Over the course of the six weeks on the foundation at Ravensborne I have thoroughly enjoyed every transition that we have been through. We started off in graphics by looking at memories, and we did many things with this one concept. Not only were they creative and artistic e.g. drawing, painting, printing but we also did some exciting things with these memories. We were given the task to build a time capsule and bury it, I found this very interesting and I'm glad it was a change from just fine Art, it was creative, interactive and we had to use our imagination. We were suggested some exhibitions to visit such as The Memory Palace at the V&A I found this so inspiring and it opened my eyes to the fact that exhibitions don't have to have the same structure. The exhibition fairly interactive and the layout engaged the audience as much as possible, a collaboration of many artists work was on display but at the same time the story flowed throughout. Another thing I found really interesting was creating the timeline of the whole week that we had in graphics. I felt that combining the art that we had done over the week was an interesting idea and it reminded me of the memory palace (combining loads of different elements into one). I also felt that the tutor the lead graphics really helped us to open up and be more confident with the way we work, we did several tasks of drawing with our eyes closed or with our left hand or with a pen in our mouth. We were also encouraged to work fairly big and this was a really good task to start us all off with. Proceeding in graphics we experimented with typography and collage, at the end of the graphics transition we had to create a poster or several posters that reflected past experiences or how we see our future selves in 2033.

Lens-based media started off really interesting I didn't think that our first task would actually work, we had to photograph our environment in six different ways and then draw one of the pictures on an A1 sheet of paper. Once we had finished drawing our images we were asked to crop the photograph in many different ways... This is was a really aesthetically pleasing exercise, I'm sure most of us we used to cropping in photoshop or any other editing programs but this achieved really interesting results which will definitely influence my later photographic work. I was a little bit disappointed with the next stage of lens-based media, I don't think that it stretched our understanding of technical matters, we were mainly focused on creating stories rather than what lighting to use or what camera angles portray certain emotions. 

In my eyes fashion was absolutely amazing not only did we create garments but we learnt how the actual process of creating works. Again I thought the task given was going to be absolutely pointless but it resulted in some great final products. We experimented with illustration, collage and paper folding, and I have honestly never been so surprised with the results achieved. Week four of the foundation course we focused on computer software skills e.g. photoshop, illustrator and in design. I have some experience of these three programmes already but i was happy to find out that there were easier, or more productive ways of doing things. During this week we also did some academic writing and this consisted of a museum visit review and learning how to Harvard reference. Although it wasn't the most fun and exciting part of the course it was definitely the most challenging and it came as a breath fresh of breath air, to start writing rather than creating graphics on a computer screen. I know that it's also really important to learn how to use Harvard referencing so I'm glad that I've got out of the way with. The final transition of the foundation course with 3-D design was so exciting because we made so many great products.

 To begin with the 3-D design transition we learned how to broaden our imagination and challenge any preconceptions that we had.  I know that I will definitely use this method of designing in the future, it produced organic and fresh results. I think 3-D design was a really good end to the six weeks, we learnt some inspiring and powerful methods, ones that i will definitely carry through to my next stage of the course. I have really enjoyed my six weeks at Ravensborne, it has been challenging and exciting and has really pushed my imagination to its limits, I have learnt how to be creative in different ways, and i feel that getting a taster of each course has left me with skills that i can use when i specialise. 

3DD - Building Spanning Structures

(Spanning Structure Design Ideas, Author's Own)

On day three of the 3DD rotation we began to look at the idea of 'spanning structures'. We used the term spanning structures so that it drew us away from simply making an iconic bridge. We were given the opportunity to experiment in our sketch books creating small paper structures that 'spanned' from one side of the page to the other. I experimented with cutting the internal paper of my sketch book and the external paper to create these structures.To start off with these designs i created some crazy ideas that definitely did not represent bridges, but this helped me because my ideas ended up eccentric and non conventional. I discovered when slicing the internal pages of my sketch book that i had almost created pop-up-like-book-structures, this is when my design process took an exciting step. 

