Exhabition

So  I was really proud of my Sculpture, it looked so good on the night woo!
http://www.warrington.ac.uk/news_events/1338_record_crowds_attend_the_opening_night_of_annual_art_exhibition_at_warrington_collegiate

Just a bit of fun!

Final Piece

Evaluation:

For my Final piece I made a Giant Lollipop, after all my research, surveys and inspiration I feel this was a good outcome and does link in well to my theme of Childhood Memories. I am happy at where my project has come to. Throughout FMP I had many other plans and ideas which could have also given a great outcome but with the time scale left and resources available I came to a decision that this idea was the strongest.

With feedback from my Peers and My own Judgement I feel Happy about the way it looks, However if I was to improve/ Have more time I could have created something larger and with a cleaner finish as I feel I could have spent more time sanding and making a much smoother base to work upon. Also I had a plan to create much more sweets of different variety. However my project is about childhood memories and not ‘sweets’ and so I think by having one simple lollipop is enough to still have the wow factor.

It will look much more professional when in the exhabition environment!

Making my Giant Lollipop

So I have decided I really like the idea of creating giant sweets for my final piece, after talking with my piers I agreed that this would give just as great effect as creating a 'sweet shop' but would be much easier in the time frame and It would have a more personal touch. As I work through my FMP I have to remind myself of my starting point which is childhood memories. Going back to my very first influence 'Charlie and the chocolate factory, and the edible garden' this means that I can relate my work to my own memories rather then generic ideas of a Victorian sweet shop.
I still plan to incorporate the senses into my work, I am able to have fun with this project!

Making:

I used mod rock around a cheap football to mould the shape of the lollipop, I did each side separate and then attached together with more mod rock, making a band around the middle to give a realistic shape.

 

 

 

Once dry I then Mixed up some Red acrylic paint and latex to give a shiny and realistic colour. 

After this I plan to varnish the lollipop to give it a glossy finnish

 

 

Drawing over sweet bags

I bought 40 sweet bags without any real plan of what to do with them, so I started to draw in Biro over the top of them. I decided to draw places where I have fond childhood memories and the places I think about relating to my childhood.

I found that if I drew over both sides of the bag and held it up to the light then the reverse images shine through. I really love the look of these, although they are only small paper bags, having a lot of them together could give a nice effect.

Light bulb moment

After speaking with Nicky to get some ideas and review where I am at with my project, she mentioned an idea of playing around with scale again, like I have on one of my previous projects. I then started to think how it might look to create some of my sweets on a large scale, having a giant strawberry lace twisting around the room or a big bag of skittles bursting open. I can feel my project starting to take shape. This idea still connects back to some of my initial idea's and inspiration from childhood memories and films.

Liverpool

We went to liverpool to visit a few galleries and get some first hand inspiration. on the way to the tate gallery I found this in a sweet shop window and I really loved this idea of creating a picture out of objects/sweets ect. I think the images and inspiration I found on the way to the tate was more interesting then what was inside!

Primary research and inspiration.

As I mentioned I went to visit flambards walk-through Victorian museum and took lots of pictures of their sweet shop, it was really good. It links really well to the area my project is going in because as well as recreating a visual room they had created an atmosphere by adding sounds, lighting and smells throughout to make you really believe you were entering an old fashioned building.

Peer review

I got my class to help me review my project by far, asking their opinions as to which direction they would take the project in, where my strengths and weaknesses are so far and how I can continue to improve. The feedback I got was helpful. one suggestion was that I should create dark opaque jars to put objects in for people to smell and then guess what the smell is. This would be very interactive art and not really what i am used to, but it does link well to the idea that our senses are linked to memories.

Making sweets out of latex, pva glue, paint and modrock!

My practical experiments are starting to take off, I've started to use different materials to recreate sweets that look tasty and edible, playing with the idea of senses. The objects should look real but have no smell no taste but trigger the mind to want them. I really love where this project is going.

chupa chups painting

using acrylic paint on a canvas, i tried to do quite a realistic painting but i didnt like the actual canvas, it looked much better after i had taken a picture of it so i plan to print this photograph on a large scale and have it as the background to my ediable room!

collecting and reviewing results!

A common theme about childhood was books and reading, this has given me thought to continue with the idea of fiction and Roald dahl illustrations.
Another theme that popped up which I hadn't thought of was music, such as 90's pop, would be interesting to see how I could link this into my work.

surveying people

So I have decided to do a short survey about childhood, to gain some insight into common themes. I haven't entirely decided what I am doing with the results yet but I think some of the information I have gained is very interesting and helpful to broadening my ideas.

