Throughout the first few weeks of this course I had to face challenges that in the end have decided on the outcome of my projects. I feel like my attitude towards my work has changed because I am no longer holding myself back if it comes to perfection and making my drawings look visually pleasing for the public. I used to be very concerned with every detail, which made me very insecure in what I do. The main skills I have learned on the lectures include research techniques, exploring importance of composition and layout and the right application of colour. Lecture with Robert Corel has reminded me of how important the right use of paint is in order to duplicate textures of the surfaces within paintings. I would replicate rugged texture of the wood using thicker paint, possibly in multiple layers. If I were to touch this surface, I’d feel bumps and rough texture. Where as smooth, spotless, polished surface of the glass could be done using watered down paint applied in very thin layers.Not being able to use black within the image surpassingly turned out to be challenging as in the past I would work mainly in standard monochrome/muted colours. I found it quite refreshing and motivating as I seemed to forgot how powerful colour combinations could be. It has inspired me to broaden my colour palette and work in different mediums. I had to undertake a challenge of illustrating objects and figures from descriptions in limited amount of time. Selecting specific part of the description gave me a starting point of how to approach text and not to get overwhelmed by the quantity of it. Concentrating on one bit at the time allowed me to think about composition, colour palette, layout and texture. I had to be very selective to make sure that whatever I paint shows my individuality but still could be recognised by the viewer. I have learned how to approach subject differently by looking at aspects that might relate to the object such as; past and present, scale, clothing, age, eras etc. I have never considered how clashing past and present clothing styles could be. This has broaden my research techniques. This is another way of how I could gather information to support my work. Historical and scientific references is always something I wanted to explore but I wasn’t sure how to associate it with my drawings. Whenever i am really interested in something it is easier to find obscure/ intriguing facts about it. I am more motivated to do that extra bit of research or ask more questions if something fascinates me. 'The most information you can tell in the least amount of the detail’ said by Alice Monoley when talking about workshops with children has made me reconsider my work. Research supported by that phrase opened my eyes towards minimalistic art and keeping it simple. I came to realisation that less on the page could be as powerful as page covered in various marks. I believe that if I try to simplify my work I could re discover some of my hidden techniques and talents. It is because some of the dynamic marks I make tent to disappear under layers of mediums. Taking a step back and carefully considering my next steps would allow me to find the balance that I am looking for. Also in today’s industry, simplified drawings stand out more as you have to know how to balance the image in order to make it look finished but not overworked. Alice's process included multiple attempts of one drawing in order to get to a perfect image. She would reconsider and look back at the smallest details such face expressions, parts of clothing, colours, fonds etc. All this reconsideration just to make sure that the viewer reads and understands the image in the way the artist wanted it to be understood. This made me realise that throughout the whole process of drawing I naturally make decisions about the smallest details such as composition, colour, layout, shapes etc. Thinking more about those and exploring each one of them individually would give me better understanding of my work and the way I think. I find it quite challenging to make an image which is quite simple but still tells a story or narrative. I would have to select part of the image which are crucial and which needs to be included in order to make the image work and details which could be discarded. Lecture in the studio with Nigel has helped me understand the technical terms of how people understand and reads the image. As people tent to relate image to something they understand and recognise, in most cases the high volume of details is unnecessary. Being able to tell the same information is less amount of detail is something I would like to explore. There is no need for me to share so many details when simpler drawings could have the same effect or be even more appealing I was unsure of how to begin projects and expand on ideas therefore I ended up with less work than I expected. I could definitely produce more work and explore my ideas further only if I felt confident enough to do so. This is because I have been concentrating too much on the final outcomes rather than freely letting myself enjoy the simplest drawing exercises. I have learned that it is time to change my painting habits in order to expand my knowledge and skills. I am willing to take risks and explore photography, textiles, ceramics, sculpture or combinations of them all. The last two weeks gave me ideas of how I could relate illustration with different art departments. This will involve me learning technical skills and processes along the way, seeking information from various sources and collaborations with others.
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Throughout this period of time I have learned few valuable skills and techniques but I have also found out things that I need to improve on. I have been able to select strengths and weakness through precisely reflecting on my work and the way in which I work. Making lists of what I need to improve on helped me to physically see my goals and where I would want to be in the future. If I haven't written it down I wouldn’t be sure of what my goal is. Also when I was writing things down I had to think carefully about each point.
