Final solution

Unfortunately, I was unable to capture a final shot of the sphere in its presentational state. In terms of the component compositions, they appeared just how I imagined anyway. Though, the sphere itself was suspended just a little too high, which wasn’t too troubling and was the best that it could have been in the such little time we had. This was one little aspect that could have been approached to improve on.

With initial consideration from reflection on previous projects, it enabled me to fully resolve the subject matter that would be expressed through my final major project. There was no hesitation when I came to a final settlement, so I knew from this point that I was committed to Patterns in Nature. A subject matter that is widely associated with nature, where some materials are even sourced from. Therefore, a brief like such was an appropriate decision. My inquisitiveness towards the visual aspects of lichen became substantial within the project, taking on board the various textile techniques to achieve such textures and structures for resemblance of this visual source. The exploration of these techniques through samples had a great influence upon the final solution, whereby they were creatively incorporated through many elements. Briefly, the methods used were embroidery, shibori, knit and smock. All of which were individually produced as a component, later to be integrated into one large form. Using this format was successful for achieving a fusion of diverse textures and is evident through the wreath and sphere. With that said, my textural outcomes are intentionally stimulated from lichen, depicting the secretly small circular features that are extremely rare to catch sight of from a perspective. Consequently, this addition of rounded forms is on-going throughout for emphasise, and to exhibit my understanding of lichens from research. This is one aspect of the two pieces that were most successful; it may have been a coincidence of how the wreath and sphere templates were also of a circular form, but they definitely accentuate this feature further. Including structure and form was quite an adjustment from what I have done previously, yet it has broadened my creative thinking and was majorly beneficial for my final piece. It also nicely refers to how structural lichens are. Following a structure was more challenging, but achievable. It was nice to step out of my comfort zone for once. Moreover, the colour scheme, particularly on the wreath was gorgeous. It was precisely accurate to my original intentions and ideas I had in mind and reinforced an enticing and engaging piece. Although it may seem that the positives outweigh the negatives, there were some obstacles through the making of the pieces. These were attempts that resulted in failure. For one, the attachment of the manipulated fabrics to the structural forms involved using pins to secure the materials into place. Whilst this was successful on the wreath, it seemed impossible to secure the material in place on the sphere without it rolling everywhere and resulted in it loosening. It is possible that the glue gun suggestion would have been more ideal for the sphere, however it would be far more messy and inconvenient for that reason. Nevertheless, it does feel like an improvement from the attachment of pins approach. So, a more considerate plan for this should have been pulled through.