BCU Foundation Blog

vaguely chronological university art tracking blog

[real-oddity-deactivated20240907]

RadenWA is honestly a hero for these

they're got even more than these, too!

[scwibbs]

Here's my guide to how I draw fat masc bodies! (please keep in mind that this is not an in depth tutorial. I only put the information that explains how my brain interprets it)

[naturalnecrosis]

Compiled some basic information I know about drawing fat characters for beginners since I've been seeing more talk about absence of really basic traits in a lot of art lately.

Morpho Fat and Skin Folds on Archive.org (for free!)

[only-tiktoks]

[tetrafelino]

[olliekuni]

‘Extra Large’ Exhibition

Bead Bugs

materials:

fimo soft: back/white

PVA glue

wire

architectural scatter: snow/wood chips(?) 

ink

gouache 

beads/buttons

toilet paper

foam 

When preparing to make my work for ‘extra large’ I formulated a plan instead of making work on a whim. It was this part of the project that it was pointed out to me that my work had a reoccurring theme of taking objects from the market and changing their context. 

After scouring through my photos again I decided that I wanted the floral buttons to be my focus of inspiration. 

I began by creating a mind map of what these looked like to me. I was reminded of little insect creatures and robots. Originally I was going to make robot insects but decided it would be best to stick to one idea. 

I started planning by drawing some concept sketches of what the bugs could look like in my sketchbook. I then wrote a list of the materials I assumed I needed on a list and went out to collect them. I had a few issues with finding the supplies as some of my guesses were vague, but I managed to find alternatives that would work. 

Unfortunately I couldn’t find the original buttons photographed in the market but I managed to find a similar substitute at another stall. I also bought extra small beads as a back up alternatives. 

I decided to use one of the extra beads to make a small beetle in order to figure out how to put the materials together. I used wire to make a main body frame and legs to make the shape and formed clay around it. I also attached a small piece of wire to the hole in the bead in order to have a place to attach the head.  Through this, I learnt it was much easier to make the legs separately, and to poke them into the clay before baking it. After baking I glued the bead on to the back of the bug and glued the head onto the pre-prepared piece of wire in the bead.

After the bug was put together, I added a small amount of architectural scatter to the legs of the bug to create a texture similar to that of an actual beetle. 

I then decided to research some colourful spiders to study their anatomy. I began by looking at different species of peacock spider but later moved on to tarantulas and documented the notes in my sketchbook.

I then made the spider. I made a body and head shape out of clay and made each leg separately and attached them one by one as I went along. After baking the spider, I dry brushed black and white acrylic paint on the body to give a somewhat realistic looking texture. I also painted the eyes with black nail polish,  added architectural scatter with PVA glue and then finally attached the button. 

I then painted a piece of foam board with warm brown and yellow tones. I made the spider cave with a piece of foam covered in a thin layer of toilet paper and pva glue. I made a wire spiral and glued it tot he centre of the cave and used more toilet paper and glue to simulate a tarantula web. 

I then added sticks, leaves, rocks, foam painted to resemble moss and architectural scatter to create a semi realistic enclosure. I added iridescent scatter to the web and I decorated the burrow with beads and glitter. I also scattered some glitter and iridescent flakes around the enclosure, to add to the fantasy effect. 

When exhibiting the work I chose to include the tester beetle as I believe it contributes to the narrative. I was originally going to place my work on a short plinth that people could look down onto. However, it was suggested to me that I put the piece on the floor in the corner, as that is where spiders are typically found. However, I wanted to separate the fictional mini world I had created from ours so I decided to move my piece to a central point on the floor. 

If I had the time and the materials, I would have liked to make a plethora of creatures and turn the ground itself into a massive terrarium that viewers could walk through. 

[olliekuni]

‘Large’ Exhibition

Television Head

I began this piece by cutting a piece of paper into squares and gluing them into a shape. I then decided to colour the squares with a pattern similar to that of a glitchy screen.

It was pointed out to me that my work reminded people of the old BBC test cards.  I then conducted research into the test cards history and decided I wanted to made a television model.

However, I wished to keep relation to the market with the piece. I had remembered seeing an old television at the market which I didn’t end up photographing. Fortunately one of my classmates was willing to send me their photo.

I thought about adding a body to the bottom of the television, almost like a robot. I talked about the idea to my tutor and was informed of the work of Andy Vible, providing me with relevant artist research.

‘worldview’

‘watching TV’

I sketched some rough ideas for what I wanted the piece to look like:

However, due to time constraints and a lack of money for materials, I had to construct the body out of flat cardboard. I used a shoebox for the head, wire for the antennae, and paint+paper for the rest.

When mounting the piece I chose to use the red rectangle that is painted on to the wall of the space we were using to exhibit. I chose this space as the red rectangle acted almost like an addition to the piece. I set it offset to continue with the theme of a glitch like appearance.  I also added a coloured tape border to tidy the edges and pull it together.

Overall I believe a lot more thought went into this piece than my previous ones which meant a less stressful creation process.

