Observational Photography: Moss

I have narrowed down my research into nature to moss. I have found moss to be extremely interesting, as it is made up of such tiny pieces. Each one is different but they are very similar and there are so many of them making up a larger piece. 

Moss has also got a variety of different shapes, colours and textures, most of which are ignored or unnoticed.

Unnoticed: photos

Self directed project.

I've just started semester two, and our new project is entirely self directed, we haven't been given a starting point, or a certain media to use, but we can sign up for whichever workshops we want to do. I've decided to continue researching the theme of unnoticed, which I've looked into quite a lot in the past. I've decided to focus on how art can make the unnoticed very obvious, or how artists can make something that goes overlooked because of its scale or how they present it. In my initial research I have looked at artists who use these themes.

 Susan Collis makes everyday objects, which are often overlooked in her exhibitions. Many people think the exhibition isn't set up yet, but in actual fact they haven't looked at the objects properly. 'As good as it gets' looks like a screw in a wall, but is made from 18 carat white gold, white sapphire, turquoise and onyx.

 'The oyster's our world' is a wooden stepladder, which looks like it's been splattered with paint, but the splashes are actually mother of pearl, shell, coral, fresh water pearl, cultured pearls, white opal and diamond inlaid into the wood. I think these works question the way we see things and how we assume things about what we look at without investigating them properly.

 Grace Eun Mi Lee is a ceramic artist, who looks at microorganisms and uses the shapes and patterns from these to inspire her work. I really like how she collects them together, hundreds of tiny pieces making up one monumental work of art. tiny creatures and dust particles are everywhere, thousands of them, and her work makes people thing about 'another form of existence' which coexist with us everyday.

The Boyle family are a family of artists, who are quite well known for their replicas of places. they travel to an exact spot and use various media and pieces they find on location to create exact copies. I think the thing I like best about these pieces is how they are displayed. These pieces are not recognisable pieces of land, they don't have specific defining features, but presenting them vertically, it makes people really look at the patterns and shapes, which ordinarily they would have walked over without a second thought.

Folded squares: Making jewellery

I started by setting out my copper squares with other types of squares to spell out words. I decided to use tin plate steel to make some squares, and I acid etched one side, so the inside was different when folded. I spelled out the word 'hide' using the braille alphabet

 I then decided to try some clay squares using the same folding method, but I found these were more curved because of the nature of the clay. I enameled the clay to show the cross pattern more clearly. I had to try to make the clay squares the same size as the metal ones, and this was fairly difficult because clay bends in a different way to metal, and it also shrinks during firing.

 I then decided that it would be better if there was a colour scheme, so it wasn't just random, so I decided to take the warm colours from the copper and brass, and use enamels in these colours on the clay squares.

 The clay squares on this one spell out 'unnoticed'. I stuck the squares together with masking tape to make sure they were lined up, before sewing them onto a fabric base. I stitched wadding inside the fabric, to make a padded base. I then sewed the edges together, to create a cuff.

 I tried to make the stitching as invisible as possible, so the pattern wasn't interrupted by the seam.

I used the same method to make two other pieces, a bracelet and a necklace, spelling out 'hide' and 'observe'

Final Major Project: Hidden Pattern

For my final major project, I have decided on the theme of hidden pattern. I have decided on hidden pattern because I enjoy looking at detail and I want to create unusual patterns, not just geometric patterns and shapes. I will first look at organic patterns, like patterns in vegetables and plants, and transfer the patterns and shapes from these to jewellery I will be making. Through my work I have done so far in applied arts, I have found I tend to lean more towards small scale detailed objects and jewellery, so I would like to continue with this way of working.

 I will look at pattern created by accident, such as from a collection of objects, or pattern that has another use, such as road markings. I would also like to look into pattern created from another process, such as weaving or knitting. The fabric may have a pattern printed on, but I will be looking at the pattern that is created from making the fabric. it is not deliberate and it often unnoticed, but I would like to use this kind of pattern as a focal point in my jewellery.

 I will also look at pattern which is deliberate, but may be unnoticed, such as the patterns on banknotes, which many people will handle everyday without noticing the pattern and decoration that makes them so difficult to forge.