Artists

Some artists I found on browsing on the net which have been of inspiration towards my project based upon found / unwanted objects so far.

Dianne Cooper - http://www.dianecooper.org/

Douglas White -http://www.maltacontemporaryart.com/index.php?/project/mca7/

Jade Pegler - http://www.jadepegler.net/

Stuart Haygarth - http://www.stuarthaygarth.com/

Lynne Perella - http://www.lkperrella.com/

Tim O’Kane - http://www.timokane.com/fine-art/naxos/

I will probably come back and talk in more detail about some of these artists in a future blog later on in the project.

Snow

I love it ! OK it poses some travels problems etc but it just makes everything so beautiful ! On Sunday I went on a walk with the family in  North Wales – it was really nice to get out again. I really need to start doing it more ! I think I shall make myself a bit more familiar with the rucksack club once I get backup to Dundee! I really miss just getting out and enjoying the beauty nature has to offer and actually exercising at the same time ha-ha.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Freshfields Beach

I haven’t been to Freshfields in soooo long ! Probably due to the fact I now live up north ! But I used to love going on nice family walks there !  There’s something beautiful about going the beach at Winter. It’s so crisp and fresh so I was looking forward to going on a nice stroll with the family there again! This time with the addition of Polo the dog ! I thought this would be another opportunity to come across some interesting found objects ! Beaches are great places for these !

 

Freshfields isn’t just a beach but also consists of a brilliant forest with some really interesting tree’s ! I love abstract patterns you can come across in bark – I think these need to be used in some way at some point in my work ! Maybe not in this project but there's definitely some potential in using natural abstract patterns !

 

OK so this is a really rubbishy taken picture of my little 8 year old brother Kyle but there’s just something about it I love haha ! He never actually fell over after this !

 

This is another picture I really like. That’s my mum in the back ground – That dash of red just makes the picture – without it, it would be pretty boring ! Again there is just something about this which appeals to me. OK its a simple picture but the detail of the tree bark, the soft subtle background and the small  injection of red work really well together. 

 

Doesn’t look like England does it ?! This is just as you approach the beach from the woods. There area loads of these interesting  windswept tree’s  along with the forever changing sand dunes !

 

I know a lot of these pictures haven’t related to my project at all but everything counts as influential doesn’t it ! Even if it’s not to this project ! It may be of inspiration for another ! OK so this probably wont be but I just like it haha ! Little Polo in his red jacket lol. I really like the angles of this picture. The fact that the horizon isn’t straight is what makes this picture Along with the black lead leading off the picture and the position Polo is standing.  I’m thinking of maybe creating an extra blog just for Photo’s and as a space to talk about them?! Or I may just use this for everything - photo’s I like, work I like, ideas etc! Hmm I’m unsure !

 

I’ve always loved rusted worn metal and I’m excited to try and do something with it in this project ! I actually took this back home with me even thought I can’t take it back up with me to Dundee. I just thought it’d nice to do some studies of. I especially love the colours you find in this type  of worn metal. There always really rich and compliment each other so nicely ! The shape of the metal is also always interesting from every angle !

   Some people wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about a piece of metal like this as me but I just think it’s so beautiful ! The twists, folds and rich rusty colours along with the abstract jagged shapes just make this type of found object a thing of beauty ! I think I may take some more images of this piece of metal in a studio type setting to capture some interesting shadows etc.

Some more interesting found objects pictured below. Unfortunately I had to use the flash on most of the pictures because of the dull weather conditions !

    

Christmas Day !

So I went out on a walk with my sister Nikki, her dog Polo and my good friend Kate on Christmas day – just to get out for a bit ! I took my camera of course – and I’m glad I did ! After the visit to the Tony Robert’s exhibition I became really enthusiastic about starting on my project and therefore now even when I’m walking down the street I’ll be looking out for interesting objects that could be used as inspiration or even used in a piece of work!

Unfortunately everything I come across here back home in Liverpool I can’t really use in a piece of work (unless its small) as I wont be able to transport it back up to the studio in Dundee ! Therefore most of the interesting objects I have come across so far I have just taken some photographs of. Even though I can’t use the actual objects I can however use them to spark ideas of how I can use things I will hopefully come across back up in Dundee !

Anyway below are some pictures from a lovely Christmas day walk ! 

 

Yes this is my sister and yes she has got rollers in ! Ha-ha she’s a loon  but amazing all the same ! I wonder if I could rob them rollers and use them in some way ?! Ha-ha ! There is actually something about the structure she has created on her head don’t you think  lol ?!

 

Polo ! The new family dog ! How cute is he !  Looking innocent here but you should see him when he’s on a mad half hour !

 

OK so onto some actual arty stuff ! As soon as I seen this I just fell in love with it ! There’s something about objects which have been stripped down to their very basics and inner workings ! The rusty orange colour sat so well against the white background of snow which I think is one of the reasons why I noticed it straight away !

    

I really like this set of images showing the detail of the old rusted motorbike. The colours are so beautiful and work really well with each other. The contrast of the orange rust on top of the white snow with the green flecks of grass and moss just flashing through.

