Little tea cup: 1950's Retro Diner

Welcome to year 2.

Following up from a 3 month break of summer sun, camper vans and floral buntings, it was time to get to grips with colour.

Our new project was an in depth visual journey of the exploration of colour.

Our initial starting point was really understanding what colour was. When you think of red, there is more than just one shade. So I created a page of small 4cm x 4cm squares of varied textures, medias and materials to create a visual explanation of warm, cool and neutral colours.

To make it slightly more interesting, and also so refer back to my chosen specialist of textiles, I wound embroidery thread in the corresponding colour around card and added buttons and even a 2p coin.

Warm Colours

Cool Colours

Neutral Colours

Colour. Where can you take it? Where did I take it?

I will tell you.

I decided to take it within my chosen theme of Retro 1950's diner. I believed this theme was perfect for me, as I was able to explore it in my very own feminine style.

My chosen colour palette. Rater than scribbling down a key of colour, I'd much preferred to demonstrate my colour through the use of my created screen printing dyes and photography.

All diner colours! With my very own much loved and favourite use of pink.

The history of textiles! Yeah I know, can be pretty boring, but it's really not!

In fact it's a good excuse to use that vintage brown parcel paper and black and white photography.

But actually, it's a brilliant idea for the understanding of what Textiles was and how it has developed.

So how does Textiles and colour share a connection? It's rather simple to be honest.

Textiles is a beautiful world of colour. From screen printing, embroidery and stitching to image transfer, fashion, home ware and furnishings. From pillows to wallpaper, there is always an adventurous use and playful approach to colour and design.

Wendy Burns

One of my aspiring artists and designers; Wendy Burns! Ironically I actually purchased the camper van (bottom image top right) notebook, which when I then came across on the internet, and traced it's roots to it's rightful artist. Wendy is a playful designer of feminine print and use of childlike illustration and colour. Her prints and patterns is what attracted me to her in the first place. She uses her work to create beautiful accessories and stationary which is then sold by various manufactures.

Which is how I found her in the first place!

Jenny Arnott

You may recognise this artist.

I came across Jenny during my summer project of 2013, and I instantly grew a personal love and admiration for her work. It best describes my favourite style of work and use of colour. Her beautiful use of feminine illustration, playful cartoons, print and pattern! Full of pretty beach huts, buntings and cupcakes, I just had to bring Jenny back for this particular project.

Not only that but this time her encore I was about to be influenced by in a bigger and better perspective. Her techniques of appliquéd fabrics, layered patterns and prints with embroidery and stitching, is all of what was about to appear within my colour project.

(I even added her on facebook.)

Traci Bautista

Traci Bautista, the most colourful and crazy yet creative artist I think I've come across yet. The most bizarre approach to colour, yet most significantly separate to the type of artists and designers I'd usually be influenced by. But something about this artist that really got me interested, and I simply had to explore her use of technique and interpretation of colour.

She's more strongly fine art with her work, although her use of colour and attitude towards it was what I was more after. She does actually use stitching, so she was more than perfect to select. I decided to create a book to attach to my sketchbook spine, from fabric where I stitched images of her work together as a front cover. This little book creation is what I decided to write her artist biography within.

Side view of my retro 1950's diner inspired mood board imagery.

A cheeky gum-ball machine screen print! I printed it twice in separate colours as shown, which if you stare for two long, can play on your eyes like an optical illusion.

(Accompanied by more importantly my 1950's diner apron designs).

Pretty screen prints! Birds eye an side view. Some stripy ribbon and lots of popcorn boxes.

This was actually one of my first samples. It's my most relaxed sample to create, the idea just literally came together like a jigsaw. Patterned paper, paper doily, stripy ribbon, printed gum-ball machine and some stitching.

Two of my basic and most favourite prints. I'd say these two little cuties is what I've most explored with. My beloved gum-ball machine and popcorn box. Features on most of my samples and within my sketchbook pages.

Another sample! I tried printing onto tissue paper, just to see what it'd be like. It's delicate but can you imagine a pop corn printed toilet paper?

As the tissue was so delicate, I trapped my fabrics and layering within a sheet of clear plastic, which I could then stitch into, plus it allowed it to have a shiny effect.

More sampling! As you can see I've brought my love for pink in. I printed pink stripes, apron prints, more pop corn and more gum balls. All of which with paper doilies and even pink stripy straws. Like actual real ones.

I like this sample. I really do. It's simple but it does show how the gum ball machines look in different colours. I layered them over pink printed stripes and a paper doily, which I stitched into with corresponding threads and then cut away sections of fabric to create reverse applique. The thread I used for the pink one was actually metallic, which was seriously amazing.

Lollipop! Simple, paper doily over pastel pink fabric, then with much concentration I wound a red striped ribbon around as demonstrated above until it made a complete circle, with a paper stripy straw and voila. Again if you concentrate too much in the middle, it really will distract your eyes.

Playful.

Surprisingly, not one of my favourite samples. It's neat and it does show my demonstration of different techniques, but something about it I felt was different. However the blue polka dot background and layered screen-prints with plastic and stitching does make a beautiful sample!

Well when I found these I couldn't resist. Ironically as I was working with gingham printed fabric, as it's the most significant pattern within my theme of retro diner, I came accoss the cutest little jars of gingham buttons! Red, blue and pink I had to share them with you.

My lovely pink stripy straws and red/white stripy ribbon!

This is more of a papery sample. I layered that vintage brown parcel paper, gingham fabric with a white paper doily, strip of cute vintage lace and my popcorn boxes! I even creates a tag from the parcel paper and paper doily, which I then added my little button onto and attached via stripy ribbon.

More images of my samples!

As a visual person I thought the best way to conjur up a design to the apron would be to play around with colour composition and pattern on the paper template. By doing this I could see what design I could make in terms of screen printing fabrics and colour schemes.