'The very idea of a faithful love...'

Odette is an enchanted princess under a spell of the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart; she has been transformed into a swan by day and can only regain her human form at night. She has many companions under the same spell, who have made her their queen, hence her title "The Swan Queen."

As a side project from the ballet inspired coret I look in detail at the famous ballet 'Swan Lake' and allowed it to influence a minor project.

The brief was to create a sketchbook and a final piece exploring a theme of my choice and developing a brief from a previous fine art lesson.

I chose to develop a brief where I was to use cardoard a base and then manipulate it paint it rip it, add to it to create a piece of art work.

So I began creating sketchbook pages, developing a colour palette and then finally creating 3 final pieces on a small scale (I will add photographs of my final pieces when I can)

'Every Prince has got to have his Swan...'

My final piece for the corset project! And I love it!

Made purposefully not to be worn but to be mounted, as if it was part of a genuine ballet costume put on display.

I decided to combine various aspects of the two samples I blogged about on a previous post. I used the embellisher to attach a fine white silk to a calico base which gave a beautiful feminine, delicate look to it. I then used the straight stitch on the sewing machine to mark out various lines, trapping threads between the calico/silk and a third layer of fabric.

I then followed the rest of the process before constructing the final corset and mounting it.

'The art of sacrifice and love...'

Select area or above sample.

These are two samples that I have created so far for the corset project. They are both in the shape of a corset front panel so it is easier to imagine the final outcome (I find it helps to evaluate the samples better as well).

The first sample uses free machine embroidery, straight stitch machine embroidery, loose threads and a seam ripper to create a worn look. This links well with the vintage ballet costumes as they have become threadbare in places and show signs of ageing.

The second sample uses an embellisher to create a wonderful texture; I have then free machined the text down the left hand side.

I am happy with both but I think my preference is the first sample. This is because of the techniques used and the aesthetic qualities.

'This is for lovers...'

This is my mood board for my current textile project  on my Foundation Course at Blackpool and the Fylde College. The brief outline that I am to create a corset as my final outcome, and that I have freedom on the theme, materials, size, processes used etc.

I have chosen to resarch into vintage ballet costumes and on the mood board above you can see some of the inspirin images that I found during my research.

On the board I have also given small swatches of materials, these are the kind of materials I am looking at using. They consist of very subtle tones, mostly neutral shades and I find that the materials themselves are very feminine.