Week No.3 – Gif

For the third week i decided to revisit week one. My 2D still image worked really well, but there was definitely room for development. For my Gif i wanted to expand on the movement within the teacup. this task took me a day to complete…

Week one – 2D piece…

To develop from week one i worked with the tea cup and diamond. My initial idea was to line the tea cup with cling film and gradually fill it with tea to submerge the diamond. Having spoken with my class mate Meg, she gave me the idea to use small cut up pieces of paper or card instead of liquid. This would mean i would not damage my cup and the theme of using paper would stay consistent. To represent the tea i decided to use pieces of square brown paper. i gradually filled the cup with layers of the paper and took photos. The build up of layers gave the impression of filling. The diamond eventually submerged. I incorporated the sugar cubes to, i approached this with the same method and made it disappear.

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my final gif…

With this being my first Gif i learnt that the number of colours your image uses is reduced in order to reduce the file size. The effect of this reduction i think works quite. Its made the image grainy and the tea comes across more like tea.

Week No.2 – 3D to 2D

Using the same article from week one, we were expecting to produce a 3D box piece inspired by Joseph Cornell. As one of my favourite artists Joseph Cornell was featured on my blog a coupled of weeks ago. I used his work as inspiration for my War Horse project during the Christmas holidays. Josephs style of working evolves around his mass collection of found and made objects. Carefully selecting from this collection he narrates a story or highlights an issue or interest and presents it in a small container or box. I had a week to collect and rummage through charity shops and backs of cupboards…

My Box…

From the festivities of christmas i had collected a few things that had potential creative value. One of these things was a chocolate box from Marks & Spencer’s. Constructed from four layers this box held different assortments of chocolates. The box itself had a base that held the stacked layers and a sleeve that held them in place. The entirety of the box was in the shape of a hexagon. This quality was quirky and would be the perfect shell for my found arrangement.

I used the base of the box to hold my collection, i also painted it the appropriate shade of blue to match my tea set, this tied in tin my article. I recut a new sleeve using the old one, but this time i used white cartridge paper. On the exterior of the box i added a similar design in relation to my tea set.

For the inside, i arranged a miniature tea set given to me by my grandma years ago. I opted for the minimal approach for the inside. I covered all sides and base of the box to make it look clean and tidy. The tea set sat in the middle.

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Photographing the piece…

With the resources supplied to me by Mal, i photographed the box with a multi-point-focus camera and 5 spot lights. I sat the box on a white sheet that stretched up the wall to give me a clean background. The spot lights i used ether had a cream or white tone when turned on. I used this to my advantage, i was able to create shadows on the inside of the box using the cut out silhouettes. The different shades of lighting allowed me to overlap individual shadows, this created layers and scenery. When documenting my work i always take the time to photograph it with proper equipment.

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Final Piece…

Having taken quite a few pictures of my piece i couldn’t decide which to present as a my find one, so i chose two. The images below are the best lit and composed images, they include shadows, the shell of the box and the tea set. The first image is to the dimensions required in the brief (22 x 28cm). The image below i have left as the original size, i decided to not cut it down because it worked well as a portrait piece.

2.

Week No.1 – Image in Response to Article

Thumbnails…

For my article the main issue i needed to cover is the constant battle as to whom owns the diamond. I felt it was important to include the element of fighting or arguing in my piece in order to communicate the gritty rivalry of the countries. From reading the article there were a few ideas that immediately sprung to mind. These being, a tug-of-war with a diamond, indian and british soldiers fighting, a very british tea party and a chicken laying a diamond instead of an egg. After speaking with fellow classmates and Anna, i decided that i wouldn’t go with an obvious arrangement to represent the article but something thats easily read with holds lots of meaning.

The tea party qualified. Being a british afternoon activity, drinking tea and eating cakes has become a worldwide link to the Victorian era. The tea itself is an Indian product and i thought the link between both aspects tied in quite nicely. Compositionally i think my thumbnail works, Anna also agreed and commented that the objects i have used are well balanced among the page.

Paper craft…

Having decided on my thumbnail i began to think about materials and how to was to create a 2D response. With paper being my favourite medium i came up with the idea to craft a 3D tea set and present my final piece as a photograph. below is a picture of my first attempt as making a cup and saucer. the shape of the cup i constructed with leaf shaped pieces. The shape of these pieces was relevant to tea and the shape of tealeaves. but after flicking through an amazing book loaned to me by Amelia, i decided that the cup was to complicated if i were to add additional design or detailing.

Painting…

This lead me to making this simple tea set shown below…After watching many tutorial on Youtube and reading origami books i came up with a simple pattern. I produced all the pieces in white cartridge paper with the scope to paint on them with watercolours and gouache.

Suggested by Anna, i carefully painted in the style of Willow. Willow is british china with indian inspired patterns painted on it. Its a limited palette of blues and yellowy golds. This style fitted perfectly with my article.

Photos…

I photographed my piece with the help and resources provided my Mal. I set everything up with crisp white backgrounds and appropriate lighting. The shot was taken from above, birds-eye view. when taking the photographs i had to consider the dimensions required for the final piece, this meant i had to zoom out to crop back in. Editing was also needed, as you can see below the photo i chose was quite green and a bit dull…

My final thing…

I’m extremely pleased with my final piece. The colours, composition, time taken to make and photograph everything, the size and proportions as well as the scale all worked to plan. Iv had great responses from fellow students and passing by tutors. Lets see what they have to say in the crit…bring on week no.2!!!

Three Week Project – Editorial Illustration

Following the Field project we now have a three week project to end the term. This new project will be broken up into three parts each lasting a week. For the entirety of the three weeks we have the choice of using one article or a few. The article I have chosen to use is called ‘The Koorhinoor Diamond’. It is about the ownership of the Indian diamond that sits in the British crown jewels in the tower of London. I chose this article because its rich in visual imagery and the story line is simple but strong. Who doesn’t love diamonds?..

More about the diamond…

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I many parts of the indian empire were seized by the british. This included, land, property, money and anything with antiquity value. amongst these riches was the home and very large diamond of a newly made emperor. At the age of five the new emperor was left to rule his kingdom with his mother by his side. Weak and easily manipulated he gave his kingdom and jewels to the queen mother Elizabeth I. in addition to this mass confiscation, the young king and mother were separated and she was forced into exile. Vulnerable and alone, the king was pressured into granting the queen Elizabeth permission to wear the diamond, this permission led to the cutting down and the reduction of karats to suit the size of her crown. The queen mother also forced the young king to forgive her. With nothing to his name, no family and no service to provide, queen Elizabeth sent him to exile where he spent most of his life.