It’s hard to pin point who I am inspired by most and who influences my work as I have a very broad range of mediums and styles. The reason I don’t have a consistency in my work is because I love exploring different art mediums and combining them with design which best reflects the current concept I have drawn from, from the brief. I am therefore constantly getting new influences from different artists and designers to inspire my work. I am also generally inspired by the world around me and always get the opportunity to reflect what I’ve recently learnt about a random topic in my current project.
At this stage I think the main idea of what type of designer I am or what designer I might become will encompass the concept ‘collaboration’. That could involve the collaboration of art mediums, art with design, design practices, people or concepts.
Projects
This is a loom weaving which was inspired by a women by the name of Juliane Koepcke who I had recently learnt about on a podcast. Juliane was dropped into the amazon jungle of Peru after a plane wreckage and survived the landing and 10 days in the jungle with no food, water, supplies or glasses, which she heavily relied on. 1 The brief was to represent any person that you admired in either a CD cover, a poster or a website. The art medium of loom weaving was inspired from my recent trip to Oaxaca in Mexico so I attempted to represent a jungle landscape through this medium.
There were many talented artists who I drew inspiration from but one that particularly inspired me for this project were Lauren and Kass Hernandez who are an Australian sister duo based in Sydney. 2 They launched their ‘brand’ crossing threads in 2015 and celebrate the revival of the handmade through their highly textural and more modern wall hangings. Their work embraces nature and more specifically Australian landscape that surrounds them. 3
This cotton tree installation was inspired by ‘off-the-grid’ living. I had recently started learning more about sustainability and watched a documentary about living off-the-grid. I chose to create a cotton tree installation as cotton is the most widely used natural fibre cloth in clothing today. Because of cotton’s biodegradable properties, all-cotton clothing and materials can also be recycled and used in the manufacture of useful materials. Therefore, I chose it to represent ‘off-the-grid’ living as I thought it was very fitting.
I drew a lot of inspiration for this work from the installation artist Rebecca Louise Law. Law is best known for her creations with natural materials such as flowers. 4 She blurs the lines between the artwork and the audience by creating the installation so the viewer can become involved in it by walking so closely underneath it and through it.
Most of my work I have completed (above) has some form of tactile element which I think reflects the person I am. I don’t want to be a designer who sits behind a computer everyday because I’ve found that’s not what motivates me.
In a world that is moving to all digital mediums I think we are losing the personal touch which is what makes us human. I think if we combine the two we will be able to connect to the audience on a different level.
Further reading about in reference to crossing the boarders between art and design. ‘Transformation of the Aesthetic: Art as Participatory Design’. 5
- Do go on, podcast. https://www.planetbroadcasting.com/our-shows/do-go-on/.
2. My modern met. https://mymodernmet.com/fiber-art-woven-wall-hangings- crossing-threads/ (accessed April 5th 2019).
3. Crossing threads. https://crossingthreads.co/about (accessed April 5th 2019).
4. rebeccalouiselaw. https://www.rebeccalouiselaw.com (accessed April 5th 2019).
5. Matthew Holt (2015) Transformation of the Aesthetic: Art as Participatory Design, Design and Culture, 7:2, 143-165, DOI: 10.1080/17547075.2015.1051781
Design Methods 