Changes...

I haven't changed my idea this time so thats good, however I have a new URL which has a more relevant (more like less-irrelevant) title. This just makes it flow as a whole piece of work now. 


Visit: jennywatling.blogspot.com

Stiffening Fabric

In an effort to find other ways to harden fabric in the style of WW2 aircraft makers I came across something very interesting in Hobbycraft. Right next to the model aircrafts was a tiny pot of Cellulose Dope, dope was what was used to cover the material on the body of the planes, though in WW2 this was more likely to be butyrate dope. This gave me a chance to experiment with a new substance and see it's effects on the fabric whist keeping in touch with the WW2 roots of the process.

Helmet Test With Dope

I used the helmet as a base and some odd piece I had knitted from thick red wool then brushed the dope on to it with a medium coating. Once this had dried it easily came off of the helmet and was much more firm and stiff than previously, though in comparison to the resin I have used, it was flexible and somewhat unstable. In a way this was a good thing, I wanted to preserve the appearance and texture of the materials but also making them more structural which was kind of achieved. My issue with this is that it wasn't really as strong as I wanted it to be, it had the feeling of nearly breaking or losing shape, neither of which would be very helpful. It was also a cost issue, that tiny pot cost about £4 and about 25% of it was used on that little experimental piece, so hardening a whole suitcase or rifle would be expensive.

Red Piece- Dope, Brown Piece- PVA

I also tested the effect of PVA glue on the fabric in the same way as the Dope. This produced nearly identical results, though the dope may have been a little more solid. To me this concludes that if I wanted to use an alternative method to hardening the fabric than using resin, PVA would be a better option than the Cellulose Dope as it gave near enough the same results for a lot less money and it is much more accessible in large quantities.

Hand Stitching

The thing I noticed most after creating the cigarette pack is the apparent urgency of the stitching. It looks a bit untidy and rapid and I think that represents the urgency and the need to have that object quickly was important to the soldiers. I was originally going to use a sewing machine to do the stitching on most of the objects, but because of the way the hand stitching looks and the fact that it feels more human, (going back to the anthropomorphic base that I started this whole project on) I want to hand sew the objects. 

Housewife Sewing Kit

This also links in with the soldiers during the war because they were issued a "Housewife Sewing Kit" and this was to repair clothing and equipment on the frontline, and clothing repairs were likely to be more of a women's role if they were at home. Sewing and knitting were also used as occupational therapy to soldiers who returned injured, so it would have been a newly required skill, therefore the quality may not be as good, but the inflections would tell more of a story about the person who made the piece. 

Man Knitting as Part of the War Effort

Making the Cigarette Packet

I decided to firstly create the cigarette packet as it seemed the most simple one to start off with and I had a good reference:


The lucky strike brand of cigarettes

http://www.relics.org.uk/productinfo.php?product=573&PHPSESSID=a5032c8e396d3accb670e2bac74980d9

Dimensions:  2.25 X 2.8 INCHES (unsure of depth)

This brand of cigarettes were given to soldiers for free and though being an American brand some British troops smoked them. To make them in a feminine way I used felt, old socks and embroidery. I chose this because looking at the items such as the "Dig for Victory" embroidered poster as well as the make do an mend initiative meant I was using similar techniques to that of what the women in WW2 did, linking the masculine and the feminine.

I think overall this went well, although the stitching is somewhat crude, I like that about it because it adds a human element to it because it was hand sewn. I also realised that I can keep some objects that I am creating soft, rather than using resin or PVA etc. on them and they will retain shapes, though I don't think this will work as much on a larger scale where more structural support would be needed.  

Objects I would Like to Create

From looking at the things in the war museum and after the research I have been doing I have got an idea of what objects I want to re-create in a feminine way.

1. Demob suitcase

2. Gas Mask

3. Grenade

4. Helmet

5. Cigarette pack

6. Boots

7. Letter from home

8. Gun

This may turn out to be too many objects to create in the time I have left, but these are what I would like to have done.

I have also been considering the ways that the women made things in this time to give the feminine feel to the objects. The main ones I have found are knitting, crochet and sewing which were all important for the Make do and Mend initiative set up by the Ministry of Information. I also found the plane fabrication interesting and the result from the wool and resin experiment shows that I can make some objects in this way. In the Make Do and Mend book there are also tips on creating decorative patches for reinforcing clothing, this gives me the idea of also using patchwork to create items from old clothes.

Trip to the Imperial War Museum

Yesterday to learn more about the objects from the war I visited the war museum in London. Though the Demob and VE day things they had were limited I found it really useful to get a proper look at all the soldiers gear and weapons and there was a good amount of information about life in Britain and the Home Front.