My first attempts, sweet photography

I am planning to do some drawings and paintings from these images.

other influences- museums/themeparks

Every year at Easter time my family head down to Cornwall to stay for a couple of weeks, this is definitely one of my favourite childhood memories and annual traditions. Looking back and trying to remember things to focus on with my art work I suddenly remembered visiting the Flambards Victorian village, it's almost like a walk through museum that transports you back in time with wax figures placed within the buildings, old fashioned sweet shops and Pharmacies. Streets that stunk of horse manure and the smells of fresh bread pouring out of the houses. One thing that really grabbed my attention was the idea that  placing artificial smells through a museum could create an atmosphere that makes you believe you are really there. It would be really cool if I could incorporate this into my final major project. Being able to make smells trigger memories. http://www.flambards.co.uk/exhibitions/victorian-village/

FMP

Final major project time! I've decided I want to look back at childhood memories, feelings, sounds, smells and tastes and I'm really starting to take inspiration from fictional characters such as charlie and the chocolate factory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9B_6PH4dhU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I had to be careful suspending my latex sheet from the top of my booth to ensure I didn't fall and I also had to get help from my class mates to peel the sheet from the plastic it was created on. Using talcum powder helped the sheet hang without sticking together although it made it more opaque I like the effect it has, almost tuning the latex into a silky fabric.

Planning where to place the sheet I looked a few different surfaces, on the light box, against a window, I also experimented with both dark and light backgrounds. Finally I decided that having a white wall behind it gave the best balance of light and colour.

latex sheets

My final design took influence from the agar jelly and petri dish ideas, I created a latex sheet which I had coloured with brusho and ink, I had also trapped bits of cotton and thread in it whilst it was drying, I love my end piece. The areas of transparency really add a great affect and although the sheet is thin the latex is extremely strong. I plan to suspended this in the air using transparent fishing wire so it looks as if it is floating.

Artist influences

I was struggling with the artist research side of things based on cells, then I was introduced to the work of Helen chadwick, she worked with scientists and staff within hospitals and created some beautiful pieces by cutting into cells and using microbiology photography, I especially like the muted green and blue colours.

leg!

One word project.... My word is Leg! At first I hated it, I had no ideas but now I'm starting to really like it, at the moment I'm looking down the idea of cells and microscopic parts of the leg, muscle tissue and fat cells, I think this could be interesting. I have made my own take on some fat cells out of fabric and inks and also done a study of some bloods cells, however I have had to use Google images as my source, so to make the project my own, with the help of my tutor I will try and borrow some samples from the science departments to work from!

Final piece- my plans

For my final piece i have decided to draw and paint my photograph of a derelict house over fabric on a large scale, incorporating the experimental techniques i have used so far, such as drawing over different fabrics with Biro, using a roller to paint with and stitching into areas. I've been looking at some of Peter Doigs work as an inspiration.

playing with media

After gathering all my initial research and photographs I've finally started some proper practical work, I'm still keeping with the idea of working over fabrics, I've stared this sample using paint. It's still incomplete as I want to make it darker but I am now liking the direction of my project.

Homes without people, people without homes.

Whilst looking for inspiration on this project i came across an Artist names Ofra Lapid, this is their website http://ofralapid.com/category/broken-houses/ My first photographs and sketches of homeless people has led me on to more ideas of how this project could develop, looking at homes that have been abandoned. I thought these two ideas would link well together because it's a fact, there are houses missing people and people who are missing homes. I think Ofra Lapid's work is a great example of how this theme can be looked at.

Initial Ideas

I went to Southport over the weekend and whilst I was there I noticed a lot of homeless people and buskers on the street, I took some photographs so I that I had a starting point to work from, i will draw from these using different media, pen, ink etc. However my photographs are no way near as good as the photographers I have been looking at, mine are cropped from large shots and far from detailed as I wasn't confident enough to ask people for their picture.

house and home

Homeless- by Lee Jeffries

So for the next project I decided to look at house and home, at first I was attracted to the fabrics and textures from around the home which has given me my initial ideas to draw and paint on textured surfaces. Also I tried looking at house and home from a different angle, I think it would be very interesting to look at the 'homeless' so I plan on taking some pictures over the weekend as my primary source to work and draw from. Taking inspiration from artists who have focused on similar subjects like the photographer Lee Jeffries. These portraits and the faces he has captured above are so detailed and striking, I love how dramatic they are.