£1 Purchase

When you start looking with intent around pound shops it's surprising how many branded lines they stock and also how many items you really wouldn't want to re-brand, but consign to oblivion instead.
It was more difficult to select a product than I first imagined - did I really want to spend several weeks thinking carefully about razor blades. I realise that in the real world you can't pick and choose clients but in this instance I could so I wanted to choose something that would be of interest and motivate.
I chose a bottle of Flemish Sparkling Red Grape Juice partly because I'm quite interested in food/drink packaging and partly because it's akin to wine and it strikes me that wine labels present a little art-form in themselves.
Receiving this brief over the summer break produced unusual time management considerations: How long should I spend on this work? What direction should I take the brief in?
I decided to set constraints and tighten the brief to make it manageable. Research, and through it identification of the USP, aided in this process. Red grape juice is a natural product which has cholestrol lowering properties. Consumption, therefore, has implications in terms of improved cardio-vascular health.
The brief condensed itself: to relaunch the product; for the branding to appear healthy, youthful and fresh; for the product to appeal to as wide a market as possible (I couldn't see any sense in narrowing the target audience for this product) but specifically the health-conscious; and, to promote its health-giving properties.
I wanted the brand to have a strong name that consumers could immediately indentify with the product. Research led me to 'Angel' and 'Grapevine': Angel for its pure, protective, guardian-like qualities, and Grapevine because of the way in which heart forms could be utilised as leaves on the vine.
I was influenced by looking at existing branding in this, and associated, fields. This had pros and cons. It certainly gave me a step-up and a feel for the type of brand that I wanted to create but it also created a situation where I felt that what I was doing was akin to plagiarism. I kept viewing my attempts as obvious pastiches of say the 'Innocent' brand. Maybe its not so obvious to the onlooker.
I learnt more about the software applications - especially mocking-up products in Photoshop. I'm still not sure that I'm using the most appropriate or efficient methods but I seem to find my way through.
I am understanding more about the requirements surrounding image size and resolution when working with multiple images, but, once again, it's all intuitive rather than technical savvy.
I am sure that greater knowledge here will offer improved imaginative use.
In future I need to consider:
- the impact that colour has on consumers and which colours are considered appropriate for certain products
- type hierarchy, its correct use and the power it has in directing our attention
- how the branding is attached to the product: in the instance of a bottle it could be thermally printed/embossed onto the surface
- the shape of the label and how it might be pierced to reveal the product beneath
- technical information that the branding might need to carry

Prophets and Poets

Drawing and Media

Positive/Negative and Silhouettes

For this activity decided to revisit the references drawn on in the Spike Milligan inspired screen prints: birds and bird cages. Decided to introduce a third element of keys to add a further layer of symbolism.

I like the different silhouetted qualities of each element: the way the filigree of the cage contrasts with the solidity of the bird shapes. I had never consciously considered the impact of scale and format on compositions before this exercise and therefore learnt much from it. Must include considration of these elements in future work. I like the mystery created by cropped elements but I realise from speaking to others that this may not be to everyone's taste.

Decided to use some of the images created as a means to explore printing a little further. On the face of it the designs would seem to lend themselves to lino print but I was keen to explore drypoint - a new experience. I was pleased with the more moody outcomes achieved through leaving greater amounts of ink on the plate. However, these are still crude attempts and I need to explore more thoroughly the application of ink and colour. Used sandpaper to produce some texture, but how to produce greater variety of textured effects is another area to develop.

Prophets and Poets

Drawing and Media

Communicating Creatively

Chose to pursue the observational drawings of trainers in this context. I find the larger composite image more satisfying. It is less clumsy and fussy in execution than the smaller piece and I feel that it also benefits from the direction that I injected into it by making it a commentary piece. It has more interest. Essentially it is a work constructed from a number of mini experiments, some more successful than others.

Rather like the digitally collaged pieces attempted earlier, I discovered just how difficult it is to produce a delicately layered and coherent composition. One strategy that I might adopt to develop this skill is to follow processes outlined by books such as the 'Collage Sourcebook' - artists outline the processes they go through in order to achieve particular effects. Certainly my attempts seem to lack sophistication.

Exploration has offered up the potential of some effects e.g. sgraffito and masking fluid, but exploration in itself doesn't always signpost ways to effective and coherent usage. I don't feel that understanding the media has in this instance indicated the possibilities sufficiently enough - certainly not for sophisticated usage. Perhaps this a situation where learning is further enhanced via demonstration.

In terms of abstracting the key elements of an object whilst still retaining overall recognition, I feel that I am able to achieve this but it doesn't necessarily lead to a creative illustrative image - well, certainly not one of the type that I evisaged at the outset. Once again I think this comes back to developing a deeper understanding of techniques and how they can be orchestrated to achieve a desired effect. I think that emulation might need to come before creation here.

Prophets and Poets

Drawing and Media

Observational Drawing

This was quite a demanding unit in that it required a sizeable quota of drawings within a fairly condensed period. The objects, due to their complexity, exerted time constraints, as did the fact that other projects ran concurrently. The unit as a whole suffered a little from its disparate nature; it was not connected to a wider purpose but rested as a discrete exercise in its own right. Why were we drawing typewriters, sewing machines, bicycles etc? Obviously to hone our observational skills, but I can't help feeling that we would have been more motivated if the context had offered greater purpose.