(Individual designs, Author's Own)

(Pop-Up Design, Author's Own)

(Pop-Up Design, Author's Own)

When coming across this exciting mistake i used it to my advantage and began to design a pop-up bridge. I created this outside of my sketch book because my sketch book is ring bound and i wasn't sure how to get around that problem. When proceeding with the design i found it really quite difficult to plan out precisely where i had to cut and what areas i had to leave whole so that the cut out stood up. Eventually i completed the design and it actually worked really well, i am really pleased with what i achieved because i have 
never actually created something like this before. When photographing it i made sure that the shadows created were exaggerated, i also desaturated the colour of the image as a whole in Photoshop and i think it gave the final images a Tim Burton feel to them.



When we had finished designing our small spanning structures we were allocated groups to work with and had to start planning to build a bigger version of our bridges using card, duct tape and bamboo sticks. The aim of the task was to create a bridge that a toy car could cross AND have enough space for a "boat" [table on wheels] to pass under. Of course the first problem we came across is that we all had different initial design ideas, to overcome this problem we decided to start fresh and collaborate using all our ideas into one.  We began designing and came up with the idea that we could make a pivoting bridge, that when heavier at one end it would naturally fall down [almost like a see-saw] allowing the toy car to travel from one side to another.

We experienced many problems when building our structure but it was extremely helpful having 6 people on the job to adjust things as they went wrong. We started practically, creating a solid triangular shape using the bamboo, this shape was decided by the whole group something that would best work as a pivotal point for our see-saw-bridge. Moving on we decided to begin building the tracks for the car to travel across, we created a bamboo structure and attached it to several pieces of rectangular cardboard, this structure was perfect when lying on the floor, but then i suggested we lift it up and see how strong it was, and of course it split in multiple places. I then suggested instead of lining the bamboo up, we overlap it so that there are no weak points, this technique worked to our advantage.

 

The time soon came when we had to put our structures to the test [and Geoff's driving skills], as a team we all lifted our tracks off the ground and placed it on to the pivot. Unfortunately the structure was slightly too heavy and the tracks sagged, but this was not all doom and gloom as our bridge still met the criteria to pass. So the games began ! Geoff drove the car up one side and down the other without fail or hesitation. I think what worked to our advantage was the tracks we created, this ensured that the car did not swerve off. I created a film of all the bridges in action which can be seen above. 

(Building Process, Author's Own)

3DD - Practical Design&Making

                                              (Design Ideas, Author's Own)

The morning of the second day on the 3DD transition we began to think about creating structures that would hold up 3 balls using 20 pieces of spaghetti and a glue gun. To begin with i thought the task would be impossible and prove extremely challenging, not only to create a structure without snapping the spaghetti but to actually hold the balls up. The image to the left show cases the initial design ideas i had for this task, although the task the day before taught us how create designs in a non conventional way i decided to be more practical. What i later realised when coming to construct my product was that i had drawn them in a Two-Dimentional perspective which in fact gave the structure no support. The images below show the structure standing alone photographed from different angles, i have used the lighting in such a way so that interesting shadows are created. I have also photographed the structure with some architectural figures to put some sort of perspective of scaling into place, i feel that the use of the figures gives my structure another meaning that it was not initially designed for. 

(Pasta Structure Holding Up Balls, Author's Own)

Here shows my structure fulfilling its purpose [holding the balls off the ground] the architecture of the structure works well and meets the objectives: balls are elevated off the ground without touching... My final product doesn't actually represent one of my initial design illustrations but i have created a combination of several ideas to create one. I created two levels, one larger one for 2 balls to sit on and one smaller slot for a single ball, i also added in a stand for the structure so that it could balance. Level one consisted of a square platform strengthened by multiple layers of spaghetti and supported by two sections in the middle that helped to hold the balls in place. This section was going to be my only section to begin with, but i concluded that it was not visually interesting enough. So i went on to design Level two, this was made up of a triangular base supported by three stands starting from the ground [acting as legs] and working their way up to then support Level one. I added in one more stand to help my product stand up better, a problem i faced when constructing was that the glue gun was melting, i overcame this problem by taking my time and being patient. Once combining the two concepts and adding extras, i think the piece looked fairly interesting and aesthetically pleasing, especially when the primary coloured balls were added to the product. The images remind me of the minimalistic designs by artist Piet Mondrian.

