Chalk Etchings
For our first task for the project, we were told to go around college and to use chalk and to go over different textures. I decided to do textures of doors, walls, radiators, signs and a lot more textures. This helped us go on a journey through college and to collect different textures to then photoshop it onto one of our primary images and overlay it however, I did not do that. What I liked about this is how we gathered different textures. What I could do next time is put it on one of my primary images and experiment more with it. What I didn’t like was how we used chalk even though I set it with hair spray it was still messy to use.
Drawing with music
For the first part of the project, I needed to generate some ideas to really keep an open mind about different types of journeys and what they meant. To really generate ideas, 3 songs were played and we had to create 3 pieces of art while listening to the music to really feel the vibe and to draw whatever we imagined. We used charcoal for this process and had till the end of the song to create something.
First Sketch
For my first sketch, which is in the right-hand corner, we listened to “Woodpecker from mars by Faith No More”. This song made me feel a spooky sense of adventure feeling where it gave a sort of Indiana Jones vibe. I decided to close my eyes to really imagine what I felt when hearing it. I remember feeling a sort of trapped feeling like there was nowhere to go or as if he became trapped with his own greed of adventure and has to face what is to come. I decided to draw a person that looked like Indiana Jones and made him feel trapped in a cave as if in search for a way out or for something as he’s seeking adventure as he ventures deep within the darkness of the cave. The song also gave a halloween kind of vibe too which made me reflect on what is deemed to be spooky which was bats and spiders. I also used the side of the charcoal and created a shrewd of darkness with it as he’s trapped in the cave. Although I had a solid concept when creating this art piece it didn’t really evoke any sort of ideas that I wanted to do but it helped me really expand on my idea of what journey means and how the concept is more wider than it seems. If I was to expand on this idea, I would probably create more images and think of different concepts with the same song and create a series of images that I thought evoked a journey feeling and what linked in with the song. I can even further expand on the image and create a whole scenario from the song than rather doing 1/3 of the drawing. I quite like the use of generating ideas through listening to music and linking it to a journey. What I disliked was the medium I used. I think charcoal is quite good however it is messy and can get everywhere, I don’t like the texture it gives and it’s quite a dull medium. To make sure that the charcoal didn’t go everywhere, for health and safety reasons, you can use an apron so it doesn’t go on your clothes however I didn’t think to wear one as we were doing quick sketches. I did use the hair spray to set the charcoal so it doesn’t go everywhere and it stays in place which is a useful hack. I quite like the idea I came up with however I don’t think I want to link it in with my final piece nor did it have any impact on what my final piece is going to link in with.
Second Sketch
For my second sketch, which is in the left-hand corner, we listened to “Greg:Peer gynt Suite No. 1, In the Hall of the Mountain King. This song reminded me of Alton Towers and how this music represents the theme park. It reminded me a lot of the Smiler and how that links in with the Cheshire cats smile. So I linked it into more of Alice in wonderland and its crazy and weirdness that doesn’t make any sense. I drew flowers with smiles and the Cheshire cat that both links in with the smiler. I even used the side of the charcoal to emphasise the grass to show where the sky starts from. For the other weird aspects I drew Bigfoot’s leg and I also drew a portal that has a broom coming out of it and a rocket that showcases that a lot is happening. I even added confetti and fireworks that gives a hypnotizing feeling because when the fireworks are lit up in the sky you can’t help but be mesmerized by them and enticed. I didn’t really have a plan for this and just made things chaotic. I wanted to make it more like a kid’s imagination as a lot can be happening and there’s really no stopping their imagination. This creates a kind of exciting atmosphere as rides are supposed to be thrilling and heart-racing so the chaoticness of the art piece creates some symbolism of why the rides were created in the first place, to create entertainment and to test the heart. What I like about this is how I linked it to Alton Towers as it is the theme song and how I made it chaotic and didn’t really have a plan as it shows I’m generating ideas for a journey. What I could do next time is maybe link it in more with the theme journey as my concept for the song is all over the place and doesn’t really have a set journey but this also shows that going on a journey isn’t a set path but rather different multiple ones even if it is confusing. To really generate more ideas from this song I could do a ride from the theme park to show the journey of the ride or even show how the theme park changes and grows however, I like the use of generating ideas without having a set idea in mind but rather just going with the flow. This makes my mind run more and makes me create whatever I desire without an idea to set it in place. If I were to change anything I would maybe change the art medium. I’ve stated before how I don’t really like charcoal so maybe next time I could use coloured pencils as they can really influence the chaoticness of my piece or even use paints and imitate a kid on how they use the paint and how they have fun with it. Furthermore, I don’t think I’ll be using this idea for my final piece as it doesn’t really evoke any certain feelings or ideas for my journey however it helped generate ideas and gave me more of an idea of what journey means and how there isn’t a set path to follow with it.
