New year will be a new start. Pictures,reviews....the works. Under construction at the moment!!!

A couple of weeks and new things will be up

Constance Briscoe- books "Ugly" and "Beyond Ugly"

Roger Hargreaves- Mr Men and Little Miss series

More experimental etchings

This image shows a man with vitiligo

This image is of a man who's face is made up of women.

This image shows a girl who has been affected by Leprosy

These images are of people from magazines. The images were first created using mono printing and then developed into drawings for etchings.

My address is perfection no correction and yet I am still doing the opposite!

Here are some books that I have made in the past few months

Books have arrived. "Tina Teddy" and "My Animal Scrapbook".For Graphic Arts I am aiming to do at least 10 prints. 10 lino pieces based on cartoon distorted/ disfigured characters and possibly 10 etchings based on natural disfigurements.

There will be images of completed work put up soon.

For Graphic arts I have been reading into more articles which relate to my work or images that I have found. For example within the distortion and disfigurement theme I collected images of people who changed their appearance with tattoo's and plastic surgery. So to further develop my ideas I have been looking at tattoo's, people's opinions of them, pro's and cons etc and plastic surgery.

I have previously attempted to make little clay faces based on the distorted pictures that I took of myself. I am going to develop those.

As a progression I have been able to complete two books.
One called "Tina Teddy", which is about a teddy bear who goes on a picnic and is preparing what to eat and what to take with her. This book provides minimum information about colours and the benefits of eating different foods, as well as learning how to rhyme.
The book was influenced again by my youngest sister and the character was created from an adaptation of a teddy on a card that was given to me.

The Second book is called "My Animal Scrapbook". This book again is for children and provides a picture of the animal, similar to the way a child would draw something that they want to remember. There are 10 or 11 images and there is also geographical information so that the child can know where the animal is found. This book is quite big compared to the other that I have done.

Some of the possible images for the book.

Illustration...have done some images but some are more successful than others and flow better, regarding composition and appearance so I think that the book may probably end up being about interesting animals with a bit of information about them.

Pictures to come soon.

I have decided to change my brief slightly with regards to my illustration project. I was going to do a range of three children's books, for example about discovery and adventure and also about love and happy endings. Now after being inspired by a wildlife programme, I am still going to continue with the idea of children's book's but the first one with now be "An A-Z of animals with funny names". I have half of the alphabet completed already for example....clown fish...dumbo octopus..I do not think that I will illustrate the animals exactly as they are because then it may seem boring. As the work progresses I will see how the ideas develop. If the book does not become an A-Z it will be some type of story where the animals meet each other.

Here are a few experimental screen prints

The following is my current position statement. Just a few things about where I am at now, how I would like to progress and what I would like for the future. Also I have been experimenting with screen prints (disfigurement and distortion)...some images work while others...not so well. The images will be posted shortly!!!

Position Statement

I began studying art and design from a young age and have continued with this subject until present. I used the basic mediums, for example chalk and charcoal, lino, pencil and paint. I enjoyed using chalk and charcoal because I had to learn to be controlled and disciplined when creating a piece. I have made quite a few paintings including murals, in and out of the classroom environment and have also drawn a variety of pieces.

My practice began to change at the start of university. Until then, I used the mediums that I knew, but was later introduced to wider range of other methods, which would enable me to have different results when processing the same piece of work. I began to experiment with collographs, photo etching and more with lino and the reduction method, using a variety of colours to enhance the piece. Some were more successful than others and as a result I also experimented and continued to use screen-printing and etching. After doing a series of drawings for a project which involved me observing people, I began to concentrate on my drawing skills using pen, focusing on the detail that lines can create and now this is what I tend to work with.

Currently I am focusing on two projects, one is based on disfigurement and distortion. I became interested in the idea of disfigurement and distortion and wanted to take it further, because sometimes many people do not see themselves as their peers do. Also I wanted to apply this theme to everyday people in newspapers and magazines because the majority of the time the images are air brushed, so this is a way of reversing things. The artist John Steezaker, who collages faces, and sometimes landscapes together has influenced me. In his work it begins to become an abstract form. I have chosen this particular topic because I do not see myself as superficial and would like to focus on something more than what is seen everyday.

The other project is to create children’s books. After doing a series of short projects involving making books, I realised that I enjoyed creating different types. For my final major project, I intend to create three books for children aged between 7- 11 years old, which include themes such as adventure and discovery. I usually work in black and white but would like to inject colour into this project.

This semester I aim to make three books, possibly four if time allows, and also develop my ideas further on the idea of disfigurement and distortion so that I will have a lot of material to work with. On graduation I would either like to be an Illustrator or Teacher. I believe that I will be able to achieve this if I continue have a set goal in mind and work towards it. Time management is very important and I will stick to the timetable that I have given myself. I will develop my image editing skills and begin to network more, not only to know more people but also to gain more influences. More contextual research needs to go into my work in order for it to be as successful as it can be.

