kimranmalhi

[kimranmalhi]

Harvard's Refrencing

About Pattern (2024) About us About Pattern | About Us [19/04/24] 

Beut (2024) Harlequin Above and Below Wallpaper Harlequin Above and Below Wallpaper | beut.co.uk [ Accessed 20/04/24] 

Beut (2024) Harlequin Multitude Wallpaper Harlequin Multitude Wallpaper | beut.co.uk [ Accessed 20/04/24] 

Bored Panda (2024) Photographer Travels Through Time By Inserting Herself Into Her Childhood Photos Photographer Travels Through Time By Inserting Herself Into Her Childhood Photos | Bored Panda [ Accessed 01/04/24] 

Chino Otsuka  Imagine Finding Me 1975-2005 chino otsuka [ Accessed 01/04/24] 

Dani Ives (2024) Dani Ives Fibre Artist Dani Ives : Fiber Artist  

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Frida Kahlo (2024) The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego and Señor Xólotl The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego and Señor Xólotl (fridakahlo.org) [ Accessed by 06/04/24] 

Jane Clayton & Company (2024) Libreria Wallpaper by Cole & Son Libreria Wallpaper by Cole & Son in Rich Multi | Jane Clayton [ Accessed 21/04/24] 

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Mansading Textile (2024) Mother’s Love Mother's love | mansading (masading.com) [ Accessed 12/04/24] 

National Portrait Gallery (Tuesday 11th April 2023) New Commision by Sir Steeve McQueen brings his work into National Portrait Gallery’s Collection, as portrait of Sir Nicholas Serota is unveiled press-release_sir-nicholas-serota-by-sir-steve-mcqueen.pdf (npg.org.uk) [ Accessed 18/04/24] 

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[kimranmalhi]

Final Evaluation

The aim of this project was to apply the skills and techniques we learnt and refined from the previous projects in order to visually communicate a narrative that inspired us to utilise our creativity. We needed to choose a focus that we felt passionate about and what engages us to research and develop a final piece on. I was first conflicted when choosing my topic for this project. I hadn’t thought about what direction I wanted to take with this project and the freedom to choose was a bit overwhelming. I initially made a rushed decision of choosing murder mystery which is something I enjoy, however when I thought about it further I wasn’t inspired to create anything from this and it didn't feel very personal. When I gave it more thought, I realised I wanted to look at my role model, my favourite person which is my grandmother. She has had a big influence on my life because she raised me while my mother was working and she has taught me so much. It has been 5 years since she passed and dedicating this project to her meant so much to me as it's a way for me to honour her memory and pay tribute to her through my work.

I took primary images from my grandmother photo’s that I had on my phone and physical photographs. I gathered her Id some objects that I had in order to inform my work for this project. I also asked my aunt and mother for more imagery and items of my grandmother to develop my project. As this is a personal project about my grandmother I needed a lot of primary imagery to work from as I couldn't rely on secondary imagery because this was a more personal response. However I had a lot of pictures and belongings to work with so this was fine and I had a lot of imagery to explore.

While researching for this project I explored various things like the psychology behind relationships especially maternal relationships and how caregivers have stronger bonds with children. From this I learnt a lot about the attachment theory and I gained a better understanding of why my bond with my grandma was so strong and influential to who I am today. Along with this I also looked at artists and designers who have used motherly figures in their artwork and have explored these relationships in their work and how they have done this. I looked at the artist Frida Kahlo who has exploded various themes with family being one of them. Her work features a lot of hidden meanings and symbolism and there is probably more that only she knew and I found this interesting and inspiring. I wanted to have these little key elements that made the piece feel more personal and authentic. I also found Chino Otsuka’s work highly inspiring especially her work called "Imagine finding me" which features digitally inserted images of her adult self into her childhood photos, prompting us to reflect on time, memory, and identity. When working in the style of her, I found it to be a deeply fulfilling experience. These artists really helped inform and inspire me to create my own personal response and how I can create a piece that pays homage to a loved one and ways that I can make it more personal.

