The image above is an image of my final installation from the exhibition.
My artist statement
Youdells Award for my installation
Other artworks from within my class, for the exhibition:
Final outcome
At the moment all of the pieces as can be seen below are not mounted up as the college has to prepare for the college exhibition. Therefore at this current moment in time the pieces are not attached to a wall. They will be mounted up on display for the college exhibition next month.
Here are some images of my final outcome:
Here are images of the pieces closer up:
Evaluation
Introduction
Give a brief overview of the year and explain what you aimed to do during this final project of the course
Throughout this year I have been exposed to a series of workshops and techniques some of which I have had previous experience with and others that were new. The workshops I have had previous experience in are ones like lino cut, ceramics and illustration. However in these workshops I learnt new techniques and developed my previous knowledge and skills. In the new workshops I learnt lots of new processes such as dry point etching, mono printing and tonal drawing techniques like stippling. In the Final Major Project I found myself using a variety of these techniques aiming towards my final outcome, such as dry point etching, ceramics and lino cut. I aimed to achieve a piece that featured a variety of media, of both 3D and 2D form, and I also wanted to inform the audience about the subject I was creating.
The techniques I used for my FMP are shown below:
Refer back to your brief what you were asked to do
In the brief we were given a variety of learning outcomes to achieve by the end of unit 8. The first learning outcome we were given was to be able to identify, plan and develop an art and design project. The second outcome was to be able to undertake and use research for and art and design project. The third learning outcome was to be able to use materials, processes and technical skills for time based art and design. The fourth and final learning outcome was to be able to assess the effectiveness of an art and design project.
What was the theme of your project? How did you approach this?
The theme of our project was Environment. This linked to anything from the human body to a household, or a park to the textures of the ground. All of these things surround us and are a part of an environment. This meant we had a large range of subjects to focus on for our projects. I approached this theme by working out what defines an environment to myself and a range of different environments. I then looked into the environment that is one of the most important surroundings for any living organism; the actual structure that surrounds and protects it. For example the human body, animal body, or outer shell of something living.
What were you looking forward to learning/experiencing in this project?
In this project I was looking forward to gaining more and new skills and knowledge about a variety of techniques and artistic styles. I was also looking forward to gaining more independence in my work by coming into college on extra days and spending time in workshops to create samples.
Did you want to develop any other skill such as time management, independence or punctuality?
I did want to develop my commitment to my education and spend more time focussing properly on completing both the practical and theory parts of the course. Along with this I wanted to gain more independence and confidence in personal achievements such as my practical work. Along with these I wanted to improve the social aspects of my life, therefore getting better at teamwork and group skills which would help me thrive in confidence also.
Summary of research
Did you go on any trips? If so, where? What did you see? Who inspired you?
At the beginning of the year the Art and Design department of college went to Liverpool to go to a variety of different locations for primary research. Myself and the rest of my course went to The World Museum, The Walker Art Gallery and The Tate, Liverpool. In all of these galleries I found inspiration and ideas by different artists for my project. There were 2 pieces that inspired me. The first was ‘Photobooth’ by Lorna Simpson, from The Tate, Liverpool. She had an installation piece which inspired my idea to have a range of different shaped and sized images in my piece. The second piece that inspired me was a piece called ‘The Nariokotome Boy’. I was also inspired by this piece because at this point in the project I was looking at human bodies as a form of environment along with animal bodies.
‘Photobooth’ by Lorna Simpson ‘The Narikotome Boy’
Did you do any location photography to support your project? Where did you go and why?
For my project I did some independent research in and around my own environment at home. I went on 3 trips, one up a fell near my house, another down towards bowness and the lakefront, and then also to Dalton Zoo.
I went up Brant Fell because I wanted to get out with my younger cousins and their dog, so we went on a trip. I knew I may come across wildlife and I’d also have company which I’d be able to photograph. I went to Bowness and the Lakefront because I had a set route which I could guarantee horses and other wildlife being on as I pass a farm on my way down, and then the ducks by the lake also. I then chose to go to Dalton Zoo because of the variety of animals they have there.
All of these trips allowed me to capture images of animals and humans, along with mine and their environments.
What artists and designers did you research? Who was your main influence? Why did their work inspired yours? Are there clear links between your work and theirs?
Throughout the project I researched a variety of designers such as Miguel Endara, Edwin Landseer, Julie Mehretu and Francisco Goya. However the artist that mainly influenced me was Miguel Endara. I was influenced by him because of his realistic style and the way so much of his work fascinated me. I found a video of his dot work which I think is such an effective technique for tonal illustration. He has a clever way to get his work noticed on social medias by videoing his process showing the development. I thought this was very smart, which therefore drew me in further. I decided to try dot work myself and found out I really enjoy how time consuming it is, because I actually feel and see how much effort I am putting in. This also helps me to see my pieces developing slowly, therefore I have more commitment to them as they appear gradually and I see the realism.
