Shapes of the face - Body Adornment.

The aim of this Project was to use the body to create a 3D work of art.

after looking at a number of influences including the death mask and human remains i came to the design of using fabric stretched over the face to record the resulting shadows and shapes.

the images below are a selection from the photographs that came as a result of the idea.

when looking at the photographs i had taken of the fabric stretched over the face i realised that the images would look more interesting if the shadows and highlights were more contrasting so i used photoshop to manipulate the images so that she shapes of the face were more pronounced. below are the edited photographs.

i thought the edited photographs i had taken turned out really successful and so i chose to take the idea further. i took my Xray Imitations and edited them on to the photoshopped images i had already done.

below are some examples of the outcomes of photoshopping photograms on to the face-stretched fabric images.

I like this image because it is more abstract. I used a photogram of a pelvis which accentuated the shadows of the face and worked really well. i like how the face is not immediately obvious but almost "pop's out" at you when you are not expecting it.

i think this image is really interesting but it doesnt have the eerie effect i was looking to get from it. i think the shape of the face showed up most successful on this image but the photogram of a section of a ribcage looks almost like zebra stripes.

For this photogram i tried to use filters and different effects on the photogram before layering it over the photograph. i like the face section of the image but the lighter area of fabric to the left doesnt look as effective.

after experimenting with the layering of photograms i decided that most images looked better without being layered. the photograph below is my most successful outcome of stretching fabric over the face. i thisk the way that i have desaturated every part of the image except the fabric worked well because it gives the photograph a spookier and more old fashioned feel.

i think that the photo worked so well because of a number of elements, the dark shadow under the chin and the black frame add depth to the image and the hands holding on to the frame are quite disturbing.

Teddy Bear Project

I undertook a project in which i would take a cuddly toy and changed it to create various pieces of art work.

This is a photograph of the original teddy Bear i used.

I then drew the cuddly toy and drew it in pencil. i used softer pencils to create the shadows and darker areas then used harder pencil to create the more detailed sections like the fur.

i then took the teddy and dismantled it by unpicking all of the stitches that connected the teddy material together. this left me with lots of shapes that no longer resembled a teddy bear. i traced these shapes and put them on to card. i cut out these pieces and slotted them together to make a geometric sculpture.

many of these  hung in a circle created an installation. the idea of this was to hang the pieces around a light to create interesting shadows around the hanging piece which would add to the installation.

Decorative Leaf Paintings

These are paintings i produces from miniature collages of different coloured card and leaves.
i decided to make the collage squares in quite geometric shapes after looking at the work of Lucienne Day.
i used Gouache to paint the images and two of the images have colour tests at the bottom of the pages.

i think as a group, these images are quite strong. i liked the rough edges on the images because they are a contrast from the straighter lines of the picture. the bottom image is my favourite because i like the bright yellow tones in the leaf.

Installation Work

This is an installation i made based on myself. the idea of the space was that the viewer would sit on the stool, in comfort and they would be able to look around to see artwork that represents my life. the different pieces that make up the installation signify my ideas and thoughts as well as images and memories from throughout my life and consisted of both hanging vessels, wall mounted pieces, and three dimensional pieces like a lamp i created and an old fashioned travelling case full of photographs that spilled out all over the floor of the installation.

to make all of the small pieces that made up the installation i used a variety of different media and techniques.

my favourite part was using emptied tea bags to make small circular wax entrapment's which included photographs, text, and small items like keys that would fit in to the tea bags.

i used many photo frames in the installation, i liked the vintage style that they gave the piece and they worked well with the sheet music i used in many of the small collages to give a more classical look.

the installation also included many small boxes which a viewer could open to see hidden thoughts and messages.

Texture and pattern of materials

While looking at the texture and pattern i decided to produce photo grams by exposing photo-sensitive paper to light, The blockage of light from hitting the paper caused the paper to stay white while exposed sections became black once developed.

The images above are some photo grams i made. To the left is the most successful photo gram i made using a loosely knitted wool scarf. I love the contrast between the black and white areas of the image and the bleeding of the grey colours make the image look quite eerie. The image on the right is okay, i think sections of the photo gram turned out well though other parts are blurred and unappealing.

 These four images are some of the photo grams i made though i scanned them in to my computer and used photoshop to enhance them. the two below are pretty but the images above turned out really interesting. I made the beige coloured pattern to the left using a piece of netting. The photoshop i used created a scratchy printed effect which works well with the pattern i think. I like the colours of the above right image. I think the pinks and purples complement each other and the white and black adds more of a contrast to the image.

 

I took sectiond of the images above and used photoshop to manipulate the pictures using layers. below are the outcomes of these manipulations. i am pleased with the outcomes of the images which could be used to create patterns for fabrics or papers etc.