Monday 6 December 2010

Assessment Task 2: Conceptualising your own work

The inspirational work of Brie Harrison
Tutor :-Annabel Dover
In my 2D design I had the opportunity to explore the work of Brie Harrison. I looked at her work in my first project where I explored and compared the old with the new ways of making patterns through looking at Fleur de Lis and Folk Art; then I combined these together to make patterns. Brie inspired me to delve deeper into different ideas incorporating colour, shape and pattern.
Brie is a Print Designer & Illustrator based in the Suffolk countryside near London. She takes inspiration from nature, retro children’s books, vintage found fabrics, art deco prints and objects she has found while traveling. Brie takes a lot inspiration from her close surroundings in the tranquil North Norfolk coast; her main ideas are created when at the beaches with the beautiful miles of sand dunes. In comparison to this she also takes a lot of inspiration from her love of California for its contrast in nature, vintage shops and the most amazing Mexican food.
This is reflected in Brie’s work with a collaboration of bold shapes and colours harmonising together to create patterns which are a treat to the eye. The majority of Brie’s prints showcase floral shapes which have a very natural and real sense about them, yet at the same time they are very abstract this effect is enhanced by her bold use of colours.
I would describe Brie’s work to be Eclectic, happy and quirky. When I look at it I get a happy feeling it is very inspirational and uplifting. It has the ability to change the viewer’s mood and take them to a whole new place, making the work very unique and different these are all the things which have made me so interested in Brie’s work.
Like me Brie also takes a lot of inspiration from fellow artist, her main inspiration has come from David Weidman. Who is a printmaker, ceramicist, font designer, painter, cartoonist, and silk screener, Weidman was a very experimental artist. His combination of graphic shapes and use of saturated color palettes have combined to create vintage modern looks while remaining completely relevant to contemporary designers.
I feel that my work shows clear links back to Brie’s , all in all I was inspired by Brie to combine my shapes which I had taken and created from exploring the themes of Folk art and Fleur de Lis. I wanted in my work to create repeat patterns which highlighted and enhanced the shapes and colours within my prints I felt that this in the same way as Brie’s work would create interesting and eye catching pieces which could be used for a wide variety of things from fashion to home accessories.
Overall I am really pleased with how my patterns have turned out; I feel that this has been down to the ideas and inspiration I have gained from looking at Brie’s work. All in all I am very pleased and happy that I have learnt and gained new skills from the exploration of Brie Harrison’s pieces.
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