His work inspired mine because I then wanted to achieve something of similar effect to his, as the kind of pieces he creates make an audience stunned with the amount of detail. I wanted to achieve this, therefore started doing some dot work which ended up being used in my Final Outcome.
I find researching and looking at the work of others is crucial as it shows us how others present and approach the same themes and their views on them. It allows me to take aspects and styles of their work and use them to my advantage by putting them into my work.
Miguel Endaras work My work
What type of sources did you use for research? i.e. internet, books or journals?
For research I used a variety of sources. I mainly used the internet, and websites such as Wikipedia, Google Images and artists personal websites. However I also looked at some books such as Mark Hearld, Work Book and Emily Ball, Drawing and Painting People – A Fresh Approach. Along with these, I also have the college art technician who is also a practising artist who gave me different artists and styles to look into throughout my project.
The research technique I found most useful was the internet. This is because there is such a large range of information available on it. Along with this the internet is also extremely simple and quick to find information on a variety of devices and platforms.
Experimentation and development
What workshops did you take part in? Did you learn any new skills?
I took part in 2 new workshops, along with a variety of previously taught workshops, throughout this project. The new workshops were; drawing with wire and dry point etching. And previously learnt workshops were; experimental drawing, ceramics, lino cut, and embellishment of prints. Throughout both the new, and old workshops, I was learning new skills. For example in the experimental drawing workshops I became interested in stippling and dot work, along with learning a completely new drawing technique such as dry point etching.
Drawing with Wire Drypoint etching
How did you start to develop your project? What materials and processes did you use and why?
To develop my project I began to focus on 5 medias which I had used in lessons, so then I knew they were successful enough for me to be able to create a range of effective pieces for my installation. These 5 medias/techniques were; dry point etching, lino cut, ceramics, dot work and photography. After this, I then began looking at the layout and composition of my work and how I could create an interesting piece so I decided to add information boxes into my piece, so that my piece could also educate the audience.
Did anything go wrong? If so why? How did you move forward?
During my project I had one major thing go wrong. This was my Ceramics Hawks claw getting broken, which I knew I was wanting to use it for my final outcome. To fix it I had to spend time with my tutor Barry who then showed me how to use Epoxy resin as an adhesive and put the pieces back together. I found this piece getting broken was a lesson for me in 2 ways. The first was it taught me to think about where I am leaving my pieces when they are delicate and the practicalities about where I am putting it and if it is in danger. The second lesson was about learning to rebuild something successfully after damage has occurred. I found it taught me that even if it seems really bad, if I try hard enough and skillfully, I can rebuild and fix it to a high enough standard that satisfies myself.
How did planning and completing your development samples help with your final outcome?
Planning and completing my development samples helped me with my final outcome because I was able to test things like the linocut and drypoint etching plates in the print room. I could see what they were creating and if I needed to make any alterations before creating my prints for my final piece. I was also able to see and use the sample prints in real form, therefore I could practise what kind of embellishments I could do on the final prints.
Final outcome
What materials, techniques and processes did you use?
For my final outcome I used a diverse variety of materials, techniques and processes. The techniques and processes I used were ceramics, dry point etching, lino cut, dot work and my own photography. Once I had created my prints, I then used techniques of embellishment such as paper cut, drawing and layering to add development and more links into my work. What I mean by this is like when I created my bat drypoint etching. Once the print was dried, I then embellished into it and added a background using manuscript paper with notes on it from out of a magazine. The manuscript was to make a link between sound and a bat as the reason I used the bat was for echolocation and how they use sound to direct themselves therefore the background linked to the actual theme and concept of my piece.
Once I embellished my prints and digitally manipulated my photography, I then put all the pieces onto foam board to make the pieces stand off the wall when they are eventually mounted up on display for the exhibition.
Did you come across any problems? If so how did you solve them?
I came across 2 problems. The first was with my lino cut as when I came to print it, it was really faded and was struggling to pick up the ink. To correct this I had to apply more ink that I was comfortable with, and apply heavy pressure with an ink roller when I was making the print. The other problem I had was running out of time for my practical work as a lot of people were using the printing press and it was difficult to work around everyone in a small room. To fix this I began spending lunch and break times working with the press to print my etchings.
Are you pleased with your final piece?
