Portfolio talk- Bethany Pringle

At college we had a visit from a student studying textiles at Edinburgh college,  she was previously a student at Galashiels college,  her name is Bethany Pringle. At present,  Bethany has been doing a major in textiles for a year and she brought her portfolio into class to show us her work. It was interesting to see the type of work she was doing and how it was presented.  She chose an African theme for her design, she produced examples and samples of her work using various techniques such as Drawing,  dyeing with food and stencil work. What I liked most is how neat and precise her work was. I started to think how I present my work and it made me wonder if I do too much in the way of ideas,  instead of having a main focus. I also remember her work flowing very well from start to finish,  it was great to see. Aswell as her textile design,  Bethany also brought along some other art work she had done.  There was a few life drawing pieces done with different media,  it was nicely set out so that you could look at the difference between each piece of work.  I took some photos of her sketch book to remind me of the way she presented her work.  Overall I found it great seeing another students portfolio and I am quite confident with what I am doing.

Photography - rose petals

I was thinking about photography and whether background colour would change how an image can appear. I used red rose petals (fake) against a black background and white background,  I then used different editing filters to see if I could make the petals more vibrant against the background.
I was then able to compare the two, to see the difference in effect and quality. I now have a better idea about the importance of lighting and background when taking a photograph, so I can use this to influence my end result.

White background

Black background

 

I feel that overall,  on this occasion, the white background works best against the red petals.  The colours are more vibrant and the filters work really well against the white. 

Photography - reflections inspiration

I am still trying to decide the best way to express how I see my world through reflections. I want to produce something interesting and different so I spent these last few days experimenting with different types of reflection for inspiration.  I used a variety of techniques including water in a glass, reflection in a car window,  Puddles, sunglasses and even a microwave,  as well as a few more.  What I have gained from doing this is, I have found that bright lighting is extremely important in producing a better result.  On a clear bright day,  I discovered that there were better reflections than on a darker miserable day. I feel I have made a good starting point but still unsure If I should use mirrors or water for my final set.

Juice bar design - serving bar

I have made my first serving bar design for my project. At first, I wanted to make a curved serving area but I came across some foam board. I will be making a few different designs to see what would work well,  so I thought I would start with a more rectangular design first.  I started by cutting sections of foam board then gluing them together with craft glue,  this took a little time to set so I will try superglue next time. I then added a photograph of mixed fruit - which I took myself - then stuck it onto the foam board.  I left some white either side of the photograph so that it wasn't too busy.  With the floor quite bright,  I would still like to keep most of the furnishings white,  or with white on them to reflect the lights.  I then added a metal mesh infront of the photograph to add detail, im hoping this will also look good against the lights. I liked the idea of using a photograph as part of the design because it looked more professional than a drawing.

Photography - trees

I went out for a walk this morning looking for inspiration for my project. There is a beautiful woodland area behind my house which I have always thought would be a good place to take photos. While the frost was still lying and the winter sun shining through,  I decided to see what I could find.