During my initial experimentation I tried some new techniques like dyeing with procions on a plain screen and exposing screens. This was fun and interesting as I had never tried this way of printing and it was very exciting and freeing. We also tried macrame and felting with the machine and this was different and intriguing to experiment with. However I found it difficult to effectively communicate my designs through these mediums as I couldn't get much detail and my work felt scattered.

After the initial research of my signature project, I explored various way to approach my work through this module. I delved into my grandmother's past by exploring her old photographs, clothing, hobbies and memories. However, as the project progressed, I realised that my research was too broad and scattered, making it difficult to create a cohesive response. As the project carried on I needed to refine and refocus my narrative. So I decided to focus on my grandmother's belongings and objects that held sentimental value to her. By incorporating these items into my project, I aimed to create a more meaningful and personal response that reflects my grandmother's life, legacy and what she meant to me. By incorporating these personal effects into my work, I aimed to showcase the story of each object; a story that intertwined with the journey of my grandmother’s life. These objects, which are seemingly normal to an outsider, hold a world of meaning and memories for me. I wanted to explore this refined narrative through print and embroidery and use this to create a wallpaper showcasing this story. So then I started to looked at interiors and wallpaper artists and companies and the books print & pattern by Bowie Style was very useful and helpful with exploring designs and layouts effectively. This helped me understand pattern layouts more and what I liked so I could try these in my own work.

While printing tried various techniques from linocut to monotypes however I tried a new heat transfer technique that worked really well with my motifs and I was able to create successful prints that I could scan in and work into. I think out of all of them those where the most successful they captured the detail in my drawing style perfectly and I enjoyed the effect it created. I also got chance to explore hand felting which I really enjoyed. I am very happy with the felting motifs they capture my grandmother’s objects in a new light and I like the texture of the fibres and how they combined together to create my piece. I was surprised at how these outcomes came out despite never having tried this technique. But I liked how it communicated my grandmother’s objects and gave it a cartoonish effect. It is quite different from the prints and it felt like they were coming out from the page and it will be nice to go along with my wallpaper as it has an authentic personal feel and it feels like the objects are coming back to life.

When I started to go digital I faced a lot of challenges that were hard to overcome. I felt that I went digital a little too late as I wanted to experiment with a lot of techniques and I let it bleed into my wallpaper development stage. This led to me not being able to experiment as much online and with wallpaper layouts. I tried combining elements of the objects together by taking apart pieces and playing around with them and adding different textures into the objects. I especially liked how this came out with the cardigans the lace elevated the piece perfectly. For some of the objects texture didn't work as well for example on the clock and the glasses. Texture on these didn't elevate the overall look it instead made it look a bit tacky and the texture overshadowed the print. To add texture to my patterns I tried various mark making techniques experimenting with ink, forks and sponges. I think the zipper prints were successful and I created this into a brush so that it was easier to move around and manipulate. I ended up trying a lot of different photoshop manipulation techniques like filters, defining brush precepts and transformations.

During my initial pattern trials I had issues with my USB and it ended up getting corrupted and I lost a lot of my experiments making my final wallpaper tiles delayed as I had to redothem. I felt really discouraged and disappointed and I found it hard to restart and get back on top from this, as I was really pleased with the lace outcomes and mark making. With my final prints I had minor issues with my backgrounds as they were very similar to one another. I found it really hard to push myself to try other stuff as we were getting closer to the deadline. However I managed to get support from the technicians and they helped push me to go out of my comfort zone with colour and my layouts.

