SYLVIALIAO

A blog is a form of social networking software usually kept by an individual or group. A typical blog combines text, images, video and links to other blogs, sites, and related media. Blogging can be useful for us as a learning experience, it can help to develop the reflective and self-directed study. This essay will display that blogs can help with learning because blogs encourage reflection, it can help us make my process clearly and communicate clearly to others that sharing and allow us to be a part of a community wherever we are. In order to prove this, the essay will draw upon three aspects. Firstly, it will show that self-reflection is a very important aspect of learning that we can know what we have learned and how we can improve in the future. Secondly, it will demonstrate that blogs are like a journal or a diary that they encourage us to write down our experiences, in effect making them explicit. Thirdly, it will indicate we can share the blog with others to support the position that blogging can be useful for us as a learning experience.

Reflective practice is a cyclic process of experiential learning devised by Kolb and Fry (1975). A blog encourages the reflective practice by asking us to think about and document our practice. For example, I recorded the process of drawing and design thinking sessions and technical block introductions to the specialist areas of weave, knit, stitch and print. In the process, I reflected on my project concept, research and drawing developments, design thinking for textiles and translating research into design developments. I have reflected, analyze, edit and plan that make me know what I need to improve in the future and what I have learned in this term. For example, in the technique blocks, I have learned more skills and information. I felt happy and full of myself because I overcome some problems by myself. However, in the process, I also knew I have met some difficulties that I was not familiar with the technique and cannot control the machines well. So  I knew I need to learn more, like go to the library to have a study independently. Furthermore, the feedback from the tutor is very important, it can remind me how to improve next time and what I have done well. Reflection on my study and life is very helpful in the future.

Blogs encourage me to write down my experiences that let me know what I have done and learned in this term. For example, I recorded the concept of box clever, design thinking, developed drawing, technique blocks’ learning, reflections on independent museum or gallery visits, exhibitions, and wider visual research. Classified records make my study and life more practical.

Sharing blogs allow us to be a part of a community that we can become part of a community of people who share our interest in the exchange process. For example, I can comment on what others have written, and they can do the same for me, so I can get more different feedback from others and expand the feedback I get beyond the walls of the University. What’s more, blogs are ‘in the world’. This is a good thing, but there are things we need to consider. In order to make our blog for a long time, safety is the first, pay attention to comments and reference the work of others. In addition, regular updates are also very important.

Due to the development of globalization around the world, art and design are no longer just an independently creative process, but more connecting with cooperation, comparison, and reference, which promote the postmodernism concept in rapidly grown. As an expression for reflection and criticizing the historical sources, postmodernism can also be considered as the process of sharing ideas and culture. Especially in the field of fashion, it can be seen that nowadays there has a general trend that designer needs to take reference from existing object all over the world for inspiration, which is exactly the similar process of postmodernism.

The example given next in the field of fashion will exposit the how trading ideas and culture lead to the homogenized consequence.

The famous painting is usually utilized for inspiration in fashion design, normally using as the pattern of the fabric.This postmodernism concept can be seen in the picture that both in the classic YSL skirt in 1965 A/W (left) and Bottega Veneta 2016 S/S outwear. These two designs demonstrate the similarity of the final products with getting inspiration from the same source. They both focus on the visual elements that the consisted of the square color pieces and the crisscrossed black lines which suggest the ethical view of society (TATE). However, what it turns to be is just the directly print on the whole fabric of the garment, which tends to be an unconsidered design without reconstructing and individual interpretation. Connecting to the paintings they chose, it likely conveys the rules followed consistently by the most people in this society that everybody doing the same thing. This famous painting has been used frequently since Bottega Veneta and other fashion brands think the garment with this element can be sold well to increase their commercial attention. When taking the same reference with existing objects, the homogenized style in products will be extremely easy to arise.

I had an assessment about a block of stitch, I displayed my works of a stitch. Besides, I absorbed others’ creative works.

On the second week, I showed my some samples to the tutor. She selected parts of them and design some pictures for me. So I continued doing my samples and connected them together to create beautiful works.

On the first week of stitch, the tutor introduced the information of the concept and technique skills of stitch and showed a variety of works. Furthermore, she displayed how to create the work that related to our drawings. The technician taught us how to use the machine.(stitch and iron). During the process, I have known about how to create the 3D works that translated from my drawing. I think It was really enjoyed end interesting.

I translated the color and details from the swatch book.

I had an assessment about a block of knitting. I displayed my works in DG14.

The second week, I had more time to have experiences independently. I thought the process was not very easy because the machine was always doing the mistakes that affect the work. So I needed to have more patient to do the creative works. At home, I learned independently on the Yu Tube.

I translated the color and details from the swatch picture(图）. In the process,  I knitted some details with dots. I threaded some messy strings. I knitted some shapes. I increase d and decreased the fabric to show the deformation and distortion. The color I chose was also blue and purple. They showed the depressed atmosphere. The irregular shapes presented the structure. The small hole showed the unhealthy body.

These were some samples.

I had an assessment about block two of the weave.I presented my work in DG15 and visited others’ works, I realized my work was not very creative. And I absorbed others’ creativity to help me in the next block of knitting.

In this block, I have learned the technique skills and knew more about different materials. According to my work, to be honest, I was not very happy with my work, because I thought my work was not very creativity. So I think I also need to learn more independently, like go to the library to read some related books or see some videos on the internet. I should believe myself and keep hardworking.

This was the presentation from the weave.

