Painting Experiments

 have conducted a few experiments in my sketchbook of painting my face. I found myself really interested in my eye and I feel this could be an interesting subject to take further. I have avoiding painting my entire face as I feel zooming in on an area creates a more interesting subject.

 Next I want to research further into my own eyes and develop how expression and mood can be affected.

Extending the Body / Stretching the Skin

The second half of my fibres unit in Australia is titled Extending the Body / Stretching the Skin. This project will consider the potential extension of the body's envelope and consider how fabrics may interface with the body and appear to imitate skin.

My initial thoughts

• Knitted surface is something that I may investigate in terms of skin and surface
• Clothes can be seen to be an extension of our own skin and look almost shell like without a body filling in the negative space
• Latex could be used as a skin like surface
• Stockings/tights become a second layer of skin and are often coloured to look/improve our own skin
• Reptiles shed skin in replace for a new one, why and how does this process occur?
• vintage pattern pieces - imitate skin

Here are some of my favourite examples of artist research from the initial presentation by my tutor.

I want to explore how these themes and ideas can be used within my own work.

Freddie Robbins The Perfect Skins 2007

Trace of skin left behind through knitted surface

Rebecca Horn Finger Gloves 1993

Extension of finger, alters sense of touch and use of fingers

Tracey Emin Everyone I have ever slept with 1995 

Using the tent as an extension of own body. Personification of tent as body.

Yoan Capote Casados 2004

Extended shoe that becomes impractical.

Evaluation of The Mending Project

'One man's trash is another man's treasure'

I begun this project by researching the idea of mending and how far this word can go. I love traditional craft methods and was immediately drawn to the concept of using my embroidery skills to 'fix' found objects.

I became immediately interested in the work of Yoko Ono and he performance work, Promise Piece (2010). I love the idea of breaking ceramics and attempting to put back together. I find it interesting when you see something as delicate as a ceramic reassembled in an old shop.

I also became heavily influenced by Kader Attir's work. I love the exaggerated mended marks and the concept of creating sculpture from 'broken' things.

I want to use everyday objects so that they can be mended in a messy and exaggerated way, yet still retaining their original purpose. I begun to experiment with plates as the flatter surfaces I felt would of been easier to work with initially. I ran into complications from the off as the surfaces were to hard and delicate for me to use thread to attach together. I wanted to drill holes in the plates, but due to everyday ceramics being fired at high temperatures, this was impossible. I then had to develop a new plan of how to achieve my concept. 

In the end I settled with glueing part together and darning over the holes. The negative space is really important within this works as this is the area to be darned over. I used red thread as a constant across all the final works. I enjoy the symbolism of red and I feel like when my work is exhibited, the red thread will make it the concept stand out and help to make the work look like a collection.

The underlying theme that I wanted to put forward was the perception of recycling in a traditional sense. 20 years ago if say you accidentally broke a plate in your home, often they would be mended and not thrown away. I believe that through mending, we can live in a more sustainable society and learn that beautiful things can be made from broken things.

Painting Concepts, Modes and Media

Another course that I am running concurrently is in painting. I am looking forward to this as it has been a long time since I have done any painting and whilst I am experiencing another country and way of life, I want to challenge myself. I have always enjoyed this discipline, and am pleased I get the opportunity to experiment with paint again.

MEMORY & IDENTITY 

Our first project spanning over 7 weeks is based upon the ideas on Memory and Identity. We are asked to complete 6 postcard size paintings over the next 7 weeks.

My initial ideas to this is my identity. I am currently 10,500 miles away from my home and loved ones, so I want to explore this idea with painting.
Before I came to Australia I went on a family holiday to Florida. There we went swimming underwater and using an underwater camera, took some wonderful photographs that became very distorted. I have never been sure what to do with these photographs, until now.
There is a large body of water in between myself and home and this memory I have of spending time with my family resonates in my mind.
The 'postcard' size has also influenced my choice, as it would be nice to send this memory on its own journey home.

I want to use these underwater images as my starting point.

