Evaluation

                Working in a group has brought some challenging aspects along with it that alone are never an issue, but this was always going to be the case. Overall I think my group has worked very well; combining and collaborating with each other has been very fluid and natural with very few issues.

                Once we had decided on the idea of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and a very synthetic appearance, creating ideas for my warp and threading up was easier than I had expected. However the biggest part for me was how willing and trusting my group were in what I know about weaving. Although I ran things past them and asked for their opinions they were very much happy for me to make final decisions. The synthetic aesthetic worked really well with my warp and my threading (mixture of pointed and straight) – Although this way of threading was quite new to me and also done randomly, it gave an appearance that mimicked ‘artificial’ really well. The biggest problem I had in regards to this was when my warp ran out and I had to tie on a new one. Learning that skill and having the experience of that was really beneficial and helped me to have more of a solid idea about if weave is something I want to continue with – Even if it was very painful. I also felt much more of an achievement after completing the process and definitely want to continue with weave into my second year.     

    

                I found, especially near the end of the project, that I was struggling to provide samples for the rest of my group due to time constraints and my warp running out. If there was more time on the project I would have loved to have taken their requests based off my earlier samples, and created exactly what they wanted; allowing them to make the visuals they had imagined. From the beginning we decided that my woven samples would be a key feature for the rest of the group to work on top of. Although this then meant a bit of time pressure for me, the group were very happy for me to go away and create what I imagined and worked from that. They were never controlling or demanding with what I was creating which I found to be very trusting of them (which within a group dynamic, is always the ideal).  

                Overall I am very happy with how well my group and I worked as a team and put the needs of the group first rather than ourselves. It has been a real learning curve: learning to work well with others; discovering new ways to work through collaboration; developing skills in my own specialism. Most of my group members I would work with again due to their hard work and dedication. Unfortunately some members had a poor attendance and some didn't work as well as they could have, but when we were collaborating and communicating as a group we produced some really good work that had a strong connection to the narrative.  

Mon 8^th – Wed 10^th May, 2017

                           This week I have been primarily focusing on creating my final samples and having a good collection of samples that are complimentary to each other. I have also worked on creating some plainer samples to add sublimation printing of my drawings on top and perhaps some foiling. However the biggest focus this week was to present our group board. Although we had some drafts of what might work in terms of layout, we decided upon a more square idea; to keep with the clean lines and order that is generally associated with machinery. From the board it is clear to see that our samples work well as a group and there is consistency in research and colour palette throughout. 

Mon 1^st – Fri 5^th May, 2017

                My main aim for samples this week was to focus on pulling colour through my weft to get the vibrancy of the yarns on the surface of the samples rather than underneath. Nigel suggested that I start to think more cautiously about the placement of the prints and bits of wire I have included. I needed to begin to plan the samples more to create a more finished and polished design. What I have done so far using these techniques has worked really well and does look much better than my previous ones. I’m having issues with materials though as the flat wire is quite expensive and runs out quickly. Therefore I have been using lots of ends of shiny yarns to try and mimic the characteristics of the wire.

                For the past couple of weeks I have been worried about time and developing my samples enough before the deadline. However, this all came to a halt when my warp ran out. Since I still had lots I wanted to do I decided to create another, smaller warp and tie it on. As happy as I was to learn the skill and experience what it entailed, it set me back a day and a half. However, I got all ends tied on as quickly as possible and was better for having the experience. Next week I plan on trying some more simple samples, probably using satin and maybe elements of sateen to focus back to blending and colour.