Georgie Robjant - Magpie

For our research methodology project I chose to do the animal, Magpie, I chose this animal as I feel that it holds a reputation with it, I love a story behind anything and the magpie definitely delivers that, I love how such a small animal can hold so much meaning and can be seen as such a superstitious creature

                                      Here is some sketch book work of some artist research
                                                   that influenced my Magpie creations.

                                  Here is one of my final A3 pieces I created on book pages

Here is the second part of my final piece on book pages.

Here is some experimental work I did with A watercolour magpie

and a dream catcher.

Oliver Theobald - Stag

For our Shakespeare project I decided to study a stag as I believe they are interesting and I thought I could create some interesting images with the antlers.

Skeleton of a Stag

Examples of my Stag Weekend T-Shirts and Logos

Lino Print

Photography and Image Manipulation on Photoshop

Pencil Sketch

Hannah Waters - Cat

For my Shakespearean animal I chose a cat. Cats were (and continue to be) common household pets, and Shakespeare referenced to them frequently in his writings.
I began to explore the cats vast history, from the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Indians and Chinese, to the Ancient Romans and Greeks, during the 15th century Age of Discovery when they were brought to Europe, their association with evil during the Middle Age, and to their affection from Queen Victoria in the Victorian Ages.
I also explored their history within mythology, from Greek and Roman and Norse, and within religion. I eventually found myself exploring the superstition of cats being a form that witches take on (an example of this is in Macbeth). I explored and researched disguises, metamorphosing and transforming.
I explored different ways of working including collage, lino printing, woodwork, paint and ink.

 

Photos from my research sketchbook:

 

 

 



 

Stephanie Holmes- Hedgehog

Stephanie Holmes- Hedgehog 

Fineliner study

Mixing an image of a hedgehog with popular culture. Drawing the highly recognised video game character 'Sonic the Hedgehog' in a realistic style. I was playing with the idea of what he would look like if he were a real hedgehog. 

Character creation 'Mr Needle Mouse'

Focusing on Shakespeare's quote 'The hedgehog hath a sharp throned garment.' I wanted to take this very literally and give a hedgehog like creature a spiked cloak. In this case it ended up being a shrew since they are common ancestors and they also share a strong resemblance to the hedgehog in facial features. 

Acrylic paints study

This started of as a drawing study of a tiny pinecone, but then I noticed the body looks very much like a hedgehogs. So I then painted a hedgehog's head onto the top to complete my vision. 

Fineliner and ink study

This idea popped into my head when thinking of what it would be like if hedgehogs tried to wear clothes. I imagined a hedgehog wearing a wooly top, with the hedgehog's spines poking through the fabric in a comedic fashion. 

Kelly Palfrey - Sperm Whale

I chose to study the Sperm Whale as it is a mammal that is not only present in Shakespeare's work, but also appears frequently in the news for various reasons. I began by researching general facts and exploring the obvious such as size and I created a large wire model of a beached whale.

A few weeks into my project there was a mass beaching of Sperm Whales of the coast of the UK, this influenced where my project went next. I researched what happens to a Sperm Whale when it beaches and found out that they frequently explode due to a build up of gasses. This led me to create a multimedia model of an exploding beached whale.

 From this I also looked into phrases and sayings surrounding the issue and created a cartoon based on the phrase "As fat as a beached whale".

The quote from Shakespeare that inspired me to study the Sperm Whale was "as white as whale his bone" from Love's labour's Lost. This refers to the whaling industry that was prominent in Shakespeare's time. Sperm Whales were hunted for ivory and spermaceti. Whaling is still a problem with countries such as Japan today, so for my final piece I created a Lino cut of a whale's tail entangled in a harpoon.

Candy Smith- Fox.

'I was as lazy as a hog, sneaky as a fox, as greedy as a wolf, as mad as a dog and as ruthless as a lion.' King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4.

I chose a fox as the animal for my research methodology unit. I was particularly interested in the effect of Fox hunting on the fox population and to raise awareness of keeping the ban intact. I wanted to reverse the roles of the fox and the hound, instead the fox would be hunting the hounds. I first decided to look at the fox itself and different aspects that make it distinctive as a species.

Fine Liner Study. 

I then decided to look more into fox hunting and reversing the roles by placing the fox himself in the traditional British fox hunting uniform.

Watercolour and Fine liner Study. 

Finally for my final piece I wanted to show my chosen words; Agile, Handsome, Elegant, Regal and Cunning. For this I created a watercolour piece as well as additions of fine liner and coloured pencil as well as a salt and watercolour wash background.

This project allowed me to look at the anatomy of the animal and look at more social issues concerning the species as well as looking at more cultural references. I found this uni very helpful in allowing me to divide my time between research and visual working. 

Mantis Shrimp

The Mantis Shrimp

 This crazy little crustacean can pack a punch equivalent to a 22 caliber gun. It can also see 16 colours, which we can't!

Embroidered tote bag

Wire Model