Motifs Designs - Drawings

I have always been interested in animals, but I have started to look at them from another perspective. For example, I started looking at the dead pigeons, because this subject was overlooked and I thought of how I can transfer the image into print design.

Sketchbook Drawing - Dead Pigeon

I like to work with fine-liner pens; because it creates a sketching effect, I do not enjoy drawing with pencils, because I hate the idea that it can be corrected by rubbing it off the paper. With a pen, once the mark is made, it cannot be undone. I start off by using continuous line drawing to roughly mark down the proportion with a pencil or a graphite stick, but I never use a rubber.

One issue that I have found with the 0.5mm fine-liner pen is that the line it creates is too fine, which makes it hard or even impossible for the print to be produced. I discovered that the safest way is to use 2.0mm or a bigger number.

I then started to look into pigeons’ skeletons and be experimental with my drawings.

 

Sketchbook Drawing - Pigeon Skeletons

Also, being experimental I have used straight lines only to draw a skeleton of a pigeon.

 

I have used the feathers that I have collected to create mark making on the paper and tea stains and Indian ink to draw them. I thought of developing this kind of work by looking into mark making and combining it with found objects.

Things I might explore: I have liked Jackson Pollock’s work, because it is full of energy.  I have also started to develop an interest in working with hair. Therefore, I plan to experiment with this direction. 

Data

I had an idea to document the life of a pigeon, from an egg, to a chick, to a fully grown pigeon and to a dead pigeon, but I couldn't make a connection between this idea and data until I thought of the population of pigeons in the UK.

I managed to find a chart showing the population of pigeons from 1994-2003 . I drew a dead pigeon and then I used tracing paper and drew the population chart so that it overlapped the drawing of the pigeon.

I think the line worked well with the angle of the body, and the tracing paper gave an effect to soften the tone of the drawing.

The idea of pigeons, was from taking a walk in Withwroth park. I always seem to see a dead body of a pigeon in the park. I thought this data is something that not many people have thought about, because pigeons are all over the city and they are common. I guess no one would bother if a few of them died. I feel like I want to look at the things that other people overlooked. 

I found this quote from The World According to Karl: The Wit and Wisdom of Karl Lagerfeld, 

"I hate the idea of lumbering people with whatever's left. When it's over, it's over. I'm against memory. There comes a time when you have to pack it in. I admire the animals in the wild. When they die you don't see them again. "( Mauriès, P and Napias, J-C (2013) 158)

I also like to move forward and think memory can become baggage, but I don't want to overlook things that are meaningful in life. 

It fascinates me to think about who might be interested enough to collect data about pigeon populations. 

 

Mauriès, P and Napias, J-C (2013) (The world According to Karl) London :Thames and Hudson. 

100 meter line

I admire Candy Jernigan's work, she is known as a found object artist.
 

My first idea to represent 100 meter line was to go to Whitworth park and use a 100 meter long string to tie two trees together and fill the space in between with the lines.

However, I know there is no such thing as original, because there's always some artist somewhere who has done similar things, but still, I would like something that came from my own idea and to know that I wasn't just adopting another artist's approach without being interested in their work.  

 

I used found objects, I collected twigs, and later I selected 3 out of a bunch, and I hammered one on the wall, and used a roll of thread to tie the 2 together, to create a sense of flowing, the shadows reflected the threads and the twigs, I know the thread did not create 100 meter length, but I was looking at how the light and shadow, positive and negative space multiplied the line. 

           


 

 

 

 

Later on, I was looking at Candy Jernigan's work and I like how she uses different ways to represent her found objects, through collage and drawings.

I have taken this idea from her on board, it happened accidentally. My dog chewed up the twigs I found at the park, and she also chewed up my Embroidery wooden hoop in to many pieces. I used those wooden pieces and placed them in five orderly lines, and another piece at the other side of the paper. I then started to draw them, drawing the found objects, within the found objects themselves.

 

Sampling - Print

The task was to peel off the vinyl and use it to draw a continuous line drawing, in the process the vinyl might snap, it might stick togther taking two lines or more.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=726415747368699&l=4095143104314127170

(See the link for video of the process)

Working in a team of six, we decided to give one another a role to do. So, someone filmed the process and someone did the peeling and we all did something. Working in a team, showed that we all have different ways of thinking. I jumped in and went ahead and started peeling. Thinking about it afterward, I realised I acted without discussion with my team members, which might have made them feel left out. Having roles worked well, once we decided what we were doing. I felt like I learnt how to communicate a bit more clearly with others and to compromise.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=726418410701766&l=489980301429716867

(See the link for video of the process)

For example, I suggested to use the positive space and negative space of the vinyl and wall, then another member of the team was more interested in 3D, and at the end, our ideas combined togther.