(Mondrian, Piet, Place de la Concorde)

Piet Mondrian

(Mondrian, Piet, Avond: The Red Tree)

Mondrian is an extremely influential artist whose work is very minimalistic and linear. His style is developed from landscape pictures to geometric abstract works of a most precise nature. He began by painting incredibly detailed and lifelike landscapes - mostly trees - subject to experimenting with the pointillist technique and was then promptly influenced by the cubist movement. Mondrian carried on with this style until the point of abstraction and step by step began to evolve his own minimalistic style which he called Neo-Plasticism, this style restricted him to three primary colours and grids of horizontal and vertical lines on a white background.

3DD - Design Structures

 On day one of the 3D-Design transition we were asked to draw a series of random doodles into our sketchbooks and then turn them into functioning 3D objects. For example we were asked to draw 10 dots onto a page, once we had done that we were asked to turn it into the floor plan of a 2 bedroom house by connecting the dots together. The point of this exercise was broaden our imagination and challenge any preconceptions we had of a certain object.An example given was "If i told you all to design a kettle, you'd all just draw a standard kettle, but if i ask you to turn a doodle into a kettle it appears more interesting and dynamic." I found the task extremely interesting and fun, i didn't think that working in such a way would produce such interesting results, but I'm glad i took part in this exercise because now i have gained the skill of creating and thinking non conventionally to produce organic and refreshing results/designs.

The second exercise we were given was to invent a 3D structure that would support a large water bottle at least 20cm off a surface whilst maintaining an aesthetically pleasing / interesting look. We were given one sheet of A1 paper and a short length of masking tape to create this structure, i thought of ways in which i could design something that did not require any masking tape or cutting, this is because these two methods will weaken the paper and result in my structure to collapse. I decided to create an Origami Chinese Water-bomb, this is a structure originally made from paper and used to withstand water, the process of making it requires no cutting or sticking and holds its self together. When the two dimentional shape is created all you need to do is blow into the small hole to inflate the 2D structure into a 3D structure. I decorated each side of the water bomb with a different colour just to make it look more interesting than just a cube and then i photographed it from different angles to capture different aspects.

When photographing it i used small architectural figures in some of my photographs to imply that it was actually an architectural structure, i manipulated the lighting to exaggerate certain qualities of the design, and to show the architectural figures in a naturalistic way. The images i have taken remind me somewhat of cubic architectural structures that appear on the program grand designs. Although i think that i could have my my 3D structure more architecturally interesting, i am happy with my results, i haven't overcomplicated anything and sometimes less is more. My 3D structure did in fact hold up the water bottle, i think its due to not overcomplicating the idea  and using folds rather than cuts.

(Images of 3D Paper Structure, Author's Own)

The final exercise we were given was to use a maximum of 4 sheets of cardboard to create a 3D structure at least 30cm off the ground that could support our own weight. When i was designing my structure i had to consider something practical that would support my weight at the same time as making it look interesting and aesthetically pleasing. I created a structure that looks similar to the AOL logo, the main circular structure in the middle was 30cm off the ground, and the triangular structures on the exterior of the design were put in place to support the circular structure, to finish it off i added a cross like structure in the middle of the circle so that when a surface was placed over the top it would support my weight. The  structure worked well and it held my weight, I took pictures of the structure in many different ways, and used the architectural figures again to imply a different use for the structure, it reminds me of the skeleton of what could be a hotel.

(3D Structure Holding My Weight, Author's Own)

Concepts&Processes: Academic Writing (2/3)

Structure & Clarity, Minimalism, Room 9

“With Minimalism,

 no attempt is made to represent an outside reality;

 the artist wants the viewer to respond only to what is in 

front of them” – Barbara Reise.

