Kite photographs in Manchester

Finalized Kite

Here is my finished kite, I've had so much fun creating it and it's been nice to get creative over the summer holidays! I'm really pleased with how my theme has translated how I imagined it to in the final design of the kite; with the use of warm exotic colours and textures it's the perfect 'Indian Summer' kite.

Kite: Bits & Bobs

So I've finally got round to buying some bits & bobs to make my kite with and also started to make the frame for it. Here are some photo's of my purchases and the frame to show my progress so far!! The theme is 'Indian Summer' so lots of embellishment and colour!!

 For the frame I bought thin wooden sticks (68p each) from B&Q and secured them together with lots of string to create the diamond kite shape. I still need to add another stick across the frame to ensure it's sturdy.

 This is the fabric i'm going to be using all over for the kite. I bought it at a remnant shop in Harrogate where I live (£5 for a meter). I was instantly attracted to the beautiful hot pink and quirky batik pattern...if only I had the resources to batik fabric myself at home, as I've done it before at college and it creates some really interesting effects!

 In my inspiration images I looked at a lot of colourful pom poms so finding this in the remnant shop was perfect! I chose the orange as it complimented the hot pink fabric and tied in with the Indian Summer theme really well. I think i'll be using it to trim around all edges of the kite. Hopefully they'll bob around in the wind when it's flying as well !

 I couldn't resist buying this assorted pack of embroidery thread at 'The Works' in Harrogate, for only £1.99 there's such a good range of colours. Embroiding into my kite is something i'd like to do.

 Hot pink ribbon for the kite string.  

           And finally I bought some gorgeous little bronze tassels (90p each) and assorted jewels (10p each)

Inspiration for MMU summer project: Kites

I officially have my place at MMU on the textiles in practice course..yey! We have been set an exciting summer project to create our own kites so here is a little post of photographs to get my inspiration flowing...

As you can see I've been attracted to lots of vibrant colours and textures with an Indian summer influence. I love the idea of attaching poms poms to my kite to give a quirky edge; I think I will start to have a play around with some materials and hopefully kick start the process of making my kite within the next few weeks! 

About Me and My Work

I am a confident, hard working and thoughtful person who enjoys learning and creating. I believe that doing my degree in the inspiring City of Manchester will help me grow as a textile designer and give me the best possible chance in pursuing a career in textiles. 

I specifically chose to apply for the Textiles in Practice course because I feel as though it is the perfect place for me to progress on to gain new skills and further knowledge, in an inspiring environment. I love the fact the course allows you the opportunity to explore a variety of exciting techniques, giving me a clearer direction to what my specialist interest will become. I also like that the course helps you to find placements in the industry and encourages collaborations, as I believe it is important to experience these for the best possible chance in going on to have a successful future career in textiles.

The images I have submitted onto the blog are a range of my experimental, progressive, and completed work which I feel represent my passion best. I have recently experienced screen printing for the first time; I thoroughly enjoyed the process of experimenting printing onto different fabrics and exploring which colours complimented the hessian, cotton and silk best. Texture is also a key factor in my work, weather it is shibori on handmade felt, different styles of smocking or simply changing the surface of a flat piece of paper into something interesting and exciting. Drawing can create some of the best inspiration to translate into textiles, which is why I have included my life drawings and an Indian ink drawing of mine. Life drawing allowed me to create such interesting movement and depth, I particularly liked working with charcoal as it created so many different lines and shadows depending on how you held it. 

Disperse Dyes

Indian Ink