J.W.B.

Tied up with “String”

 This module is heavily based on research, and we were told to start from anywhere and let our research take us to any final result, be it a poster, book or interpretive dance, wherever we felt our research findings took us.

I found my initial inspiration and first idea on a shopping trip to Gloucester Docks. Being there reminded me of many other shopping outlets I’d been to and whilst reminiscing I realized that they too were old industrial factories renovated in to modern apartments, coffee shops and malls. This posed the question: what has happened to England’s factories and manufacturing industries.

These thoughts were posted on to my blog along with photographs and news articles, which I’d found relevant. Further to this exploring tumblr lead me to find many other inspiring pieces of design, which I chose to reblog, to aid my future research and design ideas.

After presenting my blog to the class and receiving feedback I felt I had to delve much deeper in to the subject of the ailing manufacturing industry and in turn chose to spend two Friday afternoons at a traditional Blacksmiths in the Black Country: to experience manual labour, witness old crafts and learn how to do some things myself. I found this very tiring but insightful as in everyday life I would never have an opportunity to do anything like this and am very pleased with how well I did.

My final piece consists of a small fisherman’s anchor, which I assisted in the making of, and an A6 book briefly giving a history of the British manufacturing industry with complimentary illustrations and iconic quotes that either link to business or economy. I chose to brand the anchor with one of the quotes as I felt that it captured the message of my project brilliantly.

This project was two firsts for me; learning and utilizing my new found steelmaking skills and using my recently developed illustration style. Both of which I am very impressed with and have enjoyed practicing. Doing things manually and not on the computer has made me realize how much I enjoy using my hands. This has inspired me to use the print presses available in future projects or even as a recreational activity. 

If I were set this brief again I am sure I would come up with a completely different outcome but, that is the novelty of a self-authorship brief. If I were to do this project again, I would like to be able to 100% make the anchor and also manage my time more effectively with regards to printing the book as I feel this could have been done better with more time. I struggled to begin with comprehending that we could create anything and this is where I feel most time was wasted. This project has been enjoyable, stressful and very insightful, I hope that I am given the opportunity to be involved in a similar project in the coming year.