''In such conditions it is not surprising that workers suffered from many illnesses. Eye inflammation, Deafness, Tuberculosis''
Tuberculosis also known as TB is most prevalent in countries where sanitation is poor and living conditions are crowded, but can occur anywhere. This relates to the situations of the cotton mills and the over crowded population of the living conditions aswell and how the interactions pass on the diseases and germs. Looking at images of what 'TB' is represented, I like how the colours and cells and all bundled together and the way the colour spreads throughout the image as a simbolisation of the infections spreading.
'TB' bacteria under the microscope
Nuala Birtwistle
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Working in the Mills
Taking a step back in my research from looking at recycled fashion I started looking at where everything initially started. The cotton Mills, whilst researching into where they all started and how they rapidly grew causing lots of problems ''As towns and cities sprang up around the factories, living conditions declined. Badly planned, poorly built slums were seriously overcrowded''. From this I decided to focus on diseases and interaction that occurred whilst the living conditions whilst other people in the group went in other directions.
Mechanisation may have shifted cotton spinning from a craft to an industrial process, but it came at a cost - a human cost.
The noise from machinery was deafening, many workers became skilled lip readers in order to communicate over the noise.
Ear protection was not compulsory leading to many workers becoming deaf.
Fighting for breath
The air in the cotton mills had to be kept hot and humid (65 to 80 degrees) to prevent the thread breaking.
In such conditions it is not surprising that workers suffered from many illnesses.
The air in the mill was thick with cotton dust which could lead to byssinosis - a lung disease.
Although protective masks were introduced after the war, few workers wore them as they were made uncomfortable in the stifling conditions.
Eye inflammation, deafness, tuberculosis, cancer of the mouth and of the groin (mule-spinners cancer) could also be attributed to the working conditions in the mills.
Long hours, difficult working conditions and moving machinery proved a dangerous combination. Accidents were common and could range from the loss of a finger to fatality.
Mechanisation may have shifted cotton spinning from a craft to an industrial process, but it came at a cost - a human cost.
The noise from machinery was deafening, many workers became skilled lip readers in order to communicate over the noise.
Ear protection was not compulsory leading to many workers becoming deaf.
Fighting for breath
The air in the cotton mills had to be kept hot and humid (65 to 80 degrees) to prevent the thread breaking.
A dangerous job |
In such conditions it is not surprising that workers suffered from many illnesses.
The air in the mill was thick with cotton dust which could lead to byssinosis - a lung disease.
Although protective masks were introduced after the war, few workers wore them as they were made uncomfortable in the stifling conditions.
Eye inflammation, deafness, tuberculosis, cancer of the mouth and of the groin (mule-spinners cancer) could also be attributed to the working conditions in the mills.
Long hours, difficult working conditions and moving machinery proved a dangerous combination. Accidents were common and could range from the loss of a finger to fatality.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Recycled Fashion
Looking at how revolution changes and where fashion is at the moment everyone is trying to be 'green' enviromental friendly and looking at ways we can recycle old clothes to re-make new ones. I first starting thinking about this after visiting the Global: Cotton threads. During this exhibition it showed the ways current artist are going back to old techniques, back to the roots of where fashion began.
Gary Harvey is one of the main designers who have took the recycling idea and ran with it. This one in particular is made from 30 copies of the 'Financial Times' Looking at his work I find it amazing how he takes everyday objects and clothes and turn them into an extraordinary high fashion peices. ''The collection creates a dramatic display designed to change people’s perception of second-hand clothing and create fashion with a conscience''
Baseball puffball dress made from 26 nylon baseball jackets
Denim dress, made from 41 pairs of Levis 501's
Gary Harvey is one of the main designers who have took the recycling idea and ran with it. This one in particular is made from 30 copies of the 'Financial Times' Looking at his work I find it amazing how he takes everyday objects and clothes and turn them into an extraordinary high fashion peices. ''The collection creates a dramatic display designed to change people’s perception of second-hand clothing and create fashion with a conscience''
Baseball puffball dress made from 26 nylon baseball jackets
Denim dress, made from 41 pairs of Levis 501's
Friday, 13 April 2012
Wearing it
Starting out with this brief it took me a while to get my head around what was asking of me and with the majority of it working in a group it was a big change to my usual way of working. Meeting up with my selected group we watched the four videos which we had to choose one and base our work around. After discussing each we chose 'Techno Chic' http://vimeo.com/9574286 . The clip discussed how technology has become so advanced there is now a machine to do almost anything which will eventually leave everyone without jobs. Taking this into consideration we visited the MOSI museum to look at textile pieces and how they have changed over the years and also the machinery used.
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Linear, Non-Linear.. Empty-Full
Looking back through my project I feel it all flows and links together. I focused on drawing alot in this project as I always seem to push that aside and with the topic I chose it gave me the freedom to experiment with marks. My initial research came from visiting a mosque and henna artist and taking photographs of the intricate designs then how that is translated onto the body. I feel this was a great bases to my work and from there I starting taking elements of each design and interpreting it in my own drawing ways. I liked playing around with compositions and keeping my comparison words in mind 'Empty- Full, Linear- Non linear' making sections full with small detail in a empty space gave it a different feel to it rather then just a flat drawing, and using marks from the henna itself each part of the design are built up with structured straight lines merging into swirls and curves.
