Tracy Emin

My notes from TRACY EMIN: The South Bank Show

- Was and still is one of the most controversial artists.
- Although she doesn't set out to be controversial, she just does what she wants to do.
- Her work is very much an 'irony free zone', however many critics slam her for this as they would prefer the mystery
- She left school at the age of thirteen
- She began painting but didn't feel for that median, she came to the realisation that she didn't like painting after she became pregnant and had an abortion.

Photography Experimentation

Introduction to Photography

I was really keen to begin the photography project as I have always liked experimenting in photography, however I have never been introduced to it professionally. I was really excited to learn more and to add to the little information i already knew. Although I had an idea about some of the interchangeable features on a DSLR camera, I wasn't 100% sure on how and when to use them. I took this as an opportunity to further my knowledge so that when it came to taking my own photographs for my outcome of this project, I knew how to take the most effective picture.

I think that although this was a really helpful introduction to someone like me who has little photography knowledge, however I still think that it will take me some time to learn my way around a camera properly, and to be able to take the most effective pictures that I possible can. The photography portion of this project is a short two weeks and I think it is going to be very difficult to achieve the most effective photographs that I am capable of in this time. I will produce the best photographs that I can in this time, however when I receive feedback I will continue to add to them. 

Final Evaluation: Graphics

The project brief for the graphics topic told me that I was to create a campaign for an action based around climate change. After some hard thought and deliberation I decided that I will work on waste, and how us humans should be more aware of the things we are throwing away. I decided that I will target this by telling people how they can make their lunches at home instead of buying them when they are out. This will save the person money and save the environment from trying to cope with the waste that comes from the packaging from the shop made lunches many of us buy. My target audience throughout this topic was the Ravensbourne demographic. I thought about how Ravensbourne is surrounded by many restaurants, cafés and shops. My assumptions were proved after I carried out a survey asking the question, 'do you bring or buy your lunch'. A large majority of the portion of Ravensbourne students that were asked told me that they bought their lunch. This was my largest, most helpful piece of research needed for my campaign. I was most looking forward to learning new techniques and being introduced formally to graphic design. I was restricted for this project as to what my outcome of my campaign would consist of. The restrictions were that I had to produce two A2 posters, one being in black and white and only having text, and one being in colour with text and image. The third and final outcome for this topic was lot less restricted. We could design anything that would be suitable for the target audience and help in the communication of out campaign. 

I have looked at Jonathan Barnbrook and Alan Fletcher as inspiration and research for my work. I looked at Barnbrook especially when it came to picking fonts and layout, and I looked to Fletcher when it came to picking colour variations. However my biggest piece of inspiration for this topic of work was the huge 40 ft 30000 tonne rubbish mound that is located near my house. The fact that this is so close to home is tragic and actually makes me quite angry. I wanted this to be the main force behind my work. One of the most striking piece of information about climate change that I found out is that there have already been animals being extinct due to climate change. I didn't know that it had already gone this far. I also found a piece of information that closely relates to my action, and that is that 1 in 7 people are going hungry yet 1/3 of all food is wasted. This information was shocking to me and I was intrigued to find out what simple tasks we can do to help the situation. As I have previously said, I conducted a survey with my target audience and found out that the majority purchase their lunch everyday, but more shockingly, they did not realise what was wrong with that. From taking part in workshops, I learnt a lot about type and layout. I was particularly interested with layout to begin with as I love putting things together and finding out what combinations have the best effect. However once I got into the type workshop, I realised just how integral different versions of type can be on the effect of a poster for example. I took what I learnt from these workshops to ensure that my posters were easy to read, striking, and as effective as I could make them.

To ensure that my ideas were finalised in what I thought was the best possible way for the target audience, I went through multiple different processes using new techniques todo so. To begin with I took part in workshops as mentioned, to ensure that even before I began topical planning I had good graphic knowledge to back up my designs. This was critical as without it I would not have made graphically effective posters. Secondly I worked on many thumbnail sketches to ensure I was trailing as many combinations of ideas as I could think of, to make sure I had a powerful campaign to back up my action. After completing these thumbnail sketches I finalised these ideas on a bigger scale, before going forth and using software such as, Photoshop and InDesign. I was given good and helpful feedback all the way through this project which I was very grateful for. I was first told to include more photography of which I did, as well as making sure I had more colour variation, which I worked on.

