Some tasty advice from the professionals.

Ok, so it is fair to say that I lost my bearings a little bit last week. It has only just hit me how soon I finish University and how I need to start pulling all the strings together for my Final Project. I have gotten so caught up in making lots of 3D objects that I lost sight of what to actually do with them all.

The main worry for me is how to present my work for 'hand in' and what to do with my portfolio. I still want to include my flat collage illustration work as well as the 3d sets I have been creating. So who would be more perfect to ask than Lord Whitney?

So here is the incredibly helpful email I received back from Amy Lord:

"Hi Jadine,

Firstly don't panic! Your work looks lovely and you'll look back at this moment and be all like 'what the hell was I fretting about!' trust me!

I think photography is the key to presenting these things at uni and ready for life in the real world. As you will always need some sort of digital image if you are going to use them on the web or to send to people. 

With the subject being jeans it might be quite interesting to look at fashion photography as there are many different styles and you might be able to tie this research into your project I know levis adds have always been quite iconic it might be good to look at these they might spark a style. One suggestion would be to maybe collaborate with a photography student on this - i know that might be hard with everyone so busy at this time of year but they might want some more work for their portfolio too, maybe speak to the photography tutor they might know of someone. It is hard Bek really struggled with this at uni as it's impossible to be good at everything! Finding a photographer is the best bet, maybe even a 2nd year?!?

Another idea if you were thinking of staging an exhibition is to do exactly that and just stage one? All you need is a blank wall and you could set something up as if it was in an exhibition and photograph it? Or display it in a window? not sure where i'm going with this.... just thinking maybe think outside the box a bit...

With your portfolio it will be hard as your piece will probably be a jumble of stuff- like ours- rather than neat finshed one sheet piece of work. Maybe think about creating some sort of mood board/layouts for a project showing the making and designing stages too? we always love seeing that side of thing but then with a nice finished photo. If you want to come over at some point we will have a bit of time i think at the start of May? is that too late?

Hope this helps, feel free to fire over any more questions or pics anytime!

Amy

x"

I have gone ahead spoken to the tutor who runs the commercial photography course at university and I have booked some studio time with a 1st year student in a couple of weeks. Sadly it is going to be quite close to my final deadline, but at least I can make sure everything is completely ready and maybe even think of some more ideas. I will have a little bit of time to tweak the images too if necessary. I have been looking at other designers photography work so that I can show the photography student what it is I want.

Image source: http://www.annalomax.com/#/project/creative-review-photography-annual/ [18.04.13]

This Creative Review cover by Anna Lomax is a perfect example to show how I want my work to look. I like the fact you can see the studio space behind. My images are quite crude so I don't mind people being able to see that perhaps there is a piece of string holding something up, or that the floor has a bit of paint on it etc..

Lord Whitney have also said that I can email some of my photographs over to them as soon as they are read. That way, they can let me know what they think and I can act upon any advice given before the deadline.

I have also taken them up on the offer of a portfolio visit in May. The girls have an exciting exhibition in Leeds called Mock and Roll, which will run until the 7th of May- Perfect timing! I can always go and see the show before going to visit their studio.

Stockport Carnival.

In July there is a carnival held in Stockport town centre, where local charities put together their own themed floats and travel around promoting what they do and generally having a bit of fun. 

Joanne Macey, from Age Uk in Stockport, contacted my tutors at university asking them if they had any students that would be willing to help out with the making of the float, and take part in the carnival itself.

Of course I jumped at the chance to get making, and yesterday I attended my first meeting with the rest of the workers involved in the project. The theme everyone had decided on was a 1950's diner, so Joanne had an image on this table for us all to use for inspiration. 

They have not yet managed to find a lorry to use, therefore things like seating and a diner counter can not yet be decided on because we do not know how big to make them. Instead we have began itemising everything we need, deciding whether not it can be found or borrowed from other people or whether it needs to be handmade.

Some jobs have already been handed out, and as soon as the words "3D Cardboard Juke box" were mentioned, I stepped up to take the role. Once we have made all of the props, we can start to think about the actual diner set.

I have also thought about making a cardboard hamburger and fries to glue on to a tray and position it on the end of the counter. I have just made a half eaten sandwich recently, so why not make some more foods?

Because the carnival isn't until July, there is not real rush to get everything done. I finish university in May so this gives me something fun to do once the Major project is over. We have another meeting at the end of the month so there will be more ideas to come!!

Stepping in to gear.

So today I had a well needed 'crit' with my group at University, we all presented the work we have done so far on our final projects and discussed how we would use the weeks we have left. I was panicking to begin with because I felt as though I hadn't really had a particularly productive easter, but once I began to hear what amazing things everyone else is doing, it really got me pumped up and ready to go again.

