From my pitch to the tutors I took on their advice, particularly that I needed to make the costume my own and not replicate the traditional folk costumes that I had been influenced by. By incorporating my illustrations into the costume by hand printing the entire fabric body and also making the bear head itself look like one of my illustrations I think that I have made something that represents me and my work to the fullest. I also had to consider my purpose and why I was making this piece, and I think as I went along making the costume and drawing the artwork I got a clearer and clearer idea of why I was doing what I doing.
I think when creating a large piece with so many different aspects it can be difficult to have a clear purpose, or at least it's difficult to have just one meaning behind it all. Below I wrote down what my costume means to me,the themes that I explored and what I think my costume expresses to the audience:
The aesthetic of the costume is influenced by the old folk costumes that I have referenced throughout my blog, mainly photographed by Charles Freger, and also the weird animal costumes from The Wickerman. I wanted to explore these themes through illustrations because they are themes that interest me and I think that they are visually very appealing to draw. I also wanted to explore this kind of traditional British culture, as it's very easy to appropriate from other cultures when creating artwork, so instead I wanted to focus on something closer to home that is just as intriguing. The creepiness of these costumes also relates back to this dark story from the forest, dancing bears and murder are topics that are very dramatic and I think can be translated well into a costume.
This costume idea then links into the meaning of the whole thing- exploring storytelling, theatre and manipulation. I have designed the costume that it also can become a space, whether you read from inside the costume, listen to audio or use the bear puppet/book with the costume, transforming the costume into a theatre itself. After researching the dancing bears I realised that my project is also an investigation into manipulation, how we manipulate stories when retelling them- to make them sadder, more salacious or funnier, we manipulate puppets and costumes to tell stories and we manipulate animals for our own entertainment. My costume, a bear without teeth or claws, with a soft malleable body, reflects that of a tame bear- easily restrained.
I am also happy with how the costume turned out, each of the illustrations were printed to a high standard and sewn together well. I think the images I chose to illustrate and print tie in with the creepy forest story and folk tale I chose, and I have a definitive style across the whole thing. I also experimented with different printing techniques, layering images and adding different colours to tell the story. Again, this form of storytelling represents the unreliable nature of rumours and retelling spoken word stories. I think using the red was a great addition to the costume, as it breaks up the grey and black images and guides the audiences eye to these particular patches- therefore revealing the story of the bear. I did want the story to be ambiguous, so that the audience can make up their own opinion of what happened to the bear in the Forest of Dean.
As I went along I think my illustration skills developed and became stronger, and this was due to experimenting with my printing and drawings as I went through the project. I'm glad I had an oppurtinty to explore lots of different methods as I learnt so many new things and new practices. It also meant that my drawings evolved throughout the project and didn't stay the same from the beginning to the end. I also had to learnt o fine tune my style and make it appropriate for the atmosphere of my project- and I can see this by looking at the colours and lines I used in the beginning compared to the moodier and more subdued images that I was using by the end of the final piece:
I think I handled time management in a professional and practical way. There were times were I stopped one part of the project to pursue another, and because I had so many different methods to work with it was important that I got my priorities right. I managed to get all my printing done in plenty of time, and create two bear heads. Again, I am glad I experimented with two different materials as it meant I had a greater understanding of the materials I was using and how the final head would look. If I could go back I would have planned the head a bit more thoroughly- I went in with the attitude that I would just start making it and see how it went, but this meant a lot of editing as I went along. If I had made a smaller version of the head too I think that would have helped, but instead I was working on a huge scale which made it hard to make the head symmetrical- it does look a little wonky! But then again this fits in well with the folky, handmade theme of the traditional costumes.
Exploring different textile techniques was also interesting, and it's a shame I couldn't encorpate the methods such as weaving into my final project. It get get to a point where if I executed all my ideas then it would have been too much, and instead of doing too many techniques to a low standard I think I produced a select few techniques to a high standard. Items such as the ruff and rope and embroidery are things that I would like to complete for the exhibition, as well as explore the possibility of including sound from inside the bears head.
Overall I think I was ambitious in what I wanted to create, but I think it paid off. I wanted to challenge myself and explore new ideas and methods, whilst also creating something that involves themes that I am interested in. I enjoyed every part of this project, and I had so many different aspects to work on that I never got bored or tired of it.
I think I have followed what I predicted in my Pitch and Plan and exceeded it, I have created a large costume installation that shows of my illustration skills and style, reflects a folky, creepy theme and also creates a melancholy and intriguing atmosphere. I have developed my drawing skills throughout as well as explored different techniques such as working with fabric and wire. I think I could have done more experimenting with colour, especially when it came to printing on fabric, as everything is black and grey, and probably produced more development when it comes to story thumbnails. Most importantly I had a clear idea of what I wanted to make and made it, and I had fun making it throughout the entire project.
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