'Inside a Surgeon's Mind' (Photographs)

Here are some better quality photographs of my objects from 'Inside a Surgeon's Mind'.

Further Images - Moral Consequences

It has been a while, but finally my monster has been granted 'monster boobs' by her sweetheart 'The Surgeon'!. 

Below are a few photographs I took today.

Portfolio Review (2) - My Guru Sam, Art Department Assistant (Film & T.V)

I was really happy to gain feedback from Sam my Guru last night, Sam did the same course as me and started working as a Art Department Assistant during her final year, I find her a real inspiration to talk to, she has so much drive and ambition and I really admire that in her. 

Sam's feedback on my work that I emailed to her was;

-Your work is very unique and an absolute pleasure to view.

-She advised me to not be too worried about being different to from other illustrators, as this was a concern to me and that my independent approach makes my work exciting and exotic. I never thought of my work as exotic, which was nice to hear, may be reference to use of colourful flowers in some of my collages.

-She personally really likes my work and felt my strongest image (visually) was Bohemian Deer that is the only personal piece of work in my portfolio, so it was interesting that she most drawn to that image, she also advised to maybe add a texture like pencil crayon in some of the areas  so you can enhance your application and personal style - Which is something I know I want to work on and a very valuable point.

-Sam mentioned that I seem to work well with 3D and enjoy it, she encouraged me to incorporate this with collage work by mounting some of my collages on to card and layering them scenically.

- I could use a photo montage of the props I have been working with and then adding in my own collage work as a thought.

-keep going and remember to totally enjoy being yourself and this part of your journey.

This was all reassuring and valuable feedback and I will be exploring some of the points on adding texture and also combining 3D with my collage work.  It has sparked lots of ideas for the Major Project already!

Revisiting Hopes, Fears & Opportunities

At the beginning of this semester I set the following objectives to complete, as the semester draws to a close it's time for me to review my progress and reflect on my thoughts so far.

My objectives were:

1 - I am aim to complete a work experience placement in a prop house

2 - I want to have completed  portfolio visits

3 - I would like to gain a better idea of a theme/subject matter for my FMP through writing my journal & presentation

Below is an update on each of the objectives that I set.

1.  Since September I have been on placement within a Prop House in Manchester (Scene Doc) who supply to film and T.V both locally and nationally. My placement has been a great opportunity and valuable experience to work alongside industry professionals, meet people who work in the industry as art department assistants, meeting clients and also gain a greater knowledge of historical context of objects, learning about new objects and has been a interesting experience overall.  The placement is still on going and I will be going to London in the new year to work voluntary with their sister company down there.  I really hope to keep going with this placement and would love to gain some experience shadowing an art department assistant in the future.

2. My first portfolio visit was with Manager at Scene Doc and my second portfolio review will be conducted by email with my Guru Sam.  The feedback I have received has been really useful and helpful and it's great to gain feedback from a wide variety of industry professionals.  As my portfolio is work in progress I hope to fine tune it by next semester and be in contact with more working illustrators /animators in the next semester.

3. Writing my journal has been a journey of discovery and such a valuable experience as I feel it's really helped me to identify core themes in my work and to connect all my interests and influences into my work.  I feel a bit more clearer on what I am passionate about and why I create work the way I do.  It's also been great to link back to my childhood/younger years and figure out why it is I like certain things, for example I always loved Surrealism from being 14 but I never knew why, and writing my journal has helped with that.  We are due to be briefed on our major project next week and I am already thinking about ideas and themes. Without writing my journal I think I would not be as clearer as I feel now.

Business Cards

Below are my business cards that arrived today.  It's nice to see your work come together on a business card, however there are a few things that I would change for next time I create them, firstly I would make 'Creative Maker & Illustrator' in a larger font, I would have my name in white to match the rest of the text and I would pay more attention when selecting imagery for my thumbnail on the front as it doesn't quite meet the edges! (note to self not to rush).

Like my portfolio, it's work in progress and I am still pleased with my first attempt.

The charm of old toys.

The thing I love the most about working at the Prop House is that I never stop thinking and looking, there is so much to feast your eyes on!. Today I was rearranging the toys section, as always there is something from nearly every era as far back as the 1930's - late 1990's.  I came across some beautiful things today such as hand held wooden acrobat man on a string, an old skipping rope, miniature piano, Pierrot doll and a jigsaw from the 1940's.  Looking at them, they are full of charm and play, they are either handmade or hand painted and are just beautiful. 

It's hard to believe that toys were once made this way compared to today where they are mass produced and normally plastic.  It got me thinking how the sense of imagination has been lost in childhood and make believe, more so with the growing use of I-pads and tablets which are great in some ways, but I think the sense of wonder and texture and feeling of having a hand made toy has disappeared which I think is quite saddening.

I guess I am naturally drawn to them as I love anything from past eras that is wooden and handmade, there is just something about it.  I realised that these are also areas I like to include in the things that I make and also the type of materials I like to work with i.e wood and paint.  I hope to explore some of these ideas in my future work.

Below are a few images of my favourites:

Talk by Ric Frankland, Fonder of dwelle - 03/12/13

I recently attended a talk held at university by Ric Frankland, founder of dwelle.

