Hopes, Fears and Opportunities Part 2

In the first semester we had to write a blog post on our hopes, fears and opportunities. As it is nearly the end of the degree I am going to reflect on the initial post and see if my feelings and thoughts have changed over the past few months.

Hopes
The first thing I wrote about was the fact that all throughout my education in art and design I have always found it difficult to find my own sense of style and stick to that style. I finally feel as though I am nearly there, I feel ugh more confident about how I draw and design. I feel that the stamps I make have definitely become a massive part of my work and my style of working. I feel that my drawing had also improved and think that experimenting and stepping out of my drawing comfort zone had definitely improved my work too. I also have come to the terms that an illustrator knows what there style is and becomes well known and is requested for their work as they have a stung sense of style. However I think that for a surface designer they are always required to produce different styles and ways of working.
I also talked about how I want my work to have more narrative and meaning behind it. This is something I have definitely worked on for the fmp, I knew starting the brief that I wanted to base my work around an old folk story. I found my story and although I haven't included every element from it I have picked the main features and points from the story and designed prints and images from it. I have even included a dead bird which is something I would have shied away from in the past.
I also mentioned that I would like to 'sell' my work, to have more confidence when talking about it, I think that this still needs to be worked on, sometimes I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed in front of tutors and a group of people. However I shocked myself on the portfolio visits when I was able to talk freely and confidently about my work. I thought that the first visit was a bit rusty but as each one past I felt more and more confident and by the third I was talking about processes, ideas, products and my designs and work.

Fears
My biggest fear initially was running out of time, and although I may still feel the same about this, I have realised that you will probably always wish or think of something else you could of added to your work. However instead of focusing on the negatives, you should feel proud of what you have produced and handed in. At this point I may not feel as though I have 100% completed all my work and feel slightly stressed in the back of my mind I am thinking I am proud of what I have achieved to this point.
Another fear that I mentioned in the first post was how I was scared and nervous about not have the guidance and the advice of tutors, and having to fend for yourself in the real world. This is something that I am still fearful of, however I feel although I may not get my dream job as soon as I leave, I should still persevere and keep drawing and designing at home, so I don't get out of practice.
Another fear in my original post was the thought of going on portfolio visits, these didn't go to plan last semester as it was at a very busy part of the year for many designers and makers that I wanted to go and see, however this semester they went much better than I expected. I think it is more the thought of having to go, however once you get there and start talking to them, they are much easier that I first expected. And by the third visit I enjoyed talking to them about my own work and also talking to them about their work and how they started designing and making, and even got invited back if I ever needed more advice or feedback. I think because I felt more confident about my work and my also my portfolio looked more professional and presentable. I think I will still work on my portfolio as it isn't perfect it is much better then the one I produced in second year the the first one I developed in the first semester of the year.

Opportunities
For opportunities I mentioned how I would love the opportunity to sell my own work, and did this at the teenage craft market in April, although it wasn't a huge success, a couple of my bags did sell and it was a great feeling knowing someone was walking away with one of your designs. When I went to a portfolio visit I showed them some of the notebooks and purses I had made, and she told me that these would be great products to sell at craft fairs and markets as they always will have a market and people enjoy one off products that are different and unusual. This is definitely something I would love to do more in the future. I think that I would be more organised, have more to sell and the products will be finished to a higher quality and look more professional, by using the advice and tips that Andrea gave me from my portfolio visit.
I also mentioned how I would love to actually put my designs and prints onto products, I feel as though I have developed this even further in the last semester by printing my designs on fabric to be made into pencil cases and purses, also I have printed on stationary and writing sets, cards, notebooks and also boxes. I have really enjoyed putting my designs onto products and having the final outcome makes me really feel like a surface designer., which is something I haven't felt before.
I think a new opportunity I would like to include for after I leave is the opportunity to do some work experience in industry, because I think the knowledge I would gan would be key and also to get my foot in the door of the design industry. This is something I will look into after I have finished my degree.

