How are you exploring your essential question; is it different from what you expected? If you don’t feel like you’re answering your essential question, what is happening that’s different from what you expected?
My essential question is “How can I use the past to move forward?” I am exploring this question by learning how to rework old clothing in a way that both brings the garment’s wear to the surface and simultaneously repairs and upgrades the garment. A way that I am answering my question that I didn’t initially expect is by finding inspiration for my modifications from various cultures over the past 100 years (Punk culture, cowboy, repair, etc). In this way I am using ideas from the past and reimaging them in a way that makes them applicable and relevant today. This idea can be seen in my video that covers my progress over the course of my project and some of the things I’ve made.
Are you surprised by any of the challenges that you’ve faced so far? How have you met those challenges and what can you do going forward to deal with them?
I was surprised at how little time six weeks really is. I was initially far too ambitious with what I wanted to complete in the time I have. I’ve met this realization by becoming focused on reworking clothing exclusively and deciding against creating a business. By becoming focused on clothing I feel I will be able to focus my effort and create things that I am proud of. I’ve outlined my new plan going forward in the video I posted to the blog.
Writing on your essential question: What have you learned about your essential question so far? What further questions do you have? and/or Has your essential question changed? If so, how? What do you want to know more about?
I’ve learned that there are many different ways to use and apply the past to something you are making. Ideas, techniques, and wear patterns can all be considered the past and there are many ways I can apply/highlight them in the things I create. I want to continue learning about the history of clothing and different cultures so I can continue applying the things I learn to what I create.
Emmett, some good insights here. To capture some of the ways that your research is informing your design, you might want to think about creating a process/documentation post that works as a sort of mood board (i.e., a collection of images and ideas from this research) that can help frame your own emerging design principles/aesthetic. What is it that you are drawn to in these “historical” artifacts? How do they connect to this moment in which you are designing? And how do they also point you in new directions?