Pathways: The results

Textiles

The various dye and paint techniques resulted in creation purely for the sake of creation with no artistic motives behind my "work". The simple excercises yielded "as is to be expected" standard results that were not striking in the slightest. I failed to take much away from the process and quite frankly couldn't find much inspiration in applying dyes and bleaches etc.

My first experience of print based art admittedly not the the best example of my work within the field but work nontheless. I found the concept of creating art through colour printing though quite artistic in nature was wasted on me as I could formulate no artitic uses for this no doubt multi-faceted technique.

A Myriad of thoughtless rubbish, the only way I can describe this monstrosity I effortlessly pieced together from the various paint sand and bleach techniques being taught in the classroom. Yet from this I could ascertain one simple lesson that you cannot be frivolous when creating meaning, you must create with only essential items otherwise it becomes plagued by shortcomings and unscertainties.

  

  

Fine Art

Although fascinated by the process of applying paint to images in order to give them new meaning I took no real inspiration from the process and found it to be quite challenging in regards to applying the paint and how to go about doing it. The repercussions of this work were "interesting" to say the least my final images are a myriad of created meaning and unmitigated disaster. Though these Images are unavailable to me at this moment in time I assure you, you are not missing out on much. The Images in question convey little meaning as a result of my own inability to artfully grasp the medium which I was made to understand.

Photography   

I spent much longer in this pathway than I originally intended to. After being persuaded by my tutor to spend time in this pathway whilst the new recruits learned the practical skills we who had progressed from the BTEC had already acquired during the course of our previous studies. I embraced the opportunity, as the prospect of acquiring skills in the superficial arts that I could then transfer to my chosen pathway seemed both an exciting and informed prospect and I immersed myself in this unfamiliary territory.

The various pieces of lighting equipment wide and varied, in them I saw the creative possibilities that the tutor was trying to get across. These particular images projected a concentrated light source due to their lightweight and  

The softbox light suited best to portrait photo's, the effects of the various lighting were explained and demonstrated to us in this fashion exemplifying both the various lights and various techniques that can be applied. A prime example of this is featured below:

The softbox lighting effect on a low setting and with little background, notice the soft shadow emanating from the subject, the effect accomplished by nothing more than faint lighting. 

This continued to be a staple of the next few weeks as our various photographic experiments in creating meaning with high abstract concepts. The exercise in question was one of museum pieces. We were to select an image from the local Museum and choose a piece to re-imagine as a concept. I chose a painting of the picturesque Lucarno Switzerland, though I was not entirely certain as to how I would go about it. Yet ever willing to persevere I chose objects that related to mountain scenery and picturesque greenery. Among the Images I took were leaves, a thermos and a rams' skull all photographed using the various lighting and colouring techniques in varying combinations. This was a staple of the next few weeks until I decided to transfer back to the pathway of my choice and rejoined the Media department. 

Media:

Len Lye's colour box, a scratch film highlighting the creative possibilities of the medium. This clip was more than anything else an illustration of the 

The pathway of my original choice was dealing in a very unconventional method of creating meaning in this particular roundabout. "Scratch film" was the key term of the day, what followed was a series of delightfully bizarre films highlighting the potential of this particular medium. Following this demonstration and introduction to the medium we created our own scratch films that are to be compiled together and turned into one continuous stream of colour and creativity. This exercise though simple in nature was one that I took great pleasure in creating as It was such a simplistic form of meaning creation that I could od it almost instantaneously. 

Brand new Museum Piece

Having left the photography department I set about creating a brand new museum piece from a new source, the previously highlighted Kathleen Ferrier exhibition. Seeing the possibility of both training my voice for drama school and creating a fine piece of work in the process I seized the opportunity with both hands and set about creating a mini biography. 

3D Imaging: 

Without doubt the most "hands on" of all the pathway activities this centred around the creation of sculptures from Steel and copper wire. Although initially taken aback by the practical construction nature of this pathway I soon immersed myself in the process. Again I created leaves based on the painting of Lucarno from the museum. The reason being that this particular exercise was intended as a continuation of the museum pieces we made in the pathways. My leaves were basic to say the least though I did learn during the process that this medium again can be used to create meaning in the same way that a photograph or painting can.   

     

Printmaking:

The last of the great roundabouts was yet another exercise in printmaking though this time we were called upon to select images specifically ones of contrast. My image choice was one of a large tree in a field. This was an exercise in applying print to various materials to produce aesthetic quality. It pleases me to say that I was moderately successful in producing  aesthetically pleasing work. In particular I was impressed by applying the tree to a wooden slab, although seemingly minute in importance it produced a stunning effect.