I actually really enjoyed Assignment Five. Initially I struggled with locating a suitable textile to use as a subject piece, once I remembered about the existence of decades of strong national textile heritage it became a lot easier!

William Morris is a name I have heard bandied about for years on and off. I never really paid much attention bar the occasional eyebrow raising encounter with one of his incredible designs. It was fascinating to finally learn about his creative endeavours and life story.

The essay writing itself felt a lot easier than previous assignments, it was a case of trying to cut down on my typing rather than dredging up ideas to fill up a word count.

Looking at Morris’s work made me realise that quite a few artworks I have seen in films are inspired by him. One which stood out to me is below, the tapestry of the tree which in turn reminded me of the Black Family Tree from the Potter franchise.

It could be the similarity in the colour palette or simply the idea of a tree depicted in tapestry. Looking at it now I see simlarities in the sweeping lines of the leaves and branches of the two different pieces. Writing this has just given me an idea for the first exercise in Graphics 1….double win!

Overall, textiles has been an interesting module. I have learnt more from this module than the other four particularly about the wasteful nature of the fashion industry, that was eye opening. It was also encouraging to learn that artists such as Donna Wilson are able to find success with turning craft into business, and maintain the positive ethic values of that ideal throughout her operation.

My favourite exercise, besides the assignment, was in Part 1 in learning about the material life cycle. I learnt a lot from researching this area and will pay a lot more attention to where my clothes come from in future.

The exercise I found least enjoyable was researching Christian Boltanski’s installation ‘Personnes’ at the Grand Palais in Paris. Whilst I am aware that this will have been thought provoking and intriguing for many people, it’s just too morbid for my taste.

I would recommend this module to people who have no idea which specialised subjects they wish to study, also to those who are keen to learn more about thinking critically in relation to art. I would not recommend it to anyone with an engineering brain or who has low tolerance for understanding philosophical debate. I have learnt a lot from this module, my horizons have broadened and tolerance threshold has definitely increased, but I cannot honestly say I wouldn’t run away screaming if someone offered me a folder entitled Creative Arts 2.

Insider. (2019). The one thing that stumped the ‘Harry Potter’ filmmakers. [online] Available at: https://www.insider.com/how-they-made-the-black-family-tree-in-harry-potter-movies-2016-7 [Accessed 30 Dec. 2019].

Anon, (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.the-tapestry-shop.co.uk/products/william-morris-tree-of-life-tapestry-i?gclid=CjwKCAiA3abwBRBqEiwAKwICA_i5uYafH3w3GhPDy2nqS7w2wtNYXHvgwWFbcM9o3iCZOnyUpnZgHBoCs_sQAvD_BwE [Accessed 30 Dec. 2019].