Uni trip to New York Nov 09

OMG how excited was i when i asked my college tutor if it would be ok to approach Dan Funderburgh about a possible visit to his studio whislt we were in NYC and she already had it planned! Result , i am already Dans no 1 fan so it was amazing to visit the new falvor paper premisis and meet both Mr Funderburgh and John Sherman who is the business brain and driving force behind this fantastic wall paper manufacters.The heart of the company has moved from the New Orleans site ( which will now concentrate on fabric printing) to Brooklyn and is still in the proccess of renovating the building, which is a sight to behold.There is a huge window at the front of the flavor Paper building which allows passers by to observe the production of the cutting edge wallpaper designs ! The wallpapers are all hand printed and a single roll retails at a starting price of $150. www.flavorleague.com/wallpaper/

Christmas card brief

For the College Christmas card i decided to stay away from digital designs as i am far happier creating by hand.To incorporate the Stockport theme i sketched some local landmark in red on white to create a Stockport Toile pattern ,The historical Toile de Jouy is a design i have been looking at in my critical studies essay so it seemed appropriate.From the initial design i feel these two examples are the most successful.

Cherry Tenneson Vinyl Art

Cherry is an artist who works with vinyl,she did her B A in interactive arts and her M A in fine art . Cherry came into college to talk to us about her craft and what she produces.She was a sign maker for 7 years producing traffic signs, health and safety signs ,bespoke signs and the company she worked for had the contracts for producing all the NHS and Job Centre plus signs.Cherry then worked in galleries for 2 years which is where she began to think about using vinyl in her own art work.Tenneson Dale is a collaboration of work by Cherry and her friend Nicola they both wanted to create art using vinyl because of its flat appearance and clean lines.They were interested in Minimalism and looked at the work of Donald Judd, Elsworth Kelly, Frank Stella and Karl Andre to inspire them. The use of colour was key in the work and having decided to use politics as the theme of their work the three main political party colours were chosen. Colour- Order-Politics this was the plan for the collection of work , to represent political information using coloured vinyl in a minimal style. One of the pieces was displayed at the Corner House in Manchester , it is called Order Order (2006) and is the alphabet of political seats and consists of 26 separate canvases with vinyl in blue,red and yellow to represent the 3 main parties.For some reason the Corner House only displayed 16 of the canvases so when the exhibition moved on to its next venue at Stockport art gallery Tenneson and Dale added large red crosses to the 10 canvases that had not been previously shown.

Cherry gave us a demo of how to weed vinyl letters off tape and also how to layer vinyls, i asked her about hand drawing directly onto vinyl rather than using illustrator on the computer and she said that drawing onto vinyl and cutting it by hand with a scalpel was the best way to get intricate detail as the vinyl cutting machine had limitations with scale and lines. It would take a while to develop enough skill to cut vinyl confidently but Cherry mentioned some artist who do it by hand as well as by machine,Julian Opie ,Jim Lamby ,Ian Monroe and Andrew Bracey. Cherry gave us lots of tips and advice, i asked her about the best way to place vinyl onto perspex which is with water and a tiny amount of washing up liquid in a spray bottle!She also adviced us not to let vinyl get too warm because heat warps it and to remove any glue with white spirit once the vinyl is in place. Cherry was very inspiring and it was great to meet her.

www.axisweb.org

Fred Aldous Manchester,Laser cutter

Fred Aldous is a design , craft and art supplies store who now offer a laser cutting service to local designers.The design files for the laser cutter need to be in illustrator (.ai) and saved in version 8, the set up cost for the correct files is £5 and the cutting service is charged at £1 per minute the cutting speed depends on the type of media being cut ie wood would take considerably longer than paper.A circle cut in 3mm perspex takes 15 seconds to cot at a cost of 15 pence.Paul who demonstrated the laser cutter explained that a charge of approx £50 would be made if illustrator files had to be altered by Fred Aldous staff so its a good idea to double check your designs before you get there .The laser cutter is similar to a vinyl cutter and works best with clean lines and solid shapes my design had thin lines across a shape and gave an etched effect which works well for certain projects and on certain materials. Paul was very accommodating and showed us examples of designs cut from paper, mirror ,wood ,card, felt and acrylic.He said several designers email their files to him on a regular basis and a local designer uses the laser cutter to create acrylic jewelry.The store can provide the materials to cut from or you can take your own, the laser will not cut glass or metal but it will mark it (engrave) it cannot cut any material containing chlorine such as pvc or vinyl.

