The Boyle Family Link

This is part of a research link from my unit one sketchbook. I used the Boyle Family in this unit as the topic was 'A Journey'. Besides this the other reason I used them as inspiration is because, unlike some artists, the story and journey behind their work is obvious. It all relates to the unique way they select the places they will replicate and I find this process intriguing. I also enjoyed working with different and unusual materials to create this study; such as crushed weetabix and salt which was mixed in the paint to replicate the texture of the gravel.

Still-life in oil pastel

This is an oil pastel drawing of a still-life piece which I also photographed. Originally this was my least favourite piece of work in both my sketchbooks, most likely due to the fact that I don’t usually use bright colours; like I did here. However, after having worked into the piece more and layering the pastel I began to appreciate the difference it has to the rest of my artwork. It has also helped me to use a less restricted colour palette in my other pieces.

'The Journey' Photographs

These photos were taken of a derelict building which I live by. I chose to show them in black and white because I think it best portrays the feeling of sadness you get when around the house. The use of matchsticks was to help relate the pictures to the topic of ‘A Journey’ as they join the pictures together creating a small journey of their own. These pictures were also important to this project as they heavily influenced my final piece.

Joseph Cornell Critical Link

My critical link used in this project was Joseph Cornell. This seemed like an obvious link to me as there is a great use of confinement in his work and grid like structure. I knew this would relate to my work as the house was the basis of my idea, and the idea of confinement provokes feelings of terror; another emotion I closely related to the derelict house in my photos. I used the same materials in the two studies here, they both mainly involved acetate, acrylic and card.

Image transfers

In this piece of development I used both cello tape and fabric to create image transfers. I have a great interest in vintage and damaged items so it only seemed natural for me to feature a piece of development which involved distressing and distorting an image. I found the outcome to be very effective, and useful in experimentation with colours and textures to use in my further development.

Unit one- Final piece

This is my final piece for unit one. I created my own version of the house I photographed. My version is more in the style of a dolls house, the idea of making the house to be this size and shape was based on the fact that I think people often forget about it almost in the way a child would neglect a toy. It usually just gets ignored and passersby forget that this was once a home. Much of my work involves preservation, and in this piece I hope to have preserved the memories surrounding this house. I always aim for my work to evoke strong emotions in the people viewing it.
Dimensions: W38 x D31 x H65cm

Unit One- Room 1

I used many aspects from the derelict house I photographed to create the rooms in my final piece house. In this particular room the fireplace was the main object I focused on as it was one of the first things I saw through the window of the real house.

Unit one- Room 2

In this room of the house, I tried to make the walls as similar to the real house as possible. This involved creating wallpaper the same colour, making copper pipes for the walls and painting on a large mark on the wall which I photographed in the real house.

Unit one- Room 3

Photo of the attic in my final piece house. To create this house I used different thicknesses of MDF which I nailed together. The outside and inside were then painted and I papered the walls the same as the derelict house which I photographed, I also drew on the floor boards and used copper wires along the walls. I made the furniture from thin planks of wood which I cut to size, and rods of wood for the legs of the table and chairs.  Lastly, I used a blowtorch to burn the house and the furniture to create a more authentic decaying look.

Marcus Coates link

The research link I used for unit two was Marcus Coates. This was because I chose a question titled ‘Fabulous Beasts’ and the idea of the animals he used being a collection of clothing fitted in nicely with my ideas for future development. I wanted my project to involve animals because one of my main interests are horses, so I knew I would have a lot of inspiration and enthusiasm about the project if animals were involved. 

Jar photographs

These photographs were taken in the garden of the derelict house I used in my unit one project. I think that the dead trees around this area and the house in the background provide a perfect backdrop for the photos. The grouping of the jars in the trees began the start of the idea of collections in my work. This theme of collections continued to run alongside the original question throughout my unit two.

Pen and wash skull

One of my favourite medias to use is pen and wash, which I used to create this painting of a still-life deer skull. I found it to be an effective substitute to watercolour; which I would usually have used, it also provides a form of colour distortion as the ink splits into greens, purples, blues and browns.

Jars Development

I used this page for ideas of what to put in jars which I had decided to use in my final piece. I experimented with a variety of materials including: small pen drawings categorized in bags, watercolour, text and thread.

Wire Moth

To create this piece of development for unit two I used tissue wrapped in silver wire and copper wire. Watercolour was also used to tint the body and provide a bright background. 

Bird and wire

Some of my jars in the final piece featured drawings of animals, mainly insects or birds drawn as smaller versions of this one. I had the initial idea before but wanted to develop upon it and bring in more of the idea of confinement. I did this through adding the chicken wire, which I made myself, to cover a side of the drawing. The contrast between the natural aspects of the bird and the human aspects of the silver wire was my favourite part of this drawing; I enjoyed trying to include this type of contrast in the rest of my work.

Unit Two- final piece display drawing

This development drawing shows how my final piece looked when set up, it involved around 19 jars suspended from a branch. The arrangement of the jars was particularly important due to the theme of categorization. Other development drawings for this unit were also done using tracing paper and a fine black pen I found this the simplest and quickest way to produce final ideas for my work without them looking unprofessional. 

Suspended Jars

This image shows a collection of some of the jars and how they would have hung on the branch. All the jars were suspended using the same copper wire, or clear wire, I did this because although the jar as an object itself is important to the piece the objects inside are equally just as important. If all the jars were entirely different on the outside people may be distracted and ignore the diversity of creatures being held within them.

Butterfly Jars

This piece is a particularly good example of the preservation, collection and categorization ideas I was trying to explore. The butterflies themselves through being in the jars are the collection, they are preserved through being in the jars, and they are categorized by the jars that they are in being attached to each other.

The Bird Jar

This is my favourite jar out of the whole final piece. It features two chicken bones wrapped in wire and text relating to the type of animal which is involved in this jar; in this case a bird. The way this jar was displayed was important to the aspect of categorization as it was attached to two other jars, both of which contained pieces related to birds- for example, an egg and feathers.

Lucas Samaras study

This is a study of a piece by Lucas Samaras from my current project. This is one of my favourite pieces of work because of all the sharp objects involved in it. The book is completely covered back to front in nails and the study also features a razor blade and a knife. I enjoy having an aspect of fear or danger in my work although I must admit I am unsure of why this is, I think it may just be my inquisitive side; as there is a lot more to think about where danger is concerned than when something involves safety.
Dimensions: W14 x D6 x H18 cm