Critical Review

Every month we were to meet up as a group and talk about either a book, a film we had watched and also an article we had looked at from the past month, however they were quite flexible so you could also talk about maybe music or an exhibition that you had seen.
When it was my chance to share with the group I told them that I had been to a great exhibition at the Liverpool Tate, called Glam. I also wrote about the exhibition more in-depth as a blog post too. After chatting about the exhibition it turned out that the exhibition would be great for someones work, as it suits their style and was from the same era as they were basing their work around.

I also talked about a film that I had seen a while ago, but had just purchased on DVD so it was fresh in my mind, it was Moonrise Kingdom. Moonrise Kingdom was a film released in cinemas in 2012, directed by Wes Anderson, who also directed another of my recent favourite film, Fantastic Mr Fox. Moonrise Kingdom had an amazing cast including Bruce Willis, Wes Anderson, and Bill Murray. It is classed as a romantic- comedy drama, which I agree with. The film in set in 1965, on a small island in New England. And involves two 12 years olds that find each other by mistake, write letters too each other, one from a boys camp and the other from her family home, with her quirky family including Bill Murray as the Father. They had made a secret pact to run away together however doesn't quite go to how they imagined. I thought that the film was quirky, fun and had a sweet storyline. I definitely want to watch other Wes Anderson films in the future. What I really enjoyed about this film, alongside the fantastic storyline and cast, I felt that the costumes were amazing, they represented the era and also that they are on a small island enclosed in their own bubble almost. I also loved how the film was shot, it almost had a sepia effect to it, this would also made it seem as it was filmed in the 60's.

Someone else from the group bought a book to show everyone called A Crafters Guide to taking Great Photos. I found this book to be interesting as my work is hand made and quite crafty I felt that this would be a nice way to capture my designs and products that I have made. Also I thought it would be a good idea to start practicing the techniques and tips in the book as when we leave we no longer have the photography studio use, so this could be a good alternative to use for the future. I will definitely be buying this book and practising my photography skills.

Portfolio Visit 3

The last portfolio visit I went to was Andrea Lord, who makes beautiful handmade gifts and accessories.

I think that this was the visit I enjoyed the most and one that I got a lot of good advice from. She told me that she really enjoyed looking though my portfolio and thought it had a good flow and wasn't too miss matched. I started by showing he the BMW work and explained how I made the work, she seemed interested in how I created the rubber block prints and thought I was nice to see that I had made and carved the block prints myself. As I was talking though my portfolio she was really impressed that I was a surface designer and that I liked to draw and she was impressed with my drawings, especially the birds and the feathers.
I showed her some of the purses I had made, I was a little nervous because she creates beautiful products to a really high standard, she said that they were great for my first attempt, but showed me how I could improve them even more in just a couple of minutes, she grabbed a knitting needle and just pushed out the corners to square them off and make them more presentable and professional, then she just cut some of loose threads off and told me that now it was fished and looked much more professional and people would buy them. I found this to be really helpful, that if I would have spent a few minutes longer finishing it off it would have looked much better. I also showed he the devore fabric I had made using the skull prints, she loved this and I told her how it would look nice for a scarf, she loved this idea and could see it working, she then said it would look fantastic as a blind as the light would shine through the skulls and create shadows on the wall. She told me that my work could be really commercial especially the skulls because of designers such as Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen, and being commercial isn't a bad thing and she could see people my age range buying the designs and products I had made.
She seemed to enjoy the FMP work, and told me that I should try wrapping paper, and loved all of the colour palettes of my work. She was impressed to see that I had actually made the products myself, and she could see them in person, as some visits she has done in the past they have only mocked them in Photoshop.
I asked he about how she had started, she told me that she had started on small markets, making small amounts of work, no more than five of each item, she did this to get an idea of what would sell and what people are interested in buying.
I found myself talking to Andrea for ages, she seemed really interested and passionate in what I was doing and my work and even asked if I was doing a dissertation and what it was about. She gave me loads of great advice that I will definitely take on board. She said to make the most out of the facilities I have at College, such as the print room. She also gave some some great advice and tips on how to finish my work to a high standard, making tags and stickers and even showed me how she makes and prints them herself.
I really enjoyed talking to Andrea and felt she was really passionate about what she does, she gave me a lot of confidence and made me feel really proud of how far I had come and my work. Although I was dreading these visits I can see why we have to do them, I walked out from this visit feeling proud of what I have achieved in the past three years.

