Bees!

For my personal research project i decided to focus on something which was genuinly important to me and that is ofcourse the world of Bee's!

Not everyone knows this about me but i actually try and do my bit to support the world around me and this includes looking after our Bees. I aspire to be a bee keeper in the future but as im currently serverly allergic to bee stings ive decided to wait a while.. you know like when the words truely gone tits up and im ready to die.. for now though, im enjoying the latest season of Greys Anatomy far too much to make any kind of commitment to a possible death scenario.

So back to the point my personal research project is based around Bees.. Not sure as to exactly what i shall be doing but il keep you updated!

My blogging troubles.

If anyone happens to be taking a look at my blog today/tonight i would just like to inform you that i am rearranging everything... My blogging troubles are seriously getting on my nerves what with the deleting posts.. rearangement of images etc... i decided to take everything off and put it all back on again at home on mr smithy  my trusty computer.. hopefully this will sort it out .. hopefully..

Personal Research project

So..I'm a little bit annoyed at this current moment in time regarding my personal research project reason being my research has gone missing..

Due to this i will be doing the research all over again and this time just putting it onto my blog.. I do apologise for how unorganised my already messy blog is going to become with updates refering to both projects but hey.. what else is to be done?

The making of..

This is a cardboard cut out created to help make the shape for the base of the piece. It was intended to make it alot easier to get the shape desired but it wasnt.. it seems like im one of those few talented people who cant draw a straight line with a ruler.. no exageration. Anyone once the cut out was perfect (ok almost i had to recreate a head) i tacked it down onto the wood and draw around it .. easy as pie..

Firstly forgive me for the image above.. no matter what i do everytime i click publish post its rearange itself .. nice to know the blogger problems im having are at least consistant..

Anyway.. the above picture shows it in the making! Its getting exciting now that everything is coming togther. Its just time now to start putting the slabs on  :)

The Sarcophagus

So i wanted to be a little bit clearer of my intentions for my piece. i am making a coffin/sarcophagus for myself and it will b life size.. thats right ive measured myself up and its ready to go... BUT if i hear one more person say "ooo thats tempting fate" i will scream.. ok maybe not scream.. but il defiantly tell them to shhh .. we're all going to die one day and if i just happen to die during the making of this piece then then its probably because i drilled through my own face and not because fate was cursing me for making a coffin.

So now thats been said.. Yes im making a sarcophagus and Yes im strangely intrigued by the whole thing.. maybe that says more about me then the work itself.. Ive been trying to find a reason to why im doing this piece and its been hard! I guess thats because there isnt just One reason theres a few...

Firstly, i would be a liar if i said i havnt had my share of deaths.. believe me people are dying like its the new in thing to do. Pehaps that does influence me.. i guess it makes me a little bit more open with the idea of death and willing to explore it,  but i wouldnt say thats the only reason. Im also really interested in the idea of transition.. going from one state to another whether thats physically or metraphysically. I also know from my own experience how much an event can influence the decisions you make and ultimately what you become. I didnt want to create a piece which was based around the whole idea of what if.. theres way too many. I needed a personal piece to push my own boundaries (trust me.. saying the word "personal" to me is like saying frost bite to an eskimo..) and one which would tell a story. I believe my piece will do this. Im hoping to create a life size sarcophagus for me and i want the inside to be decorated with a map of my life.. all the defining moments whether its as clear as being born, passing my GCSE's or living in a certain area or as messy as a best friend dying.. it all needs to be explored as it all played an important role in my 21 years of life.  So bare with me.. This isn't going to be an easy piece for me at all.. im still struggling with how honest to make it and im finding myself frequently saying "i like to read"  So if your willing to go through the awkwardness with me i think it could work out to be pretty cool :P

I shall update soon

Grayson Perry

So with the excitement of making the piece i forgot to update my blog i am sorry.

Below this post are some drawings i did in my sketch book to be used in the final piece but i realise i never actually explained where i got my inspiration from for the drawings so here it goes...

Grayson perry

Grayson perry has been a huge inspiration to my work recently. I love his style of doing things and i love how couragious he is to make pieces soo personal to him - something which ive always struggled with.

Drawings.

Here are some drawings from my sketchbook. Currently im choosing to draw anything and everything wich comes to mind and coincidedly holds importance for me. The drawing of the weird big dolls head on a barbies frame may seem like something which is just weird but it isnt. It's actually a memory from events that happened in a period of my life which was very important to me. The "kill doll" (as i like to call her) reminds me of this every time i see an image of her. The other image is of my Auntie Cathrine-or susan..whichever you happen to know her by.