I have a lot of ideas, I feel as though I am back in to the routine at University, so now I can just get on with it. Being back in the work environment amongst other creative people always gives me a boost and that's what today did for me! I am still creating all the elements I want to be displayed in my end of year show and managed to find a lot of the props I needed over the easter holidays whilst spending hours cleaning out my boyfriend's family shed/garage.

 Now I have started to think about how I can produce some imagery to hand in at the start of May. I have thought about photographing some of my 3D creations in different compositions and then forming layers over them with collage and some hand rendered type.

Here is an example of something I have seen on the Beach London website:

Image is a screen shot from the homepage of the Beach London Website.

I really like the idea of printing and then working on to my own photography, because I am not really confident with a camera so I guess this way I can disguise or even make the most of some of the 'rough' areas with some extra collage and hand drawing. It also brings together all the techniques I have always enjoyed working with, and knits them all together successfully (or so I hope).

I also think that photographs of my messy/crazy desk and works in progress would be good to use for my website. Again I can work in to them with type and could perhaps use them as project thumbnails or even as a main header for my homepage.
Here an example I have found on a short video by Zim and Zou on vimeo. I think this image works well on its own and would work as a main image on a website or perhaps the front page of a portfolio

Image is a screent shot from A Zim and Zou film on Vimeo

Happy Planet (Beind the scenes)

Available at: http://vimeo.com/58174324 [11.04.13]

Final Project Progress.

For my final major project, I wanted to focus on the book 'People Watching' written by Desmond Morris. Mainly because I am a nosey parker, and I am always interested in watching people, analysing there behaviour and mannerisms.

I just began reading without really knowing what I might find, in the hope that something would spark off some creative ideas.

I found a really interesting section surrounding what and why we wear the clothes that we do and there was a particular focus on the history of jeans. Morris states that Jeans are responsible for a change in teenage behaviour and refers to the 'flop out period' which is what he says to be a time when youngsters began to sit on the floor rather than on conventional seating. The reason behind this change in behaviour is down to the trousers they were wearing, jeans are a long hardwearing item, so people felt as though they could go ahead and sit on the floor without damaging their clothing.

The first thing I decided to do was create my own sculptures of some of the scenarios mentioned, such as reading from books whilst studying. Youngsters in jeans would feel comfortable reading whilst lying on the floor rather than sitting on chairs.
I have made a 3D cardboard book with a section of text from Morris' book painted on, and have also stuffed a pair of old jeans with newspaper. The jeans will be somehow fixed to the book as though they have fallen in to it whilst reading.

My 3d book. Still awaiting black lines to be painted on the side to look like pages.

Me and my friend Mr Stuffed Jeans.

I then went on to research the history of Levis, of course the most iconic and recognisable designer of jeans. I found a timeline that shows the key moments throughout the companies growth. I decided to pick out the most important symbols and pieces of information and have begun making and finding these things.

Jeans started out as workwear, for those in hard labour; such as builders. They were also worn by cowboys for horse riding, before going on to be used as performance gear by cyclists. Levi Strauss and Jacob davis (A tailor from Reno, Navada) worked together to create the first pair of Blue Jeans named 'XX'. They were made using the trademark rivets, which were responsible for giving the jeans such great strength.

The beginnings of 3D builders tools. The first X for the 'XX' logo.

 Pages from my sketchbook showing some of the key concepts/ symbols.

My next step is to find more pairs of jeans (I am currently asking everyone I know for donations), I am then going to stuff the pairs of jeans and mould them in various positions in order to show some of the different roles they have been used in. I am also thinking about painting on to some of the jeans to perhaps tell the specific story behind them, things like where a tear may have occurred, or what created a stain etc.

I also making as well as looking for props such as tools, and cowboy hats. Just generally gathering all of the elements together so that I can go ahead and put them in to compositions and think about how they will be arranged as an exhibition for the end of year show.

A dabble in the world of prop making.

For a few weeks in January, I took on some extra work, helping my classmate Sam walker in her new and exciting job as a prop maker. We were working on the set for a Channel 4 Period Drama that will be shown on television later in the year. I can not really give a lot of information away, but what I can say is that we were required to make three types of cotton bails. It was our job to make sure that we wrapped the bails correctly to represent which country they are supposed to be from, as well as make sure they look authentic, when in fact they are made internally of polystyrene (Real cotton bails would be extremely hard to manoeuver). We had to utilise the materials we were given, making sure we did not have any wastage, as well as constantly think about the time period in which the drama is set.

