Old World Primitives

This primitive folk artist is from New Jersey, they produce hand made ornaments and sell their work via Etsy . These little works of art are amazing they are very sweet and naive and have a certain charm. The theme of animal/human is much like my own interpretations and again the rabbit makes a regular appearance! i think these little decorative pieces are very lovely indeed.

Julie Arkell display ideas!

Julie Arkell is one of my old favourites and for this project my focus is on her display ideas, she recycles found objects such as old shelves and jars in which she displays her little figures and characters and some times uses box frames . Some of her work is simply free standing with out any box or covering which raises the issue of how to care for it and keep it clean and free from damage! I feel for my fmp I will need to frame or box the fabric work in order to keep it clean and presentable.

Peter Clark collages

I came across the beautiful work of Peter Clark when I saw an article about his collages in issue 38 of Selvedge magazine Jan/Feb 2011. He has spent a life time collecting and salvaging packaging and paper which is uses to create the most amazing collages . I was particularly drawn to his work not only because of the stunning quality of it but also because of the subjects he has chosen . I am working on both animals and garments in my collage work for my final major project so it was wonderful to find these exquisite examples .Clark prefers to use papers that are stained and faded and his use of layering to create texture is one of the techniques he uses to give the' dog 'collages personality and charm. The paper choice is genius and the colour palettes for each piece work so beautifully , Clark has an eye for placement using the patterns and lines in the recycled papers , maps , stamps etc to stunning effect .

www.peterclarkcollage.com

FMP initial ideas

These are some images of my initial ideas generation, I was trying to create a feeling of being trapped so the idea of cages came up, I experimented using different materials to try and make cage like structures including, wire, paper, candle wax, tea bags, card board , string, fabric, pins and twigs some were more successful than others!

FMP sketchbook images

The theme for my final major project is the notion of being contained or released and as I always seem to create illustrations of animals I decided to use animal heads to represent either people or places/situations in my life that have either held me back or set me free. I feel that the idea of animals with human bodies or human qualities may become something of a signature with in my work ! these are some of the sketches I made. My style is line drawings in pen or pencil and some are more cartoon like than others, I feel that some are comical and others are more sinister because to me they represent both positive and negative issues.

Claire Worthington FMP porfolio visit.

I made contact with Claire Worthington during the last project and she has kindly offered to help me create a website to show case my work as she is building a portfolio of web designs for her new business. I have had several meetings with her to discuss ideas such as what business name to use, Claire said it is important to use co.uk at the end of my website domain name in order to high light the fact i am a british designer. We also discussed what i needed to include on my website, a home page, a potfolio/gallery of work page and a contact details page, Claire said other pages can also be added like a bio page and links to blogs ect.We also discussed my designing a banner to go across all the pages and the importance of using the same font and navigation tools which best reflected my brand/style.

Claire suggested that along with maintaining my blog i should create a professional twitter account to launch a social media campaign for my work, again links to which would be added to the website.

Claire is happy to manage the site for me so that i can concentraite on doing the art work , the cost of registering a web domain is £6 for two years.

I have booked more time in to see Claire next week to start putting the wheels in motion.

FMP

For my final major project i want to develop what i started in the last brief, i still feel that collage is a relevant production method and that using a narrative with in the work is important for me. I want to represent things in my life that have held me back and also things that have set me free, my vision is some kind of cage like structures which will both contain and release representations of people events or places that have impacted on my life .I want to use my own illustrations of animals along with collaged fabrics and papers to create creatures that will be either trapped in or escaping from cages.

During my negotiated project i made contact with or visited several professional designer makers in the art/craft field who all gave me feedback on my work, the general feeling was that my presentation was good and that i was aiming towards a niche, high end market. It was suggested that i used my own illustrations rather than found imagery and i needed to push the ideas much further, to be bold and work on a larger scale and don't limit the subject matter.

It was great to get some positive feedback which really helped boosted my confidence , i realized by talking to these artists that's it is ok to be yourself as long as the work is of a high enough standard and is executed well. It was also reassuring to hear that there is a market place for unusual quirky work, not that commercial gain is my main focus.

Claire Brewster has added me to her mailing list and keeps me up to date with all relevant events in the art and craft world such as trade shows and fairs and Claire Worthington has offered to help me develop a website to show case my work.

The links i made through networking at trade shows and via email have been really helpful i have met some lovely people who have given up their time to offer advice and suggestions. Maxine Sutton sent me some information aimed at students and has been in touch several times via email.

I also contacted several possible outlets for information regarding selling my work.

I have a couple of posible new contacts in mind for portfolio visits for my final magor project.