Portfolio Visit 2

For my second portfolio visit I went to Lily Greenwood, I thought that she would be a good person to see because she loves nature and they are reoccurring themes in her work and I found links with her work and my own. Although she is a painter, mainly oil paints, I felt she would be a good person to visit as she applies her designs on bags, badges, and postcards something that I also want to do, so I thought that she would be an ideal person to see with my portfolio.

I started by showing her my BMW work, as apart from the FMP work this was my most recent works, she thought they were rally nice, and liked how I had showed the designs on bags. I also told her how it was a challenging brief as I had to do a lot of research because it was important to look at meanings in Chinese culture. She told me that she liked how for a lot of my work I had focus on folk themes and also liked that I had bought in actual products with me, as this is much better than looking at a photograph. I was talking to her about how I love to print and use different printing methods in my work, she told me that she doesn't have much knowledge of printing however she recommend me to Nell, a surface designer who specialises in printing, however she wasn't there, but I may pop in again next week some time.

I also showed her my most recent work for the FMP, showing her the letter sets I had made and she told me that they were great and could see people buying them and something interesting. 

I also asked her how she started and manage to work up to get her own studio and shop space in the craft centre, she said that she moved into the craft centre one year after graduating, I found this really impressive and showed she had a lot of determination. She told me that she was working in the Whitworth art gallery in Manchester and a couple of other people wanted their own stall or shop, so when they found out there was an available spot at the centre they all went in together and spilt the work equally between them.  

Overall I found Lily to be a great help and gave me some great feedback and advice. 

Portfolio Visit 1

After Christmas we had been given our final brief of the year and part of it was to go on three portfolio visits, as I didn't have much luck last semester, so I thought that this time I would definitely go on them. I had worked on my portfolio for London however didn't manage to show it to anyone we saw, however I did get to talk to a couple of people about my own work and what I am doing for my final brief. I was pleased with how my portfolio looked, as I had really worked on making it look more professional, simple things such as putting a drop shadow box around the photograph to lift it from the page and make it stand out more, and something as simple as changing the text, could really help the portfolio look more professional and presentable.
I knew I wanted to go to the Manchester Craft Centre, as I want to make merchandise and products for my final show and something I want to think about for the future, and I knew that at the Craft Centre would be a great place to show people who do a similar work and would be great to hear their feedback, as it could be really valuable and important.
The first place I went to was Quite Contrary, a beautiful store filled with hand made goods, such as purses, bags, cards and key rings, products that I am really interested in and would love to make using my own designs.

I showed him my portfolio and talked him briefly though the projects and how I had created and made them. In my portfolio I had included some of my favourite pieces of work and the work I felt most confident and comfortable talking about. I included some of my work from the BMW project, some of my Mexican folk and skull work, and finally some of my most recent work with the birds and parrots for my FMP. I had actually bought along some of the products that I had actually made such as note books, writing sets and fabric samples. He thought that the products that I had made were interesting and he could see them being sold and people would be interesting in the and there is a potential market for them. He told me that my designs work well on stationary I that I should definitely stick with it as I am doing well so far. He seemed to be interested in what I had done and how I had create my work.
I also asked him how the company started and how to get into the craft industry, he told me that they had initially started on a small market and stalls, they had started a few years ago on Tib Street in Manchester and it had grown from there on. I also asked about selling online stores such as Etsy, he told me that he does have one, however doesn't use it much as when buying one off hand made items most people much prefer to come into the shop and look at the actual items in person.
I thought that for one of my first portfolio visits it went really well and got some good feedback and advice about how to start.

Portfolio Visit 2

I then got in touch with Karen Wilson, from Paper Salad, who I was recommend to me by Phil my Guru, as I told him a was interested in stationary and cards.
She said the following;

Hi Katie,

Yes,  you could send us a pdf, you could come in to see us but you would have to leave it until after the trade shows, maybe the beginning of March.  We are extremely hectic at the moment and I know it sounds stupid but every minute of the day is spoken for before then!

Kind regards

Karen

I sent her my PDF version of my portfolio but unfortunately it was too late to hear her response.

