Tag: University

Video Workshop Reflective

Video Workshop Reflective

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Yesterday was the first technical workshop of the block – video with Kate. We were required in groups to shoot and edit a short video featuring “matching graphical cuts”, e.g. the circular part of an eye fading out to a moon in a sky. The shape, form or colour matches between shots and creates a tangible link between otherwise unrelated scenes.

A short storyboard.

One of the biggest difficulties was space and technology. Due to booking issues, we were in a very small edit suite with macs (my burning hatred for apple macs is stoked every single time I sit down at one of their shiny emotionless screens). Our mac was so confused we ended up working on Kate’s laptop.

If I were to take this further on my own, I can rest easy in the knowledge that I might have room to edit properly once there’s not a whole workshop in the room.

Here is the finished video. I have made this private, but just ask me if you’d really like to see it.

What was I pleased with? The group work went smoothly on this one. We had a good time, and everyone got their respective shots onto Google Drive and shared them with me. Importing the shots was probably the hardest thing because it needed so much collating.

I’m happy with this video as a whole. The shot passing the notebook across the table was edited very smoothly.; I feel like we hit the brief exactly with it. Kate seemed over the moon too!

What would I improve? In terms of the video, I’d ideally shorten the length of time the screen is entirely white (between the paper and the sky). It gets a little arduous watching that, and loses some of its energy.

Where can I take this? If I’d had a little more time in the edit suite alone, I could have played with PremierPro for quite a long time. I’ll need to think of a small project or something, just so I have something to edit.

I could talk to Kate or Louise about the possibility of animating over a video on some kind of transparent layer. Think Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I’m not sure whether I’d be using Adobe Animate or Premier Pro or what there.

Exquisite Corpse Reflective

Exquisite Corpse Reflective

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The point of this lesson was to imitate a parlour game from the 17th Century called Corpus Exquis, or Exquisite Corpse. This involves cutting up and collaging images to create figurative characters. They are just recognisable as human but have a surreal or creepy feeling to them.

The head our group created in the first workshop.

The first exercise was collaborative. We created a head as a trio, and other groups created bodies and legs. These were placed together.

This was the entire body. I have to say I prefer the top two units compositionally.

What I was really happy with in this exercise was the collaboration. The strip of eye over an existing eye delighted me, and I would never have thought to do it. The diagonal row of faces leading out from the center of our head was Martha’s idea, and that again became one of my favourite parts.

Another really useful element was learning how to use the photocopier and scaling things up or down as well as playing with colour. This I will definitely use in my work outside of classes, to create iterations of characters or ideas.

“Lovers” – the final half of the day was a solo project creating characters similarly to the morning’s.

I was very pleased with how Lovers came out. I didn’t start off with any idea in mind except with all of the sheets full of images that took my fancy. A pair of heads on one sheet looking at each other became the base of the two faces, with other features stuck on top.

Even though this project was on my own, I ended up using a large jacket that Martha didn’t want to clothe my left Lover after having nothing the right shape myself. So it still wouldn’t have looked like it does, had I been working alone outside the studio.

How could I take this further? I have a Vogue magazine now which I think I will use to repeat this exercise at some point; if not the exact same then on a slightly smaller scale (to save my printer money!). I will also place Lovers into Clip Studio Paint and experiment with layer effects to create a series.

Chance and Sequence Reflective

Chance and Sequence Reflective

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This project was all about creating fine and abstract art based on the laws of chance. We took part in four activities. I’ve detailed exactly what we did in my reflective journal, so I’ll just upload pictures and critically reflect here.

String drop felt like quite a silly activity. In reality, I like what I created with it a lot.

How could I take this further? I could use the activity of “dropping” paper shapes onto magazine images to select images and shapes to collage with. This would force me to randomly select textures rather than carefully cutting out images I found appealing. I thought that if I coloured in the spaces in blocks, it could create quite an appealing background to another illustration or drawing. I could simply repeat the exercise with grass, straw, leaves or other natural material.

This was geometric randomness. I don’t really like this as a piece of art on its own.

How could I take it further? I thought I could do this with more limited colours, e.g. blue, purple and pink, to create a random piece of art that was slightly more aesthetically pleasing.

This was the collaborative, instructional drawing. I had a blast actually doing this exercise. I’m getting to quite like letting go of control in collaborative exercises. (And I never thought I’d hear myself saying that!) Things happen that would never have happened if I’d worked on my own.

How can I take this further? I could collaborate again with friends – e-mailing or swapping drawings to work on for each other.

The conceptual emotional drawing was fun again, because I jump at any opportunity to introspect and write about what I’m feeling. I like the composition of this a lot, and the stricter colour scheme made me feel better from the earlier drawings.

