Dressmaking pins and thread...

A pattern found on the dream catcher I had previously drew

 

All of these quick samples were about testing how to draw using the unique method of dressmaking pins and black thread. I decided to use black thread instead of all the other colours because in my drawings most of them were drew with black ink, black thread also made the patterns stand out better on the white foam board background. All of my chosen patterns were snippets taken from my summer project, they differ in what they are but are all connected through structure and refined form. I decided to use these materials as I’ve seen people create amazing results using them, however, this was my first attempt at using these materials so some of the patterns wasn’t 100% accurate and symmetrical which is disappointing. I found using this method of materials difficult because they was so intricate but this could have been due to the fact that my samples were really small, on a larger scale I predict that the thread won’t be that hard to maintain. I enjoyed experimenting with these new materials and would use them more in my experimental work.

 A tetrahedral prism that I had seen in an exhibition at the Tate Gallery in Liverpool

 Symbols found on a hand-made leather chair that I had seen whilst on holiday in Lanzarote

A 5 petal origami flower drew using dressmaking pins and black thread

Coloured match sticks-Experiment 3...

 

This was my last experiment of the 3 and honestly it should have been the first as it is the most basic out of the 3. This experiment was originally supposed to be able to be twisted, folded and manipulative; instead it became a flat wall piece. The elements I wanted this experiment to contain were inspired by Shuna Rendel’s piece I saw in the Holden Gallery, the way Shuna Rendel manipulates a material is what I wanted to experiment with in this piece but the material I has chosen was too stiff and using a hot glue gun and the glue drying hard made it impossible for this piece to bend let alone twist. I found this experiment to be very disappointing as I didn’t achieve what I set out to, however the end result is basic but still collective and repetitive, the matches were lined up but the colours were randomly placed but I did make sure that the same coloured matches were not placed directly next to each other.  

Coloured match sticks-Experiment 2...

 

This experiment was thought of through the first one, it involved placing the match sticks synchronized in a circular position with the match sticks creating an almost clock like pattern. This experiment involved 8 match sticks per piece, they were laid in a repetitive motion and the colour matches used were laid in the same order, doing this created an on-going pattern. Pattern has been one of my main themes for my summer project so this fitted in well with the rest of work. These pieces were held together by glue to so there just as fragile as the first experiment. Even though these pieces are 3-dimensionsal, they would be nailed to a wall making them flatly stuck, this aspect puts me off this piece as I am more interested in creating installations or something that could be seen as completely 3-d.

Coloured match sticks-experiment 1...

 

Creating these 3 experiments was about using an unlikely material and seeing what could be created. My first experiment involved lining up 10 different coloured match sticks, leaving space next to each other so that they would create a snowflake look from a bird’s eye view and attaching them altogether using a hot glue gun. Keeping each match stick straight proved difficult by each layer but the outcome was small and decorative pieces that would come together to create a small installation. I made 20 pieces, they all had the same amount of sticks but the colours varied. I presented these pieces floating in mid-air; I got the presentation influence from the ‘Peace’ installation I had seen in a Manchester Museum. I also wanted these pieces to be light so that the air and wind could slowly move them, gliding side to side, sometimes spinning, I got this influence from the ‘Obsessions’, ‘We Face Forward’ pieces. I am very pleased with the outcome, given more time I would have created a lot more pieces and made this installation a lot bigger. Even though the match sticks were bold colours they didn’t make this piece look tacky which always impresses me, because the pieces are so small and are only attached by glue they are very fragile and delicate and could easily be broken.

Painting of my dog...

Bubbles...

I bought bubbles for my dog really, I had seen my friend use them to play with their dog and he loved it so I tried it out to see whether my dog was the same with them. As you can tell from my pictures Rio really enjoyed playing with them, he would jump up to pop them with his mouth, playing this gave me the idea to blow bubbles that are also made with inks to see the patterns that would be created, however after experimenting with this idea the bubbles never fully popped on the paper so all it left was faded ink marks. After this bit failed I decided to blow bubbles again but these times catching them with the stick and placing them on the paper and watching them pop. This creates deliberate and predicted marks, what I didn’t want. I predicted random marks.

My niece Kara-Louise...

 

I am really terrible at drawing faces and bodies so this summer I decided to give it a go at improving on my drawing skills involving these areas as well as improving on my painting skills. I tend to add over detail on areas that only require subtle colour. I decided to focus my paintings on my niece Kara-Louise as I spent a lot of time with her during my summer holidays; she is one of the most special people to me. I draw 3 different positions of my niece and even though I do see improvement in my drawing and painting skills, I still wasn’t completely satisfied with the results.

Day Trip to Blackpool...

For a day trip out, I decided to go to Blackpool because when I was younger my Dad used to take me there all the time and I loved it. With what started out as a nice sunny day turned into a dark, dull and rainy afternoon as you can tell from the pictures I took. I did some quick drawings and print experiments from the pictures I took of Blackpool Tower. The prints turned out better than I thought, the paint colours I chose make the structure of the tower stand out.

Flower drawings...

 Flowers found in my Grandad's garden, drew in pencil.

 Flowers found in my Grandad's graden, painted using watercolours.

Flower found in my Grandad's garden, painted using thicker watercolour paints.

Different prints influenced by Lanzarote...

Above is a bird I had seen in Lanzarote at a bird show.

 Above is a fish I had seen in Lanzarote at an Aquarium.

 Above are decaying flowers that has lost it's original colour but gained others.

Above is a arrangement of Cactuses that I had seen also in Lanzarote.

Flower prints...

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!!

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