Experimentation

Origami

I have begun to experiment with origami and paper folding. I tried traditional Japanese paper cranes, individual petals to make flowers, and creasing in an accordion style.
I quite like the accordion creasing but these are all styles that have been done so much, it's not very original.

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Tying and Shredding

Here I have used cotton to bind and squashing the paper. This is a mush messier way of treating paper, rather than the intricate and precise techniques of origami. I have taken some ideas from Jade Peglar as I really like her work. But I still don't think this is very original and am unsure as to where to go next with this.

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Crumpling

I've tried the crumpling techniques from Vincent Floderer's tutorials. I really like how natural the shapes and textures are. I've used wax to stiffen some parts which adds to the texture. They remind me of corals and underwater plants.

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Fused plastic

I have started to experiment with plastic as a different material. Heating between baking parchment melts and fuses it creating interesting textures and shapes. Using thin plastic from carrier bags means they shrink up in the heat so the shape is always different. I like this technique but think that they don't look professional or refined enough for the quality of work I want to produce.

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Plastic plants

I have attempted making my own Vivarium after researching them. The flowers are made out of fused plastic    with recycled materials as grass and leaves, and old sweet jars as the container. I really don't like this, the quality of it isn't good at all.

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Live plants in Vivariums

My first attempts at a hand made vivarium with live plants. I think this looks better than the plastic flower vivariums, and I like the look of the plants. However, whilst the glass jar works quite well, I don't like the use of plastic bottles.

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Different

I need to take a different approach to the materials and techniques I have been using. I feel that they aren't looking as professional and polished as they should and I need to take a step away from the Vivarium and plastic ideas and go back to paper.

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Initial sketches

I have begun to sketch plants and flowers in the Botanical Gardens to get ideas from. I particularly like the pastel colours I've used. These reflect some of the colour trends from my fashion research.

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Initial paper cutting 

I have begun to experiment with paper cutting. I painted basic shapes and colours and flowers and then cut around the paint marks. I really like how these look, very delicate and intricate like real flowers and plants. I also like the use of colour as cuttings of white paper can be quite unoriginal. I want to take these techniques and develop them further, in a more professional way.

I will experiment with drawing the flowers digitally and cutting them with the card cutter machine for a cleaner cut and more professional look.

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Ideas

I am following the idea of creating a whole garden in the shop window out of cleaner cut and more professional paper cuttings similar to these. This follows The Secret Garden idea of bringing the space back to life in a very literal sense. It also displays the Victorian passion for botany and flower pressing/collecting.

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Flora drawings

These are sketches I have drawn in the Victorian style in botanical books. I will scan some of these in and draw them digitally on illustrator.

I have also included some sketches of birds and bees to add a quirkiness, which is also displayed in some of the Victorian illustrations and wallpapers I have looked at.

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Illustrator

I have scanned my sketches in and begun to draw them on Illustrator. There are two options, to either do a 'live trace', where illustrator traces the image for me, or to draw it all by hand. I've chosen to draw it by hand as I prefer to keep the hand drawn process. Also, the outlines all need to join so that the cutting machine can cut it all out properly.

Vector drawings

These are all vector drawings which the card cutter will accept as a single line and cut it.

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Paper choices

I have been experimenting with different papers. The paper needs to be strong enough to give the structure support, but not be too thick to go through the card-cutter.

The card cutter works on the amount of FORCE the blade puts on the paper, the amount of PASSES it makes and the SPEED it moves at.

I have found that it is best to slow the blade down as much as possible, especially when multiple passes are needed so you can quickly pause the machine if it starts to tear. Also if you put too much force on the blade, it will tear the paper. However, sometimes if multiple passes are needed, the cutter can mis-allign and cut two lines rather than the same. Trial and error is needed for each type of paper.

Image above and below show cuttings with multiple passes which have mis-aligned and cut two lines.

 Image below shows a cutting with force too high and ripped paper.

I have tried a cheap lining paper, which cut very well on the cutter-only needing one pass so was very clean. But the paper is much too thin.

Here I have tried white card which supports itself, but the cutter struggles to cut this much small detail with the amount of force and passes it needs and it is shredding the smaller flowers.

I also tried a thicker paper of 220gsm, which is in between the two. Whilst it stills needs more than one pass to cut, it is thin enough for the cutter to cope, but thick enough to give the plants some support. This is the best paper for me to use.

They will need more support from elsewhere though to make them self-standing, which I will look into later.

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Coloured illustrations

Here I have experimented with cutting the vector drawings from the card cutter and hand painting them after. I like the colours used, but not the quality of finish.

I have added colour to my illustrations digitally, but keeping with the natural and realistic look. I much prefer this to hand-painted as it has a much more professional finish. The texture of the paper makes the colours softer when printed, which as I like as it follows the soft feel of the work.

To print and then cut on the machine I need to print first using alignment points, and then cut using the same points. The machine 'sees' where the points are and knows where to cut.

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Trademark

I have been working on a trademark to go alongside my work. I want to create a brand for myself and am using the initials of my names as the trademark. I have looked at Victorian font on posters and shop signs and have drawn my own design, scanned it in and drawn it digitally on Illustrator. I will use this on my pots and business cards later.

