About Me
Hi there, I’m Kellie- a Fashion Graduate from Northumbria University.
My creative realm is in the print room, I am hands on and my style is playful. I work organically and use traditional approaches of investigation to explore Art History alongside practises of historical and contemporary printers. I use my work as a creative outreach platform within society, I aim to empower myself and those who choose to wear my prints.
My work shows great emphasis on the importance of story-telling within my design concepts, and the impact this has when I am creating collections. By using strong and personal narratives like that of 'My Great Aunt Mary Jane', I tend to create concepts through stories with elements of escapism and discovery that conjure adventurous and bold outcomes. My illustration style is quirky and my prints are abstract and large scale and experimental to create an impact on my garments.
INSPIRATION
‘My Great Aunt Mary Jane, 107 and she was still spinning yarns.’
When I began to fabricate my concept of ‘My Great Aunt Mary Jane’, I envisioned the creation of a gender fluid, Irish linen, 1930’s inspired work-wear trouser suit. My influence comes from the ‘re-birthing’ of My Great Aunt Mary Janes Navy Wedding Suit. I have always imagined what it would be- what it would feel like, the fragility, the tactile quality, the wears and tears and the scent it has kept over the many years. My aim is to bring this concept to life through my own contemporary interpretation.
My working process begins with thorough research into historical and contemporary influences. I juxtapose these with personal influences to evoke a sense of camaraderie within my concept. In the print room my palms are stained with dye and pigment from experimentation between my chosen substrates, and hand drawn imagery whilst balancing the application and manipulation of colour. The interaction that takes place in the print room reflects the process a Fine Artist may go through with a blank canvas.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Concept
Lobster Development
Colour
Print Development
Muse
Fabric
Garment Research
Gesture Line Up
Print Room
Suit Details
Line Up
Suit trouser development
Suit on the stand
DETAIL
Abstract deconstructed lobster prints on Irish linen
Drawing inspiration from my narrative of ‘My Great Aunt Mary Jane’ becoming friends with the lobsters on her adventures, I began my print development by experimentally drawing and collaging lobsters in different shapes and sizes using a wide variety of mediums. To create a more abstract print, I decided to 'deconstruct' the lobsters and play around with the scale. You will see on my suit, that some claws are larger scale than others and the different scales are on the back and front of the suit. I created layers through using more textural lines, thicker outlines and some off-set screens. In total my screen-printed linen used 16 screens making up 5 layers for 6 metres of fabric and my colour palette was made up of the discharge dye and 5 colours. As a result of the discharge dye process working on the linen - there was more tonal variations which created depth in my artwork. My collection is gender-neutral and my aim is to empower those who choose to wear my prints.
As an artist with strong beliefs about the world around us, I intend to use my work as a creative outreach platform within society. I aim to empower myself and those that choose to wear my prints.
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