I am extremely pleased with my final piece because I have successfully achieved what I was aiming to do right from the start of the project. Even though my ideas have developed and become more specific such as looking into animals and their senses instead of the human body as an environment, I have remained consistent with creating an installation using a variety of media. Along with this, I have created the pieces at a standard which I am extremely happy with as I have spent many hours on every piece ensuring it is of high quality.
How have you presented your final outcome?
I have presented my final outcome by creating a variety of 2D and 3D pieces. The 2D pieces are all mounted up onto foam board and I did this because I didn’t want my pieces to be flat against the wall, instead I wanted there to be depth to the pieces which just makes them look neater and they also become more rigid. The 3D ceramics claw will be mounted onto the wall also using pig’s ear hooks.
The composition of the piece is large and small pieces mixed together to create a collection. There are 4 main images, which are prints and illustrations and they are spread across the whole installation. Mixed in between these are the 3 digitally manipulated prints, the ceramics claw and then the information boxes that support the 4 main pieces.
This is how the piece will look when it is mounted up:
The pieces will be mounted up onto a wall for the college exhibition.
Reflection
Did you meet all deadlines?
Throughout the course I believe I did meet the majority my deadlines for both my blog work and my practical work. I would spend the given lesson time for the appropriate task, and when we were given more independence by our tutor I then began to plan out on paper what I am going to do each lesson to ensure I do begin to fall behind. There were some blog posts that I wouldn’t complete within the week we were given them, however I would spend my free time at home or extra hours in college to complete my blog. I would also come in extra days to continue my samples, and fix the ceramics claw that got broken.
What did you most enjoy about the project and why?
Of the whole project I enjoyed the dry point etching the most. This is because I really like the concept of drawing by engraving into the surface of the perspex sheet and then printing the piece to make an ink drawing. I also really enjoy using the inks and the process of rubbing it into the grooves and then wiping the plate clean so the ink only sits in the incised lines.
Along with drypoint etching, I also extremely enjoyed finding out about stippling, working out my own style and then getting the reactions and feedback from my classmates. I can see both etching and stippling occurring in my future work.
If you had to do this project again, what would you do differently and why?
If I did had to do this project again I would possibly try to create more ceramic, lino and illustrated pieces for my installation therefore having more balanced amounts of different media. I would also definitely research more artists and their styles that could link to my project because then I can refer to their work and techniques and how I would alter them to suit my style.
Along with these I would have liked to have created more samples and embellished into them, therefore having a bigger range of samples and development.
Where do you see your work progressing from this point?
From this point I see my work progressing into Level 3 Art and Design Year 1. I see myself working with ceramics a lot as I would like to continue creating realistic forms however I would like to push it into a larger scale. I will definitely carry on with photography and continue to use it in my work. I would like to do a lot of different kinds of print work, such as dry point etching and lino cut as I enjoy the style and effect it gives.
I aim to improve all my current skills in the areas listed above as I enjoy all of these process and their outcomes.
Presentation
After I presented my powerpoint, I was given the feedback sheet shown below:
Development of my final outcome
At this point I have created all of my pieces for my final outcome. Each of the images below are the pieces that I have created:
Once I had created each piece, I then used double sided sticky tape and mounted each piece up onto foam board which I wanted to use to reinforce the strength of each piece, as well as adding depth for when they will be mounted up rather that flat pieces of paper/card.
Along with these flat pieces of work, I also have my ceramics hawks claw which adds an additional media of 3D ceramics. Here is the hawks claw:
I also decided to make the piece informative by having small paragraphs about the 4 main animal pieces, and their senses. Here is an image of the 4 bits of information, and underneath is each of the paragraphs written out for better visibility.
Giraffe Tongues
An average giraffe’s neck can stretch to as long as 6 feet, however the tongue measures only 15-20 inches long. The tongue is this size as it has to be long enough to reach into the base of the leaves of an acacia tree which has thorns on the tips therefore the length allows them to avoid the thorns. However the tongue is covered in a thick and tough layer which helps defend against the thorns also. The tongue is also blue/black in colour which helps defend the giraffe against getting sunburnt on their tongues as they eat for an average 12 hours a day.
Owl Eyesight
Owls eyes are forward facing and extremely large. The eyes are larger to improve visibility especially in low light conditions as the larger pupil allows more light to enter into the retina in less time. Although they have extraordinary night vision, owls have a large range of adjustment therefore also being able to see clearly in daylight. They have a wide range of binocular vision which allows the owl to see 3 dimensions and judge distances in a similar way to humans. The eyes are shaped like cylinders, rather than balls, therefore they cannot be rolled or moved – owls can only look straight forwards. To make up for this the owl is able to turn its head 270 degrees either left or right from the forward facing position, and it is also almost able to rotate its head completely upside down. Owls are also equipped with 3 eyelids. The top for when the owl blinks, the bottom for when they owl is asleep and then there is a third eyelid which is a thin layer of tissue that closes diagonally across the eye, which cleans and protects the surface of the eye.