I came to realisation that it is very hard for me to organise my time and to be efficient whenever I do decide to do work. At fist when I started this course I didn’t feel much pressure which is why I ended up wasting most of the time. Normally I would need to have someone constantly reminding me about finishing my tasks and getting things done which is why I have failed at producing enough amount of work. I guess this is the biggest difference of how college and university works. This much freedom could work against you if you don't know what to do with your free time. I have realised that it is completely up to me if I want to dedicate myself and make the most of the information that is given to me. My approach has changed as I have started analysing my work more, which has given me a wake up call on how much I still need to improve on. This makes me even more motivated as I know where I am standing. Knowing what I need to improve helped me to reach for the right sources. If I was lacking a certain technical skill i would know where I could learn that from, but first of all I would need to specify what is that skill that I am laking. I definitely think that I have failed to produce work that I am satisfied with as I have been rushing for the past few days. Even though I am not happy with the results this has been a great lesson for me to see how easily I can lose the track and get distracted by the surroundings. To avoid this mistake again, I have decided to make lists and checklists in my journal for the daily tasks. Having a smaller daily and weekly goals would make me want to achieve them. When I think about finishing a big project I could easily get overwhelmed as it not something that could be made in one night. I always never been considering historical or scientific facts as a way of collecting information. This has never been an option for me as I wasn't sure how to apply it within my work. I have learned that the idea doesn't have to be straight forward. Looking at the past fashion trends, legends, buildings, inventions and just simply drawing it could be a way of using those founds. I have also realised that if I am truly interested in the subject i tent to do more research and finding interesting facts that lead to the interesting outcomes. The best way for me to make sure that I do enough research to support my work is find subject that I want to learn more about and fascinates me. For example, during my last machine project I haven’t been enjoying the context of it therefore I haven't got enough information that backs up my drawings. Where as during the Norwich project I have been reading about the legends passed through generations. It made my drawings quite bizarre and out of proportions as when people tell legends they tent to change small details. It leads to different descriptions every time someone tells that legend. Research could be done by just simply drawing what surrounds me, drawing pattern, colours, shapes and selecting specific parts that interests me. Most of the time those drawings are not the final outcomes but feeds towards work which is done later on. That’s how I have learned how to use visual research. Also, making notes under drawings that are reflective rather than descriptive helped me decide on the next steps. It was crucial to do that to make sure that I constantly develop my skills. Getting feedback from the others helped me navigate and develop my skills. It was good to see how others view and process my artwork. Surpassingly in most cases drawings that were done quite quickly and carelessly seemed to be favourited. I guess that’s because you can clearly see my individuality and identity within them. I have found a way of using unwanted pieces of drawings and combining them into one. Each pattern and mark that I make on the page is valuable in some way. Therefore I stopped throwing them away but instead I keep them for the future use. Simply scanning them on top of each other could be efficient way of developing whatever I have. Overall, I think that the biggest lesson I have learned must be time management and organisation skills. I hope that during the next projects I will get to the point that I am happy with my work and could proudly show it to others. If I could do those projects again, I would probably seek more for help in various sources such as books, surroundings, internet, feedbacks, magazines etc. I am happy that I have experienced those mistakes at the beginning of this course rather than at the end because I can reflect on it and make sure it doesn't happen in the future. As for my final machine I have decided to keep it simple because of the time limit. I didn't leave myself enough time to build machine that I have planned in the first place. It was suppose to be a machine witch multiple buttons that when you press them tell you do certain things. For example, it would order you to touch your nose when pressing the button number two. I didn't expect that it would take that long to recreate very simple design. I am disappointed in the outcome as it doesn't fully show the idea but at least it does some part of what it was suppose to do. I have decided to stick to 'ON' and 'OFF' button as it it pretty straight forward. I feel like it would confuse a lot of the people and make them wonder what the real purpose of it is. The button says 'TURN ON' where as the word made out of lights says 'OFF'. Opposites which are not really accurate. It almost look like a person making this machine has made a mistake by doing he words other way round. We could definitely do better job at assembling it and even expanding the idea further. I think that the idea itself is not bad but the final product doesn't fully show the intentions that we had. Next time I need to be more determined into setting myself goals and than actually finishing them on time.