I was mainly helping Sam, who has in fact landed a job in prop making, but it still felt strange to be given so much responsibility in creating something we knew needed to be perfect. At first we were constantly wondering if what we were doing was 'right', but it was really just a case of trusting ourselves and thinking like the design students that we are; and the final bails looked great!

I also got to spend a day making some really dirty and old looking net curtains. I rolled fabric around in puddles, rubbed it in to the gravel with my shoes, and hacked at it with a pair of scissors. What better way to spend your day?! The weather stayed clear which was fortunate because we had to work outside, but the sun was shining and I had so much fun.

Learning from Lord Whitney.

Third image taken by Betty Lawless for Leeds Inspired. Check out her other amazing work on her website:http://www.bettylawless.co.uk/

I went to spend my last day working with Lord whitney on 'The old Clock shop' on the 22nd of February, I chauffeured the cardboard clocks over to The Nation of Shopkeepers, Applied some clock faces to the interior wall they had created, and went on the hunt for a lovely blue Military style jacket (in the most amazing shop I have ever stepped foot in!) with Kate, their fabulous assistant.
The jacket was for the performers, who would also wear a large headpiece made to look like bird. If you managed to walk past the window at the right time, you would have seen an actor dressed as a cuckoo, appear from the doors of a huge clock in the centre of the window display, with bird puppets in their hands.

Here I am in a world of costume. 

In my element!

It was really good to see the final stages of the installation, It made me realise how many small yet important things there are left to do when you hit the home run. Things like lighting, cleaning, wall fixtures, and maybe another lick of paint where needed.
Most of the work will also need to be done in a studio, so you have to produce all of the elements before you can actually go in to the window itself. That's why you must always have a plan and be constantly thinking about how everything is going to work when you move it in to the window space.

Amy Lord told me that the main thing you need to get used to when working in windows, is that you almost have to think backwards, because you are of course going to need to apply your elements to the glass and at the front of the window before working your way back. Otherwise you obstruct any entry back in to the space to make adjustments. It is also important to get all the DIY done too before you even begin to decorate the space. It is important to make sure that everything is secure and that you have all the wood, nails, bolts, lights etc in place before you can start thinking about all the 'fancy stuff'.

A fabulous photographer called Betty Lawless documented a lot of the work going on both at the LW studio and of the final installation. Here is the image she uploaded to instagram, it shows a perfect action shot of the final window display:

Check out BettyLawless on instagram @ https://instagr-am.appspot.com/u/bettylawless/

This monday evening Lord Whitney gathered all the volunteers together in a pub in leeds. We sat chatting over a bowl of chips, cheese and salsa (very tasty!) and a glass of rose wine. They thanked us for our help and handed over a card and some flyers for us to keep. It was really good to see everyone again, I have met some lovely people and I will look forward to seeing them again, which I'm sure I will-  a trip to the chinese buffet with a few of the other volunteers has already been mentioned.

'Nonsense'

Lord Whitney came to visit us at Stockport College not so long ago and set us a fun brief, in order to relieve us of the dreaded thoughts about our final projects, and get us making something.
They set us the task of illustrating any of Edward Lear's 'nonsense' stories (Find a collection of his work here)

I chose a the small tale of Mr Lear, The Polly and The Pussybite.

"Mr. Lear goes out a walking with Polly and the Pusseybite. Mr. Lear, feeling tired, and also the Polly and the Pusseybite, sit down on a wall to rest.

Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite go into a shop to buy a Numbrella, because it began to rain. Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite having purchased umbrellas, proceed on their walk.

Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite arrive at a bridge, which being broken they do not know what to do. Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite all tumble promiscuous into the raging river and become quite wet.

A page missing here from the manuscript.

Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite peruse their journey in a benevolent boat. Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite incidentally fall over an unexpected cataract, and are all dashed to atoms.

A page missing here from the manuscript.

The 2 venerable Jebusites fasten the remains of Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite, but fail to reconstruct them perfectly as 3 individuals.

Mr. Lear and the Pusseybite and the Pollycat and the 2 Jebusites and the Jerusalem Artichokes and the Octogonal Oysterclippers all tumble into a deep hole and are never seen or distinguished or heard of never more afterwards."

I have mentioned in my previous posts, that I have had chance to think about what it is I would like to do after University, so I thought it would be best to tackle this brief with a new approach. I decided to start working in 3D, without jumping too far away from my flat collage work, after all this was a first attempt at this sort of thing.

I made a flat collage version of the image too, just to keep both working methods running alongside each other. I think that this helps me work out how I am going to bring all the separate elements to life, as well as show a diverse range of work in my portfolio.