'Bye, bye love...'

  

This is a painting a I did during my reaserch for my FMP, it was taken from a black and white photograph of my Grandmother sat infront of a brick wall.

To add texture to the painting I used pieces of old book pages in the background of the brick wall before painting over it using watercolours. I then painted my Grandmother in black and white acrylics, making sure she stood out.

'She waits in the late twilight...'

This, and 3 others, were the result of a side project from my FMP. Still relating to my family I created four framed textile pieces which combined old family photos and textiles processes. This photograph  is of my great grandmother and her three sisters, it is dated 1922.

This decoration is made of a single circle of old book page, a single circle of hand-made felt and then three buttons sewn on to finish it. I think this would actually look lovely as a broach or a decoration for hand-made cards etc.

The colours could be made to preference, and the book page could be chosen for a meaningful reason or if they have no preference just any book page could be used.

To uncover the past...

These are some of my sketchbook pages from my FMP on my Foundation course, I've been using my family as my source of inspiration. They have given me so many paths to choose from and develop I am finding myself struggling to narrow it all down and find a focal point.
The top two images are of a panting I did of my mother, it was copied from a photograph of her on her First Holy Communion and one of my favourites so far.

'United in love for all eternity...'

As promised some images of my final pieces from the Swan Lake project.

'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.