Once Upon a Time......

I began ideating with the theme Folk Tales. Initially I tried to associate words relating to the overall aspects of folk tales. I decided not to focus on a single folk tale in particular, but instead focus on the characteristics and elements of a folk tale. Every folk tale is but a story and usually begins with the phrase, “Once upon a time”. I began focusing on creating a mood board which shows the basic elements of a story.

Folk Tales are legends or myths which are Timeless. They do not really refer to any particular period of time. The whole concept of Time then began to intrigue me. Folk Tales have a somewhat immortal aspect to them while time on the other hand has a very mortal aspect ofchange to it.

I then began to focus on the word “change” depicting that time changes everything. Initially I chose pictures that show traces of memories; of objects wilting away. Even though these objects are no longer new and youthful as they once used to be, they have traces of time embedded in them and these traces, marks or scratches tell their stories.

Through this inspiration board I am trying to draw a parallel with the objects that is the slide, the swing with the wilting leaf. The leaf even though it still retains its colour is old and withering away. It shows that the leaf has changed over time and even though it still has its colour it is no more as it used to be. Just like how the swing and the slide still exist but are now rusted and no more used by children. And the people in picture depicts that the children have grown up.

My previous mood board was more of a story board and hence difficult to derive patterns from. I then began zooming into images to get patterns of time. I looked at wilted leaves,rustedobjects and paint peels.

Even though the theme of changing time calls for a very subtle colour palette, I decided to use vibrant colours to bring out the colourful and decorative aspect of a folk tale.

SKETCHES FOR CUSHION

SKETCHES FOR STOLES

PACKAGING

Mindmap to Moodboard- Architecture

Nostalgia being by initial theme, I started out with a mindmap on the same to have a clearer picture in my head. I started out with the basic definition of the word and later made connections to that word. Trying to further refine my idea, I began to question the basic physiology of a memory. I realized that a memory contains various levels of embedded data. In reminiscence, our minds recall this data and connect it with information such as sound, color, smell and taste, to name a few, enabling us to “feel” the subtle nuance of that memory.

I listed out things associated with nostalgia. Reminded of old clothes and photographs, I mused over the comparison between the past and the present and how it makes one aware of changes that have taken place over the years. Architecture is one such example that allows for comparison.

Personally, I have always found it to be very intriguing how the look and feel of the city is always evolving. After some reflection, I realized it was the architecture that sparked nostalgia in me. I decided to focus on the old Bangalore architecture for my inspiration and moodboard. I wandered through the streets of Bangalore collecting pictures for my moodboard. My repository included patterns that adorned the arches of mosques, the grand façade of the Vidhana Souda, old residential buildings as well as the vivid temples tucked away into the small gulleys surrounding Avenue Road. I saw great scope for print application from the patterns I documented.
I sifted through all the material and photographs that I had collected, and set to work on the mood boards. As I continued to refine the boards, the ones that I did using pictures of mosques began to stand out from the rest. To have a better understanding about Islamic architecture, I read about it in general- the significance of symbols and the role geometry, patterns, intricacy, light and floral motifs play in Islamic architecture. Keeping that in mind, I arrived at my final moodboard. The color palette of the moodboard consists of a variety of colors. I have used both subdued as well as harmonious tones and shades.

wall street.

FINAL PRODUCTS

A prototype for a temporary room partition

Lamp

My aim in this course is to experiment as much as i can, and try to come up with something that is beyond my own imagination. Since i have worked with basic screen printing, i want to combine and incorporate other textile techniques also in my collection. Hence, the theme MIX AND MASH is the theme i chose to work under. When i think of mix and mash, i think of keywords such as layers, textures, juxtapose and something out of the usual. Unusual mix of colors, image and text, unrealistic motifs and patterns can all contribute to such a theme.The pop culture is a good example which involves all the above aspects. To narrow down my theme, i chose to work in particular with the indian street culture.Indian streets is a perfect example of coming together of incompatible elements, yet blending in to create a certain ambience and mood.Since the indian streets was too diverse a theme, i narrowed down to imagery on walls, trucks, and posters.Looking at these often ignored elements on the street, i realised that they are an extremely interesting combination of a lot of elements of design. The use of colour, text and images is very interesting and gives a lot of scope for textures. It is a fine amalgamation of the natural and the manmade treatment which makes it even more exciting. Fungus on the walls, rust on the metal and torn layers of posters on the walls, these were some of the things that captured my attention.The process of slowly deteriorating almost seems like an alive and an ongoing process.It would be an exciting challange to translate this onto cloth.My theme lies in working towards more of imperfection, rawness and a mix mash of several media.More than the concept or the patterns im going to use, my aim to mix and mash will lie mostly in the techniques and the material and media i use. I plan to use a lot of found objects and textures to create my screens and perhaps superimpose them with a couple of drawn patterns.Also, the fabric itself will play a very important part as i plan to use a lot of scraps and mix it together to create my swatches. Mix and Mash is what i plan to do.