Collaborations…

What seems a very long time ago now, Andrew Tibbles and I collaborated on a project to create some wearable art for a charity fundraiser. Andrew is a product designer and it was a brilliant experience to get to pick his brains over his views on the design process. We filmed the glorious laser cutter in action and Andrew made a wee video of the prototyping which you can see here.

This is the second headpiece we made after the first one snapped in two from excessive heat manipulation – it’s a fine line to get acrylic malleable enough to form but not too hot that when it cools it becomes brittle.

Taking surface design beyond textiles. Jewellery collection in collaboration with  Sarah Cunningham
Selection of laser cut materials with sterling silver fixings.

Currently available from the wonderful:

BLACK BOX BOUTIQUE

98 WEST BOW

EDINBURGH

EH1 2HH

Polyhedra construction

This (and a lot of patience!) are  the things I use to make my polyhedras which are the inspiration behind my degree show collection. This particular guy is a great icosahedron in progress…

The product of 80 hour weeks in the studio

This was what led to the ULTIMATE MELTDOWN. Usually minimal and organized space in utter chaos. Still hurts to look at this.

Duncan of Jordanstone Degree Show

Lack of posts has been down to the mad amount of preparation details that have gone into the show – now it’s on in full swing and the most surreal feeling ever. I’m still overwhelmed with the results and how good everything looks in our degree show. We’re exhibiting until the 29th of May and more information can be found here.

I’m going to make a separate post regarding my actual work but I thought I should also point out that there is some wonderful level two students work on display in our textiles corridor, which is lovely because it showcases that a design degree collection develops from a very early stage not just in your final year. In particular Lucy Robertson‘s and Judy Scott‘s work is my favourite. Both of these ladies display such a strong set of technical knowledge and have such a promising future in textile design, I cannot wait to see how their final collections turn out. The images below are some (rather shoddy) snapps of their work in the corridor.

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On the topic of the future of the design school at DJCAD some really exciting changes are happening with the restructuring of the university. In particular with the new module choices, which I think is the key to making students into individuals. While studying at Massey University in New Zealand I had the opportunity to be part of this system and I think it works really well. What we had to do there was choose the three ‘core’ classes alongside one elective. I chose typography which was very challenging but also extremely rewarding as it was a complete breath of fresh air to the more ‘traditional’ modules. I think it encourages not only students to make an individual identity but also tailor their degree to suit their interests. Although saying this, quite often students aren’t sure of what they want and need to be shown first and explained later, the process of discovery can be very interesting and rewarding. You can read about the new opportunities for DJCAD students and the design studies modules on the design studies blog.

Currently I’m reading…

Great wall of samples?

Synopsis

 

 

“When God undertook to create the universe out of chaos he began by first marking out shapes by means of forms and numbers.” (Plato’s Timaeus)

This project explores the manipulation of pattern on a three-dimensional form.

In a culture which has developed to have an aversion to patterned surfaces, a link between pattern perception and mathematical understanding (or lack thereof) has been found. This project aims to resurrect the relationship between mathematics and pattern through aesthetic experience and to highlight the ethereal qualities of mathematic principles. By using the imagery from some of the seventy-five uniform polyhedra, forms from numbers and grid structures, the visual narrative creates a metaphor for the changing relationship between fashion and mathematics.