silicone printing

Whilst researching 3D printing, i cam across a video from 2005 where a 2D file was printed in silicone.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Aj1wn0k7k4&feature=related

while i don't have access to a 3D printer, i'm extremely interested in utiliting a similar technique in my materials studies.

i require a 'casing' that will house cut glass, and i'm thinking that silicone may be a possiblity...

proposal for SHADOW studio outcome

For the duration of this semester, my aim is to explore 'notions' of dress, the perceptions individual have of dress and their motivations behind it.

I also plan to explore the bridge between the 2D form and the 3D - most notably, the shadow.

Through the course of the next few weeks, I plan on utilising varying materials to explore, challenge and illustrate my notions of dress.

key questions

If it's not about me, is it then about how i make you feel?
This became my principle question when asked to address shadow & dress. Initially my thought process wandered through the obvious, such as nudity, protection and comfort; but halted at the thought, that if one was not concerned with everyday conventions of dress - why not go nude? Is this out of consideration to others? Is what we wear governed by what others want us to wear?

What do your clothes say about you?
This question was borne out of a quote from fashionology that i found quite through provoking.

"As a non-verbal language, it communicates to others an impression of social status, occupation, role, self confidence, intelligence, conformity, individuality and other personality characteristics" Yuniya Kawamura

Can the motivations behind our choice of dress fit withing that one statement? I'd like to explore this further and actually find out what motivations people have behind their choice of dress.


What's in the space between the 2D & the 3D?
This course of exploration was initiated through the line-light workshop conducted by Ricarda Bigolin & Antuong Nguyen.

I found that the creation of shape or form from a 2D image via the application of light was quite inspirational.

This avenue of my exploration is quite tangible, and may seem quite derivative, but I am looking forward to exploring it through continued prototyping.

what is it about/what am i researching?
avenue A

At what points do certain types of dress become acceptable - who decides & why?
I'm endeavouring to explore the conventions of dress, and from that challenge them to some extent. By using my friends, outside of the fashion system, i'm hoping to understand their motivations, but also challenge them. To what outcome - i'm not sure; but through practice and experimentation, i'm hoping to reach some kind of conclusion.

I also plan on attempting to create dress through the use of varying materials in order to illustrate my questions, and 'get around' pre-supposed conventions of dress.

Are the certain materials that i can use metaphors to my arguments - a mirror or projection (blue screen) to illustrate image and vanity?

avenue B

Manipulating shadow through the tangible - taking the 2D to the 3D - using various materials to create various shapes and silhouettes. I'm wondering whether i can create an aesthetic through my experimentation; in particular, a prototype garment that is informed through my experiments.

how are you going to go about making the project?

Continued interrogation into my chosen arguments, and attempting to illustrate them through various materials.

My goal, is that through continued experimentation and documentation, i have a greater depth to my understanding of dress, not as an authority but in a more democratic sense - understanding those around me, and also myself.

questions

last week we were asked to spend 5 minutes recording our questions towards dress & shadow.

5 minutes is a long time - and one can find themselves asking questions that perhaps aren't as profound or provoking as you'd like. However, i gave it a bat:

- is the shadow a remnant of the original? - the negative space? - is the shadow the imitation of the original? - can there be shadow without light? - is there dress without light? - is the 'light' merely our perception? - who's perception is it? - can the conventions of dress be challenged? - is it even a challenge if the material made to mimic the 'accepted'? - is it dress if the action is the same? - is it dress if the durability is the same? - at what point does one consider it 'acceptable'? - who's decision is it to deem it acceptable? - is it just based on allowing the wearer to feel 'safe' or not 'exposed'? - is it just about nudity? - are the clothes a shadow - mimicking the shape and movement of the body (the original)? - OK so, what if you are one of those people that would feel quite comfortable going about your everyday life in the nude - do you wear clothes out of consideration to others? - does comfort only come once you're not concerned with the opinions or conventions of others? - does this make you immune to social conventions? - does this make you a sociopath?

what i'm wearing in my dreams...

Material Studies

Our set task was to explore a material of our choice and 'create' garments out of it.

I chose puff pastry...

My reason being, that the pastry goes through different forms from the dough - to the 'pastry'. I wanted to chose a material that i could 'see' a difference in.

My garment of choice was a bustier.

Not sure why i chose that garment, but without any 'plan' i began to lay down the 'pieces'. What i found interesting was that the material began to dictate my pattern. I found myself, not just making a bustier, but more so making a pie. The trims began to replicate the kind used in piemaking.
The material and it's 'conventional' use, started to influence my original intentions for it.

When the bustier/pie was placed in the oven, the pastry began to puff. When it did, it brought to attention that my use of the puff pastry and my garment had something in common. The bustier is a garment used to 'accentuate' a woman's curvaceousness, and before my eyes the pastry was becoming 'voluptuous'.

(putting the 'art' in 'tart' - right?)

Wearing the pie/bustier was a little confrontational - mostly for reasons of self-awareness, or rather 'esteem'. But whilst drawing parallels, and asking questions about 'does this qualify as a garment' - it was the confrontation that felt like the most relevant matter in question.

Of course, the answer is obvious, and most people, when asked will assert that 'clothes' are worn by 'most' as a means for comfort - to protect ourselves from elements, from nudity, from ourselves...

BUT what if you are part of that group, that has no self-deprecating bone in your body. What if wearing clothes isn't a necessity, and you could spend your days in the nude - the question then is IF IT ISN'T ABOUT YOU, IS IT THEN JUST CONCERN FOR HOW YOU WOULD MAKE OTHERS FEEL?

That's one for me to chew on...

materials workshop

ok, so for monday's workshop we were asked to bring in an assortment of materials. Our first task - create a garment our of each material. I chose my glasses.

paper - strung marshmallows - soap - 100's & 1000's



...and then we had to 'wear' them
...so badass

The most fun being the 100's & 1000's


So the idea here was to 'challenge' our perceptions of dress - does the material dictate our perception? Does this only apply when our notion of 'wearability' is changed?

I am wearing my marshmallow glasses as i eat them - because the material is made to be eaten...

Are edible underwear only 'worn' once they are swallowed?

Monument to Water

As part of my studio, our first brief was to create a 'monument to water' for the flower and garden show.

In researching the world underwater, i looked internally. Asking 'what is on the underside'? As we dance and swim beneath the surface there is a silence, a solitude; there is only truth. Interesting that the surface of the water can be reflective - is the person on the underside the truth to who we are - unbound and free.

For my 'monument' i wanted to express the DUALITY of ourselves, hence the two torsos. The topside, darker and rigid; the underside, serene and fruitful...



Thanks to Anna & Sharlee for helping me get this beast together.


...my Favourite

Holly Hesterman