During my initial mark making with the clock and the coin purse I had the idea to create a pattern with my grandmothers objects coming off the centre of the clock symbolising that that even though time continues without her, she remains in my heart. Her belongings still remain present, and this pattern will stand as constant reminder of her memory. To do this I replicated the rim of the clockface and I added the objects around it along with the mark making around it. This was my favorite pattern as it had the meaning, symbolism and story I wanted. I enjoyed how the mark making joined up to create this fluid piece with my grandma’s tattoo in the middle of the pattern. The visual hierarchy of this in the pattern as she was in the middle of the clock with the objects surrounding the objects she gave meaning to. I created a colour pallete along side this for my patterns and my work which was a more muted deep colour scheme as these are the colours she would confine herself in. She was a homebody and lived in homely beiges and greys with the occasional pastels so these are the colours I wanted to incorporate into my work. To further develop this pattern I ended up adding the clock face repeated and resized which reminded me of the cogs of a clock further eluding my work and symbolism I wanted. I used this to fill in the gaps as there was a lot of empty space and I also added texture into the background to add depth and make it less flat. When printing my final prints we experimented with various sizes and testers and I ended up liking scale 25 and 50.

While I was printing for my project I felt conflicted by everyone's opinions. I realised that I had forgotten that this project was my own. Many people were telling me that the pink colour was the strongest option, but I didn't feel like it reflected my grandmother's personality or the colour scheme I had used throughout the project. In the end, I trusted my instincts and changed the colour at the last minute. I'm much happier with the outcome, and I've learned the importance of not disgarding my own opinion. Overall despite facing a lot of challenges, I believe I have used the techniques and mediums we have learnt from previous modules effectively to present my own narrative. I have learnt a lot from this project and I believe that I have created a piece that my grandma would be proud of. For the final exhibition, I want to display my wallpapers on hangers and my motifs on a string for the final exhibition. This reflects the progression of my project, from the original objects to the prints, and finally to the felt motifs. It symbolizes the development and evolution of my work and showcases how things change over time. I would also like to put a picture of my grandmother on the board in the middle. As a part of the visual hierarchy of the page as she is what inspired this work and this project is for her. I initially said I wanted to incorporate these personal effects into my work, aimed to showcase the story of each object; a story that intertwined with the journey of my grandmother’s life. Despite the challenges I faced, I believe this project was successful and it was very fulfilling and meaningful to dedicate this project to the woman who means the world to me, my grandmother.

[kimranmalhi]

Final wallpaper prints - 23/05/24

For my final wallpaper prints I ended up trying a different colour to replace the pink I tried lighter blues and greens as I hadn't tried this yet as I was scared they would blend with the background. However lighter shades complimented the motifs and I ended up going with a sage green as it complimented the beige and that is what I would present it with. I printed this at 1/2 scale 50 which is what I liked in the test trials. I was really happy with this colour after struggling with it and it reminded me of this traditional suit my grandma used to wear a lot. For the beige I ended up printing it at the original scale with 2 metres as I wanted a dramatic drop of it hanging down. I was pleased with how this printed. When printing I was really conflicted by every ones opinions and I forgot that this is my own project. Everyone was telling me that the pink was the one and it was the strongest one. However I didn't feel like it matched my grandma’s personality or the colours I used throughout the project. In the end I listened to my gut last minute and changed the colour and I’am happier with the outcome and I need to remember not to discard my own opinion.

For the final exhibition I would like to have my wallpapers to be hung on hangers to give it the initial feel from my project. I would also like my motifs hung on a string as I feel like this would fit perfectly with the hung wallpaper. I like how my wallpaper has progressed and tells a story as it went from my original objects to my prints. Which I added texture to further develop then they transform into my more shadow blocky loose objects prints. Then coming out of the wallpaper and are strung out as my felt motifs. This transition is meaningful and it showcases how much my work developed and evolved every time. This also symbolises how things progresses and change over time and this is what I wanted to showcase.