''The micro-home that the Manchester architects originally called a “shed” is a shed for living. It’s in response to today’s current economic climate where housing needs to be affordable and easily deliverable.

What has become apparent though since they have developed the concept, is that the design is actually appealing more to a market that aren’t feeling such hardship. The demand for home office...

s, garden studios, playrooms and guest accommodation is growing, and this offering is substantially different to the alternative designs available.

And so as the name “shed” became less appropriate for such a diverse range of micro-buildings, a new brand was created... dwelle.

By incorporating renewable energy systems into the building, it’s possible for the dwelle.ing to achieve Zero Carbon status. The architects have included the same criteria they have set out for their Zero Carbon house (home:works). They have also been careful to design and specify internal fittings and finishes that contribute to their own “healthy home” requisite, to improve air quality, cleanliness and health and safety''.

 

Ric Frankland gave a really honest and interesting talk, documenting his journey and success, in addition he was very open and honest about when he has failed and things have gone wrong, which I found really refreshing to hear.  His talk was a true testament about never giving up, swallowing your pride at times and accepting mistakes - also taking risks.  He was very influential and inspiring and I admire his drive, passion and determination.

 

Further information on the very inspiring Ric Frankland and dwelle can be found following the links below:

 

http://www.creativetimes.co.uk/articles/ric-frankland-architect

 

Portfolio Vistit (1) Loretta - Scene Doc Associates Prop House, Manchester

Today I sat down with Loretta who we work alongside with at Scene Doc Prop House which is where I am currently undertaking a placement.  I was a little nervous at first, as I wasn't sure if she would like my work, but it went really well and I feel like I have got over that initial hurdle of showing someone you don't really know your work.

Loretta said she really liked my work and that it was interesting, in particular my Surgeon model and collage I made for the Mood & Memory brief. The feedback I received was that seeing my finished designs in my portfolio was great, but she mentioned that she would of liked to have seen some originals as I guess the texture of the work is lost when it's scanned in and becomes very flat, she also mentioned that maybe seeing 1 or 2 images of my sketch book, that show a sense of place, original sketches or research would really fuel the final ideas so she could grasp a better understanding of what the work was intended for and also a bit more of it's context.

I thought this was a really valuable point made and maybe in future I will take a sketch book that reflects this so the client can see my thought process and ideas generation, another reason this could be vital is as a maker the stages of making a puppet or object go through so many stages, and again a client from this type of industry may want to see earlier stages of development.

I took on Loretta's points and was very grateful for the feedback, I also explained themes and ideas that I am passionate about and also explained that my portfolio is definitely a work in progress, and that I hope it does constantly change as it's great to see how your work is changing and developing all the time, even after graduation.

Portfolio Reflection.

Yesterday I selected several images for my A3 portfolio ready for visiting clients this semester.  I have kept a few older images in the portfolio but already there were images I wanted to remove as I feel my style and work has changed and some of the work I had in there didn't feel like me or reflected the mood of my work.

This time I have included some photography images of my 3D models and sets which I am really pleased with as last time it was lacking and didn't reflect how I like to make work.  I have included a few images from my own personal work which I feel now is more important to begin steering away from educational projects and more towards self directed/initiated projects and appear more professional, my portfolio is work in progress and I will more than likely update it next semester.

I also feel that I am starting to notice little things about the quality of my work, for example I like to make collages a lot and have noticed in some of my previous collages that some of the lines have not been cut out very clearly, obviously these are little things but it shows more when my work is enlarged to an A3 size for my portfolio, I just feel that I am starting to pay more attention to things like this and hopefully it will help me build a stronger portfolio.

I have used a simple A3 style portfolio for now and I look forward to investing in a more professional portfolio for the new year.  I have also been looking at portfolio boxes, I think this style may work for me as I could enclose a few of the objects I make when I attend client visits.

Self Directed Projects - Objects of desire.

Below are some photos of the things I have made for the continuation of the 'Moral Consequences' brief entitled 'Inside a surgeon's mind'.  For this part of the brief I want to explore the idea of obsession and control that can be influenced by one's childhood and life experiences and how they behave towards others and liven their lives.  My story is purely fictional and is based on a Surgeon who is fascinated with a 50s pin up model called Sophia Van Mere.  The surgeon (Dr Waterworth) becomes fascinated with Sophia and is obsessed to the point that he eventually controls her by offering free plastic surgery to assist Sophia with enhancing her career and helping her achieve her constant strive for perfection and to be beautiful, but by doing so his obsession with creating the 'perfect' female form turns obsessive and he manipulates and plays mind games with her into having constant surgery until she becomes so altered that she appears 'monster' like.

The key influences for my project are connected to Psychoanalysis, Aldous Huxley's questioning of what is perceived as reality / normal and also Quay Brothers dark, atmospheric work that will be used to influenced how I use lighting, sound and shadow.  I have tried to recreate Dr Waterworth's secret desk where he obsesses over Sophia, plans future surgery, and writes manipulative letters to her.  I have also tried to recreate some objects that he would of had and also things that show his personality and emotional side such as Beethoven LP, a childhood drawing and a journal he makes as well as a few collages.

Below are few images of my progress.