I will definitely arrange a portfolio visit with her in the new year because paper salad seems like a fantastic and interesting company, and it really appeals to me.  And I think that I will have worked on my portfolio more by then so it will be a much better experience. 

Portfolio Visit 1

Over the past two weeks I have emailed numerous artists and designers to take a look at my portfolio, as alot of the people I emailed have stalls and markets around christmas so they were too bust to see me.
I had two replies one from &made in the Craft Centre in Manchester who I emailed a PDF version of my portfolio to get some feedback and advice on.
Here is what she said;

Hi Katie,

I've had a look at the images you've sent but I feel that I would be doing you, and your work a disservice to make any comment without us talking through it together or without additional information to help me to understand the brief you were working to, the customer profile or the intended use; final end product that your designs are for.

Don’t be too disappointed in my response, I’m sure your tutor will understand my point of view – maybe we could try again after Christmas – if that isn’t far too late.

Have a lovely holiday Katie -

Andrea

I also got in touch with Helen Smith, Jessica Owen, Andrea Lord. I arranged to see Jessica Own some time in the new year. 

Website Research

At the start of the year we were told that we will be designing and producing a website, to promote our work and be more professional to potential visits and even clients. So I started to do some research to look at layouts, the flow and function of a website, as this is important because it can be the first glimpse of your work to potential clients and visits, it should represent you and your work.

The main features that I noticed to create a good website are:

1. Make the sight easy to navigate, theres nothing worse than loads of links, it's too busy and confusing

2. Not too much text, too much text could be boring, too much and overwhelming for the eyes to look at

3. Keep website up to date, theres no point having old work, you should show your busy and working hard

4. Keep it simple, this is something I have definitely taken note of, I have currently changed the background and colour scheme of my blog

I have looked through a lot of artists website and think that you always remember the artists who have amazing website because they stick in your mind. 

Here are some examples of artist's websites that have caught my attention; 

One artist's website that has inspired me is Julia Rothman an illustrator and pattern designer, her website opens with a clean white background, a simple mixture of different texts on the left of the site. All of the links are organised into different categories e.g her illustrations, pattern, and books. There is also a slideshow of a variety of different works in the centre of the site, this is a brilliant idea because it gives the viewer an idea of the wide range of different products and surfaces that she works with. 

Another feature of her website that I thought was a good idea was to include photographs of her sketchbook, I think that this is a great idea as it shows a more personal side to the artist, and shows the ideas and thoughts that may have sparked ideas for work and collections. 

I thought that Julia Rothman's website is bright, clean and fresh, with amazing photography, simple layout that is easy to navigate around, and shows her work at it's best.

Another artist's website who I have found a good source of ideas and inspiration is Rob Ryan , a paper cutter and screen printer. As you can see both websites have a similar layout, both have a large image of their work, and both have a list of links on the left of the site. However I think that this website really shows Ryan's character and the personality and style of his works, by having the birds, leaves ect as the links, I think that this is a charming and fun way to show the work and also be a link. 

The website also included links to his blog, which is another way to promote yourself and your work, keeping people regularly up to date. It also included links to collaborations, other works, about, contact details, and commissioned works, this is a good showing people a range of different projects that you have worked on in the past. 

This exercise has helped me to look at layouts, ideas and think about what features I want on my own website in the future, it has also made me make changes to my blog and will also look to improve further in the near future. 

Comment & Content or Decoration

Are illustrators and Surfaces Designers merely space fillers? Can they, should they and are they allowed to make comment on matters such as economics, social and political issues or moral and philosophical debates. As a practitioner do you even care? 

I think that this comment relies on the artist themselves, and their own personal views and opinions and style of art. Some artists may feel very strongly about issues such as economics, social and political issues and include them in their work, whereas other artists/designers may be interested in these matters but may not want to include them in there work as it may be too controversial. 

When I think of political, social and philosophical art I tend to think of graffiti art because graffiti art is a way of artists to show their views and opinions to a large audience, in a public place. I also tend to think of fine art as a way of artist's expressing their opinions and social issues, that sometimes may be seen as controversial to some viewers. 