I edited my designs and ideas by continuing drawing and changing certain sections but keeping the image as a whole similar, this allowed me to see how it looked in different ways, compositions and be happy with the final outcome. Throughout this project I have realised how important a colour pallet is and having a good bases to my work such as primary research and first hand drawings.
My contextual refrences helped me move my work on, Nisha Mehndi's http://www.nishamehndi.co.uk/index2.html art work was a big influence to my project. When I looked at henna and the designs they all looked similar but Nisha's work had a modern twist on it and she added hints of colour e.g rustic red and blue rather then the traditional brown. I took my colour pallet from Nisha Mehndis work so she plays a big part in how my work has developed.
Focusing on the colour pallet and still exploring marks I made a stencil and with acrylic paint repeatedly printed it over each other with different colours to see how different ways of would look.Techniques I used were mainly line drawing and really focusing on the small detail that makes the whole image, I do feel I got abit lost in this and lost track of what I was actually supposed to be focusing on which was sampling. Looking back at my work and thinking about how I managed my time, I realised I haven't gave this project all I could have and I feel disappointed in myself as I know how I know how much more I can achieve. I feel I could have experimented alot more with sampling and really push myself out of my comfort zone. Even though I haven't achieved as well as I could I am still pleased with the work I have produced and feel it shows my ability in what I can do.
I edited my designs and ideas by continuing drawing and changing certain sections but keeping the image as a whole similar, this allowed me to see how it looked in different ways, compositions and be happy with the final outcome. Throughout this project I have realised how important a colour pallet is and having a good bases to my work such as primary research and first hand drawings.
My contextual refrences helped me move my work on, Nisha Mehndi's http://www.nishamehndi.co.uk/index2.html art work was a big influence to my project. When I looked at henna and the designs they all looked similar but Nisha's work had a modern twist on it and she added hints of colour e.g rustic red and blue rather then the traditional brown. I took my colour pallet from Nisha Mehndis work so she plays a big part in how my work has developed.
Focusing on the colour pallet and still exploring marks I made a stencil and with acrylic paint repeatedly printed it over each other with different colours to see how different ways of would look.Techniques I used were mainly line drawing and really focusing on the small detail that makes the whole image, I do feel I got abit lost in this and lost track of what I was actually supposed to be focusing on which was sampling. Looking back at my work and thinking about how I managed my time, I realised I haven't gave this project all I could have and I feel disappointed in myself as I know how I know how much more I can achieve. I feel I could have experimented alot more with sampling and really push myself out of my comfort zone. Even though I haven't achieved as well as I could I am still pleased with the work I have produced and feel it shows my ability in what I can do.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Empty and Full - Linear and Non Linear
My initial expectations of the project were abit lost, choosing my combination of words and thinking of a topic to start me off I found difficult. I started thinking about shapes and pattern and were we see them daily in buildings and all around us. Taking this on board and thinking of a starting point I went to a mosque as the shape of the actual building and colours interested me then when you enter the inside is beautiful. Rich colours of golds and reds and intricate detailed patterns all up the wall and from there i started drawing really focusing on the small detail that make up the whole picture.
From looking at all my samples together it has made me see how i can develop them further. I feel I need to make them bigger and expand my ideas on a wider scale and stop just look at the small detail but think of how I want it to look as a whole. If I was to start this project again I would look at it in a different way, I would still want to go down the same path but think bigger from the start as I can see how different the outcome would be.
My research and the references I have looked at for this project have definatly helped shape the way I have worked, I got my colours from researching and the way I have taken parts of the pattern and produced my own really helped me with my sampling. From looking at other peoples work I do find similarities with aspects of drawings and ways of thinking but at the same time each piece is individual in its own right.
From looking at all my samples together it has made me see how i can develop them further. I feel I need to make them bigger and expand my ideas on a wider scale and stop just look at the small detail but think of how I want it to look as a whole. If I was to start this project again I would look at it in a different way, I would still want to go down the same path but think bigger from the start as I can see how different the outcome would be.
My research and the references I have looked at for this project have definatly helped shape the way I have worked, I got my colours from researching and the way I have taken parts of the pattern and produced my own really helped me with my sampling. From looking at other peoples work I do find similarities with aspects of drawings and ways of thinking but at the same time each piece is individual in its own right.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Digital Image Making
This was my second workshop, at first I didn't know what to expect from the workshop as I haven't done much work on the computers before and was worried I would feel behind and inexperienced but with just having two lessons I picked everything up straight away. Starting with colour pallets and picking out every colour from my drawings and photographs to get a feel of the mood and turning my designs into brushes. It really gave me the tools to make my ideas and designs come to life and explore.
After making different backgrounds I started to play around with adding the patterns into the swimwear shapes and overlaying them on the backgrounds to give them another dimension. I have really enjoyed being able to turn one small drawing into something that jumps out of the page.
After making different backgrounds I started to play around with adding the patterns into the swimwear shapes and overlaying them on the backgrounds to give them another dimension. I have really enjoyed being able to turn one small drawing into something that jumps out of the page.
This was my final image it started off as being a square and I was happy with how it looked until i printed it off and it didn't give the images and colours justice so I changed the canvas size to A3 and rather then just making the square bigger I let the patterns and colours flow out of it and I am really pleased with the final image.
I like most about the image the way the back ground is so busy yet the swimwear images still stand out and the way all the colours overlap and flow through each other, colours which normally don't go together or compliment each other but in this image they make each other look better.
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