Book Art Project

 For this project i had to make a piece of book art using an old book/books. I looked at various artists for inspiration, and also researched the history of books and how they are changing over time. This influenced me to create a book that had a Russian doll effect, so that i could portray the infinite life of stories and also show how books have changed through each generation. I also wanted to portray how each individual book holds different stories and connotations within it, including influences from other books/stories.

To start my final piece i collected books from family members of different generations, as these books would hold memories and have a special significance to each generation.
I then glued down the sides of the book, sticking the pages together. 
 I could then measure out the section i wanted to cut, and begin cutting it with a craft knife.











Once i had finished cutting i glued the inside for strength and aesthetic reasons. I followed this process with each individual book











The finished product...

Book belonging to an OAP opening up to a book belonging to and adult...

 opening up to a book belonging to a teen...

 a book belonging to a child/toddler...

And finally a memory card...












The memory card represents how books may be stored in the future (by the next generation), which could eliminate the need for paper books and libraries. Therefore i decided to cut the shape of a coffin around this, as it signifies the end of an era, the death of paper books. I feel it is also very thought provoking, and the positioning of the coffin (cut out from an innocent child's book where a mouse once was) is open to interpretation by the viewers.

I am pleased with the outcome of this project as it captures the book related subjects i wanted to explore. I wanted to it appear enigmatic and interesting like a Russian doll, and i feel this has been achieved by the serious of books. However if i had had more time to spend on this project i would've added more books to the series to make it feel more exciting and never ending like a Russian doll. This would have made it more of an experience for the viewer, having to go through each book wondering when the end will be reached, and what will be awaiting them. I may have also focused on the aesthetic of the books a little more, ensuring the cutting was neat and perhaps making the first book appear more aged, and the last one newer, however i didn't feel this was an important aspect of the final outcome.

Life Drawing (second session)

In this life drawing session i aimed to be more expressive, and so used different materials and techniques in order to do this. I experimented with ink, water, bleach, and charcoal, using techniques such as stippling and scumbling.

Here i used charcoal and a sharpened wooden end of a paintbrush dipped in ink to show the tones and contrast within the form.
(20 mins)

                                                                                                I had roughly 1 minute 30s to record each pose, and so chose to use charcoal as this was a quick way of drawing what i could see. I aimed to capture the shape of the basic form and feel i have been successful with this through my use of lines

   


ink and water drawing, i used the water to show tone and left the highlighted areas untouched to capture the contrast

                                                                                                  This quick drawing was done in charcoal, i aimed to show the shapes of the muscles using tone and lines. I feel this has worked particularly well on the left bicep

I had a minute to record each pose as the life model went from standing to the floor, and then back to standing. I wanted to capture the basic shapes and each pose as a fixed stage in the process of his movement.
If i were to do this again i would have overlapped the drawings more to make the piece more dynamic

                                                                                                               Here i used the bleeding 

                                             technique with ink and water. I applied a wash to the areas that i                      wanted to bleed, and then started to draw the form in ink.I like the dark, enigmatic               effect this has on the drawing, and the contrast between areas of tone and highlight accentuates this. I feel this is successful as an expressive piece of work for these reasons

I like how the bleeding here makes the drawing more dynamic and dark, and the ink lines layered over this add to the sense of movement. Fast, heavy music was playing while i drew this, and so this influenced the pace of my movements and weight of the lines

 i drew this figure out quickly with water, and then added the ink to ensure it only bled in the shape of the figure. i feel my use of techniques successfully portrayed this pose, as the pose was quite delicate and so i used thinner lines and less dark areas of tone. Soft music was also playing while i drew this, further influencing me to portray the softness of the pose.

   



In this quick drawing i used stippling and scumbling for the areas of tone. I aimed to show the delicate outline of the  form through use of thin, descriptive lines

                                                                                                      charcoal, ink and water were used                                                                                         here to show 3 different angles on one pose

                                                                                             

Life Drawing

Quick charcoal and rubber drawings (15 minutes)












I found this was a good technique for showing highlights and tone

 

For this first drawing I held two materials (charcoal and red chalk) together at the same time to create a quick drawing consisting of 2 lines. For the second drawing I used these materials freely, being more expressive when showing tone and focusing on the scale and shape of the body.

From this life drawing lesson I learnt the methods that can be used to draw a correctly scaled form, and I can now incorporate this in to future work.