 

 

Mapping the City

I have decided to document my journey from Manchester to Breadbury.
In order to get to Breadbury, I will need to walk to Piccadilly train station then get the train to Breadbury.

People mention that I describe a lot, so I descibe what I saw, heard and sensed.

As a starting point, I have written down a list of items I carried with me.

I have also used photography to record my surroundings.

 

 

Instead of taking photographs from usual angles, I started to think about seeing things differently, for example, taking photographs from below, because I took Fiona, my dog with me on the journey, I thought it would be interesting to adopt her point of view, therefore, I have used black and white images.

 

Later on, I have used my images as a template and worked on them with black ink, I drew a list of objects, in the order that I walked past them, and I have placed them on a piece of paper, thinking about the composition to represent my journey.

 

 

 

I have also tried to draw straight lines while on the train to recreate the movement changes on the train.

 

Thrying to push the idea of mapping the city further, I plan to collect found objects to create a collage, so I can relate this idea to collecting data.

 

I can also use the found objects as a drawing tool and use it to record my movements on a piece of paper.

 

I plan to look at related artist, Candy Jernigan for inspirations of found object in order to push my ideas further. 

Evaluation of Origins unit

Evaluating Practice 

I have developed my way of working in this project by making connections between practice, practical work and visual research. I mainly gather inspiration from Friday drawing sessions and looked for related artists. I also got inspiration from my surroundings, for example found objects and natural objects in everyday life. 

Whenever I run out of ideas, I look back my drawings, it opens my mind to ideas and away from the machine. With Friday drawing session, I was advised to collage and I didn't understand what we were being asked to do but I researched the suggested artists and that helped me to understand the brief.

Drawings used as templates for stitching have become my blueprint. This makes me feel more confident using the machine to draw. I see using the machine to draw as being the same, but just with another tool. This has been different from how I was taught before. Before I was told what to draw, but over this unit, I have been exploring how to draw. 

One of my strengths is composition and how I can transfer that into hand-stitch. 

In terms of composition, this units forced me to experiment more with different approaches. Eg I did not like to use fabric, to develop ideas, I used paper first and to find my own pathway and only then move to fabric.

Therefore, I started to develop my own way of working, through different material choices. I enjoys working on different types of paper, so I have started to collect receipts. This is one example of me using found objects, thinking more carefully about the choices I am making in terms of materials, meaning and the connection between these. 

Certain artists inform my work, Egon Schiele in his use of colours, lines and composition. I use colours to draw attention to my work and have started to develop my own colour palette, this way of working was influence by Schiele.

I continue to use accidental stains that are made during the process of drawing and making. I have realised during this unit something about the need to experiment several times to achieve quality. 

I have realised that using machine stitch is just as flexible as hand-stitch. Once I gained control over the machine, I started combining these techniques together, using different types of hand-stitch and machine stitch. 

I never realised before that the machine can do so much. This has also fed into experimenting with composition using the machine. This needs more work, I must remember to tap back into this flexibility, in future work. Also, I need to spend some time on the Cornely machine to improve my skills and confidence.

During the chance card week, I have taken photographs of Manchester Art Gallery and was inspired by the building structure, the glass roofs and how the sunlight reflects on the glass and shows the building layers. I have used these photographs to help develop ideas. This helped me realised why I choose particular materials. 

I enjoy the transparent fabric and I have started to layer and collage my works. 

I have realised that I am repelled by patterned fabrics, I did try to work with patterns and I am able to work with floaty patterns that are more free styled, but I struggle with very structured patterns and do work better with plain material. 

I am free style in my thinking. When the tutors asked us to do crouching, I decided to link it back to found objects and use the waste products from other people's work, which gave good results. I am the kind of person who looks through the bin. For example, Tracey Emin informs my work, because in her way of thinking, it's about story telling. When I collect found object, I would think about the story of the object itself and how I can transfer that into a story through practical work and experimenting.

I am managing my studio time well, because I organise using the machine while in the workshop area and do the editing, hand-stitch, technical file and sketchbook work at home, therefore, I am making the most of the availability of the machine. I have improved my skills on the machine, I use it for time saving techniques with complicated stitches and I also use it as a creative tool. 

I have always liked the work of Alice Kettle, in particular she works on the back of the fabric and now I always look at both sides of the fabric from observing the way she works. I am making connections with designer and artists' research with my way of thinking, practical work and experimenting. However, I realise that I have not done enough new research using my own interests and this is something I need to improve. 

Friday drawing day

Using kinder egg's toy to create mark-making.