Photography

I have been practicing my old photography skills on my Nikon D50, yes a very old camera but the basics are a necessity at this stage. Its been a while and have needed a recap about aperture openings, depth of field and shutter speeds. I have been very tempted to shoot on automatic but then i would never learn anything, so back to the begin again. These images were taken at the Salts mill gallery and still very,very raw.

Salts mill, Saltaire.

Today i had a fantastic visit to David Hockney's Salts mill gallery and book shop. This was an amazing place to visit and took only a mere hour to get there. I used this opportunity to practice my photography skills on my 10 year old SLR. It was the perfect environment for lighting and to brush up on some old skills. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and would really recommend a look even if you are not a Hockney fan. I however am a huge Hockney fan and love all of his work from the fax machine images to some of his fine draftsmanship, more than anything i admire his ability to try new things and explore all mediums- a true maverick at any age. Below are just some of his works.

Monoprinting

Printing and mono printing is fascinating. Although I have screen printed before and have tried 'poor -mans' printing, I have never really had the chance to try this form before. This week we had the opportunity to take a class and had a go at dry printing and etching. It was easy to do and the results were instantaneous I loved the whole process and have come away with some ideas to use in connection with my photographs of buildings and the images of the different countries that I have been collecting and archiving over the years.  

Felting

slowly building layers

 still have many sections to finish

Felting, this has been this week’s craft of choice. I bought a kit for around £15.00 from Fred Aldous in Manchester. The kit contains different colours of felt fiber, needles and a sponge. After choosing a leaf from one of my sketches, I cut out a piece of backing felt the same shape and selected the coloured fibers. You then lay the felt on top of the sponge and piece by piece you needle the fibers into the felt, building up layers slowly. It produced some interesting results and was rewarding to do. I will definitely be using this technique in one of my collaged pieces. I think I will try a one of my bird pictures next…..i will keep you posted!

New beginnings.

From the very beginning of my creative being, my first love has always been craft. As a little girl I would often be over taken with an idea or interest of something to make. Buttons would often go missing from clothes and pillow- cases would be recycled into new dresses for my dolls or pencil cases to house my other love of stationary.  Things have not changed much although my work is now a little more sophisticated but I still enjoy making things and exploring new crafts. My new project on personal passions has given me the opportunity to really look at my interests and the push to develop some new skills. I am hoping to tackle some new craft’s and share my findings on here. This is to help me establish a direction with my work and give me the skills needed to understand materials, their functions and use.

Drawing and painting has always been an area of neglect within my studies. Strange I know as a design student but I have been so overwhelmed with the research available that I forget to take my head out of the books and work. My New Years resolution [and a small direction from my tutor] is to hone these skills and practice a small drawing or painting every day. I am enjoying the chance to sit down and draw in detail. This exercise should enable me to slowly build up my confidence and my knowledge of materials, brushes and paperweights etc.…. So much to learn!

Able Parris

 I am excited about the forth coming brief when i return to uni on Tuesday. This will be an opportunity to develop our own personal interests and will help us establish a personal direction. Collage is an area that i am comfortable exploring but would like to perfect some skills on the computer using photoshop and illustrator. These technical areas are very new to me but i know if i can become comfortable with them, i will be able to confidently merge them with my own traditional form of cut and paste [ glue and scissors].


Able Parris collages

Able Parris is a collage artist from North Carolina. He has produced many collage's and  has drawn inspiration from varied sources. Themes have included the poetry of creation,grace, motivation and love. His use of materials that he incorporates into his work are collected from a time gone by, this is usually the 80's as he is attracted to the true to life images and that the none glossy printing and texture. Each image i have discovered of his has had a feeling of depth and meaning. There is a personal feeling or sentiment that seems to be incorporated into his designs and each on seems to be well thought out and lovingly placed. I am not sure if this is a conscious decision or a natural happy accident but it is clear to establish that he loves his materials as much as the subject matter.

Tim Marrs

I am in love with this guys work. He is Tim Marrs and is a british illustrator with over 10years of perfecting his craft. Tim Marrs studied for his degree at Humberside university and left with a BA before continuing an MA at central St' Martin's.
 His blog http://www.timmarrs.co.uk/ explains his dynamic approach to his work and use of mixed medium. Tim, happily incorporates photography, painting and screen-printing into his images and collages, given them a organic and hand-made quality. What i love most about his designs is his innovative and maverick approach. There seems to be no boundaries for him in his use of medium and subject matter as he feeds in images of buildings, bodies and people in order to narrate his brief. I find myself attracted to the influence of American pop culture, pop art and Polish posters that have inspired his art and are pertained in many of his images.
His creations have also appealed to many companies and has given him the opportunity to work for many companies including KFC, The Radio Times [see image above], footwear companies, book covers, magazines and journals.
What is presented to me in his work is a vision of boundary free art and fearless application, all amalgamated together with culture, style and thoughtful imagery. I find his work inspirational and i hope to develop the very same free spirited style in my own work. Very exciting stuff!

Personal Passions

MY PASSIONS


I have a very personal passion for buildings and all forms of architecture. Whatever country, city or environment i am in i will always document my surroundings with photography or sketches. While investigating my passions this was the most prolific area i have looked at and continued with, without actually realising. I have files of photographs from many locations that i have visited over the years. The architectural designs of Prague, France and New York have been by far my favourites. These cities all have varied building designs from many different periods that can appear from nowhere like hidden gems amongst new contemporary structures. I am most attracted to the intricately detailed surface designs i find on these buildings. The hidden motifs, colours and elaborate use of materials including gold leaf, wrought iron and stained glass that adorn these beautiful dwellings, churches and holdings. Visually these buildings become sculpturesque amongst the new industrial designs of today but the history is evident amongst their wall's. The accompanying pictures were taken on my Iphone of Brittany in France and the northern quarter of Manchester. This historical part of tManchester has been used in major Hollywood blockbuster films recently for the uncanny resemblance to parts of NewYork. I think part of my obsession with buildings and skylines is that i always think they make beautiful images and memories. For this reason i would to use some of my documented material and use them within a collage or part of a background of a screen-printed image to transfer to one one my surface designs. This has ignited an investigation into other Collage artists who use this method of working with photography and illustration to produce some interesting results.