While making my machine I had to think about assembling parts and elements together. I had to consider the purpose and function of each part in order to make sure that it does what it was suppose to do. During this workshop I have learned that I could do that dimensionally as well as in a drawing format. As I have been always drawing from observation my imaginary skills has been slightly disappearing. I feel like this fun little exercise has made me more relaxed and casual towards this project. Going back to the drawing exercises such as combing three objects into one along with a word describing it has reminded me that the simplest solutions could be the best. It has reminded me that whenever I am struggling to produce work and generate ideas, the best way to solve the problem would be using drawing as a research tool. I have been struggling of how I could keep on making drawings alongside making a machine. I wasnt sure of how I could make illustrations which would help me with the development of the machine. The two just seemed to not get along. As there isn't a lot time until handing in my project I don't have enough time to produce more drawings. In the future I have to definitely organise my time better in order to be productive and efficient. Personally, I feel like I have failed to make enough work that I am happy with. I have decided to take slightly different approach of it comes to developing those objects further. I have made few simple paintings/drawings of my objects. Those seemed to bee too complicated therefore I have decided to simplify it a little bit. As my goal is to start considering composition and layout, few lines and shapes on the page was just enough to represent those objects. Sharing the same information in less about of details. Collages in which I have combined some of the drawings previously. I though scaning bits on top of each other would be quite efficient and effective. As Hannah is my partner when doing this machine project, I have decided to reblog some of her experiments that she did a while ago. I though those are quite relevant as it explores how light could be used but also how interesting shapes and colours appear when using wires and electrical equipment together. It gave me ideas of how I could push ideas further and do something aside from making the actual machine. I would probably draw shapes that I could see and maybe make prints from them. It translates dimensional object into a drawing, which is something I have struggled with doing. Those surreal compositions could feed into my ideas only if I had time exploring it more myself. I wish I found time earlier in the project to experiment with wires, switches, plugs and cables. This is a lesson for me to be more efficient and explore other factors that appears during the process or research.
____________________________________________________________________________________ Hannah's post: ''EXPERIMENTING WITH PHOTOGRAPHY I decided to look at materials that to me have connotations of machines and electricals. I decided to experiment with putting these in surreal compositions and imaginary machines. I think the lighting works well as fairy lights are often used more for decoration rather than a functional machine, so I am touching again on what makes a machine, does it have to work? Is it for a specific purpose or for entertainment and in this case fairy lights are a machine for decoration. I was also looking at the aesthetic features of machines, switches, plugs, lights, wires etc. Which I think is interesting in photography, as these functional fixtures are not often focuses on or looked at as interesting but more a feature of our everyday lives. By putting them in these bazaar compositions we can begin to look at these things differently more as objects than machines.'' I took some of my drawings and tried to simplify them or changed them up a little bit. I belive that it gives me more flexibility to play with colours and shapes. This quick exercise allowed me to see if I have ability to adjust my drawing skills based on work that I have seem around the studio. The result turned out to be surprising as I have sticked to a structure and layout but also doing it quickly. Shapes and patterns seemed to be the main thing that I have concentrated on. Big brushstrokes worked as a base. Later on I added details if needed. Changing up the design of the boots. I have been quite interested in the topic as majority of people go through annoying things every single day. Those could be the smallest details and things that we might not like or accept but for some reason we are not willing to do or change anything about it. The fact that we chose to let it frustrate us on a daily basic makes me interested of how people allow this to happen. To begin this idea I have been asking certain people about things that annoys them. Regarding the group age, few things were annoying elders as well as younger teenagers; Empty bottles of milk left in the fridge Hair in the sink When you step on something small such as LEGO When you have to queue Sitting on a bus next to someone who speaks on a phone loudly Empty toilet rolls Surprisingly, most people could relate to those small things. I could illustrated each one of those ideas and lay it out into a poster-like design. This wouldn't necessarily relate to the machine itself but it would be a great development of this specific thought. I was thinking about making a machine that could simply make people frustrated. A box with multiple buttons and holes that you could look through. They would either do something or do nothing. Touching a button which buzzes you and makes you jump seems like on of the details which could be inserted within the box. A hole with a sign that says 'Don't look' would possibly make people want to look through it. On the other side would be a note 'I told you not to look'. I have researched that we are more willing to do something which are prohibited for us. As I am running out of time, i am not sure if making this machine would be a good way to go. I have concentrated too much on researching and planning which hasnt left enough room to make the machine. Safest way to go would be just making a simplified version of this idea.
