Having purchased the illustration magazine AMMO I have a resourceful collection of the contemporary successful illustrator interview sharing their work and insights into their career and experiences. Illustrator Luke Drozd is one of the illustrators whose work sits with my present ideas on my process that I desire to work with.
Having reviewed the work I instantly see a connection to the idea of my story set within Grandma’s house. As my Grandma character is an avid collector of extraordinary and plentiful artefacts and ornaments that I envision to be filling every surface and shelf within her 18th century home. The red image to the left showing Drozd’s work for a poster for Stewart Lee, shows a variety of items that evoke the topics of discussion that was previously made at Lees events. I really like this perspective of towering shelves filling the space with all kind of different shapes, I find it very thought-provoking with this diversity and I love how these items are used in a new way as symbollic of memories connected to the individuals expression.
The orange poster image to the right interestingly shows a background of sketch drawing translated and then formed to life as it bleeds with detail and processing into the foreground where the focus is drawn. This use of process technology revealed and placed into the final outcome is a relevant example of how might I intend to promote the original line work into the final outcome of my own work.
On Thursday the 25th of January I felt the urge to conduct my own research using a revisit and independent field trip to ‘Jacob’s Antique Center’ in Cardiff City. Having kickstarted my project I developed the idea of finding treasures that I imagined could feature in my story. This large antique center is a particularly wonderful place that is filled with all sorts of historical items connecting directly to my story that is focused with my curiosity of the late 18th Century. I am fascinated by objects and their stories so I set myself the task of finding an assortment of treasures that I could find out more about from speaking with the familiar dealers.
This idea developed as my story took a new direction having determined that I am irresistibly drawn to my Grandma’s interior house setting. I knew that I had to get my characters involved with the objects that I intend to fill Grandma’s home with, so that the little girl could learn about them and therefore the young readers could learn too.
Grandma is an explorer of objects and loves to collect and pass objects on to people who will also treasure them. The curiosity of objects and ornaments reflects my own passion for doing and observing this passion on tv shows such as Bargain Hunt and Antiques Roadshow. As I have always felt the desire to fill surfaces and space with artefacts. Grandma’s knowledge of the objects reflects my passion for understanding them and the little girl character reflects my urge for enquiring and touching objects when I visit houses. This is something that I couldn’t resist when I was younger and I remember my cousin would tug me back from pulling out all of his things. This is a funny memory and one that still continues to happen especially when things are stored in boxes I always feel the need to investigate the dusty things that it contains.
The below images show objects that stood out to me and I talked with the dealers of the items to learn more about them. It didn’t matter much to me the correctness of the period that they were created from. The idea of history, curiosity and learning was all that mattered. Some online research about selected items from my collections of imagery also would be preceded if I so wish to learn more about them when the time comes for it.
This is a sweet old card that featured a bear cut out for someone to keep. The idea was that it would be a friend and support the beholder.
A wedgwood sugar shaker.
A set of old prison keys.
Handmade case made of a real goose egg.
Chinese/Japanese fishermen.
Unique walking stick featuring a greek mytholodgy god called Atlas according to its dealer.
Indian ornaments. Gods and animals montage forms.
Japanese/chinese fishermn culture.
Japanese Netsuke wooden carved belt toggles.
Japanese/chinese fishermen.
Old card case.
Japanese Netsuke wooden carved belt toggles.
Victorian handmade beeded purse. A prized item by Anne the dealer.
A box of miniature dominoes set made of bone.
Victorian shell purse. Another prized possession of Anne the dealers collection.
Victorian shell purse. Another prized possession of Anne the dealers collection.
Inside old card case.
Unique walking stick featuring a greek mytholodgy god called Atlas according to its dealer.
For my Dissertation investigation entitled ‘The Utility of the Unconscious in Drawing’ I had created some still life experiments exploring a fast and loose approach to drawing known as ‘Automatic Drawing’. This type of drawing has always been a very much enjoyed process over the years of my study that I had either accidentally or purposeful established in my mark making process.
The pressure of timing myself allowed me to break away from the rational thinking of consciousness that would concern my thinking with the perfectionism of the representational quality of my subjects. However this free movement captured in my five-minute drawings, highlights my enjoyable sensations rushing along and fulfilling the variety of forms that I instinctively desired to draw. I loved the unique visual language and liveliness of the drawing results. They are extremely expressive and fascinating as they surprise us with their strange moving forms. This usefulness and self-expressive nature of this method of working is a process that I wish to exercise regularly in my work to drive my thinking and making with the delight of the pleasures stimulated within this drawing technique and therefore a wonderful role that I recognise in promoting such free thinking and pleasurable emotions to my audience.
I have attended a vertical studio seminar that presented post graduates who shared their experiences after university in the working world environment. The knowledge that had come from this event is that it is useful to stay connected with friends in university for support and opportunities. I was also encouraged to keep on with the goal of doing what I love whatever the resolution of this degree has defined about myself and wherever it may take me. To manage these activities with living can be tricky financially but it isn’t impossible and there are plenty of opportunities that await my attention in Cardiff. Communication plays a key role in finding out about these jobs and saying yes to those opportunities outside of my comfort zone will reward me with confidence and connections. Securing work often involves actively engaging and offering services to places rather than sitting and waiting for customers to come to me.
I have dived right back into using the influence of artists Jean Paul Hugues and Carl Larsson’s paintings based on my interest of 18th century interiors.
I have created observational studies of features that caught my eye in Hugues and Larsson’s paintings with a loose approach to dip pen and ink drawings. I have also explored the colours that I see in quick studies and timed watercolour paintings. This allowed me to be less judgemental about the work I was creating to sustain the enjoyment in the work.