[kimranmalhi]

Wallpaper development - 21/05/24 - 22/05/24

On this day I ended up further developing on the wallpaper prints ready to print some samples onto wallpaper. As the technician noticed some gaps in the wallpaper that needed something and she suggested that I combine both versions together. When I tried it I was really happy with it and I knew this was going to be a final pattern. I also added some texture from my mark making which I enjoyed. However I had to filter it or blend it with the background as by itself it was too intense and it overshadowed the motifs. From the initial pattern making there was a pattern I liked however it got corrupted but the technician was able to restore it which I was very pleased with. With the background I had to get creative with color and texture due to the similarities in my wallpaper designs. To distinguish them, I experimented with different colours, textures, and layouts. I found it difficult when it came to incorporating color, as my grandmother didn't wear vibrant colors. The few colors she did wear were already present in the motifs, and I wanted to avoid them blending into the background. So I was suggested to try the pink from the teddy bear which I tried. For my test prints I ended up printing the initial motifs with a transparent background to get the natural texture of the wallpaper paper. In its original scale, for the shadow objects I added my mark making in tiles which I liked the contrast between my other pieces and that one. I printed that one in scale 25 and the others were the original scale.

I made sure to carefully consider the test prints. Among them, I was particularly drawn to the beige print with the cogs and motifs in different sizes, as well as the wallpaper texture motifs. However, I wasn't too keen on the pink print. I didn't want all the prints to be too similar, so I considered trying a different color or re-developing the pink.

I was happy and sure about two of the wallpapers so I re-printed them for my finals. I printed the plain motif one in the original scale I think this scale was perfect for the print. I printed one metre of it and I'm happy about the size and scale of this one. In the beige one I tried a smaller scale however after printing it I’m not sure if I like it in this scale. I retried a pink one I tried to add filters to the filler motifs to see if I would like it more. But I didn't however I did like the scale of this with the pattern. I initially had it the original scale however I printed this one a bit smaller at scale 50 which I preferred. I printed those both off at 1/2 metre which gave me a nice square which I liked as it diffrenciated from the 1 metre.

[kimranmalhi]

More developed wallpaper designs - 20/05/24

I came in on Monday after having the weekend to decide what I wanted to create and the pattern I wanted to showcase. As the deadline was approaching I had to regain focus and create my wallpaper because I needed to print it onto wallpaper and you need to leave a margin for error in between. I had time over the weekend to think about it the layout the style to motifs I wanted to incorporate and the little hidden features. From my initial mark making with the clock and the coin purse I had the idea to create a pattern with my grandmothers objects coming off the centre of the clock symbolising that that even though time continues without her, she remains in my heart. So I started with this and got the clock face motif and added the objects surrounding it. I recreated the lace cardigans as I felt like these were very effective and I also did this with my scanned in teddy bear print I added some fuzzy pink fabric to the heart. For the other prints texture didn't work as well like the clock and the glasses texture on these items as it didn't elevate these motifs they instead overpowered it so I left these plain. With this I also added the zippers I had scanned in a put it under the coin pouch to add more texture and I was really happy with the outcome of this. I felt like it really complimented it and made it look more realistic. I wanted to add my grandmothers tattoo as I know this isn't an object but I felt like this connected the pattern for her and I liked this in the middle as the main visual heirachy. Symbolizing that she is what makes these objects significant and she is what has inspired me to create and make these patterns. I was really happy with this pattern especially with the zippers and mark making connecting it made it feel more fluid and connected like a vine. I'm not sure about the crotchet brush bits behind the cardigans but I will see later how I feel. I also tried another layout with the objects in different sizes next to each other but it didn't feel as developed as this previous one. So I added some of the clock faces repeated and they reminded my of cog works in a clock further eluding my design and symbolism and I was pleased with this outcome.

[kimranmalhi]

Going digital - 16/04/24

On Thursday I started to go digital so I scanned in my imagery and my prints. I combined the cardigans with the lace using the polygonal lasso so I could get a cleaner cut. I started collating my motifs and adding texture to them to further enhance my final prints, creating depth and dimension. When I added the lace to the green cardigan it complimented it really well. Initially, I thought the lace would be too much because this one has more detail of the knitwork in it. However it worked perfectly and I was pleased with this motif however I did find it to be a bit light. When I scanned it in the colour altered because when I printed it the colour was darker in person. So this is something I will change in further digital work. I plan to make adjustments to this to ensure it matches my colour palette and stands out like the physical cardigan.