The first week of knit, the tutor told the information of the concept of knitting and showed us the future development and direction of the knit. Furthermore, she displayed some artworks from the last year’s students. I recorded them in my note book. Then I learned the technique skills. The technician taught us how to use the machine. During the process, I have known about how to create the patterns, how to make the texture, how to combine the different colorful yarns and use the skills on my works.

The postmodernist design is a challenge to the design of modernism, is a modernist, internationalist design of a decorative development, against the design of internationalism, minimalist style, advocated by decorative techniques to achieve the visual aesthetic pleasure, pay attention to the satisfaction of consumer psychology. In the design of large-scale use of a variety of historical decorative symbols, but not a simple retro, take a compromise approach, the traditional cultural context and modern design combine to create a new stage of decorative arts. The postmodernist design uses a lot of historical styles, such as Gothic, Baroque. From the classical to the Renaissance, all-embracing, embellishment, joking, ridicule, exaggeration, and symbolic description, to a variety of historical style integration stitching to achieve the decorative effect, it is eclectic, and many works reflecting this feature. In order to challenge the limits of modernism, art, and designers to collectively referred to contemporary post-modernism doctrine, such as feminism, multiculturalism. These views emphasize the creation and appreciation of works of art without a single, absolute answer or standard.

Nowadays, a number of factors related to postmodern times that impact on fashion. These are factors having to do both with more societal changes and cultural changes.

The second week of weave, I had more time to have experiences independently and did some research to help my weave development. Then I have created some samples that I thought they were better than the last week.

I chose some balls to show the cell. The primary color is blue and purple. They showed the depressed atmosphere and jumping cell.

I chose black and white to weave that showed the messy mood and terrible emotion. They presented the feeling of insomnia.

8th of November, I went to the V&A to select some examples of textile and examine the ways in which textiles ‘speak’.

I chose three examples of textile. The first one is a delicate bag. Its color is not very bright, there is a feeling of a long time. But the package of the pattern, texture and delicate parts to make this bag look more layered and gorgeous sense. Its color is simple and not luxury but gives a noble atmosphere. I think it from this bag would like to express from the use of texture and color expression. But still gives the feeling of luxury, which is wrapped in the fine details of the look out.

The second one is a fashion dress. Its color is very simple and simple, there is a feeling of the Middle Ages. Its texture is a lot of folds folded together. There are some small patterns, giving a fresh and feel. Its fabric has a tight feeling. In the waist is relatively small, can be a good reflection of the medieval woman's body. It wants to express through this clothing can be material, texture, and fabric to reflect the social background is a woman needs to the waist, so the shape of this skirt is a signal in the waist contraction.

The third one is two pairs of shoes. This pair of shoe pattern used a hundred years ago, the pattern of the fabric, giving a feeling of age. However, from the color point of view, it is indeed more bright red, from here can be reflected in the Department of eh at the time of the background is a more important element. In the shoes are also very delicate decoration, which is reflected in the identity of the people as a symbol of status. Another pair of shoes compared to down very simple, no gorgeous decoration, the color is very simple. From the comparison seems to better reflect the society at that time through the clothing, shoes, fabric and style to the identity of others.

On the first week of weave, the tutor introduced the concept between weave and knit, told us different and basis materials. I recorded them in my note book. Then I learned how to use the machine, then thread the yarns. During the process, tutor taught us different technique skills, like how to create the patterns, how to make the texture, how to combine the different colorful yarns.

This was the machine I used at the first time. 

This was the technique note book I made at home.

On the 11th of November, I went to Tate Modern to examine the works.

Sarah Lucas 1962

4 photocopies on paper on wooden panel. This work is an enlargement of a tabloid newspaper double-page spread, otherwise unchanged by Lucas.The literature on feminism and sexual politics has had a huge influence on her work. The majority of it engages with the objectification of the female body and with gender stereotypes, using the casual language of everyday sexism to confront and dissect them.

Colin Self 1941

Leopardskin Nuclear Bomber No.2 combines the imagery of predatory beasts and nuclear weaponry. This association between nuclear and animals aggression focuses on the self-destructive force that Self believes govern human behavior. The elongated pink fuselage of the plane is overtly phallic, carrying connotations of sexual aggression. This work exemplifies the mood of anxiety and menace that inform Self’s work of the early 1960s.

Phyllida Barlow 1944

ARTIST ROOMS Presented by the artist jointly to National Galleries of Scotland and Tate and acquired with the assistance of the ARTIST ROOMS Endowment, supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and Tate Members.

Louise Bourgeois 1911-2010

The vitrine could be seen as a kind of self-portrait. A reclining, multi-breasted torso is made from a stuffed woolen blanket.

The painting was made at an early point of Bourgeois’s career. The figure in the foreground with long hair swirling in the sky is likely to represent the artist herself while the figures on the chimney.

In the 1990s Bourgeois began to incorporate clothing into her sculptures- these garments had belonged herself and some were from childhood.

The three-headed state is one of confusion, ambivalence, and hysteria-as if the figure were being torn in a different direction.

In this drawing week, the teacher taught us how to translate from the box collection and draw the details.

We went to the British Museum to have a drawing day.

The second tutorial about the technique block of print

I got a grade. My tutor gave me some advice that let me know my own shortcomings from the process. She encouraged me and pleased with my first block works. I was very happy.

During this process, I enjoyed it. Although my works were not the imagination from my mind, but I have learned more skills and improve myself.

But I knew I need to work hard in the future to have a better me. In addition to the artworks, I thought the communication with my tutor was better than the first tutorial.