I love the predominant use of bold red and moss green. The use of colourful settings excites me and homes are picturesque. I sense more character and inspiration from the hand design of wooden furniture that are curvaceous like the human form. It is a very decorated perspective of living and one that I admire in comparison to the use of plastic and metal furniture that has a lot of block shape designs which is something that I regard as less connective with nature and therefore dystopian.
Dystopian modern interior design example. Solid forms, lifeless, unnatural.Painting by Carl Larsson. Flowing/moving forms.Loose drawing and painting. Exploring the world of rich colours. The colours take inspiration from flowers – observed connection.
I also love the typical fashion of women as they mainly wore long dresses. This also makes the imagery dreamy.
Rees, E. (2017) Reading Resources [Photograph].Over the course of my study, the Contribution module has strongly encouraged the notion of my engagement with reading material that feed my interests, whether topically inside or outside of my practice. Whereas the exercise of reading beforehand was put little into effect as most of my attention was drawn to my passion and concern for my practical development in my image making.
Rees, E. (2017) Inspiring Ideas [Drawing].However, from the incorporation of theoretical studies now embedding in my working practices. I have discovered the nutrition that reading provides. As from one material to the next a feeling of satisfaction and hunger grows as I meet with creative minds alike. That has shown me how encountering the thoughts and ideas of others has supplied me with innumerable words of wisdom and fascinating concepts. That has resulted in improvements to my practical studies in my Encounter module. That includes a stronger motivation level, flourishing ideas in my work and most importantly has been greatly responsible for the sense of clarity and enlightenment about my own core beliefs and the values I would like to work in my own practice.
Rees, E. (2017). Picking Resources [Drawing].The guidance obtained from my attendance to the valuable Keynote lectures has provided thorough advice and proved a dear resourcefulness in supplying essential and appropriate research methodologies. Such as ensuring my awareness of the university services to aid my research and writing skills. This includes my acknowledgment of services such as the Library and Metsearch for reliable research materials and the type of referencing required of me that is aided by the ‘cite them right’ service. These resources have become a familiar routine and one that is inspired by lecturers who have persuaded the achievement of such rewarding theoretical craftsmanship that has built up over the three years and led to my pinnacle essay of my university experience being the dissertation.
From these attendances, my ability to source images has been one of the greatest achievements having not previously been to clear on the legalities of its use in my essays. Now I am fully aware of services such as free image databases and in particular the service Bridgeman that has been the easiest and resourceful image source that I have used for my dissertation. I am also more aware of sourcing reliable services outside of the universities collection following instruction for the usage of peer-reviewed material and with learning the indications of trust-worthy websites. This also includes my awareness of ones to avoid such as google images and Wikipedia.
Rees, E. (2017) Autonomous Driving [Drawing].Lecturers have always made it clear the responsibilities that I have as an autonomous student to effectively conduct and accumulate my own research and the benefits of provoking such thought stimulative studies. This also reflects the responsible attitude essential for engineering my future development after university. To be applied to driving my practice forward and being conscious of ideas and events around me. Which highlights an empowering sense of connectivity and purpose to contribute to the greater world of the community of artists and its prospects that lay open and awaiting my attention.
Rees, E. (2017) Hand Up [Drawing].The opportunities to dive in and out of different but fascinating aspects of a variety of insights presented by weekly encounters with individual Contribution staffs personal research has been one of the best experiences of my time at university. For I was always taken aback by how enthusiastic and fascinated the staff were with their philosophies and ideas that they had grown so informed and attached too. This experience had me too very eager with asking questions and getting involved in debates and discussions that arose, which also took myself by surprise. This experience is something that I realise now had practiced my ability to metabolize ideas and open them to further discussion such as their elaboration that can lead to furthermore ideas and debates. The depths of different areas of research illuminated the complexity within the history and developing world of the creative industry to which indicated my responsibilities for future movements and cultural values that I’d wish to move thinking forward with my illustration. Sparking my imagination and feel of importance time and time again and always leading to the same conclusion that was certain. Which was my minds irresistible desire with sharing my ideas on contemporary art making from my student perspective.
Rees, E. (2017) Exhibition Thinker [Drawing].
In terms of the Contribution activities effect to my Exposure (Field) module. Having registered so many philosophies in lesson and sourced from independent reading. I have learnt so much more about the evaluation of artwork and the many ways in which artwork can be explored and interpreted. Through workshops and theoretical theories that have broadened my thinking and established newly informed approaches to my ability to perceive and critical evaluate artwork. That has led to its use in the frequent in-depth dissection of visual language and ability to distinguish between conscious and unconscious material that has come from a greater understanding on the way our minds work. As I am able to see the more greater perceptual forces at work in artwork that are far more important than the aesthetic pleasures of them. That has benefitted my experience of artwork in exhibitions as it has most importantly favoured a fresh new way of approaching artefacts. As I equip my influence from the library discovery of art teacher Robert Henri (1984, p. 8) who proposed what he had adopted from the Impressionists, which was ‘the idea of looking at contemporary life and contemporary scenes with a fresh, unprejudiced, unacademic eye’. To which ideas I have come to wish to promote and challenge within my own exhibition opportunities and ideas of presenting my future artwork and adopted into my own experience of perceiving the artwork of others.
Rees, E. (2017) Selectivity [Photograph].From the Dissertation experience I have understood the need for the filtering process that involves the selectivity of material from learning resources. I have understood that my possession of such material and all of the above experience remains to linger as inspiration on my mind as the insight into a deeper understanding of myself that is highlighted through these curiosities and attention that pull me to meaningful investigations. That has ultimately mirrored the way in which I like to work using the impulses of my up most interests to direct the work in which I make to encourage a work that it the most alive with spirit and enthusiasm.
Ellen Rees University Blog 