New Beginnings

Hey guys!

I thought I'd just let you know what I've been up to lately

I've been on Tumblr a lot collecting some inspiration and relaxing after the second year of my FdA course ending!

My Tumblr Page

I'm looking forward to receiving my results and graduation from CCAD!(:

Ecpecially after enduring my last day today, picking everything up and saying goodbye to my tutors and technician, it's a bitter sweet chapter of my life done.

I'm also wanting to start a new project, I often look for inspiration from my surroundings but since I won't be in a workshop during the next few months I would like to start drawing again and maybe developing some ideas from observation. 

I believe the best design has us in mind and our surroundings is something we're in everyday, and although we need function I think making something interesting or giving someone a new outlook always inspires me within design. 

What have you guys been inspired by this week? 

Portfolio Boards

 This board is apart of my project in Level 4 where we were given a selection of words to choose from and I chose Surrealism because I've always been interested in symbolism and conceptual Art and felt it was a great idea translating that into something 3D. In this project I decided to run with a dreams and self conscious route. This board shows a few jewellery samples I played with, using different techniques. Flattening wire worked from automatic drawings I created before bed, hand written words using small dome punches, wrapping wire, using contrasting materials and machine embroidery.

 This board shows a few of my Textiles samples from the same project where I developed symbols in my dreams using acetate, a black pen and hand embroidery.

 This is one of my textiles final pieces which was a transfer I illustrated combining different aspects of my work self consciously arranging it then later applying it to a soft shiny satin which reminded me of a dream work and embroidering then adding copper wire forms coming out of the piece.

This board shows my Jewellery Final piece which was a round fancinator created using copper, I used wire to create aspects of my automatic drawing and words that reflected a mood within my dreams. I used a lions eyes that would hover over our own once it was worn which was a symbol within my dreams. 

This board is one of my first projects from Level 4, where were were given a shape to create our final pieces out of. I was given a triangle and this was my design process board for jewellery. This project was very useful as we explored techniques and it sparked my love for jewellery.

This board represents a group project we were assigned in Level 5 Professional Studies. It was a group project where we were placed into business groups teamed up with Young Enterprise, a company with start-up programmed to help start businesses. 

 Here is some design development from my first project of Level 5 FdA Applied Arts.

This project was based around perspective and developed from my own imagery where I experimented with using metal and distressed plastic to create a fog and different points of view.

Mixing it up.

This week I have thought long and hard about what I want to make after taking considerations into order, such as time, materials and my concept.

I have decided to stray away my shoulder/brooch piece.

I want the main part of my design to highlight my circular layered piece that shows the point of field perception I have developed from the start, I've decided to go along with making a collectors item, something that you could display, collect and exhibit. 

I want people to look at this object and feel the same emotions you have when looking at a scenic view, or a nostalgic thought for a place or time in their life.

Here's my bay, I've arranged it and narrowed it down to samples I find interesting and that can relate to eachother, although I will be sticking to the circular shaped piece as the main feature I'm still working on what materials I'm wanting to use for the handle, I've researched into magnify glasses and vintage glasses with handles and believe I could do something quite unique with this object.

Here are a couple of the maquettes I've made this week using card and polypropylene.

Designing process.

This week we're finally thinking about our final pieces for our brief.

I experienced trying to write a learner agreement, which is quite difficult when writing isn't your strong point!

Well besides writing this week has been nice to have a clear out of my bay and look at the work and find samples with potential to develop.

On Friday we were set a task to create 10 different looks for our final piece.

I've decided to make a elaborate/exhibition jewellery piece.

I was really inspired by work from Catherine Wales, 

I love how her pieces are molded around the human form into something elaborate and interesting.

http://showtime.arts.ac.uk/CathWales

I found it really helpful to draw ideas out before making them and here is what I came up with.

Update.

I've been thinking about the whole learner agreement part of this project this week.

I think this is the hardest part considering all the other weeks have been fun with experimenting with materials and finding out new techniques.

I have a lot of samples to choose from and this week we also had a group crit.

The rest of my group picked out samples they really liked and how I could make products from them and what I could do next.

I really love getting a second opinion or more on my work because when you look at it for too long you start to over think what other people would find interesting.

I'm still not 100% sure what I want to make but I'm thinking about a decoration object and then accessories

focusing more on jewellery and ceramics.

A lot of people liked the cylinder shape so I've been working with that, my tutor suggested I work with a sphere shaped moulds to try it out and experiment so that's my plan for Monday, I really like the idea of sticking with the rounded shape because it was successful in jewellery and I want my pieces to look like a collection in the end.

In my own time I'm trying to get back into painting, I'd love to take some photos of my own and paint them later on so they're more personal but at the moment I was just browsing the internet and came across this.

 I really love the style of Francoise Neilly and expressionist painting

I did this using acrylic paint with pallette knifes and black ink with brushes on a plain while canvas.

Young Enterprise.

This week in professional, in our groups we had to make some prototypes for our Young Enterprise project.

It's been very difficult this year staying on top of everything but I'm excited to hand-in Contextual early this year and have more time concentrating on my studio modules and professional.

I think the Young Enterprise opportunity will be great for my future and give me confidence selling my own work when I'm self employed.

We have a lot of work ahead of us but I think we're managing everything very well.

I've learnt a lot about buyer behavior and the process we go through when purchasing a product.

Here are just some of the prototype rings I made last week.

This week we have to make a buyer behavior profile of the kind of person that would buy our products.

We're wanting to settle in the hand-made/craft fair and new designers market

we also have to link some of our products to trends if we can.

What kind of trends do you like that are happening right now and which ones do you really hate? 

Here is the young enterprise website:

http://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/

Here is Jenni-Lou's website a member of my young enterprise group!

http://jennilouappliedarts.blogspot.co.uk/

First post of October!