Here are some pictures:
(quality could be better but my camera broke so this is on a Blackberry)

This visit helped to identify the important objects in the war to the soldiers and also gave me more information on make do and mend and the women's roles in the war. I managed to purchase the Made do and Mend book as well as some replica documents like leaflets and letters that were aim at women during the war. I aim to look to these for inspiration but now I think I have the objects I want to create so it now comes down to creating them.

Knitted Fabric in Resin

Today I wanted to experiment with the material I want to use and the effect that resin will have on it to hold it's shape. I want the fabric to clearly follow the shape of the objects I am going to recreate so I need to make sure that this method will work for that, but I also want the feel and look of the fabric to be preserved in a way to get a more authentic look to the objects.
  
This was the experiment:

What I found was that when dried the material did keep some properties but not completely and in some places it was lost completely because of the shape it was being formed in to. I also noticed that the more intricate and tighter stitched fabrics lost a lot more of their original texture and look than the looser fabrics. This is probably because they absorbed more resin which stayed in the fabric when dried compared to the looser ones where the resin had more gaps to creep out of. My personal favourite piece from this experiment is the rounded crochet pattern (number 4), this is because to me it really resembles a soldiers helmet and because of the stitching and the colour, it also looks feminine.

In summary I think that this method works and I like the historical links to the way that the planes were fabricated, but it is limited and I think the mixture of wool and resin isn't suitable for more detailed objects. One thing I would like to try next is trying other types of fabric in the resin like lace and cotton to see the effects that resin has on those and also to try other methods of stiffening the knitted fabric that can keep the properties of it more.

Planes

From what I have been told by my Dad, during the war my Nan used to work in an aircraft factory. I never got the chance to ask her about it myself, but my Dad said she used to fabric ate the planes using some material and glue type stuff. As vague as that may be, I thought this was really interesting, especially for this project because this skill that my Nan and many other women during the war learnt they wouldn't have because the war provided them with the jobs. This method of making also sound to me a little like using resin on a material to make it hard (I plan to experiment with this next week), which can form shapes like what I want to create. 

Woman Working in WW2 Aircraft Factory

I researched this further and found that some aircrafts like the  De Havilland Mosquito were made entirely from wood and coated in the fabric and glue or monocoque. The fabric used on the Mosquito was Madapolam, a soft cotton fabric and that was coated with aircraft dope that hardens the fabric and make it more taut.

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/world-war-2/6213523/World-War-2-in-pictures-Women-at-war.html?image=6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_fabric_covering

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Mosquito#Construction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_fabric_covering

Women in WW2

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/war/women.htm

http://caber.open.ac.uk/schools/stanway/workrole.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwtwo/women_at_war_01.shtml

These sites all explain the roles that women began to undertake during the war and also how these roles differ to that of the 1930s.

Basically the women needed to be recruited by the government and business to replace the men who went to war, whilst some women where also deployed in the army this was a bit less common. Prior to this, women were expected to be the homemakers, cooking, cleaning, knitting, washing, looking after children etc and a few went to work in jobs like housekeeping for the middle classes. However, once the women were married and had children it was extremely rare for them to be working. The real shift in gender expectations and what women felt they were capable of was down to the war and the jobs that the women undertook whilst still being the housekeeper and during a time of distress and austerity. You can imagine that if you suddenly realised that you possess these capabilities and then told after the war that you should go back to being the simple housewife whilst the men took there jobs back, you would feel empowered to make change. This eventually happened.

Womens Air Force Poster

Poster to encourage Women to Help Evacuation

Women's Land Army Poster

What I really find interesting is this shift in expectations women had in themselves pre-war and post war and how the events in the middle caused this. This links back to the yin-yang concept because the women having the masculine roles maybe felt more complete and this reflects the harmony and balance of masculinity and femininity.

Decisions, Decisions...

Looking at the alternatives, I still feel much more drawn to the war theme. This is because the history of gender roles and the shift in feminine and masculine attributes happens clearly in this period. It also gives the projects a real human angle because the of high level of emotion attached to something as shocking as WW2. Another reason is that I find the objects and ways to warp them fascinating, I love vintage things, clothing and memorabilia etc, and it makes me think there was a real story behind it and why it could be damaged or altered. This again links back to the route of my project, which was anthropomorphism as the objects develop a human like personality because of the stories.

Though this project is much more of a sculptural piece than originally intended, I think that the important point to draw from this is to question what a product is, how its made and who its for. So, although I am not really making and developing a new product, this project gives me things to consider using in the future.   