How could I take this further? Well, I actually made Jamie complete an identical exercise that night. I have his art and I might turn it into a larger piece, so that they could exist in a series.

Finally, I created some random poems using dice and newspaper clippings which you can see in my sketchbook. These really were nonsensical at times… I don’t know why, but I suppose I thought I’d create something super edgy and deep! They were still fun. I might create a few for my reflective journal or put a twist on them for something fun to do.

I do hope I’ll do some more work related to chance, even if just a small aspect of something else. It’s nice to leave the thinking to the laws of physics and probability!

Gained in Translation Reflective

Gained in Translation Reflective

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Gained in Translation was about how we interpreted description in drawing, and then interpreting drawing in a 3D model made of cardboard. The art and personal element came in the gaps of interpretation between words and paper, and 2D drawing and 3D model.

I enjoyed drawing from Said’s description. I was lucky that the object he described seemed to have a face, as I have a habit of anthropomorphising – and then becoming attached to – things.

I know Willie is a rude name, but I can’t get it out of my head for the little guy.

Below is what I found out the description was actually of, right at the end of the day.

A chipmunk type thing… this item doesn’t have a formal use. I’m told it was a ceramic student’s old work.

I translated this into a 3D model as best I could.

I thought that by chance, this cardboard model has a lot of personality. Far more so than the original (rather creepy) drawing.

Methods:

For the base, I used two circular pieces of durable cardboard and cut one length of flexible (one-side-corrugated) cardboard for the middle piece. I would secure an area a few inches wide with gummed tape, then work through the area with more individual pieces of tape until it was completely secure and uniform. I did this right the way around both sides.

For the (relatively) spherical body, I created a kind of guideline using two hoops of flexible cardboard arranged like two interlocking bangles. I then worked around it with long eye-shaped pieces, similar to how they stick maps on globes.

What could have been improved? I feel like this session went very well overall, actually. A little longer to work might have been nice – but I understand that the time constraints were kind of part of the project. I managed to finish him. Similarly, other materials like paper or tape might have been useful, but the fact that we were only allowed gummed tape was part of the project too.

Where can I take this? Well, funny I should ask that – I’ve already taken it a little further with a couple of character design exercises. I might make a separate blog about it when I finish it, but what I’m doing with the model is using it as a starting point to design a sweet little character. I feel like I’d be doing him dirty if I just forgot about him. He wants to come to life!

For that, I’ve drawn the model a couple of times quickly to get a feel of it before printing off a couple of pictures for inspiration. I’ve also painted some ink silhouettes that I’ll line a few iterations of his character onto.

I might well be tempted to using cardboard to generate ideas again. Considering that I have some issues with varying body shapes in my art, something that forces me to make shapes like this might help kick start that process.

The Unconventional Body Reflective

The Unconventional Body Reflective

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The first half of the morning – dressing the mannequin – I have to admit I really didn’t enjoy.

Despite the fact that we took essentially a whole day out to gather materials, Martha and I didn’t have anything to create really striking shapes. Martha ended up constructing cool shoulder-pad things out of cardboard, but I just couldn’t get myself passionate about it.

Our finished mannequin. I liked the tape, but the morning was too stressful to really enjoy.
Some of our other collected objects.
There was a smaller mannequin I might well have enjoyed working on. I didn’t really get the chance to experiment for myself because of course it was a teamwork project.
The fold-out sketchbook I’ve since compiled in my normal sketchbook. The quality isn’t great, but it’s all in my sketchbook so I feel the reflective doesn’t suffer too much.

The drawing element during the second half of the day lifted my mood considerably. I finally got a real look inside my Artway box (I go NUTS over new art supplies!). I really enjoy fast-paced drawing because I know it’s good for me, even though I rarely practice it on my own. I feel like the course making me do drawing exercises is the equivalent to my mum forcing me to eat vegetables just to get something nutritious in me.

What could I have improved? I could have bought something huge to create an initial shape on my mannequin. It would have saved time and energy. It was bad luck that we live in halls and were the first group doing it, as every other group had free use of all our bought materials as well.

I feel like I didn’t work particularly well with Martha. We were both in a weird headspace that day and neither of us were talkative, but I felt like neither of us were confident enough with our own ideas to really make a statement on the final mannequin. There wasn’t any bad vibes, just a stressful and uninspired morning.

How will I take it further? I probably won’t work on full size mannequins again. I will use the drawing techniques to work quickly, and the paper collaging element – especially on the human body – helps me produce ideas in a freer sense.

