IDEAS FACTORY

Today I was introduced to the course by given 3 words, Sensualism, water and suspend, after looking into these words individually and speaking in groups of 3, we all care together to brainstorm ideas and things that connect / relate to each word, I then begun to connect all of the three words together, which was quite easy as the words had a lot in common with each other and were easy to link. 

I really enjoyed working In a group and then switching to individual work and then back to a group analysis, as it allowed you to come up with many ideas which we all expanded off, which we were then able to interpret ourselves and draw the ideas down ourselves. 

The feedback I was given was very helpful as it allowed me to think about where I go from here, and how I can improve my own work and my next steps for this task, where I will be creating the ideas I drew into  3D objects, using plastic bags and water which was my favourite idea I came up with, as the plastic bag represents the 'suspend'ed item, water will be filled in each bag, and sensualism relates as it creates a suspension of emotions as you will be able to see the process of the bag filling up to the point its full and wants to explode but the plastic bag Is keeping it suspended. 

Banksy is an artist who I feel influences the debate about our future, as Each piece e of work symbolises an individual problem about the current society that we live in, addressing problems that people are too scared to address. Banksy keeps his identification unknown to prevent backlash, as he publicly displays his work all around the world anymously.

Margaret Atwood is a writer who wrote the handmaids tail. It Is set in a Dystopia world where women are oppressed by men, it looks at issues such as rape and patriarchal domination in a way that handmaids are intuitionally raped and only used as a vessel for childbirth. In creating a society Atwood criticise the treatment of women which links to the quote “ ..eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex” which I was given today, I feel as ion this quote addresses the points that Atwood is clearly discussing in her novel. Atwood doesn’t write about anything that she has not seen, she only writes about things that she only sees, which shows that what she writes about has started to happen and she believes that in the future feminism will be a lot more dominant.

Banksy and Margaret both put their views on the world and life into their own work to proud pieces that allow people to look at their perspective as their projects provide an understanding of what they feel 

STRUCTURE AND FORM

This was the first experimental session of all the different pathways, This session began with a series of drawing exercises that helped us warm up our drawing skills. The exersizes contained of blind drawing, continuous line drawing, layering with different types of materials using non-dominant hand. I found the first half of the session really engaging and fun to take part in, as I produced a number of different drawings, I was really shocked with how the ones that incorporated a blind drawing and the use of my left hand turned out and I really enjoyed this style of drawing. 

moving onto the afternoon session, in pairs we took it in terns to be the model and to be the drawer, where we made a pattern and then ripped out a garment and drew the outline of the model, this was a very creative approach to introduce us the fashion illustration pathway and I enjoyed it as it was something I have never done before, however I found it really hard to generate ideas as we were only given such a small window of time to create ideas and also put the ideas down on the page, which I struggled with the most. the activities we did thiughoyt the day were fun, however I didn't feel like there was any end point or the day was going in any dirrection, and I was confused at if there was a final outcome of the day, I feel as if the activities we did were randomly picked to give us an insight into what the fashion illustration pathway is like.

How did you find working with so many constrains? (limited time/materials/given objects) why?

Working with constrains was a fun exercise to see what sort of ideas I could produce under pressure due to a lack of time and materials. I found it easier to come up with ideas for the smaller fruit/veg like the cherry tomatoes compared to the watermelon, as the materials we were given were a lot more suitable for the cherry tomatoes due to the watermelon being very heavy most of the materials couldn't support its weight.

Did you find the constrains made it easier or harder to generate ideas?

I found that all the constrains made it easier to come up with quick ideas but not practical ones, as we were very limited it was quite easy to decide on what to do, however I feel like  the ideas that I generated were very similar to one another, and I feel like if we were given more time to think about ideas then I think it would be easier to produce a variation of ideas.

Was PDC what you expected? what was your favourite part of the day? 

Product design was what I expected it to be like, it felt as if it challenged me to think about products that would be helpful for everyday use, or for a product that isn't useful but is more of a piece of art for the object 

In today’s content trial practice session we brought in objects that could be taken apart, I used my student ID lanyard as I found it interesting of how many components there are to it, and each different material could be separated from one another, I liked how each part was made out of a different material. I really enjoyed the creative writing section as it allowed me to have deeper thoughts about what my lanyard represented, and why humans used it. As a lanyard holds a persons identity, which gives them access to certain buildings/ places, and without having one you will have to prove who you are or nit be allowed entry, I feel as if this reflects in todays society and how unsafe the world currently is, as to always having to show your identity all the time shows that people have lost trust in a lot of people, as the current crime rate with in London is 190.61 with in 1000 people. 