For resources in my research I used documentaries such as Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's titled 'Hugh's War on Waste', which saw Whittingstall battling why us Brits waste so much food. I also visited Somerset House in London which was hosting the AOI Illustrator Awards. Both gave me key information towards making my campaign, one from the topical (climate change) point of view and one from the graphic design point of view. Both as helpful as each other in my opinion. I learnt about fusing and other ways to link your text and images together effectively. In my opinion this was extremely helpful, as I was unaware that there were so many different ways to do so, it was interesting to learn about these and I will be sure to include them in future pieces of work of mine.

If I were to complete this project again I would make sure that I focused on my time management, as although I did complete what the the brief asked, I do feel that I rushed towards the end to ensure that my outcomes were printed. I would have spent less time on the elements that were not topical and focused my time on beginning research and designs earlier. I think my organisation was good and it allowed me to find connections in my work quicker than if organisation was lacking. I would have experimented more with ideas rather than just going with the first few that I liked if I were to go back and re do it. This would have ensured that I was left with the most powerful poster to back my campaign. This project allowed me to become slightly more comfortable with using Photoshop and InDesign, which two months ago were completely new to me. I would like to gain more confidence in this software however because it is brilliant software that will allow me to progress at a higher level here at ravensbourne.

Photography Research

After looking through my sketchbook, I realised that I do not have much photography experimentation or research. I decided that I will do online research for photos as well as looking in magazines and newspapers. I will also take my own photos as well of course. I think that this will be a good visual research experiment that will influence new or develop current ideas. I will focus on taking or looking for photos of waste or the implications of waste. This will mean focusing on bins, the general ground, and the effects that it has on our environment. The effects include the waste that ends up in our oceans and as a result killing our sea creatures, as well of the decaying rubbish that lets off greenhouse gasses, which is one of the main causes of global warming. Here are just a few examples. 

Automatic Writing

This week I attempted a task that I had never even heard of. It is called automatic writing, and the idea is to look at something, in this case a photograph of a painting by Picasso, and write continuously for 5 minuets about what you are thinking while looking at the painting.

This was the painting I stared at:

This is what I had to say;

Ghost, ghoul, wind taking you away from everything you love, eyes, thoughts,  messy heads, creative minds are rarely tidy, lonely, darkness, everywhere, no space left, white yet dark and empty, death mixed with life to provide contrast, weird, shapes, make less realistic, triangles, irregular, original, unique, babies, animals, horns, sharpness, but smooth unlikely things take place, don't know, lost, confused, unaware, swords, fighting? death battle, lifeless, thoughtless, gone, understanding, lost, blank, nothingness, light elements are the same colour, levels yet 2D, surrealism, unaware, light in the eyes, dark souled, don't know.

Tutorials and Feedback (Week Three)

I have recently been given some constructive progress feedback subject to the graphics topic that I am currently working on. I was keen to be given the feedback as I hadn't been given much up until this point and I was looking to find any ways that I can improve the work I have so far and to be given ideas of work to do in the future to further my development. I was told that I had completed a good amount of designs for my posters, but to complete some more for the colour with image and text poster. I also came to the realisation while showing my work that I have completed up until this point, that there is a sparse amount of photography for experimentation and development. I was happy to work on this and improve in this area.

I was also told that my typography idea with the word 'waste' written in many different forms to create the silhouette of a take-away coffee cup was a good idea and that I should go forward with it and develop it further. I would like to see if another word would have the same effect. I would like to trial other words like, 'packaging' and 'rubbish' for example. I will complete these on a smaller scale like A5 for example though to ensure they are not too time consuming that they take over from getting my final outcomes finished.

I received advice that I should make sure that I don't have too much text on my colour with text and image poster, this being because my text only poster contains a lot of text, and I should show that I can make a good quality campaign that contains both text and photography. I understood this feedback and was happy to make sure that my work contained a good amount of everything asked in the brief.

