Friday, January 27, 2012

Nearly done!

My entry for the 'Where Art Meets Science' competition is nearly complete!!

I spent all day today in the print room doing my final screen prints so didn't have time to take any photo's of the process along the way.  I also woke up with swollen tonsils this morning :/ so had to make a quick trip to the doctors which ate up some of my print time!! The doctor couldn't do anything for me there and then so told me to come back on Monday to see how things had developed :s

I guess my sore throat didn't effect my ability to make prints - but was a right pain - literally!!

By 4pm I had printed my last print and was all packed up to decide ofn a final when I got in. After covering my floor and staring at them all for a good 15 mins my flat mate Sophie walked in and saw me debating between two prints, one on black card and the other on white. She suggested white, and she was right! It looked perfect in the black frame and the mood of the print became a lot more positive and light.





So! All that's let to do now is write these 250 words about my work and get it in the post! :D

First graphics competition entry - done and dusted ;)

- x -

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

X rays and photography

My entry to the "Where Art Meets Science" competition (mentioned in my earlier post) is constantly changing now I've started to produce some mono prints and stencils for it. My initial idea is still the same but I feel like I'm still searching for the best way to present it...

During some more research (my new favourite thing ever - seriously) I came across the work of the Spanish photographer, Max de Esteban. In his photo series "Proposition One" many retro objects like analog cameras, record playes, and other retro gadgets are depicted in ghostly X-rays-style images. 



What interested me most was the fact that his images weren't created with an X-ray, but by disassembling the objects, painting them white, and taking many photographs as he reassembled them piece by piece. The final image is a photograph made up of many layers of the object.  





This series of photographs will be a great source of inspiration for the screen prints I plan on doing. I better get Photoshop-ing! The deadline's less than two weeks away now!!!

I'll keep you posted

-x-

Thursday, January 12, 2012

It's HEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!!

So so so so so so so so soooooooo excited!!!

My keyboard is finally here! :D I say finally as if I've been waiting a long time, even though I only ordered it on Monday night, it seemed to take forever for it to arrive! I went down to reception to collect it yesterday and the man behind the desk looked at my "You've got mail slip" looked to my super excited face and chuckled a little, probably still adjusting to the strange packages that pass through halls each day - my keyboard adding to the list.

So much better than a TV no? :)
I gotta say I felt pretty proud carrying it under my arm through the court yard, up the lift and into the flat. And Vickee and Emma (2 of my 4 lovely flat mates) were pretty excited to see me open it and get playing too.

It was beautifully sunny today as well!




 I'm gonna ease myself back into playing the piano again, hopefully mastering one piece a week before I hit the grade work.

Week one: A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton

-x-

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Artists, Posters and the London 2012 Olympics

I got back to uni last night so I've had some time to unwind with my flat mates before I got on with some work, and a new term means a new start! Although I haven't been set anything new just yet so I decided to continue working on my entry for the "Where Art Meets Science" competition I registered for in December.

Here's a link to an article on it if you'd like to know more :) http://bit.ly/yShlCy 

I never used to like researching a topic as I've always been more of a hands -on-practical-making-kind-of-girl, but I've gotta say that it's grown on me these past few months. Research is not only EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to support your work but also can be pretty interesting! Like today for example, I've just been reading up about Paralympic runners and body mechanics, which sounds pretty boring - I know.

Then I come across this article http://bit.ly/vhohSA about well known artists involvement in creating posters for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. But what I found even more interesting was the fact that they'd entrusted controversial British artist Tracy Emin to make a contribution. :l

This worried me a little as I know her work to be quite shocking not to mention challenging!





But I was pleasantly surprised by her Paralympic poster titled "Birds".


Emin took the Paralympic values of Inspiration and Determination as the starting point for her print and created what she describes as a 'love letter'.
Two small birds, delicately perched on branches, appear to kiss beneath the words 'You inspire me with Your determination And I love you'. The Agitos (Paralympic logo) floats below them like feathers or leaves falling from the tree.

Birds have frequently appeared in Emin's drawings to symbolise freedom and strength, whilst her use of handwritten text expresses personal thoughts and emotions. Her print is an inspiring dedication to the Paralympic Games and athletes.[1]


Here's Emin at the revealing of the London 2012 poster collection stood with her poster "Birds". Nice One Emin!

-x-

[1] Quoted from article http://bit.ly/vhohSA

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

That Pepper Spraying Cop!

Remember those pictures I posted in "Here's saying goodbye to 2011 ~ photos"? Well I returned to the guardian site and followed up one of the pictures I'd missed out of a US police man, casually pepper spraying protesting students! 
 




This image caused a lot of outrage because this cruel act was carried off with such casual body language and facial expression. But this pepper spraying cop got Photoshop justice! 

