Projecting and Layering Imagery

Today I have been playing around on the projecter and light box. I have produced 2 really good and simple line drawings by projecting my drawings and drawing around them, shrinking them down and layering different drawings, also using the lightbox. I really like the way in which these have worked as they are more gearing towards the "garden" effect I was hoping for. Below are some photographs of my work done today. (27th Feb)

My Trip to Manchester Museum

I decided to visit Manchester Museum to take some photos and do some quick sketches of their insect and bird collection on show. I found the trip to be incredibly inspiring and triggered off alot of ideas and thought processes for me. I liked the way in which the insects, birds and butterflies were displayed within cases with descriptions and often pinned down. Here follows just a select few of my photographs taken...
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The Victorian Obsession with Flowers...

Researching in and around the victorian era I found out that many flowers held a sumbolic meaning for the victorians. Here is a few examples...

Apple Blossom - preference

Azalea - temperance

Basil - hatred

Columbine - folly

Daisy - innocence

Daffodil - regard

Holly - foresight

Iris - message

Ivy - fidelity

Lavender - distrust

Lily - purity

Marigold - sorrow

Morning Glory - affection

Myrtle - love and marriage

Oak - hospitality

Pansy - thoughtfulness

Primrose - consistency

Rhododendron - danger

Rose (single) - simplicity

Thistle - defiance

Tulip - fame

Violet - faithfulness

Water-lily - pure of heart

Zinnia - thoughts of absent friends

The Victorians truly loved flowers. The type of flower and even color spoke volumes and indicated much about the person giving them. The very first flower dictionary was written by Charlotte de la Tour in 1818, prior to the Victorian Era. Le Language des Fleurs was it’s name. Thereafter, another was written about the symbolism of flowers by Miss Corruthers, in 1879. This became the standard for flower symbolism as we know of it today.

Flowers played an important role in decorating as well. And they were used to convey special messages to others. Don’t forget the variety of superstitions regarding some flowers. Victorian’s simply adored using flowers as a means to communicate and to decorate. One of the true desires of most Victorian women was to express herself through the decoration of her home. Surely, flowers played a part in her expressions. Women of today also get a sense of enjoyment from expressing themselves through decorating their homes. Flowers are simply essential to decorating and to expressing one’s heart.

Roses, were endearing to the hearts of many in the Victorian Era. This flower epitomized the romance of the era. Victorians marveled in the beauty of the rose and used it to decorate their homes, as a theme of a poem or ballad sung in popular tunes of the time. Yes, Victorians had rose fever. Flowers in general were the love of many. They became so associated to the Victorian Era that most regard roses and flowers as an “old fashioned” thing. And this so adds to their appeal to the many Victorian enthusiasts of today.

(Information taken from http://www.angelfire.com/ar3/townevictorian/flowers.html)

Tutorial (19th Feb 08) Julie Hughes

• Prepare papers to drawn on to make them more interesting. These can be drawn over, collaged and printed on.
• Make clear and careful decisions about colour palette, using old found books for inspiration
• Check out Kew Gardens website and possibly plan a visit.
  
• Consider sampling alongside drawing so that drawing doesnt seem so daunting
  

Week 1 ( 18th Feb- 22nd Feb)

First week back after handing in the dreaded dissertation. This week I wanted to construct a small range of drawings and collage, as I havent drawn for quite a while this took longer than I thought to get back in the swing of things. This week I also visitied Manchester Museum, Whitworth Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery and I found this to be of great use. I took lots of photos and did some sketches (images will follow soon)
Initial drawings were done simply by using pen and ink and then collaging with flowery fabric and bits and bobs. At this point I was trying to make more of my drawings than just a simple line drawing in a sketchbook, I started to experiment with collage.

Examples of Work so far...

My Market..Where do I see my Work?

Although I feel it has taken me a while to finally decide a suitable market for my work and where I see my work...Artist Books is something I feel suits my work best. I belive I have strong illustration and drawing skills and sometimes struggle with defining my market and this can often hinder my development slightly. During the last project I settled into the idea of producing my work for artists books and the work I produced really worked well. I love making little books and can spends hours upon them, I need to make sure that they are beautifully crafted and carefuly considered. For this project I see my work as been paper based, producing a design collection for possible wallpapers or decorative wall panels. But the main bulk of my work will be centered around the theme of artists books and one off pieces.

Some Artist Books Research...

COLOUR!

Using the books I luckily found for my last project, I will be using a similar colour palette which is used within them. Pale, dusky washed out pastels with possible accents of richer tones.

Example....

Final Project! Concept

The Victorian Secret Garden

Concept.

I will be drawing inspiration from the victorian era (around 1837-1901) Where the re-birth of the arts and sciences began. I will be mainly concentrating on nature illustrations and the study of plants and insects which is reffered to as Botany and Entomology. I like the idea of creating my own victorian inspired gardens with overgrowing ornate flowers. I will be using my own drawing style to re invent these traditions and create my own series of paper based designs and artists books. I like the idea of combining elements of print, fabric, heatpress, etching, collage, stitch and drawing to create some interesting, exciting compositions and gardens.
Using the book idea which came about in the last project, I will be pushing this further within the project. I like the idea of creating a small series of artists books which I hope will become beautifuly crafted artifacts within themselves. I like the idea of things growing out of them, out of the seams etc..

Tutorial Notes (Sonja Andrews 18/02/08)

Today Sonja came in for a one to one tutorial which I found to be very useful. A few points that were mentioned are as follows...

• Define my market, Research thoroughly paper products and artists books in particular.
• Liked my book pages, maybe investigate more the folding and pleating of pages and look into the possibility of creating one off artifacts. Lazer cutting and pleating pages etc...
• Strong use of imagery, maybe try to source more victorian imagery to draw from.
• Look into scale, is everything going to be quite small? Vary the scale and form and look into large repeats for wall coverings and paper based products i.e Stationary
• Liked the use of stitch and paper. this should be investigated in more depth throughout PT302 module.
• Drawing! lots of drawing to be done. Simple line drawings and washy colours
• COLOUR! Using my sourced books as reference I think i am going to use quite a muted colour pallete based on the colours within the book. the peaches, pale pinks, dusky blues and violets and green.
  
• Maybe look into Freelance work and creating one off limited collections of books for sale, is every book going to be a one off or should I consider creating a small collection of limited editions i.e 5, 10 or 15.
  

My Work