On this day I started experimenting with layouts and I struggled with this. I found it hard to connect the motifs and my grandma and they felt disconnected. I didn't really like any of my outcomes this day. However I did try creating the mark making digitally and I enjoyed how this translated digitally. I scanned in my mark making and I turned it into a brush so it was easier to manipulate and move around. I previously made patterns and brushes and am familiar with photoshop so I didn't find using it difficult it was just designing. My mind had gone blank and I needed to sit down and refocus what I wanted in my head so I could translate it onto photoshop and create a wallpaper that effectively communicated my narrative.

Carrying on with wallpaper prints - 17/05/24

I was having problems with my USB and it ended up getting corrupted and my photoshop files from the previous day wouldn't open. I felt really discouraged and disappointed and I found it hard to restart and get back on top from this, as I was really pleased with the lace outcomes and mark making. So I tried making something new where I tried these shadow objects as I wasn’t satisfied with the colour of some of my prints. So I painted ontop of theme and it created this blocky colour that I thought was interesting and intriguing. I added some shadows to it and it really made the print pop and standout. I was happy with the tile of this one it felt more developed and refined. However, I also felt that there was something missing in the gaps. I'm planning to try incorporating some mark making to see if it helps enhance the overall look. My favourite motif in this style was the teddy bear I think this technique worked well with making it stand out however I don't think it worked as well with the clock and the coin purse as you can't see any of the detail anymore. I liked the overall wallpaper design for this however the downside of this print is that it looses a bit of the detail and key elements that makes the piece feel more personal and authentic, like the texture and linework. When printing a sample of it I also noticed that the shoe was too light so I will be changing this further on.

[kimranmalhi]

Sketchbook work & final piece work - 14/05/24

As I really enjoyed the hand felting samples I went back and did another one. This time with my grandmother’s shoes. I struggled a bit on this one as there were more details and they were harder to felt. I had to redo the flowers a couple times as it was hard to get the shape and sizing. However despite the difficulties I’m happy with the final out come I think they compliment each other. If I were to do this again,I would consider changing the black stitching as I feel like it’s too strong. I tried making it thinner to make it less intense however it kept blending in with the other fibres. I really loved how the final felting motifs turned out. They complemented my objects perfectly, and the colors and style reminded me of my grandma and her personality. I believe they make a strong final set of motifs. I plan to go digital soon to create my wallpapers, but I also hope to find the time to revisit this technique because I genuinely enjoyed the process and how it showcased my motifs.

Along with this I also started combining my texture and prints together layering and seeing how they would look together. The yellow print with the lace worked seamlessly and I liked the overall design. In this session, I printed out some of my mark making and print motifs to experiment with creating pattern layouts by hand. I wanted to see how they looked in person and visualize them before digitizing them. I particularly enjoyed the connecting zipper lines and the visual effect they created and the texture. I found it really helpful to use this process to plan out what my design could look like and see how certain pieces looked together before making a digital commitment and finalizing it. This way, I could visualize the overall design and make any necessary adjustments before proceeding further.

Sketchbook

I was finding it challenging to arrange my work effectively and lay out my prints in my sketchbook. I had been looking at them for ages and I wasn’t getting anywhere. So I had my friends give me their opinions and provide me with fresh eyes to see how I could layout my work. They showed me how they would approach it and have done it in their own sketchbooks. Which helped inform me to make my own sketchbook pages and layout my work. It was very helpful to get a new perspective on my work and how I could futher develop it. When I went home I further expanded on this and I created some interesting sketchbook pages that I liked and think showcase my work nicely.

