Observational line drawing

As part of my observational drawing project this week for my independent study I was told to do a line drawing of a pile of shoes. I set the pile of shoes up myself on my table to make it easier to draw I also used a variety of shoes.

Pile of shoes

I found it easier to make a sketch of the shoes first and then go over the top of it so I could get the shoes drawn correctly.

Line drawing

The line drawing ended up as a close up but I think I like it better because I could make it look real and get the shapes of the shoes right. Next time I should find some material to make the background more interesting because it looks bland but I still think it is a good line drawing. I applied pressure on points in the lines to show shade and made lines lighter to show where light effects the set up. It gives more detail to the drawing.

Jewelry final piece

This week I stayed extra at college to finish off my final piece in the jewelry workshop. I have tweaked the design a little and I also took off the clock because I didn't have too much time to finish it.  

Finished piece

I tried to use as many processes as I could to make this piece piercing out, embossing, etching and soldering. It resembles architecture and I like it very much. I used both metals brass and copper to get different colours onto my piece and I blackened the copper. I thank both my teacher Nicola and my friend Abi for helping me finish it because it looks great and without them I wouldn't have got it done.

Ceramics - week 2

This week in my ceramics workshop we were told that we were going to make clay insects and learn a technique called extruding. However before we learnt the technique we had to get the basic shape of our insects made.

Clay spider half done

First I had to make the body of my insect this was done by getting two lumps of clay and making a ball shape with it, after that I pushed a hole into the center and pinched the sides so both pieces formed a dome shape. Then I stuck both domes together to form a ball by cross hatching the joins and painting water onto it to make it sticky. The only thing I had to do then was put a hole in the ball so it wouldn't com bust in the kiln. This made the body of my insect, next next was to make the legs.

To make the legs of my insect I had to use the extruding technique. Extruding is the process in which clay is forced through dies to produce elongated shapes. To make the legs I used a circular die to press the clay through and then I cut the clay up to shape and stick onto my insect. 

Clay spider

I put texture onto my spider to make it seem furry and I put some small details on like the lips, fangs and eyes so it had some unrealistic features. It was really entertaining to make and it is brilliant for my first time making a insect especially because it looks so real.

Clay bee from the front

I also had time during the lesson to make a second insect this been a clay bee. I didn't have as much time on this insect so there isn't much texture on the surface but it was definitely more difficult to make than the spider. This insect was inspired by my nature mood board because of the close-up of the beehive and I think it helps tie the ceramics work and nature project together.

Clay bee from the side

I am actually impressed that I have made such a realistic looking bee/wasp even though it is a enlarged version. I would have maybe liked to put some more texture onto it but I am still happy with how it looks. Next week I will be making clay tiles so look out for next weeks update x

Observational drawing

This is just a quick post on the independent study I have done at home for the observational drawing project we have just started in class. We were asked to draw a observational drawing of a cupboard on a piece of A3 paper and shade it. Below is a picture of the cupboard I decided to draw.

Cupboard

I chose to draw this cupboard in my kitchen because it has quiet a few objects in it that have a fair bit of detail for me to focus on. Below is a picture of my shaded observational drawing of the cupboard.

Shaded observational drawing of a cupboard

My shaded drawing took me about 4 hours to complete and at first I didn't like it because it took me a while to get it to look right with the shapes of the objects but eventually after I started shading it it began to look more realistic. I am delighted with the outcome and I will be doing some more observational drawings to try and become better at the drawing style.

Ceramics - week 1

This week I started my first lesson in the ceramics workshop where we had to make some clay buttons. I have done some clay work before and I found this lesson a little easy but it was still enjoyable and productive.

My clay buttons

During this lesson I learnt a few techniques like how to stick pieces of clay together, cut out small holes and imprint textures into the clay. I also learnt how to make the product look finished bu smoothing the sides that I cut out down. We did have a tour around the workshop before starting and going through the regular health and safety. 

I found that I quite enjoyed this ceramics lesson and I am looking forward to next week when we will be making clay insects. My buttons that I made this week will also have been fired in the kiln so I will get to see if they turned out well or not. At this stage though I believe they have gone according to plan.

Nature

Hi everyone this is the first post for my nature project that I am doing over the next 8 weeks. This week I made a mood board on nature.

My mood board on nature

My mood board mostly focuses on trees and what you find on or near trees. For example bee hives, lakes or tree roots. These are great things to look at because I can find lots of pattern or print ideas that I can use in the ceramics and textile workshops. I like this mood board a lot because it has some detailed close ups of nature that I can use to inspire other parts of this project. I particularly like the bee hive pattern in the bottom right corner of the sheet because it is simple yet alluring and I think the colours work well together even though they are not contrasting. I used the stippling technique for the trees to put in shade and movement to the piece and I used a little of the scraffito  technique to work into the leaf in the top right corner.