I found some of the pictures HILARIOUS! HAHAHAHA, Here are just a few of my favourites :')

“Hermy, has anybody ever asked why somebody can’t conjour up a seat cushion for these communal dining benches? Come to think of it, what about, you know, A FURNACE. Like, I get the whole aesthetic of having some kind of olde timey castle ass training house for our magical bullshit, but this is still, you know, PRESENT DAY, and we were not born in 1371. We are used to air conditioning, walls with a minimum R value of 21 and indoor plumbing. I mean really. Do you know what the privy smells like after the Weasley twins have a go? Its not good. Trust me. Though I am sure the ladies privy gets put through the paces too. If the Weasley family shares more traits than just the ginger hair, then I bet Ginny can pack a wollop in the canAUUAHHAGHAGHHAGGAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

“I sure hope some milquetoast mom-rock band doesn’t ever co-opt my image for their crappy album coverAAAAUAUAUAUAUUUAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH”

This is a new phenomenon, where the Internet creates a voice to  mock and mimic extreme actions. In jokes (memes) are made visual, evolve and are re-interpreted. Animated, Photoshop-ed, stop-motion, you name it - they've done it!

“What did I say when I found out I had a painful skin virus? ‘All the shingle ladies! All the shingle ladies!’. HA! I crack myself up. No no, wait. What did I say when I got obsessed with eating potato chips out of a can? ‘All the Pringle ladies! All the Pringle ladies!’. LOLZERS!! I feel like I can tell you these jokes here and not be self-conscious. Jay doesn’t like my dad-humor around the house. Ok ok one more. What did I say when I got that game where you pull wooden blocks out of the tower and try to keep it from falling overAUUAHGAHAGHAGGAGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

“Now Taylor, I’m really happy for you, and I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! But this ain’t about that. Now listen, I’m an insecure little dude who has to make up for my inferiority complex by clamoring for attention in EVERY WAY POSSIBLE. I’m just gonna need little more time to occupy this stageAUUAGHAGHAGAHAGHHHHHHHHHHHHH”


This well made my day :') Check out his tumblr
;)

http://peppersprayingcop.tumblr.com/

- Enjoy!

-x-

Busy, busy bee!

It's the last week before I head back to uni and I decided to spends a couple of days with my sister helping her pack up a few things to get ready to move at the end of the month. Which explains my blogging absence - while I was sorting through the many many things piled up in her office, I came across these bad boys and just couldn't resist!


This box would make a pretty sweet dress no?
One of many interesting finds
I also wish I had an afro this curly :'(


The battery started to die on this last photo :( but was just as well 'cos I really needed to get back to boxing things up haha. It's fun being helpful ;)

-x-

Monday, January 2, 2012

I think I've fooooooooound one!

I've already begun to make a start on my aims for 2012 and got google-ing to try and find the best deals online for full length keyboards.

 I'm going to wait until I go back to uni  before buying it though. This way I can measure my desk, just to make sure it'll actually fit! From what I've seen I think the one below is the one for me :D

YAMAHA YPT210

What a beaut!

-x-

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Review of 2011 ~ Buzzin' for 2012!!!

The great thing about having a blog is that you can look back over all the things that you've done in the year, or how little (in some cases!). But I've gotta say that 2011 was a pretty eventful year for me not only as a young design student but in many aspects of my life!

Here's another quick flashback of my own 2011 experience - Enjoy!

February

Began visiting my potential uni's and travelled as far as Falmouth (twice!) in the process.


March

To support my final unit of work I revisited the old house I discovered on the outskirts of town with my friend Steph and took many stunning photos!


April

I had some time away from the blog and focused on preparing for the French exchange. It's something I've always wanted to do so I loved every minute of it and was shown the wonders of foam ice skating parties :')


May

Completed my first ever brief set by year 12 business students in need of a advert to support their entry in the international PolyU competition - Which they went on to win!



June - July

Final FINAL exams followed by an unforgettable holiday with my girls in Ibiza ~ x

August

Took on a music video competition set by one of my favourite bands Fenech Soler, and alongside my art department lovelies made one cracking entry - if i do say so my self ;) We didn't go on to win this competition however but were extremely proud that we'd been able to turn an idea into a reality. (And had soooo much fun along the way)


September - December

Became totally absorbed in freshers, life in Leicester and my wonderful wonderful new course! I absolutely love the skills I've picked up in print making so far and can't wait to put them into practice in future projects, which brings me back to 2012.

Aims for 2012

~ Recover "Ducks" film
~ Complete Entry for "When Art Meets Science" Comp
~ Apply for Erasmus exchange to France 2013
~ Buy a Keyboard
~ Re-take my Grade 8 exam
~ Buy a video camera
~ Make more music videos, both for competitions and non competitions
~ Start saving for a mac book!
~ Blog more
~ And live everyday to it's fullest

I'm so excited to see what this year holds in store for me and with the possibilities of future travel and more creative loveliness ~
I'll keep you posted ;)

-x-