AOI Illustration Awards Exhibition - Somerset house, London

I was excited to see this exhibition as I was hoping it would give me some needed inspiration for designing my final outcomes for the graphics project that I am currently working on. I have never thought of graphic design as being what I want to go into in the future, however after studying it in class, and seeing the success of others first hand at this exhibition, has made me think that this could hopefully be a potential future for me.

My favourite winning piece from the exhibition was the one displayed above. It is called Crayola and was created by Turine Tran. I think that this piece of work was especially striking as it is a vibrant red colour. All the drawings are produced by a red Crayola colouring pencil, and look as though when the page that the drawings have been drawn on is rolled up, a red Crayola pencil is formed. Without reading up on this piece of work I can confidently assume that the work represents how there are so many possibilities from one colouring pencil and that everyone can create something unique with their Crayola. This idea is emphasised with the phrase written at the bottom of the piece, 'What's in your Crayola?'

Development of Ideas

This past week my aim has been to create, and by the end finalise ideas, for my black and white with text only poster, colour with text and image poster, and a third element. The action that I have decided on for my campaign, is reducing the amount of waste people produce. At first I thought about encouraging people to recycle more, however I thought that this was an easy topic and one that wasn't very original. I then thought about the waste that people produce without even thinking, mainly from the packaging of the food that they consume. We live in a time where most of us are lucky enough to have a somewhat easy access to food. A lot of us don't recognise this luck that we have, nor do the majority of us care about the waste that it produces. I want to help people to be more conscious of their actions when it comes to what they are throwing away as well as advising willing people to make a slight change of their lifestyle for the better. 

I was deliberating between actions for a while but I came across a fact that read, 'One in seven people are going hungry, yet 1/3 of all food is all wasted. The fact was a deciding factor for me and after reading it I couldn't not base my campaign on it. Next I needed to adapt my campaign so it was suitable for my target audience. My target audience for this project is the college demographic, meaning students at Ravensbourne. To make it suitable I had to put a meaning and a reasoning behind it. The college is situated next to the O2 London, a venue that not only contains a famous arena but a variety of restaurants. After conducting a survey with a portion of Ravensbourne students, my assumptions were proved that the majority buy their lunch each day from one of the restaurants/café.

This would be my way to target my audience. I would simply pose the question, do you care about waste or taste, and after sharing my work and campaign, hopefully they will be more willing to choose waste.

I am really happy with these design developments, especially the typography coffee cup. There are multiple coffee shops that many of the students of Ravensbourne visit on a daily basis, therefore I think that it will be a good way to easily target the college demographic. To improve these designs I would focus more on the size of the text, to make the posters really stand out from others and easily detectable when put with several other posters. Due to the fact that this poster has to be in black and white with text only, I have found it considerably difficult to come up with original ideas that no one else will think of. I think that typography is a good way to go, even though it is a popular choice, there are many different images that you can incorporate, in my design it is a take-away coffee cup however someone else with a different action would choose a different image that would make their work completely different and separate from mine. 

Mixed Media Posters

I took this task as a chance to experiment before the planning of my A2 posters that would make up part of my final outcome. I thought that it would e a good idea to have similarities in the four posters to establish them as a set rather than individual pieces. The media used for each one was instructed to be different so therefore there would have to be a similarity as part f the design on top of the media. 

It took a while to come up with a memorable slogan or detail to link the four together. I thought about the rule of three or rhyming. Pretty quickly I thought of waste and taste combination which linked to my idea of people thinking too much about what the food tastes like rather than the waste that is left over from it. 

I thought of a design that I could adapt into a logo produced by hand and then scanned in to incorporate into a digital design, therefore using multiple medias. I quickly decided that this 'logo' would incorporate the idea of waste or taste.

I found out while researching different actions that one in seven people are going hungry, yet 1/3 of all food is wasted. After knowing this I was keen to work on it. I started the poster making process with collage as this is my preferred media and I was the most confident in starting with this one. First I took a photograph of a bin and then I cut it up. I cut the bin out and then cut out all of the objects to display them in collage on top of the bin.

