Evaluation

I was really looking forward to the challenge of this project. So many elements were my choice and it was nice to feel in control of my learning path. I had never worked with a client and wanted to give my self a personal challenge. I had thought for a long time that I wanted to learn about corsetry in my self directed project and the added bonus of a one of these corsets going to The Arts Education School in Chiswick was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss. I’ve really enjoyed working with a client, Its given me a taste of the real world. There are many elements to consider with a clients and it was important to liaise with Ase and to fulfil the specifications the client requested. For instance Ase wanted the two side seams not enclosed so there was the option of the corset being altered in the future. There is also the budgetary elements to consider, we kept the line of contact open throughout email to Ase on all the financial and constructional decisions. Fittings also had to be arranged and scheduled , all of this put together forced me to keep on the ball. It would be unacceptable of me to turn up with below standard corset or unfinished even if it was only for the first fitting. I gave my self the challenge to keep high standards but also give my self time to work methodically and not get behind, worry and lead to slap dash work.
The dynamic of working in a group was also was beneficial, It was a good way to set the pace and was also a nice forum to bounce ideas around, share construction tips and solutions. I surprised myself when I was able to help a member of the group with the stage of the construction I had not yet tackled myself, from the depth of my mind came a stowed away piece of knowledge from previous projects. I was a bit emotionally and mentally broken from the ‘Concept in Context’ project and had also lost my confidence. I needed this project to build me up again ready for third year .I hate using dyslexia as an excuses and I like to think it doesn’t effect me but unfortunately it seems to reign, its not unknown that I find time management hard, its not the case im lazy or unmotivated it just I cant compartmentalise sections of my work. I will spend to long on some parts and obsesses about others while other things get left behind. This and pattern drafting was my two major opponents in this project which I wanted to defeat. Im very under confident in the pattern drafting area and I wanted to concur this, making sure in third year it would not be a opposing factor in my work . Graham’s method of pattern drafting for corsets has really turned that around for me. It was almost a ‘Eureka’ moment I was on my second pattern and something just ‘clicked’. These weren’t just lines on a pieces of paper, I suddenly understood the proportions, how it work in 3d and how if something didn’t look quite right I had the knowledge to reshape and work with the contours of the body. Its like I develops my pattern drafting eyes. This sudden understanding off the drafting was then reflected in my successful fittings. Not to be cheesy about the matter but my first fitting with the 18th century corset was a poignant moment for me. The successful fitting of that brought back a bit of confidence which I’ve lost these last months and it relight and verified why I was doing this. At no point of this year have I ever wanted to drop out far from it. I put my heart and soul in to this course but I was starting to wonder why it was me always falling behind, why everything had to be explained to me twice. Should it be this hard? This thought was subdue after the success of my fittings. I saw my development progress further in my next two fittings, firstly with my Arts Ed corset there was no tutors present and then my S-bend corset. Being an impromptu fitting due to circumstances with my model I was able to successfully assess what was wrong and what was need to rectify it to corresponding with the complex pattern. It may take me longer than to learn tan others but the satisfaction I got from being able to see the improvements in my work and self, was more beneficial to me than getting 1st all year. Of course grades are important to me and I would love to be able to be proud of a finished project and a grade reflecting that, but also I know im still learning and the important thing is to address my weakness and improve.