Lauren Massey

1st year BED Student Ceramics Print Paint

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Artist statement

Movement

•For this project I focused on the movement of my two pet cats ponyo and loona

•Ponyo is a 10 year old tabby

•And loona is only 6 months old Maine Coon cat

•They are both on opposite ends of the life cycle and obviously their movements contrast a lot

•In this project , I've tried to captured the lively movements of both my cats. The older one's graceful strides reflect her years, while the younger kitten's playful dashes are much more innocent and naive. Together, their paths weave a picture of companionship and movement.

• I work with ceramic, print, paint for this semester, and was suprised at how much I enjoyed ceramics. And if I wasn’t a BED student, I would definitely have picked it, even though I thought I would enjoy paint the most.

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Paths

Here are some of the paths left by my cats when they are outside.

It’s mainly ponyo that uses these paths on the rare occasion she leaves the house. She usually spends her days asleep on my bed. When she does go out, she takes the same path from the door, to the hedges. Her routined movement has left a mark in the ground.

A view from my bedroom window

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Line drawings of my cats

I drew these using one continuous line hoping to achieve a sense of motion and the difference in their personalities

My reference photos I used for my drawings

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Some mess

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🐈🐈🐈

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Wire cat drawings

I wasn’t able to go to college this Monday and Tuesday so I continued on with my project with materials I had at home,

I created a load of abstract wire cats with week and photographed them on a white background.

I decided to make these after the success of last wire cat on my ceramic piece. My ceramic cat house is definitely my favourite piece I’ve made and I wanted to recreate the bouncy motion one is able to capture whilst using wire

I made a 3D cat stretching

Here they all are together

I tried to create a sense of motion in these two pictures

Here I tried to photograph the shadows of the wires

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Artist research Grayson Perry

Perry's use of cats in his artwork often serves as a metaphor or symbol rather than the central focus. His exploration of themes such as identity, class, and societal norms go beyond the subject like cats, but when they do appear, they add layers of meaning to his already complex narratives.

The "Gay Black Cats" quilt was created by Grayson Perry in 2004. The quilt features two stylized black cats surrounded by various symbols, imagery, and text related to LGBTQ+ culture and experiences.

The title "Gay Black Cats" is a playful reference to superstitions surrounding black cats as well as a nod to LGBTQ+ identity. Perry often uses humour and irony into his work to challenge conventional thinking and provoke discussion.

I was introduced to this artist by eoin, whilst we were having a one on one.

A few more cat related pieces by Grayson Perry

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Happy Caturday! Felt the itch to draw cats so I sketched some from this wonderful thread started by @smoosey with her kitty, Baby.

Cats in order are:

1, @smoosey's Baby

2, @merlyn-bane's Princess Jellybean followed by 3, her Captain Ravioli

4, @lady-sci's void kitty

5, @lttrsfrmlnrrgby's Shadow

6, @youaremadeofstars' Penny Lane

7, @keypix4's Lexa

8, @phantomofthetacobell's Sherlock

There are so many more precious (and shapely) kitties in the thread that I will most likely endeavor to draw later :3

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🐱

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Movement Mapping

I wanted to create a piece that clearly shows the difference in movement between my two cats, one being energetic and spontaneous, whilst the other being more predictable and uniform.

I based this piece off of my hallway in my house, and how my cats move from the sitting room, to the kitchen.

Ponyo takes the same routine path everyday, the path of least resistance, that takes up as little energy as possible.

Whilst loona is completely random in her movements and picks a new path every-time she leaves one room.

Painted my canvas to mimic a wooden foor

Added floorboards

I used white string to portray ponyos movement through our hallway, from the sitting room to the kitchen.

And then I used different coloured string to represent Loonas chaotic, indecisive movements and how she chooses an new path every time she moves from one room to another.

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Artist research Richard Long

“A line made by walking”

"A Line Made by Walking" is a famous artwork by Richard Long where he walked back and forth in a field to flatten a path, creating a visible line. It's about the artist interacting with nature and challenging traditional ideas about art.

Eoin also recommended this artist to me as I was explaining plans I had to create a piece that maps out my cat’s movements.

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Gesture drawings of my cats

After my class with Eoin I was inspired to do the same with my cats loona and ponyo.

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Paint workshop, week 2

I attended the paint workshop with Eoin this week

We all took turns modelling for each-other for about 10 minutes at a time.

For this gesture drawing session I tried to use a different style, or new piece of charcoal for each person.

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The Electrical Life of Louis Wain Documentary

I watched a documentary about Louis Wain recommended to me by Mary, and whilst I was watching this I drew a few pictures of my cats in the style of Louis Wain

The first picture is of ponyo and resembles wains earlier and most well known work.

And the second is of loona mirroring wains later depictions of cats

I throughly enjoyed the film, a lovely watch.

I was really inspired by his artistic journey, resilience, and the way he captured the essence of cats in his paintings despite personal struggles.

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Primary research

Ponyo stretching and showing her claws

Loonas fluffy paws

And a few more pictures of ponyos paws

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Finished painting

Some close ups

I’m so pleased with how my painting turned out, it was a collaboration between me and my cats.

I feel like I was able to portray the movement, or lack of movement between the cats.

Ponyo is asleep as per usual, and loona is playing and chasing a ball of yarn.

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Cat painting

I want to create a painting that my cats both helped to create.

I started with a blank canvas and dipped my cats paws in paint, and expected them to walk across the canvas for me, that didn’t end up happening.

I ended up making a huge mess of my kitchen

I got a better idea to add paint to cling film, place that on top of the canvas, and then get my cats to walk over it. A much cleaner, mess free idea.

I used a treat to lure my kitten onto the canvas. (after I gave her a bath for the previous attempt.)

I did the same thing again with my other cat ponyo, but used blue paint instead.

This is the final result after both my cats trod on the canvas, I plan to paint a portrait of both cats over this .

I drew a rough idea of what I wanted, and painted over it,

The half way point.

Hot glued some yarn together.

And the final piece!!!!

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Paint

We set up easels in the morning and Sylvia helped us mix a colour pallet and exp some basics in getting proportions correct in painting.

We were introduced to Jeff, and started painting

I’m happy with how my piece turned out, it was a very enjoyable and relaxing class.

The wall outside the classroom were everyone hung up there paintings.

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Print making PT2

I wanted to create a matching piece to my ceramic tile that I made of my cat ponyo, but this time I wanted to make a Lino print of my kitten loona.

I stuck to the same design and layout, but altered it to fit my kitten’s personality.

I wanted to capture loonas movement and how it compares to ponyos movement.

Loona is so energetic and usually ends up in destruction, hence why I’ve gone with this design.

She’s knocked the fish bones, torn down one of the balls of wool, and is trying to grab the other one.

Here is the finished cut Lino, I didn’t get a chance to print it yet, but I will when I go back for my second week in print.