That idea of Man and Nature appears through again and how they contrast with one another so beautifully even though the harsh reality is that Man is ultimately destroying it !  I want to get away from this idea of Man v Nature etc! I do really like how they work with one another and contrast so nicely however I don’t want this project to convey some sort of protest towards man destroying nature ! I want this project to primarily be based on visual aesthetics but then work in some concepts and ideas on pieces depending on the objects I find and use ! Ideas and concepts will come naturally and will ultimately depend on the materials and objects I use within my work during the project. 

Tony Roberts - “Salvage”

Contemporary Urban Centre Liverpool

 Salvage: An Exhibition by Tony Roberts
10 December 2009 - 17 January 2010
Salvage is an  exhibition of bas-relief painting. The majority of this creative work has been produced utilizing discarded books, paper & card.  Flintshire artist Tony says this style came about after observing how companies discard printed material as if not valuing the research and work put into producing them.
Tony's work has been described as a cross between sculpture & painting and reminiscent of ceramics.
All books used in his art work have been the "vision and inspiration of someone", and are now given a "new dimension in a different format" where people can explore their previous purpose and meaning.
Mon: CLOSED, Tue - Sat 11am - 6pm, Sun 11am – 4pm

I really enjoyed this exhibition ! It gave me a lot of inspiration and ideas for work. The amount of texture and layers were amazing and I love how built up all the work was. Below are some pictures I took in the exhibition – I’ve tried to capture the texture in the pieces as well as the overall composition of the works which were also beautiful !

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

I love how Roberts has used ceramics mixed in with recycled paper. It gives a really nice different effect. It reminds me of a time when I experimented using plaster in my work. I may return to using this media again in this project. It lends itself to making art using found objects. Not just for creating texture but for also making interesting casts etc.

I also really like the folded metal pieces which were in the this exhibition. The way he has folded the metal in different ways but then displayed them together works really well. I’m unsure what Roberts used for these pieces but experimenting with empty cans will probably lend well to this way or working.

Ultimately this exhibition has just opened up more possibilities and ideas for my next project. The initial starting point was some discarded newsprint which has led on to me thinking about unwanted / found object and the art which can be created using this. This exhibition lent itself perfectly to this idea and by going to see it it has sparked a lot of potential ideas and ways of working I can think about experimenting with as a starting point.

Before I go back to Uni after Christmas I have to produce a 250 word statement basically outlining what it is I want to do. This may sound easy but 250 words is not a lot and I’ll probably find it really hard to stick to this ! I also have to think about some different processes / skills I would like to learn and present these along side my statement. I haven’t really thought about this too much. Back in Foundation I worked a lot with Pinhole Photography. It might be quite interesting to go back to this and produce Pinhole cameras using found objects – however this is very similar to what I have already done. It would be great to do this just to see what’s available in this area of working however I don’t want to create anything too similar to my previous work. Anyway I shall have to think a bit more with this and pinpoint specific areas I would like to gain some skills in ! Maybe sculpture? I’ve never done anything in this field before really ! Who knows….I shall get thinking !

Inspiration from scraps of newsprint ?!

So whilst I was producing all of my prints I had this obsession with removing the newsprint people had left behind on the printing press. This scrap news print however consisted of many sections of other peoples prints all layered on top of each other. As well as sections transferred from other peoples prints there were also marks created by the undersides of printing plates. Really random and obviously not put together with any thought due to the nature of the scraps but they were so beautiful and screaming with potential ! Each time I returned to use the printmaking studios I came across these left behind scraps of newsprint just left on the printing press. I had to salvage them !

Every time I obtained a new piece I took it home, trimmed it down a bit to enhance the quality of it and then stuck it up on my wall. There are quite a few of them there now. I’m currently at home in Liverpool – there still in Dundee so I can’t really admire them at the moment ! Plus I haven’t even took any pictures (stupidly) so you shall have to wait until I get back up there before I can post some up !

Just looking back at that paragraph…..what can I call these things?! These bits of scrap newsprint I have just rescued from being thrown away and never looked upon in the same way again ! They need a title ! But what? I’m sure something will come to me in time haha !

Anyway ! These little beauties really got me thinking about my next project and what I could do for it. It’s a self directed one so I was really chuffed I managed to get some inspiration quite early on !

I started to think along the lines of using unwanted items and giving them a chance to show off their beauty….rather than them just being dismissed for what they are. I could work into these items – make them into real pieces of art….or I could simply enhance the way in which they are displayed ? At this point I don’t want to pinpoint anything – I want to leave things open. I seem to close in on things way to early and this is something I definitely do not want to do for this project !

After having a good think about potential ideas I began having a little research into existing art out there which related to that of what I was thinking ! (This was before we broke up for Christmas) I amazingly found out about an exhibition that was currently on show in the Novas CUC in Liverpool. “Salvage” – an exhibition by Flintshire artist Tony Roberts. It sounded so ideal for what I was currently thinking about !

I really should blog in the present ! I always seem to leave things so late and go back to it ! This will be my new years resolution ! To write about things not so long after ! Anyway I went to see this exhibition and it was superb – this is what my next post will be about haha !