Breathe:

Before we broke up for Easter, I had a tutorial with my tutor Adele and the supervisor of Breathe, Grace. This was to discuss the basic ideas of what I wanted to get out of the Breathe project. I was very interested in the textural side of construction, to be able to experiment with this and being able to do some very basic workshops with some of the people from outside of uni who will be in the Breathe procession.

Over Easter the original designs had changed, some some of the workshops I was going to produced where no longer possible. Today I had a meeting with the Breathe team to discuss what I would be able to do. 

I have always been interested in headdress making, so luckily through this project I will be able to really experiment with different textures and shapes to recreate the 'Hunters' headdress. 

Because of time constrictions on my part with extra projects and the costume store work. I will have to use the 'Breathe Club' to do a work shop of how I created parts of the headdress or the whole headdress I can then help to instruct any volunteers who can help on how to recreate the headdress. Volunteers from Breathe can be apart of the making of their costumes and I will be able to gain valuable teaching and assisting time.

  

Below are all of the designs for the 'Hunters'

Designs collaborated by Kate McStraw, based on designs by Kirsty Hanlon and Level 5 designers'

I will only be making certain parts of some of the designs below:

.3 headdress's

.Cloak- top row, 2nd in 

.Cloak - top row4, 4th 

By the end of this week I hope to have:

.Decided on the range of materials I hope to use in the cloaks and the headdress'

.Looked at how to constructed the headdress- create the right shape

Learning Agreement:

NAME:                                   KIM PICKERING

COURSE:                             BA (Hons) Costume with Performance Design        

UNIT TITLE:                                    Self Directed Project                    

REF. NO./LEVEL:               CSS518

WEIGHTING:                        2.0      

DURATION:                         9 Weeks       

HOURS OF STUDY:          300 Hours    

Unit Leader:                         Adele Keeley/Graham Cottenden

Your Blog address: http://kimpickering1.blogspot.co.uk/

DESCRIPTION:

The project I am working on is the costume store and it is to work on the finer details of costume construction. I chose this project as it as an area of my work that I want to develop and make stronger. Since starting year two I have lost a lot of confidence within my making skills and I need to regain my confidence and skill.

This project we will make a shirt, and breeches or waistcoat. Through this project I hope to greatly improve my sewing skills. I want to be able to create more detailed work well and within a time frame that is set.

   We are also helping with the Breathe project which is helping children and adults with disabilities to create Breather costumes for their parade. We will be doing workshops with them creating certain pieces of garments with them. I will also create a whole costume piece plus a body of work which is based on costume interpretation. This work is more individual and problem solving that working in a set way.

I really enjoy working with people so I would like to develop my skills in communication within a learning environment and help in directing them in the workshops we create.

  For the assessment I will be producing a number of garments from a range of eras. All of which will range in difficulty. The garments will range from a shirt, breeches or a waistcoat. To produce each garment there will be a different time scale.

The Breathers project will produce a full costume including decorative pieces; they will vastly differ compared to what will be produced in the costume store. These will be more textiles based and less focused on the finer details as they are bold and more extreme costumes.

What I hope to achieve in the costume store is a huge development in my sewing ability and more precision and accuracy in my making skills.

Through the Breathe project I hope to expand my knowledge of experimental textiles and how to create more extreme textiles into working costumes.

Aims:

A1       To provide opportunities for self-initiated, autonomous learning

            and develop the ability to plan time and work independently

A2       To provide opportunity to study the contextual development of costume and performance design

A3       To further develop the creative, intellectual and practical applications of research and contextualisation within a self initiated environment

A4       To propose, develop and evaluate professional aspirations through professional development planning

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this unit you will be able to:

LO1     Identify and define the context for the development of your own work towards professional aspirations

LO2     Demonstrate an understanding of the development of Costume with performance design

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LO3     Have developed the creative, intellectual and practical applications of research and contextualisation

LO4    Consolidate and demonstrate professional aspirations and planning                     

Assessment Requirements:

Supervisor / Makers

HAND IN:

A body of construction work to include 2 garments for the costume store (patterns will be provided). and one whole costume and a body of costume interpretation work for Breathe together with personal reflection of the development of your project in your blog.  100%

     …..under pinned by personal development planning (in your blog journal) and a final written evaluation (750 words) evidenced in your Blog             100%

Each assessment requirement must be passed at a minimum grade of 40% to successfully complete the unit

