Bradford Project - Initial Inspiration

The First week of this unit consisted mostly of figuring out which of the briefs to respond to. We had the choice of any of the Bradford Textile Society competition briefs, and from this, I chose to explore the combined processes option. “A fabric for either fashion or interiors which show an innovative combination of textile processes.” I chose this brief as it is the one that interested me the most, also combining processes is something which I try to do in order to advance my work, so I figured it was the brief which suited me best. I also chose this brief as the outcome can be either fashion or interiors, and I haven’t yet decided which direction to take my work.  

By using all of the visual research I have done over the summer, I already had a base to start from. My initial inspiration came from the Sagrada Familia, which I visited on my recent trip to Barcelona. Whilst visiting the Sagrada Familia I felt extremely inspired by the geometric architecture and repeat patterns that formed. Therefore, whilst I was there I decided to make the most of the opportunity and took many pictures. These have formed a strong initial base of inspiration, which has started to develop well for this project. Also, whilst at the Sagrada Familia, I noticed a kaleidoscope in the gift shop. I thought this would be an interesting way of interpreting the geometric patterns that represent Gaudi’s architecture. For the reminder of the holiday I kept taking pictures of architecture, through the kaleidoscope.

I put a few of these into repeat just to see how they would look, just to give me a brief idea on whether or not this was the route I wanted to go down. By doing this, it enabled me to imagine how this style would start to look as print designs. It also helped me to decide to stay digital for this unit, as some of the shapes and textures would be something I fear I would lose in the print room.

The images I began to create really inspired me, I started looking at other geometric shapes within architecture, which is when I discovered Islamic art and arabesque design. The patterns created within arabesque design had a similar feel to the photographs I took, with similar shapes, repeats and the general aesthetics. I started doing Islamic art style drawings, and even though I’m unsure if I will use these drawings in my designs, by doing this I gained the understanding of how patterns build and how they then start to work in a repeat. Whilst working on the arabesque patterns I discovered that by adding colour to certain shapes within the design, it could completely change the way the pattern is seen. So by colouring the same pattern in two different ways, it seemingly changed the whole aesthetic, creating two different designs. I played around with this idea, again to gain more of an understanding. It allowed me to see that the minor and seemingly insignificant changes in this style of work can then make an immense difference when repeated.