Extended Project Essay/evaluation

May 27, 2010 Zoe Pease

For my extended project I choose to focus on me. T o me the possibilities of what I may come up with are endless as there is so much to one person alone and that person’s life that in my opinion it would make this project interesting as I am like no one else.

                 The idea to focus on me came to me from nowhere but I really like the idea of basing it on me so stuck with it. After deciding that I was my topic I began by making a mind map thinking about simple things to do with me like my family, my childhood and dreams etc.

 I then focused on each topic individually such as my likes, dislikes and most favourite things and collected a few images and explained each piece and why I lied or disliked it. One of my all time favourite things, a toy and a childhood idol and something I still like was Noddy, from Toy Town and I did a bit of research on him finding that Noddy has its own site and he’s now a 3D cartoon rather than the old 2D drawn cartoon. I don’t really like the new style Noddy now I think maybe because I grew up with the old style Noddy that it feels as though he is being forgotten for the new improved technology Noddy. I already knew if I used Noddy in my work I would used the old 2D drawing style Noddy as to me he is the original and my true childhood idol.

                I then went on to look at something a lot of children or even adults have owned including myself.  Ragdolls. There the ever so simple soft dolls traditionally made from rags as the name says. When I was younger I had a ragdoll at my nans house and every time I visited I would go and get her say hello and keep her with me until it was time to go home then I would put her back and say goodbye until next time. I now have her at my house along with a few others I collected over my childhood. I researched a bit on ragdolls finding out how they were made and I gave a questionnaire I produced to a couple of people to see if they also owned a rag doll as they are quiet popular and what they thought of them as I know not everyone likes them.

                From looking at ragdolls and my love of Noddy I found my first idea. A Noddy ragdoll! Although I classed this idea as a rag doll my idea didn’t have legs it was more of a blanket at the bottom of which would have my childhood memories on in the form of transferred photos. Although I liked this idea because it would be really personal to me, knowing I didn’t have much time I thought it would take too long and be difficult to plan and make properly so from here I went on to look at other artists work who have used Noddy as there theme.

                This is where I found carousel cottage crafts. A crafts business that makes cushion cases, on their site I found 3 Noddy cushions: Noddy, big ears and Mr.Plod. The artist who creates the cushions a lady named Caroline gave me inspiration to create Noddy cushion also. My idea was to create a cushion in the shape of Noddys face and have again my photos transferred onto the back side of the cushion. I also thought of making a square cushion and have a 3D Noddy face sewn over my photos.

                I moved on from Noddy to looking at the artists Sewartys and Amy Fleckinger also known by the name of fleck who create cushions. Weird and wacky ones that really grab your attention. I loved both their work as it was so colourful and different and the artist Sewartys also made a ragdoll as a piece of her work.

                Here I got my second idea. A set of cushions about me. The first idea was to create four, one of me as a baby, a toddler, a child and then now as a teenager to show how I have changed. Each pillow would of been a different shade of pink to also represent how I have changed over time and I would as some embroidery to each to link with the image. For instance, as a baby I would embroider the word baby and maybe a dummy, and as a child I would put a paintbrush and maybe something to do with swimming. After drawing and thinking about this idea I found it to be lacking inspiration so I developed it further.

                 Rather than just focusing on me I chose to focus on me and my brother as he is a part of my life. Here I would make 3 pillows that would be bright and colourful and have a lot of things sewn or drawn/painted on such as cars and flowers. There were also be 3 photos of us at different stages in our life showing how we have changed.

                I was still finding the pillow idea quite ‘boring’ and it didn’t really seem as though someone would pay much interest in it. I moved on to looking at how to make the pillows more interesting such as changing colour, this is where I found an artist, Ronel Jordaan who uses a material that looks just like rocks and pebbles and  makes pebble shaped cushions out of it. I thought this idea was great as it’s so different and caught my attention and this is the effect I wanted my work to have on people that viewed it.

                I also found blog called Zedomax and on that blog was a paw shape cushion that lights up. This also intrigued me because to me that a fantastic idea and would look really good on a bed or sofa in dim lighting. I think it would make the room feel cosy and warm. The shape of the cushion on Zedomax got me thinking about changing the shape of my cushion to something more unusual. I drew a few ideas of what shape my cushion could be but i still found the whole pillow idea a bit to common.

                I was thinking of other things children may like of something that could be with you through your life. I thought of blankets, and comfort blankets. A lot of people have memories of them or making them. I researched a shop that makes blankets from real wool. The shop was called Dye Studio Yarn Shop. I fought there blankets where pretty and soft looking they also reminded me of something you see over a older persons couch. The blankets I saw where made from patches or patch like shapes. And here I had idea number three.

                For my third idea I designed a patch work blanket. It would be made from plain patches and patches I had made linking to me in one way or another for instance id do a patch on tea, as I love a cuppa tea and then I’d do another patch with a pig on as my family loves pigs. I’d also transfer some photos onto the patches as these are memories and show parts of my life also.

                 I wanted to improve and develop my ideas. I researched for artists who make patchwork blankets personal to you. Whilst searching I found a blog about a lady who makes blankets. Although I couldn’t find her name I found some rather good pieces of her work. The first I found was a patchwork blanket called Antigua, it was made as a representation after she visited the island Antigua with her daughter. The second blanket I found on her site was the work of an artist who won a competition for her work. She creates a portrait out of patch work of a baby on a blanket. I really do love this piece. It must have taken so much planning and it really is well done. These examples had the effect on me that I was my blanket to have the effect on other people…interest and make you look and study it.

                I moved on to look at Tracey Emin. Tracey Emin makes all of her work about her. She has made a fabric piece of which I’m not sure whether it’s a blanket or not and that had quotes on she has made. There is another piece of her work where she has put neon lights on a wall saying I know I know I know with a photo of her in the photo also. Tracey Emin gave me a lot of inspiration because the simple quotes she used make you think and get your attention.

 Developing idea three I’ve now decide to add embroidery and embroidered quotes and sayings onto my work to make it even more personal and hopefully more intriguing to people who see it.

                As I choose to put embroidery onto my blanket I thought I should look at a few other artists as they may give inspiration and ideas. I looked at Jenny Hart that makes small embroidery pieces with famous faces as the main aspect of them and then I looked at a Uzbek artist of whom name I don’t know. She created a fabulous embroidery blanket that took her over a year to complete. Just by looking at it you can quiet clearly see that a lot of hard work had gone into the blanket and it is a really beautiful piece.

                I have now decided my final idea being to make idea number three a patch work blanket all about me and my life. I transferred photos onto it, made patches out of a variety of materials and collected items and embroider onto it as well. I thought this idea would be the best one because although a lot of people have made blankets, this one is personal to me and there won’t me another like it, also as it’s a bigger piece than cushions so there is more going into it so hopefully it’ll interest people more and make them think ‘I wonder why she done that?’ or ‘I wonder why she chose that?’.

                 After I chose my final idea I looked into what materials I would be needing, although there’s a variety the main things are, a variety of fabrics, embroidery thread, glue and photos etc.

                When planning materials was completed I drew a few patch ideas and explain a why I had chose to make a patch how I was. I done this to give a basic idea of how my blanket works and that every patch I make has a meaning.

                I started to make my patchwork blanket but was quickly running out of time. It took a lot longer to make each patch than I anticipated and I didn’t get to complete my blanket before the deadline. There are images in my book showing how my blanket was coming together. Although I didn’t complete my blanket within the deadline I am going to complete it in my own time at home as I think it will be a great keepsake item and I don’t want to give up on something I worked quiet hard to design and think about

Entry Filed under: Extended project

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