from my community was the plants and flowers so I decided to try and create some roses out of paper which will go well with any dress. I did a lot of research on YouTube on how to make paper roses and there were a lot of process like origami but some also you needed certain tools to create them. So I stuck with the non technical way witch only included your hands, paper and glue witch was the most difficult way but worked for me.

(Copy-wrights owned by Lyndsey Morgan)

I have a lot ideas were I want to put these. Designs will come soon!

Influences & Inspiration

The inspiration for this project is by my current theme from my second year of university which was about the community I live in. I live in a council estate in Liverpool called Norris Green which hasn't got a good representation but it is were I was brought up so it does has a place in my heart but my own opinion is that I don't like the area but that is were all my memories are. Because it is a council estate its a run down place and a general dump apart from the new estate that there building which is a new part of Norris Green. So I am using the surroundings around me as inspiration to come up with designs for my dress/sculpture.

  (Copy-wrights Owned By Lyndsey Morgan)

Stage Two Of My Sculpture/Clothing

The next stage of my dress sculpture was to collage it with newspaper to create an all round standard background and all so to cover up the masking tape. Doing the collage on top made the dress more strong and durable. I also had to take it of the mannequin and put the Velcro down the side so I was able to take it on and off the mannequin witch endured a lot of effort. Once I took it of the mannequin I had to be careful on how I handled it and were I put it because on the inside it was very loose so on certain parts I had to stick duct tape on it. I all so had the issue of trying to get the dress back on to the mannequin with out it falling apart and because I stuck duct tape on the inside the dress shrunk in width. So to solve this issue I had to make small slices in the parts I was trying to stretch to fasting the velcro. As the sculpture/dress stands right now it is holding on and turning out quite well as a whole but there is still steps left in the designing process, but I am excited to see the final outcome.

(Copy-wrights Owned By Lyndsey Morgan)

This is a photograph of my dress/sculpture before I collaged it with newspaper. Also at this stage I stuck the velcro on so it be to come on and off the mannequin.

 

(Copy-wrights Owned By Lyndsey Morgan)

This is the stage that it is at now.

First Stages - Creating A Blank Canvas

This is the first stages of my process of making my dress. This is the first time I have ever made something like this but I am just thinking of it like a sculpture made out paper. My choice of paper was wallpaper base because it's sturdy, durable and thick. It was also cheaper to buy a roll instead of buying individual sheets of paper. My technique that I am using to get the desired shape of the human body is by using sections of squares and sticking them together with masking tape. The masking tape that I am using isn't strong or sticky enough to hold the pieces together so what I found myself doing was wrapping the masking tape all the way around and layering it as one whole piece of tape instead of small sections that would peal off. All so wrapping the tape around suctions the paper to the shape of the mannequin which makes it more smooth to work on top of. I have only done a small section so far because it was time consuming, but now I know the technique I am going to use the whole process will probably run a lot smoother, hopefully! I know I will hit a few glitches on the way because at this moment I don't know what shape I am going to have on the neckline or If I am going to have shoulder straps. At this moment I am just concentrating on how I am going to get the shape of the mannequin and making it sturdy and durable.

(Photographs Owened By Lyndsey Morgan)

Carrie Ann Schumacher

Carrie Ann is the first artist I've seen that makes similar pieces but using romance novels. She isn't well known all around the world for her work but she is noticed in a few places. When I seen her work it made me want to pursue my idea and see what I could create. Her work made me excited and inspired to see what I could produce with my own ideas. Her work was the first thing that made me realize what my idea was and put it into context and realization what and how I was going to do it.

Her work is amazing and inspiring. She creates different types of elegant and sophisticated dresses that are made out of book pages from romance novels. She uses a variety of techniques to create her dresses but she tends to layer her pieces to create pattern and texture which is what I'm going to use when I create mine.  

(These images are provided by www.carrieannschumacher.com and these are a couple of examples of her work.)

Brief - Questions - Studio Practice

What is my Idea?
My idea is to create garments/dresses out of various recycled materials mainly paper. I am going to stick with the dress shape mostly because I feel it will be more displayable and will be able show more.

