Print experiments

   Thursday is print day, I used to hate printmaking but I love it now because it is a fast way to kick out lots of work, that looks good together! For these prints I wanted to experiment further with some of the mark making I did the day before. I translated the marks onto monoprints, and combined that with collage and using stencils, to create lots of small pieces. These types of marks can be used for anything, so from now on I will probably fill my sketchbook with this kind of work. The next step will be seeing how these marks apply to different things, such as fabric and photographs, and how I can use different media and tools to do this.

Making a Mark

In a workshop I made lots of strips full of marks, made using only a small selection of tools. It is not something I am used to, as a lot of the marks were very uncontrolled, but it really helped me loosen up and I feel like it has kickstarted my productivity a lot! Using these techniques in my sketchbook will make it much more vibrant and interesting.


   After I exhausted all of the tools I challenged myself to do an observational drawing using only a selection of these marks, no pen or pencils aloud! I really enjoyed this way of working, and it created some interesting, and...terrifying drawings that I am really proud of. Seeing these results encourages me to experiment more fearlessly in the future.

Mindfulness

   I have started to think about mindfulness, and how this whole concept of being at peace with yourself is trending right now. Relaxation and me time are becoming the new thing, and this concept is everywhere, which I am thankful for! Adult colouring books are now a thing, stress related mental illnesses are being dealt with and from watching a lot of videos I have figured out how to de-stress myself in better ways. We are starting to realise the importance of free time, and abandoning modern stresses to look back at a simpler time. 

   This whole idea fits my project's theme perfectly, because it shows that how we pass time is becoming a cycle. When we didn't have technology or books, we would de-stress by meditating, watching the world or doing a hobby. In an increasingly busy world we forgot about all of that, but it is coming back into fashion. 

Here is the Ted talks on Mindfulness  that I watched recently, which I found really inspiring for my project. 

London drawings

    I drew from exhibits in the V&A that I thought were relevant to my project. I want to develop them to add narrative, and expand on the media I use in my work. I want to use the drawings of people I did to make characters and designs, to build on my ideas. I found out a lot about what people used to do in Europe in the past, and I will use this research to develop ideas later on.

A woman I saw smoking at the bus stop on my way home, that I drew partially from memory, as she escaped half way through! I had to draw her because of her magnificent nose; she reminded me of Yubaba from Spirited Away. From this I could look at people's bad habits. I am sure a lot of people have some weird ones.

Relating to one of the questionnaire answers. Luckily, it is anonymous. 

London

  I went to London to gather research and inspiration for my project, specifically the V&A gallery, and the Natural History Museum, not because it has anything to do with my project but because I want to see the dinosaurs! The dinos were very inspiring, and so was all of the beautiful artwork in the V&A. I have always loved traditional sculpture; the detail, the flow, the strong forms and of course those amazing booties! One thing I admire the most is the way they sculpt fabric.. I can't even draw it, let alone make it out of clay. Here are my best snaps, not including selfies.

Achilles Heel.. If you're in pain, you have to do it fabulously!

"Paint me like one of your French girls"

A strong woman who could snap a man in two

The deep.. she is calling

The gates of Hell.

The Tsum Tsum summoning circle, worshipping our lord Satan.

Question time!

   I created a questionnaire on Surveymonkey that had questions to do with how we pass the time now and what we did when we were younger. I got a lot more responses than I was expecting! From these responses I had a better idea of what to draw from observation, and it gave me a lot of ideas.

   Below is a self portrait I did showing a popular answer to "what do you do while waiting for the bus", which was judging other people, or "people watching". I did a line drawing of my expression if I am judging someone, and on the other side I drew how my face looks whilst feeling judged. I find it silly that although every person dislikes the feeling of judgemental eyes upon them, we are all guilty of judging random passers by on the street.

The survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/5GQHNSZ 

   When asked "what distracts you", a lot of people said that their pets did, which I can definitely relate too, because my dog is the biggest attention whore in the world! Another attention whore is my grandma's bird, Lady, who chirps away until you hand feed her seeds. I did several sketches of her, then made some more polished pieces. The first one is just done with a thin brush and ink, and the other is done with cut paper collage and ink. I really enjoyed the process of making a nice finished drawing, but it took way too long, and I became too precious with it. From now on, I have to just jump in and make a mess, or I will never meet the deadline!

Lady the Birb

Under my Umbrella

*Not relevant but pretty.

          Done using a similar technique to the ink blob character workshop. They are observational doodles of a paper parasol, done using a fine line pen and ink with a stick.

Observe, Experiment, Create

   On the first real day of project work, we started by doing some timed observational drawings to get our hands working. They look gross I know, but hey, I hadn't drawn in like.. a week...

Of course seeing this pile of lines kicked me up the butt, so after this I began to draw every day again.

After this we took the drawings and experimented with them, using different techniques and compositions in an effort to make them less cringe-worthy.

On this first one I liked the contrast of the line drawing of the scooter against the the solid shapes of the umbrella.




      On this one I tried to be messier, using collage with ink and stick,

To make a final image I combined all of the things I liked in my experiments into one Frankenstein design, I combined collage and cut paper shape background, with messy ink (scraped across with card) and careful line drawing. Observe, Experiment and Create is a tactic I will use throughout this entire project
(:

*Says the old lady inside me, shaking her stick at the Younguns..

Mind Mapping

   The first thing I did before starting the project was create an extensive mindmap, so I have an idea of the type of research that will need to be done, and which direction I can go. 
So far the routes that I would most like to explore are related phrases, passing things down generations and the horror of having no wifi.

Character Workshop

Featuring Mogzilla the eel, Francake the cat and Allkazar the Great and Powerful Wizard.

  In this workshop we were shown a technique to help us loosen up before starting our projects, which is also useful for creating original characters/creatures/objects. We had to make a random mark with ink, and add to it with pen to create an image. Then, we gave them stories. It was really helpful, because it forced me to come up with random creative ideas, to draw things I would not normally do. I found as we were going that the less marks you make, the better your character will be, because you have to be more creative to use a smaller mark. I also found that doing things like this outside of my comfort zone has helped me settle into a style, that I can doodle in and feel comfortable with. 

Starting the project

  My Brief...

   In this project I want to explore the concept of free time. How much do we have? How do we use it? Has our perception of free time changed? I want to find out what people do to relax, no matter how weird. I want to capture quirky personalities and moments of blissful free time, and show them through illustration using different media.
   This blog will be dedicated to documenting my final major project in my foundation degree course. I will use it as a journal to track my progress, to see in one place what works and what doesn't, and to note down my thoughts. My end goal for this project is to exhibit some work, and discover more about who I am and what I'm interested in before I head off to university. It will be an exciting and hectic process!