In summary then… Decided: War Theme

Alternative Idea's to the War Concept - Shoes

Another area of difference that is obvious between men and women are shoes. There is quite a stereotypical difference between the look and build of mens and women's shoes partially to do with gender roles and how that influences the purpose of the shoe. 

Types of mens Shoe:

Dress

Casual

Althetic

Work / Boot

Types of Women's Shoes:

Casual

Flats/ Pumps

Wedges

Stiletto

What I notice from the shoes is that the mens seem to be more focused for function whereas the women's are more to exaggerate appearance. As I mentioned before I think this is something to do with gender roles in the past where men went out and worked whereas women stayed at home, this mean that shoes would have to benefit them and be suitable for the roles. I also notice that the mens shoes are much more bulky in general compared to the women's shoes, this may be due to the functionality but i also think this may be partly to do with reflection of traits. Men would like to show their strength, protection, and breadwinning  skills, so they may be more inclined to wear shoes that do so. For example the mens dress shoe, though not particularly bulky, are well build and give the impression of a businessman and luxury, showing that they can be providers. 

     The women's shoes seem to be about making the women look good for the men, though this may not be their intention when buying/wearing them, that was probably what the original design was meant for. The heels are something very distinctive to women's shoes, the odd cuban heel or platform shoe in the mens shoe world doesn't come close the the vast dominance of the feminine heel. 

     I think that it would be quite interesting to look at the idea of swapping the distinct shoe styles. For example, making stilettos from thick leather with steel toe caps like the mens work boots and then making a version of those boots in a very feminine way, with lace and flowery decoration etc. This would be a way of challenging the difference of masculine and feminine and the fusion of the two in an obscure way but with familiar objects. 

Sources:

http://shoesformeninuk.zoomshare.com/

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-media-zone/201104/when-women-pimp-themselves-their-shoes

Alternative Idea's to the War Concept - Sports

I want to explore alternatives to the war idea, though I think it will be a good route to take because of the historical elements, I think it is important to look at alternatives for maybe a more playful outcome. One thing I thought about was sports. In sport many of the masculine traits I looked at are expressed like competitiveness and physical ability, hence the appeal and the pressure to be a good sportsperson occurs more in men. Therefore I have noticed that a lot of advertising and products that are targeted at men involve sports.

They also heavily use the images of the sportsmen as icons to sell the products and give them a more masculine appeal.

Sources:

http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/docs/sport_englisch.pdf

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/2292796/A-hundred-years-of-sport-and-advertising.html

Objects and WW2 - Demob

Demob Suit

Open Demob suitcase

Demob case

Demob Case

The concept that I am exploring now is the De-mob when the service men returned at the end of the war to the women, whose roles had been changed during the war but were now expected to return to their roles pre-war. What I want to do is put the feminine mix in to the men's objects from the war and this is to show the beginning of change in gender roles, where women actually begin to take the jobs that were for men because of feeling empowerment from the war. I want to use the demob suitcase as the holder for the masculine war products and use the lighting to highlight them. Inside the suitcase I want the war type memorabilia that is recognisable and then change them to make them feminine by altering the material and way of making them.

WW2 things:

Male and Female Roles In Britain

Masculinity and femininity are traits that are passed down through generation and through culture. The traits we develop are initially supposed to help within each gender role, but these are much more subjective now than what they use to be. The biggest change in gender roles occurred during the wars in the 20th century when the men were enlisted to fight in other countries, the women had to take over the more industrial "Male" jobs like farming, manufacturing and building. This led to women feeling more empowered to change things and have more rights and be able to vote and work etc.

     So the wars where when things changed, thats when the roles got altered and skewed and I think that this will be a good theme to use for the subjects to the sculpture/lamp because the objects are more obviously associated with a gender and more fun and contradictory to warp.

On Reflection, Maybe a Different Route?

Okay, some reflection time talking to other people has made me reconsider a few things. Firstly, why does my lamp have to look like a lamp? My design has a base a top some shapes in the middle which now seem a bit to much considering I am drawn to simple objects. It seems contradictory to make products that probably wouldn't appeal to me and be overly complex and obvious for the people I would target this product at. Maybe I'm trying too hard, time to relax and have fun.

Secondly , why have the two pieces of the lamp, is anything gained from keeping them separate? We talked about the idea of having a masculine object like a hammer then making it out of a very feminine material like lace than having that as a lamp. The concept is still elementally the same mixing the masculine and feminine but it's much more fun and more like something I'd enjoy doing.