Third Element Planning

I have been quite stuck these past few weeks when it has come to producing a third element for my campaign. The brief explains that for my campaign must include:

* An A2 poster in colour with text and image.

* An A2 poster in black and white with text only.

* A third element of your choice, suitable for reaching you target audience.

My target audience is the demographic at Ravensbourne and so with Ravensbourne being an art, design and media college, I thought that it would maybe be the right thing to do if I produced an interactive element to my campaign. I thought that if my posters are going to be quite serious portrayals of how my action can be helped, that it might be a good idea to make the third element somewhat comedic. I also thought about it having a slightly different approach for my action. 

I thought about going in the direction of healthy eating. If I showed my audience that they can make their food at home really easily, they might do it rather than doing the alternative which is over packaged and individually packaged shop/restaurant bought lunches which contributes to the masses of waste that is killing us.

Layout Workshop

I was constricted in this task because I was only allowed to use two fonts, the fonts being Gill Sans and Times. I was unable to distort the fonts in anyway however I was allowed to change the sizes. I had to trace each individual letter making the task incredibly time consuming yet some how therapeutic. I used a black fine liner to make each letter sharp and professional looking. The idea of the workshop was to create A5 posters displaying a fact about climate change. 

I am hoping to go into Interior Design in the future and I really enjoy putting things together to create an interesting final outcome. I think it was because of this reason that I really enjoyed displaying my facts in an interesting way. 

I was really happy with the way the workshop played out, and I liked the fact that although I was constricted in some ways I still had freedom with the layout. 

I then experimented free hand on A1 paper. I took one of the facts from earlier and using a paint brush, and a thin piece of cardboard with some black and red paint, created a large poster. This gave me more freedom as I didn't have specific fonts to work with. Although this made my work look less professional, I think it made it more emotive, linking to the fact that anyone can make a difference when it comes to climate change, not just the professionals. 

Visualising Objects

I was quite constricted for this task which I wasn't too happy about. I had a list of six words and six objects, and I had to begin by picking four of each. I would draw, in an abstract way, four of the objects separately. Then pick a word out of each of the four that I had previously chosen. I would then write this word with each of the four drawings. I picked the word WAR to go with drawings of a mobile phone, a flower, the bottom of a bottle and a cup.

I think I was able to link the word WAR to all the four drawings well. With the mobile phone I linked it to how if there was a world war now, it would be a lot more technology based than previous world wars. For the flower I linked to hope and piece, things people wish for during wars. The bottom of the water bottle turned out to be the most abstract out of the four and I thought it looked like an explosion. The cup was quite old fashioned looking and reminded me of the tin pots and cups they had in world war 1 and 2.

I found the task strangely hard. I was expecting it to be quite easy and I didn't think that it would take me a while to even plan what I wanted to do. I wanted my work to be unique and interesting but this took time. 

Secondly we switched the idea so we used four different words with the same drawing. However this time we also used colour. This took longer as I cut shapes out of coloured bits of paper to provide the colour. I didn't produce the same image four times, but I did produce similar ones, and I used different words as instructed. I decided to work from the bottom of the bottle as I found this to be the most interesting and powerful.

I did enjoy this task but I did find it annoying at times. For example it wasn't a task I was particularly excited for and so therefore I wasn't 100% motivated to think of unique, original ideas. 

Making My Booklet

It was Hard picking an idea after trying out so many new processes in this first topic. I decided I wanted to really do something different, than what everyone else was doing, while still sticking to the brief given. The brief was to create a booklet/passport document on a computer programme called InDesign, by Adobe. This is a piece of software that I myself have never used before. The document had to enclose 12 pages of original work, with no descriptive words, and it had to be topical of 'The self'. 

I decided to make a detective board of myself and section it to fit into the booklet. I plan that the centre of both the boards and the booklet will be a map of the UK. Red strings will come out of London (where I was born and have lived ever since), these lines will go onto drawings, photographs and information that bit by bit will piece together me. The board will be quite large, and will be very tactile. The booklet will be less so as it will contain photographs of the sections of the board, however I will layer and make it more interesting than just some photographs. I will include layering, more string and possibly some post it notes to make the booklet more interactive  

 

Final Evaluation : File 0419

The brief explained to me that in this first topic, What I would work on would very much be an introduction to a wide range of processes and techniques that I would be using in my time at Ravensbourne. I was very excited to learn about new materials and techniques as well as computer software that I had never used before. We were told that we should be free in the way we think and experiment in this topic, something that I wasn't quite used to after doing art at GCSE level.

