AGE UK project

The AGE UK project was about illuminating Stockport's History on either wartime or it's buildings and I chose wartime, which meant to find out and research what it was like during the war in Stockport we needed to get out and talk to people. So we went to visit an elderly day care centre in Reddish to have a chat with the elderly people there to learn what they went through during wartime in Stockport.
I spoke to a lovely gentleman called Joe who talked to me about the all jobs he used to do.. one of which was a flag layer before it came to his time to do his duty in the army...for Joe this was when the war was over, but men were still sent to do there bit for two years and he was sent to the Navy, where he got made to be an officers cook, which he hated. He said he could never understand how that happened when all the experience he had was working on the roads. Nowadays you have to have a degree most of the time in order to do what you want to do, but Joe in his day they had no choice but to do as they were told and get on with it. I asked him would he have it any other way if he could go back and he said he wouldn't, as he learnt a lot of skills which he wouldn't have learnt had he not been made to do it. When the two years were up, he went back to flag laying, and doing other odd jobs like painting and decorating and then he went on to garden designing. He made gardening into his full time job as he enjoyed doing it a lot.

He also mentioned that after the war had ended, people went out ballroom dancing to cheer themselves up and to start having some fun. And Joe went out dancing every evening in the Town Hall in Stockport (the wedding cake is what they used to call it) and he said that he loved it so much he began to teach it. However then he went on to say that dancing started to fade out as soon as the TV came along, nobody bothered to go out anymore which I thought was sad. So Joe was quite the busy man..a very hard working man at that it seems, as he was never off his feet, and I absolutely admire him for it.

So when it came to illustrating my ideas..I did find it abit hard at first because Joe didn't really talk to me much about the war...and I didn't particularly want to keep asking questions about it when he was happy talking to me about dancing and all the jobs he used to do. So my ideas I kept simple and I drew the objects in which he would have used in the navy as a cook and wrapped some flowers around it to represent that he was a gardener too. My other image is of a couple dancing, as I image that people would have carried on dancing despite there being damaged buildings form the war. Having done these, I could then think about how I would include Stockport, and so I added a map of Stockport for the background. However the dancing image I only included the words Stockport at the bottom...like a street sign. But I think I may redo the whole image and include the Town Hall instead so that people no when they look at the image that its about Stockport and it history.

I'm not particularly keen on this image....the drawings get lost in the map. But these were at first just my rough sketches and ideas that I thought I'd get to redo, however the project was only short so there wasn't much time, so I worked with what I had.

I think there's importance to this project, because learning about history can be hard sometimes as there so many things to know and it can seem quite overwhelming. But when you narrow it down to hearing about someone's life you can connect with it. Because it becomes real when you realise they were real people that had to go through such an incredibly difficult time. Everything has a story to go with it, and when you understand it, you can appreciate it a lot more.

So below is the final image that I went with..I included Stockport's Town Hall, and I went with developing the whisk image instead of the dancers because I thought not only are the dancers drawn terribly anyway. the whisk holds more of the story. The history of the man named Joe who had no choice but to work as an officers cook in the Navy, who then went on to become a gardener later on in life and the Town Hall was where he use to go to dance!
And even though this image doesn't scream the history of wartime...seeing the object of the whisk with the flowers around it, will probably make you wonder...why is there a whisk with flowers around it? And thats the beauty of illustration, is that it leaves you either wanting to find out or make up your own reason and story about it!

Summer Project

Summer Project

The first of our summer projects was to to choose one of our favourite films and draw or sketch 18 sequels. I chose ..MATILDA, my childhood favourite!!
Miss Trunchbul calls everyone to the assembly hall and picks on Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an entire chocolate cake as punishment for him having sneaked a piece of her cake. I have had a similar experience myself when I was younger. I couldnt finish my dinner and because I loved peanut butter on toast so much, my dad made me a mountain of it for me to eat instead and I couldn't leave the table until I had finished....haha my dad had to eat the rest because it was far too much. I just loved Bruce's face when the dinner lady comes out with the rest of the cake, always makes me laugh.
I'll pop a few sketches of them on when I can!