I will evaluate my own practice by referring to my timetable and also seeing how my work has improved compared to the beginning. I can also do a peer assessment to get an idea of how others perceive my work.

Graphic Arts DV3200

Project performa Guidelines

Semester B 2010

In relation to the first semester of the Graphic Arts Modules in 2010, I now consider some of my strengths to be mono printing and different styles of drawing. I also believe that I am quite good at screen-printing, even though I have not done much of this. I have a good eye for detail and colour and would like to develop this further by also working with stencils. The project for Semester A was Distortion and Disfigurement. There was a lot of research but no particular final outcomes and because of this a development of my work has not been shown in it’s best light.

Therefore my project for Semester B will be a continuation of my Distortion and Disfigurement project with a range of prints, which will then be carried out. My ideas from the beginning about what I wanted to do regarding this project have changed. I will continue to collect information and begin to put actual pieces of work together as a finished product. My photoshop skills still need to be developed further and I will try to incorporate this into my work.

Gallery visit­­

02/10/09

The Bristish Museum

The Royal paintings of Jodpur

Garden and Cosmos

This exhibition has originated from western India. The focus is on a variety of religious beliefs, objects, images and decorative designs. For example, walls, carpets, bed spreads and palace walls were often decorated with floral designs. In some of the images nature and romance were intertwined, for example the leaves of the tree resembled that of a peacock and at the foot of the tree there is a woman resting.

In Indian culture it is believed that the universe is destroyed and then re-created periodically and in so perfect beings are created (Nah mahasiddhas).

Some images are show beings with ash-white skin, which represents re-incarnation. There are a variety of optical effects that are used to create rhythm across the page, for example, swirls. When there are images of weddings, wars or death, they are drawn in multiples to show a rapid succession of events.

Gold is a colour often used and in one picture gold is used for the entire background to represent the deities and also represent the unknowable absolute.

The way the work is illustrated is cartoon like and in some of the images the artist experiments with single point perspective. It was stated that “this suggests a knowledge of European artists conventions”.

The images though are not drawn in 3D but instead positioned in different areas across the page to again create the illusion that there is depth and space.

Yantras is the map of divine identity and different colours symbolise different things, for example pink yantra may have been designed to secure a military victory.

In some of the illustrations I found that the body is used as a map and it is believed that the essence of the universe is both everywhere and within everybody. It is believed that there is a supreme being other than the hindu gods.

The exhibition was interesting because it was not only educational regarding the history but also with the processes of drawing.

Gallery Visit- Jerwood Drawing Prize

Questions considered

1. Consider the range of medium, method, purpose and subject matter on display. Are there commonalities in the selection that has been made?

Purpose is to draw, illustrate, the majority use line.

Helen Newhouse- Acrylic on paper

Jenny Smith- Laser cut of circles

Lela Shield- Temporary

Annabelle Craven- Jones- Pen with foundation

Mark Jameson- Portrait of my sister

Simon Parish-Marker pen on paper, simple 4 colours with white

2. On what basis have works been classified as drawings? Is there any point for you, at which the exhibition stretches the category of “drawing” too far? If so, why?

Yuko Nasu- Imaginary Portrait- Oil. This piece is gestural

3. What are some of the different uses of line? Give examples from the exhibition.

To create shape, for example, Jenny Smith.

Frances Stacey- Bundeled shelter, collage. pen

Ekkehard Altengurger, tent, laser cut drawing. Looks like string and pins from afar.

Richard White, Ealm Wates-thread on paper (sewn on paper)

4. Coonsider the artists who use words (apart from the title). Why do you think they choose to include words in their drawing, and what is the impact.

Stephen Felmingham- Temple of the Subliminant- Charcoal

From afar looks like a photograph. Possibly

Pop life Exhibition

13/12/09

Tate Modern

Pop Life

In this exhibition there were a re a variety of new artists that I was able to come across and get some ideas from their work. These ideas will transfer into my Graphic arts and Illustration work. I will aim to be more creative and expressive in my work. Some of the artists include Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.

Jeff Koons did a piece called “Rabbit” in 1995. This was cast in stainless steel and is a contrast between the animal being something soft and the material that it is made from being something hard. The balloon animals can help to bring forward ideas on distortion as the image of the animal is not real and another represented image is shown even though there are no facial features etc.

He is known for playing with Kitsch and high art in the 198’s. He is a balloon artist who makes sculptures based on the balloon animals. The work is not directly made by Koons, he comes up with the ideas and they are produced by others.

Takashi Murakami is an artist who uses a lot of colourful weird images in his work. The images are interesting and simple to define even when there is a lot to take in. His work ranges in fine art, fashion and animation and it is apparent by some of the drawings that he does. The images that he creates are eye catching and the eyes is never bored. In 2005 he made a piece called “Superflat Museum (Convenience Store Edition). Another that I found interesting was Hiropon” 1997. This is the type of image that you have to look at twice in order to understand it fully. The sculpture is of a girl who looks like she is skipping while inflating her breasts, but it is actually milk that she is squirting out.

