Monoprinting.

I decided to create a series of monoprints, using different Monoprinting techniques. I created these monoprints from observation, first a positive monoprint, then reductive and painterly.
To create my positive monoprint I first rolled out a smooth layer of black ink onto a plastic plate and placed a piece of paper over the top of the ink. I has to take care not to press into the paper as it would leave impressions in the paper causing it to pick up the ink. I then used a sharp mechanical pencil to draw my design, as I drew the pressure caused the ink to lift onto the paper picking up the design I wanted to create. for my positive monoprint I decided to draw the curlew, I used small marks to create the feathers of the bird and shaded using cotton buds and small amounts of pressure.
Once I peeled away the paper my monoprint was done revealing the design. I feel this isn't a very successful monoprint as the ink seemed to be blotchy over the paper and the design wasn't picked up very well. This could be due to too much ink and not enough pressure whilst drawing.

For my reductive monoprint I recycled the ink I already had on the place and used a series of tools and small amount of water to lift the ink off the plate. I removed the ink in areas I wanted to be lighter of didn't want to print. To do this I used toothpicks, cotton buds and paper towels to lift the ink away.
Because the ink had started to dry out by this point u had to print this monoprint differently. I had to print this monoprint using the printing press. To first soaked a piece of paper in cool water and blotted the excess away using blotting paper. Like an intaglio print I then placed my printing place over the top of my damp paper and rolled it through the roller press. Due to the moisture of the paper the ink was lifted away from the plate and into the paper to reveal my finished monoprint.

My final monoprint was also from observation but for this piece I used colour. This monoprint was a painterly monoprint, I decided to create a print of an owl. I used coloured inks to paint onto the clear printing plate in the design I wanted almost like painting a picture, only I had to work much quicker as the ink would dry out.

Like my previous reductive monoprint I also had to place the painterly print through the printing press using damp paper. Unfortunately this print was not very successful as some of the ink was not lifted from the plate as well as the moisture causing some of the ink to run. I also feel in some places I placed too much ink causing it to bleed under the pressure of the press creating a blurred image. I could have improved this by using less ink and working much faster to stop some areas drying out and to create a flatter much more successful print.

Photographic joining.

I took a series of photographs in two different locations, one inside a studio using professional lighting and equipment (flat lighting) the other outside in a natural location. Each photograph was of a different body part, head, torso, legs and feet. After I had taken my photographs I then used photoshop to put these photographs together collectively. Each photograph was joined in Photoshop and lined up with the previous body part creating a whole body. I also used curves and levels to make the photographs blend together well.

I created 4 joined photographs using all of the photographs I had taken. One using the studio photographs, one using the locational photographs, one I edited black and white and the final was a mixed piece using different photographs taken by myself and other people to create a new 'corpse'.

The above piece is a joined photograph using locational photographs, these were taken one at a time and merged together, I aligned each part of the subjects body to produce a new 'corpse'.

My second photographic joining outcome was a piece taken in a studio using professional lighting set ups (seen above). I used flat lighting to produce this piece. I used the same technique but edited the photos slightly to ensure the skin colours matched.

I decided to edit my previous piece to make it black and white (above) I changed the saturation of the image till it became black and white and then used curves to darken the background and lighten the skin to blend the images in together, this gave them a ghostly look.

Finally using the photographs we had taken as a group I merged them all together to create a new corpse, these were both studio and locational. (Above) This allowed me to create a more 'exquisite corpse' inspired piece.

These photographs were inspired by Kevin Meredith. Kevin Meredith is a British artist who is known for him lomographic photography. Most known for his street style series mosly taken in Brighton, Meredith joins his photographs to re-create the subjects body. 

Dip Pen Drawing.

I created a series of ink drawings using a dip pen, these drawings were created only using mark making techniques. I wanted to avoid using hard lines and outlines on my pieces to make them appear more realistic. 

My drawings were created from life, I drew first hand from animals and objects. My first drawing was an observational study of a rabbit. I used the dip pen to manipulate the animals fur and texture by using small marks in the direction of the fur. I tried to follow the subject as closely as possible to ensure my drawing was accurate. Rabbit, 1hr 30 mins.

I wanted to experiment with different techniques so I decided to do some ink washes with the drawing ink. I used a large brush to apply watered down ink to the paper to loosely replicate the shape of the animal. For this piece I decided to draw a kestrel. Once I had down my first wash and allowed it to dry I then applied a second was to show the more shadowed areas, this was then worked into using a dip pen when fully dry. 

Like my previous drawing I also worked in the feathers of the animal to create a realistic impression of the birds feathers. This allowed me to create a more three dimensional drawing. Once this layer was dry I also used a white gel pen to add highlights to the piece. Kestrel, 30 mins.

I also created a white dip pen drawing from observation. This was created in black card. Instead of drawing the darker areas as I did in my previous drawings I only drew the highlights to create a more realistic drawing. This drawing was of a house mouse, 20 mins.