I was particularly influenced by Tony Cragg's work where he explores the organisation of objects in their colours. I decided for my final outcome I would create a detective board where I am the subject. I therefore used Cragg's work to influence the way I laid out all of my objects. For research I looked into legitimate detective boards and the way they are set out. This helped me when it came to making my board. I also looked at tactile and mark making drawings to give me inspiration to produce tactile portraits for my board. I found that a lot of artist books are quite three dimensional therefore I decided to do something different. I made a three dimensional object, and my book would document sections of this object in a more two dimensional way.  

Throughout the topic I went through quite a structured process. I would complete some research, whether that be of artists or in the form of reading articles/books or creating mood boards. A significant experiment that I carried out was my mood boards along with my colour palettes. This is because it helped me decipher which colours represent me and one of the big inspirations of this project, my keepsake. I found it quite difficult to actually think of an original idea. I tried to think of something that wouldn't easily come to mind when thinking of 'The Self'. This took some time but after going through my sketchbook, I was soon inspired. I was pleased to receive feedback throughout the 5 weeks I spent on this topic, an example being that I should explore different ways to experiment rather than the obvious ones. I also had to remember to link everything together to make sure that my work flowed. 

I used many resources, most being galleries and gallery websites, but one resource that was particularly helpful was a science article that included many facts about what makes each human different. I found this very helpful and it was one of the inspirations for my final booklet. I thought about how I could use the fact that finger prints differentiate us with a detective theme. I used many processes throughout this five week period, many of which I had never used before, so I was very excited to experience them. I especially liked using Photoshop, and InDesign, both being pieces of adobe software. I had never used these before and I really wanted to learn more about them in order to improve the quality of my work produced at Ravensbourne. One new skill that I have learnt that I'm particularly happy about is the fact that I need to remember that when I am drawing I need to focus less on what it should look like and more about the lines and shadows.

I like to think that I am very organised in the way that I work and therefore this gives strength to my work. However it can also be a weakness. I sometimes work too structured which sometimes allows my work to loose flow. I need to remember to include every experimentation piece even if it didn't go the way I expected it to.

Finally the name. The name for me was an easy element of this project. For the last two years, due to exams, I have been known as a number, this number being 0419. My booklet resembles a detective document hence the 'file' in front of the number.

Making Trophies - Part 2 (Final Outcome)

In the second half of this project, I encountered several unfortunate problems. A large one being that I had many issues setting up the laser cutter, to cut out my pieces of acrylic. It was my first time using a laser cutter so it took a while for me to make sure all the settings were correct. After several failed attempts, and with the deadline coming close, I had to come up with another idea. I thought to use another material,  as the settings were easier to choose. 

I think that it was almost a good thing that I had to change my material as it made my think quickly on my feet. I think I work best under a little bit of pressure, so changing materials and having to then paint my trophy, which I wouldn't of had to of done if I used acrylic as planned. 

I made sure I gave myself enough time to paint my trophy as I would not have had to if I used acrylic. I still choose the colours that I had planned with the acrylic. A black base, red for the 2nd and 3rd podiums and a bright yellow for the star on top.

The brief for my trophy was for it to be inspired by something I am proud of. In school I have always been told that I should be academic and aspire to be a doctor or a lawyer for example, but that has never been what I want to do. When I told my teachers that I wanted to go to an art college they all turned their noses up and didn't believe that I would make it in the art world. My trophy represents rising above my teachers comments and doing what I want to do.  

Making Trophies - Part 1

I began this project by sketching out so plans of what I wanted to make. The brief was to make something to give to yourself that was influenced by something you are proud of. I took the mascot I designed in my second year of secondary school. It was the first time I had done anything in art that I was really proud of. The mascot to this day represents the sporting house I was in.