Final Sketch
For my final sketch that’s in the middle, I listened to the song “WaltzinBlack by The Stranglers”. This song reminded me of the generic carnival songs in movies so I decided to base my idea on that. I decided to create a Ferris Wheel as there is always one at carnivals and I even added stalls with people trying to win prizes and get food. I decided to even add fireworks as it adds to the carnival atmosphere and I even added some balloons that were let gone by little kids as it’s a common occurrence. The carnival experience is thrilling and calming as you can go on rides or just enjoy a day out with family and friends. This really represents a journey through enjoyment as it passes and goes typically how carnivals only come in Halloween season or they move about a lot which shows how things don’t always stay the same but change a lot. I didn’t really generate much concepts for this piece as the song quickly reminded me of carnivals. If I were to generate more ideas, I would maybe do something like clowns or anything halloween related as the song gives that vibe. I think the song didn’t give me more of an open mind as we typically link songs like that to Halloween-related things so I didn’t really have any ideas outside of that. What I liked about this is how it made me develop more of what a journey typically means and what ideas I can think and generate with it. I also like how creating the carnival may not really show what a journey means but the meaning is hidden behind the concept like how the Ferris Wheel moving can show that a journey means moving forward or how a journey can mean experiencing it with the people you care and love most. If I were to change anything I would probably maybe add more to the art piece as it isn’t filled as much or create different postcards with the idea of saying come again or to show you have been there just like how a journey means you travel to places and hold memories of it. What I think I could do is take photos of different carnivals and combine them or take pictures of the activities that you can do there however, even though I liked this concept I don’t think I’ll be using it for my final piece but I’ll keep it in mind as I quite enjoyed drawing this but it doesn’t have a set journey that I want to follow through with. I still don’t like the art medium I used and won’t use charcoal at all for my final piece as it’s too messy and dull.
If I were to do this process again to generate ideas, I would choose different songs that evoke the feeling of a journey and use different types of paper as the paper we used was brown and it blended in with the charcoal which gave an eerie sense of feeling which kind of linked in with the songs as they gave a quite a supernatural vibe which is how I came out with ideas that were more on the horror and unnatural side. The charcoal also links in with it too giving the eerie vibe. I made sure to use hair spray to set it all in place so it doesn’t go everywhere. I loved the use of generating ideas using music and I might do it again if needed. I could also experiment more with generating ideas and see where it leads me.
Inking with colours
For one of the lessons, we were given a task to use inks and draw whatever came to mind with it that links in with journey. No prepping and no planning was allowed except for going all out with the ink and seeing where it took us. At first, I was confused on where I should start and what to do and how to go about it however, I thought of the sea in the moment and decided to use the blue ink and create the sea line with it. I then used 2 different blues and green ink to start painting the sea with it. I didn’t think about it nor did I have a plan on what I was doing but I just did whatever felt right in the moment. I decided to do streaks of colour in the water and I enjoyed doing so. Due to the ink being absorbed quickly by the paint brush and how ink is too watery to apply evenly out, I had to put a lot of ink on the brush and then use quick strokes on the paper so it doesn’t absorb the ink up before I can put any more on. I decided to dap the dark blue ink and make water ripples aswell and made some splashes. After that, I thought I might add a dolphin out of water and decided to add another dolphin that’s floating in the air about to go back into the depths of the water. I didn’t really have anything in mind when doing this but I wanted to add creatures to my art piece as a journey through life rather than really thinking about different types of journey like I did for my drawing with music piece. After creating the sea, I decided to create half a sun that’s coming out from behind just like when you’re at the beach and the sun comes out behind the water. This continues on about the journey through life, a cycle through day and night, sun and moon, which emphasises the journey through earth itself and the creatures and humans within it. I then added random streaks of colours throughout the paper to really visualise what I want to do. I then decided to add a jellyfish coming out of the water floating through the air with different coloured tentacles. The movement of the jellyfish shows a journey through freedom. At this point, I didn’t know what I was doing but I had an envision of creatures showing a journey in different ways whether through life or movement. After the random streaks I did and the jellyfish, I also envisioned a blimp as one of the streaks I did that I made with orange ink that turned into a circle. It gave the illusion of a blimp flying through the chaos. This made me think of how we as humans look at creatures through a glass that separates us but I decided to switch it up and make it seem like we were behind the glass instead looking at all the creatures around us. I decided to link the colours with the sun to create an effect that the sun is blinding the world so the blimp has the colours reflecting off it instead. This really finalised that I was doing a journey through movement and life. How the creatures move in different ways like the dolphins move with such bold movements whereas the jellyfish moves with such free strokes, how a blimp moves in 1 singular direction, the way the water moves together and how the sun moves in a calm manner. In the end, I decided I wanted to create a dragon that symbolises a new year in China. I created the dragon with pink and used blue ink as the mane. To really finalise a journey through movement, I decided to add a shooting star. I decided to make it colourful and made it move in a different direction than the dragon. Although I didn’t know what to do when I first started, in the end, I created different types of movement through life and how that in itself is a journey that explores different things in our world. What I liked about this was how we generated ideas without having a plan but rather scavenging through our minds what a journey means to us instead. I liked using the inks and having it all colourful. It made the work stand out more and gave it more liveliness within it. What I also liked was how in the end I came up with what journey I was trying to create. I also found it interesting how the blimp tied in together with my work and how my mind thought of how we watch animals through a glass and how it would be different if the creatures roamed free and we had to be behind a glass while they watched us instead. What I didn’t like was the dragon. I thought the dragon was in the way and even though it had some sort of symbolism on why I created it in the first place, it just didn’t fit nicely with the other things I created. Next time what I could do differently is maybe experiment more with the tentacles of the jellyfish and make it longer and free to really show movement as I like how the jellyfish moves and the way it gives such freedom to each movement in a calm-like manner. What I could also do next time is tie inking in with one of the artists I researched, Clare Caulfield. Although she doesn’t use ink but watercolours, it would be good to experiment with how inking might be a substitute and how it can link in with my final piece. To make sure that the ink doesn’t go everywhere and for health and safety purposes, you should wear an apron so it doesn’t stain your clothes.