I love the distortion in the images. The abstraction is a great starting point. I hope to produce some experimental paintings from this.

Final Colours

Here I have selected my final colours that I want to use.  I used watercolours when experimenting with applying colour to the rubber matting. I liked the print that was left behind in my sketchbook. These colours are also found colours which is what I wanted as I am mainly using found objects.

I coloured the geometric print to see how colour interacts together and also to think about proportion across the project. This reflects upon images from Leutton Postles work too as I wanted to colour to be inspired from their previous collections.

Exhibition and Evaluation of Project

I chose to exhibit my story board and my final samples. The board explains how I got to where I did through experimentation. It is a snap shot of the key elements of the project, that tells the story of the two songs.

Evaluation Of Visions of Sound

I began this project by listening to pieces of music and loosely responding to them. I wanted the music to form a narrative and gave myself this goal. I wanted to experiment with how the music could become a visual piece. I started to research this by looking at Bjorks work with sound and nature. This inspired me to think about how the music can tell a story. I continued to draw to the music and select element from my drawings that I felt worked well. I used a photocopier to enlarge these sections. This process was quite random as I didn't always know what was going to happen. Through this process I began to create compositions that I liked and felt reflected upon the music. 

I then began to use the music to draw with. I layered up my speaker with cling film and paint and placed a piece of paper 2 inches above. As the music played, the vibrations caused paint to splatter up to the paper forming a visual of the music. I decided that I could compare two different pieces of music and see the contrast in pattern. I was overwhelmed by how well this worked. The two different songs produced massively different patterns, just like I had hoped. Daft Punk, The Game Has Changed produced a singular large splurge with another smaller one next to it. Whilst Boom Bip - Road Must Roll produced 4 splodges. I then decided that I wanted to experiment further with this process. I used different materials such as acrylic, ink, gouache and rice. I found that each material varied the patterns. I then moved on to changing the ground that I was printing onto. Cottons and wools absorbed the ink more giving a large area of colour whist man made and less absorbent fabrics let less paint in causing a more accurate mark. So far I was really pleased and excited with what happened. I spent 3 weeks playing around with different surfaces and materials to see where the project could go. 

As I am in the embroidery group, I needed to bring the project back to embroidery, so I began experimenting with embroidery techniques on my prints. I wanted to investigate how the techniques could vary the samples but still keep the essence and mood of the songs. I prefer hand embroidery so dedicated more time using techniques such as bullion knots, chain stitch and sewing materials onto the surface. I used materials inspired from a workshop involving the ideas of Richard Serra and his buzzwords.

I continued this process until I had produced 8 samples that I felt when put together reflected the mood and created a visual of each song. I see the context of my project to be an art piece comparing two very different sounds. I thought about bringing my project into different contexts such as fashion or interiors, but I couldn't see how this was relevant. I thought that in doing this I would lose the comparative factor that I feel is key in my work.

The process of printing on fabrics and paper worked really well in this project. Some of the interesting marks that I created I am very proud of due to the depth and precision. However not everything is bound to go well and I feel like my being in the wrong tutorial group throughout the project has hindered me. I don't feel like all of the embroidery I brought into the samples is necessary and i don't feel I dedicated enough time to really explore the boundaries of embroidery. In the next project, I would like to dedicate more time to thinking further about relevant techniques and materials to give my work more meaning and context.

Cling Films

Throughout my sounds experiments I have been layering cling film with paint and ink on over the speaker. I have been allowing these to dry but have been a bit stuck with what to do with them next. These tell the story f the songs just as much as my prints as the paint moves around on them causing a drawing to appear.

I think I want to separate them into the two songs and then have a play with layering them and creating a new visual image that displays the music. 

Influences - Emily Crane

'Wearable food couture'
That is how Emily Crane describes her work. I was initially drawn to this because the shapes and colours that are produced reflect upon the cling films that I have produced.
Her work shows how ordinary objects can create a different visual pathway and become something new. In this case, food is becoming clothing. This inspires me to look at how my work is moving from sound into something new. It is still the same thing but it is transforming into something completely different that has a new function. I want to play around further with my cling films in the hope I can transform these into a new dimension.

