Doom Diary # 6: You can't have your cake and eat it too

It was my birthday today (21, woo) and my mum made THE MOST incredible cake, it's so beautiful (the horses are made of icing, which she hand painted - individually :o). Something I admire in anything is the level of craftsmanship that goes into making and the joy that brings as a result. Whether it's cakes or clothes it's something that really motivates me in my own work. The white and gold colour scheme was a lovely combination, very classic and regal, also I loved the holographic wrap on the poles the horses were attached to (I'm like a magpie when it comes to sparkle), but something like that, the little extra touches really bring the whole design together, (plus it tasted amazing).

Doom Diary # 4: Spacesuit up

I went to the National Space Centre today (imma science nerd) and filmed a short vlog (I'm also a media nerd). Something I learnt was that gravity on Earth compresses your spine, but in space, since you're without gravity, you grow taller by 5-6 centimetres. Being 5"3 this is great news to me, now all I need to do is get working on building a rocket... downside though is if you're in space too long your muscles start to waste away, I already have trouble running up stairs soo maybe it's not such a great idea.

There were so many space suits on display (at a space centre? no?!) what fascinated me most was how much more there is to each suit than what people see. The 'EVA' suit (below) is made up of eleven protective layers; including five layers of aluminium coated mylar (for insulation), combination ortho-fabric (the flame resistant outer layer), neoprene coated nylon lining, woven dacron and nylon coated with polyurethane (for protection during pressurisation), spandex (to hold the water cooling system close to the body) and nylon acetate (so it doesn't get uncomfortable in there).

I could make some 'out of this world' puns right now but I'll control myself. While I was filming some girls were laughing at me so I turned and smiled at them (best way to intimidate - smile, it confuses people) although if you're wearing a space helmet it might not make a difference. Sometimes I wonder if I was born out of my time, I mean I love television and I couldn't imagine a world without Hayley Williams but the '60s were a time of such amazing change, I can't help but feel nostalgic for it. Although can you really be nostalgic for a place you've never been? I love the image of the way people in the '60s imagined the world would be now; with everyone driving hovercrafts but still wearing gogo-boots - okay maybe not exactly like that, but you know, it's the image of a world that never existed and I find it kind of exciting. It's something people have tried to recreate in film, and even fashion. I like things that tell a story, that take you places in your mind and make you feel like a part of something bigger than all this emptiness. Woow, feel like I opened up my soul a bit there, yeeeah it's making my skin crawl so I'm gona go. Here's a few other photos of my day, hopefully I'll find a way to integrate them into a project soon, til then...

[all photos taken by me] 

Doom Diary # 3: Aquatopia exhibition

[sorry for the poor quality, phone camera]

I went to the 'Aquatopia' exhibition @ Nottingham Contemporary (which doesn't allow photographs so I decided to draw / watercolour instead) I also did a little extra research on things I saw when I got home to stick into my world book. The sketch in the second photo is a blind drawing I did of a shark carcass they had on display. I'm actually quite proud of it, not everyone likes blind drawings but it's one of my better ones since it at least looks remotely similar to what it's supposed to be. The shark was suspended from the ceiling in the gallery, it had be cut open, dried and painted with gold-leaf on the underside which look equally eerie and magical. I've always found marine life fascinating, when I was fourteen I wanted to be a marine photographer. I still have an underwater camera which I need to make use of, although I'm quite hopeless since I can't open my eyes underwater, on the plus side I look amazing in swimming goggles :P

The third image is of a sea sponge, backed onto a photocopy of a smocked quilting design I did a while ago which I felt was aesthetically similar. The vibrant yet cool colour set really appeals to me, along with the lines across the sponge which I think are great inspiration for fabric manipulation. The final page features some radiolaria; a type of marine protozoa, which I though looked quite futuristic / alien. With so much of the worlds oceans left currently unexplored there's so much possibility in a world of unknown species thriving beneath the depths.
I did a tonne of other blind drawings / watercolours in my other sketchbook but these are my favourites so I though I'd stick to posting them for now. I stress over composition way too much, even looking over these now it feels a little restrained, it's something I'm working on though.

I really liked this exhibition, I'm generally conflicted over what people define as contemporary art, but exhibits I particularly enjoy usually feature sculptures, video installations or photography. One of my favourite exhibits I've ever been to was the Andy Warhol Screen Tests at the MoMA in New York. I know, I know, Andy Warhol, seems like a cliched name drop right? Back in school I only ever knew him for his pop art work but his screen tests really struck me, they're something so seemingly simple, but they were miles ahead of their time. For any one who hasn't seen them they're basically a collection of black & white headshot recordings, played on loop whilst being projected again the gallery walls, thereby immortalising the subject in a living portrait. I'd love to replicate that effect on fabric if I could find a way, with my own design of course. I know of several designers who project videos onto dresses which have to be plugged into the wall, but if there were a way of creating a hybrid textile which could display a moving image without technical constraints I'd probably die of excitement.

