RÓISÍN

Experimenting with maps and layering vectorised typography collected from Bristol.  

Both are designs I ordered to be printed as A1, although I’m a little disappointed with how the colours of the printing came out, with some colours varying across the print :(( 

Process photos of screen printing poster of my collected Prague alphabet.

Pop-up & collaging experiments for FMP using Bristol photos & letters cut from magazines.

PROCESSIONS // WORKSHOP WITH DORCAS CASEY Banner making workshop with visiting artist, Dorcas Casey for the centenary of (some) women first getting the right to vote & celebration of women’s suffrage. The banners will be used as bunting in other workshops and then taken around a celebratory march in June in London.

LIFE DRAWING // In last part of session I decided I would like to draw from a different angle so moved to the opposite side of the room. Layered drawing in different colour pencil. 3rd drawing started at different position again but right at end of session so couldn’t draw very much at all. I quite enjoyed drawing the folds and textures of clothes although it can be annoying how they change arrangement between breaks in drawing sessions.

CLARKS PROJECT // SHOE DESIGN Moodboard and shoe designs for Clark’s “Grace” women’s flat smart dress shoe brief. I looked at mid-century modern design (& inspired design) including furniture and interiors for inspiration. Final design ideas for shoes would be made from soft leather-like materials and velvet. *A little late but recently got boards back*

LIFE DRAWING // NO MODEL Hour & a bit doing hand studies. Drew own gand & other people’s, with varying degrees of success but definitely feel an improvement .

TEXTILES WORKSHOP Spent the 3 sessions of textiles workshop learning different methods of creating volume with fabric & sew different seams including an accordion-like ball-shaped “jabara” (which I attempted to twist to present), French seam (not mounted), seams in a curve, and pleating (which I found ridiculously confusing somehow since they look quite simple!).

LIFE DRAWING // ANATOMY STUDY No life model today so for our first life session of the new year we started by drawing rough online and features of one of our peers head & shoulders/ torso and then drew in the skull & skeleton from skeleton models in the centre of the room.

CERMAICS WORKSHOP // Making teapot with photos of making the shape and form of the teapot before bisque (first) fire, straight after bisque fire & then with pale blue stoneware glaze & gold-bronze detail painted on before second fire. We also made clay test tiles to try out different glazes & decorative techniques. I painted coloured slip over leaves for some and on other painted slip & carved out a pattern through the slip to reveal plain clay beneath. Photo of all 6 is after first fire and before dipping in the glaze.

SCULPTURE // GAS WELDING This morning Duncan showed us several tools and techniques in sculpture including oxygen-acetylene gas welding. I was keen to try welding and in an attempt to link it in with my pathway project exploring human anatomy I quickly decided a simplified metal rib cage might be doable in the limited time we had. I used pieces of scrap wire of varying sizes, sawing pieces that were too long and then decided to try bending some pieces to form ribs, although they were probably too short scraps to do well as with shorter lengths you lose leverage. I really liked the gold appearance of the filler metal so used this to help join the ribs to the centre rod forming the rib cage ‘body’. *photo of maddy welding her circles* We ran out of time before lunch so hopefully I will find time to re-weld the weaker joints then shape and bend the ‘ribs’ better and maybe tidy it all up with the electric wire brush depending on the finish I want. Depending on how it shapes up I may experiment with textiles, maybe simple felt organs hanging from the metal...

Manually arranged digital photo montage of the Bear Pit in Bristol. I decided to do one manually arranged montage as I think they’re usually more interesting than using Photoshop’s automate program which often makes a near perfect image (although I did do my other montage using the automate). I took lots photos of people walking through the Bear Pit but was drawn to the ones of the festive Big Issue Seller and companion walking across, following the path of the brick pattern and the red leading the eye across the montage, and they fitted with my aim to make a montage with a narrative. 

PEWTER WORKSHOP // JACKY OLIVER Pewter metal workshop with visiting artist Jacky Oliver after a talk about her practice. She showed us how to carve designs into the soft sides of cuttlefish shells and then we poured molten pewter (melted using a gas flame) into the hollows and allowed it to cool. My first cast didn’t fill the shape fully due to the thin lines and spilled out of the shell mould, so for a second attempt I carved a ‘well’ around the sun design. This filled the shape of the sun and bought out the beautiful textures of the cuttlefish shell however I prefer the separate rays of my first one, a sun-turned-star. To finish I filed the edges to remove any sharp bits & make them both tidier. It was my first time working with molten metal and I quite enjoyed the new material and maybe might use it again for a future work…

First we made a background of newsprint paper and newspaper, glued with PVA on usual A1 sheet cartridge paper. While waiting for glue to dry done a quick ~10 min portrait sketch on a smaller sheet. Didn’t find too bad although my use of charcoal has created a drawing that is quite stark, harsh. Onto the prepared background drew head and upper torso. Overall found rather difficult as the model moved a lot this session so it was difficult to continue below the shoulders with model’s whole posture regularly changing. Tried to draw more individual sections such as the knees and crossed upper legs but didn’t manage to get any more than a few line in before she moved again

Seated pose. Started with drawing the outline and basic inside features/ details in pencil before adding colour and tone using watercolour paints. This session I found drawing quite simple, figure just seemed to come together & didn’t think about it much, in contrast with the last couple session. When it came to adding colour, I layered up paint, trying to pull out the colours and attempting to capturing the brighter, warmer colours that appeared very briefly when the sun would come out from behind clouds as it was nearing sunset (afternoon session). I am conscious that the colours might be too vivid, but maybe that’s part of the style? and I am quite pleased with the leg & foot. Need a lot more practice doing side profiles of faces which I struggle with- also blue beneath eye is too strong.

LIFE DRAWING / First life drawing with male model. Second time doing a sitting position with foreshortening of the thighs. HB pencil and sanguine oil pencil. Overall quite pleased with the drawing although the face isn’t the most flattering!