Bat Echolocation
Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind. In fact they can actually see just as well as humans. However they hunt and fly around in the dark, which therefore requires a sense other than eyesight. Instead they use something called echolocation which is a high frequency system. This works in a similar way to sonar. The bats send out calls which return echoes to the bat from the surroundings creating a sonic map for the bat. The distance is measured by how long it takes for the echoes to return back to the bat.
Shark Smell
A sharks sense of smell is highly sensitive and capable of detecting minimal smells in masses of water. The myths that sharks can smell a single drop of blood in a whole ocean is massively over exaggerated however many sharks can detect blood at one part per million blood. Although it does vary between specie. The nostrils are located on the underside of the snout and are used solely for smelling rather than breathing, therefore having a larger olfactory bulb in the brain which increases sensitivity of the cells allowing detection of minimal amount of chemicals. This high sensitivity not only assists with catching prey, but it also helps males to detect females that are in season as they release pheromones, therefore males being able to seek out potential mates.
All of these images need to be mounted up for the exhibition week beginning 6th June.
Plan for next week and SMART targets
Next week I aim to continue and complete my Final Major Project by Tuesday. I have a variety of pieces that are part way through process. Here is a list of the pieces I have to complete:
- Final Proposal
- Digitally manipulated prints to go on my final outcome
- 4 paragraphs of information to go on my final outcome
- Print lino and etching to go on my final outcome and embellish
- Water colour hawks claw
- Glaze ceramic vessel
Peer review
Today we did peer reviews which involves students being paired up to evaluate each others blog and practical work. I find this task was extremely helpful for myself as not only did I get inspired from my partners work, I also received feedback from my partner which has assisted me to correct and improve my blog and practical work.
Here is the sheet I wrote for my partner:
Here is the sheet my partner wrote for me:
The feedback I received from my partner was extremely helpful. The 2 pieces of feedback I received were:
- I could improve my blog work by writing the process for each of my blog posts. I respond to this feedback positively and understand why she has said this, however I believe I don’t need to do this on every post, as once I have written the process of a workshop once, I don’t think I should write it again as it has already been covered.
- I could improve my blog work by working back into some pieces with mixed media and create backgrounds for my prints before printing them. I agree with my partners comment and believe I should follow her improvement advice in my future prints for my FMP.
SMART Targets
The 2 SMART targets I have set myself in reflection of this task are:
- Next week I want to work back into my etching and lino prints, which I am about to create this week, with multi media.
- Keep up with my informative blog for each of the up and coming posts I am about to create for the end of my Final Major Project.
Final Outcome – lino cut shark
Another print for my final outcome is a lino cut shark. The reason I chose a shark is because of their extremely strong sense of smell. This links to my theme because a sense of smell is one of the crucial senses used for animals and creatures to survive.
Lino Cut
I chose to create a lino cut because I wanted to have a range of media used in my final outcome. I enjoy the effect lino gives because there isn’t lots of little details, and it makes a piece look basic as it has a simplistic style to it when only printed once.
I started out by picking out an image of a shark which I was going to make a trace from to put on the lino. I chose this image because it has 3 features showing which would suggest a sense. Mouth/teeth, eyes and nose.
I traced the basic lines of the image and then turned the tracing paper over and traced the lines I had just drawn, onto the lino. Therefore the image would be reversed on the lino. However that means the final print would then turn out facing the same way the original photo did.
After I drew on the basic lines, I then shaded in the areas that I knew I was going to cut out. I did this because that way I knew where to cut out, and so that I wouldn’t go wrong. It is important to cut out the right sections on a lino cut, because whatever you cut out wont print. Therefore the lighter parts of the image needed to be cut out, and an outline around the shark so that it would stand out from the blue background.
Whilst cutting out the lino, I had to wrap masking tape around my knuckles because as I was cutting out the lino, my fingers would rub and catch against the grooves which began to tear my skin after a lot of scrapes. Adding the masking tape just stopped my knuckles from hitting the lino and getting grazed.
Printing
Once I had cut out the lino completely, I then printed the piece. I created one background for my piece, and then chose to just use plain paper too. The surface I created had blue where the sea is in the image, then a black dot in the middle where the eye should be. As can be seen below, this print didn’t quite line up, however it worked well enough and still looked effective.