 

My final drawing was an exquisite corpse inspired piece also worked from observation. I started by drawing the head and neck of a curlew using textured lines in the direction of the feathers like precious drawings. I then wanted to make this piece more relevant to my theme, I decided to combine a human arm and a bird cage to create an anthropomorphic form combining animal, human and objects. For the human and object part of the drawing I wanted to experiment with a different mark making technique as it was robe converted into a drypoint etching. For this I used stippling, I used the dip pen to add small dots to the piece concentrating them in areas I wanted the shading to be darker.

Like my other drawings I didn't want to use any hard lines or outlines in my piece instead of this I used the mark making techniques to create my own outline.

 

Drypoint Etching.

To create my dry point etching I first created a dip pen and ink drawing according to my theme exquisite corpse. This dip pen and ink drawing was inspired by the Chapman Brothers.

I then experimented with different mark making techniques using a pointed instaglio tool and a roller tool on a sheet of clear Perspex. I used different marks including stippling and cross hatching to show different ways of creating tone. I then printed this plate using etching inks to show the effect the marks I created had made. 

I selected which mark making techniques worked best and used these to create my final etching plate.

By scaling my drawing down to a4 I was able to fit it under the etching plate, I then taped this in place to stop it from moving. I used the marks I had created on my previous plate to then etch the design I had drawn in my dip pen drawing. For this I used small lines to manipulate the subjects feathers as well as some cross hatching and stippling in other areas. 

Once I had finished creating my etching plate I printed it using black caligo etching ink and a roller press. To do this I soaked watercolour paper in cool water and removed the excess water using blotting paper. The etching plate was then placed face down onto my paper and put through the press.

After I had created my drypoint print I then created a second piece, this I worked into with watercolour pants in the style of the chapman brothers. 

The Chapman Brothers are a duo who consist of brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman. Based in England they create a multitude of different artworks in different mediums designed to shock middle class values, almost anti-art.

This artwork goes against what is normally considered aesthetically pleasing. I was mostly inspired by their series of exquisite corpse etchings, a series of 20 plates created by the brothers, each bother would etch a section of the plate without the other brother seeing this would then finally be revealed when the etching was printed.

A limited amount other prints were created and a select few were then worked into by the brothers using watercolour paints. 

Slow shutter speed photography.

To create my slow shutter speed photography samples I first used a basic flat lighting set up using two strobes and two 20inch soft boxes. I set the cameras shutter speed to 10 seconds. I got help from other people to flash the strobes with every movement of the subject. This allowed the camera to capture the different movements and blend them together in one image. 

Here are some of the samples I created using a different number of flashes. 

My first samples were using 3 flashes. One of which the subject would move to the right, one to the left and finally the subject would face the front for the final flash. These flashes would alternate from left to right depending on the direction the subject was turning. 

I then experimented with more flashes and more than one subject. This were created using 4 flashes and two subjects within one image. 

These photography pieces were inspired by American visual artist Man Ray who significantly contributed to the surrealist and dada movements. Being a painter and photographer he produced a numerous amount of works some of which included black and white slow shutter speed photography. 

Hot Textiles

Shibori/heat moulding- 

For my first heated textiles samples I created a heat moulded piece, for this I used a vegetable steamer to manipulate synthetic fabrics , also known as the Japanese method named Shibori. To do this I first placed small objects into the fabric and tied them in with cotton. These could include buttons beads and other solid objects. Once I had tied all my objects into the fabric (I used polyester and organza) I then placed them into the steamer for a total of 20 minutes. Once the time was up I waited for the steamer to cool down before I could remove my samples. I then removed all of the beads inside the piece revealing the finished product. 

HEALTH AND SAFETY-

🔸 Make sure the work area is clear before using the steamer.

🔸 Make sure the lids are on the containers at all times. 

🔸 Only fill the reresvoir with water between the min and max marks.

🔸 Keeps hands and face away from the container when open. 

🔸 Do not remove samples with fingers use tongs or another suitable tool. 

🔸 Always leave samples to cool down before remove wrapped items. 

Coiling-

Coiling is the method of wrapping or other suitable materials around a length of wire. 

I used a small piece of wire to wrap several fabrics around. I started by place the wire slightly inside a length of fabric, I then pinched this wire in place and began wrapping down the length of wire. 

I used several pieces of fabric for my coiling sample to create a multi tonal piece.

 

HEALTH AND SAFETY-

🔹 When cutting wire care use be taken to avoid being hurt by the sharp edges and the wire cutting tool. 

🔹 Always cut away from the face to avoiding some small pieces of wire that may fly towards the face. 

🔹 Take care using the wire whilst wrapping to avoid getting stabbed by the sharp edges. 

I also experimented with different fabrics and heated textiles including lutradur, kunin felt, tyvek and bondaweb. 