Where did the idea come from?
The idea came from my previous studio practice which was about the community that I live in and how the appearance is and how the community effects people with crime. Fashion partnered up with the idea because I am doing a sewing course that isn't University related it's just something that I want to do in my own time to learn a new skill. So I thought why can't I join them together and make dresses out of recycled materials, not seeing nothing like this and the idea just popped into my head. So I drew some ideas that I had in mind and started to think it could just be an idea and I won't progress with it because I started to think about all the pros and cons on how I would make and produce it. Then I went on Tumblr and seen a blog of an artist in america that makes dresses out of books so after seeing her work it made me want to do it even  more so at the moment I decided to stick with the idea and use it as my studio practice.

What type of materials will I be using and what do they relate to?
The whole theme will be recycled materials to keep it with in with my previous studio practice of the community. At first I was thinking of the community and I was going to use plants, branches, wood, litter and paper. Now I'm thinking about the materials and want something that is life long like paper so I've decided not to use plants and use a more durable material. My main material will be paper because that is more durable and structured and can be used is many ways. I'm going to use news paper because it has the news of Liverpool and is related to my previous studio practice of the community.

Will my sculptures be wearable?
No, I want my pieces to be viewed as art as a sculpture/Installation not an item that you can wear on a day to day basis.

What size will the sculptures be?
The sculptures will be life size and be the standard size of clothing.

How does the dress shape relate to my idea?
This is a big question that I had to think about because I was going to use the dress with out a meaning so I wanted to link it to some king of topic so I chose dream. I know girls dream of having big expensive dress designed by designers that probably cost an arm and a leg so I wanted to link it to my previous studio practice of the community. The community is run by the council and it's not the best of places to live. The council estate is known for crime, drugs and youths. so my link would be girls would dream of having amazing dress that are elegant and sophisticated but often can not be afforded due to income by not having a job and the type of life they live.

How will the cast be made?
I am going to be using a mannequin and that will be my base to build upon. I will be using paper as my base to build around and on it as a surface.

What equipment will I need?
I am going to use any kind of tape that is sticky and a glue gun to make sure that the sculpture holds together. And my mannequin will be my main part of my sculpture but I have to make my sculpture so I can take it on and off the mannequin because every time I make a new dress I don't want to have to buy a new mannequin because there not cheap. I'm going to do this buy doing a slice down the whole dress and using Velcro to stick it back together so in that case I can take it on and off.


( These are few questions that I was thinking about so I wanted to make sure I was clear on what I was doing.)

Fashion Sculptures - Dress Ideas

(Images Produced and Provided By Lyndsey Morgan)

These are the other ideas I had on my theme of ECO Fashion. These were purely ideas that I wanted express with out knowing were I was going to take them. As I thought they were ideas and I weren't going to pursue them I didn't carry on. And then I seen a blog on Tumblr of an artist who specializes in making dresses out of books. After seeing her work it made me want to do it even more and I had all these ideas swimming around in my brain that I came to the conclusion that I am going to carry on with this theme and make it work.

Fashion Sculpture Design #1 - Picket Fence - Lyndsey

(This whole piece is designed and owned by me Lyndsey Morgan with all rights.)

This is my first design I have produced based on Eco Fashion. I myself I done a good job considering I went into this subject knowing very little about Eco friendly. I started of with a corset that would replicate a picket fence and that would open mid way to the side with some sort of latch to replicate a gate hinge. The next part is the shoulders, I have designed it so there is branches/trees that only go over the shoulders too look like shoulder caps or straps so it would reference a garden. The final part is the skirt that I have tried to section into two parts by using layers. On one side used roses to stay with the garden theme as well as the leaves, both of them together compliment each other. 

Introduction - Fashion Sculpture Ideas

As I am a Fine Art student from Liverpool I like to experiment with many things and Eco Fashion is one of my experimentation I exploring at the moment but still carrying on with my other social theme's. I got this idea to explore Eco Fashion because I am starting a beginners sewing course in September to learn how to use my sewing machine, I have learned the basics when I was in school and college and when it comes to using my own sewing machine it turns into rocket science, so this course will be really helpful. Also because my current studio practice in university is about the poverty driven side of Liverpool etc, council estates. So I put both of them together and came up with  Eco Fashion as a theme. I researched a bit about Eco Fashion and looked designers and they really inspired me. at the moment I am only doing drawings of my ideas because I don't think it is an appropriate theme for my studio practice but is something I want to explore in my spare time.