Came across this today, it's called the Triangular Design Manifesto and states 10 things about design. It's clever and fun to read, although I'm don't really agree with all 10 points.
Showing posts with label HANDMADE III.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HANDMADE III.. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Handmade III
Although I only sold a couple of prints today, I found today really useful for many reasons!
I have realised that all I went with are prints, I had plans for business cards, but they are really very important, which is why as I work towards my next craft fair I want to put a card together and also stickers to seal work and prints. I'm begining to research into it...
The main thing was, in realsising that not many of prints sold, it seems I need to commercialise my subject a bit more, things which sold really well were bits of jewelry, prints which were packaged and 3D objects...
People like to purchase things they can use, and wear, this had spurred me to want to create some jewelry and I feel that I want to use wood, for the purpose that each piece of wood is different and wood feels special and it is, there is a story behind each piece you find.
It was a great place to be, to learn how people go about promoting themselves and selling their work. Observing Lauren who I was sharing a stall with, taught me a lot, she was fully prepared, with bags to put her necklaces in when sold, stickers to seal the bag with and a business card inside, with all the necessary details on them. Also she sold a lot and it's because the antique items she sells as jewellery and necklaces are quirky and also can be worn all the time anytime - very commercial.
It's shown me what I need to get on and do, in order to achieve this professional standard of working...
Also got talking to Becki, a girl who was putting on her own craft fair on Novemeber 7th at the Corn Exchange, she explained how she had tables left and asked if we'd be up for getting a table, it's £20 a table, but we're going to share it between 4 of us
I've been speaking to Lauren today and she's said that she's booked the table but Becki asked for a few images of each of our work and also a description of what we do, so that she can feature us each separately on the blog for the event. It's all pretty exciting! I've started putting it some images together and started to write about my work to email her, but I've also had a cheek look at the blog and artists on there already, to give me some sort of idea of what to include in my description.
I'm going to make sure I try to promote it lots for everyone to! Posting up the blog and event weekly to get as many people there as possible!
Other Artists Approaches to Social Issues...
From really looking into my subject, I was really interested about how other creatives go about approaching social issues.
Started reading bits from a book called Creative Time, it talks about about New York City being the undisputed centre of the North American art world. It's public art work, being one of the most evident signs of it's cultural wealth.
Creative Time has been an avatar of public art in the city for more than 30 years. They work to engage art and then environment, artists and the public. The book shows how a single organization made it possible for thousands of artists to present awe-inspiring works that engage, taunt, seduce, enliven and transform a city.
It applies this idea of people applying their practice to social issues within the city and has helped me in seeing this idea of applying a statement or addressing a social issue within society but they do it in a bigger scale, with projections on walls and massive installations.
The book has more than 300 images from the hilarious to the elegiac, this dazzling volume highlights the best and most innovative work from the organizations 33 years. contributors to the volume are among the most important voices in the field of public.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Final Pieces for Handmade III
Today I finished my pieces for hand made, it's been a mad week, with laser cutting sessions left right and centre and then screen-printing them all today! I think it's paid off though, being organised has what has made it happen, through writing copious lists and writing a timetable, managing my time, in college and out and designing.
I'm going to do this for every further project I set myself, it helps unbelievably! I'm happy with how they look, but I want to frame them somehow...
This morning I got in early to finish off the last of the laser cutting I wanted to get done and then in the afternoon I began screen-printing my designs onto the doilys. Getting back into screenprinting was really good! I tried to test this idea of 'perfection' by messing with the printing a little and making it 'not perfect', questioning what perfection and the beautiful is.
Below are just a few of the different combinations of paper and print I put together!...
I have quite a few variations of each one, but these are some that came out best...
I spoke to Matt briefly about not having the time to mark my work properly with my details and so we decided that pencil is a nice way if you don't have time. It looks simple but personal...
I really like the quality and line work of the illstrations screenprinted and also the black block colour with the contrast of one colour being used on the illustrations.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Times.
Cut my first few Doilys today, but before I started I was testing what material setting to put it on in the laser cutter and doing practice ones, positioning the laser as it moves from the original setting you set it at, moving to the edge of the bounding box, which is hard when you want to position something and for it to cut in a specific space.
This meant that I didn't get as many as I wanted to get cut today and so I have been working out how long it took to cut each one and then worked out how many I can get cut within the hour you are allowed to book with the laser cutter each day.
One took 5minutes, and so from this I could estimate how many I could produce in the hour restriction I have with the laser cutter. With a very short deadline, it was key to do this.
Laser cutting files.
I've finally finished all the files in illustrator ready for the laser cutter tomorrow and they look alright, but I still can't imagine what they will be like cut out... I wish I had, had time to try and hand cut them to get a better idea of what they would look like.
