DES303 - Week 5: Critique Session
- Emma
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
This week we had a critique session amongst our peers to gather feedback from our first experimentations. You can check out my previous week's progress here. I will cover:
Recap of week 4 and my preparation
The critique session
Week 5 ideation and experimentation
Preparation for week 6
recap of week 4
In week 4 I ran experiments in bleaching fabric and hand dyeing using avocado skins and pits. I was particularly interested in the process of creating the dye and did further research to see how I could produce different results such as soaking the fabric cold, separating the pits from the skins and playing with the pH levels of the dye. By the end of the experiments I was keen to explore further with food waste dyes, however I was also interested in exploring other technologies and didn't want to box myself in with one idea.
crit session
We had a crit session to gather some feedback and expore next steps from our experiments. I was in a group of four with my classmates Bella, Charlotte and Pase. It was really interesting to hear what everyone was working on, and to see some crossover between our experiments, such as Pase working with recycled materials to create paper.
During my time, I discussed my experimentations of the previous week, and I wasn't sure exactly what direction I should take for this week, I asked for my feedback to be on how I could continue along the same lines of experimentation, or if I should shift focus. It was really helpful to simply talk through what I'd done, and see how others respond to it. Everyone had something different to add which gave me lots to think about. Charlotte picked up on the sustainability aspect of working with food waste, and upcycling clothes. Pase had a really cool idea of 3D modelling stamps, and creating a tool that could feed dye through the stamp. Bella picked up on my interest in coding and suggested that I could explore making prints or patterns (stamps) based on specific inputs (such as it being based off your clothing style), where the user is co-creating their own print.
PIC OF FURTHER IDEATION HERE
I knew that doing more foodwaste dyeing would take a lot of energy and time to devote towards. I had other assignments that I had to prioritise first so decided to push back the dyeing to a later date, and focus on new materials/technologies I could explore. I also chose to do this because I didn't want to pigeon hole myself into one kind of material too early on, and keep my mind open to new possibilities.
experiment 1: revisiting the basics of 3d modelling
I decided that I wanted to do some 3D modelling. I've previously used Rhino to create basic models, as well as exploring textures in Blender, however this was over 3 years ago, so I was feeling quite apphrensive to begin. Since I only have a tablet, which doesn't support the previous software I've used, I also had to choose a new platform, and it is a completely different experience using your fingers and stylus as opposed to key shortcuts, and a mouse. I used the app simply called '3D modelling app'. I found it quite intutive to use as it doesn't have too many functions which is actually quite helpful for a beginner. As I just wanted to touch up on my basic knowledge, I followed the tutorial they provided, which also got me more familiar with the app. I created this castle on an island.
I tried to add some details of my own like the walkway around the edge, however there was some problems with creating a face from extruding the line. I played around with it but couldn't figure out how to fix it. I also couldn't undo back far enough to before I made the mistake, which was frustrating and caused me to give up on working on it.
However, I did achieve my goal to familiarise myself with the 3D Modelling App and create a basic structure.
experiment 2: Sculpt mode
The app also has a sculpting feature which I wanted to try. I played around with making the letters of my name out of rectangles, then dividing the rectangles into grids and manipulating them. I found this a lot more enjoyable as it felt more creative to go with the flow and use my stylus to create organic shapes. One problem I ran into was that once you divide a face into grids, you cannot undo it. I'm not sure whether this is a problem with the app, or whether I just couldn't find the correct button to press. At this point, my tablet had died anyway and so I didn't get to finish.
I really liked how the 'E' came out. I think it looks almost like a can that's been squeezed. If I did this again, I would try to work out how to make the faces soft/curved rather than flat/sharp.
I did achieve my goal of exploring the sculpt mode, however there is definitely more I could learn, and still feel quite unfamiliar with using the app. I tried to search Youtube for some tutorials for this app, but there aren't too many out there. I did see a few for Zbrush, which is only available for Apple unfortunately. I did find one for Nomad Sculpt (Reed, 2023), which is another free app available to me, which seems to be a very in depth sculpting tutorial. I may revisit this in the future.
reflection on action
I often find when I'm learning something and make a mistake I can't fix, I end up giving up on it. I assume that I'm not skilled enough at something and so shouldn't continue. It should be obvious that I will make mistakes or create something I don't like especially when I'm learning a new skill. But in the moment I tend to forget that. I also do this while creating other art like crocheting and painting and find it helpful to take a break and come back to it another day. Though I think the curse of being a creative is that I begin something new and my projects end up sitting tucked away for many months before returning to them. This is okay for my personal projects, but not ideal for projects that have deadlines or university assignments!
