Cultural Activity

After seeing Heather Edwards photography this inspired me to take my own photographs of flowers whilst on holiday in Whitby, and whilst taking pictures I was lucky enough to capture images of bees pollinating the flowers. This prompted me to start looking into bugs, such as bees, beetles, butterflies etc.

My own visual inspiration images

I developed this idea further by visiting Manor Heath Jungle Experience where there was a wide range of interesting plants that you wouldn’t necessarily find outdoors in England. They also had a butterfly world section which was fascinating, seeing the butterflies and cocoons up close.

I then remembered that the Manchester Museum has a whole section of taxidermy zoology, and insect specimens. So I made this my primary visit to collect accurate information to develop my drawings from.

Initial Inspirations

After being asked to fill a sketchbook of drawings over the summer I had no idea where to start and so I initially started off by drawing anything that caught my eye or inspired me. I noticed that most of my drawings were based on nature, whether it be animals, plants, landscapes etc. So I decided to refine this to create a theme; to give myself a sense of direction.

Knowing I was going into print I commenced research looking at examples of print within the industry, I found samples of wallpaper from B&Q to be quite inspiring. These samples then lead me to look at the work of William Morris. The regal feel and rich colour pallets are really what drew me to the designs.

William Morris - images from http://galleryhip.com/william-morris-designs.html

 After seeing possibilities for final outcomes I decided to take it back to the beginning, thinking how the whole design process would have started. I always start my visual research with photography, making a record of shapes, colours, and patterns that inspire me. I decided to start by looking for inspiration from photographers which is when I found Heather Edwards a photographer who has captured many beautiful images of flowers.

Heather Edwards - Images from http://flowerona.com/2012/01/introducing-photographer-heather-edwards/

I knew from this my work would be taking a botanical direction, but I wanted to look at more unusual examples of this and branch out further when looking for inspiration. That is when I found the creative editorials of clothing design company Cameo. I found the graphical feel really interesting and I also thought that the contrast of the floral patterns with the clothing worked really well at capturing my attention.

Images from - http://www.styllure.com/label-to-love-cameo-the-australian-fashion-label-with-the-most-innovative-and-creative-design-approach/