Evaluation

Through this SDP it has been quite a different way to work. At the beginning of the project it was quite difficult to split your time between the costume store project and the Breathe project. They were each hugely different projects. The costume store focused more on the beauty of each garment. You focused on how well each garment was constructed and handle. The aim was to create a pristine final piece. Then you had to switch to Breathe which was a completely different way of working all together. With this project you had to focus on problem solving, being creative to make the more experimental designs that we were working with. The emphasis was on the creative aspect of the work not the way in which the garment was constructed.

When we fist came onto the Breathe project I found this at first one of the hardest things to switch into. When I came to create my first cloak I found it very difficult to see the torn up rugged look of the cloaks after working to carefully on aspects of the waistcoat in the costume store.

Looking back over this project I realised I really enjoyed making the waistcoat for the costume store. It was really interesting to work independently from our tutor and discussing as a group how we thought the garment was constructed first. This I feel has developed me as a maker much more than I realised. Being able to loot at garment and work out how it is constructed my self rather than being handed the information was a development stage I needed in my learning process. I feel my confidence has been restored slightly when working on the waistcoat.

When working on the shirt through this project I felt a lot less confident, although it was a lot easier to construct than the waistcoat was, I was still very much in the mind set left over from a previous project ‘Battle for the winds’ I didn’t feel confident in my making skills at all. With only a week to construct the shirt I felt more pushed. Although through the shirt construction it has taught me as a maker it is very important to leave last project when you have completed them and to face the new project with a fresh mind.

Working in the Breathe project I have enjoyed being able to experiment further in textiles. Working with the headdress was something I felt I gained a lot from. Creating the horns enabled me to work with materials I had never worked with before and create something that was costume based but not a piece of clothing. I was got a chance to rediscover the delicate nature of painting. When I first came to paint the horns and especially the rock sash I was rather heavy handed. The paints needed to be built up and graduated and worked into. As a maker I hadn’t had much chance to develop my skills in this way.

Working with expandable foam for the rock sash was very much a development process. The foam itself is perfect for the sash as it is very light once dried yet holds its shape beautifully. Creating the shape of the sash was quite simple. The foam was easily moved to create the right shape and created all the rocky bumps by itself. It was a very time efficient process which was ideal for the project.  However once it had dried to became a rather solid form. If the sash was to be attached to the top of the cloak it would create no movement for the performer. Finding ways to solve constructing problems like this when it is not a normal construction problem has been very interesting and valuable to me as a maker.

 I feel I have learnt so much from this part of my SDP. I have had a chance to try all different ways of creating costumes very effectively and in there way beautifully without the need to be as protective of the work as I had to be in the costume store.

 Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed both projects. It has been very challenging working to your own time scale, being much more independent. For my future working in my final year this has been a valuable learning curve. Being able to know your own limits and how much you can do at one point has been a vital aspect of this project for me.