RCA Show 2011: The Sequel

Wow! Where has the time gone since last Tuesday!? I'm trying to think of exciting reasons why I haven't found the time to bring you the sequel to my fabulous trip to the RCA Show - but that would just be working full time! It's not all been 9-5 office work though. This weekend saw me being involved with an exciting Back to School shoot which included 14 children, a big yellow American school bus and a lot of drama - all of which I plan to reveal very soon. In the meantime though, here are my other two highlights from this year's RCA graduates (as promised.)

'I can't seem to get rid of horses' says Birgit Marie Schmidt with her repetitious, gold cast jewellery designs. Based around the concept of nostalgic childhood fantasies and the recurring nature of these - what drew me to Schmidt's work was the sentimentality behind it. Not only do the interconnecting objects work harmoniously together - they really do hold a narrative which each of us can relate to...


www.birgitmarieschmidt.co.uk

Moving away from simple elegance though... I have saved my personal favourite until last.



Inspired by 'traditional Sami costume decoration' - Emma Lundgren embraces her Swedish roots with unexpected colour compositions and disjointed patterns capturing the random nature of Lapland's 'Northern Lights.' From two dimensional printed surfaces to laser cut perspex - Lundgren embraces mixed media & ensures that unconventional materials work together throughout her collection. Juxtaposition seems to be another key concept with tough, industrial fabrics given a feminine touch with the heavy use of floral motifs and organic undulating edges. To say this Textile Designer is experimental is an understatement for it's not often you see so many techniques combined with such an innovative use of colour. Personally, this collection just makes me happy! x


http://emmalundgren.com/

SHOW RCA 2011: Graduating talent

I can't believe I've never made it to this show before. Having been taught by tutors who studied there, along with being inspired by some of the Royal College of Art's most elite graduates: Philip Treacy and Tord Boontje - I was never going to be disappointed by the MA work on show. And sure enough, the show lived up to my high expectations: inspiring any one visiting to grab a sketchbook & start conceptualising.


Sarah Wai - MA Architecture Innovative use of laser cutting - creating relief to re-invent the 2D architect's sketch

Brimming with ideas, disciplines ranged from interior architecture to industrial design. Naturally, I was drawn to the fashion and textiles - stitched, printed, woven & moulded - although I didn't let this obscure my appreciation for all other art forms...

Struck first by the beautifully intricate works of Makiko Nakamura - this ceramic artist has managed to capture organic structures with rigid materials, forming creations that look almost edible.


http://www.nakamuramakiko.com

Of course, three-dimensional form has to get some kind of mention and for me, David Bradley's voluminous screen-printed fashion fabrics were successful with their sensitive compositions and use of negative and positive space, playing with linear qualities to create optical illusions.


http://david-bradley.co.uk/archive

A quirkier find - which I can see being sold at Urban Outfitters any time soon, has to be this 'Masterpiece pad'. For those of us who've ever sat on an epic train journey having sat doodling the whole way, there is now a way to frame these individual creations - no matter how insignificant or magnificent they are. By simply tearing off the page & assembling the pre-cut flaps to create paper, baroque style picture frames - Benjamin Parton is fundamentally preventing us from just chucking these in the bin!


benjamin.parton@network.rca.ac.uk

More to follow... x