"Perspective" My interim exhibition - A snapshot of my graduate collection so far...

This snapshot of my work is an insight into my research and development of the topic of 'Place'.

In depth, I have developed my own interpretations of landscape, mapping and my own recordings of travel. With Aborigine Songlines, Gilbert & George and Keith Haring as my inspiration, I have now begun to construct my own abstract vision of mapping out using the constraints of scale and the interaction within the contemporary interiors market.

You can read about my design process and the printing of my fringing in detail via my previous blog post.

The fringing worked extremely well as my first sample and I look forward to developing it further for my final degree show collection.
With the fantastic response that It received during the exhibition I'm looking to create more samples and branch into the fashion market with the fringing taking it in exciting innovative new directions.

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"Perspective" a snapshot of my sampling for my honours year collection.

“Place is not a physical location nor is it a state of mind, rather it is the engagement of the conscious body within a specific location”

For my honours year collection I have chosen the topic of place to be the inspiration for my design process as I have discovered location can determine your start, present and future in life, and it plays a vital part in our upbringing, as well as the places we inhabit and visit throughout our lives

Place is such a broad concept and it can be related to a wide range of interests, varying from the influence of our location geographically to the value of inner or imaginary locations within ourselves. What inspires me most in my studio work is the landscape, inhabitants and places which have left an impact upon myself and within the international culture and contemporary world.

At the end of January I had the final hand-in of my dissertation and began to work full time within the studio focusing on my honours collection.

I have since been able to focus on the deconstruction at my own perception of place, which has led to my these designs and samples which were exhibited for the interim exhibition and external examiner visit.

The two drawings below are a snapshot of some of the maps and observations of place which I have created, heavily inspired by aborigine songlines (rock & wood carvings portraying abstract maps) I wanted to take mapping back to its foundations as it had been more and more heavily developed throughout time and with the development of technology.

My abstract map of Aberdeen and the journeys I have undertaken while living there.

My angular abstract map drawing.

Over my four years at Art school I have focused within knit & weave however I feel my real talent lies within print, especially screen printing. Even although screen printing is a lengthy and technical process, where I have to coat and expose my screens within the darkroom, spot my design, mix my own inks and dyes, and the often messy and unpredictable act of printing, I find it much more satisfying than digital print which doesn't allow for discovery or innovation in its creation.

My angular abstract map drawing.

A choice of fabric for my final year is something so important as it determines on so many levels to how my collection will look, be developed, and be used within the interiors or fashion market. During a research and fabric sourcing trip to London in December I came across the most amazing fringing in a haberdashery store, I was astonished at the available lengths, raging from about 30cm to a meter in length. It reminded me of the work by Korean fine artist Hong Sungchul who had digitally printed onto cord to create these alternate canvases.

My angular abstract map drawing.

Hong Sungchul - String Mirrors

I decided the fringing I had sourced would be the perfect output for my designs to be produced and the ways in which I could further develop them were endless. I bought three different lengths of the fringing to try out various scales and to test how the act of screen printing would impact them - or wether the design would be visible or lost within the delicate threads. I produced three alternate scales of screens to match the fringing and began to sample.

My angular abstract map drawing.

How did I screen print onto thousands of threads without them moving or being twisted and completely straight?

My angular abstract map drawing.

I have never before undergone such a technical and challenging process - one which is now top secret after weeks of working with various technicians and lots of trial and error.

My angular abstract map drawing.

My first screen with the shortest fringing (30cm)

I mixed all my own dyes for the project ensuring the print would come though effectively.

 

A close up of the fringing being printed.

My print design which was screen printed onto the 1 meter fringing.

Another close up of the printed fringing.

After much research and as my project was focused around the topic "sense of place" I wanted my designs to be suitable for the interiors market. With an interest into the contemporary boutique hotel industry - I was always impressed by their innovative approach to interiors and I wanted my outcome to be of an appropriate style to interact with the environment that would surround it.

I decided that for my interim exhibition I would design a three tier lampshade to which my fringing would be draped and layered upon, allowing the internal lighting and layers of the print design to blend.