[kimranmalhi]

Mark making

I explored some more mark making techniques so that I could scan these in and add more depth into my prints. I experimented with inks charcoal and various brushes. I particularly liked the zipper which I added ink too and I got this beautiful print with it. I think that this will look great as a brush so I can incorporate more fluidity in my wallpaper. I also tried ink rolled onto card with a fork run through it. I liked the texture of this print and the lines added a interesting effect. However I'm not keen on the colours but I can always see how it looks in photoshop and alter it to fit my work. Along with this I tried printing with a crotchet sample this came out with some nice texture as well. I was unsure of how this was going to turn out as I don't had a printing press so I wasn't sure if I would get enough pressure to print from this. But I managed to stack some items and then stand ontop of it to get some more pressure so the print would come out. I like the outcomes of these Im not sure where I will use them but I will find a way to incorporate these into my prints.

[kimranmalhi]

Felting objects - 10/05/24

Today I tried hand felting which I have never done before, and it was quite an interesting process. This technique turned out to be very time consuming and required a lot of precision, especially thinner lines. I learnt that if you push the fibres in too deep it gets lost in the other fibres. When I was working on adding the black details to the teddy bear, I initially struggled with getting the lines right. However, as I continued working and moved on to felting the glasses, I noticed an improvement. With more practice, I was able to create thinner and more precise lines as I became more comfortable with the technique. As I got used to felting I also got better with manoeuvring the needle in order to get certain lines and control over where I wanted the fibres to lay. For the teddy bear I free hand felted it, however when felting rne glasses I drew guide lines as I didn't want to get lost with the structure of the glasses. Using my grandmother’s teddy bear as my motif with this technique worked well. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the quality of the piece came out, considering it only being my first time using it. I’m not sure if I will use this in my wallpaper because the texture will get lost online but it would be nice to go along with it. Overall I’m really satisfied with the end product and I will be using this technique again as I feel like it works well with my motifs and makes it feel a bit more personal and authentic.

[kimranmalhi]

Felting artist - Dani Ives

Dani Ives is a fibre artist who specialises in felting portraits. She creates detailed pieces with fibres and her work is beautiful. I love the way she combines the fibres to create shadows and highlights to make her artwork pieces pop and look more realistic. The attention to detail is amazing and she skillfully uses fibre techniques to manipulate the fibres adding a look of realism to her work. She inspired me to make little motifs from my grandmothers objects. I'm aiming to achieve a cartoon-like effect in my work. I'm a beginner to felting and it is risky, so I might not be able to create it perfectly, but I'm excited to give it a try. I would either like to create a pattern with them or have them along side my wallpaper.

[kimranmalhi]

Procion objects & disperse dye lace - 07/05/24

On the first lesson back after the independent study week. I felt like I didn’t have enough samples with my objects, so I revisited a technique I did earlier this project which was printing with procions. So I printed directly onto the screen again and my first dye drawing didn’t go how I wanted to as I couldn’t find a thin brush and the lines came out really blocky and the brush picked up too much ink. I was also distracted while doing this and I ended up not leaving enough space for my knit work and I managed to draw it on the sleeve. So I restarted after finding a thinner brush and I used my drawings as a guide I got more refined pieces that I liked. When printing them I did some on fabric and paper so I could put some in my sketchbook and further work into. I think it would come out well with something underneath like a texture or another print. So I tried printing with some lace so I could scan this in and play around with it and manipulate it to further develop my pieces. I tried these in my colour scheme which is more muted deeper tones so that it would align with the rest of the pieces in my project. I really like how these came out and they will look good once I combine my samples and pieces together.

I embroidered the fabric using procion dye and I really liked the effect it created. I added French knots and filled in some parts, and I believe that these small details enhance the piece and give it more personality.

[kimranmalhi]

Independent study week - Linocut - 04/05/24

Along with monotype trace I thought it would be interesting to try a linocut. Linocut is where you carve into a piece of rubber like material called Lino and wherever you have carved won’t print with ink. I tried my cardigan motif with this method as I thought it would go nicely with the knit work. I found Linocut harder to do as I hadn’t done it in ages. I also found it challenging to carve into with the tools I had as I found myself doing too deep. Another issue I had was because I was going in to deep I couldn’t control where I wanted to cut as well as I wanted to and ended up carving into sections I didn’t want to. However I realised my mistake fairly quickly and they weren’t deep enough to print so they didn’t effect my prints. I managed to get a somewhat decent design. However, if you look at my first couple prints I had too little ink on them. But I printed again with more ink and got a better sample. I also experimented with printing a crotchet sample first and then adding my link cut onto which was nice.

