Artist Research and Development Work

To gain inspiration for composition and mood I looked at wallpaper designs. Harlequin's focuses on natural forms presented in a variety of bright colours and compositions. Eleanor Rudge's work (found on Twitter, below right) reminded me that keeping colour simple is best for screen print and is extremely effective; this is a style I intend to use when planning my screen prints.

I also observed examples of tiled and patchwork-like designs; the ones below most resemble my work, which is fun, bright, and patterned. The groupings resemble Paolozzi's pop art and sculptural works (researched during 'Practice') and demonstrate a new, modern way to show several patterns on one wall. Wendy Kendall's arrangement of complementary designs would be a suitable way to display multiple paper samples for the degree show.

To extend my print collection I drew from further collections of objects, focusing on the detail within them and organisation on the page. The larger scale of my initial Unit X drawings worked well, as it enabled me to capture more detail, so I continued with this. When designing I played with the scale of motifs and type of repeat (where present) to bring more variety to my collection (see examples below). I tested different spacings and compositions based on my research above which helped my designs to be fresh and exciting. I hope to create mis-matched stripy designs formed from accumulated patterns for my design collections.

Hand Drawn Designs

All Content, Designs and Images Copyright © Leahna Maciocia 2015  

Start of Unit X and Portfolio Day

For Unit X I continued with the theme of 'Home' I used in 'Practice' but later adapted it to become 'Collections', focusing on groups of objects mostly found within my home. I kept working with my 'Practice' colour palette, extracted from my gathered objects, (below) so that I will continue to convey a playful, eclectic mood in my prints. I wasn't selective enough with final 'Practice' designs, so I chose key examples of 'Practice' work to form my mood board for Unit X, to help guide and maintain my focus. In Unit X I aim to produce screen print and digital collections on paper and fabric for high end interiors contexts.

Mood Board and Colour Palette
All Content, Designs and Images Copyright © Leahna Maciocia 2015  

A combination of hand drawn and photographic motifs worked well previously in digital designs, and flock and foil provided interesting texture and focus in my screen prints; I will experiment with them in combination to form dynamic, exciting collections.

Reviewing previous work helped me form a clear direction for this project, and so I produced good croquis designs quickly. I varied scale and the level of detail and avoided repetition of motifs, allowing designs to be sold individually to buyers.

I am again drawing directly from collected objects, to a larger scale, (to avoid pixelation when increasing scale on Photoshop) arranging drawings as I create them. This will show my composition ideas earlier and form a body of attractively presented drawings for my portfolio. My highly detailed drawings are most successful, as they bring texture to my work, captivate the viewer and encourage them to look closely.

Drawings of rocks and coral, detail and composition
 All Content, Designs and Images Copyright © Leahna Maciocia 2015 

Initial croquis designs using a variety of motifs 
All Content, Designs and Images Copyright © Leahna Maciocia 2015  

Portfolio Session

I spoke with graduates Katrina Mclaughlin, Hannah Kirkbride and Elizabeth Winstanley about showing work to companies and creating an online presence. This was really useful; a slick look book with context images and professional looking website are key when showing my work, while directly approaching companies with confidence is a good way to gain opportunities and experience.

Protecting my work is crucial; this is done by using watermarks or copyright and low resolution (< 100 dpi) when sharing images online and with companies, which I have now started doing. I now have an Instagram account so I can easily share low resolution images of my work, and use social media including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to expand my network.