Recent Happenings

This week I was busy finishing up my ceramics. I put a blue glaze on my lips and words so hopefullly these will be out of the firing next week.

I have also been concentrating on my contextual note book and researching various artists. I am mostly attracted to any artist who gives priority to colour and clarity in their work. Simple but striking images and sculptures that speak for themselves without having too convoluled a message like the work of Jeff Koons.

Working Bigger

I felt the need to start working on a larger scale so this painted cardboard piece is my starting point.It represents teh idea of colour, line and city scapes. I plan on working on top of this base to create something more interesting.

Ceramics

I have moved onto the reason of why we sometimes try to hide from our Urban Environment.

Gossip was one of the main reasons I could think of that people would want to hide away. These ceramic pieces represent common words of our everyday lives. The wors are removeable, showing t he ides of putting words into other peoples mouths.

Since this picture was taken , I have refined the outlines of the pieces and added holes to allow them to be hung like a mobile, or at least this is my intention.

Hopefully they will be fired and ready for glazing sometime next week. I then hope to further this aspect of my project by moving onto working with teh nastier form of gossip and seeing how I can change the shapes of the lips according to what words are being said.

Monoprint

This monoprint was created using acetate stencils which I made from my make-up cut outs which remind me of city sky lines. The make-up theme fits into my project as one of the ways we hide ourselves in our Urban Environment.

First Woodblock

These three prints are of my first 2 woodblocks. As you can see I forgot that they would come out backwards when printed but I learned my lesson!

The theme here is that of 'airing your dirty laundry'.

In this print, I blocked out the writing that was in the leg-hole of the underwear using paper.

Photoshop to Paint

I began trying to re create exactly my photoshopped image using acrylic paints but the method was too restricting.

So I abandoned the 'perfect' approach which i generally veer towards and got looser with the paints. I think the image improved and I much preferred this style.

Print introduction

Thursday morning , I spent in the print room experimenting with the materials and equipment. The piece is only a rough idea but it was helpful to get me thinking on what I would really like to produce with print.
   I plan to work more with mono-printing next week.

3D washing lines

These are images of my 3d washing lines. This includes the smaller practice version , made from white card, and my papier mache piece.

The larger is my more recent work {this weeks} which is being covered layer by layer in wallpaper paste and paper to build up its stability.

The initial cardboard fell apart when I left it over night but I re assembled it and hopefully it will be ok after the weekend!

Content of my Work to Date

Content of My Work to Date (1/11/2010)

Urban Environment

Erin Delaney

K00124256

·         Initial research including photographic study of my Urban Environment, an illustration and investigation of these images using sketching, painting, batik and combined materials.

·         Development of the conceptual aspect of my research; what do I see in these collected images? How do they affect me?

·         Focusing on how we cover ourselves up; make-up city skylines with magazine stencils, ‘Lipstick Jungle’ Photoshop and painting. Looking at pixilation and the creative possibilities.

·         ‘Airing your Dirty Laundry’; work centred round urban laundry and clothes washing habits.

 3D mini washing line from card with wire washing                                                 

Line drawing inspired by image of an urban washing line

Felted image of a washing line

·         Contextual research and investigation of others work which relates to my topic.

·         Evidence of learning to knit though not yet project related.

·         3D textiles work; re-vamping your unwanted laundry into useful garments. Top and jacket from jeans and personalised boots from scrap material produced to date.

Resourceful recycling in the Urban Environment

With the talk of recession and cut backs it onnly makes sense for us to re-invent the clothes we have rather than going out and spending more money. By re-vamping our present wardrobes we get new, original and more importantly, individual pieces.

My focus on washing lines and urban clothing led me to this project of re-using the old clothes I had banished to my 'giving away bag'. I came up with the following top and jacket , both completely made from old jeans.

Front of top

Side view of top

Back of jacket

Front view of jacket

Photoshop

This is the picture which has been photoshopped to demonstrate my theme of people using masks, such as cosmetics and make-up, to hide their true feelings behind. This week I am using acrylics to paint this picture and to practice colour mixing.

First Project Pictures

This is one of the first observational pictures which I took to start me off on my Urban Environments project. It was to represent the idea of city dwellers and their personal lives, a persons 'dirty laundry'.

This picture is an example of the laundry theme going public, hanging on the open road as opposed to in ones private backgarden. It represents teh idea of the lack of privacy which some city dwellers experience.

This week

So far this week I have been drawing parts from the photography I have collected , but altering it in some way, with the addition of text and so on. I hope to continue this and possibly re create other scenes or images using different techniques and methods.

Last week

Last week I concentrated more on teh use of photoshop.
I also experimented with textiles, learning the techniques of knitting and felting.

This week I have been focusing on the 3D elements and possibilities of my project. I am firstly working with card .
I also spent time collecting more source material, hanging out clothes and getting photographs as well as finding exposed washing lines in my urban environment.
I learned how to use photoshop and am experimenting with the photographs I have taken.
I have begun researching various artists and have found the manufacture of jewellery from disguarded objects interesting which
leads me to think of how jewellery is hung for safe keeping. I may investigate further i nto this idea using 3D.

Urban Environment Project

Having been given the topic of 'Urban Environment' to work on over the next few weeks, I began by exploring my personal urban surroundings.
   As I am attracted to colour and shape i began looking at various forms of signage throughout the city. This then lead me to thinking about how inhabitants of the urban environment view not only signs but eachother. How do we choose friends? Do people judge others on their appearance or habits?
   I went on to focus on what we use to help others form opinions of us. How one hides using make-up and clothing. How we can lull even ourselves into a false sense of security by buying into trends and fads just because they bombard us in our surrounding environment.
   One way which I hope to focus on getting behind the barriers of urban dwellers is by searching for and recording the various washing lines around the city, especially those in full view of the general public. I intend on researching others who have focused on this topic and document in my project how they went about their discovery.
   I hope to use washing lines as a way of seeing the bare person. How they hang their washing, when they do it, do they follow a certain method? unconsciously, people will be displaying their upbringing for all their urban neighbours, friends and foes alike.