I also think the matter is different for illustrators and surface designers, I think that surface designers sometimes have to be more commercial as their designs are being put on products bought by the public such as cards, stationary, fabrics and home furnishings, so it would be too controversial to include matters such as politics and social issues. I think that surface designer's work can still be meaningful and have depth behind it but it would be less obvious and more viewer freindly. Whereas illustrators may be asked to illustrate a newspaper or article where illustrations like these may be appropriate for the content, then they can comment on more controversial issues. 

Although I haven't seen many surface designer's work who use political, social and economic issues in their work, I have come across the work of Timorous Beasties, a contemporary duo who create beautiful and intricate wallpaper and fabric designs. Once described as William Morris on acid, they have included controversial issues in their work, however have done it so it isn't noticeable and when noticed is a humorous spin on a classic style and technique of wallpaper. 

 

Timorous Beasties

Toiles are a classic style of wallpaper from France in the 1770's, they depicted peaceful and romantic scenes of people having picnics by a lake, couples, flowers and beautiful scenery. However Timorous Beasties have taken the idea of a classic Toile and turned it on it's head by instead of beautiful landscapes they have included a modern landscape of London's most famous landmarks, such as Big Ben, London Bridge, and the Gherkin. Instead of couples sitting in an idillic park having a picnic Beasties have included a sinister and dark reinterpretation  of modern life that includes junkies, prostitutes, tramps sleeping in the park, and even a young lad peeing against some bushes. 

The wallpapers have caused controversy and split people's opinions, some people see the wallpapers as highly offensive and have stereotyped races, whereas some people have seen the humour and playfulness that Timorous Beasties had intended this collection to be. 

The collection has been seen as controversial as parents who bought the wallpaper to decorate their child's bedroom with had to return it after closer inspection (Article). 

It has also been torn down from GPB26m arts complex in London, it was built to celebrate the east end's cultural diversity and found that they wallpaper contained inappropriate and insensitive racial stereotypes. Oona King the faculties chair woman said ''It's important for artists to have some freedom of expression and I don't sanction each and every artistic decision before it's made. But as chair of Rich Mix, I cannot allow the image to be the defining image."(Article)

I think that artists and designers should have the freedom to include their opinions and views in their work, and I admire people who include these matters in their work, however it is not something that I would do myself. Although I want to have more meaning and depth in my work I wouldn't want it to be seen as off-putting and offensive as this would not be the audience my work would be aimed towards. 

Hopes, Fears and Opportunities

This September we were asked to write about our hopes, fears and opportunities, in a blog post. At first I found it a difficult and overwhelming process, but is something that I have to face up to if I want to get through my third year, and have a career in design.

Hopes

My hopes all throughout college, foundation and the first two years of university have always been to find a style, a style of woking that when you look at it, it says that's Katie's work. I am starting to feel myself steering towards a specific style but I'm not one hundred percent there yet. Thankfully the tutors have helped me to pick up on the good points of my work, methods of working/creating that I should really explore more and focus all my attention on. To become more focused and not wonder around hopelessly drawing and doing unnecessary things.
I also want to become more confident in ''selling'' my work to others, to be able to talk about it more confidently and freely and not doubt myself or my abilities.
I also want my work to have stronger sense of theme or narrative, instead of just looking 'nice' or 'pretty', to have more meaning and substance behind it.  

Fears

My fears have always been running out of time, with art and design you never truly feel as you have finish, 'maybe I could do one more sketch, or write a bit more, or I wish I would have made another mood board.' And with every fished brief I'm sat on the train on the way home thinking and wishing I had done a list of other things.
Another fear is not being about to go out into the tough world of art and design and be able to do it myself, ever since school I have always had a tutor guiding you through, helping you, and inspiring and helping your ideas grow. What if when I finish I can't keep up or be able to work without help and guidance. What if I cant come up with imaginative enough ideas by myself, if they don't have enough substance.
Another fear is the portfolio visits, I think that for the initial few I will be nervous, but when I feel as my portfolio is more professional and stronger I will be more confident. I always feel nervous about showing tutors and my peers my work, I have always found criticism difficult and to be told by a tutor who I know is bad enough, but being told by someone who you admire and who is a professional designer/artist is even worse. However I have faced that criticism is good is good thing, life would be boring if everything piece of work was perfect.