For my lutradur samples I painted the fabric with disperse dyes to colour the pieces. I the. Used painted bondaweb using acrylic paint to apply to the lutradur sample. To do this I used an iron. I placed the bondaweb painted side down and ironed over the sample. When peeled back the painted bondaweb stuck to the lutradur. I also added heat transferred foils in the same method but placed the foils shiny side up to allow the foils to show on the fabric. I used the edge oft be iron to create small patterns and lines. 

Next I experimented with kunin felt which included adding more painted bondaweb and foils to the piece and distressing using a heat gun. 

I also used tyvek with painted disperse dyes and foil. Tyvek is similar to lutradur but has a more papery texture. It is also effected by heat much quick causing it to shrink.

Here is a combination of heated organza, tyvek and foils. 

I decided to heat press and dye some of my shivers samples by painting disperse dye onto a sheet of paper and placing it over my Shibori samples this was then placed into the heat press ailing the dye to fuse to the fabric. 

Finally I experimented with plastics and films. I cut these into strips and fused them together using the iron.

HEAT GUN HEALTH AND SAFETY-

🔻 Always work in a well ventilated room due tithe fumes caused by the synthetic fabric. 

🔻 Work on top of a suitable surface such as glass or tile. 

🔻 Hold heat gun at least 25mm away from fabric. 

🔻 Keep hands away from heat gun and hot fabric use a tool to hold fabric in place. 

IRON HEALTH AND SAFETY- 

🔻 Make sure iron opposite is cool before packing away. 

🔻 Do not touchhot iron plate.

🔻 Always place fabric between two sheets of parchment paper before using the iron. 

🔻 Let material cool before touching.

HEAT PRESS HEALTH AND SAFETY-

🔻 Ensure the press is clear from obstruction.

🔻 Do not leave the press on whilst unattended. 

🔻 Always let others in the room know the heat press is on. 

🔻 Take care removing items from the press as the plates and covers are very hot. 

🔻 Always turn press off when finished.

Studio photography

I wanted to create a series of photographs to develop in my final piece. I decided to take photographs in a studio using a variety of lighting set ups. I took numerous photographs of my friend both closeup and torso in a raw format allowing me to access all of the information from the photo itself. 

I used these photographs to experiment with composition so they could be used to create illustrations from primary sources. My drawings would then be developed to explore anthropomorphic forms.

I started by using a flat light set up. This was using two strobes, a 20 inch soft box on each to illuminate the subjects face.

I then decided to use a single strobe and soft box using a Rembrandt broad lighting setup. 

This allowed me to create a shadow over one side of the subjects face by positioning them at an angle. 

After creating a shadow I then wanted to experiment with different ways of shadowing the subjects face. For this I used a 'badger' lighting set up. This includes setting the strobes and soft boxes behind the subject to illuminate the sides of the face. This darkens the background and gives a badger style shadow over the models face. 

From these photographs I selected which lighting set up I found most effective. I felt the Rembrandt broad was effective due to the facial shadow it created. I felt this setup would create the best photographs to illustrate. 

I positioned the lifted and angled the lighting downwards to allow for more darker and prominent facial shadows. 

Once I had finished shooting all the pictures I needed I then decided to edit them black and white by adjusting the images saturation. I then used curves to create darker shadows and background and to illuminate the highlights. 

I felt these photographs would be most effective to draw from because of their detail and rich shadows allowing me to experiment with different mediums for my illustrations. 

These photographs were then developed into illustrations using different materials during my development stage, to then be used in my final outcome creating an 'exquisite corpse' themed final piece. 

Observational clay study

I'm I wanted to create an observational clay study in the style of the artists ostinelli & priest. To do this I first selected an animal to work from observation. I decided to use the owl as I thought the feathers and face shape would be challenging but would also allow me to create an expressive piece in the style of my chosen artists. 

I started by making a few observational drawings, I spent three minutes on each drawing using a biro, I drew each angle of the specimen allowing me to create a 360 degree piece. 

Using these drawings I then began to construct the piece from a solid piece of clay. 

I first constructed a sphere out of clay and then began to push in the face in words to give an impression of the hollows in the subjects face. 

Once I had constructed the main part of the face I then added the facial features such as the eyes and beam using a score and slip method. I also texturised the piece in the style of onstinelli and priest following the direction of the subjects feathers I created a rough textured 3D sculpture. 

Once I had texturised the entire head of the animal I then hollowed out the piece to ensure it would not blow in the kiln. 

To improve this piece I could add glazes and colour to the piece in the style of the artist could have used metal oxides to darken the clay piece using similar colours to the artists I was inspired by. 

Once I had finished the piece it was then fired in the kiln. I chose to use white clay as I felt it would look best with the added oxides and glazes the oxides would give my piece a more realistic look as well as giving a good impression of the artists work. 

Ostinelli and Priest are British artists who specialise in texturised ceramic sculptures inspired by nature. 

Their pieces are often if animals and humans in a range of sizes. They use different coloured slips, glazes and oxides to decorate their pieces to highlight the texture they have created.