After drawing out some plans, I chose on that was my favourite. I would then go on to develop the plan on Adobe Illustrator. After having an introduction of this software the day before, I was quite comfortable with using it. I drew out the shapes that would eventually be cut from different colours of acrylic. I wasn't 100% sure on how I was going to assemble my trophy, but after some deliberation I decided that the majority of the trophy would be quite 2D, however on some sections I would use a slotting method to create the third dimension. 

I chose to make the trophy with acrylic and the laser cutter as this would be quicker than 3D printing, and would allow me to bend and mould certain shapes like the book element. 

I made sure I gave my self plenty of time to plan out my ideas, and I tested out some with scraps of paper which made it a lot clearer than trying to imagine it all in my head. I spent at least half of this day planning to ensure everything went well when it came to physically making the trophy. 

Photography : The Mask

It was my first professional introduction into photography, something I really enjoy. The idea was to experiment and in the end produce on effective photograph of yourself wearing your mask. We made the mask previously, you can read about about it HERE.

The activity was valuable as I will delve more into photography in the future, hopefully in the near future. It was quite difficult coming up with an idea on how I wanted to shoot the photo. I thought about what the mask meant and took it all from there.

The layering of the mask through the diamond shapes reflects how I put up a guard when I meet new people. Then the buttons being the first layer on the mask represent my love for everything creative, and how a lot of the time that is the first thing I let people find out about me.





I tried to show this idea into my photograph. I did this by looking out of  window. This shows that I am somewhat of an introvert and prefer being in the comfort of the inside rather than outside with people I don't know.

The photograph was taken by Jordan North, and I am very grateful as it come out so good. 

Making Masks

I on Wednesday 23rd September we made masks. We weren't given much of a brief, only to make the mask interesting, and reflective of you. I decided that instead of using one main bit of cardboard as a base, I would make the main body of my mask out of small diamond shapes, and then decorate. 

I think the session was valuable because we were able to experiment without using templates, which I have used in the past. I found it surprisingly easy to come up with the plans for my mask. However I did find constructing how the mask would fit on my head quite difficult. 

I found the fact that we could be completely free and expressive with our masks exciting. There was no right or wrong and it meant that everyone's final outcome would be completely different. Sometimes I think it is good to be constricted to just a few ideas, but for this task it was good to have freedom. 

As all of the main body of the mask was made out of small diamond shapes cut from cardboard, it did get quite tedious and boring cutting them all out. Luckily I had a Stanley knife which made it a lot easier than if I were to use scissors. 

If I had used the freedom I had more and been even more adventurous, I think this could have gone even better. For example I could have experimented more with 3D on the top and sides, which would have probably given a better effect. 

Chance Portraits

This session consisted of rolling a die and depending on what number it landed on, we would draw with the technique that was assigned to the number. These techniques included drawing in scribbles, in dots, with a ruler, in cross-hatch, using both hands and using your less dominant hand.

I thought that this was a valuable task as it took me straight out of my comfort zone and into something that I have never done before. I prefer to work in a rough way and so I did definitely enjoy this task. If you first look at the outcomes of this task you might describe them as childlike, I would disagree. I would describe them as spontaneous, free and expressive. I think that although it wasn't the most exciting, it was exciting to see what number would come up next, and what it would mean. I did however find some parts boring. For example when I used styles that I didn't like, such as drawing in dots or using both hands, so I ended up rushing it so I could move on.

I think if I rolled the die more often the task would have gone better and been more interesting. If I did roll the die more often, even when I did roll the number that meant for me to draw in dots or with both hands, I wouldn't have to rush them because I would soon move on anyway.

Drawing Tactile Self Portraits

I had never heard of a tactile portrait before this session, so I was very keen to know what it was all about. I learnt that you simply closed your eyes, felt your face with one hand, and then with your other hand you would draw what you could feel.

I think this task was really valuable because it taught me key skills. It taught me that I need to get out of the idea of what a face 'should' look like. I really liked the fact that I had to close my eyes in order to just let touch guide my drawing. However I did find it very difficult to keep them closed, and I will admit that I did take a quick peak at how I was doing half way through. I am frustrated that I let this happen, and so I  want to try tactile drawings again and maybe wear an eye mask to stop myself from cheating. 

