Secret Location !

I was taken around a secret abandoned building today ! I can’t say were it was ……as I’ve been told not to haha ! But it was amazing ! It’s so perfect for my project ! There is so much I can collect and photograph within it ! I’m planning on going on a big scavenger hunt there soon and collecting lots of stuff that I can use to make more sculptures !  There was also lots of nice textures and patterns I found there along with interesting objects that I wouldn't be able to move but could photograph ! Below are just a few pictures I took today at the secret building !

   

       

   

 

I found just even walking around this building so inspiring. There was so much there that related to my project ! Firstly the building itself is something that was found by one of my friends…and then all of the found and hidden beauty that’s just been abandoned and left ! The lighting in there was amazing – especially on such a nice day like today. Because some lights were not working natural light from other rooms poured into the hallways and some rooms were more brightly lit than others depending on the dirtiness of the windows – with the more dirty windows causing  more subtle and diffused lighting. I think my next visit there will be even more beneficial – I will be able to collect discarded objects which I can use in new sculptures and get some nice photo’s using my tripod. Hopefully I can get back there tomorrow but we shall see !

Found Object Sculptures

These are some of the small sculptures I made using found objects I have collected. I need to collect some more objects I think as it’s started to get to the point were I don’t know what I could make using the objects remaining on my desk ! I really enjoyed creating these…..that process of selecting different random objects to put together and making them work with each other. In a normal situation the objects used in conjunction with each other in the sculptures I have created wouldn't be seen together. I think this is what makes them interesting !

   

 

Some close ups………

 

So……

I’m at that brick wall at the moment. I need to climb over it !

What have I done so far in this project ?

• Took photo’s of found objects (over Christmas – couldn't actually collect them)
• Used photo’s for inspiration to draw from
• Collected found objects in Dundee (from wasteland next to Seabraes)
• Assembled found objects collected in specific way and photographed them.
• Etching – both detailed (images drawn from photo’s) and more random prints (using turps and objects to remove hard ground from plate)
• Woodcut prints – using images drawn from photos of found objects
• Worked on top of found newsprint (stuck down in sketchbook) developing on patterns found within the newsprint and also producing observational drawings from found object photo’s.
• Paper Art – using pages from Yellow Pages to create paper sculpture.
• Began producing sculptures / work using found objects themselves (yet to upload pictures)

I have actually done quite a bit so far in this project although I do sometimes think I could have done more / got further with where I actually want to go ! Last week was an open tutorial week were we could sign up with any tutor we liked. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get a different opinion on my work and discuss were I wanted to go now. I signed up with Aileen as she had been my tutor once before in the “drawing project” and I had found her ideas and opinions very useful and inspiring. She asked what I had been up to so I explained to her about what my project was all about, showed her the found newsprint which was my initial inspiration and then went on to show her the prints I had been making. I also showed her my visual sketchbook and explained why I was keeping my two sketchbooks separate – she seemed to like this idea and completely understood were I was coming from. She reassured me that there was no problem with writing and it can be just as equal to drawing when it comes down to art practice. The random qualities and marks that are found in the newsprint within my visual sketchbook she seemed to particularly like.

Aileen asked me were I wanted to go from here and I explained how although I have enjoyed learning the processes of different print methods and do like the outcomes it’s not necessarily were I thought I would be heading in this project and how I was unsure if it was the direction I wanted to move forward in. Aileen had noticed the artists who I’d been looking at originally in my sketchbook and I explained to her that in my original statement I talked about how I wanted to explore sculpture. This obviously led onto her asking me why hadn’t I been doing it ! I couldn’t answer this as I was asking myself this question ! Why hadn’t I ? I don’t know….because I have wanted to get into it but I have been too busy learning different print methods ! Yes I have enjoyed learning these methods and I think I will use them further in this project however I think it’s now a good idea to experiment with what I had originally wanted to.  Aileen said it would be a good idea to go ahead and start constructing different sculptures (similar to that of Dianne Cooper – one of the artists who I had originally looked at) using the Found Objects that I had collected on my desk and to use this idea of assembling them together in similar ways to what I had already (to photograph them) – but making these  constructions permanent.

