So far this year I've been trying to approach my work in a similar way to how I became comfortable in the 2nd year. Unfortunately, I've come up against some problems and failures that have knocked my confidence slightly, but I'm hoping to put those mistakes behind me and get back on track to put my skills to their best use for the final major project.
Our first project for the module (following the light hearted one day brief) was the zine project. The aim was to adapt the work we had begun over the summer from our personal projects into content for our zines. At first I was very excited by the idea of making my own, and found our visit to the zine library very inspiring; it made me consider how I might like to produce my own after graduation. I think self-publishing is something I would be well suited for. However, I think the main downfall for me during this brief was that my work over the summer had lead sculptural pieces. Adapting this for a zine just didn't seem to work, but I tried my best. Unfortunately I misjudged my time management and spent far too long actually finishing the sculptures (I added two more to make a set) before I could think about translating them into a format suited for the zine. I have spoken previously about some of the downfalls of this work, and ways I had hoped to improve it in this post.
I wish we had known about the zine before we began our personal projects over the summer, then I could have thought about creating work that would have been more appropriate. In retrospect, the idea behind the heart sculptures was too abstract and vague to work well for a zine. A simpler idea I had planned to respond to for my personal project was that dreams of certain sorts related to bodily dysfunctions (e.g. it has been a superstition that dreaming of suffocation indicates a problem with the dreamer's lungs). If I had created a more extensive collection of bodily organs to illustrate this idea, I think they might have looked effective photographed, then compiled in a zine.
For the next project I chose to go with the Folio brief to illustrate Brave New World. The big problem here was that my method was far too time consuming. I became so wrapped up with the idea for one of the illustrations that I didn't consider the others well enough, and the birds that I made as part of the first image took me far too long. I still hope to complete these and enter the competition which closes in January, but using a quicker production method which relies more heavily on my transferred drawings rather than 3d objects. And I think I might try and speed up the process by producing smaller scenes to photograph.
During the second half of this project I also started learning the processes of drypoint and etching. As these are new to me, I do need practice to get the knack of the technique, but I absolutely love it! I definitely hope to include either process in work for my final major project. I would like to experiment cutting them out and using them as elements in scenes/sew them onto 3d objects etc.
Over the past couple of weeks I had started to slip into panic mode when I didn't complete these two projects. I have, however, become very enthused by the current brief, The Fish Tank Project. The very open premise is to respond to a song of your choice in order to create an installation for a design agency. This has allowed me to start creating images based on a film I love which has a very famous soundtrack song. I was very happy with the finished result of the Little White Lies project last year, so the thought of creating something along the same vein for this is spurring me on. In this last week I have chosen to focus on finishing my design for this brief, as it is the one I feel I can create my best work for.
I am still a little unsure about what my proposal for the final major project shall be, but after an informal chat with my tutor I am feeling optimistic about creating a self published book, drawing from all of my skills to make something that is really me. It might not even include text, perhaps just a picture book. I would like to maybe base it on a fairytale or folk tale, something that includes animals and fantastical scenery, something that I can create rich, atmospheric images for. I would also like to take advantage of my hand-made method and explore some animation- most likely stop motion, but I'm also interested to see what our animation classes next year will inspire me to do. The story I would draw inspiration from is going to be very important so that I don't run out of motivation or ideas, so this is something I will have to think carefully about over Christmas.
Our first project for the module (following the light hearted one day brief) was the zine project. The aim was to adapt the work we had begun over the summer from our personal projects into content for our zines. At first I was very excited by the idea of making my own, and found our visit to the zine library very inspiring; it made me consider how I might like to produce my own after graduation. I think self-publishing is something I would be well suited for. However, I think the main downfall for me during this brief was that my work over the summer had lead sculptural pieces. Adapting this for a zine just didn't seem to work, but I tried my best. Unfortunately I misjudged my time management and spent far too long actually finishing the sculptures (I added two more to make a set) before I could think about translating them into a format suited for the zine. I have spoken previously about some of the downfalls of this work, and ways I had hoped to improve it in this post.
I wish we had known about the zine before we began our personal projects over the summer, then I could have thought about creating work that would have been more appropriate. In retrospect, the idea behind the heart sculptures was too abstract and vague to work well for a zine. A simpler idea I had planned to respond to for my personal project was that dreams of certain sorts related to bodily dysfunctions (e.g. it has been a superstition that dreaming of suffocation indicates a problem with the dreamer's lungs). If I had created a more extensive collection of bodily organs to illustrate this idea, I think they might have looked effective photographed, then compiled in a zine.
For the next project I chose to go with the Folio brief to illustrate Brave New World. The big problem here was that my method was far too time consuming. I became so wrapped up with the idea for one of the illustrations that I didn't consider the others well enough, and the birds that I made as part of the first image took me far too long. I still hope to complete these and enter the competition which closes in January, but using a quicker production method which relies more heavily on my transferred drawings rather than 3d objects. And I think I might try and speed up the process by producing smaller scenes to photograph.
During the second half of this project I also started learning the processes of drypoint and etching. As these are new to me, I do need practice to get the knack of the technique, but I absolutely love it! I definitely hope to include either process in work for my final major project. I would like to experiment cutting them out and using them as elements in scenes/sew them onto 3d objects etc.
Over the past couple of weeks I had started to slip into panic mode when I didn't complete these two projects. I have, however, become very enthused by the current brief, The Fish Tank Project. The very open premise is to respond to a song of your choice in order to create an installation for a design agency. This has allowed me to start creating images based on a film I love which has a very famous soundtrack song. I was very happy with the finished result of the Little White Lies project last year, so the thought of creating something along the same vein for this is spurring me on. In this last week I have chosen to focus on finishing my design for this brief, as it is the one I feel I can create my best work for.
I am still a little unsure about what my proposal for the final major project shall be, but after an informal chat with my tutor I am feeling optimistic about creating a self published book, drawing from all of my skills to make something that is really me. It might not even include text, perhaps just a picture book. I would like to maybe base it on a fairytale or folk tale, something that includes animals and fantastical scenery, something that I can create rich, atmospheric images for. I would also like to take advantage of my hand-made method and explore some animation- most likely stop motion, but I'm also interested to see what our animation classes next year will inspire me to do. The story I would draw inspiration from is going to be very important so that I don't run out of motivation or ideas, so this is something I will have to think carefully about over Christmas.
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