After I got into the task I did find it relatively easy as there was no real right or wrong. I also found it quite exciting as although I have done some blind portraits before I had never thought to feel my face to help me make the marks on the paper. 

I think it could have gone better if I hadn't cheated by taking a quick look. The final outcome wouldn't look much different, but I would look at it knowing that I did it all from touch. 

Making Patterns in Photoshop

Before this session I had never used Photoshop, so I was really excited to get started and begin to get more comfortable with the software. This task was therefore of good value to me as it will help me with future projects where Photoshop is useful. I would like to continue to play around with the software in order for me to fully come to grips with it.  Seeing everyone's outcomes together was very interesting. It was amazing how, even with the same brief, everyone can produce such different and unique work. I didn't really even think of the variation until it was displayed all together. I like the fact that you can imagine everyone's different thought process and it amazes me just how different they all are. 

I think I did a good job making my colours and choosing colours. I tried to pick colours that represented my keepsake. This was quite difficult to do as I wouldn't normally pick these colours straight away. I tried to pick different scales so that my out comes would be varied. I found this task quite easy, however I found coming up with new ideas and colour schemes quite difficult. 

Adding Colour

To begin this task I created several colour palettes that represented my keepsake either physically or emotionally. I have created colour palettes in the past, however I had never thought of creating them based on what emotions are evoked from objects. I really enjoyed making them, and I think it was good to do this before going straight into adding colour to my negative space drawings. It allowed me to take more time into thinking what colours should be added rather than picking random ones that do not relate to my keepsake, and have no relevance.

Below are the final outcomes from adding colour to photocopies of my negative-space drawings. I think I have used colour in an effective way, to make areas stand out that wouldn't otherwise. I think however that on their own they each look random, but together become a set. Therefore if displayed, I would only ever display them together. If I repeated this task I would take more time in being more accurate with applying colour as some of the samples look too childish.

Negative Space Drawings

I'd never thought about negative and positive space within drawings before, so I was excited to learn and practice this concept. First we made a view finder, which would let us only select a section of an image or still life of our keepsake. This would mean that our negative space drawings would be abstract, which I liked. 

                                                            I created a still life with my ring rested on a bottle of PVA glue. The reasoning behind this was the fact that both my Grandma and I share a love for all things creative represented through the glue. The glue also represents the bond my Grandma and I share through the ring. I am really happy with this as to anybody else the glue would seem a random object, but once explained people can become aware of the deeper meaning. 

Here I show me creating the negative space drawings, and also the final outcomes of this task. I am really happy with the end result, however I would have liked to of produced more outcomes and so I hope to do this in the near future. If not I could produce the inverse of the drawings, which I think would be very interesting and effective. 

Objective vs Subjective

I hadn't really given objective or subjective much thought when it came to describing  my keepsakes. I wasn't even 100% sure on what they meant.

I soon found out that objective descriptions of objects were fact. For example this meant the size or colour.

However subjective descriptions of objects are personal opinions, which would be your personal story with the object. I was really happy that we did this task as I hadn't even thought to differentiate the subjective and objective descriptions of my keepsake.

My Keepsake

Being born in 1939, the year the Second World War began, my Grandma for the first six years of her life, saw incredibly little of her father as he fought in the war. This meant that she became very close to her mother. So when it came to her 16th birthday and she was given this ring from her mother, you can only imagine just how valuable it was to her. I remember being told that they did not have much money back in those days, and so although it wasn't an expensive piece of jewellery, to me it is the most valuable. When I turned 16 my Grandma handed down this ring to me, and treasure it along with the story that comes with it. 

Drawing Keppsakes

This task involved drawing  my Grandma's ring, in many different ways to represent emotion and the story behind my keepsake.

I really enjoyed trying to represent my keepsake with different marks. Using one line, meaning never taking my pencil off the paper, was a very interesting way of representing the ring. I am very pleased with the outcome and think that is was a good way of visually explaining the continuous flow of the story behind my keepsake.