Opportunities

As I love to make things, I would love the opportunity to sell my work, in a stall or at a market,  the feeling that someone has liked my work so much they have decided to buy something that I have spent time making, I think that this would be a great confidence booster.
I would also love to actually put my work onto products, I had started to experiment with this at the end of last year by making pencil cases, note books and cards, however I would love to have the opportunity to explore this more in the final project. I think that the work looks completely different when it has been put on products, it seems to have more character and charm, rather than just flat on a piece of paper.

Contact with Industry

I emailed Howkapow to get feedback on my work and found them really pleasant and approachable and definitely someone who I would contact in the future for some feedback on my work. I came across the work of Howkapow when we got had a brief to create some designs for them and their website. When looking at their collections online I thought that they were fun and creative and gave me lots of insertion, because a lot of their collections include folk art and tales, which is something that I have been really inspired for in my latest personal passions brief. 
In my email I sent a photograph of some drawings and other work: 

+ "Your skeletons have lots of character but are more cartoonish and so therefore probably best suited to greetings cards where you can really express lots of character"

+ "Your flower pattern is a lot more commercial. I like the application on the different paper stock but I would recommend you trying them on different textiles and surfaces to see how they work. I.e. cotton from a tea towel, ceramics, wood trays."

+ "Play around with colour and fill in your flower pattern also - see how the bottom two work as repeating and / or tesselating patterns and see whether once again you can apply these to a range of different products and materials."

I thought it was great that she thought that my work would look good on greetings cards as this is something that I have been really passionate about and decided that I want to take it further into next year. 

Contacts With Industry

As part of my second year I had to contact an artist/designer/company who I really admire and inspires my own work, and get constructive feedback from them about some of my work that I send to them over e-mails.
I contacted:

Howkapow- An online shop, (textiles, kitchen ect) 

Belly Button- Greeting Cards Company

Mandy Trolley- Cushions, Embroidery

Michelle Brand- Recycling artist

I Wish I'd Done This

For university I have to write about a piece of work that I'd wish I had made myself, at first I found it difficult to choose just one piece that I'd wish I'd done because I have so many interests and influences from fashion, wallpaper, fabric, sewing, print and drawing, but I finally decided on my favorite wallpaper and fabric designers, Timorous Beasties.

Timorous Beasties are a surreal, modern and innovative textile and wallpaper designer duo based in Glasgow, founded in 1990 by Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons, who met at the Glasgow School of art. Nearly all of their work is both hand drawn and hand printed, continuing a printing tradition that has been around for years, and also a tradition that is quickly being replaced by machinery and digital printing.

My favorite collection from Timorous Beasties was the Rorschach collection. 

This collection is made up of six different designs/patterns in numerous different colour ways. All of the wallpapers were taken from the initial idea of the staining of damp blotches. The blotches were then overlapped with traditional damasks to create these vivid and interesting wallpapers.  

Damask is something that I’ve not heard of before so I decided to look into what it was and how it would link to the work of Timorous Beasties. Damask is a specific type of fabric/material associated with drapes, and upholstery. Classic damask is made from silk, it is recognized by it’s flat background which raised designs appear. 

Damask prints is a reoccurring pattern and design in Beasties works and you can see that in their collections such as Hornbrook and Rogues a lot of inspiration is taken from traditional damasks, and then changed and modified to a modern and contempory fresh print/design.  

One of my favorite wallpapers from the collection is Grand Blotch Damask, a beautiful vivid orange, blue and yellow design where all the colours have blended and mixed together to create greens and browns, (this is only available in one colour way) The print reminds me of beautiful coloured coral from the sea and because all of the colours are watered down and have bled and ran into each other it makes me think of the sea and ocean.

I think that because it is on a white background it really makes the print stand out from the neutral back ground, if the design was placed on top of an orange or a different coloured background it would have been to overbearing and been too much in a room and too much for the eye. I think that this wallpaper would look beautiful in a modern home as a feature piece for the whole room. I would have loved to see a photograph of the wallpaper in a room but couldn’t find one anywhere, I would have liked to see how people have put it in a room and how they have styled the rest of the room to fit around the strong and bold wallpaper.    