SURFACE AND MEANING

What were the positive and negative aspects of working on a collaborative piece? 

the positives in working on a collaborative piece is that it brings together everyones strongest skills to produce an amazing piece of work, it allows everyone to bounce of off each other and be even more creative as it continuously allows you to be inspired. There aren't really any negative aspects on working on a collaborative piece, apart from everyone agreeing on the same thing and making sure everyone is on the same page.

What was your most successful process or outcome from todays session?

In my opinion the most successful process of todays session was the big collaborate piece we made in groups, as we all individually made our own smaller piece to combine with everyone else to make one big project, as it was really successful combining lots of different techniques and styles to produce one piece.

What successful aspect of someone else work  could you use in your own work in the future? 

We didn't have time in the end to look around at everyone else's work, however from my group I was able to look at how everyone else interoperates an idea and uses their own style of working, and I could use all their different techniques in my work in the future.

LANGUAGE AND INTERACTION

What was your response to the brief?

Our response to the brief was to make lots of triangles using the bamboo sticks and tie them all together to make a massive 3D sculpture that combined of triangles.

What is your understanding of the relationship between structure and space?

the relationship between structure and space is a mutually affective relationship, as the structure allows the space to be created, and space can allow a structure to be created  weather its an external or internal space.  

Which shape is the strongest?

the strongest shape was a pyramid, as it has a very strong base and a light top. which allows it to stand and be a strong structure.

Which shape is the most visually interesting?

the shape which is most visually interesting is a very abstract shape, as it makes you think which part is tied to what and how was it created

You were all asked to work in a team- how did you find that? 

making in a group for this project was a lot of fun and easier to work with, as we were creating such a large structure, we all created part of it and then joined it all together, in order for it too have stayed together you needed a lot of hands to connect it, and being in a group allowed it to be easy to do so.

How did the decision making process evolve in your team?

we started off with a discussion on what we should do, and every time one of us came up with an idea or something that would change it, we talked to the group and discussed if it would work, and if it dud then we went ahead with it.

what was successful about your structure?

I think our structure was successful as it was very interesting to look at and extremely fun to make, the shape of it was the most successful due to how abstract and big it was.

was it stable? how did it respond to ideas discussed in your group?

all of the sticks were stable, when tying all go the bamboo sticks together I found that using cable ties in the holes, then taping it all together and then using strung around the tape was the strongest and stable method i used to make the structure stable.

BODY AND FUNCTION

How did you cope with the 1 minuet timed drawings?

I found it hard to cope with the timed drawings as thinking of an idea took up most of the time.

Did you find it easy to quickly get your designs down? 

I found it ok to quickly get the simple ideas down and drawn, however I found it really hard to draw the more complicated ideas in the time we were given.

Did you find to difficult/impossible to keep up?

at first I managed to keep up with the task, however after around 7 drawings I began to run out of ideas and I found it difficult to keep up with the task towards the end, and only having around 2 drawings for the last section.

How can you improve?

I feel as if I can improve this by re doing the task as I will be able to adapt to it the more I do it.

What was your peer feedback? was it helpful?

The feedback I received was helpful as they helped come up with materials and ways I can make the idea of having a necklace with a speaker on it, as I didn't have a speaker, the next closest thing I had was my iPhone.

Did you feel you managed to answer the brief?

I feel that I managed to answer the serif as I created a product that had 3 meanings, the first is that it fitted the serif as I created a neckless which you can take on and off, the second meaning is that it is a speaker that you can wear, making you feel safe wherever you go as to me music makes me feel safe and I like to be surrounded by it as much as possible, lastly, it also implies the idea of how humans constantly have their mobile phones in their hands and that it is a distraction from reality, by having it attached to the chain ensures that it is ion you at all times however it is not in your hand and you are less likely to be on it.

Did you enjoy working on the body?

I found it fun to create an object that I could see myself wearing, I struggles at generating a lot of different ideas and sort of stuck around the jewellery section as I was limited to the ideas I could think of, I don't think working on the body is my strong point however I had fun on the workshop and it was refreshing to explore this pathway.

If you were to develop your final piece how would you do so?

