Sculpture 3: Gravity and Grace

Gravity and Grace 2012. Steel rod.  20 x 39 In

Sculpture 2: The Acrobats of the Apocalypse

This is my second sculpture project focusing on performance, and using a variety of media.

The Acrobats of the apocalypse 2012, Performance, steel, plaster, wood.

Jester 2012. Modrock, chicken wire, ribbon.

Accumulate and disperse: Contemporary print

This is my print project, the theme being accumulation and disperse.

Screen print on satin fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on satin fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on PVC fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on PVC fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in 

Colograph on PVC fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on satin fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on PVC fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on satin fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on PVC fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Colograph on satin fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

screen print on paper 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

screen prints on fabric 2012
16.5 x 11.7 in

Print Artistic statement:

As a reaction to the brief, Accumulation – Disperse, I first explored all different topics. I went from looking at fame and how easily in this time it is to achieve and lose (looking at 15 minutes of fame, fame the musical etc.) I also explored the ideas of psychological disorders such as hoarding where people accumulate a lot of items and find it difficult to let them go due to emotional ties. Finally I settled on the idea of the magpie and how magpies and jackdaws are fabled to steal shiny and valuable objects. I also linked this to disperse via the term “flying the nest”. Within the workshop sessions I developed this using monoprinting, Drypoint, colograph and Screenprinting techniques. I have been particularly interested in the mono and screen printing techniques in monochrome as they mimic the colours of the magpie and jackdaw. I really enjoyed the ink and system 3 method as it was a quick easy way to make many reproductions and produce a great deal of work. I researched the artist Julia Burns with her animal and bird prints as I believe they are tied to my work. Painting directly onto the screen I have made varied marks to suggest the ragged magpie stealing. I also focused on feathers as we all know how birds, especially chicks, malt. I have also thought about printing onto Perspex style material as well as different types of satin to accentuate the ‘shiny’ attraction magpies and jackdaws have and I have experimented and trialled printing on other fabric and foil. As well as the set topic, I want my work to show that feeling of when an item has been lost – people say things have been stolen by the fairies, or misplaced. I envisage this hoarder of a magpie sitting on a fat nest full of objects and tokens; like a dragon sitting on treasure.

Sculpture 1: Dangerous contents

 Images of my first sculpture project, worked on in a pair. Then the final Group project.

Untitled, Cardboard, chicken wire. 2012

Group project, 2012

I'm back!

So, last time I posted I was just starting my second year on Game Art Design. Now let me say a lot has changed since then!

I am now on the Fine Art Course, a switch I made because really I wasn't flourishing on the Game Design course. The teachers were awesome, and I did grasp some things but really, the technical elements became too much and I had to come to a decision  Do I keep trying on something that is making me ill? or do I swap to something else? Also I thought about where I am happiest. I am happiest at Goldhill Adventure Playground where I am now employed as the 'Art Lady'. So I resolved to study Fine Art and become a teacher myself. Having had very negative experiences with some teachers in my life this is something I am very passionate about and cannot wait to get into.

Also the last time I was here I was just setting up an Abba Tribute and duo - Diva. We are doing really well and have been booked up for the past year! I will post up dates if anyone wants to see!

So to the Art - I am really enjoying myself, especially in the sculpture aspects of the course, I have recently experimented in glass and metal this being my recent effort:

Mermaid test #1 blown glass 2012

I have also been to London and lived in a hostel for four days - this with me being a great achievement! I found I was like the leader of my group going round and was able to translate the London travel network myself. I really excelled making some great friends, something I previously struggled with. 

Us all in London

I am now really happy and cannot wait for the next project, Gravity and grace in which I am thinking of working with giant metal!

Later,

   

Level Two (woop!)

Hey people :)

Hope you didn't miss me too much :) I had quite the packed summer... from going away to Corfu and Paris (bit of visual design homework = going to the louvre & Corfiot palace hehe) to setting up a new club act Diva: the Abba Experience, which I have gigs for throughout Leicester already - including new years eve...no partying for me (gasp).

 

The Mona Lisa - seen in Paris.

 

       Diva the Abba Experience - I'm on the left.                                            


So here I am at the start of year two, having survived the "first year cull". For a second I'm a bit proud but I know really it's only going to get harder. In this blog I'm going to re-review myself in all areas of the course, this time properly scrutinising how i can make things better.

Visual design

Last year I did quite well in visual design. I had the core skills there and pieces like my self portrait and pumping station I really am proud of. I think towards the end of the year I did lose my focus which is something I need to work on. Part of the reason for this is my anxiety and self belief issues; sometimes up at abbey park or guildhall they made me dig my heels in a bit feeling i wasn't good enough to continue. I feel in this year I will develop my skills further i.e. using colour and perfecting perspective, I am also going to try and conquer my issues with self belief/anxiety using the resources provided to me like Sarah my mentor and my new equipment (laptop, dictorphone, mapping/planning software). I need to reassure myself that I made it through to the second year, that I am good enough to be here and stop comparing myself to others - this is a hard task for me but I think ultimately it will make me feel a lot better and make my drawing improve.