Paul Walker

Fred Aldous Ltd

37 Lever St

Manchester

m1 1lw

T-0161 236 4224

open mon-sat 8.15am-5.15pm

www.fredaldous.co.uk

Urban Outfitters, Manchester Store

Urban Outfitters was the brain child of two young men in 1970 in Philadelphia.Richard Hayne and Scott Belair began their outlets by selling second hand clothes and inexpensive furnishings to the student market.The store design reflects this feel of junk store meets high street with its exposed brick walls and large wooden railway sleeper type open stairs with rope hand rails.It has a young edgy feel and a relaxed atmosphere.The staff did not approach me instead took a laid back pre occupied stance but were very helpful when asked questions.There were a good number of people browsing and purchasing goods whilst i was in the store and prices range from inexpensive to designer scale so the brands available have a wide appeal, goods on sale include books, trinkets ,clothes and shoes.This seasons collections in the Manchester store are mainly block colour with very little pattern in sight, the few patterns around are florals reminiscent of 80's chintz prints .The colour pallet in this store is navy,black ,whites and greys. The store offers six design collections plus the in house brand Urban Renewal which recycles old garments to produce patch work.Urban Outfitters also have twenty one boutique brands and the website offers city info and a campaign to bring back instant photography along with other issues under the Projects heading.There are eleven Urban Outfitter Stores in the UK at present.

Urban Outfitters Manchester

42-43 Market St

Manchester

m1 1wr

T-0161 817 6640

www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk

Heal's Furniture Store,manchester

Heal's is a furniture and home accessory store that prides its self on stocking modern, designer and contemporary designs

Heal's was established in 1810 as a bed making company.In 1893 Ambrose Heal joined the firm and wanted to reflect the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement by employing skilled crafts people to produce quality designs that were affordable to the public.His moto was "Better furniture for better times".There are now seven stores in the UK and Heal's work with some leading designers and brands such as, Philippe Starch ,Tom Dixon, Orla Kiely, John Reeves and Matthew Hilton.

The wallpaper on sale in Heal's range in price from £25 to £250 per roll which would suggest that the target market is the high end of the high street.The store is located in the centre of Manchester close to other high end stores,it is over four floors and is well spaced and has a huge glass frontage.The goods in store are generally block colour any pattern is in small areas of the design usually very detailed and intricate layers of pattern. The store has a sterile feel about it with white walls and floors and a definite lack of customers .The staff acknowledged me on each floor i visited and the lady i spoke to about wallpaper was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful, she did comment that business was very slow and the store had been quiet of late.I was able to order wallpaper samples free of charge and advice re other relevant out lets was given by the assistant.

Heal's

11 New Cathedral St

Manchester

m1 1ad

T_0161 819 3000

www.heals.co.uk

Whitworth Gallery ,Manchester

The Whitworth Art Gallery is part of the University of Manchester.It houses some of the UK's finest collections of art and design both historical and contemporary. It is a beautiful grand old building with ten galleries, a shop,cafe and lecture theatre which seats 215 people and can be hired out.The galleries are also available to hire for social events and parties.Some of the galleries are dark with no natural light in order to protect the historical textiles from damage, this can feel slightly oppressive and i personally feel more at home in the larger , lighter spaces.The gallery staff are well qualified to advise and assist and the exhibits are well displayed and thoughtfully put together.

At present one gallery houses The Manchester Indian-Thomas Wardle and India

This exhibition displays fabrics and silks from India which were printed and dyed by Thomas Wardles company in leek in the 1870's.He is famous for his collaboration with William Morris in the use of vegetable dyes on fabrics and also for his efforts to reinvigorate the Indian silk industry.This display of textiles helps to demonstrate the influence of Indian design in Britain during the Arts and Crafts period.

Another of the galleries has a display off wallcoverings called Putting On The Glitz-wallpapers and wallcoverings with that little extra something.

This diaplay includes luxorious 18th century examples along side contempary designs all with an element of glamour and glitz.

