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.