The aim is to extend the frontiers of design in the medium of fibre, fabric and thread, exploring traditional procedures and techniques in the light of new materials. Students are exposed to national and international ideas about textiles as art form and as a medium for design. Drawing is of the utmost importance, to develop visual awareness, to generate ideas for design, and to express individuality. Students choose to develop in open exploratory ways with new materials, mixing media and techniques for personal expression. Responsiveness to the tactile and lustrous qualities of the media in addition to structure and colour, are the first attractions for a potential designer in fabric and thread.
Ideas grow direct from materials as well as from visual sources.
Materials such as paper, plastic sheet, thread and metal wire find their place alongside more traditional materials. The boundaries between the various areas of artistic expression have been disregarded for a number of years and the range of options is much wider than the name suggests. The Department seeks to provide the broad base necessary for students of design to contribute their developed skills to the society in which they live with insight, understanding, tolerance and humour. In embroidery, the study of thread and fabric as the raw material of expression leads to various forms of design, from the decoration of surfaces with hand or machine stitches, to the building of three-dimensional forms in fabric. Traditional techniques are re-examined as vehicles for modern design.