The British Museum.

I went to The British Museum today to do some research for our new module. I went in search of anything death related and below are some photos from my trip.

  

I didn't expect to get as much inspiration as i actually did from the visit to The British Museum  in particular the decorative aspects were something which grabbed my attention.                       

Second Skin

So the new module's theme is "Second Skin" my thoughts currently are all over the place.. not sure what direction i am going to take this but here are the few things which come to mind straight away.. a potential starting point hopefully..

• Transformers..(Optimus Prime especially he's soo badd ass)
• Masks, costumes,
• People- betrayel, hidden agenders, disguise, two faced,
• Camouflarge, Ghillie, patters, Animals,
• Layers, enclosures- shrouds, vines,
• Reinvention- Furniture in disguise, conversion,
• Fake shop fronts, Illusions, Salvador Dali
• Expressing ourselves physically, make up, posters, personal fronts, Way were percieved, manipulating..
• Sanctuaries, hideouts, rabbit holes,

It's times like this i wish i was skilled enough to make my own transformer.. But as im not a skilled mechanic i am looking at this front the view of a painter.. It's going to be a tough one..

Hello Again.

Hello there! Are you still with me?

Ive been absent over the summer, but here i am again ready to post! Ive just started the second and final year of the foundation degree .. here goes nothing!

Essay for Design in Context. (Woody wood)

The brief we were given was "Design in Context" where we had to design something which would ultimately advance the organisation in question.  The organisation ive chosen is the Woodcroft Wildlife space. They are a charity run by a volunteer comunity with the aim of conserving a green space in a suburban environment. The wildspace provides recreational and educational facilities as well as the benefit of protecting native endangered species.

        After visiting the Woodcroft Wildlife space I could see many opportunities for development and even a sector where I myself could help with.  I did some research online and contacted one of the volunteers regarding children’s educational opportunities, more specifically I asked if there was any leaflets/booklets given to children or school to promote the Woodlands and also to teach. However, i found out there wasnt such opportunity. I feel that one of the important aspects missing from Woodcroft is the potential to educate and inform children in the form of leaflets.  Also, Observational drawings could be used to highlight the features of the wild space and in doing so capture people’s attention. I think that the information given to children needs to be eye catching as well as informative. 
         I will find inspiration for this piece from the area itself but also from other areas which are similar to this. For example, the Wildfowl and Wetlands trust who’s aim is similar to that of Woodcroft. I will make observational drawings from wildlife and also drawings from research to be used in the woodcraft area but also in the children’s leaflet as a visual reference point. For example, the booklet might contain information about butterflies and the same image used for illustration purposes will also be used in an area where the butterflies gather the most. This will enable children and even adults to have a visual link between the information provided but also the actual creature, enhancing the learning prospects.
        I would like to use as many natural resources as possible and therefore I will be painting, drawing using pyrography on a wooden base. The wood and imagery would need to be protected by varnish to stop damage from the rain.  The leaflet will be made with card and the use of computer applications like Photoshop. The end product I hope to achieve will be a series of 6 images which will be transferred onto the leaflet.  I hope to have made an improvement to Woodcraft Wildlife area by proving an educational source for children but also a visual one too.  I hope this will encourage people to look for the animals or creatures conveyed and therefore further stimulating their interest within Woodcroft.

Mr Fredrick the frog.

So i said earlier on that i would upload something to do with my final piece as i never have done and i keep having people tell me i should so to do what im told.. for once.. here is one of the pieces which ive just finished this moment. Next time someone asks me to do anything which isnt work related i shall remember this moment of painting frogs at 3 am.

So this is Mr Fredrick. Its one of the paintings for my woodcroft design in context piece. The aim is to show people an image of a frog for visual communication and in a way signage that where the picture is there is also real frogs.. or should be.. at a certain time of the day/ night when their most active.. and if they havnt been eaten by birds- or french people...



UPDATE: My stupidity has shined through once again, over casting those little beams of hope for me. It turns out ive painted the wrong type of frog.. it turns out that there is actually more then one type of frog.. surely they all go "ribit" and splash about a bit in water, but for now i have failed and i must paint Mr Fredrick's twin brother Fred.

WOODY WOODLANDS!

