Evaluation

The tutu and corset make up my final piece. It is based on the theme of dancing, shown through the type of garment, the sheet music used, the imagery panels on the corset and the four appliqués of Swan Lake inspired images. I am really pleased with my outcome as I feel I have successfully created a full, useable garment, presenting many techniques, along with creativity and deeper meaning. Having a theme of dancing on my final piece shows the importance of it in my life, and how it has affected my own personal story.

I think I have taken a journey with this project, from my initial research into Claudine Hellmuth and Tracie Murchison, through to the development and creation of my final piece. I feel that all the artists I have researched have affected my decisions throughout this creative process, inspiring me and guiding me onto the next stage. If I were to redo it I may have taken it down another route, possibly focusing on the family holiday theme with beach huts rather than the dancing theme. I think that either way my final outcome would have been a garment however; as I feel my strengths lie more in stitch-based work, rather than painting or drawing, although I have shown the ability for both sides within this project.

Looking at Jennifer Collier was a turning point in my project. Her work with ballet shoes helped me to grasp the opportunity to include my love of dancing into the development. I enjoyed working with the teabags as another medium, and the ballet shoes sparked my interest in creating a tangible, wearable item rather than a 2D piece. 

Overall, this project, to me, was a success. I am pleased with all the outcomes that I have created and feel that my sketchbook fully documents the journey I took during the creation process behind these outcomes. I feel that this project tells my own personal visual story.

Reflection

Upon reflection of my final piece, I decided that the face appliqués didn't seem to sit well in the context of the garment as a whole. The heavy, almost cartoon appearance of these contrasted too severely with the gentle pastel colours in the corset panels and didn't seem to quite fit in with the 'vintage' feel of the garment. I therefore decided to rethink the appliqués on the corset. I chose to stick with the Swan Lake dancing theme and create appliqués linking to this. The materials I used to create these appliqués included textured organza (melted with a heat gun), shards of sparkly fabrics to give the effect of water and bugle beads. These were all in pale blues and pinks, which I felt were more appropriate colours, as they would be much more subtle on the corset. I used blue and pink stitch to add details, keeping the appliqués very understated, whilst still keeping the same amount of detail.

To complete the garment I added a second pleated ruffle to the neckline of the corset to increase texture. I also created an eight-layer white tutu underneath the bottom calico layer on the tutu to increase volume and to create a fuller, more classic tutu shape.

I think that these adjustments have refined my outcome and taken it to the next level. I feel that the garment sits well together now as a whole and looks finished. I am pleased that I have reviewed and refined my final piece as I think it has improved the quality of the garment as well as fulfilling my aims to create a practical garment inspired by the work of artists that I have studied, as well as my own personal story.

Corset Development

After finishing the tutu, I moved on to creating the corset. I purchased a white satin corset with the intention of placing my appliqués on top. However, putting the corset next to my tutu showed that the two pieces din't sit well as a pair, due to the cream, 'vintage' look of the tutu next to the stark whiteness of the corset. I decided to cover the panels of the corset to allow the two items to sit well together. I wanted to bring the calico colour into the corset, so I decided to do an acrylic transfer onto calico, to be created into panels for the corset. I started by creating a pattern for the six different panels on the corset, both left and right. The images I chose for the panels were of my favourite dancers, such as Adam Cooper and Misty Copeland. I feel this adds to the personal story behind this garment. 

I transferred the six images onto calico using an acrylic transfer method, to give a vintage, worn away look to match the tutu. I decided to add slight bits of stitch and beading to enhance the images and give a bit more texture and interest. I feel this process really enhanced the corset and made it a piece of art in its own right, as well as being part of the costume along with the tutu. 

Once the base of the corset was done I moved on to the creation of the appliqués. I found images of four generations of my family; my great nan, my grandma, my mum and myself. I drew these out onto calico and added shards of fabric to the hair and clothing to add some colour and texture. I then stitched them using various shades of brown thread for the hair and black thread for the features and details. They were then cut out and stitched onto the corset, two on the back and two on the front. To finish off the corset, and to bring in more details from the tutu, I added a pleated ruffle of sheet music to the neckline of the corset. I feel this helped to link the two pieces together as one garment.

I am very pleased with the outcome of my corset. I feel it links in well with the tutu, with the calico panels and paper ruffle. This is also a very wearable garment, which illustrates my personal story of life through the figures in my family. I feel this was a successful addition to my tutu and overall final piece.

Tutu Development

Following my research into Peter Clarke's paper tutu, I decided to start thinking of designs for my own final outcome. I drew up a few quick sketches onto tracing paper to look at skirt shapes and composition. I decided that the bottom left design shown in the image below was my favourite, as the tutu shape showed off the pleated layers, as well as the corset allowing the appliqués to stand out.

I then looked further into this design, looking at the specific ways in which to create such a garment. I decided on purchasing a plain corset to put the appliqués on, which would make them stand out. I also decided on what layers I was going to use in the tutu. I created a small sample of tutu to get the idea of what it would look like, as well as to test out my methods of pleating, stitching etc.

After creating the small tutu sample, I thought that it was lacking in detail, which might have detracted away from it. I therefore decided to add some stitched embroidery onto the middle layer. I felt that music would fit in well with the dancing theme, as well as being relatively simple yet effective. I wanted to copy real music as I felt it would make it more authentic, so I chose the theme song from Swan Lake to stitch into the calico, as it was the first ballet I went to see and also a favourite of mine and my family's. I created a sample of this stitched middle layer. When stitching, I decided to leave the threads hanging loose, reflecting the work of Tracie Murchison, as it added more texture and interest to it.

Having decided that these ideas were of what I had intended to create, I began to make the tutu, starting with the band for the layers to be stitched into. I tested the lengths of the layers on a mannequin before cutting out the panels and beginning to pleat them. For the sheet music stitch I started with the stave lines, and then embroidered on the music notes using an embroidery machine.

After I had stitched the music onto the middle layer, I attached the pleated calico layers onto the waistband of my tutu. I then experimented with lengths and pleating styles of the paper sections. I decided that rough edged, randomly pleated paper looked better, so I created my pleated papers and stitched them onto the band also. To finish off the tutu I added net layers under the paper and white satin binding along the top edge to give it a finished look.

I am very pleased with the outcome of my tutu. It turned out to be a high quality, wearable garment. This was something that was important to me, as being a dancer I understand the need of a practical garment in which you can move freely. I feel this is a successful tutu, showing influences from my journey through my sketchbook.