When I knew I was taking W.I.S.E I new I should get a mentor as soon as possible. I knew that Mrs. Brooks was a very popular mentor, so at the end of summer 2011 I emailed her and told her what I had planned on doing for my project. I also asked her if she was willing to guide me into the world of textiles by teaching me things that she was taught at FIT, and helping me create my own patterns. She agreed and decided before the school year started that we would meet everyday 3rd period and have our own unofficial independent study in textile design.
I learned many things from her and have actually made a couple of patterns. We started out looking at pattern books and getting inspiration for my first pattern. The inspiration for my first pattern was actually an octupus, I love the tentacles and how they look. So I started sketching out ideas and how I would make my pattern look. I decided on making the tentacles look like flowers, and having blocks of color in the back.
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| Sketches for pattern |
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| The background color ideas in colored pencil. |
The hardest part of creating my first pattern for me was painting it. When a pattern has to be painted it is painted with a special medium called gauche and for me it was very hard to work with. Gauche when added to water can be more like watercolor paint and when it has less water it is more like acrylic. When painting with it, the painter is not supposed to go over what has been already painted. So, my paint came out to be clumpy and uneven.
I am glad that it came out the way it did because I learned what to do to make it better. I also learned what not to do which was a great experience.
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| The final product of my first pattern |
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