Evaluation of Origins unit

I started off my project by diving head first into research in inspiration. The reason for this is because I feel it helps you figure out your taste and also artists work can help you influence what you do next. I’ve tried to check back with my research and also keep it as an on-going process whilst I do my own work, I have tried to use the research I’ve used but I’ve also tried to put my own spin on the designs and introduce the things that I have created myself.

                I tried to choose the pieces of work that I felt strongest about to take further and develop for example my print samples I have tried to layer them and combine them together to differentiate between my samples and give them a variation I also used my edited images of Photoshop because I felt that they are very rich in colour and catch your eye so I decided to work into it by sticking them on A2 sheets and then introducing paint and line drawings into it. Looking at designers and work that’s inspired me it helped me to choose backgrounds for my prints and helped me with a colour scheme, I think this influence was good because it helped me keep to my specific colour scheme so now looking at my work I feel you can clearly see I have chosen a specific colour scheme. Having said this, I have used artists as influence but also used what I though myself would add to my work and what I think would look good. I’ve also tried a variation by using already made backgrounds and also made my own.

           I’ve noticed that in this project I am very peculiar about keeping my work neat and organised I usually try keeping my work looking pretty and pleasing to the eye but during this project and also contextualising practise lectures and work I have been doing for that has made me think about how not being so perfect about my work could actually make it look better and thinking about other ways to approach my objectives such as surrealism.

Photoshop image exercise

To make these images I used images that I'd just found on google, I layered images on top of one another and experimented with the layer style and layer opacity. I also played with the hue and saturation by using the colours from my colour palette and then layered them up and finally used the eraser tool to rub out an image and reveal the one underneath. I really enjoyed this exercise I think the results you get are really pretty if I was to go back and do something else I think I'd use more images and make more and then go on to print it out digitally and then take it even further by taking it into the print room and use them as a background but I still feel that these images work beautifully just as a picture.

An Islamic Art Exhibition

Today I went to the islamic Art Exhibition at the muslim heritage centre. I thought this was a very inspirational exhibition firstly as a young muslim artist myself I feel their aren't enough muslim artists that stand up and show their work and have enough recognition, I think this exhibition has supported and gave artists in islamic community confidence. I also think this exhibition was a good research source for my project as some of the work showed the repeat patterns and colours I've been working on in my own work here are a few pictures that I've taken at the exhibition and I must say my favourite artist from the exhibition has to be Yusuf Ali, his use of riffles and guns to make a beautiful butterfly is very clever it makes something so ugly and violent look so beautiful it shows the importance people give to guns.

Print room

This week I went into the print room it was quite enjoyable. I got a lot of work done, I used lots of different types of materials which meant I could layer two and then print because some of the fabrics where thinner which made it more quicker and efficient.

Photoshop exercise

For this photoshop exercise we used our colour palette to make the colour swatches and I also scanned in some hand painted designs that I'd made and turned them into brushes on photoshoped. I used various tools on Photoshop such as gradient tool and the brushes. I created different repeat patterns to keep with the theme or arabian nights. I liked this technique because I like the fact you can use hand drawn effects with photoshop. finally we chose one and sent it to the digital printers to have it printed on to fabrics.

Drawings and colours

I made some A2 size drawing sheets where I've used inks and different media such as fine liners and charcole. I've used designs and patterns that I've researched and also included my own. I tried to keep with an arabian nights theme colour wise. I've also used a polyprint in the background. I have cut out sections in the shapes to add some extra detail. If I had more time I would introduce more colours and maybe move on to a larger scale.

I have been working on a colour block where I've looked at pictures that I have put together on a mood board (keeping with the arabian nights theme) I then used gouache paint to paint blocks in proportion with the colours on the mood board I think this exersice has really helped me with mixing colours and also keep to a specific colour scheme. We made these colour blocks to help with our Adobe photoshop exercise which I will do a post on in the next week or so!

Motifs in print

I've been working on motifs for print, I've been using a black fine liner and also ink. I used ink to create calligraphy like lines. I used my research to influence the work I have created but also used some of my own imagination I wanted my motifs to be small so when they transfered onto the screen I could have a variety of motifs that I could use in a repeat pattern. We have also been learning how to create different motifs using Adobe illustrator. I have never used illustrator before so it was a new experience for me, it was easy to pick up and get the hang I created quite a few motifs and have included one in my final screen motif. If i was to do more I think i would try add more repeat patterns so they're more obvious and you can see them more especially in the ones that I've done by hand.

Research artists

I decided to do my Journey on The Arabian nights. I went online and did some research on different journey artists which I've included in my sketchbooks I looked ad artists such as Candy Jernigan, Antoine et Manuel and A journey to the arabian night with julian Breton's calligraphy. I went on to do further research and watched Aladdin where I took notes of Aladdin's journey throughout the film. I then went on to do further research in Islamic and Arabian art. I thought the repeat and very detailed patterns were very beautiful and I wanted to influence the colours and designs in my work.

Visual research

I used the images and the research I did at liverpool to create different pieces of work using different media. for example I used a collaged background using the maps I'd obtained on the trip. I then used a fine liner to draw trees and water colours to bring some muted colour into my work using the inspiration from Sun Xun. I also used a feltip pen and water to make the lines bleed and show different colours emerge from the black line. I am going to try and make some time so I can give these a go on a bigger scale. If I was to make more I think I'd probably link these together and probably make them as a big collage and link them together rather than just have them as separate drawings.

Liverpool Biennial

On tuesday the 25th of september I went on a trip with university to the Liverpool Biennial. We went to a few art exhibitions one of my favourite exhibitions was the bluecoat. There were a few different artists that stood out to me. One artist that caught my eye was Sun Xun - Ancient Film Animation, Chinese traditional Scrolls. I thought that the use of mark making on the scrolls but then also continuing the art work onto the white wall really stood out to me because the artist not only thought about how to display the art but also made use of the space around and used the blank walls link into the art. There was also projections of the sea and waves projected on to blank walls which I thought was a good idea because it brought some movement and flow into the drawings and paintings which also made it feel like you were there experiencing and feeling the scenery around you.  What I learnt from this artist was to think outside the box (literally) and use the space around your art work and how you can use it to your advantage and help you to be more expressive especially if your work is on a bigger scale.

                 Another artist that really stood out to me was Pak Sheung chuen whose work was on display at the Tate. What Pak had done was go on a trip to Malaysia and had covered his eyes so he could not see anything and used his other senses to get a feel of the place around him. At the gallery to view his work you go into the dark room and to view the work displayed around you, you have to use the flash on your camera to take a picture and see the pictures for a moment. The artist tried to recreate the experience he had for his audience he used the dark room to make you feel as if you’re also blind and he also played the Azaan (Muslim call of prayer) in the background to make you feel as if you are there in Malaysia experiencing what he had done.  I thought this was an effective way to engage the audience and make them feel as if they’d experienced what you had.