After showing people it, some people have commented on the fact that GM also stands for genetically modified and is used on plants and produce. I didn't realise this at first but I quite like the idea that I am using the same initials to brand something completely opposite.

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Cuttings

Bird of Paradise                15

Cheese plant                     25

Schefflera                         10
Money tree                      10
Bamboo                          10
Morning Glory vines        20

Gorse                              30
Forget-me-not                 14
Camomile                        23
Geranium                        30
Lavendar                        25
Hyacinth                         24
Iris                                  22
Cyclamen                        29

Grass                              40

Blue tits and bees              30

Total                                357

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Stands and supports

I have tried different stands to create an aesthetically pleasing , but practical support for the plants.

I have looked into what stands shops usually use for display cards. Using individual triangular stands works well and is the most subtle, having a stand at the back of the plant doesn't give enough balance for the plant. Using strips of board to create layers of plants provides the best balance, but it less subtle than the triangular stands. I will test both out in the shop and see which works best.

I have also tried using paper pots to hold each individual flower. I like the look of this but prefer layering the flowers up. Also I think the pots look a bit too bulky for the delicate plants.

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Plant pots

I have been experimenting with using plant pots in front of my flowers to cover the stands.

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Trials

I have tested some of the flowers and plant pots out here. They stand really well on the flat desk with the small triangular stand and pots resting in front of them. I really like how they look, resembling the wild garden depicted in The Secret Garden.

Some of the flowers, especially the yellow gorse and camomile, need some support to stand up. So, I have designed a blade of grass, cut it, and stuck a thick strip of mount board to the back. I can then weave this extra support in with the flowers, without damaging the aesthetics.

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Trellis

To reflect the arcades architecture I have used the ornate archway above the entrance of the arcade as inspiration to design the trellis to go behind the plants. 

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Install

After beginning to install, I soon realised that my small triangular stands wouldn't be enough to hold the plants up as the shelf was slightly uneven, being covered in fabric. So I have gone to my other plan of using strips of        mount board to create clusters of flowers, which works much better with more to balance on.

As I start to install I am unhappy with how it is looking. I like the trellis behind and the flowers, but am unsure with the flowers arrangement. Also, the green plants in the other window keep falling down. When the lights are on all day the windows get quite hot, and at night it gets very cold in the shop. This is causing them to get slightly damp and bow down. I need to use stronger supports for them and attach them in a way that won't be affected by the temperature changes. I have decided to use black on black mount board instead of white so you can't see it against the black shelving.

After conversations with my tutors we also decided that the carpet in the window didn't look right. We discussed using paper to black the floor out to match the shelving, but I decided to use thick black fabric, as I thought that would work better with all the poles and strangely shaped space. I also decided that the plant pots just weren't working so have taken those down. They took the delicacy away from the flowers and looked too bulky.

After a visit to the garden centre to see how real plants are supported I decided on using wooden canes, painted white so they're less noticeable, glued onto the back.

This has provided the plants with the support they needed so they can stand up properly now.

I have also decided to change the arrangement of the flowers, mixing them up rather than sectioning them like I have tried here. They look too uniformed and deliberate here and less like the slightly wild plants I was aiming for.

I am happier with this flower arrangement and have included some of the leafy plants as well to create depth. I have started to lay the fabric down on the floor now.

The display is now finished, the only additions I will be making is a blown up version of my business card to go underneath the flowers as I think this is more appropriate than a pile of cards. I am really pleased with how it is looking now, and have had a lot of positive feedback from people passing through and the management at the arcade.

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Show

I have been contemplating what to include in the degree show. While my work is predominately off-site, I still want to have examples of my work in the show. I have always planned on showing a sample of my flowers as a window box and have put aside a small collection from the build.

I cut a window box design out of white on white mount board to use as the frame work. I decided to wait until the show was up until I decided where to put them, so they could fit in well with their surroundings.

However, on installation I realised the window box was too bulky for the flowers and took the focus away from them. I also think that them being in the window with plants and greenery behind them takes the focus away from them.

I tried them in different windows to no avail, and began to try them in other places. They didn't look right on the grey flooring of the studios, but the space at the top of the stairs with brickwork and terracotta tiling providing an interesting surface and backdrop for them.

I think they look really good here and work well as a small sample of my work.

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Publication

I also decided to produce a publication for the reading room part of the degree. The publication acts as a printed platform to display my illustrations in different formats.

 I have decided to create a small book displaying all my illustrations, with all their english and latin names, starting with a quote from The Secret Garden which initially inspired this project. I used my geranium illustrations, layered, for my front page and have displayed it next to my business cards.

I also produced a botanical poster as a different way to display my illustrations. It is laid out in a similar way to the Victorian posters I have found through my research, with all flowers assorted and correctly labelled.

I used the border of the Degree publication, to link it to the show; and my trademark acts as a title. Each plant is titled with it's latin name and it is display in the reading room with the other books. I think this works really well and I am pleased with it.