FINISHED!

I got my book printed yesterday, which i was very apprehensive about..it could have either worked exactly how i wanted it to or could have been an EPIC FAIL. It turned out perfectly though:) i felt sorry for the guy at Officeworks that had to trim each page separately which took him 3 hours...

All I've got left now is to present my project; this i am very scared about because i dont even know if what i have done all semester makes sense to me (let alone anyone else) hopefully its just me and it will be great.. We will see i guess.

These are my final outcomes;

In the end I worked on 8 different outcomes - 4 stretch ‘garments’ and 4 rigid ‘garments’. These worked correspondingly with the undergarments I produced earlier. These were design to enhance the imprint on the body – whether this bea physical mark or just a psychological feeling the wearer may experience while wearing the undergarment + wrap.

The STRETCH wrap garments: These were done on the body, wrapping the body using elastic to create a pressure on the body. These were left on for various times and then unwrapped. Imprints (the 3^rd and 4^th layers of the garment) are documented.

Here are just some photos i have used in the book.......

Stretch/ONE

Stretch/TWO (couldnt upload many of these ones)
Stretch/THREE


Stretch/FOUR

The RIGID garments: these were also done straight onto the body using Plaster of Paris to create a cast of a body part or position the wearer was in. These although did not create pressure from the tight wrapping they did create pressure from the weight of the plaster on the body and from the amount of time having to sit still while being plastered. Once thought comfortable positions very quickly became very uncomfortable! These where then taken off the body in the easiest way possible – some could slide off but some had to be cut off. These ‘unwrapping’ movements became integral to the process of wrap.

Rigid/ONE

Rigid/TWO
Rigid/THREE

Rigid/FOUR

Book making....

The past few weeks i have been working on my outcomes which essentially will create this book for my presentation. My elastic garments are not tangible garments or outcomes but thephotos and imprints let behind will be. Although i do have some garments which i made in week 14 that i will have in my presentation on the body to give an idea of my process and aid my booklet.

My plaster garments wil be tangible but again they are not entirely wearable for the 2nd time.

I have been doubting myself this past week, i think it might be my lack of motivation plus the over-analysing of my semesters work. Im not sure if anything makes sense anymore... but maybe i will read my proposal again to calm myself......

I cannot upload any photos at this time because of the file types. but they will be up in due time.

My booklet idea was first going to be 2 separate books - one a stretch book and one a plaster book, after working on the stretch book for 320498 hours i have realised it would work so much better if i combine these books with the proposal which will convey my research more succinctly. I would also like to make a Imprint book, just as a secondary reference veiwers to understand the concept. This book would just be a series of pictures (of primary research and sourced images) of imprints, these can be skin related or anything else i have looked at during the semester. Hopefully this book would be easy to create because i have most of these photos on file.

Also with these booklets i would like to use a thermal bind instead of a saddle stitch, i find that the saddle stitch is quite unprofessional especially when you use a standard paper. I also want to use a thick paper with a matte finish. I have taken a lot of ideas from my favourite book of all time:

The layout is so great, each page is so different and there is a lot going on but it works so well, the matte finish works well with the photography also.

Documentation research

I have been looking at ways to photograph my work and convey my research succinctly... but its really just scaring me because my photography skills are terrible and i keep seeing things i like.

This is such an amazing image - In my research i have never though about wrapping and the environment...

The simple light background works so well, making the rope become apart of the room - it just looks so soft.

http://michellesherkow.com/repository/page/7/

I loved the shadow used in this photo - i thought about this type of composition for my imprint documentation.

http://interartive.org/wp-content/uploads/p8260471-300x286.jpg

This is just a great, i am a little worried about documentation of the body - considering im looking at the whole body in most experiments. I would like to have strong images but i need participants that will be ok with this...

Development of pieces...

I have taken the wrong approach this week... i rushed and wanted to get all my elastic garments finished. Instead i spent the entire time trying to fix my mistakes. Woe is me.

My elastic pants were a disaster because they were too tight and no one could put them on, this makes me very sad because i spent around 12 hours on them and my fingers are raw from the pining....

After creating these wrapped 'garments' i attempted to tack and sew them together so i could get the same effect on the body after making the undergarments; this did not work well..... My elastic pants could not even fit 1 leg let alone two after taking them off the stand. Other wrapped pieces (like the above one) did not look as good the second time around on the body or mannequin, they were a little warped and didn't fit right. So from this painful week of work and analysing i have realised that my research and semesters work is about the wrapping process and feelings associated with this not the construction (sewing; being the aftermath.) These garments I have created will become process and impression documented outcomes rather than tangible pieces that will be worn again.

*These probably couldn't be understood without this documentation; the physical imprint and the psychological imprint.

Outcomes....

I have narrowed my development down and chosen a series of Flexible garments and Rigid garments;

These are overgarments to 4 plain stretch garments(undergarments) made from different textured fabrics.

The stretch garments, made from elastic wrapped around the body, these will be sewn together to make one 'garment' that can be pulled onto the body over the undergarment. This creates pressure on the body causing imprints on the skin and psychological imprints to the wearer.

These are the simple undergarments that will be made twice (one for each type of wrap)

Each on is made from a different fabric, showing a different feeling and imprint on the skin.

These are the Rigid garments - made from plaster. These are made by wrapping the garment with paster to create these looks. Each one is set and documented on the body. The process of taking off (or cutting off) this garment becomes the most integral part. Imprints are documented from the body and fabric. This is a completely different way of wrapping compared to the above elastic garments, looking at the immediate present and how a body responds to confinement.

Fabric Selections:

Ribbed - which will be used for the leggings

This plainer transparent stretch is great because it really highlights the lines of the elastic garment well. This would be used for the long sleeve dress.

Ribbed - Not sure whether i will use this because of the lack of stretch...... but i like the imprint.

This is my favourite! It has the coolest imprint, I am going to use this for my jumpsuit....

Wrap - Outcome Development

I gave a kit of things to my participant, these included;

- elastic bands of different widths and lengths

- a sheet with a hole in the middle

- some tulle with 3 large slices through

- some disgusting fishnet/stretch fabric

- elastic that i had sewn together for another experiment

She came up with some interesting things, most were quite predictable as she tried to anchor the fabrics at the waist and the bust also trying to put everything on at once was quite funny to watch...

There is also a faded imprint from one of the tighter bands on her arm, she said it hurt a lot but i didnt let her take it off - it still didnt have much of an effect after 5 mins.. although she didnt like it.....

On the manniquin

I began to look at the body in two parts - the undergarment which i started with just pattern pieces of a basic bodice and pants and anchored these to the body with the elastic. i created bands of different widths to fit at different parts of the body...

With these ones I began using one piece of elastic and wrapping the body numerous times, placing each layer specifically, then i pinned and sewed it together to make a top you can slip on. This method was quite a good one, especially working on the mannequin. i really liked some of the outcomes and could be executed well if designed well (on paper first) rather than just playing on the stand.