3D Laser cutting

I recently attended a talk on the advantages of laser cutting. The representative was extremely excited about the laser -cutters ability.  The images that were shown were a variation of fashion based designs, interior designs and innovative creations. Many artists are now using the laser cutter for experimental use as well as inventors and crafter's. There are many advantages to this machine as it has the accuracy of precision, complexity, repeatability. With fabric cuts it has the none fraying benefit and is time efficient too. The machine is capable of cutting through leather, paper, plastic, metal and even bricks. I am sure in the future this machine will be implemented into most artists work.

Hayley Slater Photographer [contact with industry]

For my contact with a professional in the creative industry, I was put in touch with a photographer. Photography has been a passion of mine for many years but only recently have i had the urge to pick it up again. Photography has been really a useful tool with helping me to develop my work and ideas. Being able to ask another professional photographer questions has given me confidence to carry on with this hobby.

Q1. What do you find interesting as a photographic subject?

Hayley explained that she likes to have an artistic quality to her work. She is interested in many artists such as Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth. She finds that thinking of her images as paintings and not just quick snaps that helped her to find a style that is quite different. Her images and kept raw and organic and any visual manipulation is done with camera techniques rather than postproduction,this is referred to as 'in camera'.

Q2. When composing an image what do you look for?

Hayley describes her work as a visceral response to her subjects. She takes an image that is interesting to her and she states that using her gut helps her to not over analyse an image. Hayley strongly reiterates the importance of seeing and not just looking when photographing your subjects. When looking at her her work it is clear to see that she has good compositional skills and the capability to capture a subject we might find ourselves normally unaware of. Her collection is made up of solitary buildings, architecture and unusual landscapes. Some images captured are of a time of day interesting to most, but this has given a beautiful, surreal effect to her images that encompasses an ageless, unclutted look to her work.

Q3. Who do you look to for inspiration?

Sally Mann another photographer, is a favorite of Hayley's. What she really likes is painted imagery and likes to try and achieve this effect within her work. She is also very interested in experimenting with her photography and wet plate photography is a new passion for her. Pushing boundaries with her work is what keeps her work interesting.

Q4.What advice can you give me to help me produce more interesting images?

To keep practicing with the basics. To buy an old film camera as you need to have truly mastered that first. This will then enable the photographer to understand how a camera really works. You need to know how everything is attached and what job each component does in order for it to function. She states that so many people take many images because they shoot from a digital base instead of using the skills to take a few good shots. Understanding lighting, shutter speeds and aperture openings help make a more exciting, controlled image and a knowledge of composition.

contact with industry- Sue Booth. Production designer

I have been fortunate enough to be introduced to a lovely lady called Sue Booth. Sue is a production designer/ Art director for film and T.V. and is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about her job. Sue has my dream job and has been very kind at giving me advice, insight and direction for my pursuing career. Her work can be accredited for many productions and you can find her profile details on IMBD. I asked Sue a couple of questions that may be helpful when thinking about a career in a media industry.

Q1. When designing for a production how do you source your designs and research needed?

 Sue uses mainly books for referencing and has over the years collected her own that she trusts to be accurately right for information. The information needed could be decor, colour palette, continuity of surroundings, for example buildings and furniture. Sue noted that the internet is not always that resourceful with accuracy, so finding older books is a good tool for taking into account certain periods that are not  as well documented and illustrations need to be deciphered for a visualisation. Museum's and National trust houses are also wealthy in original artefacts, costume and historical design. When Sue was designing for a period drama [ Wuthering Heights], she found visiting the Howarth museum and the surrounding locations most inspirational for her design ideas.

Q2. What are the main difficulties when designing /planning your ideas and designs.

Budgets are always a difficulty in the media industry and you need to be confident and forthcoming in order to get what you want.  You are the one who needs to control the designs being executed, made up or sourced and in time for filming. The logistics for working on set can also be an area of difficulty as you are at the mercy of other people's reliability for turning up on time with the props and equipment needed and in the media industry 'time is money'.

Q3. What are your most reliable tools or skills needed to be a Production designer.

It is imperative for any designer, especially in the media industry to be organised and controlled with your work. Your career is built on your reputation for being self motivated and disciplined as well as talented. You need to be open minded to change [ sometimes at the drop of a hat] and to be willing to take onboard other peoples vision of how a design should look and be produced. Drawing is also a desired skill and technical drawing is also a required when planning sets to scale. Story boarding is also good way of sharing a visualisation with non art directors in order  to explain your vision of design.

Although i have not so far shared my own work with Sue, i will be visiting her during the summer to ask her opinion on my portfolio and i will practicing my technical drawing skills as well as collating resources for inspiration from books, magazines and museum visits.