Playing Cards Project

My next project was to construct a design object with playing cards as the dominant raw material. However instead of planning first i was required to get straight into making; playing around with the cards and exploring what they could do and how they could be transformed into a 3D object.

At the end of the manufacturing process i was then required to make several A1/A2 drawings to document my final piece.

 I began experimenting with my playing cards, creating mini models and exploring fastening mechanisms, folds, cuts, rolls etc. I then discovered the artist Bryan Berg, who is famous for creating large pieces of 3 dimensional work entirely from free standing playing cards. I found that he uses a '4 card cell structure' in all of his sculptures, as this structure can hold up to 660lbs per square foot. This inspired me to experiment with his technique, and while doing this i developed the structure i was creating into a life size guitar. The idea partly came from a miniature model of a guitar i had already created in my experiments, however i also felt that a guitar was an appropriate model to make as it retained the basic purpose of the playing cards: they could still be played by a varied range of people (just in a different way now). This is also a personal object to me as playing the acoustic guitar is a hobby of mine alongside art, and so i felt this would put a slightly personal spin on the outcome whilst still allowing it to appeal to a diverse spectrum of people.

The photos above show the development of  the guitar. For joining i used sellotape, a hot glue gun, staples, and sewing as these methods were all found strong and successful in my experiments.

Here are the photos of my finished guitar.

I took into consideration the aesthetic of the guitar during the making process, focusing on a dynamic design that would bridge the gap between art and music.

I ensured the back of the guitar could be opened up to reveal the structure found inside, as this is a significant component of the model.





















 
This is my most successful drawing that documents my final piece. I used charcoal, conte, and chalk as i wanted to create a powerful piece that portrayed the guitar as a strong looking sculpture, as underneath its delicate exterior is a strong rigid structure.
 I used a diverse range of tones and single point perspective to add depth and highlight the guitar as the clear focal point.

 I am very pleased with my final outcome and how i dealt with the project brief. The project forced me to work backwards from how i would usually work, throwing my efforts straight into making rather than carefully planning out my ideas.

However i found that by experimenting first this led to new ideas constantly developing in my head, and i learnt straight away what worked and didn't work, and so knew the characteristics of my materials well before i came to making my final outcome.

 If i were to do this project again i would have considered using stronger joining techniques for my final outcome, such as super glue, and would have explored how i could make the exterior of the guitar stronger, for example doubling up cards.

If i had had more time to work on the project, i would have researched other artists for more inspiration, and would have experimented more in the first stages of the project.

Photographic memory part 2

After finishing the first part of this project early, i came up with a much more exciting idea that i wanted to explore. I was very interested in the process within the brain in which we remember small fragments of memories to begin with, and then piece these fragments together to create the whole memory. I wanted to challenge whether the whole memory that we end up with can ever be completely accurate, or whether it will always have cracks or made up facts within it from our imaginations to fill these 'cracks'.

I decided i wanted my subject matter to be of a scene that would represent and hold a whole range of memories that would belong to a diverse range of people. Therefore i took shots of a graveyard, and of the view from the top of a multi-story car park, as i felt both these places fit this criteria.

I chose 2 of the best photos from my disposable camera, and got these developed as large as i could. I then cut the photos into 6 sections, which would represent the fragments of this memory. I could then choose the photo that worked best. I chose the graveyard as it had a more powerful effect and the whole picture(or memory) was less clear when cut into sections.

I next had to consider how to present this. I designed a board that would pull the fragments together to create the whole piece. I wanted it to look like a circuit board as they can be seen as the 'brain' of the technology they are found in, and so the piece as a whole would represent a brain bringing fragments of a memory together.

 This is a maquette i made to test if my idea would work, and to devise exactly how it would work.
The idea is that the photos will each be attached to a piece of string, which will run through a track and be attached at the other end to a reel. When this reel is turned the string will gather around it, and pull the photo along the track to it planned destination in the centre of the piece.

 To create the final piece i started with 2 pieces of cardboard. I drew out tracks in the top sheet of cardboard for lines of string to sit in. I also added a small frame in the center that would help the photos stay in place when they gather in the middle.

 I then cut the tracks out and added small cogs to help the string run around the corners.

 I made twisting reels for the string to gather around so that they could be turned by hand.






 




 This is the final product, painted to look like a circuit board...