3D

Gradually I am improving in 3D, just looking  at the pictures below you can see -

This was my first time using 3d max - the dalek. As you can see there
were a few problems - I set the reference wrong so I ended up with a
very thin dalek. There also wasn't enough geometry but still a good first
try I thought.

This was the last project I completed from year 1. as you can see
from the wireframe render I've improved a lot - the structure is there
and matches the reference shown. The geometry is cleaner too.

Again with my 3D I believe the one thing holding me back is my fear and anxiety. As soon as I can sort that I believe I will work better. Over the summer and now I am benefiting from a 3rd year mentor and over emails he looks at my progress. Take Tuesday for example; when we first got the 3 briefs at once that was a little too much for me to handle - although after waiting for Heather to finish I approached my dsa mentor and worked out a plan to handle how to get started without panicking. I am first completing the trash project to get it out of the way, then I will have more time to complete the two bigger tasks, also giving me a confidence boost. In our proper session on Friday we will dissect the briefs together - getting this outside help really lets me look at the bigger picture and I know I will do better having a proper plan set out with someone to tackle 3D head on.

Critical studies

I really enjoyed writing the critical studies blogs last year, although I am unsure of how I could improve them except for planning and allocating more time towards them so I can build up more on more topics. 

Looking foward this year I can already detect the changes from fundamental skills to purposeful learning. On Tuesday in 3D the change was evident within the briefs given. They are more professional and allow artistic development as well as all having a deadline of December 6th. The projects seem to be much more student run already, the briefs giving technical specs and outline only, and with that common deadline we have to be more hands on with our own time management & planning. The workload has also increased in visual design and is different to the first year. While going around Abbey park instead of being given the perspective etc. we were told about colour and composition and told to get out there and create a picture. This I did quite enjoy, and knowing I needed to make my visual design better I looked and researched a different way of shading/drawing landscape online (I was drawing outlines which made me get stuck and felt difficult - now with the help of a youtube tutorial I am blocking in trees with shading within thumbnails getting the idea down better). In Critical studies you just have to look at the length of the tutorial on the vle. Instead of a few pages and links we have a paragraph - similar to visual it is trying to get you to be more independent and source own material. This I understand to be part of the 'Purposeful learning' heading onto the 3rd year where 'autonomous learning' makes us totally think for ourselves with little help from lecturers.

So, that was my blog reflecting on myself and the course for year two. my main ambition is to kick the stress and worry, therefore making me a much better student, making my work improve vastly. To do this I will be working with mentors, lecturers and my equipment: setting goals & planning efficiently to stop myself from being afraid. 


I need a montage! 
'Cause even Rocky had a montage :)

Later, 

Freshmen year...what it's over already :O

Hey people!


So this is the last assessed blog (though by no means the last, you'll still have to hear me witter on in personal blogs :P), where I see all my strengths and weaknesses and evaluate the course...so here goes...


The GA course is fantastic. The people we get to hear from and the lessons we have I have really enjoyed. I mean if you know me you'll know I really panic over my skills sometimes - and if you remember the lecture from Blitz with the fox in pants...that really settled me. To know that I didn't have to be so perfect and that that was some of the stuff they were getting; was one of the first things as a first year to truly settle my nerves. So yeah, more awesome industry talks please!

Secondly, I love the visual design lessons especially when we go out to places. This has helped me organise my own little trips as going to say Bradgate park first with a group has given me more confidence to plan such trips. One of my favourite outings was the pumping station, where being a Leicester girl I watched about all the history and really got into drawing the massive wheels - which to date is one of my favourite pieces of work. In areas where I have found difficulty help has been on hand even with one to one help which I really benefited from.

- My pumping station final, a piece of work which via it's quality I think shows how much I enjoyed the day.

3D is good too, although I feel sometimes it is a little fast and hard to pick up straight away; this may be my problem though as I do struggle with it. Constructively, I think the tutorials could be a bit more detailed or made easier to understand, and keep the Guru/grasshopper thing going, it's extremely beneficial to people like me who haven't had all that experience.

The Blog and Critical studies I have really enjoyed - I wish our class would speak up a bit though ;) it's a little quiet! I don't know if you've enjoyed my ramblings but I have found it very fun putting humor into them...especially doing my rave-esque presentation...it really was awesome. I have liked writing about issues to do with gaming (see 'Hello my game is...and I have a problem') and showcasing my other talents i.e. my singing in personal blogs.

So what about me?

Overall, I have had a big adjustment with this course. It is hard going from being excellent to a pool where pretty much everyone is excellent...and then some. My biggest hiccup has to be the 3D stuff, It makes me so stressed that i still can't stick this stuff...although that dosen't mean i'm giving up! After completing like my 10th church today I know i will get this. I'm also looking into what extra tuition is out there and i've been offered some training on a project re-imagining the lost theatre in London (randomly my singing teacher's daughter's husband is a 3D artist running the project :D) so hopefully that'll help too. 

Reflecting on myself I really need to stop worrying and over-thinking things. This is really hard as how I am does make me obsess... but I am trying step by step to manage the feelings of stress about everything. I also think practising better time management can help me achieve better results. A lot of my dilemma relates to my own lack of self confidence also.

So yeah, That was everything on me, myself and the GA from the saff

Later,