I tried once again to catch (trap) a fox last night but i must admit my attempts were rather poor. It seems like Mr fox will come and eat the cats food and sniff at the rabbit but it wont stay long enough for a chat. Ive started looking at images from google unfortuantly and i have some i can use for back up if this plan fails. So, plan of action : start to physically produce my piece, find wooden bases for my paintings or drawings and fix them up! I will also need to look into preserving the images perhaps with varnish even though i hate the stuff.

Self promotion.

Self Promotion.

I have been using Blogger to post pieces of research and inspiration on.

http://chloeaucott.blogspot.com

I’ve used wix to start creating an online portfolio
www.wix.com/chloeroseaucott/artwork

and I decided rather than give out business cards I will give out small printed copies- like post cards of some of my work which has my details on the back. My logo ive decided to use is my signature and that is uploaded onto the blogger.

A very brief history about the southgate college house.

Ive been looking for a while now trying to find some history regarding the house but it seems that there isnt much to be found. Ive even called up the local councill for any help but like any council they wasnt helpfull at all. So here is what i do know

The house dates back to 1780 and it was onced owned by a guy called John Baron Lawrence (in 1861-1864) and there is a plague by the front door of the house which states his occupance.
The house was also used by Minchenden School between 1924-1987 and now as we know southgate college holds courses there.

John Lawrence  "was an Englishmam who became a prominent British Imperial statesman who served as Viceroy of India"

(taken from wikipedia)

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My silly Blog.

I would just like to make a point of saying that i am having Blog troubles. It seems that some days Blogger just doesnt want to let me upload images nor save/ publish my posts and when they are publish i am very lucky if they are the way i orignally made them to be. Therefore i have printed out all the Essays etc work of importance but if anything on here doesnt make sense or it seems like there is something missing- a line or two.. hey even a paragraph, well... it probably is! So forgive me!


From a very annoyed blogger...
:) x

Woodcroft Research.

So after finally deciding what i would like to do regarding the woodcroft project i did a little bit of fox hunting tonight- no luck though. I wanted to draw one from first hand rather then "google it" but it seems that it may have to be "googled"- il keep trying. However, i have had better luck finding and drawing some ikkle birdies but im not sure what they actually are so they may be completly useless! All in all i now know what im doing so i shall upload images later of the result.

All about Me.

Even though i have this blog i dont believe ive ever stated what i actually do nor want to do.

My long term aim is to become an art teacher myself however i have a bit of a journey before i get there. I love to paint and draw which i guess some will say puts me in the fine art category but il try anything which interests me. Im studying at southgate college doing a foundation in creative arts degree rather then a fine arts degree as i wanted to learn other skills which the university couldnt give me. I love to paint or draw anything from everyday objects to things a little stranger which i believe my work shows. I am lucky enough to have had a few commisions for pieces where ive painted portraits, landscapes, funny cartoons and even large scale wall paintings which included forest scenery. I also like to illustrate poetry and stories and have a few commisions from this to. At the moment im not sure of my own unique style as im having to bend a bit to keep on getting commisions but i want to learn as many techniques as possible.

My "logo"

I wrote my signature on to a piece of paper and scanned it into the computer then opened it in photoshop.

I changed the hue of the scan into a light blue so that I could see the lines of the pen tool easily. I went over the lines with the pen tool using bevier curves.

When I had finished going over the signature with the pen tool, I used the stroke function. This picture is the stroke function without simulate pressure ticked

This is the version of the logo where I checked 'simulate pressure' in the stroke option of the pen tool



I placed both versions of my logo into adobe illustrator and made a live trace of it in the option sub menu. From there, I chose a font which I thought would contrast with the style of my signature.

I chose to use my signature as i felt that was the most natural route for my logo for its what i sign all my with and will continue to do so. Therefore i felt like a specially designed logo wasnt practical or ideal to use on paintings or drawings and i have already used my signature to sign work so i felt it was best to stick with it.

(I would also like to add a thank you to Jessica Palmer for her help using photoshop)

safe/excite religious pieces of inspiration.

William Holman piece the shadow of death.

The Shadow of Death is a religious painting by William Holman Hunt on which he worked from 1870 to 1873, after his second trip to the Holy Land It depicts Jesus as a young man prior to his ministry, working as a carpenter. He is shown stretching his arms after sawing wood. The shadow of his outstretched arms falls on a wooden spar on which carpentry tools hang, creating a "shadow of death" prefiguring the crucifixtion His mother Mary is depicted from behind, gazing up at the shadow, having been looking into a box in which she has kept the gifts given by the Magi.