Whitworth Art Gallery

Oxford Road

Manchester

m15 6er

T-0161 275 7450

www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/

admission free

Opening hours Mon-Sat-10am-5pm Sun-12pm-4pm

Millenium Gallery,Sheffield

The Millenium Gallery is one of sheffield's most striking buildings to display visual arts and crafts to the public free of charge.It is a beautiful modern venue which has four individual galleries and a winter garden.The exhibitions on show represent both traditional and contemporary art and design.The gallery was designed by the architects Pringle Richards Sharratt and opened in 2001,it is constructed from white concrete and glass and has marble floors and high ceilings.The gallery also has a cafe and a shop and is easily accessible due to its central location,

The exhibition in the first gallery at present is called Out Of The Ordinary,Spectacular Craft.

This is a collection of instillation's by several international artists who have employed traditional craft skills to produce some amazingly unconventional results.

Also on display at the moment is A Bird In the Hand by Timorous Beasties.

This collection of textile designs has been inspired by the Ruskin Collection which is on display in third gallery space.

The Timorous Beasties collection is displayed in a small gallery not un like a domestic room, the exhibition includes lamps,chairs and even a mattress, all of which have been adorned in the Timorous Beasties designs.

I feel that this venue is a great place to visit , it is light ,spacious and airy .Because the building is new it is much more user friendly than many of the older galleries i have visited, it does not over power the work on display or over whelm its visitors.The staff were unintrusive and polite and i would recommend a visit.

Millenium Gallery Sheffield

Arundel Gate

s1 2pp

T: 0114 278 2600

www.museums-sheffield.org.uk

Admission free(may be a charge for certain exhibits)

opening hours; Mon-Sat 8am-5pm Sun-11am-5pm

Critical Studies Brief, Parody

Julia Rothman Pink Paisley design
Timorous Beasties London Toile design
Dan Funderburgh's Chinatown Toile
Parody - Each of these designers have used a humorous or satirical approach, giving classic designs a new twist. The designs are instantly recognisable as a reference to the original but when you look closely they have added another level to the design by including images which would definitely have not featured in the traditional patterns .These images are examples of historical revival which fits with the post modern theory.

Research ,Gwon Osang

Gwon Osang

Korean Artist

I was lucky enough to see Gwon's sculptures at Manchester Art Gallery last year.It was an amazing exhibition with each life sized sculpture (including a police officer on a horse) being created with hundreds of photographs. This time consuming process gives a fantastic effect, it makes the real become surreal.I love people and i love photographs so i was instantly drawn to Gwon's work. I have come to realize that what i produce naturally in my work always has a recognisable form to it, some kind of illustration or graphic and i think this exhibition strikes a cord because Gwon has deconstructed then reconstruced the human form to create these brilliant sculptures.

http://osang.net/works/deo.html

Critical Studies Brief,Dan Fundergurgh's influences

For my critical studies brief i have been asked to chose a designer from the surface design Field and look at who or what influences their work.At the moment i am very interested in the work of Dan Funderburgh a Brooklyn based wallpaper designer and artist,i have already mentioned him in my blog.His designs are funky and dynamic and he lists some of his influences as follows:

the Olympic Mountains in Seattle

Lego instruction sheets

Oriental rugs

60's American Op Art

14th century Moorish mosaics

Charley Harper

i found this imformation about Dan on www.designspongeonline.com and blog.fluidesign.com.



Dan Funderburgh

critical Studies Brief,Dan Fundergurgh's influences

Olympic Mountains Seattle, source of inspiration for Dan Funderburgh who is from Seattle.

critical Studies Brief

Lego instruction sheets were an early source of inspiration for art by Dan Funderburgh.

critical Studies Brief

oriental rug designs have influenced Dans work , you can clearly see reference to the structure and detail crossing over into Dan's designs

critical Studies Brief

60's American Op Art has also inspired Dan's work , some of details in his patterns are not immediately obvious until you look very closely ,they play tricks on your eyes!

Critical Studies Brief

14th Century Moorish Mosaic have impacted on Mr Funderburghs designs he has been influenced by the symmetry the bold use of colour and the clever use of space.

Critical Studies Brief

Charley Harper is another influence for Dan Fundersburgh. His line drawings ,clean, simple and beautiful are very inspiring.

research,Walter Crane

Walter Crane .1845-1915

I have always loved the work of Walter Crane especially his pen and ink illustrations which are so detailed and beautifully drawn. I really admire his work ,it is distinctive and very much of the Arts and Crafts period .I am also thrilled that he was from the north west ( Liverpool) . I like to draw using black on white and can only dream that i would ever be able to produce illustrations of this quality, in my opinion he was a genious artist!