Then I simply created 2 plain prints. The first I created was really faded. I think this happened because I didn’t push down hard enough when I was using the clean roller on the top of the image to make the ink transfer. Therefore with the next print, I applied much more pressure onto the roller which printed the piece properly the second time.
Embellishment
I chose the 3rd print as the one I wanted to use because it was the most clear, yet it was really simple, that way I could add whatever embellishment I wished.
I used 3 tones to apply development to this print. I used a light grey, dark grey and black fine liner. The reason I used these it because I didn’t want to add any unnatural colours, however I wanted to add little bits of emphasis and texture to certain lines within the piece. I added dark grey cross hatching along the lines near the mouth, and light grey in the scarring marks on the top of the shark. I then used black to make the eye round, but did not fill it in, because I wanted there to be some contrast instead of a full black circle.
I like how this print turned out because the lino always has a style to it which I really liked in this print. I like the little marks you get in the white sections, as that creates the uneven tones and little sections of colour rather than it being pure white. I also really like how the teeth turned out because they aren’t completely solid and obvious, however it is still apparent what they are.
Final Outcome – dry point etching bat
For my final outcome I decided to create an etching of a bat. I chose to do this because a bat has an additional sense which links to my theme. This sense is echolocation, where in the dark bats use a similar technique to sonar in which they send out sounds and determine the distance an object is from them by how long it takes for the echo to return.
I decided to do an etching because I really enjoy creating etchings, as well as they are extremely effective for capturing light and precise detail.
Etching
I started out by selecting an image off the internet to trace the bat from. Using masking tape I attached the perspex board to the image so that the image couldn’t move whilst I was etching. Then using an etching tool I began to cut into the sheet creating delicate and intricate lines tracing the image. Here are some images of this process:
Printing
Once I completed the plate, I then took the piece to be printed. I did initially chose to create different background for the bat to be printed on, however before printing I decided I wanted to keep the prints on plain surfaces therefore not taking any attention away from the print itself. I did print on fabriano paper and brown sugar paper.
The fabriano paper prints turned out well. Initially I chose to only do black ink so I did 2 prints of those on the smaller sheets of fabriano. However after I did these 2, i had an idea to add some brown ink into the body, and leave the wings black. Before I printed this in the press, I then chose to put the print onto a longer sheet of fabriano. I chose this because I thought if I keep the print untouched by embellishment then it would look better on a long landscape piece of fabriano as the bat is very long horizontally.
The piece I did on brown sugar paper did not turn out so well as I chose to use a white ink, which did not show up on the sheet. I should have used black ink, however I wanted to try a different colour which unfortunately was unsuccessful.
Embellishment
Once my prints had dried I then decided I wanted to embellish one of the prints for my final outcome. I chose the less faded bat print on fabriano which had the brown body and black wings. I wanted to use this one because I believed this was the best print out of the lot as it was realistic with the brown body looking like fur.
I then paper cut the print out from the excess paper, and then put it onto a background. This background was a torn out page of a magazine with musical notes on manuscript. I chose this background because the musical notes represent the sense of sound which the bat links to with its use of echolocation.
The sheet already had a tear in it from the centre of the book it was torn out of. So I then made my own tear at 1/3 of the larger page so that it was equal and more balanced. Using some stripes of double sided sticky tape and pritt stick glue, I stuck the bat down onto the background. I positioned it to the right of the page angling toward the left side because there were more notes on the left which I didn’t want to cover. As well as the positioning of this piece within my whole installation is to be on the right of the whole display. Therefore I wanted the bat to be facing into the whole installation.
I am really happy with the outcome of this piece because the background has a analytical meaning to it, which I find really effective and I think it will make the viewers think more about the piece.
Final Proposal
Today we created our final proposal sheets. I think it is important to create a final proposal sheet as it is evidence of the current image I can see in my mind about my final piece. I also think it is useful and crucial to be able to refer back to a plan or image, which can keep me on track with what I need to do to create my piece. I am also then able to see my ideas developing, if I then make changes to my piece and create another final proposal sheet.
I am happy with how my final proposal sheet turned out because it expresses a range of ideas, inspirations and layouts for my final piece. However, I wish I had taken more time on it, therefore making it neater and adding more detail to the theme and possibly another artist inspiration.
I think the only thing that will change as my piece develops will be size and rotation of some of the pieces. As noted on my piece, 3 of the sections are estimated as A4, one horizontal and 2 vertical. I think the 2 vertical pieces will be rotated to horizontal and made slightly smaller than A4.
Lotti Ducksbury 
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