Context

I am now reaching the point in my project where I need to put my work into a context. 

Who is the work for? What am I trying to say?

I feel like because I am completing a comparison of two pieces of music, that I don't have a single purpose. I want to demonstrate this comparison and show how music can be visual and each melody has its own drawing. Therefore, my project is an art piece. It is something that anyone can look at, play with and interact with. 

Badly Dying Yarn

I have been thinking further about how to make my materials more relevant to my project. I wanted to bring more meaning to the thread that I have been using. Here I played around with badly dying some unbleached wool. I want to use this thread that tells the story of the song in a sample. I like how this worked, but I think if I was to do it again, I would use ink over paint. The wool has absorbed the paint so the yarn has only one colour where as I would of preferred it to have more than one tone to it.

Third Tutorial

Feedback today has helped me to think about how I can use my sketchbook research in my samples

• Think about how to translate irregular shapes and composition from sketchbook to embroidery.
• Badly dye thread to tell story possibly?
• Use rhythm and freedom to create structure from unstructured.

I want to use my sketchbook research within my work more as I don't feel at the moment I am using it enough to influence my samples. I want to prepare surfaces before printing to make a repetition in the surface and more irregularities. By enlarging sections of my work already I am able to visualise the areas I like the most but now I need to translate these areas within my work better.

Influences - India Flint

India Flint has developed a dye method which she calls Ecoprint.
It is an ecologically sound sustainable dye process that transfers colours to cloth using direct contact.
The idea of direct contact inspires me as it leaves a print that directly reflects the memory. This si something that I have been using within my project, using sound to create drawings. Using a strong system of working like what Flint has created can help my process of drawing with music.

I really like the colours used and the display of sections of her work. I want to edit and select down my work to show the most interesting parts but still tell the story of the song. 

I can use this style of methodology within my practice in the future also. Having a strong method motivates me to produce more work which in turn I can build upon to take risks with.

Seba Kurtis

A few months ago, I visited the Cornerhouse for a show and tell workshop. This involved various artists from around the world coming in and having a brief chat, telling the audience about their current projects ideas. I went along mainly for something interesting to do on a Saturday afternoon and to get out of the rain, but was filled with surprise and knowledge and brilliant references for the future and my work.

One of the artists was named Seba Kurtis. He is a photographer from Argentina. He chooses to focus his work on immigration and particularly illegal immigration and what length people will go to to find a better life for themselves and family. 

The images that he showed to us interested me from how abstract they were. He explained his reasons for not showing figurative images is because, he can shoot a roll of film, and every image can be seen and shown to the world. However, most the subjects of his photographs don't make it to the next country, they don't find salvage and therefore his whole roll of film misrepresents the subjects. He chooses to damage the roll of film after he has shot it, and in that way few or little images will be seen reflecting upon the hardship of many people in the world finding refuge. 

Here is a link to a video which shows the ways in which film was distressed.

Drowned from seba kurtis on Vimeo.

Here are two images that came were produced from the project, both enhanced in photoshop after.

I feel like these images are similar to the ones I am trying to create. I love how the subject is distorted, and merely suggested to. I also love the thought process and the artists research to get to this stage. I want to experiment with this idea of distortion and loss, within my work. I want to use this type of distortion and mark making within my visual research.

Second Tutorial

Feedback that I have gained from todays tutorial has helped me to think further about how I can move the project further.

• Film myself drawing
• Think about a more personal response to the music (in terms of colour and scale)
• Possibility of using wax, mark that is reflected in the drawings.

This week I want to play around with using the music to create drawings. I will layer ink and paint and other wet materials over a speaker and see what marks could bounce upon to a piece of paper layered on top.

I am looking forward to this experiment I am keen to see the hopefully interesting marks that could appear.