Andy Warhol’s “Joseph Beuys” image (1980) was very eye- catching with two of the prints on top of each other. This technique could possibly be incorporated into Graphic Arts, for example with Distortion and Disfigurement as my theme I could screen print a normal image twice to create the effect that the image is out of focus.

Damien Hirst’s “False Idol” image (2008), is good and experiments. This piece has a religious connotation to it because in the bible at one point the people mad a calf out of gold and was worshipping it, this is probably why Hirst has made the hooves gold. This gives me the idea to not only experiment, but start to add different connotations to my work.

Finally in the Pure Beauty Exhibition I Liked a series of images that in an unusual way I find to be different. “Portrait: Artists Identity Hidden with Various hats” (1974). In these images the hats are being held over the face by the person, but seems as if they are on the process of taking off a hat and not hiding.

Gallery Visit

01/10

V & A “Decode” Exhibition

This exhibition was very informative. It showed the ways in which technology has developed, what it is now being used for, also what it will be used for in the future. From the Decode exhibition I drew some points from it, which I can now put into practice in my own work. This enabled me to think about being more experimental with my own pieces. Decode showed data and 3D technology being presented as art.

Universal Everything

“Everyone Forever” 2006

“descended as digital sculpture’

Everywhere

Oasis

2008-9

This was an interactive piece as the sand was moved around on the screen, new life forms were able to breed.

“Fabrica”

Venetian Mirror

The presence of someone is recorded in slow motion.

Simon Heijdens

‘Tree”

2005

A tree was projected onto the wall and the leaves that had fallen from the tree, scattered on the ground. When movement is sensed near the leaves they move in whatever direction they are pushed.

Gallery Visit

02/10

Tate Modern

Van Doesburg

This exhibition showed a variety of Doesburg’s work over the years. The transitions, which he made in developing work through different periods and how his work made an impact on society and different movements which followed. There was not a large number of paintings of people, a few sculptures but the majority were geometric, very precise and strong bold colours were used.

There were a few pieces that I was interested in either because of the dimensions within the composition, use of colour or overall presentation.

Heroic Movement 1916

Doesburg was interested in the “Spiritual reality through abstract works” and also in the representation of fourth dimensions. He was involved in the international avant-garde and was influenced by many artists of the time including Kandinsky. I like this piece because it is simple and the colours are bold, even though abstract resembles a person.

“Cosmic Sun” 1915

Resembles the Turkish eye.

Dance 1 1917

Stained Glass

This piece shows precision

“Woman combing her hair” 1915

A carved image. The body is solid but the face is hollow. This is a combination of positive and negative.

“Composition XI, opus 18: Decomposition of the card players” 1917

In the piece it makes the viewers try to distinguish between the foreground and the background.

“Composition with red, Blue, Black, Yellow and Grey” 1921

Oil on canvas

I especially like this piece because it is so simple. The use of grey to create space and depth is very good.

“Design for poster” 1919

Pencil and gouache on paper

“The Eggboard” 1922

“Pure Plastic” 1922

“Geometric forms in Space” 1924

“Abeceda” 1926

Book

Interesting because typography and images has been combined.

“Victory over Sun” (series) 1923

The subjects in the images are made from abstract geometric forms.

Graphic Arts DV3200

Project performa Guidelines

Semester B 2010

Student Name: Shadia Chambers

Tutors Name: Lesley Rogue

Date: 20/01/10

In relation to the first semester of the Graphic Arts Modules in 2010, I now consider some of my strengths to be mono printing and different styles of drawing. I also believe that I am quite good at screen-printing, even though I have not done much of this. I have a good eye for detail and colour and would like to develop this further by also working with stencils. The project for Semester A was Distortion and Disfigurement. There was a lot of research but no particular final outcomes and because of this a development of my work has not been shown in it’s best light.

Therefore my project for Semester B will be a continuation of my Distortion and Disfigurement project with a range of prints, which will then be carried out. My ideas from the beginning about what I wanted to do regarding this project have changed. I will continue to collect information and begin to put actual pieces of work together as a finished product. My photoshop skills still need to be developed further and I will try to incorporate this into my work.

The images are from a project relating to Obsession and another one, which was completed but not used for a final piece. For the second semester I am going to do a series of children's book's, the topic is still yet to be decided.

For Graphic Arts my project is based on disfigurement and distortion. I will be doing screen prints and continue with the mono prints that I have already started with. I have been going to different museums and galleries to gain inspiration for example, in presentation, how ideas can develop, what route the thought process can take.

Some sketches

First post for 2010...changes have taken place

These images are based on a story about Gordon Brown being late for his conference meeting. I have now developed a drawing style that I am comfortable with, which is detailed but at the same time still has a cartoonish element to it.

The following images are from various projects.