Painting...

Firstly, I am the worst painter, anything I have ever painted never looks similiar and the colours I use thinking they are similiar once they dry the colours never are. I spent a lot of time on this first summer painting as I wanted it to show the same quality of structure and shape that the photograph does. Using the colours from the centre of the flower were quite similiar but on the bottom left hand corner of the painting the colours aren't similiar, I used too much deep red and created lines where there isn't any, I think this is lack of constantly looking at the photograph, something that needs improving on!!

Once printed off this picture I was painting from wad darker anyway but the painting ended up looking too light and the variety of greens used didn't vary enough, they all looked similiar even though I mixed them individually. The lines I made were too thick making them stand out far too much and the overall shape of the leaves looked blocked like they were individually out together, not that they were together. This is due because of the thickness of the brushes I used and the colours I used were blocked without any highlights or shading. Out of these 2 paintings this one could do with more improving but using smaller brushes that give off small/fine detail and add more shading and highlighting by looking closer at the image. I really need to examine what I am about to paint!!

Attempting photography...

After finishing my first year, I received my feedback saying that my photography was really good but I could do with practising taking some up close photographs and considering my camera is not the best, I was impressed with the outcomes. Choosing flowers to photograph was mainly because I wanted to capture nature, it's beauty, colour and shape. All of these flowers have structure, I think this is the aspect that my whole summer project so far is based on. I like the development and the practice of creating something especially when the outcome is what is expected.

Paper folding...

This was also a 3rd year person's final piece that caught my eye the degree show. What I appreciate about these paper folding pieces is their structure and how delicate their structure is to keep. The intricacy that comes with creating a piece like this is unbelieveable and difficult to create, from these photographs that I took; design, structure and the 3-dimensional aspect from creating origami pieces is evident.

I wanted to know whether I could create origami pieces as intricate as these, so I created some of my own pieces by starting off slow and following the directions given step by step. My first attempt was making a rose which went disastrously wrong so I made another attempt at making a 'star wreath'. After over 20 instrcutions and half an hour of struggling to link it altogether, my results were impressive. It actually looks like a 'star wreath' and I was very pleased with the results.

I was very apprehensive about starting to create a '5 petal flower' as it was said to be more difficult than the 'star wreath'. After a long time has passed and the repetitive moves had been complete, the assemblement I find is the most difficult part of the process. Once this was completed, it looked great, however keeping it's structure was proven difficult as each time it was moved it kept coming undone from the centre. I do love the end result of origami but getting there is a struggle, the 3-dimensional finish is beautiful and gives off a better quality than a 2-d shape

Lucy Affleck...

Lucy Affleck's final project in her 3rd year was designed and formed around her chosen theme of 'bedroom interiors', her visual and experimental work was based on plant/human cells which then led onto growing life. Lucy Affleck emphasises on colour using a range of it that varies from light to zesty to dark and richer colours. She created a combination of structured designs with abstract designs, out of the 2 my favourite has to be the abstract designs as they are more free and not particular. I find this aspect of being abstract and free hard to develop in my work, this is what I am trying to develop this summer. In some of her designs it looks like she varies her techniques from print to machinery and combining them together, her use of sewing on the machine is simple stitched drawings of flowers that blend into the design through her use of colour. Lucy Affleck has a very good eye for her choice in colour palettes, her work is stunning and colourful.

Mark-making...

The photograph above was taken at Quay House where MMU 3rd years presented their work. This piece caught my eye through it's use of colour and by the fact it was created through print- one of my favourite areas of study. Using colour in my work has always proved difficult as I always think it makes me work look tacky, cheap and unrealistic but this piece includes none of these aspects. This piece is an experiment that led to a final piece that involved colour and pattern, the patterns created look randomly made and the colour used is subtle. This type of experiment reminds me of watercolour paints blending and merging with areas of water creating subtle yet exquisite detail, almost creating patterns similiar to ones that can be made using marble inks, like my version below created from using just black marble inks.

Marble Inks...Experiment 5...