Doom Diary # 2: Eco Fashion & 3D Printing

Eco fashion and sustainability have always been of interest to me, alongside the use of developing technologies to create art. "Eco Fashion" by Sass Brown is a book which explores the world of ecological design and the work of forward thinking eco-pioneers in today's design industry. Following through on the idea of an artist as an activist the book examines design processes of those who harness fashion not only as a means of expression but as a way of generating change. Reading about the range of processes such as; upcycling, hand loom embroidery, shibori dye resit, heat photogram printing alongside the use of nettle fibres and low impact dyes, was really inspiring to me as I never really there was such a broad range of techniques associated with the movement. It's something I've always had an interest in but never really knew how to put theory into practice. For one, eco-minded fashion has been endlessly criticised in the past as being limited and poorly designed but I believe that executed along with a keen sense of craftsmanship, originality and cultural consciousness eco innovation could rise to the acclaim it deserves.

The disposable nature of fashion has a grave impact on those who work in the textile industry, particularly those at the bottom of the chain. According to fair trade standards "for a product to be marked as 'Fair-trade' at least 20% of its mass must be made up of a Fairtrade product" - which makes me question how much of the remaining 80% was fairly traded and what impact this has on farmers in developing countries. Something I also found quite troubling is that "15% of all textiles purchased for garment construction are destined for the bin". The buildup of textile waste degrading slowly in landfills is having a profoundly negative effect the environment, which is why as designers we must acknowledge and avoid adding to the dyer impact it's having on our planet - not to restrict the creativity of our art but by using it intellectually to push boundaries and create change in the way people respond to fashion in today's society. Mark Liu, one of the designers featured in the book uses a highly complex pattern cutting technique, using only rectangles, to make each pattern piece fit together like a jigsaw piece, thereby eliminating material waste altogether. Another designer, Holly McQuillan uses 'surplus as a resource' in her work, taking the excess fabric removed during the fitting stage and re-incorporating it back into the garment - another method of eliminating all material waste. Her ethos lies upon how she feels that "the industry is responding to the climate crisis with 'less bad' solutions, i.e. using organic and recycled fibers but within a wasteful production and consumption model".

Something which I wrote about on my other blog is the Melonia shoe by Swedish designers, Naim Josefi and Souzan Youssouf. The shoes are 3D printed to exact measurements so there's virtually no material waste, making them both economically and environmentally friendly. I love these shoes on principal (plus, they're pretty kickass) as they collate my two passions by harnessing new technology to forward eco sustainability. The uses of 3D printing have become increasingly publicised of late, 3D printing everything from spaghetti to skin cells, it's really a technology that's set to take off.

Image 1 - via pinterest, used for cwk purposes only, no copyright infringement intended. 

Image 2 - shot by me at The National Design Museum, August 2011. 

Doom Diary # 1: The Eggpocalypse

I woke up to the smell of burning this morning... hah I say "morning", I didn't get out of bed til midday (cuz I'm a proper student and it's technically still summer). Whilst some people set alarm clocks our flat take it to the next level and set off the entire building's fire alarm system (some days that's the only thing that would get me out of bed). Turns out my flatmate had boiled cremated an egg and forgotten about it. The water had completely evaporated leaving the pan scarred brown externally (it used to be white) and internally remained a flaky, black substance that looked a little like charcoal crystals.
The egg had subsequently exploded and turned to molten ash in the eggpocalyptic panic
(geddit?! egg-pocalypse... yeah okay I'm not funny).

The thing that stunned me most is in the picture at the bottom. You can see the remains of a wooden spoon being engulfed by the black substance. Although it looks shiny at the center it was completely dry. In a weird way I kind of love the crusting edges, the texture of it is just insane and with the flash on my camera it looks almost iridescent. What worried me the most however is that we still don't know what happened to the other end of the spoon...

Mhmm, wow, what an egg-citing story ay? (oh yes, I'm full of puns today) the kitchen may have almost burned down but at least it wasn't my fault for once. Moral of the story? Pay egg-stra attention when cooking, oh and stay in school kids! 

(seriously, real life is hard, just don't grow up okay.)    

Welcome to the island of misfit toys.

Ohai I'm Lorna and this is my blog.

I like biscuits, blogging and pretending I'm magic. I like to think I'm funny but I tell so many bad jokes my life is essentially a low-budget sitcom. Also I'm obsessed with photography - my weapon of choice is a Canon EOS 500D, affectionately named Nigel (you can tell I don't have many friends).

I already have two other blogs but I'm going to use this one specifically for my critical theories module at uni. We've been set a brief to start a research journal, with tasks and reading material put forward each week. Most people are doing theirs as scrapbooks and note files but I just find it easier working like this. Also my fundamental interest in fashion lies in futures technologies and media so I think this format makes the most sense for me (that and I'm a nerd who loves blogging). Here's a link to my alternative blog (which was for another uni project in first yr).