Performing Chance Reflective

Performing Chance Reflective

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Yesterday we completed the Performing Chance workshop with Kate. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to or resenting this one, because I really had no idea what was going to happen.

The initial lecture consisted of a brief history of chance being used to influence art. This included Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Fluxus (which is still running to the present).

The first task after the lecture was a lot of fun. Everyone went into the studio for 30 seconds and could do whatever they wanted to a table full of objects. This was filmed and played back afterwards. I flipped the whole table over. I liked it; I liked doing something radical that nobody had thought of up to that point.

I’ll try to find a screenshot or two from moodle, but so far it doesn’t look like it’s been uploaded.

The conceptual photography element was fun. The workshop being based around random chance, we had to create a framework as artists and allow for chance to alter the final work.

Our group projects.

I might use this kind of conceptual photography in my work. It can portray an idea in a way that makes you focus on the idea, not the art.

If I could have improved anything, the photos would have been completely candid, with no knowledge they were being taken as the person left the lift. Of course this wasn’t possible. Maybe in a way, there will be an uncertainty in the gestures of the people leaving knowing we were taking a picture of them.

One thing I thought was good about the work I made was the human element. The pictures aren’t just pictures – they capture a decision made by each individual person.

Mind mapping as a team of five was fun, but I know I’m not very good at group work. The nature of the ideas forced us apart for the afternoon in a pair and a trio. I did make some concessions and they turned out really well in Martha’s side of the project!

I learned that it takes a lot of thought to carry out this kind of photography, even if pressing the shutter itself doesn’t take much effort. It was a new way of working.

Fashion Browsing and Joana Vasconcelos

Fashion Browsing and Joana Vasconcelos

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

To alleviate some boredom today after Jamie’s morning departure, I headed to the University Library and looked through some old Italian Vogue and other fashion publications. In the last half an hour before the bus home was due, I found an artist called Vasconcelos in the latest issue of Craft, and it would be a shame not to get brownie points for so-called artist research so I’m blogging about her.

Firstly, I will upload the two sketches I made from the Library’s journal archives. I might have been more productive, but I was overdue a call from Mum which took me half an hour – and the basement lights just occasionally switched off because I was sitting still and alone! I had to partake in some comedic arm flailing followed by resigned power walks around the department to get it to realise there was indeed life down there.

I liked the contrast in this black and white photo. The woman had a little more contempt in her eyes than I managed to convey here, which I regret!
This was a quick figure sketch that took my eye because of the ridiculous curvature of the whole composition. The draping fabric and the lean meant the model has a very satisfying overall curve, which was clearly intentional.
I didn’t get the chance to draw this mad lass but I did take a picture just to save her! I like the big shapes this pose creates, and the unusual patterns.

Finally – Vasconcelos. This was an artist who was commissioned to make a year-long, permanent piece of art to sit in a gallery-esque area called Jupiter (or something similar; excuse my memory). She created a 9-metre diameter pool full of 11,500 unique tiles that all created a design.

The pool itself doesn’t really resonate with me, but I though it would be worth writing about because Vasconcelos’ ideas were interesting. The installation (called “Gateway”) was described as “A joyful, optimistic work with a theatrical element.” Now, I like that. Joyful and optimistic is the ideology I can get behind!

Vasconcelos also talks about ley lines and connecting with the energy of the land. The icons and images within the design all have meaning; specifically to Bonnington, Scotland, where the installation resides. There are also astrological and spiritual aspects to the design. I’m not saying I believe in any of that stuff particularly strongly, but the careful thought behind the installation gave me a real respect for it. I suppose it’s the whole process shaping the outcome idea.

That being said, every ceramic tile had to be painted and fired individually. That’s 11,500 tiles. The use of ceramic in Edinburgh is apparently not as developed as Vasconcelos’ own practice, so it was also an exercise in sharing knowledge between cities and expanding Vasconcelos’ horizons in terms of scale.

Anyhoops, I liked her after I read the article. Knowing the artist and the thought behind her work has also led to me really liking the installation as well, despite it originally evoking no real reaction at all.

Mapping Ox Brookes

Mapping Ox Brookes

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Everybody got a small brief to create a personal map of the area around them (i.e., ox brookes), to orientate themselves and to show a personal style. I’ve taken pictures of a few maps that really spoke to me, but I have to start with my own.

This one is my map. Just smaller than A4.

My map was illustratory and maybe childish in nature; I wrote it excitedly and mapped on things I’d thought at the time of seeing them. I view the area slightly differently now, but I like this because it really is archetypal of my style and brain and it’s documented my first impressions quite sweetly.