I think for now this is what I’m going to carry on doing for a bit – constructing sculptures out of the found objects I have collected. I really enjoyed making the ones I have already and particularly liked how there was no planning involved (like there is in print). I think this is maybe what I have missed – the lack of planning. I’m used to producing work were I don’t have to sit down and necessarily think of how I am going to put the piece of work together or what I have to do to get a certain result. I can also use these structures to then draw from and photograph. I will then take a look of what I have done and see were I want to go. It may be that I use sculpture and print together in some way, using the different printing techniques I have learned. I’m unsure how I will do this at the moment but I think this may be quite an interesting way forward – we shall see ! When I get to that point I shall look at everything that I have done and figure out even if I want to combine methods – this may not work ! Or if I do….how will this be done so I can produce pieces which I like and which I will enjoy working on ?!

Will Mclean

I’ve attached some sketchbook pages which I produced looking at Will Mclean for inspiration. (Rather than just  attaching pictures of his work and having to repeat what I have already said in my sketchbook !)

   

Etching

I finally got round to making some prints from the plate I produced by removing the hard ground from it with turps and found materials / objects. I’m really happy with how they have turned out. The plate has printed a lot more of the marks I created on the plate than I thought it would. I love how random it is and the fact that it looks like that rusty texture that I’m always so fond of when I come across it !

 

I like both of these prints. I really like the colour of the second one but I do think the black one is just as nice as the contrast between the black and the white really works with this type of pattern ! I need to think of where to go from here. I’ve learnt so much and produced a lot of different types of work. I’ve got to a point where I just need to take a step back…look at what I’ve done…and consider how I can combine / work with these different techniques or choose a more direct route to go down !

Wood Cut Print

Last week I had a workshop on Wood Cut Print. I have always looked at wood cut prints and thought of them as too “planned” almost and I think this is why I have dismissed working in this area so far in my practice. However I went into the workshop with an open mind. I didn’t really have anything planned for the workshop (again!) so I decided to just use some of my images I had taken of Found Objects as a source to draw from (again!). I think already the photo’s I have taken of Found Objects so far have proven beneficial towards my project (especially for inspiration and sources for drawing from!). Once I had drew onto the wood I then had to cut out areas I did not want to print – this was the hard part ! Using what was very similar to lino cutters I removed certain areas of the wood. It was quite difficult (which is what I expected) and parts of the wood splintered at times which was pretty frustrating – especially when removing detailed sections ! The first wood cut we all produced in the workshop was just to print in black and white so we didn't have to think about removing specific areas at different print stages.

This is how my print turned out. This is the second black and white print I produced – the first pint had areas towards the bottom which I didn’t really like so I removed. (This is one of the good things about woodcut – you can remove areas that don’t print as well as you thought they would !) I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I was surprised that I could produce a woodcut print that actually appealed to me as examples I have seen before (even though they have been really well done technically etc), I have never really been fond of. This is not how I would normally display this work – I just tacked it up in my studio onto here as there’s not much space ! I actually think it’s quite interesting displayed on this newsprint – however I would have to do something else with the display to make it work !

I really like the texture you can get in the woodcut. Although it is very striking there are still ways you could make the print more subtle by using thicker / thinner lines etc !

So after we had produced our one colour print we were told we were going to be producing a second woodcut – but this time using 3 colours so there would be different stages of cutting the wood out / printing. I always find it a bit confusing when it comes to layers so I found this a bit daunting at first however I knew the print would probably be more interesting than just a one colour print so I was pretty keen to produce a 3 colour one !

We were given another piece of wood and again I just used my photo’s of found objects to draw from. Obviously for the first print I didn’t cut too much out. I wanted the first print to include a textured background so I only cut this part out roughly. One I had produced a few prints using the first and lightest colour I then cut out more of the wood thinking about the areas I wanted to have a darker colour. I then made my second prints over the first prints using the second darker colour. I then had to think about what areas I wanted to be the darkest and then cut out the sections of wood taking this into consideration. The darkest colour (3rd print) was then printed over the others. The colours we used were not really the ideal colours I wanted to use. However I considered this workshop as a learning process and I wasn’t too concerned about the final outcome (although I did want a half decent print !).