I would develop this idea by creating itty in different mediums, for instance I would use wire to create the chain, which means it would be a heavier accessory, or I would trial it in doubling up the string to make it more supportive and stronger, which could also have a different style to it.

GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION DESIGN

Today I focused on creating my final outcome and displaying it on a bank, when I was putting together my collage for each letter, I would first come up with a composition of the letter to see if ut could work, I would then take a picture of this so I remembered what went where when gluing it all down, I had to be focused at all time as I was using a craft knife to get perfect edges, if I cut wrong in any places then it would mess it up, one part I found hard was when I was making the "W" neat, one of the pictured were over two parts of the letter, I made a mistake by cutting too far into it and made this letter be quite weak. After I had completed all of the letters, I then wanted for it to be pitch black outside, I had chosen to place my statement on a bank on the highstreet in the area I live, which was a Barclays Bank, when placing the statement up on the bank, everyone who walked/drove passed stopped to see what I was doing, which I believe is very successful, as it created an attention towards the subject, as this is something that people would normally never see, people probably were quite shocked/suprised at what I was doing, which had a domino effect, and they were most likely thinking about it after.

During the first five weeks of this course, I found every day to be challenging, intense and something I had never done before, it has allowed me to learn something new about myself every day, rapidly widening my skills and knowledge around the world of art and design. Questioning my intentions of how I want to express myself, which pathway is more suited for me and why.

There were two workshops that took me by surprise. Fashion illustration and Graphic Communication Design have always intrigued me, but I have never had a chance to submerge myself in these pathways. After completing both of these workshops I realised how different they are. GCD was the first project where we worked alone, which is a massive contrast to the fashion illustration workshop, as the activities we took part in were collaborative and working in groups for the whole day. I view graphic design and communication as a limitless pathway, as it allows me to express my fears and thoughts anonymously which made me feel free. Creating a statement allowed me to express these thoughts in a way that I’ve never been able to before. On the other hand, I felt extremely restricted when taking part in the fashion illustration workshop, I felt that everything had to be done in a certain way. The most challenging was how quick each task was, I almost felt like I didn’t have time to breathe and no time to think about materials and getting down my ideas properly. I also felt as if there was no final outcome for this project. However, compared to the GCD project where there was no pressure on time to produce our work, I felt much more comfortable working in this workshop, having more time to develop one idea, which is a lot more suited to me.

 After the Graphic Communication and Design project, it was clear that I wanted to continue this pathway, during my research I came across the artist and graphic designer, Jenny Holzer. I instantly felt drawn and connected to her practice, I found the statements she uses to publicly show her work extremely powerful, looking at the arrangement of text backed up my thoughts of how limitless and free this pathway is. Her work has influenced my own thoughts, how I can put together these thoughts using statements and language and use it as a platform to express my feelings and thoughts. Banksy has always been an artist that influences my thinking and continues to inspire my ideas and my views on the world. His work never fails to be talked about in the media, which gives him a global platform for his work to be talked about. This is due to the placement of where he makes his work, in public areas which allows it to be seen by anyone, this idea had a huge influence on my extension week project.

 I chose the ‘Say It Loud’ project, as I strongly believe that the Graphic Communication and design project utilised my strengths and suited me more than any other project. After completing my final outcome, it confirmed the choice I made about going into this pathway as I believe it’s suited to me as it is the one area I can easily address my thoughts and feelings and put them across in a creative way  as it gives me all the freedom to do this. Using language makes it a lot easier to understand the idea, gets to the point a lot quicker, and it makes the views think about the direct statement, rather than what it might suggest. The work of Banksy and Jenny Holzer allowed me to think about where can I place my statement where it can be publicly viewed and has a massive relation between the text and the location? For the final outcome I decided to place the statement “MONEY IS POWER” on a bank, as it highlights the idea of how corrupt money is, and how it enables a person to do whatever they want if they have enough money, which is also highlighted within the text, how Pablo Escobar became one of the most powerful men due to having an insane amount of money, without it he wouldn’t of been able to become the person he was. The placement of this text also implies the illegal side of what Escobar did, how all of his money was illegal, by placing it on a bank where I didn’t ask for permission focuses on this idea. To improve I would do it on a much larger scale, when making the statement I thought that it was on a large scale, however when I put up the statement on the bank, it was a lot smaller in comparison to the wall and Barclays sign and I was proven wrong about the scale of my work.