My first week!!

 My first two weeks at Fcot have been busy, filled with an array of information about the college and my course. The first week we had induction training to do, but managed to fit in a couple of practical activities throughout. On Monday, with Lareen in pattern cutting, we learnt the uses and set-up of multiple sewing machines, practicing winding the bobbin, and threading the machines themselves. For homework we were tasked with making a safety poster about potential dangers in the studio, and how to safely deal with them. In our first photography lesson, we discussed photograms, and studied different photographers who use them in their work. We also researched the Bauhaus, a school in 1920's Germany that practiced are with intent, with a love for practicality. 

We had fashion and textiles with Sam on Tuesday, here we started mark making, following the formal elements of art and design. For example, using different mediums each time, we would mark the first thing we thought of when we heard, 'Line'. We repeated this for the following words: color, form, pattern, texture, tone, shape, space. Our homework followed on from this, using those same words and creating a page on each, representing them visually. Later in the day we had an ICT lesson with Charlie, going through the IT induction and completing areas of it.

Wednesday with Lareen in the morning we were looking at industry standards, and the history of sewing both industrial and small scale. We studied the decline of quality, correlative with the rise in fast fashion, and how that impacts the industry as a whole, as well as economically, socially and environmentally. We then wrote down seam allowances, and measurement conversions. In tutorial, we continued with the induction training.

Finally, on Friday, we had fashion and textiles with Sam. During this session we were given our first design brief, due in a months time. The brief details and sketchbook of research into the client, Liberty of London, research into artists who used the starting point of organic life, and our own observations and recordings both in and out of studio, that relate to the clients wishes and standards.

Overall my first week at Fcot gave me an overview of the course I am taking, allowed me to make new connections with the people on my course, and gave me new practical skills that I can use for not only the next two years, but for the rest of my life!! I have thoroughly enjoyed my first week here, and can't wait to see what I can achieve.