Art Blog

Documentation and tasks for foundation course 

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Community based activity.

For this task, the course will be part of a celebration/exhibition in a local cafe gallery. The work required for this is a ‘self portrait’ which will be available for sale to anyone that attends. This is directly linked to professional practice and act as an introduction to selling work.

As the subject is self portrait, I think that it is better to focus on an area or an object rather than a drawing of myself as I would find that quite uncomfortable to present that to be sold or looked at by many people

options include - collection of things i like, place that is important to me, people/things that are important to me

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Trip to the Saatchi

Katie MccGwire

 I was suprised to see Katie MccGwire’s 2011 ‘Corvid’ (pictured above). MccGwire is a personal favourite of mine and I have been intrigued by her work for a number of years because of her ability to test comfort without moving into graphic imagery, but rather mimicking life with perfectly layered feathered shapes. Although these shapes have almost no relation to a living animal, they radiate life through the twisted shapes and feathers aligned perfectly as if they grew them themselves. The ‘life’ however that it radiates does not often do so in a peaceful manner; its form is always alien, twisting into knots, spreading across the floor from an unsuspecting source or even trapped within glass cases as if it were a specimen for observation. The viewer struggles with a sense of not belonging, but uncertain of whether that applies to the creature in our world, or themselves witnessing the creature simply existing.

Protest Art

We visited the Saatchi to view the portest art of Russian artists such as Pussy Riot, which was surprising considering I had not known much about their work apart from their arrest. The different mediums and the extremes they went to in protest was really interesting and learning about the reality of their conditions was shocking and made me really think about why this was never brought to light, forcing people to listen and learn.

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250 review of a talk, linking to my practice

This video was really interesting and although it covered some ‘tips’ that I have been introduced to before, it was beneficial to see examples of personal work and hear of experiences being talked about honestly. The advice of setting yourself the challenge of starting the minimum amount of work to do daily (the example being drawing at least one line every day) as I had always considered ‘working daily’ to be working on an established piece or to have a purpose. It would be really interesting to start work just freely drawing/painting and carrying on to see where something could go. This ‘doodling’ and experimentation tip was also linked to the tip of ‘conscious learning’ that challenged the idea of ‘practice makes perfect’. This was especially interesting as the use of references and tutorials were strongly encouraged despite the attitude that many people have that using them is a form of ‘cheating’ or lessens the quality of the piece. The conscious learning is inspiration to me and may influence my drawing for leisure, especially considering the included advice “the biggest waste of time is not being conscious of what you’re doing. In other words, ‘doodling around’” (Efflam Mercier). Practicing and the ‘ten thousand hours’ rule can only be effective if given the aids to actually know what to do. Tips such as the ‘rest’ and the ‘feedback’ are common ones, but with the different anecdotes and reasons, it feels more convincing as a technique that I could use. This idea of taking a break is very reassuring to me as it means  that it is acceptable to spend longer amounts of time on pieces without trying to make them ‘perfect’, which I struggle to do, as well as the fact that perfecting a piece offers little benefits in terms of learning.  

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Trip to Victoria and Abbot - Expanding Contextual Horizons

This trip was incredible interesting as it encompassed my interest in history and arts, especially traditional. The range of art in the forms of marble sculpture, sections of building and archways, and artefacts was appealing as they highlighted the huge difference in different cultures throughout history. The ancient Japanese section included pieces with smooth and intricate designs such as the ‘fukusa’ (a textile used as a covering for a gift), which was embellished with the smallest of details to create the golden birds, paying close attention to the way the light would react to create individual feathers. The English textiles such as the surplice were far heavier and included more colours and focused only on pattern rather than symbolism of nature. 

The museum also had exhibits on far more ages and events such as both the World Wars, which are of a particular interest to me so I hope to visit again. I find machinery, documentation or war-artists’ work to be very useful in learning about the period, especially seeing it face to face as it forces the event into reality.

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Pathbrite ePortfolios are the best way to collect, track and showcase a lifetime of learning and achievements, and to get recommended pathways for continuous success.

My final selection for my Digital Portforlio

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Pathbrite ePortfolios are the best way to collect, track and showcase a lifetime of learning and achievements, and to get recommended pathways for continuous success.

My selection of pieces from my Fifty Project. Pieces possibly to be included in my final portfolio.

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Monoprint life drawing I found using very fine lines and contrasting with rubbing the background very interesting, especially as the ink transferred in unexpected patterns

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Study from Highdown

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Collaborative Installation based on the Highdown and Amberly trip I really enjoyed this project as it helped to break the ice with other students by working closely to discuss ideas and create the best outcome. Some of the group’s summer projects were included which really helped to it unique

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Highdown + natural chalk

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Highdown trip! Fish + kiln Very beautiful place with many secluded and interesting areas

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Summer project + rain

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Summer project collage

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Summer project Watercolour pencil

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Summer project walk

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Finding shapes Summer project walk