So far my take on ’Small, Medium ,Large’ has been focused on literal scale with only vague ideas about other interpretations. I hope to change my interpretation on ‘Extra-Large’.

[olliekuni]

Textures and Faces

Textures and Faces

When printing out my research photos I accidentally printed some in black and white. Whilst inconvenient, this meant I was able to make collages and cut up images without having to print out extra. In order to try and conjure ideas I began making an outfit out of snippets of fabric textures. However, I felt like I couldn’t develop that idea further simply because it did not inspire me whatsoever. This though later led to an attempt at drawing a face.

Life like drawing is not a strong suit of mine, so I believe the practice was necessary. However, I believe the example I have drawn on paper needs a lot more work. I did not use a reference for the drawing which in hindsight I believe would have helped greatly. 

I then attempted to sketch random faces (also without reference) on my computer, just to see what would happen:

This exercise has shown me what my drawing style is like. Whilst I do not consider these my worst pieces of work, I can clearly tell that I require further practice. I would like to practice more sketching only with references, so that my skills actually improve over time. 

[olliekuni]

Lino Print rework

Lino Prints

I liked the appearance of some of my extra wire drawings and decided to try and rework them into a new medium.

I decided to try lino printing for the first time and made a skeletal hand in some lino. I then made different patterns with the print to experiment. 

After this, I made another cut in a fresh piece of lino to experiment with as well. 

I then added flowers and other details to the cut and printed again, also adding in skeletal hands to some. 

Lino printing is definitely a medium in which I would like to experiment further.

[olliekuni]

Wood and Wire workshop

‘Medium’ exhibition piece 

tools/materials:

wire

wood

saw

pliers

hot glue

paper

string

I decided to utilize the wood and wire workshop to create my ‘medium’ exhibition piece. I used pieces of wood which were approximately 1.5cm in width to create the body of the fortune telling wagon seen at the market (pictured above). I used thin pieces of MDF board to make the stairs and the base of the cart. 

I then used paper and paint to create the paper base. I used hot glue to attach the MDF cart base to the cart body and then decorated with paint and posca markers. I used a small piece of pleated black paper glued into the hole to make the curtain. The wheels were made of wire that had been wrapped in black string. 

When displaying the piece in the exhibition I decided to take advantage of the plastic sheeting that was present on the table. I put the paper base under the sheet of plastic and put the model and sign on top. This was mostly because the paper base was curling from the paint and I wanted it to lay flat. Ideally, I would have liked to put the piece upon a grey plinth in a central location, almost like a crystal ball. 

Due to the spontaneity of it’s creation, I believe this piece could have been made to a higher standard. If I had taken the time to plan this, I would have opted to sand some of my wood pieces as the main texture is fairly splintery. I also would have created the piece in a larger scale so the details would have come out clearer. 

I tried to connect the piece to ‘medium’ by making it slightly larger than my first one in scale, only I don’t think it’s big enough (it’s also a cracking pun). I also decided to choose the fortune telling wagon as my main focus as a form of reworking my mono-print from the previous workshop into 3D.

[olliekuni]

Book Binding Workshop

[olliekuni]

‘Small’ Exhibition

WA11ACE

Whilst on the group trip to the market at the beginning of the project, I found some shattered false teeth on the ground outside the market hall. 

Throughout the course of our time at the market we were instructed to take pictures and videos of the market as primary research. 

In no relation to the project, I decided to buy a tub of doll arms from poundland to decorate for Halloween. At approximately 3:00am during a very tired delirious episode I created ‘Wallace’ because I thought it would be funny. It just so happened that when looking back through my photos for ideas, I stumbled upon a photo of a stall selling baby dolls. 

I decided that Wallace would become my piece for the ‘small’ exhibition and began imagining narratives to place him in. Originally I pictured a strange post nuclear apocalypse market town where deformed creatures like Wallace were common. However, I ended up deciding to make a sci-fi comic style zine with ‘EXPERIMENT WA11ACE’ being the title, which documents his escape from a genetic laboratory. I chose to use ‘11′ as the double L because it sounds like a fictional experiment name if you read it letter by letter, but it’s so clearly meant to say ‘Wallace’

I thoroughly believe the zine was made poorly as it was drawn and written very quickly. However, the zine was a last minute unplanned decision because I wanted to give set context to the piece, so I didn’t allow myself enough time to do it properly. The 'Wallace’ sculpture was easy to assemble and didn’t take very much time. However, if I had made it deliberately with purpose I would have likely spent time on concealing some of the joints and openings in the plastic.

[olliekuni]

Wire Workshop

Wire workshop

materials/tools:

wire

pliers 

I decided to make a fish, a fish head and a tentacle during the wire experimentation workshop as at the time I was researching the Birmingham fish market. Wire was a completely new medium to me so I played it safe and made flat drawings. I would like to work with wire again and move on to 3D work.

I feel confident in my ability to use wire as a medium and further went on to make some other shapes.

[olliekuni]

Mono-Printing

Mono-Printing workshop

1) roll out the ink

2) place paper on top

3) use a pencil/pen to draw image (in reverse)

4) peel up image