Wednesday 1 March 2017

Ladybirds

Acrylic ladybird illustrations
For the Research Methodology unit I decided to look into ladybirds as they are my favourite insect and commonly associated with Britain's gardens. With the painting above I wanted to illustrate the delicacy shown through the insects size and features; I chose to do this through the medium of acrylic paint in order to utilise the vivid colours shown on the ladybird's body.
Warhol inspired lino print edit

After researching into the works of Andy Warhol for his use of bright colour and repetition, I decided to experiment with lino printing as it's a medium I had not used before. I used a black ink to print and then scanned the image into photoshop in order to change the colours making the ladybirds bright and bold, juxtaposing the stereotypical colours associated with ladybirds.
                                                                       
As part of my research process I began to look into the decorative pattern of the polka dot - which is my favourite pattern and is a key association to the ladybird. Here I made hanging circular pendants using acetate after being inspired by the artist Olafur Eliasson and his installations highlighting light and circles. I took this notion and combined it with the idea if the ladybird to create this composition with the ladybird painting being shown to hang in suspense within the piece.

               
'Ladybird Interior Collection'
The research into the decorative pattern of the polka dot lead me towards my final outcome 'The Ladybird Collection' where I made a set of four interior accessories: a cushion, lamp, door knobs and wallpaper. Research into a ladybirds habitat portrayed the negative connotations in the media of ladybirds within the home; I wanted to take this idea and turn it into a positive. I made the collection by fabric printing, up cycling and utilising old materials within the home which all had red polka dots and ladybirds making the collection stand out as a whole.

Budgie - Oana Iolea

My chosen animal for my latest project entitled Research Methodology was a budgie. The main reasons why I chose it is because I used to own two budgies that I loved very much and ever since they came into my life, my love for birds has grown more and more. I started off the project by doing some research about the tiny bird therefore I filled my sketchbook with information about their anatomy, diet, etymology, colour mutations and many more!

        

 After creating this base of research, I started experimenting as much as possible using every working technique I was comfortable with, such as watercolour, collage, simple pencil sketches and origami.

   

My next step was attending my tutorial with Karenanne who helped me a lot by coming up with multiple interesting ideas for my final piece. Out of the three main ideas, I decided to focus on the one related to combining collage and origami and I can say that I'm pretty happy with the final result.



Jaguar - Lucy Ward

Research Methodology on the Jaguar


Continuous Line

For Research Mythology I chose the Jaguar as I wanted to focus on the fur and their tendency to eat the Yage vine which causes them to hallucinate, I combined the two main focuses for my final outcome by making a psychedelic felt piece representing how the jaguar sees itself and its surroundings.

Koi fish - Sergi Traverso



For research methodology I chose koi fish due their vibrant colours and patterns and my fascination with the waterfall legend.


Mechanical Animal workshop work - Koi fish

My Dog Sighs - Lost and Found workshop

My take on a ship in a bottle for the lost and found workshop using an empty canister from a cream dispenser I found outside.

Bears - Florence Mackintosh

For the Research Methodology project I chose to look at bears. To begin the project I did some research into all eight species of bears, before focusing more specifically on the two species I was particularly interested in - the grizzly bear and the moon bear. I was interested in the bear's habitat and did some research on Yellowstone National Park, which involved reading articles and watching documentaries to familiarise myself with the visuals of the landscape and the way in which bears move and behave, as well as visiting the Natural History Museum in London to gather some first-hand research. 


My findings from my research into Yellowstone led me to explore further the relationship between bears and humans. I looked at the long history of bear cruelty, learning about dancing bears within the Romani culture and how, in some parts of the world, the practice of training bears for circuses and the capturing of bears for bile farms is ongoing. I thought about how I could portray the stories of these captured bears and an initial idea I had was to write and illustrate a book for children.


During the process of developing my idea I thought about how some children's books illustrators expand their product further by creating merchandise along side their book. My idea was to create a brand, inspired by the name 'Moon Bear', which had appealed to me visually, particularly for a brand targeted at children. I went on to develop ideas for products I could make for a nursery collection - cushions, babygrows, wallpapers and framed prints. I realised this idea through fabric printing for the cushions and babygrow, and using photoshop to develop designs for the print and wallpaper samples. 



Towards the end of the project my focus became much more visual than contextual. I was interested in the aesthetics of the products I was making - the lines and colours as well as the media and materials. Although the story book was not my final outcome, it was an important part of the process in developing the 'Moon Bear' collection. I would not have been able to do this as successfully without thoroughly researching the subject of bears.

Free Art Fridays


From our workshop with My Dog Sighs I created a pop art influenced piece using a nos canister and a piece of rubble found on the floor.