Grand Blotch Damask

Timorous Beasties 

Another one of my favorite designs from the collection was Chic Blotch a similar wallpaper to Grand Blotch Damask however this one comes in six colour ways and is more filled in than Grand Blotch Damask. My favorite colour way is pink, I think that this is my favorite because it has shades of purple, yellow, orange and peach in the wallpaper, this creates more depth and detail. Because of the different hues and hints of colour it picks up the detail and intricate patterns, making the wallpaper more interesting

and creates more depth and dimension. This is also helped by the strengths of the inks, some of the ink is quite strong in colour creating a bold look, whereas other colours and shades have been watered down to create a soft and watery look, these two mixtures of technique and mix of ink strengths create a dimensional and interesting design. 

Chic Blotch

Timorous Beasties

This is a close up shot to see the intricate detail and patterns that are in this design. Because from a distance I don't think that you can see and appreciate the intricate detail in the pattern.

Although this work is nothing like my own work, I still appreciate and think that they are beautiful and imaginative. I think maybe because they are so different to my own work it draws me towards them and makes me wish that I had created them myself. In my last brief I had to create a wallpaper design for Anaglpta, and I found the layout and the print difficult to envision in my head and it took a long time to mock up on tracing paper and come up with a balanced and pleasing to the eye design and found it difficult to work out the drop and repeat.  So looking at these images and other wallpaper from Beasties has helped me to understand how to design wallpaper, and appreciate what a long process creating wallpaper is, from collecting images that inspire your work, then drawing designs and creating the final design to print my hand on a screen. Another reason why I am drawn to the work of Beasties is because nearly all of their work is printed by hand using silk screens, in an interview I found they joke that the reason why the duo started the company as a duo was because it takes two people to print. I think that carrying on traditional techniques is terrific, because hand printing has a different look and feel to wallpapers that have been produced in mass by a machine.  

Best Three Pieces of Advice

As part of semester two I have to write about the best three pieces of advice that I have been given for my blog. When on a degree you are always been given advice from tutors, visiting artists and also your classmates, some of it just becomes a blur but other pieces of advice really stick with you and have a lasting impact on you and your work.

1.  Draw every day- Everyone says that it is important to draw everyday, including tutors and artists but I never really followed this advice until I noticed that I just didn’t feel as comfortable drawing as I used too, I remember that in school I was always drawing and doodling when I should have been doing algebra or learning about atoms and then I would stop drawing over the summer holidays and then when I started my AS I noticed that for the first couple of months I just couldn’t get back into drawing and as soon as I felt comfortable again it would be summer and again I would stop, it was just a constant circle. However since I have started to draw everyday with the personal passions brief I can feel and see a different in my drawing, so as it is my final year of my degree this September I am going to especially try hard to draw over summer.

2. Don’t worry if you haven’t found your own style yet- I’ve always been worried about finding my own style and what I want to do as a career. When I did my art foundation people always said this is the year when you find out what you want to do and find your own style. Although I did find that I was really interested in surface design and find the right course for me, I didn’t find my own style. I then went to university and in my first year again didn’t find my own style, and now nearing the end of my second year I still don’t fell as if I have found my own style. I think that this is because I’m always changing my style sometimes I draw, sometimes paint, also collage then I also sew and print, so for me I find it difficult to settle on just one practice or technique, as I want to experiment with different techniques and materials. Every artist that has come in to talk to use over the past year have all said, don’t worry if you haven’t found your own style yet, as they didn’t when they were in the same situation as us, only time and experimenting will help us achieve our own style of art.

3.  Don’t give up!- Although sometimes I do feel that I’m in out of my depths and am worried about finding a job after the degree is over, don’t give up! Art is something that I have always been passionate about and without it I have no idea what I would be doing with my life, I always knew that I wanted to do something in art but just didn’t know what, now I have finally found an art course that is right for me and I do want to work for a stationary company like paperchase or bellybutton would be my ‘dream’ job.  And just because it is difficult to find jobs for graduates at the moment don’t give up!