Interim Crit.

Well, I hoped I'd feel like I really knew what I was doing when I came out of the crit. But I still feel like I'm just re-searching into what subject areas I want to work in. I think as an all-round subject I will use the Title: Mechanical Objects.

For now I am just going to pick one area of interest and start producing work around that subject, starting with collage and mixed media. Christian mentioned he'd posted a collage workshop up on the VLE that he did with the first years which Im going to take a look at.

From the crit, I understand that I really need to get/understand my under-lying concepts to what I am trying to communicate and produce. Is it...'Challenging peoples ideas of existing objects and their form'. ...through the idea of parts?

I need to think about ways of using collage and mixed media to show parts and contradicting

ideas.

With Nick and Christian I discussed using and basing one of my ideas on pattern. From this we spoke about how much I could do with pattern as my subject. Its a very wide and broad subject, with lots of interesting outcomes and still concentrates on this idea of challenging peoples ideas and being contradictive and possibly controversial.

Such as the works of Marcus Harvey who did the Myra Hindley painting piece but made up of childrens handprints, this was an interesting approach to the idea of pattern and how to challenge the ideas of society.

Piecing things/a collection of 'parts' together and breaking stuff down, is also my other main interest within this brief, although my subject of 'Mechanical objects' needs to be re-thinked and given more direction.

Breaking down human obsessions is another way of describing my underlying concepts. The idea of Frankenstein was brought up, and I'm going to have look at the book called '..' that was talked about.

We also spoke about an artist, who pieces together found bit of tea-cups, reconstructing them with an attitude of, 'if it fits it fits, no matter how it looks'. I've had trouble trying to find the artist on the internet though, which is a shame, as teacups and tea sets are a fascination I have.

One last thing we touched on, was the idea of myself not loving the idea of using butterflies within my work, and how moths may be better for me to concentrate on. Having done a quick bit of re-search into them I feel that this may be a more appropriate idea for me. Then I looked into it a little further and think I have decided to base the resin case on pattern still but about 'wings' of moths?

Possibly making them into resin jewellery?

InDesign Workshop.

InDesign is first and for mostly about 'Consistency and Accuracy'.

Along with this writing is just some screen shots of the lesson we had, to remind myself.

When setting up, it is best to put in in mm, and if you want bleed on pages of your book, set up standard bleed of 3mm. 

You can add guides to your page by clicking the ruler and dragging down and across.  

Using text boxes in InDesign.

By selecting the box: object > text frame options > Up the column number, then up the margin number.

Style Sheets are also useful within InDesign. 

> Load paragraph styles, make picture box FILE + PLACE

> Object > Fitting > Fit content to frame.

To add an image to rectangle box you need to unlock the box then command + shift. 

Centre. Reference of square, change to left top hand corner. You can use x+y to get a perfect distance from border. 

x = goes to the left

y = goes up

PREPARING PHOTOSHOP FILES.

1. RESOLUTION 300dpi

2. Actual Size

3. CMYK or GREYSCALE

4. FILE FORMAT --> TIFF PDS.File NO JPG.

First Shadowed Outreach.

Today, after a short induction and re-cap on what our duties are as an OutReach volunteer, we went out for the first time with Claire, one of the team at The North office. They try to do OutReach everyday am and pm, but this just isn't possible with the lack of volunteers.

We left the office with a clipboard and chart of a route of vendor 'spots'. As the weather wasn't brilliant Claire was unsure whether there would be many vendors about. It turned out there were quite a few out selling the magazine - 7 in total which was pretty impressive as far as Claire was concerned. 

We were introduced to each vendor and as we met each one she explained how it-'OutReach' worked. Whilst having a chat with the vendor and seeing how they are, the place they're selling from would be written down on the sheet, as well as their badge number. We have to check that they have their badge showing, their bib and also check the numbers of the magazines, to see that they match the ones they were sold. Finally the vendor signs the sheet. Some areas are more popular with selling magazines than others. Claire explained that if a vendor has a time slot in a certain 'spot' in the afternoon, but decides to go somewhere in the morning, however somebody else wants to work there and has no saved spot, then the vendor with a reserved space in the afternoon would have to give it up.

As Claire was explaining the process, it seemed that everything was done very fairly and pretty organised.