The second project was to make up a little story and tell it through five images, and we also had to tell it through a choice of a point of view for example, birds eye or worms eye etc! We were given a book called the Imaginary Beings to pick our characters from. This book contains descriptions of mythical creatures, from fairies to creatures that can turn into a sausage. So my head was spinning with all sorts of crazy ideas for stories that I was trying  up with ....it was really exciting though because I love a challenge.

So below are my five images that I tried to do from a worms eye view in plasticine...just not done all that well (lesson learned) as I also tried to get that look in a bit more with the angle I photographed them at but maybe had I done the images at a different view point they may have looked slightly better! But these plasticine images are the first pictures I've ever created with the inspiration I got from Barbara Reid who creates the most amazing plasticine art work for children's stories!! I've always wanted to work with plasticine because I do love creating scene's and images but I also love making and sculpting too, so working with plasticine I get to do both! And the second I saw Barbara's work was the influence, the inspiration and the motivation that I have been looking for, that I've wanted and that I've needed...she is my absolute hero!

The ship wrecked sailor's boat is just to weak for the waves at, so he has to try and swim to land but is struggling!

Luckily for him there's a woman bird that see's the man struggling and flies to his rescue. The sea horse is trying to bite him and pull him back but they manage to get away!

The bird woman pulls him to dry land and laughs at the sailor for having being frightened
of the sea horse, with out realising that there's a two headed serpent coming up behind her!

Luckily for her the sailor saw it and was equipped with a sword so he was able to chop off the serpents heads before it ripped off the woman birds wings!

The woman birds is grateful and thanks the sailor. Just when they think its all over the serpent behind them starts growing its heads back with two more beside them!

Another part of this project was to make a 3D sculpture of one of our characters form the story in anyway that we wanted. And I decided to make a sculpture of my woman bird with miliput, which was influenced by a few artists that I came across one day and they are both so incredibly talented.

I went weak at the knee when I found the work of Abi Monroe, there so elegant and beautifully detailed.

 These two figures made by artist Rene Muhl capture your eye instantly because there figures are decorated with different materials and colour. They are so unique and different....I wish I could say that I did this.

So Ive made a start on making my sculpture using miliput which is like clay but after about an hour or so it goes rock hard so you have to make sure you know what your sculpting before your start using it. I haven't finished with it just yet

Foundation work

Foundation work

In my foundation year, I had just learnt how to use photoshop etc..so when I took pictures and drew some illustrations I would combine them on photoshop just to play around and see what I could do and I used to get really carried away with doing it.

The trees spell out the words LOST and the reason for this is because in my foundation year, I felt lost in the world of art (in a good way if that makes any sense)...it was a little daunting for me at first when I had started the course because the last time I was involved with art properly was my g.c.s.e's which at that time was four years ago. And the foundation year, I was only just at that point beginning to appreciate art in a whole new way and that made me more confident in being able to express myself in a way that I had never felt comfortable in doing so before, so I felt maybe a little overwhelmed but excited in being able to explore what I could do and how I could do it in the world of art today with all the new technology!

I made it again but spelt out my name in the trees for this blog!

I loved going out taking pictures and I would merge them on photoshop just experimenting but this wasn't the work I normally tended to do, as I worked in my sketch books and painted but having just learnt photoshop and using my photographs I liked what I was seeing at it was different to what I normally, so I started to do a lot more of it and plus it gave me more of an excuse to use my a lot more so I could use the pictures in my work!!

Again this was about feeling lost....so the idea was that your there but your not...just a shadow! It's quite scary looking! 

Another image I did about feeling lost...I love drawing fairies though..(don't no why) but I just get lost in my own world most of the time, I'm often away with the fairies myself and being involved with art has made day dream even more so because Im jus thinking about the next thing I can make and create!!