The flaps were the main interactive element (secret frog admittedly being a flash of enlightened creativity). The other thing I think was different from most other maps is that mine was bloody wordy – a real stream of consciousness. Other students gave a very personal insight in other ways, which really struck me.

This was an OS map that has been altered.

The OS map with white feet cut into them contained snippets of conversation, presumably from the past week. I recognised a couple from lectures. This is probably my favourite… in seeing what the student has remembered, you see into their mind but totally indirectly. I can’t really overstate how much I like this one – it’s the one that felt the most personal to me.

A map – but with emotions. I liked the colour swatching, too.

The map of emotions also hit quite close to my own heart because I remembered feeling most of these things too. It’s maps that are revealing of someone’s inner thoughts that it looks like I’ve gravitated towards. The colours and shapes are pleasant and well thought out as well, with close-ups of red areas filling negative space.

This image speaks for itself – the quality is incredibly high. The artist managed to show depth as if it were a contour map, and I have respect for the cleanliness and detail as well as composition. Not to mention the fact that this artist also included little idiosyncratic quotes theyd remembered.

This map has to be included because it took me so to figure it out. It was presented as a folded mess, and I had to smooth it out flat. I like to think that that was intended to be interactive, and not just a lazy student dropping it onto the floor(!).

This was many pages long. I know Maeve was the artist of this!

Honourable mention to this beautiful watercolour and ink abstract map. The colours took me, and it was unlike any of the other maps. This felt a lot more emotional, although I understood it slightly less than worded maps.

First Real Day at University

First Real Day at University

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The last few days have been a really stressful, REALLY exciting time for me. I moved into dorms on Saturday and have been settling in quickly… that means meeting all my flatmates, locating and visiting the nearest Wetherspoons and generally staying alive and healthy in lieu of my mammy doing everything for me back home.

I’m here to talk about the art, though! After icebreakers, everybody settled into small groups and looked through our survival kits.

The first task was to draw “instructional” diagrams of your (or another) survival kit, communicating each item’s use without using any written language. Think IKEA construction booklets.

Then we were tasked with mixing up our kits as a small group and creating a new survival kit, which in the process of naming image files on the laptop I dubbed “frankensurvival”.

The idea was really to push the limits of our creativity and we had free reign to do what we wanted, pretty much. Said, Zaina, Martha, Jemima and I made a small Bob Ross shrine and a small pile of potential weapons to beat enemies with, illustrated on the common public enemy of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Below are images from today.

This was our “Peace” shrine. See calming things… such as Bob Ross and “music” – charmingly represented by the only single I own, a cover of Under the Boardwalk by Bruce Willis bought for my 18th as a joke by mum.
This was our “war” area. Special mention to Polly PissPants and “So: You Want To Become a Cannibal”.
See our installation setup here – a visual recreation of the below installations. I was particularly proud of my sharpie Alvin and the Chipmunks art.
Some informational images depicting the intended use of our objects. Volume of War And Peace – for Smackdown (or a spot of light reading).
Headphones and Mood Meter glasses to detect nearby infants close to tantrum.
Special cameo made by me on the right – 3 worshiping Bob Ross.

Overall, it was a fun day. Our final survival kit was easily one of the most comically inclined of all of those students made. Well over half of them were quite depressing, really. VERY heavy on the climate change and anti-political, environmentalist-dystopian views. I have to say there was one kit that made a point on having a positive, conscientious outlook on the future and was generally a very pretty kit; I hold respect for the group that created that amongst such an existential crowd.

Survival kit, And Life

Survival kit, And Life

by turquoisecho ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I’ve not updated in a little while because I spent Monday to Thursday last week up in Cardiff with Jamie on a mini holiday… then after 24 hours back home, I had to come back up with my siblings for the bank holiday weekend!

Now I’m up with them it’s a lot less intense than the holiday with Jamie, so I’ve had a chance to work on my art properly.

With Jamie, we went into Cardiff Central, Cardiff Bay, round cocktail bars with Dad and Rachael and then out to a nightclub (for the first time for me! It was fun!)

I finished up the five cards in my survival kit and arranged them on a double page spread. I’m really proud of them; each took a long time of planning, sketching, lining and then colouring.

It may seem a little small. Hopefully you can zoom in if you want to look closer – it’s a good enough quality photo.

I also painted a little half page of flora and leaves, just as an experiment in using different media. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

I’ve filled in about eight thousand info pages on myself and applied for all sorts of basic things. My accomodation is confirmed and I’ve paid some important fees for the beginning of the course.

Seems like no matter how nervous you can be, time will slowly drag things into place. No amount of convincing could have told me that a month ago, though.