Compared to other projects where I focused on repeat pattern or symmetrical designs I have been eager to push my own boundaries in my final year and focus on being more selective and think about the placement of my designs. This led to my design and development for the barrels of the lampshade. I wanted to continue the print design however instead of screen printing I decided to use flock which was digitally cut using a plotter cutter then heat bonded onto the lampshade.

For my interim exhibition, I wanted the environment which my work would be displayed to be built in keeping with my work, this led to the development of a support beam and lighting system to be fitted above the space. I decided to create mock ups of how my space could be set up (seen below) and with the help of a technician I began to build my exhibition.

"Perspective" Exhibition showcasing my completed lampshade and printed fringing to follow...

 

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Glenshee - A snapshot of wintery Scotland

During the Christmas break I took a trip to explore the Scottish landscape as part of my research for my graduate collection which focuses on the topic of "Sense of Place".

I began in the Alford countryside, Aboyne and moved through into the Cairngorms National Park, Braemar.

I took these photographs at Glenshee Ski Resort, Scotland's largest ski resort, although not much snow has reached the slopes...yet.

I feel these photographs portray an harsh and honest vision of the Scottish landscape and the stormy climate which embraces it for the majority of the year.

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ARTnTHAT at The Scottish Fashion Awards 2012

My Complementary tickets to the event.

ARTnTHAT - Matt Russell Textiles attended last nights glamerous Scottish Fashion Awards, dubbed 'Scotland's Fashion Oscars', the annual event is one of Europe's leading fashion extravaganza's recognising global Scottish fashion talent and was hosted by the ever stylish and hysterically funny, Alexa Chung. 

Supermodels, fashion stars, celebrities, pop star performances, catwalk shows and the spectacular Swarovski finale runway show took place at Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium (or as we know it in Glasgow - The armadillo)

It was fashion at its finest and we were strutting down the red carpet, celebrating the best in Scottish fashion. We arrived to a buzz of glamour and excitement to the black tie event where the Fashion faithful came to celebrate their idols and up and coming designers.

I was ecstatic when my very own fashion idol Christopher Kane took the place of "Scottish designer of the year" ahead of the amazing Holly Fulton, as well as celebrities including Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan who won Scottish Icon of the year,and the ever elegant Made In Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh.

There were also performances from 13 year old singer singer Tallia Storm, and the late Amy Winehouse’s goddaughter Dionne Bromfield. Check out my some of my pictures and photos of some of the award winners below.

Me & My VIP plus one - My mum.

Our delish drinks

Christopher Kane - Collecting his award

 SWAROVSKI finale catwalk show 

Christopher Kane - Scottish Fashion Designer of the Year

Alexa Chung - Wearing Christopher Kane

Stella Tennant - Scottish hall of Fame

Scottish Young Designer of the year - Hayley Scanlan

Karen Gillan - Scottish Style Icon

Dionne Bromfield - Wearing Holly Fulton  

Millie Macintosh - Made in Chelsea Star

Full List of Winners - SFA 2012

•  Scottish Designer of the Year – Christopher Kane

•  Scottish Young Designer of the Year – Hayley Scanlan

•  Scottish Textile Brand of the Year – Dashing Tweeds

•  Scottish Accessory Designer of the Year –William Chambers

•  Scottish Fashion Icon – Karen Gillan

•  Scottish Communicator of the Year – Faye Mcleod

•  Scottish Model of the Year – Tali Lennox

•  Scottish Retailer of the Year – Shhh-Oohs(Luxury Shoe Retailer Edinburgh)

•  Scottish Fashion Photographer – Jonathan Daniel Pryce

•  Scotland’s New Face – Kerry O’May

•  Scottish Graduate of the Year – Joanne Mcgillivary from Herriot Watt. David Black was also awarded a Highly Commended Certificate

•  International Designer of the Year (for use of a Scottish fabric) – Mulberry

•  Scottish Fashion Innovator – Brian Rennie, Creative Managing Director of Basler

•  Fashion Ambassador – Colin Mcdowell MBE 

Scottish Hall of Fame – Stella Tennant 

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Make the most of Today...

M x

Chinese Hotpot Experience!