Journey through different things
For this particular art piece, I decided to do journey through religion and fashion as a quick sketching idea to really get my ideas going. I decided to do religion as it concerns the world and changes overtime. I didn’t really have any ideas for this as I was just sketching out ideas however I think sketching the religion symbols really showed me that anything really links in with journey and how vast of a topic it is. After sketching those, I decided to sketch something I’m passionate about like fashion which got me sketching different designs that we use on an every day basis and even added old type of things you would see back in the day. This helped me generate ideas and push me towards how I might want to focus my final piece on something that has to do with clothing and the journey with it. I quite liked this method of generating ideas however it’s still a bit too broad which might be too much as there’s so many options to choose from than just 1 idea. What I could improve on is really delve deeper into the journey through different things and even use different art mediums to really generate ideas and what type of art medium I’m wanting to work with. In the end although it was a good way to generate ideas, I still haven’t figured out what I want my final piece to be about however it’s pushing me to the more textiles side of it so I might do more idea generating that links in with fashion.
Journey through Life
For this art piece, I decided to draw a person going through the ages of their life to showcase a journey. I decided to add her age next to her as she grew older and change her hairstyle and face shape as she grew older. I decided to even add little things about her life like her following the trends of makeup and such and had her changing her hair and even going through a breakup. This got me thinking about what a journey means and that it has different paths to follow through with. Although it’s quite a silly sketch it still got me generating ideas. This also shows how different things in your life whether it be from your beginning to end or a specific memory, its all just a journey in the end and it can be in the moment in the past or even into the future. What I liked about this piece is that it’s a good use to generate ideas as you look into your own life and how different things could be used for my final piece and I liked how I designed the girl. What I didn’t like is how simplified it was and how I could expand more on it or add an end to her age which is initially death as that is what’s waiting for all of us in the end. What I could improve on is maybe using a different art medium as I’ve used pencil for most of my idea sketching as I’m still in the early stage of what I’m wanting to do for my final piece and what idea I like the most. In the end, I didn’t decide to use this idea for my final piece as my own journey through life didn’t spark any concepts about what I’m wanting to do.
Little people, Big Dreams
This art piece links in with journey of life as I explore my own journey through 6 main achievements I felt proud of from a kid to now. Like I’ve stated before in my other sketch that I won’t focus on my own journey as no ideas really came to mind with my own life.
Sketches
These are the little sketches I did beforehand to plan out my idea of what I wanted to do for my storyboard. I changed some ideas like how instead of going to college with friends I did the first day of when I met my 2 friends and how were doing art in class.
Here are the characters I made using the art style of little people, big dreams. I added different noses to show more distinct features and added different outfits too. It was fun planning out my characters and I enjoyed doing this art piece a lot.
Idea Generating
I have already mostly talked about everything about this art piece however this is what finally gave me the idea of doing my final piece about buildings and how I would research more about what place I’m wanting to do it about and what artists can influence me. For my last project when researching about James Owen Thomas and how I went to his gallery I saw Maddie Hill’s artwork and I researched more about her as she does abstract art of buildings and even went as far back as my last year project and researched Clare Caulfield again.
For health and safety, make sure to put something underneath the paper so the watercolour doesn’t bleed and if there is a spill the newspaper or whatever you’re using underneath catches the spill instead of spilling everywhere.
Pinterest moldboard
Here is where a classmate of mine helped me generate a board to compile all of the different aesthetics of Manhattan and a little bit about fashion. This helped me generate ideas and further expand on how I want to do my final piece about Manhattan.
Library books
Here is where I gathered books from the library and took pictures of them to generate more ideas about the textile side of what I’m wanting to do with the Manhattan idea.