[kimranmalhi]

Independent study week - Monotype trace - 04/05/24

I experimented with trace monotype over the independent study week. Trace monotype is when you have your plate covered in a thin layer of ink and you have a paper on top and you draw onto the paper with a biro and wherever you draw the ink lifts onto the paper. For the trace monotype I found it easy to work with as I’m familiar with this monotype so keeping my wrist off the paper wasn’t a challenge and I got a print with little plate tone. I like working with trace as you can get a lot of detail into your work. I think it came out well with the cardigan as it captured the detail well I did get some plate tone in my first couple prints however I like the effect it gives. I also didn't spread my ink evenly so my first print of the glasses had a splotch of ink on it. As I printed more I paid more attention to the surface I was printing on and got more even prints. On the clock prints I had a hard time getting straight lines without putting my wrist down and I couldn't get a ruler so I didn't really like the final outcomes on these. I think they look too wonky and uneven.

[kimranmalhi]

Independent study week - Digital drawings

Over the independent study week, I also completed some digital drawings in photoshop with a drawing tablet. Which was easier to use than the mouse at university allowing me to get more precise lines in my artwork. They came out nicely, however I think the physical drawings and prints have more personality and feel more authentic. So I don't think I will be using these but it was learning experience and it was interesting to try.

[kimranmalhi]

Independent study week - 30/04/24

In the independant study week I came back to do some more prints in a more muted subdued colour palette. The results turned out quite well, however some of the colours bled a bit but I think they look interesting with this and it added some dimension. I believe they will be really successful when I work into them and take them into photoshop. I laid them out in a irregular random pattern which looked nice and I will experiment with further layouts in photoshop. I also tried another picture transfer method that my peer showed me. It had similar steps to the previous technique, however this one was done on fabric. Then we painted a layer of medium ontop let it dry and peeled away the paper. I think this had a stronger effect then the other picture transfer method as it feels like the picture is emerging from the fabric and the contast is stronger between the background and the photo. The other one looks like I just cellotaped an image in comparison.

[kimranmalhi]

Object prints - 26/04/24

Today I experimented with a new heat transfer technique. Where I first, I drew my images and then put them on top of my paper with disperse dye. The dye transferred the color onto my drawing, and when I printed with the drawing, my image was transferred with darker lines where my linework was. It's was a bit time consuming however I really like how the prints came out with this technique. I think they really captured the objects nicely and the prints were very successful. My favourite ones were the knitted cardigan, the scarf and the clock the technique captured the intricate detail in the drawings. I experimented with different colors and layouts, but ultimately we decided to go with a more muted color tone. As this would better match the subdued colors my grandmother used to wear. Which I plan to complete during my independent study week. Another thing I explored were negative prints and ghost prints although they weren't as successful as the other ones they still came out with interesting responses that I will put in my sketchbook or work into them to add further detail. Something else I noticed was that certain dyes reacted differently with the prints and it was very interesting. For example the dye that I used on the scarf is a strong dye but when I first printed it the result came out almost like a ghost print however the more I printed with it the darker it got which is normally the opposite. Exploring the properties of different dyes has enhanced my understanding of how they interact with various fabrics, which will be useful for future projects.

[kimranmalhi]

Birmingham City Art school final exhibition - 25/04/24

I visited the art school exhibition today and I was really impressed by the diverse range of artwork on display. There were videos, installations, and beautiful paintings. The variety of creative expressions really intrigued me. I visited a book installation created by my friend, and I was amazed by the stunning paintings and beautifully crafted story. All of the pieces connected perfectly and this is something I want for when I present my work I want the pieces to flow together to tell a story. There was also a piece of a dismantled photograph that formed a different picture depending on the angle you looked from. This was very interesting and a symbolic piece.