Fusions in Metal and Movements in Clay

Continuing with the technique of drawing > wire > roller, I stumbled across an interesting fusion. Using scraps of metal from the off cut bin, and specifically with aluminium, there is an interesting affect that occurs:

It fuses, almost like an inlay in wood. I think it's very special.

The surface texture is quite delicious, what an exciting secondary act !

And further here with textured aluminium - the possibilities with this are so exciting!

Earlier this week we had a workshop with the clay bully. The extrusions from this are adaptable according to plates. Here are my extrusion experiments, I love the way they have movement! Once fired I will look to glaze these and introduce them to the wire drawings.  

Developing in Wire and 3D Drawing

Whilst working through my last project I have become enveloped by the notion of conceptual drawing. This is something I want to push over the coming year and am excited for where it might lead. I was pointed in the direction of Fritz Panzer the other day, he creates HUGE spatial works that have real energy to them - I love it!

Anthony Gormley can be found in this bracket too - just look at those manic swirls!

My own drawings and creations are starting to take some kind of form. I'm struggling for what they 'are' or 'where they belong' but all will become clear in time I am sure/at least hope! 

drawings becoming forms...becoming drawings? again?

drawing from the page...

and literally jumping out of it! 

Resulting in a funny set of characters! But which performance are they acting out?

Addressing tension and the sense of space, pull, motion, stillness....

but where will it all lead next?

I found my tutorial today quite helpful, with suggestions of playground structures and how they react to the space. 

my chosen location: the old rum distillery in Spain

So I am going to continue playing with wire and bring to that some ceramic forms too. We'll see how they interact with one another and from that create the stage for the end product, or idea, or pieces or whatever it's going to turn out to be!

Drawing Movement

I attended a workshop at the Surface Gallery last weekend, it was part of the Big Draw and titled Line in Motion - it was just my cup of tea! We were watching a rehearsal to the performance Gymnast by Bodies in Flight (this is on show again in February in Hinkley and I would definitely recommend a visit!) I'm going to use these sketches as inspiration for my next project and taking into consideration some of the wire line work I was doing in my last so watch this space for the developments!

handstands and leg stretches

swinging around the pomell horse

This was the whole rehersal worked into the page. The colour is the sound of the choir and all the lines the moving people!

Inside/Outside

The Brief:

5 Week project

You are Required to select 1 range of Outcomes and 1 location from the list below.

Outcomes

A range of Objects: Vessels, lighting, furniture, interior accessories / fittings, sculptural artefacts.

A range of Adornments: Jewellery, garments, millenary, accessories, sculptural works.

A range of Surfaces: Drawings, patterns, colour works, textures, screens, dividers, interior works

Locations

Inside or Outside of the Human body: Contour, hands, eyes, cell structure, finger print, 

genetics/

The Inner city: Architecture, public spaces, retails environments, pleasure spaces, transport etc.

The Great Outdoors: Parks, fields, forests, mountains, coast, gardens, external structures etc.

You must produce a range of finished work of your choice which is inspired and designed for your specific location.

Along Came Piper

I have been on the hunt for a kitten and yesterday I met one which I just had to take home! So here she is the beautiful blue eyed Piper!

I'm naming her so, as I wanted something that matched her colourings and had some kind of artistic connection. It also needed to fit with Pixie, of course, and at first all I could think of was Grayson Perry! I thought that was a bit long though and she is a girl (though maybe that didn't matter?!) Then there was Rothko, but again a bit male sounding. So on my way back from uni today the perfect name appeared. After John Piper, the painter, who I was introduced to in our Printmaking last year. He works with a lot of grey (a very British colour!!!) but is sensitive with his blues and accent colours too. I love his mark making, and that's really where I'm at with my work right now so what better name for her to have than that! She has delightful blue eyes and exquisit mackerel-like markings. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun drawing her :) so watch this space!

John Piper, Newhaven, 1937

Working In Wire

Whilst exploring ideas for my first project of the year and battling with the predicament of 'where do I fit - 2D or 3D?' I decided to take some of my drawings and start reproducing them three-dimensionally. I bought some modelling wire and got myself down to the shiny new metal workshop! 

Having the drawings as reference in front of me I drew with the wire and a pair of pliers. It was really good fun! :) 

After drawing and getting them to stand, I placed them on a piece of scrap metal and took it through the roller, this produced a really nice effect...

Really illustrative still and containing the life that I seem to have in my drawings, so i continued with some more:

Then approached some other areas of the sketchbook, fixing on this little guy, with his monocle!

Creating a bounce, he sat on the workbench

Then went through the roller and flattened into a new form of flight!

I'm curious as to where they might lead, but in terms of getting back into the workshop, combatting my fear of making that I have sometimes this felt like a really productive exercise and I nice ease in to week one, year 2!

Candy Floss, Ferries Wheels and, err, Mushy Peas with Mint Sauce?!

Yes, it's that time of year again, Nottingham Goose Fair! It's a great place to visit for studies of people, colour and movement so I went down yesterday to do some drawings as it started hitting dusk. 

Here are my efforts; and on the note of mushy peas...I think it's just an East Midlands/Yorkshire thing (so if you've never tried it - give it a go!), but the addition of that vinegary mint sauce is just divine! 

Goose Fair Landscape

Merry-go-round

drawing in amongst the crowds 

High swing

Swing Higher!? 

Dodgems

If I wasn't going away this weekend I would have gone back armed with a black sketchpad, electric pencil sharpener, pastels, chalks and inks. I feel this would have given a much better capture of the light, but in terms of movement, I think it's getting there.

I decided to go back through the fair on the way home from uni today. I wanted to do at least one detailed drawing, so chose this candy floss stall on Gregory Boulevard:

I wanted to capture the crowds of people visiting/not visiting/just walking past. The lady running the stall asked to see it when it was finished. I showed her, she said she wanted a copy (?!) and gave me this: 

So all in all, not bad for my first week back to uni!