I didn't realise this until after I'd reflected on it, but I think another factor for why I didn't want to continue with the modelling was that it didn't spark any new ideas for me. Often when I'm prototyping or sketching or creating, it leads me to coming up with new ideas, and experiments I want to try. I think a part of this was because I was more focussed on my other assignments, and didn't have space in my brain to ideate this week, particularly on a skill I'm not super familiar with.
experiment 3: freehand crocheting fabric together
Instead of going back to the 3D modelling and continue learning, I wanted to revisit the materials I had created from the fabric dyeing. I began with the silk shirt, ripping it into pieces. I then took the cotton yarn and tried crocheting the ripped pieces together. I used a freehand technique I learned from Divyne Crochet (2024) where you chain and skip stitches to create big spaces, then create posts by double or triple crocheting, and also adding in chains here and there. There is really no wrong way to do it, the main thing is to keep checking that the height of the row remains relatively level, otherwise it won't lay flat (might be interesting to explore...). This creates a distressed mesh texture which looks really cool. I like using this method as you don't have to think too much about it and can be flowy with it, it's very quick to work up, and the resulting texture is always very interesting.
I felt that the yarn was too thick for the very thin fabric, and it didn't feel cohesive, so I took a part the yarn and split it into single strands. This is a very time consuming and frustrating process, but I think the results are definitely worth it. I loved how delicate it was and the fibre became fluffy. You can see the difference below.
theory
Through the 3D modelling experiments, it has helped remind me of the basic functions; extruding from lines, vertices and faces, creating cylinders and rectangles etc. I was able to see potential in myself to do more with it, however I'm not sure if I will pursue with 3D modelling as I didn't find it as enjoyable as other techologies which are more texture based, hands-on, or craft based.
I was really happy with the sample panels I made by crocheting the silk together with the cotton yarn. I was proud to achieve the wispy look by de-plying the cotton, as this is quite hard to achieve from cellulose fibres (plant fibres like cotton or bamboo) since they are so smooth (Moreno, 2024). One concern I would have with this is that the fibre is less strong de-plyed; I could tell while I was working with it that it could be ripped apart much easier. It made me reflect on fast fashion and making clothes from those kinds of material which may not last my whole life time.
I actually felt a comfort in knowing something wouldn't last forever. A key debate in the fashion industry is the argument between well-made, high quality materials, timeless basics on the one hand, and badly made, trend-following, synthetic pieces on the other. The aspect of fast fashion I like is that it recognises that we evolve. We are always exploring, ever changing beings who can express their discoveries through their clothing. I like the idea of being able to create something from these 'bad' materials (essentially 'any' material) and not have it last forever, but allow for it to evolve as you do. Something that can be upcycled over and over again. On the one hand, this idea seems to go against the concept of preserving history; museums capturing and preserving cultural artifacts, for example, and also in a way nostalgia, which I feel is the vibrational capture of history. However, I don't think this is neccesarily true. I think the idea of reusing 'bad materials' comes from digging through my grandma's fabric stash, or unravelling a knitted beanie my mum never finished, or taking my brothers old shirts that had holes in them and creating whatever I could from what I had on hand. There is memory and stories bound in every material that exists. Even though the original material may have changed in some way and will most likely to continue to change (whether it degrades, rips, stains, fades, and I make it into something new), the memory is still there. So even though the un-plyed cotton may rip sooner than ideal, it doesn't mean it's life is over. I am very interested in exploring this fragile space between memory and transformation.
preparation
Something I noticed while I was taking pictures of the fabric, was the way it flowed in the wind, and it made me want to try piecing together a column to see what would happen.
After creating those two small experiments, I also thought back to some of the other ideas my peers had. Charlotte had suggested I could upcycle the fabric to create some outfits. I did some quick sketches on how I thought I could use this 'panel' technique to create a tapestry, skirt or sleeve. I also thought I could use a similar technique to create something from the bleached jeans, and perhaps use the yarn as thread to sew sections together.
For week 6, I feel I need to take my discoveries back to my Miro board and work on 'refining or pivoting'. I want to work on creating a bigger panel sample with the silk and crocheted, de-plyed cotton such as the sketches above. I also want to explore how story-telling/memory could be integrated more clearly within these experiments.
references
Divyne Crochet. (2024, July 21). Distressed Crochet Mesh Jumper Tutorial // ~ DivyneCrochet ~ [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Wa_T5-PCA
Moreno, J. (2024). Yarn Detective: Cotton Time. Modern Daily knitting. https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/yarn-detective-cotton-time/
Reed, D. (2023, June 22). Nomad Sculpt Crash Course for Complete Beginners - Version 1.78 [Video]. Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Qak3b0bPE
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