This week has been important for decision making, narrowing down what direction I want my first project to go in. I've decided to keep my theme perspective, I'm playing with focus and out of focus objects/scenery. 

I want to play with glazes in Ceramics, today I made some tiles using porcelain slip, ready for next week. I'd like to use my findings, playing with pigment/stains and maybe oxides to find interesting colours, and work out what would fall into my theme. I'd like to experiment with coloured slip also and decals, I to create pieces that look almost 3D when focusing on a detailed part of an object.

I'm really wanting to take more risks this year and use my time I have at uni now to play around as the brief says! I want to push myself out of my comfort zone, using slip and becoming familiar with it and using molds,  even make my own eventually.

Hopefully I can post some pictures of my findings or other samples next week, I hope you're all keeping well and feel free to scroll through my older posts! (:

Kick up the backside..

..we all really need one! 

Today in Professional studies we were taken through our new brief which looks really exciting and scary at the same time!

We're joining a site called Young Enterprise

http://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/

We have to raise £100 in our groups, which we have to convince our tutor the group is beneficial.

Next we will work in our groups each week until February and then we're selling our products in the Metrocentre in Newcastle.

Well I can't wait to dive into this year head first.

I've been slowly building my kit while I have money to invest. I want to use the studios for tasks I can't do at home, this will help me manage my time better since there never seems to be enough of it!

There will be an increase in activity on my blog this year, feeling encouraged!

Hope everyone is keeping well <3

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while! 

I was very busy with handing in my final project of my first year at uni and then I went on Holiday for a week.

 I promise to post work later on this week and some things I've been getting up to! 

-Liane.

subconscious and surreal mind.

Just carrying on with samples and doodles this week, trying to doodle what's in the subconscious part of my brain, and re-create scenes from my dreams.

In Ceramics I made a coil pot.

This doodle was on acetate and was more of thinking of elements of my dream.

 I've tried drawing in my sketchbook before bed when I'm really tired, I tried to jot down ideas and thoughts that popped into my subconscious.

Here's a scene from a dream I had, I created this with gouache paint. The painting shows a scene of my dream where I was taken to 'famous destinations' I can vividly remember this scene which was a beautiful sunset and mountains behind the trailers/caravans, I couldn't quite remember what they were on but I had an idea to draw them on top of a lake.

I didn't get a chance to take photo's of the work I've done in jewellery but I'm really confident it's going somewhere and in a direction I'm really enjoying(: 

Dream-like world update

So on Tuesday we were encouraged to decorate our bays. We had a sneaky look at Textiles', their bays were a lot larger than ours but I do find I like to work in one spot and have grown to love the size and layout of my bay. I wanted to mix my inspiration up and try and create a space I go to for ideas, so this is what it currently looks like.

I really love this project and I'm trying to mix the Circus theme with my dreams, I want to create a TV-like box and create scenes, mixing objects or feelings with symbols and think about the meanings.

I have a few samples so far but I've been busy with doing Contextual work. I think this idea links in with Surrealism and the paintings I have in my research. 

Here I embroidered a Lion with a very colourful maine, the idea behind this came when I was looking into the old circus animals and I wanted to combine the clowns essence with the animals. This piece took a very long time, a few sittings but I was excited to see the turnout.

Here I thinned out copper and using pliers I manipulated it into a rose shape- this sample links in with a dream I had about elaborate makeup and the design on my face was huge roses with swirls but being late for work and thinking I couldn't go in like this so in the end I didn't go, ironically I was speaking a few days earlier about wanting to quit my job and not being able to wait until I can work in something I really love.I believe the meaning behind this was trying to standout and wanting to quit my  job because it doesn't satisfy my creative needs.

I will update with the ceramics pieces soon,  I glazed some mono prints earlier this week and can't wait to see how they turned out. It's the first time I  have mono-printed or glazed anything!

The circus.

So for my second and last project this year I've decided to base my project around The Circus. I wanted to incoperate broken toys and the performing animals markings with keeping the word surealism in mind. Today my tutor was ill so I had a whole day to sit in my bay and buckle down drawing. In our liabry at CCAD there was a huge(really heavy!) book with beautiful photography of old performers in all their glory. I've forgotten the name of the book but luckily you can't take it out on loan, so I will have to go back and look again.

Hello there! If anyone would be so kind to contribute to my project for university, it's based around dreams and dream-like worlds - as well as me keeping my own dream diary I thought it would be nice to connect with others and see if there are any similarities- I have a dream book for deeper meanings- I find this theme very interesting and love reading through responses- this is private and confidential, no names are required, the more information the better!
 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J32R9J3

Also if you're looking for new blogs to follow, check out my friends Jenni-Lou's - she makes some lovely handmade teddy bears!
http://jennilouappliedarts.blogspot.co.uk/

Origami Triangle Vessel.

So for my first project at CCAD we were given a brief to based off shapes, I was given a triangle. I found this super easy triangle Origami vessel and thought it was a great idea for your workshop, you could put beads or buttons, anything small that you need in front of you to work(:

http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-triangle-box.html

I thought these illustrations were helpful but I thought it would be nicer if I took some personal photo's,  I'm a visual learner- you tube videos are great for this if you're struggling with learning how to make something from written step-by-step instructions.

Grab a square piece of paper

Fold one corner on itself(symmetrically)

 Next fold either corner into the center of the triangle to create a square shape.

 Un-fold the corners the then fold the middle corner into the center.

Repeat this process until you have 3 sheets you're happy with.

Slip one corner under another so it aligns with the crease and repeat this with the last triangle

 To link them up repeat this process with the two loose corners of the triangles

Now you should have your origami triangle vessel, you can also go back and secure each attachment with glue or double sided tape.

Here I've just put some Willy Wonka gob stoppers in mine.