Week 7, post-tutorial with Mike Fox

I showed Mike the woodblocks I am currently cutting for print and he really liked the possibilities they could bring. As I am using 3 blocks of wood (squares of mdf) per print I am hoping to achieve a good sense of depth through layering colours. As it is my first attempt I do not necessarily expect to get a perfect product at the end of it, however I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

Last night I scanned in my originial 3 photographs that I am This broke the pieces down into blocks of colour. I love the affect this has on the image, it is a tool I have used often in the past. I actually layered 2 images over each other accidentally whilst printing them off the computer and loved how it turned out and its abstract qualities. Knowing that I know how it was created, but that other people don't, and that they would just see it for it's finished product also appealed to me.

Mike also loved these photoshops images and we have discussed me blowing them up in scale and re-creating them, in block colour, using paint, paper and possibly other materials too. He said that working on this scale will open up a lot of other opportunities to me.

I am looking forward to using my prints and also using block colour and shape. I am delighted to feel less muddled!

Week 7, pre-tutorial

Having spoken to Mary Nagle, I am a bit confused as to where to go next in my project. After making several small 3D pieces out of recycled materials such as aluminium sheets, cans, wire and foam board, I realised that I really didn't enjoy working with them as materials. I found them quite limiting and awkward to use. But most importantly I wasn't enjoying what I was doing, leaving me feeling uninspired. At this point Mary said I needed to change direction completely.


These images show a couple of examples of the work I have done using recycled materials:

Since then I have been looking at print work. I completed a series of monoprints, which I really enjoyed doing and love the outcome of. From these I made prints with the acetates used. These produced a negative print of the image. I also made some monoprints by layering images over each other in both black and coloured inks. I found that these were not as successful as my original prints, however I enjoyed the process and experimentation.

I am currently cutting out wood blocks, to print as soon as possible, of my 3 main images; the 3 drawings I did from my initial research - kegs, ivy, drain. I have used photoshop to help me break the images into sections of colour, however I am only using these as a very rough guideline.

From here I am unsure where to go with my project. I may look into breaking things down into block colour and producing images in this style. I enjoy working with print as well as photoshop and photography, so I would like to continue my project using these elements.

Monoprint

Negative Image created using the acetate with remaining ink from the above monoprint

Layered monoprints

Update: Thurs 14th October

This week I finished my wire maquettes and started looking at my initial photographs again. I made a viewfinder out of card and laid it over a couple of choice photographs individually, to focus on a specific part of the image. I then made line drawings from the section within the viewfinder (with some mild shading for definition). I want to focus on the form and shapes within the images so that I can re-create them in 3D using recycled materials. It has also occurred to me to do some monoprinting with these new drawings and maybe even experiment in ceramics. I would like to complete another couple of sketches before I adventure any further so that I have plenty of material to work from when I turn to 3D.

Image One - Ivy on a wall

Image Two - Kegs out the back of a bar

An example of the recycled materials I intend to use to

re-create my drawings in a 3D format

Thanks for reading!

3D Sculpture

I am currently looking at the idea of using man made materials to build sculptures of natural subjects; ie a tree. I started by using heavy duty steel galvanised wire and just having fun with it! First I made a spiral that was large at the base and got thinner towards the top (roughly 8" tall). My next step was to wind pieces of light weight steel galvanised wire around each level of the spiral, from the bottom up. I bent the end of the wire into unusual zig-zag patterns to creat the branches/leaves.

I wanted the piece to be uneven and more rustic looking. This turned out to be lucky as I found it very difficult to manipulate the wire neatly and accurately. See images below of finished product:

 Finished product

A close up of the curls and binding used in the piece

I enjoyed my first experiment using wire to create a tree. I am pleased with how it went and the final result, although I am aware the outcome is not necessarily a pretty sight to all.

After attending a 3D demonstation I moved onto my next 3D wire piece. I used a new technique with the wire this time, which I learned at the demonstration. It is not finished yet, but you can see below for the current state of the sculpture.

A birdseye view of the weaving technique I am using

Once I am more confident using wire and have learnt a few more techniques I am thinking of buildind an installation piece in the corner area where I have my desk. There are a couple of pipes running up the wall so they will be ideal to use as a support. My plan is to then hang and wrap litter in different forms into the piece to add colour and diversity. I may even make a couple of birds to go in there too!

Images of my Space; Wednesday 6th October

Introduction

Hello

I am currently working on my first project at LSAD. The title of the brief is 'Urban Environment'. My initial ideas looked at people in the society; stereotypes and their opposites. I did some brief sketches of these ideas, however was not sure this was the best route to proceed with as I wanted to photograph people, and to create the desired image I would have to design and then co-ordinate the scene, which wasn't really how I wanted to achieve the message. I then went into the city with my camera and took photo's of everything I found interesting. After nearly 200 photos I had my favourite 77 developed (due to cash constraints) and stuck them all up on my wall in my studio space. I arranged them into vague categories, such as pattern, litter in the environment, perspective of buildings/trees/the ground. My favourite images looked at contrasting images such as a flower growing through a strong wall, graffiti with ivy growing over it, or a beer can on a bed of beautiful autumn leaves. From here I decided to look at litter art and researched artists that use recycled materials in their work across the board, including sculpture, fashion, furniture and so on. I am now planning to make some small structures made out of wire and litter of rural scenes; such as a tree or a park scene. My aim is to show the juxtaposition of the subject against the materials used and raise the question of litter in the environment.

Other questions to think about are:

- What are we doing to our world?
- What are the consequences?
- Recycle Recycle Recycle!!

Thanks for reading! See you next time!