 I did this in my sketch book before I got myself hooked on photoshop....and I do slightly regret not having done more of this work at the time but I will do more when I get some some good snap shots of places!

More sketch book work for the project lost

Just like the fairy picture, I did these because I get carried away in my own thoughts a lot as I said before and the faces blend in and don't stand out, like there lost in the colour of the painting, and there also facing away like there in there own thought!

Again.....lost on an Island, that has a tree! So very random!

Barbara Reid

 Barbara Reid

 I fell in love with Babara Reids work as soon as I laid eyes on it. I myself love using plasticine as I get to make and build charaters and create a picture.
When I came across Babara Reids work in my first year, she has been my biggest influence and inspiration ever since. Every time I look at her work the hairs on my neck stand on end and all I want to do is get out the plasticine and create some work myself. Come pay day all I ever think to buy is more plasticine, I have draws filled to the top of the stuff....its fantastic!!!!
What I love so much about her work is the attention to detail and the colours and composition....but most of all how she captures the scenes with emotion, to make you feel what the picture is showing you (I do hope that makes sense) Every piece of work she has created are just as stunning as the next.
I have put a few images of hers below but its a must that you check out all of her work on her website...you will not be disappointed, and she also has little clips to show you how to make plasticine pictures yourself!!  www.barbarareid.ca

 I got very excited when we got a project recently to get in contact with three to five of our favourite illustrators to ask some questions, because even though I could have done that anyway, I always put myself off as I didn't really have the confidence... but for it to be a project, meant I had to stop being a chicken and to do it and I'm so glad I did because she replied and I've been beaming ever since!

So here is my interview with Barbara Reid...

Q.1)Who are your inspirations and were there any illustrators/artists who influenced you into making plasticine art?

1) My inspirations were the illustrators of picture books I read as a child: Beatrix Potter, Pauline Baynes, Arthur Rackham, N.C. Wyeth, many more.  I also love the expression, drawing and storytelling of Toulouse Lautrec, Daumier and Brueghel.  I got the idea for trying plasticine illustration from a magazine cover with a plasticine caricature; I don't know who the artist was, it just caught my eye.

Q.2) Is it harder to work for a client than it is writing and illustrating a book of your own?

2) In many ways illustration for a client is easier, because it is a job of problem solving, and there are specific boundaries.  Restrictions force me to focus and there is no time wasted second guessing the text.  Writing is very difficult for me, it is really creating something from nothing.  What is the story? How can I tell it? So many possibilities!  It take me ages, but it is very satisfying when it actually turns into something.

Q.3)Being a wife and a mother, how do you manage to balance your time with your family and work and deadlines?

3) Balancing work and life is a challenge for everyone.  However, book and educational projects being large projects usually have a longer production time which makes room for flexibility. Advertising deadlines are much tighter and there is a lot of back and forth, so I found those jobs difficult to combine with "real life".

Q.4.) Making plasticine picture's myself I do use quite a lot of it, so how much plasticine do you go through and how often do you need to buy more?

4) My illustration is a relief style, not 3D, so I expect I use about 30 1 pound bars in the course of a book.  Even though I think I have enough there is usually a panic run to the supplier mid-book for a particular colour!  I use Plasticine brand, which can be difficult to find here in Canada; I have to go to a hobby supplier to find it. 

Q.5)What advice would you give to illustration students who are about to graduate and step pout into the real world?

5) I think today's illustrators need the traditional skill of drawing - each person's style is unique and that is what clients want.  But it is also essential to be up to speed on digital skills - taking what is unique to you and using the tools of technology to produce it in forms and a at speed that the market demands.  Animation is becoming very important - the more we view images on screens, the more we want them to move. Be yourself, and work very very hard!

I wish I was in that snow ball fight, it looks like so much fun!

Yep...this is all made out of plasticine! Incredible!

I love the this scene...every window has its own little story going on!