Fashion design and illustration is my chosen subject because I am creative and enjoy drawing and textiles work. It is most satisfying when I’ve finalised a design and seen it through to the completion of making the garment. I feel the programme that you offer would enhance my skills and career.
I designed a summer playsuit with flowers as my inspiration, made from lightweight fabric, i.e. chiffon. I have had good positive feedback about this design from fellow teachers and peers.
For my self-portrait I’d chosen to draw the image of my son and myself. Influenced by Artist, Boticelli, I incorporated an acrylic gold painted, crinkled-up waxed paper border, to enhance the sketch.
Through sample work I practised recreating scaly fish skin with layering of different coloured sheers, which I distorted with a heat gun then created a scaly pattern using embroidery thread. This could possibly be used as a costume corset.
One of the projects on my present course, Foundation Art & Design was to research fashion designer, Roberto Cavalli’s S/S 2012 collection. I researched style, print and fabric. From this I created some fashion illustrations featuring diverse necklines influenced by 1920’s art nouveau and samples of reptile skin prints using lino-print using different fabrics and colours. The mood-board and a satin scarf for this are featured in the blog, ref: ‘My designs inspired by Cavalli’.
For research needed in this course I look at fashion artist / Illustrator, Thierry Perez. I mirrored his work using pastel, acrylic and ink. The amazing results emphasized the colour and shading in my work. This mixed media technique I used in some final pieces.
The two-layer printed gossamer summer dress fabric, was achieved by 1; top-layer is various diluted watercolour paint that I applied over clear chiffon, purposely leaving water marks. 2) a lily print using fabric transfer paint and then a lino-print for the green stalks. 3) I then stitched the two fabrics together embellishing with miniature gold beads. To accompany the dress I made 3D flowers.
I have started to attend life drawing classes outside of college to develop my sketching skills and figure proportions. The featured picture was done during my third lesson with pastel and outliner.