The Chinese food has to be one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome during my time in China. Name it and the Chinese will eat it. You are constantly surrounded by street vendors selling scorpions, ducks heads or chicken claws, and I really struggled to eat many of the meals that I discovered in the restaurants. 

From a disturbing dish of baby turtles to a difficult experience I had with the traditional Nanjing Ducks blood soup (ya shui tang)  This looks and tastes like dark red-brown jelly firm tofu, in a spicy broth however the jelly turned out to be congealed curdled blood cut into squares and egg like chunks which was revealed to me as ducks liver. This led me to no longer asking what things were and just eat to enjoy rather than eat to worry. By some of my Chinese friends we were recommended to attend a Hotpot restaurant.

In a hotpot restaurant you have a giant pot full of a tasty soup like liquid at the centre of the table above a electric heated hob. You then choose what you would like to cook in your hotpot and you empty these raw contents to cook in your pot.

Below you can watch a short video of  this pot and a kind Chinese waitress who saw our looks of puzzlement and decided to help us cook the mushrooms and various meats we had ordered. 

The left hand side of the pot had  oily slightly seafood taste and the right half was full of a taste bud killing mixture full of Chilli seeds blew my head off.

(Below) Tasty mushrooms- who'd have thought there was such a thing.

I really enjoyed the food this night and I'm glad we persisted with exploring the various foods available, it was funny however we soon discovered that the most dreadful looking back streets had the most fantastic authentic restaurants. You can look forward to a post I am preparing named "Bird Flu Alley" which took cooking to a whole new level.

M xxx

Nanjing here I come....

Cant believe the time is here but this will be my last blog post before travelling to China.

In the next few days I will begin my adventure in China where I will study the Chinese language,the Chinese economy, Confucianism, modern Chinese history, as well as Chinese customs and folklore.

My Travel Itinerary is as follows: 

Saturday the 9th of April I travel Glasgow to Dubai- Dubai to Shanghai- Shanghai to Nanjing.

I will spend most of my time in Nanjing which is in the Jiangsu province -one of China’s most economically vibrant provinces, benefiting from significant foreign investments such as Suzhou Industrial Park. Nanjing, as the capital of Jiangsu province, is situated in the lower

Yangtze River.

Together with Shanghai and 14 other cities, it forms the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone. It is one of China's most important historic cities along with Beijing and Xian and was the capital of the Republic of China till 1949.

Nanjing has also been a national hub of education, research, transportation and tourism throughout history. The population is over five million which is equal to that of Scotland.

The city still has the best kept city wall built by the first emperor of Ming dynasty in 14th century and I am so very interested to experance the worders Asia has to offer me.

I am currently unsure to what will be the best communication methods will be the best across there as whether as I know my daily photo blog - ARTnTHAT Daily Photo is banned due to its service being TUMBLR as well as such things as YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia so fingers crossed that I will at least be able to access this blog to keep you up to date.

Howver my plan is to create a mailing list of people who may be interested in having an update with some photographs regularily throughout my trip.

If you would be interested please don’t hesitate to email me at

matt0805@hotmail.co.uk

I will leave you with this quote from the Chinese thinker and social philosopher - Confucius

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”

Byeeeeeee!!!!!  M x

New Lanark Mill and Heritage Centre

I visited the New Lanark  Mills as research for my weaving project, I wanted to discover the production of the weave from the creation of the cotton right up the the manufacture of the woven material.

New Lanark is not far from the small town I am originally from so I thought I would make the most of my visit down from Aberdeen.

New lanark was founded in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and housing for the mill workers. Dale built the mills there to takIe advantage of the water power provided by the river. Under the ownership of a partnership that included Dale's son-in-law, Robert Owen, a Welsh philanthropist and social reformer, New Lanark became a successful business and an epitome of utopian socialism.

These cotton machines are forming cotton onto spools to be sold in various shops across the world, back when the mill was working back in the 1800's children would be used to collect the wool which fell from the machinery.

The River seen below is the River Clyde which is the primary  power system for the machinery used in the Mill and you can view the large water powered wheels powering the mill.

I would recommend a visit to you all if you get the chance! Not only is the Heritage centre extremal interesting it is such a beautiful Scottish location to visit.