Drawing with my eyes closed was a really good way in discovering textures I hadn't even thought of representing. I had only my sense of touch to guide me through the drawing. Not only did this task allow me to discover the textures present on my keepsake, but I really had to pay attention to them in order to represent the ring  well. I think I did a good job considering I couldn't see what I was doing. If I were to try again I think I would make the drawing bigger as this would complicate drawing the proportions and therefore I would challenge myself more. 

My Story in a Booklet - Using Continuous Line

'A line is a dot that went for a walk' - Paul Klee

I first heard this quote and had to really think about it before I fully appreciated what it meant. It makes so much sense. A dot finishes a story, a line can make the story. The task was to fill an A6 sketchbook in just a few hours. At first I thought that this simply could not be done, however once I got in to it, I found it went quite well.

To begin with I worked in quite a simple way as, to a stranger, my ring would be just a simple object. As the booklet progressed the drawings represented the deeper meaning behind my ring, that someone would only know if they were told. I look at this book as one drawing, a drawing that flows between all the pages, and represents the constant flow of the story of the ring. To do this, all the drawings were produced by one continuous line that travelled through the whole booklet. 

I especially like the deep personal meaning behind this page. A big theme throughout the booklet was circles, the obvious reason being that my keepsake was a ring. For this page I began to draw swirls all over. To begin with this simply represented the ring, however as I continued it reminded me of my Grandmother's and my own naturally curly hair. Out of the family we are the only two that share naturally curly hair. This sets us apart from the rest of the family as to them, we are unique.

Completing this task was very interesting as I thought more about my keepsake than I had before, and found an even deeper meaning to it. 

Drawing Sounds

Our task was to create marks that would represent, in our minds, the different sounds that could be heard in and around Ravensbourne College. We would then use these marks to create an abstract piece of work. After listening to these sounds I found it quite interesting, how even when there wasn't any loud noises to be heard, there was still the buzz of the air conditioning, or light rustling of the leaves in or falling from the trees. After noticing this I wanted to incorporate it in my work. To do this I stuck tracing paper over all my drawings of the 'main' sounds, and on the tracing paper drew what I thought represented the background noise that I believe is always there.

To begin with I found it quite difficult to accurately represent something that was being heard, into a drawing or symbol. I began to differentiate the sounds into a system that would make it easier for me to create individual unique symbols for each noise. First of all I began to make larger symbols for the louder sounds, and smaller symbols for the quieter sounds that I could hear whilst walking in and around Ravensbourne. I then decided to further the separation of the sounds, by using the pencil harder on the paper for the sounds that are considerably louder.

I found producing marks and symbols for the louder noises to be easier than doing the same for quieter noises. I think this was because naturally we associate louder noises to be sharp and big and it is then easier to do this then to produce different softer symbols representing quieter noises.

This task was very challenging for me, and for that reason I really enjoyed it and thought that it was good. I learnt that its good to challenge myself. For the sections of this piece of work that I found easier, for example representing the loud sounds of the plane that I heard just outside of Ravensbourne, I decided that instead of finishing, I should focus more into this area and make it the focal point of the piece of work. I think this worked well, and added to the layering that I had already started with the tracing paper. I displayed this on brown paper so it would stand out against the white even more.

Adopting Britain: An Immigrant Exhibition

Last week I was able to go to the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre in London, to visit the Adopting Britain Exhibition that was being held. This exhibition focused on immigration and so, for the most part, it wasn't relevant to the course I am currently studying however it did involve some information about keepsakes, something that is extremely relevant to my course. The keepsakes that were discussed were those that the immigrants brought with them when they left their countries. These objects have then, in some cases, been handed down through generations. I found the exhibit incredibly interesting, and it inspired me into thinking about my own keepsakes.

I am very glad that I visited this exhibit and it has taught me that I should take up the opportunities, when they arise, to visit galleries, and specialised exhibitions, even when I think they don't have much relevance to the course I am studying.    

Introduction

Hi, I'm Alanna, a student at Ravensbourne college. I am currently studying the Pre-Foundation course here, and will be using this blog frequently to update about my work and things I've done to improve my artistic skills. Over time I hope to improve the visual language in this blog, and in turn use it to inspire future pieces of work.