PME 1 NS

04/04/19 Workshop 7 Batik & Prep Work  I actually began teaching batik as I was learning it. This was a great way for me to share my step by step process with my pupils and theirs with me. Batik is a process of using wax and dye on fabric to create your artwork. Like the 3D your batik design wont look exactly how you drew. There is several factors contributing to this, these include the dye concentration, and the wax and where it is applied. After some research and due to the summer approaching, I was inspired by bright colour, wild flower, trees, and fruit blooming, and nature getting back into its stride.  As I was drawing bees and wild flowers my thoughts went to my Grandmother garden on the Greek island of Limnos where she grows all her own vegetables. I began to look at pictures I had taken from the previous summer of her peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, and lemon tree.   As I drew I did a series of test dips and topical application of the ...

28/02/19 Workshop 6 3D Mixed Media Sculpture  & Preparatory Work At the start of the 3D mixed media sculpture I struggled with the entail concept when a bag of miscellaneous objects where placed in front of me to sketch. I began exploring a few of the object such as a computer hard drive, a wooden shoe, a trumpet and various piece of metal.   As I was struggling to conceptualise my design I turned to card and start to experiment with shape. In my under graduate model making was required with every design, thus card and cardboard are very familiar materials to me. I began by exploring various shapes and how they might interact with each other.  As I was trying to make my objects support themselves, I came up with the idea of a gravity defying piece. If the observer sees the structure I wanted them to question how is it being supported. I wanted the piece to be comprised of many different materials and geometric shapes to emphasis the structure and allow...

27/01/19 Workshop 5 Graphic Design & Prep Work I was very excited to start a design project as this is the area I come from. I began by mind mapping potential ideas that came to mind. I then gathered examples of brands to analyse the text, use of colours, and function.   I believe that we need to take greater measures in protecting our environment and be mindful about what we are emitting into the world. With this in mind I decided to create a logo for a cruelty free, eco friendly cosmetic brand. I began by looking at nature in all its forms, as this is where I believe we should be sourcing our materials instead of chemicals which may be harmful to us and our environment.     As I drew my focus went to the shape of a leaf. I wanted the imagery to be peaceful and fresh. For the colour I wanted to choose colours that occur naturally in nature, and of course green was the first one that came to mind. To compliment this I chose the colour red....

04/12/18 Workshop 4 Lino Print & Preparatory Work  When starting this discipline I remembered when I did it in school myself and I did not have such fond memories of lino printing. I remember it being hard to cut and messy with inks, however I was ready to approach it with a clean slate. When it came to inspiration for the piece we went in groups of three around the city centre and sketched our surrounding. I was immediately drawn to the architecture and the stark contrast of the solid man made structures and the delicate bare winter trees. I used a variety of mediums to sketch, these included: pencil, charcoal, markers, and a fine liner pen.  Once I had my initial drawings I focused on how the imagery would look in positive and negative, black and white. I used a variety of mediums to do so. I utilised white paint on black paper, markers, and pen. This helped me to visualise what I would be cutting away and what was remaining. I played with the shap...

19/09/18 Workshop 3 Object Painting and Preparation Work I really enjoyed this workshop. We had about 3 to 4 weeks working on one piece. We divided into groups of four and gathered everyday household items. In our group we had a lamp, fabric, vase, violin, lemon, apples, and grapes. We spent some time as a group setting up our still life and finishing the correct setting for each object and the correct position for each of us to sit. Once we were all happy with the setup we began a series of thumbnail sketches, exploring the various compositions we would paint for our final piece. I enjoyed the thumbnail task, as it reminded me of the process of a sketch book, where you are looking at the same objects but changing one slight aspect until you find the prefect composition. Before beginning the final piece I completed a series of colour test with acrylic paints, as I have never worked with them before. I really enjoyed this process, however I also used this as an example to pu...

12/09/18 Workshop 2 Observational Drawing – Figure Figure Drawing was never my favourite part of the art class. However, at the outset we divided up into groups and my classmates introduced me to gesture drawing.   I loved it and was quickly participating   in both drawing and modelling, ranging from 20 seconds to 20 minute poses. The gesture drawings were a brilliant way of warming up the whole class and reintroduce someone to the discipline of life drawing. During this exercise in my school placement, I quickly observed that the pupils aren’t the biggest fans of life drawing, which was challenging for me during my first weeks of teaching. Initially, I worked hard to get them to like this, but it did not work and the negative response was alarming. However, I soon worked out that the pupils were nervous because they feared that their drawings were going to be sub-standard and they would see that as a failure. However I explained that gesture drawings are not meant t...

05/09/18 Workshop 1 Observational Drawing – Object This was the first workshop we had this semester. We were told in advance on what to except and materials to bring in. However, as I had not partaken in object drawings for about 4 years, I was extremely nervous. I carefully selected my materials which consisted of   a pinecone and lantern. I deliberately chose one natural and one man made object. I did this purposely for in the composition of a still life in a classroom setting we would normally have a mixture of both organic and geometric shapes. Furthermore, given their shapes and textures, these two objects are excellent examples   of a variety of art elements touching on shape, form, line, value, and texture. I found starting the task quite difficult, mainly because it is so far removed from what I had been busy with in college during my undergraduate and the type of work I did since then. Nevertheless, whilst my work orientated on designing of interior spaces, ...