So now I am going to look at the objects I can change, maybe focus on some themes e.g. weapons or something more general like things in an old country house/manor. Also, I can see ways to change them and how the processes and the lighting aspects can all feed in to the change of the product and how that can challenge it.

http://www.arturban.co.uk/blog/recycled-toy-sculptures/

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/4603/theresa-honeywell.html

These are some examples of the type of thing I want to create. 

Mixed Media Sculpture

Generally, the sculptures I find appealing are mixed media and quite playful, almost toy like. I think this adds personality to them by giving it humour and nostalgia that I can relate to. The lamps can actually be more structurally sound and more interesting by adding in a variation of material that links to masculine or feminine traits.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDgF7r9yf6EVB3wXs_REG66nFYnUbp1VjbZl33G4iiKoyAlSFVG69GoARtBn43CI5C_GNYjwA1BSWh8mrRnWHozC40mvmmbHd_hVZlGDrL_8xV_l3hLajmk1fvN0J-IcyUz-sik_s4yI/s1600-h/Bee+Eater+progress+1.jpg. - this sculpture has given me the idea to use glass as the main body of the feminine lamp but in a mixed media way, for example I would use fabric to extend the lamp and add texture.

http://www.michaelkrynski.com/ps.alterego.html - this is another example of the type of mixed media I would like to experiment with, I think the wicker makes the sculpture look natural and earthy but I also like to contrast between that and the jeans which are the the final outcome of refined fibres so it's like before and after. What I could do is mix wicker with something like plastic or something else manmade which could show the contrast of what materials people used to use naturally years ago and what we have developed in to in modern times. This highlights an extra element of being human which add to the anthropomorphism of the lamps.

http://www.glassoctopus.org/glassoctopusmmsculpture.php - this sculpture stood out to me because it looked playful and toy like because of the acrylic coated resin.

http://www.rowanmersh.com/ - this artist works mainly with fabric as a medium, which was a material I am considering for my project, particularly for the feminine lamp as it is generally a softer material. The sculpture that stood out to me the most was the Genetic Structure, 2005 because of the shapes the fabric forms over the shapes inside that the fabric is stretched over.

http://www.squidoo.com/fabric-sculpture - this website shows some examples of how fabric can be used in sculpture. What I like in particular is the idea of stuffing the fabric because it shows the playfulness I want to incorporate as it reminds me of stuffed toys and dolls.

http://www.okaygreat.com/tag/fabric-sculpture/ - these sculptures by Rachel Denny are made with carved foam and a knitted exterior. What I like about these is the amount of detail that is used within the carving of the foam to make the sculptures look as life like as necessary. I also think this is a great play on the idea of hunting being quite a masculine thing to do and them making the trophies out of foam and knitting, something much more feminine, so its highlighting a contrast. 

Golden Venture Folding

This is a type of origami that is made up of small modular pieces to create 3D sculptures.

http://www.origami-resource-center.com/golden-venture-folding.html

This method was used to create the Zipzi tables by Michael Young which are strong enough to support the glass table top.

http://www.bonluxat.com/a/michael-young-zipzi-table.html

http://www.origami-resource-center.com/golden-venture-folding-unit.html

This is the way the basic triangle to form the modular sculpture is made, it has tabs and pockets that slot together.

More Wire Prototypes

I am trying to get an idea of how the shape I designed for the masculine lamp will look in a 3D form and whether wire would be suitable as a material to do this in. What I have discovered is that I love the appearance of the wire because it looks rugged in a way and seems a little bit unkempt which endears me. However, I would like the final piece to be a lot more bulked out i.e. less of a wireframe, more of an actual thick 3D form. I could do this by using more layer in the chicken wire and using finer wire meshes. 

I also want to explore other ways of creating the shape, as I feel as though the shape works in the context I want to use it for and as much as i like the wire, I think it has some limitations in terms of structural strength which other materials may be better for. I can also use the wire in a multi-media way, say for example if I wanted to use some ceramic and some wire parts I can explore ways to link them.

Feminine Lamp Prototype Part 1

Here I used chicken wire to create the basic shape for the feminine lamp. I then added an initial paper coat using regular A4 paper and a mix on washing up liquid and water. After that I built up the layers using tissue paper and a pva/water mix.

Here are the Pictures of the Wire Prototypes:

Wire Experiment Part 1

To explore the masculine structure with regards to material I created some wire prototype versions of the model. To do this I used 3 different thicknesses of wire, coat hangers, garden wire and some thinner wire to get a more varied shape and made it easier to manipulate in to shape. I found that using this material was quite satisfying as the shaping was instant and reasonably strong. However I think that something extra would need to be added to keep the structure strong enough like metal sheets as in the Mr. G sculpture by Lisa Fendon which also added the impression of strength so this would add to the reflection of the traits.

