Joseph Gardner - Mouse

For my Research Methodology project I chose to look at the mouse. For no simpler reason than my house was somehow infested with them, which is more common than I realised in Portsmouth. My project started when I caught a mouse in my kitchen. I tried to replicate this mouse with the wire workshop we had early in the project. After this I spent a lot of time working continuous line drawings of mice. In the Los Dave workshop I partnered up to create a owl-mouse crossover, I found this very successful as I was able to work on a larger scale than that of a mouse. After much development I decided on the idea of a Mouse in a tin can, they are renowned for going into cupboards and rummaging for food - and after the influence of My Dog Sighs I found the use of tin cans as very appropriate. I have chosen to add my Joint project from the Los Dave workshop.

 

These are some of the pictures from my Fox project. I like them because this was my first attempt at using stop motion animation to make a short animation of my own. 

Kemani Batt - My Dog Sighs level 4 Workshop

This is the work I created for our Le Dog Sighs workshop. We went looking for a discarded piece of rubbish to bring to life for the project, and then leave it out in the world for people to find.

I created a small crocodile out of a broken peg and painted a face inside a tissue box.

Vicente O'Neill- My Dog Sighs Level 4 work Shop

Local Portsmouth street artist 'My Dog Sighs' came to deliver a lecture to us on how and why he produces his unique pieces of found 'rubbish' art. Quirky and uplifting, his realistic paintings on cans and crisp wrappers are a delight to look at. We were then instructed to create our own piece of art with a piece of rubbish we found. After completing the painting we had to then replace it where we originally found them, leaving the pieces of art to the mercy of the world.
Here is my own response:

Emily Carleton - Tiger

For my project I decided to focus on tigers as I've always had a fascination with them. Their characteristics such as their markings and love of water make them unique creatures. I found it interesting to learn from my research that tigers have always been both feared and revered throughout history, and subsequently they are often associated with royalty and power. This therefore became my focus towards the end of the project.

Dan Curtis - Elephants

I decided to develop my project around elephants as I think the contrast in beliefs surrounding them, including biologically and religiously, are something that need to be addressed and are certainly something I was interested in exploring. The fact that in one part of the world they are considered to be god-like animals, whereas in another part they are relentlessly hunted and butchered for their tusks both intrigued and disgusted me; not to mention how they have been and still are being put through horrible conditions so they can be used in circuses for our entertainment. As you'll see in some of my work, I tried to combine the metaphors and symbolism found in Indian art with the tacky style of old circus posters to comment on the treatment they've received.

These images below were inspired by Salvador Dali's many paintings of elephants, in which they have extremely spindly legs to emphasise their dream-like weightlessness - mine were done by blowing large bits of watercolours all over the page and then drawing an elephant into the shapes they produced.

Holly Newman - Magpie

Magpies are hugely misunderstood animals, with a stigma that follows them around and instills fear in some who cross their paths. I chose to focus my Research Methodology on Magpies because I wanted to learn more about them, and was surprised to find out that the stories I was taught about them were exactly that- stories! Myths and fables told and retold, traveling down through generations.  

Magpies are notorious for stealing shiny, precious items, like jewellery. I wanted to play on this myth and explore themes of greed and always wanting MORE.