'Make Your Mark' brief: Observational work.

I'm nearing the end of the project, and have been experimenting with more observational work, and the idea of having all the badges on one page (like previously). I've been working with mixed materials and just trying out different layouts on the page. Here are two badges in continuous line/collage. I really like both of these, I think the image on the right is stronger, with the little bit of black on white imagery.

The next two are mixed, one is all the badges collectively, and the other is a simple observational image of my hands, bringing it back to the previous project idea. I love the card outline in the first image.

This is quite a short post, but I thought I should show little bits of progress in between. I spoke to my tutor about rounding up the project, and we talked about doing little picture books, and looking at both the badges/hands idea (why I included both). I think it's a great idea and finalising both main ideas would be a good way to finish this project for me. 

Independent Study, 'Reconstructed faces'.

As part of our Independent study days, we had to explore the idea of a 'reconstructed face' over a number of double spreads in our sketchbooks. I did a few thumbnails to explore different ideas and decided I wanted to start with something very straight forward. I did some basic collages using only a few photos, and then for the second, I reprinted the first image in a lower saturation, so the new additions to the image would stand out. I liked how you could still piece together the faces despite them being broken up, and the colours are quite calm and muted, but with some pinks/blues to bring it out.

For the second spread, I wanted to vary the media I was using. As well as collage and magazine cut outs, I decided to use thread as an alternative to drawing. I tried to create this idea of connection, and to join the different features of the face. Again, the first image was quite simple, but for the second I decided to create features with the thread and well as just using it to connect. I liked how these turned out, and despite the different elements I think they work together to create one face or image.

For my last spread I wanted to do something different. I did some blind drawing of different facial features and then scanned them into photoshop. Like I did previously with the hands, I rearranged the different elements to make a face. I did a little bit of colouring too. For this tasks I had to think of a variety of different ways to approach the phrase, which can be quite challenging. I enjoyed getting to work with media I've not used in a while too, like the thread! 

Evaluation of Exploratory Stage

Initially in 2D design I really struggled, I found it hard to work so freely and openly. Tasks like the blind drawing and left hand drawing were difficult, I know that sounds ridiculous but completely changing the way you work/look at your work can be quite daunting at first! However I just got on with it and very quickly embraced this new way of working. Before the 2D block I'd never really considered composition at all, and I also never thought about the massive range of possibilities within that area. Activities like the found imagery illustrations and observational drawing kind of opened my eyes to many new ways of working. I think starting in the 2D block was perfect for me, because of the fast paced nature it allowed me to quickly acquire new skills and a feeling for what I should expect for the rest of the course. This made the transitions between the other blocks much smoother.
Fine Art/Photography differed slightly, we worked much bigger and with more of a focus on shapes and form -working with/constructing objects quite regularly. I think what I gained from this block was this idea of being quite structural in my approach to creating work, and also much more experimental. We got to work with materials I'd never have thought about, like shoe polish, or just painting with sticks and pieces of card. Photography was mainly just a new thing, I've never been taught photography so again just hearing about/experimenting with the different possibilities was a learning curve for me. The activity we did where we directed the shoot and had to cover up all body parts taught me alot about positioning, and how much difference slight movements can make to a shot.
The 3D block wasn't what I was expecting at all! It was much more experimental than I thought it was going to be. I got to work with materials I'd never thought about even using to construct something. It was much more about the nature of different materials and those connections, how they work together and what you can do with them. I enjoyed trying out and exploring my ideas and watching my work and materials constantly change/evolve.
Life drawing really helped me from the first class! Learning how to properly approach and structure our drawings really made a massive difference straight away. I'd like to think my drawings have improved throughout the exploratory stage, I certainly feel much more confident in my techniques now compared to when I started.
Overall, my experience of the whole exploratory stage was completely unexpected, but exactly what I needed. I've learnt so much over the past couple of months and I just hope I can continue learning and progressing throughout the pathway stage aswell!

'Body Parts' Brief: Day One.

We were set a new brief for the next two weeks, the title is 'Body Parts'. The brief is completely open and in our control, which is both exciting and a little unnerving. We started off just covering the brief and then it was up to us! I did a quick mind map in my sketchbook covering possible areas of interest, and then went to do some artist research. I found two artists yesterday who's work inspired possible ideas for experimenting within this brief.

The first was Nicolai Howalt, the images were from a series he did called 3x1, where he documented a stay with a family.

I thought these images were so simplistic but striking. In terms of 'Body Parts' I hadn't thought about being so obvious with ideas, but looking through his work I thought it may be a good place to start. I love how the hands (both right) are so controlling in the images.

The next artist I looked at was Isidro Ferrer.

I loved his work, I printed off much more that this but these were some of my favourites! His work is clever and witty and something I would like to look into doing more! It was very similar to what we were doing today.

