My Silver Arts Award In Review

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I have found this overall to be an interesting experience, new lessons in juggling were learned (or not learned as the case may be. Perhaps 'are to be learned' is a more accurate statement) since I was managing this hand in hand with a full time college education. Looking back though I'm proud of what I've managed, and I'm happy with what I've produced.

The skills that I've picked up from simultaneously running a workshop and tutorial will come in handy, even if that is just by making any tutorials I film in the future seem ten times more laid back because I won't have to worry about other people. I'm also looking to try out some new methods of printing t-shirts, I'd like to progress to mixing transfers with screen printing to get layered designs and different effects for different areas. And I've also learned from creating my second corset; I need to alter the pattern, flaring it more over the ribs and cutting it far smaller not just on the waist but all over. I'd also like to learn more about the placement of boning and how it affects the fit and comfort of the corset.

There have certainly been things I haven't enjoyed, such as documenting my progress. That was a veritable hell this time 'round, I have found it harder to elaborate upon and embellish my posts due to the cut and run attitude of evaluation that I have unfortunately and unwillingly appropriated from college. To fix this I've started posting on my personal blog again, writing and reading more poetry. To start with I got a book of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poems out of the library With any luck my writing style will become florid and grandiloquent again. Despite that though I've been offered an opportunity to guest blog by Lori of Rarely Wears Lipstick, which is rather brilliant I think!

All I can say now is... I hope you enjoyed reading!

My Arts Challenge In Review

I'M FINISHED!!!
Feels so good to be able to type that, you have no idea. Oh but I hope I'm not making it sound like I didn't enjoy myself, I certainly enjoyed some elements. It was incredibly gratifying to see all these little projects unfold, I think the best of which is my patchwork corset. I wore it to college the other day and got some really positive feedback from everyone there, most of the people who saw it hadn't realised that I'd made it and were incredibly impressed when I said that I had. But then having said that I feel that the confidence I gained from wearing my Miku costume (the one with the free handed silk panels) on stage at LFCC is enormously important and that experience has given birth to a tenacious, gnawing desire to enter more cosplay competitions. And to top it off I've gotten some rather brilliant ideas for t-shirts, so it's been pretty win-win really.

If I was going to do anything differently I'd certainly give myself more time. If I'd been able to I would much rather have done this as a summer project so that college didn't interfere and vice versa. I won't say it hasn't been stressful doing both since I've had to keep up with course work and hand in final pieces for two projects (one of which I got the grades back for, a merit and a distinction) at the same time. Aside from timing though, I wouldn't change anything. Every mistake has been an education and every success has magnified my ego.

T-shirts: Finished Pictures

The process for creating these transfers was relatively simple. I scanned in the original screen prints, cropped and re-sized them slightly then printed them out onto transfer paper. Another hitch I hit with the 'Firefly' inspired one was that we used our last sheet of dark transfer paper and messed up with the printout, having reversed it without actually needing to.

Once they were dry, I laid them down, face up on their respective tops, put the provided paper (which is really just baking paper) over the top and iron them to fix them onto the shirts.

The first one I did was the plain Emilie Autumn one. I hadn't done this in a while and I kind of screwed up a bit on the bottom, but I actually don't mind. I think it adds to it. In fact I want to weather this one, soften it up and make it look really worn and scraggy. The vest that I used was actually ribbed, something I hadn't considered when buying it, there was a temporary worry that the transfer wouldn't take to it very well and it would just split down the lines, but it didn't and looks great over the ribbing.

This was the second one I did. The screen print I used was one that I had taken and embellished with ribbons, lace, buttons, beads and a safety pin or two. I actually mounted the original screen print on a piece of fabric so that it would hold up better which is what the stitches you can see up top are there for.
I'm not sure I like this one as much as the first, I think it would look a whole lot better if I'd used a plain print then sewn ribbons and nicknacks to the actual top, just to give it another dimension. It looks very flat to me. Whilst I'd wear the first one out, I'm not so sure I would wear this one...

The third and last one I did was the 'Firefly' inspired one. I really like it as a poster, and I think it would work better on a t-shirt if browns blended together better and if it wasn't done with transfer paper and rather printed or screen printed on. 

It turned out quite faded, which would be a good look if it was kind of patch and looked accidental, as if it had happened over time but it's kind of all over and meh. I guess it must be because it's a dark transfer on a dark shirt? I'm still happy with it though, don't get me wrong!