Projects galore ...

Spring term Week 4 at Art School


After the uninspiring, creative-block week that was last week, I decided this week that I was just going to start on a new image (on the left). I had originally avoided it as the number of people seemed too much to handle. But after I had a second look, I was quite taken by the birch trees in the background. Thinking back to my see-through book from the first week this term, and the idea of hidden things and layers, I though maybe I could do layers of birch trees to make some kind of forest, and in amongst the trees would be little woodland creatures like birds and rabbits etc, and maybe even a Little Red Riding Hood kind of character. By this point I got quite excited, and started working out possibilities that were slightly different from my book - and some cutting and pasting of bits of paper later I made the mock up you see above, with the concertina like base. I also went down to the architectural model shop and rummaging through found the gorgeous bag of off-cut veneers you see above too. The thought now is to cut tree shapes out of the veneers and make a many layered forest book or box-thing ... watch this space for developments!

Then today we had been told to each bring in an object, preferably something that could be taken apart, and something that we were happy to give away. I brought in a can-opener (we have about 5 in the house!). Everyone's stuff was put in a black bin bag, and then you had to pick one out blind that wasn't yours! I ended up with beaten up old broken radio ... Firstly we were to draw it and take lots of photos, and then pull it apart and do the same - just so that we could get really know our object. On the left is my starting sketch - you'll also notice on the sheet a mind-map of word associations I did as the project is basically to come up with some piece or pieces of art based on or inspired by our object.

Below is a picture of its inside - its full of little colourful bits and bobs and wires and transistors and things and I'm quite excited by this project too. Whoopee!