The Marble Inks this time were printed on an a5 canvas, my expectations of this experiment was that the outcome would be similiar to that of the wooden circles, I couldn't have been more wrong. The inks took to the canvas the way normal inks take to water, they expanded and seeped further into the material rather than sitting on top of it. This experiment works well because of that factor, it creates new depth to using marble inks. The inks on canvas don't sit beside each other, they work with each other creating layers of differing colours.

Marble Inks...Experiments 2/3/4...

The above experiment was created before the one previously shown, however, the size and shape was much larger and the amount of marble ink colours used was less. Marble Inks amaze me print by print, they are always unique. The print above is flat but bursts with life, the colours used work harmoniously together, they blend and twirl into each other creating moveable structure.

The experiment above was mainly about showing the difference in structure of pattern between each marble print, even though the differences are evident the colours deflect this part. I should have stuch to one colour so that the differences between each print was more seeable.

This experiment above was my first marble print done on acetate. My expected results was that the inks would just run of this material but it didn't, in fact the inks printed on the acetate impressively well. I get lost in looking at marble prints. I try to create or re-create shapes and imagery from the patterns that the inks make.

Marble Inks...Experiment 1...

After seeing Beth Barrie's work at the Imagining It group's exhibition, it automatically made me think of working with marble inks. The patterns and shapes that was shown in her work are similiar to ones that the marbling inks can create, seeing her work gave me the oppurtunity to play around with using these inks again. I have only used marble inks once before and this was in my first year of college but the results were stunning, patterns were unique every time a print was made.
My first attempts at marble inks at home were done on a variety of papers that varied in layers, thickness and colour, I aslo tested the inks out on wood, acetate, foam board and polystyrene. I choose what I thought gave the best results and made bigger versions exploring structure, pattern and colour mixing.

This experiment was created by printing with marble inks. The colour variety in this print makes it more exciting, the use of wooden circular shapes makes these pieces remind me of planets. These pieces hold different amounts of colour and line density between each shape that makes this piece mysterious and playful. Printing with marble inks on wooden materials is rather enjoyable as the results are always smooth and clear.

Imagining-It Exhibition...

I took alot of images from this exhibition, some of these pieces were done by friends of mine. Surprisingly I really enjoyed this exhibition, most pieces really interested me, mainly through the techniques and materials that the artists used.
The image above was a close-up of my friends work, Helen Birchall. As I already know her work and what her interests are, her final piece really did her justice, it displayed her interest in systematic grids, pattern and making connections between shapes. On a larger scale Helen's work contained photographs of 3-d shapes that were all connected and joined together using black thread and pins. Helen's exhibition was focused on representing our changing city, using nets in the photographs was incredibly thought out as they could be taken apart and changed to show how our city does change.

Rachael Yeung's work caught my eye because of her colour choice and scale. Rachael used post-it notes to represent sound waves that she had collected from around Manchester. I think her colour of post-it notes was bold but makes the statement of making something usually unseen, clearly visible. The presentation of this piece was limited and simple and the scale was very large making it eye-catching. I like the pattern and structure that Rachael's piece inadvertenly expresses.

The above image is taken from Beth Barrie's exhibition piece. I enjoyed looking at this piece though it's colour and different patterns that were presented through each cylinder. Beth's patterns and colour choices were inspired and based on quantum dots that are visible in television screens. Understanding where the colours and patterns come from if evident in her research but the shapes could have been more adventerous and differ from each other. The presentation of her pieces intrigued me and grabbed my attention, as they were hanging high from the ceiling.

My first reaction to seeing the piece above was that it was stunning! I absolutely love everything about this piece, it's presentation, the materials used and it's colour. This piece was created by Floss Hamm, she used over 2,000 cotton buds creating this and each bud was worth it.

These pieces were created by someone named Pip Pittman, what I found interesting about her work is how she combines stitching with what looks like to be photography. She makes her photography work look like drawings and this fascinates me, adding the stitching was a good way of giving her work more depth aswell as a little colour. She used stitching to make overlooked areas of her photographs to reveal it's significance and to highlight the beautiful markings that we are surrounded by in Manchester,