However, there was learning to be had: considering different angles when recording an object and the kind of visual information that a particular view offers. Dealing with the problems of 2D representation of a 3D object - proportion, perspective, texture, line and shape. Working with different media also made me explore and reflect upon the most appropriate style/technique to employ e.g. the amount of detail that can be undertaken with a pencil is very different to that which can be obtained using a brush and ink. Reflecting on the necessary adjustments between media was a valuable learning experience.

These tasks, and the drawing using wire, offered insights into the structure and form of objects. I was forced to focus on key elements in an effort to simplify the representations. And once again it made me face up to that key question - What is my own personal preferred style of representation?

The pursuit continues.

Prophets and Poets

Drawing and Media

Collage Technique - One day Workshop

Enjoyed playing around with layers and 'paste into' function in Photoshop. Learnt a lot about the effect of different layer formats and use of scanned textures.

Found that creating a cohesive image incorporating digital, hand-drawn and scanned elements, together with text, is much more difficult than it appears. It is easily possible to overdo it and end up with a disjointed 'mess'. This could be one of those instances where less is more. At least the computer allows you to play around with layout and colour with some ease.

I referenced David Hughes for some of the hand-drawn animals and once again ended up with a child oriented piece. Is there a message emerging here?

The image was resued somewhat via heavy cropping and through harmonising the colour scheme until it is almost monochromatic. I know that this is a matter of taste but I feel that it gives the image more mystery and unity.

I am concerned that I don't use Photoshop enough to internalise all the processes that I encounter. I need to set time aside for further use, to consolidate this and also to fine tune the balance of elements mentioned before; at the moment they make for fairly crude viewing.

Concerned that some effects are achieved through accident rather than intentional design - need more understanding of the scope of features and technical aspects such as file types, image size and resolution settings.

Prophets and Poets

Drawing and Media

Dry Media and Painting Techniques

A useful exercise in trying out techniques and processes that could then be applied in production pieces. However, as I found out, the small scale explorations do not always lend themselves directly to whole pieces in the way you would expect. So the experimentation and learning goes on even when you try to apply them. In fact I feel that this exercise is only truly valuable if you make time for it to be an ongoing part of the creative process - not something that I have always been patient enough to do.

I particularly liked some of the broken colour effects created through the scumbling of acrylic paint and the sgraffito possible through built up layers of pastel or acrylic. Some of the results of dropping powders and the like onto watercolours also produced interesting qualities. You really see the importance of annotating the experiments too.

The challenge now is to continue the experimentation, to look at the work of other artists and try to unpick how they might have achieved certain finishes, and, of course, to be able to wield these effects in subtle and visually satisfying ways myself.

Prophets and Poets

Print and Photgraphy

I was really looking forward to this block. The techniques on offer are intriguing but the structure of the three weeks has been a little frustrating. Essentially we have three thursdays worth of facilities available to us. Trying to take advantage of these outside of the allocated times has proved to be nigh on impossile. I understand the reasoning behind, for example, restricting access to the print room to supervised sessions only, but I wish that there were some open sessions that I could access around my own commitments. I could make better use of my time this way and my learning would benefit - I need time to explore techniques that I cannot access at home.

We have also had a number of relatively passive demonstration sessions. These add to the feeling of inactivity and a sense of lack of achievement.

Developed Flash images in monoprinting. Found out that newsprint paper offers really interesting line quality - feathers in a way that other papers don't. Painting over the oil based inks using water colour and acrylic creates strong illustrative effects.

Would like to experiment with dry point in future because the scratchy etched quality is an interesting feature that I would like to incorporate into my work.

I think my screen printing sub-consciously referenced Picasso and Matisse - bird motif. As part of the whole process found out how to make photographic stencils and how to use different registration techniques. Using dark coloured papers and card make this process more difficult because of their opaqueness. This is an important consideration particularly if you are applying other components to print over e.g. pieces of cut and torn paper. Found it interesting how printing colour over a similarly coloured ground darkens it substantially and gives it a subtle textural difference.

In future I need to consider maintaining a margin around the printable area and the appropriate application of the process over others e.g. digital printing. Screen printing comes into its own where large areas of flat colour are required or for printing directly onto 'unusual' surfaces e.g. glass, clay, wood, plastic etc.

In the photography studio I learnt the difference between low-key, high-key and contra jour lighting and how to set up lights accordingly. Made to feel very welcome by Colin. Enjoyed the protraiture work.

Colour assignment was tricky because it feels difficult to walk straight onto good photographs on demand. Tried to resist the temptation to use macro close ups to fulfil the whole brief. It would have been a bit too easy and wanted the collection to have variety.

Referenced Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bill Brandt when considering the monochromatic shots.

Learning how to look for rhythm and structure in compositions. This includes judicious use of cropping.

Used my own compact digital to take all shots. Would like to learn more about setting up still life studio shots and make use of digital SLR to gain greater control over images.