- We spoke about how my river project has taken up most of my time, and that I enjoyed having a structure in place from having deadlines for the metal pour, certain days of the foundry being open, and the deadline for the summer show to work towards- I felt much more stable having a rhythm to work like this
- Enjoying the process of making, as well as the stability provided; learning to use power tools like an angle grinder was particularly empowering!
- I have definitely developed my skills in sculpting whilst working with the wax, as well as learning how to make hot rubber moulds, how to make plaster moulds for the kiln, how to use various tools as mentioned, how to work with metal (which was entirely new to me) and how to apply a patina to metal. I am a much more confident sculptor as a result
- Why do I record the processes via photography and video?
– to aid my memory- as a result of my mental illness my short term memory is very poor, so recording the process is a helpful reminder, and I can always go back and refresh my memory if I need to
– part of my desire to share the processes with others- I feel that when seeing final pieces of work, such as my sculptures, it can be very difficult to envision all of the work that has gone into each piece- by documenting my process so thoroughly it demystifies the artistic process and makes it more accessible for those who haven’t done anything similar before - Discussed that I am a little sad that my video game project has largely been on hold due to the demanding nature of the river project, and the fact that I need other people with certain skills- i.e. an illustrator and someone with experience in games design- to help actually make the game
- I do feel, however, that my knowledge and understanding of the topic has grown over the past year- the #MeToo movement has provided lots of content online for me to read, watch, and engage with, and there have been a lot of stories in the media that have brought rape culture to the front of social consciousness in the past year, which I have been taking in and adding to my bibliography post over time
- Do I need to put a structure in place for the video game project? Perhaps I should set aside one day or a few hours a week dedicated to research and working on the dialogue options/characters?
- Should I set a deadline for myself to find collaborators for this project, in order to get it moving?
- Holding multiple projects at once- what is this like?
– I find it useful to have lots on as it helps me to manage my mental illness, although I recognise that on days like today it can be difficult to manage as I can easily burn myself out if I am not careful with balancing everything properly
– Cross polination- I often find solutions to problems, or new ideas for a project whilst working on something else- it wakes my brain up and refreshes it a bit, which can help stop me stagnating on just one project - I prefer to see the artists’ process as opposed to just the final work- I much prefer studio visits over gallery visits as I like to uncover the thoughts, experiments, and failures behind the finished works- how can I incorporate this into my own practice? Perhaps by projecting my process videos in the gallery space alongside the finished work? Or could I find ways to represent the processes- i.e. using my hot rubber moulds to make casts in Jesmonite (a stronger version of plaster) but leaving the casts as they come out of the moulds, instead of removing excess material and working the details back in as I did with the waxes?
- Emma Gradin- PHD at Chelsea, could talk to her in the new year, discuss my work, ideas, and presentation of the work in the gallery space- she deals with curating exhibitions, particularly without words, and she is interested in the artists studio and processes
Tutorials
Group Tutorial Notes 04/10/18 & 11/10/18
Tutorials, Weekly SummariesScans of notes taken in group tutorials on the above dates
Tutorial with Gareth 12/06/18
RESEARCH PAPER, Tutorials, UNIT 1Ignore the left page, as I already typed up those notes. The right page contains notes that I made during my tutorial with Gareth on 12/06/18
Tutorial with Jonathan 05/06/18
Tutorials- Secret Lives of Colour, book
- Theodore Adorno- colour/white
- reconciling the conceptual and the making process, balancing
- Tim Pickup, papier mache work (Drag project ref)
- Email Jonathan about video game and he will forward it on to MA Illustration
- papier mache bones?
- Could the drag crossover into the video game? Could I make characters for the game out of papier mache?
- build my desk!!
- work out how I will balance work, making, and research paper over the summer
- 3D print branch, bones, bottle, brick, rope? Where?
- final outcome + outcome of the show
- Science- human and the mind, how the human mind works regarding disgust- BCC programme on it, check BOB, research disgust
- research materials and perceptions
- galleries and hospitals- why white?
- does black enhance/dull some colours?
- grey for Adobe programmes- why?
- white primed canvasses, Pre-Raphelite, better for showing up bright colours
1 to 1 Tutorial 16/01/18
TutorialsRiver Project:
- moving away from vacuum forming as I feel I can get better casts in other materials due to the restrictions of vacuum forming, now moving towards metal, resin, plaster and ceramics
- “The Detectorists” TV show
- Mudlarking- how it has transitioned from a way for the very lowest of society to scavenge for survival, to a middle class pastime involving expensive permits and equipment
- “Secret Lives of Colour” by Kassia ST Clair – reserve in library and read it
- “Re-imagining Scott: Objects and Journeys” by Paul Coldwell – borrow from library and read
- 3D scanning and printing- could work with some of my found objects
- “Shop of Possibilities”
Perfect Victim:
- focus on narrative, use simple, still illustrations and focus on the branches of the story and how player decisions affect the narrative
- do interviews with woc, trans women, non binary people (who previously identified as femme/women)
- use interviews as a base to write scenes in the game
- Put call out for illustrator and games designer when ready
First Tutorial with Jonathan
TutorialsSome brief notes from my first tutorial with Jonathan
- exploring white, the symbolism, what it means in art, how it can change perceptions
- my two main projects (the video game and the river project) run in parallel with each other- the first being predominantly research based at this point in time, the latter being predominantly about research through making, colour, and the properties of different materials. They are separate but I am dividing my time between them fairly equally, so that I stay interested in both projects
- to take my river project forwards- borrow a camera and macro lens from the CLS and photograph the bones- these photographs will be work in themselves, but I can then draw them and/or make prints based on them. Also I need to continue using the vacuum form machine when it is fixed
- Jonathan needs to put me in contact with an online student on the course called Charlotte, who is looking at psychology of colour and mental health
- Type up notes on the Rachel Whiteread exhibition with photos