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: Connection/Tubes photography.

We were sent to the photography department with our tubes to focus on capturing the idea of connection. Initially, we were put into pairs and had to direct each other and the shoot. We were looking at forming different unusual connections using the tubes, connecting different body parts/people. I was made to connect my ear and foot, and I challenged my pair to connect his arm and foot using his tube.

I think the texture and the shape of the tubes work well with how the shoots were directed. Having the person sat down makes your figure look more entangled and connected without even introducing the tubes. I like how in the second photo I shot (bottom right) the lighting means his hand and foot actually look naturally joined, it's very fluid.

In the next shot we worked together and used both of our pieces. The way we are stood (head on) looks quite strong and confronting, and the tubes kind of ease that and create a flowing connection.

After this the group combined and we created 2 group pieces. Experimenting with 3D so far has been fairly eye opening, I've rarely worked with this media before. I enjoyed looking at the different effect these objects could have and the connections they could make, I wish I had to chance to work more with different ideas and medias as I think I could have created more/bigger pieces (relating to the tube project).

Life Drawing Update

Recently in Life drawing we have been learning how to accurately structure out drawings using grid methods and measuring using our pencils etc. I struggled to get decent photos of a few pieces, as the pencil lines are so light the camera won't focus. More recently we've been starting to work on shading as well as structure. This is a short post, but I just thought I'd do an update on the classes and work so far.

Fine Art: 'Transform' -Structure and experimental drawing.

We were given long strips of paper and instructed to manipulate this paper, by folding or crumpling, any which way in order to transform the shape in some way. I chose to create a neat triangular structure at one end, and crumple the paper at the other -as if the structure was unravelling in some way.

From these we then took clean strips, and experimented with sponging, painting, stencilling and scoring, following the lines of our paper and recreating them with shoe polish. 

We also added masking tape for collage/cover up. I found this quite difficult, the shoe polish wasn't very dark and without scoring the paper it would always come up the same shade! It was a difficult medium to work with, but once we had done three and we put them together, I think they worked quite nicely as one piece.

After this we produced some pieces using tape, collage and thread. I preferred this task a lot more, we haven't had to use thread yet and I hadn't ever really drawn with it. My favourite combination was the green thread over masking tape (the strip on the right), the colours and material really complemented each other.

Fine Art: 'Transform' Brief: Day one

Over the course of 2 days we were to complete a project incorporating all the techniques we've learnt so far in Fine Art. For my object I chose a milk bottle. I thought the shape, texture and material had a lot of potential for structuring and shaping in different ways.

I started off doing some quick sketches/compositions in my sketchbook of the bottle in full.

I then cut the handle off the milk bottle, because I thought separately it resembled an iron. I also liked how the main bottle section had changed, the space was much larger and would be able to hold larger things, cutting out the handle had created two completely different objects. 

Again I did some sketches/compositions reflecting on the changes and shapes of the new objects. 

I then decided to change the iron shaped object again. I slit down both sides of the handle, and turned the plastic in on itself, creating a curved knot looking object. I really liked this transformation, as it was now a completely new object! You could not see/tell it was part of a milk bottle anymore. 

For my last change to the object, I wanted to do something simpler. I cut off the lid (and small area surrounding it), and then made small cuts every few centimetres round the edge.

 I did one more sketch, then finished for the next day. I am very pleased with the transformations I was able to achieve/explore with this object. I also think the object has potential for further changes.  

Fine Art: Photography

We started by working with old t-shirts. I had to 'wear' the t-shirt in a way that was unusual/manipulated the shirt. I chose to put my head half way through the sleeve, I was given further direction to push against the insides of the shirt with my hands.

I do like the pressure this created in the t-shirt, as you can see it but can't quite tell where it's coming from. We were then paired up and challenged to both get inside the t-shirt, again in an unusual/manipulative way but also it was about joining, transforming something so it connects two things.

Then were were given materials and props. We had to direct the shoot, which included dressing the other person. Faces and skin, or shoes etc. were not allowed to be showing. It was almost like creating a character using the props and materials in an unexpected way. 

I decided to try and recreate a shepherd style character, using an off white bed sheet (for age/worn effect) and a greyish green material as a massive cloak/to shield the face. I chose to use only use a stick as a prop, I think the simplicity worked well. I had him sit down and hunch towards the stick, again in a kind of worn/aged/tired fashion. 

I think the images came out fairly well. If I could change anything I would fix the chair legs which are poking out on the right, and perhaps try one where he is leaning forward even more. I am pleased with the outcome though. I also realised how important body language was to evoking a character or emotion. Especially as the face was covered, slight movements and positioning was very important! 

Here is the one of me dressed up as a ninja (I think that is what I was...)