Reflective 4

Returned to Birchover the weekend before last. Mostly I went home to go to the Buxton museum (Saturday) to see what they had from Stanton Moor - there wasn't very much - but there were some other good bronze age stuff - and there was an installation (and performance) about the museums collection using sound and 3d imaging that was pretty exciting. Stopped at Arbor Low on the way back (very windy and rainy). On Sunday I made the trip over to Birchover, with the aim of doing a full day again. I aimed to tick off a few bits I've missed previous times (Aundle Stone, Doll Tor). And also look for the bronze age burial mounds on Stanton moor. I got most of them done. Its much easier now the days are getting longer. The way it has worked out is that I visited once in Autumn, once in Winter, once in Spring - and I'd really like to go to the nine ladies for the summer solstice (maybe as a rounder offer.) In general, I'm finding it hard to spend enough time on 603 at the moment. Between MassArt, Hanbury and PP it doesn't feel like I've had very much on 603. That said, what I am fitting in of 603 I'm really enjoying. I've pretty much let go of any restrictions with it - its just what ever I want to make - letting it happen. I have this constant niggling feeling that I'm unsure where I fit in in creative disciplines - I'm not sure its really illustration  - but I'm not sure it fully fits into anything else. For the time being I'm letting the work happen and then worry about where it fits later. (this is all something that probably needs resolving - or exploring - through pp). I'm still really excited by 603 and so ready for complete freedom - I have a slight feeling ideas are passing me by before I get the chance to do them at the moment.

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MassArt

This week I have had a week off the Birchover project with the MassArt collab. For our project we made a series of cards and and app based on the Otley Run. It was my first proper experience of collaboration. Our end product was fairly commercial-orientated. It was really interesting working in this way as it was so far away from what I would usually do.

Overall, it made me realise how helpful collaboration can be, in terms of reducing individual workload and merging peoples skills to elevate an end product. Not just the work from my own group - seeing all the outcomes and how different approaches and styles were integrated into cohesive projects was exciting. I'd like to keep in contact with the MassArt students - and possibly try collaborate with some LAU graphics students some more.

Reflective 3

Birchover reflections

I have been focusing on making positives for screenprint - I made 5 prints a A3 in the last few weeks. I'm sticking with a colour scheme to give them all a consitent feel - green, grey, orange - and black?

making positives has began to stall - at the moment I only seem to be able to have about 2/3 of an idea for a print.

The publications I saw during MassArt really excited me - and reminded me that thats what I kept meaning to do - so I went in on Saturday and just photocopied sketchbook pages and loose sheets (some on coloured paper - loosely sticking to the colour theme.) and then grouped the pages based on location and theme.

The result is quite an abstract publication - but it got me thinking. I've had a creeping feeling I've been too fixed on printmaking and not allowed my ideas to flow as much as I should. With a bit more experimentation and some simple integration of type - it could be quite a nice publication. One thought was that I could make 2 - one for the top half of Birchover (Nine Ladies and Stanton Moor) and another for the bottom half (Rowtor Rocks and the Druids Inn - Winster Guisers.) I've been thinking about ring binding for a long time - its simple, almost tacky - and it keeps a feeling of the kind of guides you get from a small, historic place like Birchover.

Going though the work I'd done and compiling it all made me get an overview of the work I have done - and what still needs doing. It also made me get a sense for a) how much work I've made - how many sketchbooks - and b) how much of that is good/useable

I also thought I could do a similar publication at A3 - and properly bound. It may well be that photocopied sheets are mixed in with screenprinted pages (and digital?)

The work is still flowing fairly well - but it really needs pushing on somewhere else in order for it not to get stale. Much of the work is fairly abstract - so I think type is going to be really important in showing context.

Competition Briefs reflection

I have also completed a few competition briefs. These are the Bicebe Political Poster competition on 'the age of disinformation' and the penguin books student competition. I did 'the establishment' by Owen Jones and 'Norwegian Wood' by Haruki Murakami.

For the Bicebe competition I had half an idea based around a head from a book showing mixed messages and the confusion of media and social media today. I spent a few days trying to formulate it into a proper composition - using abstract ink drawing cut up and re-organised - they ended up looking a little confused. I also tried using other bits of collage but couldn't compose them correctly. I have tried both working to scale with physical bits of paper and on screen. In the end I've ended up with the design below - its ok - but I'm not sure I quite mastered the design dilemma I've had (/not quite knowing how to realise an idea I have in my head.) 

The penguin books I had a few ideas for 'the establishment' partly inspired by the Mai 68 posters, showing a crowd. I was going for a D.I.Y. kind of look. I didn't really feel any of these really worked. I had another idea for using old images of country houses and general opulence in the cover, I liked the idea of using tapestry or similar symbols of the British establishment. I gave photocopy transfers a go - just experimenting. All I had was nail varnish remover - so it didn't really do a great job. I just wrote the title around on the sketchbook page. When I showed it to be he said that it was done - and after editing it and doing a back cover in my handwriting I agreed. It ended up the slightly crap photocopy transfer does the job of showing the hidden nature of the British establishment - as well as giving the cover a slight punk aesthetic. 

I hadn't initially intended to do a cover for norwegian wood - but I found as part of my Birchover project and other things I had quite a few images of trees. I did some experimenting and playing around with different layouts. In the end I stated doing the type like trees - with shadows. - and this is what i went with in the end (type- based)

I have enjoyed doing these briefs alongside the Birchover stuff- and they have definitely helped drive each other further - but I think now I'm going to focus more solely on the Birchover work in order to push it as far as I can.

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