And this is how the piece looks when all the reels have been turned. 
It is impossible to bring each fragment together completely and make the photo/memory whole and 100% accurate again, which represents that our minds can never remember a whole memory completely; it will always have cracks and gaps, and spaces filled by our imaginations.





I am very pleased with my outcome as i have practically and successfully shown the process of memories being remembered, and challenged this. I managed to overcome all obstacles when making the piece, and devise a way of making it work exactly how i wanted it to. If i had had more time on this project i would have planned it out from the beginning more carefully, and possibly found better materials to use so that the circuit board would work more reliably. I would also have experimented with more filters on the disposable camera, and different ways of editing the developed photo to explore whether this could have enhanced the final product.


This photo shows my other chosen scenery photo that i didn't use for my final piece. I presented it in a simple way to ensure the focus would be on the sections of photo.

Photographic memory project part 1

For this project based on memory, i explored the marks we leave as we age that hold memories. My final piece had to consist of 6 photos taken on a disposable camera. I decided to take 2 photos to represent each age group (young child, teen/adult, old age). Within each age group is one positive photo and one negative photo. These photos were edited with sand paper scratched around the edges to give an old, worn away look, as if the viewer is reflecting on a life of memories. I presented them by hanging them from string, much like a chiles work would be displayed at school.

Young life photos: The first photo shows a drawn hand print in a baby book. This is a positive mark left by a child that will be stored in their memory and their parents' memory, and will also be remembered i the book.
The second photo is the negative as it shows a bad mark left by children; scribbles on a table.

Teen/adult photos: The first photo here represents the first love stage of a teenagers life. The mark left is a lipstick mark. This mark is only temporary however will be imprinted on the receiver's mind and become a memory.
The second photo shows an adult hand with a mark on the finger left by a ring. The absence of this ring represents divorce, making this the negative photo. This mark holds memories of the absent person and the times the ex couple spent together.




 
 Old age photos: The first photo shows a memorial plaque on a bench. This is a positive mark left by a deceased person, however it also represents the positive marks they left on other peoples lives, that led them to be awarded this plaque. They would have left many good memories behind.
The second photo was taken with a filter over the lens of the camera. The filter was a piece of cling film with red and green lines across it (marker pen). This was very effective as it made the photo seem confusing and hazy, which leads on to the subject matter. The photo is of an unusual scenario. The person has become confused in their old age, perhaps caused by Alzheimers, and pegged up a magazine with their clothes.The photo represents loss of memory and confusion once a person approaches the end of their life.

Final Outcome

This is my final outcome for the typography project. I edited the alphabet I created and formed a saying with it... home is where the type is (a twist on 'home is where the heart is) as the home is literally where the typography was found.

I focused on finding lower case letters and these look quite casual, friendly, and welcoming, much like most homes are.

 

I am pleased with my outcome as the saying can be read yet you can see these are letters hidden around the home. I feel the colours make it a lot more aesthetically pleasing and draw people in. I chose to use the colour wheel to inspire the coloured filters I put on my photo's, and I used Photoshop to do this. I experimented with the selective colour, brightness, contrast, and saturation tools to achieve effective end products.

 

I presented my work by placing the photos onto white card, cutting them out leaving a border, and then I measured out the space I had and carefully stuck the photos onto black paper so they were all lined up neatly and accurately.

I felt that a centre alignment would work best as I could then make the piece as a whole balanced and harmonious.

 

If I were to do this again, or if I had had more time, I would have used black card for the background to make the work sturdier, and would of thought of a more imaginative way of presenting my work. However I feel the simplicity of the composition and presentation works well here as it keeps the focus on the letters and saying.

Typography Stencil

 

 The aim of this small typography project was to explore how the fill of typography can influence its appearance and the effect it has.

 

This is the stencil I made for my typography project. I printed out the typography, and stuck it onto a piece of black board with blue tack so I would be able to remove it. I then cut it out with a craft knife. I chose this saying as I am proving it through this experiment; as you may not be able to tell exactly what the background is through the typography. I also decided to arrange the text in the shape of an eye to make it appropriate and visually interesting, as you are seeing things through this eye that may deceive you.

in the process of cutting it out...








This is the final product. I then placed this in front of interesting scenes, objects and textures around the house (keeping to my chosen theme of 'home') and took photos of it.





Here are some of my photo's, before editing...

I feel this worked well as the different fills give very different effects to the text, creating different styles and moods, communicating different messages. This is why the fill of typography is an important aspect to consider when creating your own to fit a purpose.