Following the crowd allows you to make mistakes as in the end you are not doing anything too outstanding and unusual. Also it means that people who you follow has probably made similar mistakes as you. Therefore you could count on their advice based on their experiences. It means you can depend on one another' My psychology colleague has made this statement which caught my attention and made me think about it more. I have research why people follow the trends referring to the jewellery pieces I found in the Castle museum. It has helped me to get my mind around the subject of how the mind works when we follow the orders and most importantly why we do it. It has been interesting to see how we think from the scientific point of view. People tent to follow others as they are too afraid to do something different that makes them stand out. Following the crowd is easier than attempting new things which requires courage. New things can be criticised by friends and family. I have found out that as we grow older we almost never do new things, as we have created a safe space that we already know, which is also based on our experiences and by sticking to certain group of people (family). Whereas kids haven't build up their opinions and haven't experiences as much, which is why they tent to do more outstanding things comparing to adults. They are more willing to try new things and stand out from the crowd as they wouldnt be ashamed if they get critisized... because they are children. Tendency to try new things comes naturally but I feel like we get shut down because of criticism and judgement of others. Questions to be considered:
How could I relate this to the machine that I am making? Is there anyway that I could cooparete my previous thoughts with this statament? What do I want people to think when they see my machine? What is the purpose of the machine? What power am I going to use? I feel like this could be my starting point in which I need to think about the development and purpose of my machine. One of the first ideas I had was to make machine that orders people or make them do unexpected things. It would be interesting to see if they would follow it or what their reaction will be. What if I make a machine that tells people to do silly or stupid things? Either way, why would they follow the machine in the first place? I think that it is possible for people to follow orders given by the 'machine' as they would expect something to happen. There isn't any worst feeling than to feel disappointed as your hopes has been destroyed. I was thinking about machine with multiple buttons that has to be pressed in certain way. Tensions and excitement could be created as when you are following silly orders you would be expecting something to happen at the end, where as it would just make you look funny. I believe that people would do it just to see what happens in the end and if there is any purpose for them to do silly things. One of the most interesting machines I have found in the museum must've been the first weaving machine. It contains small and quite straight forward mechanisms combined into one. It all has to work in sequences and at the right movement othervise threads would get tangled or the fabric would have bumps causing it to sell for lower price. Woven fabric was made by passing threads over and under one another. There are different types of weave. It takes practice and rhythm to create perfect smooth fabric. As this machine seemed to be quite phenomenal back at it's discovery, textile industry has grown enormously. All because it was faster and more efficient for both designing and actually making the fabric. I am interested in this machinery as with time, newer and even more innovative parts were added to make the job even easier. Metal handle that passes wooden part from one end to the other, was made later on. The idea kept involving and developing as people got to know the functionality of this machine more. Instead of thinking about something completely new they have decided to improve it so that it suits their needs. This gave me idea that I could play with the functionality of the machine that I am going make. Considering how it could apply to my needs and requirements of the others. STEPS:
Fabric design is copied onto squared paper Translates the design into punched cards The cards are stitched together in a continuous belt and fed into the loom The holes in cards control which threads are raised for weaving the pattern I have noticed that this machine makes quite unforgivable sound when in use. Sound of metal and wood working together and rubbing against each other in specific pattern and rhythm. This is another aspect that i found exciting and worth exploring more. Maybe its not about the purpose or the functionality of the machine but other things it makes that other people tent to ignore, such as sound or smell. 1. Marble run This seemed like one of the first things that came to my head when I read the context for the new project. Marbles running through the pipes, setting different things off could work out just fine. I feel like this could be effective and made quite a show if done well. Even if I build the whole marble way/run on my own I feel like the idea would be just copied from the internet. Yes, it is a machine as it sets different things off and used kinetic energy. I think it is all about approaching this project in a right way and learning how to begin to research and dig out ideas from various unexpected places. Marble run idea wouldn't be good as all it does it makes a show for the public. I would want my machine to make people think about its purpose or making them interested in it. Too straight forward and too simple. 2. Sound effects I have thought of making a machine with multiple draws so that when you open them the objects from the first draw drops to the second draw. Than objects from the second draw drops to the third draw and so on. The objects could be nails, bells, marbles, screws etc. (small objects that when touching together make noise). It would be in a shape of a box which you could turn upside down to set it up. This idea concentrates mainly on sounds that are made by whoever pulls the draws out. The issue with this machine is that it might not make any effect on people, in fact it could make them wonder if the mechanism even works. As it would be a short process, whoever sets off the sound could possibly think that the machine is broken. It is not expected to just hear a sound without seeing what makes that sound therefore I could make the viewer confused. I wont to avoid people thinking that it just didn't work. I would want to make them think that it was the actual purpose of the machine but it is also something they don't expect. 3. Annoyance Machine that annoys you. I think this could be quite unexpected as the purpose of this machine would be something opposite of what people would want a machine to do. It could be done through making viewers disappointed by in a way they would wait for something to happen whenever they press a button, but in the end nothing spectacular would happen. I though of inserting raw of buttons in a box, which when you press them plays orders for people to do. The trick is that the orders would be quite silly and childish. The most important thing would be to see if whoever presses the button is willing to follow whatever the machine is saying. Why would they follow it anyway? Doing weird things would make them look silly and maybe even feel frustrated. Machine could give orders such as 'touch your nose' and make them believe that it is required in order for this machine to work. Need to consider how to make sure that the orders are smart enough for people to believe that they are 'real' requirements to make the machine work. (Castle Museum, drawing of the parts of the machines)
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