Assessment Criteria (specific criteria related to the learning outcomes and linked to the statement of generic assessment criteria matrix):           

           

1.      Evidence of knowledge of contextual and theoretical issues – The level to which you have considered the context of your project and evidenced that to your body of work (LO1, LO2)

2.      Evidence of understanding through synthesis and development – The application and extend to which research has informed decision-making and project development together with the appropriate management of time (LO2, LO3, LO4)

3.      Evidence of evaluation and reflection – The extent to which you have reflected on the progress of your project and used it to inform personal development planning (LO4)

4.      Evidence of realisation through the communication of ideas - The presentation of your work and the level to which specialist knowledge has been applied, communicated and evidenced (LO3, LO4)

18th Century Male Peasant Shirt: 


The first thing we are creating within the costume store project is an 18th Century shirt. We are given an example shirt to work from and work out as a group how to construct the garment. Our construction tutor wanted us to work more independently so we had to work out the steps and methods of construction first and then discuss with him if we were going about this the right way, also the most efficient and practical way.

For this garment I was given a week to construct the shirt as I had a work placement for the other week given for this project. Through this I needed to make sure I used my time extremely wisely as I had to get the project completed within the week.



Below are images of the finished garment without the button holes completed as these are going to be done separately

18th Century Peasant Shirt- Reflection:

Looking back at the work I have created within the week, there are quite a few things I need to look back on.

Due to the nature of the work we are doing it is very easy to forget the delicate nature of the work we are doing and just go into the mind set of getting the work done in the deadline.

I feel with this particular project I have done just that. The accuracy of my work was slightly lost due to the short time scale we had to work within. It was a hugely different time scale to work in to what we are used to.

Another thing I needed to look at was taking more care when using a white shirting fabric. The fabric picked up marks so easily and this made the finished product look less crisp and fresh.  

Costume Store- From the Beginning 


The SDP project is split into two projects. The first and main part of the project is the Costume Store. In this part of SDP we'll have to look at a number of garments ranging from shirts, waistcoats, breeches and blouses, each of these from a range of eras.
This project is design to develop us as individual costume markers, we need to be able to problem solve and see the construction development for ourselves.

The project will be split up into a 3 different sections:
. First 2 weeks- Edwardian Shirt
.After Easter- 3 weeks- 18th Century Breeches/ Waistcoat
. 2/3 weeks - Blouse - Early Victorian
                                 - Late Victorian
                                 - 3rd option possible



The very first week of the costume store I was on a placement week, this meant that when I came back to the costume store I had a week to create an Edwardian shirt.
Due to the loss of a week I had been allocated a more basic shirt to make it possible to create in a week. To create a feel of a more industrial working environment, we had the patterns provided for us and needed to work within a team to cut out our pattern pieces and do it in a way as to waste as little material as possible.

Work Experience- Les Miserables 


For this week I have been doing work experience with the costume department of Les Miserables. This was a huge opportunity for me to work within the industry and follow people who work within the costume store, doing all different roles.
On Tuesday I spent the afternoon in the costume workroom making alterations and then watch the show from the sound box. The show was fully booked on a Tuesday night so I wasn't able to sit in with the audience. I found it incredible that in my week at the show. It was full nearly every single night. For such a long running show it was still as popular and amazing as ever.

Through this work experience I got to follow the head of the costume department and the team that works with her. On a evening show the costume team needed to be in for 1.30, this is to give the team enough time to sort the washing from the previous shows and to also make sure any damages, breakages or general issues discovered from the previous shows.
During this time I got the chance to also help with this. The main things to come up into the costume store were such things as: broken hooks, eyes, brackets. General wear and tear of the costumes in the knees which needed patches. In the male costumes this is was particularly common because they are incredible hard worn.
Also during my time at Les Miserables the department was preparing for the cast change in the show. Some of the actors and actresses would be changing, so during the costume workroom time breaking down the new costumes that were being brought in for the new cast members, these needed to be altered from fittings and broken down if necessary.

The second part of my work placement was following the dressers doing  set up and then dressing through the show. Having never seen the backstage workings of a West End show. For a costume student this was really amazing and fun to soak up the atmosphere, while working in a professional atmosphere.

The overall experience was incredible. I got the chance to really see how the costume department worked in a professional environment. I have only ever experienced more amateur work so it was good to  be able to take what I have seen from Les Miserables and hopefully take that knowledge back into my own work,