Altogether this mood board turned out quite spectacular and I personally am pleased with the outcome. I love the warm feeling the mood board gives off and it reminds me of summertime. I can't wait to produce more work like this in the coming weeks :)

Evaluation Monumental Forms - 3D

For this project we had to research and explore different materials and processes. We were asked to research the theme architecture, both contemporary and classical and produce mood boards. These could then be developed to create designs for the 3D workshops.

I researched contempary and classical architecture for my first two mood boards and looked at the two contempary architects Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster. I did this so that I had a few ideas for both the jewellery and wood workshops and was able to consider what I wanted to do for my final piece after looking at all the processes. Then I researched two jewellers, Marianne Anderson and An Alleweireldt and did a mood board and two A3 pages on them. I also did research for a presentation on a architect that I liked (Steven Holl) and I did a mood board on that architect. I did do a mood board for the jewellery workshop looking at close ups of buildings that I could use to put together for my final piece. I have done a observational drawing of my street to show architecture from where I live.

I developed my research by making designs to use for the workshops and recognising what processes I should use for each piece. I found information about architects and jewellers to develope my research and found information about the types of architecture and jewellery. I explained each process I learnt in the workshops on my blog and explained why I did each piece of work with the health and safety.

I used many new materials within the workshops such as MDF wood, brass(plates) and copper(plates) this was rather fun because I got to use something completely different to what I would normally experiment with. I also used many techniques in the workshops in jewellery I learnt how to use the processes etching, embossing, piercing out and soldering and in the wood workshop I learnt how to stick wood together more securely, drill the wood properly and make the products finished. Outside of the workshop I used techniques to produce my research sheets, these techniques were drawing in perspective, working into painted critical studies and learning ways to make a interesting background that I could work on.

My final outcomes of the project were the pieces that I made in both the jewellery and wood workshops one is made from metal (brass and copper) and the other from wood (MDF). Both pieces were influenced by architecture however one focused on the formation of buildings and the other on the patterns and decor.  For the wooden piece I made, the formation of the building is what I focused on so it was more about what the building looked like on the outside and what form it would take on once it was finished. But the jewellery piece I made was more about the features of the building, for example a pattern that you can see in the formation, pillars on the structure or a close up of a bridge.

For final outcome in the wood workshop I used drills and saws to piece together my creation  there were not any names for the techniques in the wood workshop but there were a few shown to us on how to stick the wood together properly and how to give the wood a nice finish. For my final outcome in the jewellery workshop I used quite a few techniques. The techniques I used were etching where you paint a design onto a metal plate and put it in acid, embossing where you heat a metal plate and press a design into it, piercing out where you cut out a design from the metal and soldering where you solder pieces of metal together. When using all of these techniques and the machines/tools we had to be aware of the health and safety in case of hazardous situations or accidents. We mainly had to know what to do in case of a fire or accident, know how to use all the equipment safely and know what protective equipment we had to wear. We also had to remove all jewellery we were wearing and tie our hair back as a precaution.

Final piece wood workshop

Design for final piece jewelry workshop

Start of final piece jewelry

My first strength in this project was my research and how I managed to present it creatively on my mood boards. I think the creativity of the research made the project more exciting and it helped inspire more ideas for the workshops. I was also able to manage my time quite well throughout the project so that I spent equal amounts of time on all the pieces of work I did.

My weakness in this project was the handling of materials but this was mostly because I hadn't used the processes in the workshop before. I also think I could have done more to make my final outcomes look more finished and refined. I might try to spend a bit more time in the workshop to perfect the techniques I have learnt and turn this weakness into a strength.

Altogether I think the final pieces for this project were great and I think all the research I produced was good and backed up all my designs and pieces that I produced. I particulary liked looking at architecture because it explored the 3D works both modern and classical. I rather enjoyed looking at how architechture has changed through the years.  

3D workshop health and safety

This is a quick post about the health and safety you have to follow in the 3D workshop when we are using the machines and equipment that can be harmful if you don't use them correctly. This is the induction sheet we got when we were in the workshop:

Health and safety induction 3D workshops

We were told what to do in the case of a fire and told where to go. We were also given a tour of the workshop and explained that when we used any machines we had to have our hair tied up so that it didn't get caught, badges/jewelry had to be tucked into your tops and we had to wear goggles to protect our eyes. We could not eat or drink in the workshops and we had to wear adequate clothing and footwear. These are the most important health and safety things we had to know and we were all aware of them while in the workshop.