Its a pretty relaxed process and as we walked the city centre it was nice to get just a tiny insight into what these people do and how they go about selling the magazine. One strong rule is that they sell, where they've been told to stand and do not wonder. If they are obstructing the publics path then they can have complaints. It was nice to see them greet Claire as a familiar face and with a happy face, someone they could talk to.

I am looking forward to our second, shadowed OutReach next wednesday at 2:00pm. It's in the afternoon again as apparently there tend to be more vendors around in the afternoons than mornings or evenings. Most vendors sell in the afternoon purely because they dont' actually live in Leeds, or for the women that vend, they don't want to travel in the dark on their own. Plus the only volunteers they have only work am with lectures in the afternoon.

We also had a chat to Claire about how they want to engage with the vendors futher, possibly through us taking photos of them, or giving the vendors disposable cameras to use themselves and photograph their day to day lives for us then to do something with, which is something I have just started to think about. Possibly integrating it into college, or putting a little panflet/book together from the point of view of the vendors themselves, maybe to go inside the magazine? All very loose ideas for the moment...but Claire explained, it would be nice to have some 'creative' input from us.

Hollowing a Book.

This link takes you too a page of 80 steps to hollowing a book out. I was contemplating having a go and using it as a book box or box for pattern I find...

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Pawuk/howto.rivers.pro/hollow-a-book/

Here are a few photos of bits of the process...

My Books Audience.

How do I want to work?

This then led me to think, more widely about not only 'parts' put together to make these objects I was drawing, but also the idea of a 'creative' approach and how putting things together to make an image/piece of work as an artist.

It led me to the work of...

 

EVA EUN-SIL HAN.

The artist collages photographs, her own and others, often drawing and painting onto the paper. Many of them seem purely abstract and in most, the assemblage of images is in such bits and pieces they don't seem meant to be discerned specifically. 

On her website, it describes her and her work, but i think most importantly, linking it to my idea of parts and what i want to convey and communicate through my images. Is that she puts work together for a visceral response and through her use of cut and paste drama, plus glimpses of recognizable body parts we have to make our own assumptions.

My idea seems to be the same, but to make people question things/objects in their everyday lives?

In the same way...

HOPE KROLL.

All her work is amazing, it's something I'm really interested in, challenging peoples understanding of objects or a collection of parts to make an object? To really get the idea you MUST go an look at her work on her website... the work below really is just a tiny insight into what she produces!

http://www.hopekroll.com/2006.html

Using antique books as her main source material for the past seven years, she has devoted herself to the technique of cut-paper collage.

The titles are also of particular importance in adding context and helping the viewer to create their own inner dialogue. Like reading a book, each piece becomes its own frozen drama or illustration for a story meant to reflect a visual manifestation of psychological, emotional or spiritual states.

Artists.

Whilst drawing and exploring this idea of structures and of parts, I began to look into artists which also concentrated on the similar ideas. 

BERT MYERS.

Bert Myers, a retired academic physician, explores the uses of x-ray art as an art medium. All his x-ray images are black and white, but in the late 80's he began making them in colour, using filters in the enlarger and Cibachrome paper.

Through these images you can clearly see the parts that make up the object of collection.

He also looks at leaves and flowers, this kind of ties in with my idea of pattern in butterflies?

LESLIE WRIGHT.

In the same way as Myers, Leslie Wright uses n x-ray machine in place of a camera, originally a photographer, Leslie Wright is said to show us the hidden beauty in the world around us. Which is kind of the idea I am playing with.

Sony Playstation.

Phillips light implement.

Motorola mobile phone.

BEN TOLMAN.

More illustrative point of view, not so much parts, but this kind of links to my project through his attention to detail and intricate design in pattern he uses. 

EDOUARD MARTINET.

Is a sculptor, who makes amazing animals from scrap metal in junk-yards. His work consists of metal sculptures created using found materials which are fixed without welding. It shows off this idea of random parts coming together to make an object.

In the same way...

ANN P.SMITH.

Below is a link to parts she put together to make a horse, then to animate it. Interesting piece of work...

http://www.burrowburrow.com/robots.html

.Design.

I began thinking about how i wanted to present things in resin. Suggestions were made about making jewellery out of the idea I had with resin, it was something I wasn't keen of at first, however I'm now struggling with moving my idea on.

I started by cutting out butterflies, although the idea of my focus on butterflies I really still wasnt liking...

Meh. Pretty average.