ArtMode

This was a unit i struggled with a lot. The main reason i struggled was i got to excited about making that i almost forgot about the developmental drawing and planning side of the work. Which although i feel is a mistake that i shouldn't be making at this level, i do think on some level it shows the base line of enjoyment in the craft. I dont think that is something to forget. As i decided to link my ceramics and developmental units together i started working in my sketch book along side the blog i had written before. After experimenting with slabbing, coiling, pinching, glazing and stenciling i had made the decision to work with the theme of the sea shore. I loved the idea, at the time, of working around the theme of water.I started by looking at Japanese waves as a print. Using this as a starting point i decided to experiment along the way, i made a coil pot and used decorative slip over the top of it. I then carved into the slip to create the wave. I then painted ...

For my illustration unit this year i decided to go down a different route than last year in idea rather than media. The story this year was about a man named Donald, a fisherman, on a boat when him and his crew see a mermaid, they all proceed to throw herrings at it until it swims away. Knowing mermaids are bad luck a person at the docks later tells Donald not to return to sea again as it is an omen of death. Donald does not return to sea until a year later when he is approached by a merchant with a good deal. They sail away and are never seen again.  This story made me think of the current Brexit, US and UK trade deals and obviously the Donald i thought of as Trump. I thought this would be a funny and different approach to the unit and it felt more up my street than what i had done before. After looking at a verity of illustrators i was drawn to the work of Geoff Grandfield and Shepard Fairey. I loved the cinematography / film noir 'style' o...

Banksy. Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist/ political activist. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling.   I wanted to look at his work for this unit first because when I think of satire he is one of the first artists I think of.  His work combines free style stay painting or using chalk and other drawing materials swell as stencilling. He uses this for quick application.I like his work because of his strong imagery. He is telling a story, or making a point with very little written word.  Although he is well known for his street art he also creates other forms of art including oil paintings on canvas. One well known thing he did was buy a painting from a charity shop and then paint over the top of it before retuning it to the shop. He also did something similar with fake £10 notes, changing the picture of the Queen’s head with Princess Di...