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Sunday 27 January 2013

Sunday Run-Down

I thought a good idea would be to round up my week of events every sunday to give me a chance to reflect on the week in whole and expand on any past posts/projects. It will also give me a chance to record any new inspiring artists, designers or events I have discovered throughout the week to remember for future projects.

Firstly a new project has been set and I'm loving it already - 147 DVA Design in context focuses on book design, a competition set by Penguin Book's (click to see brief), this year the 2 books to choose from are 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler and 'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame. I have chosen to develop my ideas based around the book 'The Wind in the Willows' as I feel it will suit my style of design and allow me to create better work. In addition to this brief it will allow me to check of one of my books on my 'Acheivables' reading list, I aim to read the full story in order to familiarise myself with the characters, plot and imagery, this will allow me to have a deep connection within my design. I will follow up soon with another post of my artwork and ideas for the book design and my essay.

I am always looking for new artists and influences that will help in developing my style of design. This week I came across five very inspiring mixed media artists, they are Ben Giles, Erin Case, Jane Maxwell, Julene Harrison and Jennifer Collier. All have different qualities to their artwork I like but all have a similar connection with their use of materials and mixed media style.


Ben Giles






 I really like how he layers complimentary and dream tones of flowers and insects onto monochrome photography, creating playful and prompting artwork. A possible concept for my book design perhaps?  I feel a connection between the flowers and insects and the characters of 'The wind in the Willows' and the dreamy countryside setting for the story. The last two examples above show how he has manipulated a book by turning it on its side, this creates a new composition one that wouldn't necessarily be the norm for a book. I love how he has changed the idea of book design in this by turning it one its side, this would make the reader interact with the book itself in my design which I rather like. A further look at this artists may help me in my design ideas and development.



Erin Case






As a lover of Rene Magritte's paintings I can see a similarity between his and Erin Cases artwork from the use of juxtaposition between objects, landscapes and figures. The cut out photography, formed into the shape of the figures, have been placed cleverly in my mind as the patterns within the textures and forms conjure the missing faces. An ongoing group project I have been challenged with is to create a website informing people with interesting facts on the moon, my main topic within the group is media and art. A few questions raised when I first came across the last two examples, could this style fit into fashion? or artwork? should I feature the artist or create artwork taking aspects from Erin Cases artwork? I feel that by researching more artwork from this artists will help to answer those questions and develop my ideas for the project. I will also follow up this post with a insight into the progress of the module 148 DVA Integrated Design particularly reflecting on what has been already and my ideas for the future.


Jane Maxwell







"I'm a big fan of Rauschenberg, Warhol, Cornell and Nevelson and I love the current work of Shepard Fairy and Greg Miller." - Jane Maxwell

In some of her pieces she likes to combine the layered materials with wax; this creates a nice transparent  quality as the it reveals imagery and text beneath. The application of the wax also creates a protective layer over her work, I really like how the layered text seems to create patterns with the shape and forms of the letters and the colours of the figures, these factors also bring perspective into the artwork and size   helps create a foreground and background. Her technique of layering has make me think back to when I used to create Sellotape Prints, Emulsion Transfers, Glue transfers and Image making prints. I hope to start creating some more of these to help develop some of my projects, a useful link and concept to keep in mind.


Julene Harrison





I love the pretty and nostalgic feel of this style, a complex and intricate piece of design created by cutting out sections of paper to reveal an image connected with lines to hold the piece of paper as one. The simplicity of using one piece of paper for each design is so innovative and a majority of Eco friendly organisations have adopted this style in their promotional material and corporate identity to create a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere with recycled items. 







Similar to Jane Maxwell, Jennifer Collier also uses wax to trap imagery and text in a transparent form, the use of teabags for her hold a perfect container for objects to trap with wax that reveal an opacity from the very thin material. I have previously utilised materials in a similar way to Jennifer Collier in past projects, and also had the pleasure to learn and work with her in a very inspiring workshop. Likewise to Julene Harrison a nostalgic feel to her artwork is made from the personal objects she uses to tell stories, a recycled theme is a major part of her artwork and influences as she collects scrap pieces of paper, fabric and found items she utilises to create her artwork.

I feel this process has been very refreshing for me and useful in finding contextual's to think about inspiring my designs. I believe that by doing this every week it will help me gather more information on  inspiring and influencing artists I discover throughout the week and consider how to use factors from their artwork and make my projects more developed and connected. I plan to also add any other inspiring moments that have contributed to any of my projects.

NAP x





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