This was one of the final prints I produced. I had quite a bit of trouble with certain areas of the background. It was supposed to be the first lightest colour however even though I had cut pretty deep into the background the second and third colours were still printing in some areas. Pete explained to me this may be because the board was slightly warped – pretty frustrating ! This was the reason why my board often had trouble getting through the press as well ! I don’t really like the colour prints – I much prefer the black and white. I don’t know whether it’s just because of the colours used or because the black and white is just more simple but in my opinion more interesting !

Because my print was quite abstract I thought it would be interesting to print over one of the other prints but the opposite way. This worked out pretty well and I really like the results – although the colours aren’t really what I’d normally go for !

I tried this technique on some of the other prints as well – with a few of them just resulting in them being two colour prints. I think wood cut is something I may return to but I would have to plan out what it is I wanted to do in advance first !

Some Sketchbook Pages

So….since foundation I have had this struggle with Sketchbooks. Even though I never have trouble using them and always do, I am never happy with them ! I think it is because in A level I done Art and Design (Textiles) and we were basically told to have our sketchbooks  like a piece of art….every page with a background…all textural…pieces of work dipslayed in them as well. I loved doing this at A level as it did look really good – however it was just so time consuming and when it come to Foundation it was alot more about concept and ideas….and for this reason I started writing a lot more notes. There was not as much visual stuff at all and there seemed no point in working in the way I did at A level – it didn’t get you any extra marks and although at the end of the day I’m not too worried about a grade I would have fell behind if I carried on working in the same way as I did at A level. At foundation I ended up writing crazy amounts of notes – noting down ideas and how I felt. Although this is good (getting ideas and thoughts down) I got so frustrated with not having a visually interesting sketchbook ! Okay there were some photo’s etc in there but most of my pages were just notes ! Towards the end it got a bit better but I still felt I wasn't working in a way which was allowing me to have a sketchbook which I actually enjoyed ! I see peoples sketchbooks and they contain notes ….but lovely visuals as well (little paintings, drawings, sketches etc) and I really wish I could work in that way again…it seems like its one or the other…..really visual (as I was in A level) or a sketchbook just full of notes (like Foundation)

This has continued into this year however I got to a point were I had to do something about it ! I decided to split things up a bit ! Have a sketchbook in which I put my research, notes and ideas in and then have a separate sketchbook which is basically just for visual stuff – sketches, doodles, paintings etc. I’m enjoying working like this so far…..however there is a lot of separation and I can’t work out whether it’s a good thing or not. I feel as though NO notes atall can go into my visual sketchbook as each page seems to be it’s own piece of work and I feel I can’t really make anything too visual in my research / notes sketchbook. Anyway enough going on about it….it’d be good to know what people think and how they work. I’m really trying to find a way of working in sketchbooks that suits me and I feel if my notes and ideas are in the same sketchbook as my visual stuff it just wont work as notes will soon overtake !

I’ve included a few pictures from my “Visual” Sketchbook below. I now have have a method of overcoming the blank page syndrome ( well for this project anyway) – I have been pasting newsprint onto the pages of the sketchbook before working onto them. It’s been nice having something to work onto and with – found newsprint is especially ideal as you get little images and patterns that you can develop on but you can also produce images or collages on it that have no relevance to the newsprint at all and it still works well ! I have tried not to think to much about what I produce in this sketchbook but to simply use it as a visual retreat that ideas and ways of working can spawn from. Some of these pages are not finished at all – I keep coming back to them and working more.

  

I think this is the page I am most unhappy with so far….I think it’s because of the colour. Over the past few days I’ve come to realise that I am quite fussy when it comes to colour ! Blacks, whites and greys always work for me but when it comes to colour it has to be right !

I’ve also noticed how much I enjoy doodling and how graphic I can be sometimes. Ok I’m probably working with newsprint left over from Illustration students however that doesn’t answer for the doodles – although I do really like the visuals also and working into / developing them !

 

 

I really enjoy working in this sketchbook and actually being able to enjoy working in a sketchbook (not becoming tied down in ideas and thoughts) is something I’ve missed a lot !