First Tutorial

Feedback from todays tutorial,

• Think about using 3D, make things bigger - work out of the sketchbook
• Put paper on walls?
• Incorporate the music to create the drawings?
• Don't forget to document everything 
• Film and photograph all stages of development

I really like the idea of actually using the music to create to visuals. In the summer I watched a documentary 'When Bjork Met Attenborough' via Channel 4. In this Bjork was investigating different ways in which she could use nature to create sound. I like this idea of using a certain methodology in which to create the drawings. I want to play around with using vibrations from sound to draw with. This will help me develop larger drawings, 3D and progress my research. 

I really like this video and how the sound creates an image through the vibrations. I want to investigate this method of working and see how I can experiment with making the sound into a visual.

I have also watched this music video by Bjork. She used nature to create the music and then used the music to inspire the video. I love the crazy visual element to this that move in time to the song.

Visions of Sound

Selecting the Brief

I read through all of the briefs for this project before selecting the Visions of Sound brief. It didn't take me long to decide that is was the brief I want to follow. I love the idea of using sound to create drawing and felt like this project will allow me to be as experimental and expressive as possible. I can see less boundaries with this brief and want to explore how sound can become something visual.

Starting Out

I begun by listening to all of the possible songs. Initially I found merits within all of the songs so i began to visually respond to each of the songs individually to help me make an informed choice about which one I wanted to pick. I begun by simply using charcoal, paint and ink. I closed my eyes and used my hand to make the marks of the songs. I repeated this with all 4 songs and played around with using my left hand as well as my right to create loose marks and take away my natural movements. I enjoyed the raw qualities that came out of the initial sketches. I retained myself to monochrome initially so that I could focus more upon the marks I make.

    

Road must Roll by Boom Bip           The Game has Changed by Daft Punk

    

Nimrod by Sir Edward Elgar         Gantz Graf by Autechre

I intend to play around with my initial sketches to see where the imagery can go. I imagine using a wide variety of colours, enlarging sections, putting things on wall. Scale is something that I am also keen to play with.

Swimming With Manatees

During my summer holiday, i was lucky enough to visit Florida with my family. During our stay we opted for an excursion where we spent a morning swimming with Manatees! This was an amazing experiance to get up close and personal with these wild giants. I was slightly afraid at first but once I was more comfortable in the water, I really enjoyed the experiance and came to understand how calm and harmless these creatures look although they are big and scary at first.
To document the experience I took an underwater camera with me. As I expected a lot of the photographs came out badly from the point of view of documenting my day out, but some of the colours and shapes and tones that came through were fascinating.

I love the light and reflection of the water in these images

This is the best photo that I got of what I was trying to photograph. Makes me smile every time. 

Final Tutorial

Today we had a final tutorial, in order to organise curating our work and finalising ideas.
I've produced a range of thought on how I can display my work, but I can't decide until I see the space and have a play. My group would like to have our work next to each other to show all our responses to the same theme.

We also decided to create an event for our exhibition to try and get as many people down to the Kraak Gallery as possible. Hopefully some more people will RSVP soon!

Further Photoshop Development

I want to develop my photographs further in order to produce some quality images in which I can create something from. I want my theme of a 'moment in time' to be bold within the images. The message that I want to convey needs to stand out. I've never used photoshop before this project, so I am taking my time, thinking about each move and making sure that the final images I produce are the best they can be. I am pushing myself here, because I have always been afraid of using this software, but since I have begun, I am beginning to understand the software and what can be created from it.

Here is examples of the second stages of my images. I printed them out, because they will look different  on paper and it is important to see these differences and rectify them.

I feel like these photos are almost there but need a little more work. The negative space is important in bringing out the colour better. I want the pictures to at first glance look very abstract, yet on closer inspection, shapes and figures can be begun to be picked out.

Louise Bourgeois, Cell

My tutor suggested I look at Louise Bourgeois Cell series. This is a series of installations in which items have been created and incased within a box shape allowing the views to walk around and see the images at different angles. each different view changes the perspective of the image.

This is an idea that I feel I can incorporate within my work. Printing my final images on acetate will mean they can be layered and somehow displayed so that the eye can look through them all together and pick out a variety of shapes and colours that represent the moments in time. It makes the work 3D, something I am interested in.