Wire technique websites:

http://www.wire2craft.com/resource.html

http://www.wireinspire.com/process.html

http://www.fountainhillsartistsgallery.com/Roe/images/Roe_wire_sculpture_1.jpg - mixing media in the sculpture

http://www.polyscene.com/indexwir.htm

http://www.thesculpturewebsite.co.uk/louise-bandy-artist-sculptor-i78.html

The Lighting Issue

To work out the electronics, I bought led lights that are battery powered, then disassembled them. The lights were turned on by pressing on them, and when I opened up the lights I saw that this was just done by having a plate over a switch and some springs so the plastic casing popped back when pushed. I like the push to turn on and off because it feels like a better connection to the light then turning on a switch away from the bulb/light source. 

Trait References

Feminine:

www.mcneiltrackxc.com/images/nurturing.jpg - nurture

http://us.cdn2.123rf.com/168nwm/naumoid/naumoid0903/naumoid090300087.jpg

Elegant- http://sandydumont.com/wp-content/gallery/top10/hepburn.jpg

http://www.helium.com/items/1180314-class-elegance-tips-etiquette-class-and-elegance

Gentle- http://www.trendspotting.com.au/uploads/Image/water-shaped-bottles-300x202(6).jpg

Submissive -  http://changingminds.org/techniques/body/submissive_body.htm

Sensitive: http://www.keyvive.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/fingertip1.jpg

Masculine:

Brutalism- architecture http://www.open2.net/modernity/4_15.htm

Physically capable- http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/5204038/young-man-lifting-barbell/young-man-lifting-barbell.jpg?size=234&imageId=5204038

Strong - http://www.stonetohome.com/media/gbu0/prodsm/Welsh%20Green%20Rockery.jpg

Looking at these images that relate to the masculine and feminine traits I am most drawn to the idea of the material that the lamps are made from reflecting the traits like strong stone or wood for the masculine lamp and something much more soft and gentle for the feminine lamp. I think that this will appeal to my target consumer because it is a more subtle link to the idea of masculine and feminine traits and the yin-yang concept. This type of link will could also have a more interactive quality through touch and feel rather than just the appearance which I think could make the product more interesting than the previous designs I have explored.

Masculine and Feminine Traits

From various sources I have collated a list of masculine and feminine traits. This give  me a basis to look at shapes on which I can base the lamps on through the body language of the traits. For example a nurturing trait could show a shape that's looks as if it is caring for something. However a trait such as strong could be reflected in a different way, such as the general strength of the build of the lamp or the material it is made of.

Freudian Theory Of Psychosexuality

Sigmund Freud

Masculine and feminine traits are not sex based but more through the development of personality and the various traits we acquire are deemed masculine and feminine dependant on culture and other factors.

The psychologist Sigmund Freud develop a various theories but I think the one most relevant to want I am investigating is his psychosexual theory. This is based on the idea that personality develops through a series of stages during childhood and that libido is the driving force behind behaviour. If the stages are not completed properly a fixation occurs causing negative attributes. Each stage has a conflict that is resolved and it is the way that it is resolved that the childs personal traits are influenced by. The issue with frauds theory is that it is more more focused on male development and somewhat demeaning to females and also they were based on reflection of adults than studies on children. Erik Erikson was another psychologist who developed similar theories to Freud about personality development but his differed because his theory was based on the impact of social experiences over a lifetime rather than just childhood.  

    Basically what the psychologists are saying is that personality and gender are something that are partially in-built in to each human and are properly establish during the early years of life through interaction. However masculinity and femininity are taught traits driven by the social expectations of men and women. For example women were thought of for many years as the caregiver for children, meaning that ideal traits would be emotional warmth, compassion, caring, being good teachers and patience. These traits would be encouraged for young girls because the mother would want them to have these elements to make them in to good caregivers and therefore these traits would seen as feminine, however, men could also possess these elements.

Welcome

Hello,

This is the beginning of my new journal for all my work. Please excuse some of the items for appearing random and out of context to design, but you'll get it in the end, trust me. This is the second part of the journal as I have already done some work on paper. So basically the story so far is that I want to make lamps based on anthropomorphism, like bio-design but solely focusing on humans who are the consumers of the product. I looked in to the various aspects that make things appear human, like this guy:

After that I found myself led in to looking at yin and yang and how the contrast is harmonious, not conflicting and that in tradition yin and yang can represent masculine and feminine. This ties in nicely to the anthropomorphic idea's i was having before and gave me a better track to focus on, which really is where this online journal starts. Now, I am looking at personality, and masculine and feminine traits. Here goes...