As well as artist research, we worked on creating different images/objects out of separate parts. It was the beginning of the 'Body Parts' brief and gave us an idea of the different ways we can interpret the phrase. I had so many different objects to choose from, and I tried to be quite imaginative with the shapes and what I was doing. 

A drip and a hook, I like the drip but i'm not sure it's obvious what it is. The hook was a little too obvious.

A question mark and a scooter, I'm happy with both of these. I think the simplicity of the question mark works well, and the yellow material with the colourful scooter is appealing.

A telephone and a dragonfly. These were the last two I did and I'd finally got my head round what worked and what didn't. These are probably my favourites from the day.

Playing around with the nails and creating different emotions.

A bare coat hanger, and one with a shirt on it. I don't like the shirt, I should have found a thinner material to do the outline, it just looks a bit off and awkward.

A man, and another face.

A face and an eye, The eye was probably the only one where I layered materials up.

A face and a chest of drawers, the drawers were the first thing I did, and I think you can tell. It's too simplistic and not really clear what it is.

Overall I had a really interesting day, and I have come away with a few ideas on where to start with this brief. I'm excited to get started and experiment with different possibilities.

3D Design: Artist Research.

As part of the 3D design block we've been given a list of artists, and told to research and blog about one. I chose to look at Kiki Smith. I was already aware of Kiki Smith's work but not of her sculptures, which seems mad as there's so many! I love how Kiki's work is always a bit confronting, challenging and has a dark/unusual feel.

The first piece I really liked is called 'Pee Body'.

I love this piece because it's really bluntly showing something that is considered taboo, and in my opinion doing it in quite a humorous way. I love the mix of materials and the contrast between the beads and main body, the awkward positioning and flailing stream of beads.

The next piece that caught my attention was 'Sirens'.

I'm not sure what to think about these pieces, they're incredibly interesting and slightly dark and eerie, and they're really reminding me of something which is also winding me up! (The bird/human that transports you places in Zelda) I really like the idea though, I'm not quite sure of the concept behind them but they're unsettling. I like the change in sizes too, although the faces don't really change you instantly get that feeling of age differences, interesting that size corresponds to that.

The last piece I'm going to blog about is called 'Daisy Chain'.

I love this piece. I like that when I was looking through different images of the sculpture, it had been arranged in various different ways, constantly changing/evolving the first impression and feel of the work. The contrast between the the loose chains and sculpted limbs actually has a funny impact on you, and makes me feel quite strange. I like how it makes the solid limbs look like they could be limp also, made out of rubber. 

3D Design: 'Enclosure' Brief part 2.

After developing my first two responses, I worked on constructing a further 3. I struggled with the wire when trying to keep it straight, and so started to experiment with different materials as well as different shapes when looking at ways of responding. I found some double sided card (white on one side and grey on the other) and thought the contrast was really interesting. I planned out different techniques in my sketchbook, like hole punching and gold eyelet detailing, and started to construct my first spherical cage.

I used staples to fix the card in place. The finished response was surprisingly strong! I was very happy with the strength and look of this response. I moved on and started experimenting with more materials, paper, canvas, plastic coated wires etc... I wanted to create a very colourful piece to contrast with the previous one. I took pictures as I put it together to show the layering of different materials, like the hidden canvas I tried out on the inside! 

For my third and final structure, I decided to risk using the wire again! I thought it would be easier to bend into a circular shape than keep it straight. Alone it looked boring, so I wove green thread round it. I loved the contrast of colours and also the straight angles created within this circular shape. It looked really interesting! 

...and here is all 3 displayed together! Overall this task has been fairly beneficial, I enjoyed working into and developing my responses, and looking at all the possibilities that come from one word! I'm happy with my structures, however if I had more time I would have tried to suspend them (cubes and spheres) or display them in some other way. 

3D Design: 'Enclosure' Brief.

After being split into groups, we were given a word which we were to generate thoughts and ideas around, and eventually create 3D responses to. We were given the word 'Enclosure'. Straight away I recognised this was a really nice word to work around. Starting with a mind map, we came up with different areas relating to 'Enclosure', for example...

• Cage/Box
• Clothing
• Transport
• Housing/Ships/Rooms...
• Shapes, Circles
• Phobia, Claustrophobia/Agoraphobia  

After watching demonstrations of paper folding techniques, I decided to try out different methods and see if the material was suitable for 3D construction. I decided on using paper for my response, and using a traditional 'cube' layout to construct it. However, I wanted to make the box more cage like, so used cut outs to make it look how I imagined.

After creating this response, I wanted to make a similar object but with different materials. I had not yet worked structuring and welding wire so I decided to do that. After planning/refining ideas in my sketchbook I got to work creating the structure. I found the wire quite difficult to keep straight, and I struggled with incorporating different materials. I'm happy with my responses so far, and if I had more time would have used fish wire to suspend one cage within the other.