If you look closely there are two outlined lines, which to cut through it, it does not need, although I'm going to see how it cuts it when I visit the laser cutter in a couple of days and then delete them if it speeds up the time of the cut.
Colour Inspirtation.
Leading up to my day of screen-printing the final designs, I've been looking at other illustrators and screenprinters for inspiration in what colours to print things. I've really enjoyed looking at his work, I like his illustration but I love the way he layers colours. My images won't be layered, but the colours he puts with one another are brilliant!
I think for my images I will just use black to print in, as they are images which are serious, yet comical, but they are making a statement and so I think an easy colour to read the quote in is needed. However I will try printing onto different coloured papers for variety.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Illustration Practice.
I came across this book on the interent called 'The Fundamentals of Illustration', by Laurence Zeegan, practicing Illustration I have found this book a brilliant reference. It is jam packed with interviews with illustrators from every field and work by these illustrators and many many more. It is full of useful legal tips, info on how to prepare a good portfolio and general background on illustration.
It's helped me look in more depth at this idea of professionalism within my practice and how to go about applying it and learn about it. It talks in detail about how to interpret briefs, which is really important within this module, especially as most of the briefs I'm doing for this project are to be completed in short space of time and so I need to establish what I want to do for the brief and how to interpret it quickly so I can get on with the creative work as quickly as possible.
Also in the book are examples of contemporary self-promotion, which is important in helping me to gather ideas and inspiration for the branding of my work throughout this module and how I want to promote myself as an illustrator.
Friday, 1 October 2010
Type.
Sticking with this idea of female body image and perfection, the image has been designed around a favourite quote of mine written by Salvador Dali: 'Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it'. I'm not ever so confident with type and so I have been experimenting with some type in Illustrator to get an idea of what it could look like...
I need to consider the atmosphere I'm trying to create and what I"m trying to communciate, through the size and type I choose. This is very important in the tone of voice I take, also thinking about positioning of the type, whether it's types on a path round the doily or not?
Preparing images for screenprint...
Today I have been on the computer sizing the type and images which are to be screenprinted in the middle of the laser cut doliys. I had to make sure the doily was the correct size it was being cut on the screen in illlustrator, to then go on and put my illustration in the middle with the type... Whilst doing this I experimented with the positioning of the type that would be printed...
I decided that the simplicity of the two lines of text was most appropriate, as it's kept simple and to the point, which is what I was trying to do, I'm making a statement in my work.
Timetable.
With the short timescale I have to do this brief, I've made sure that I have planned every day and hour I have to get things done for the craft fair next week! It perfect for keeping me organised and nice to have set myself deadlines for certain things everyday.
Handmade 3. Further Design...
Today I have been drawing my ideas for accompanying images, I picked the quotes first as this was most important in setting the tone of voice for my work... Here are some drawings I've been doing today surrounding my subject...I think they go with the quotes I have chosen and this is ultimately the most important thing in communicating my message to my audience.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Body Image articles... Research.
I've been looking at the issues in society surrounding this idea of stiving for beauty and perfection...shockingly finding some sad statistics...
Two out of five women and one out of five men would trade three to five years of their lives to achieve their weight goals. ‘Young girls are more afraid of getting fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer or losing their parents’. Shocking, but true. Also Reading a lot around this subject and relating it to my dissertation has been really influential also, in reading for my dissertation I learnt about this idea of women feeling they have ‘lost control’ of their bodies and getting older and ageing is one thing which terrifies them, an article which I came across was a reality of this, a young woman aged 23, scared of aging, and through starving herself, putting her life in jeopardy.
Below is a shocking article about a woman aged 23, who was so terrified of growing up that she starved herself. To stop herself growing 'older' she sticks to a diet of less than 1,000 calories a day - a regime that has stunted her height to 5ft 2in and keeps her weight at 5 1/2 stones. The dieting has come terrifyingly close to costing Miss Hensley her life. This shows the 'lack of control' women face, which Naomi Wolf talks of in her Book - The Beauty Myth.
There are also celebrities who have starved themselves, sadly Anna Carolina Reston, a model, got so thin that she died.
Looking into what's happened and happening in society today is really useful in being inspired and also understanding what really are the reasons behind my work and what an important subject it is to make people aware of.
Design: Doily.
So, 'design doily' is underway and it's going to be a very tight on time, I've had to draw myself up a rough timetable, to give me an idea of when I'm going to get things done In time for next Sunday, like booking the laser cutter (which plan to do today) to cut the doily design out and also the long processes of screenprinting the image into the middle of my doilys.
I had thought about cutting the design out free-hand, but this will be something that I try at a later date as to try and achieve that now within the space of a week would not work out!
The print will be in the middle of the doliy but on some sort of coloured card and a cut out doliy design will border it, here are some initial drawings...
...I have then put them in illustrator and tidied them up a lot read for the laser cutter:
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