FMP proposal

 My thought process for choosing my final project began by looking back at what has worked well for me in the past. Although I enjoy experimentation and discovering new techniques and media, I decided that I should use the time to develop the skills I already have and know I enjoy practising. The past project that I want to revisit is my year 1 FMP, where I made a blanket and pillowcase with embroidered images  of plants and animals that are associated with witchcraft. One of the things I enjoyed most about that project was exploring medieval drawings from bestiaries which had a very particular style, they were two dimensional and quite naive, but charmingly characterful. Using them as a basis for my textiles work was exciting and fun and I feel ready to go back into that world. 

Instead of witchcraft, this time I am interested in short folk stories and the imagery that surrounds the characters, both antagonist and protagonist. Although generally I am attracted to natural imagery like animals and plants, I want to be more open to illustrating other kinds of iconography that appear in the stories too. I have made a list of books I am interested in but the one I’m starting with is a recent re-writing of the Grimm brothers’ tales by Philip Pullman called ‘Grimm Tales for Young and Old’. I think using the re-interpretation will help give my work a bit more of a modern context  than using the originals though I would still be interested to read them. 

I have started a small sketchbook where I will be gathering words from the stories and illustrating them using medieval references as done previously with my blanket and pillow set. I want my sketchbook to be a place to collect imagery before developing it into something larger and more technically involved. I am aiming for a handmade visual style inspired by the tradition of crafting since I am looking into the past through folk tales and medieval illustrations, and I want to discover more about the historical context surrounding them. 




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