Craft fair and market, San Telmo, Buenos Aires. [ contact with industry]

While visiting Argentina, i was introduced to place known for its love of crafts and all art forms. The place was alive, especially on a sunday when a market would be held and all the local crafters and designers would come together to show off their designs and skills. Music is played loudly, Tango is danced passionately and people shop seriously. It was difficult to take photographs unless permission was granted as the people are very protective of their crafts and designs. Surrounding the market are many boutiques offering vintage treasures and new innovative designs for interiors and fashion. I approached one of their more famous stores called 'Lagos' and asked them a few questions about their designs and their approach to  design and trading. It was explained that the crafts are accumulated through years of skills and trades passed down. Design is big business at the moment and people want to buy something a little different, something produced with thought and responsibility. With this in mind most products are made locally by local crafts people and the materials are sourced or recycled close to San Telmo. It was noted that the colours used in the designs is the traditional colour palette that would be easily recognised as Buenos Aires and areas that make up this area close to the port. Bold primary colours and geometric shapes mixed with delicate embroidery and floral repeats were apparent in many designs including jewelry and ceramics. What i loved about the Lagos boutique was their crazy window displays and carefully chosen stock. They are unafraid of stocking melted plastic sculptures, state of the art gadgets for the kitchen and low-fi and hi-fi, up-cycled designs for all areas of the home. I asked them their opinion on some of my loose ink and fabric mixed bird collages i had pictures of. They were very polite and said the would make cute prints for wall hangings and birthday cards. They also advised me to look around craft influences from my own heritage [Irish] and to see if they could be incorporated into my own work. I think i will give it ago and here are some of my shots of San Telmo.

Argentina

I have recently returned from a trip to Buenos Aires in Argentina and i can say i instantaneously fell in love with the place. This is a city derived from many influences and its easy to see by the architecture the  neoclassical styles of the French, Spanish and the Italian. Buenos Aires is the  Capital of Argentina and  this city is alive with culture from its latin roots. The buildings are a mixture of new modern structures and cutting edge designs, mixed with historical buildings and brightly coloured abodes. This vibrant city is steeped in culture  and has a wealthy history going back 500 years  when the first settlers arrived. With this mixture of cultures and different European influences its clear to see why they are so protective over their heritage and love of crafts and their arts.

On one of my many sightseeing day's i stumbled across an area known as La Recoleta. This is famous for many things and one of them being a cemetery. This is the most beautiful cemetery [as cemetery's go] i have ever been fortunate enough to view. It is a surreal environment that is a collation of sky grazing statues and deep imposing crypts. Its clear to see that only the wealthy and famous[ including Eva Peron] are fortunate enough to be encased here. The heavy financial burden plus the up keep of the marble, silver and gold decor ,must be a strain for any remaining relative to maintain but still not a bad place to end up. There was many breathtaking areas of the city and i was never disappointed with the up keep of their  treasured buildings. I admired their innovative ideas of turning old theatres into book shops and cafe houses and street art was still pertained on walls of commemorative events in Argentine history.

My visit has left me with a deep impression of a beautiful, eclectic, hybrid country that homes the most friendliest of people, street Tango, craft fairs and architecture. I shall be saving for another visit soon.

Art week at Our Lady's Primary school.

The images below are from years 1 and reception. They are taken from my recent involvement in Our Lady's primary school art week.  For the two younger years of the school, we picked two artists to study and introduced the children to Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock. The children were fascinated by both artists and enjoyed copying a similar practice to their own work.

 Reception enjoyed painting with the paint- bombs i made with food bags with snipped ends and dancing over a canvas to four different tempo's of music. Florence and machines played loudly as they moved the paint bombs to the beat of ' You've got the love'. This had an amazing observational effect on my study of the children who picked bright colours and really went for it, creating a bright splattering of the paint. We tried three other types of music that created different rhythm motions onto the canvas, some slower movements and some aggressive. The children have now produced four large canvas's that have been sealed [ water tight] and stretched to hand in their playground.

The artist was Andy Warhol, this was easier to explain as the children were a little older and more controlled of their hand movements, therefore being a little more accurate with their drawing and painting skills. I started the idea of creating Warhol's pop art imagery and took individual photographs of each child. I edited them on photoshop and repeated them four times. The children were shown images of Warhol's work and asked to stick to a colour palette. The children did a fantastic job and the results were a little crazy........just what we like. There is also an image of some fruit printing that i had done earlier in the year with some of the pre-school children. 

Art week at Our Lady's Primary school.

It has been art and craft week recently in my local primary schools and i was fortunate enough to be asked to help out. I was asked to think of a way to teach the children about an artist or a craft in an interactive and exciting way. For year 6, i asked the children to make some  hybrid creatures from scraps of old recycled fabrics and buttons. This is something i had done as a brief in my university work and was curious to see what the children's could produce. This is a good exercise for inventing a subject or design idea when you are stuck. What i discovered was the children had limitless imagination when it came to developing their own ideas and they took to sewing skills with ease and enthusiasm. I also asked them to develop their characters with profiles and identities and to narrate a scenario around the imagery. I have posted only a few photographs from the week long activities but i have 30 in total. I will definitely be repeating this exercise when i have a creative block.