(Untitled 1962, Untitled 1967 & Untitled 1964, Bell, Larry)

Making your way into into room 9 of the structure and clarity exhibition prepare to be overwhelmed by the tremendous works of Donald Judd. This 84 foot steel structure invades every aspect of your concentration as you first enter the room of minimalistic art. Unexpectedly your eyes voyage over to the simplistic but still aesthetically perplexing artwork of Larry Bell, three beautifully arranged geometric cubes placed strategically on a simple white wall capture all concentration. Room 9 compromises of many simple structures that do not infatuate the audience as much as Bell's work. Bell is an American artist who has a strong passion for the concept of light and space he is primarily concerned with the interpreting experience stemming from the viewer's interaction with his work. A promising aspect of his work is the somewhat interactive side, each individual will have a different experience to the last, and every one is open to their own interpretation. 

(Cube #9 Blue&Dark Grey 2007, Bell, Larry)

The structures embrace personal experiences through the diversity of the  audience, this is demonstrated by the use of reflective materials (mirror). The notion behind these cubes are to demonstrate the infinite variation of a continuum [light]. To fabricate these thought provoking cubes Bell utilised complex ways in which to manipulate light and space. Untitled 1964 which compromises of multicoloured oval patterns, was created by covering the glass with chemical treatments that cut off certain bands of light so that they appear in different colours depending on the viewers angle. The overall experience in the Minimalism room was truly eye opening, minus Donald Judd's enormous structure the room was so uncluttered that the skill and craft was extensively absorbed and appreciation for the pieces and their manufacture was considerable. The artists work that is displayed in room 9 may be characterised by the alternative rules emphasised by geometry, mathematics and certain essential qualities, but rather than imitating something else the works are defined by their evident physical characteristics whilst no attempt is made to represent an outside reality, these features make the room as a whole unique and very distinctive from the rest of the exhibition. 

Bibliography

Online recourses : 

(Morris, Frances) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks?rid=7628&ws=date&wv=grid

(Want, Christopher, 2009) (http://www.moma.org/collection/theme.php?theme_id=10459)

Concepts&Processes - Academic Writing&IT Skills

The objective of today’s exercise was to create a poster based on memory and to understand to some extent how to use the Adobe suite software Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I am actually fairly good at using these three pieces of software because my mum is a Graphic Designer and she has taught me how to use them from a young age. I did actually learn some things that I didn’t previously know which was really interesting because it showed me quicker and more effective ways of doing things. We started by using Illustrator and experimented with the “Pen” tool, we created random shapes and manipulated the colour, then we moved onto using the “ARC” tool to create a pathway for our text to sit on, we then selected the “Type On A Path Tool” and manipulated the thickness and style of the typeface. We then took manipulation of our text a step further and created our own font by creating outlines around each individual letter. I based my poster on a festival that I attended in the summer so decided to create my text in context to the festivals logo.Next we started to use Photoshop and we had to create an image to support our text, I decided to use an image form the festival. I decided that the step-by-step guide to creating this poster was too basic and I wouldn’t achieve the result I was looking for, so I resolved this issue by going back into illustrator and creating a bolder text to incorporate with my image. When I had finished adjusting my text I combined the two into Photoshop and filled the text with the photo. I think it looked quite interesting to have fragments of imagery mapped out by the text I had created.Finally we had to add in some text to inform the audience with the message we were trying to convey, I decided to add in the line-up of the festival, I designed it so that the text was in line with the imagery.

(Progress of Ideas, Author's Own)

Above shows the progress of my ideas, it started off with me drawing the squiggles in illustrator using the "Pen" tool and using 4 different shades of green. I then added my text using the "ARC" tool and the "Type on a Path" tool and found it quite interesting and intriguing when i highlighted the text. I reverted from using these two ideas and decided to use shades of blue to represent the sea, sun and swimming pools but thought I'd display the thought process and design processes made. I then realised it that it would be sensible to gain inspiration from the original designs of the festival logos or colour-ways the designers used. I came across the festival wrist band and the logo, this is when i started designing based on colour schemes and patterns. When i included a picture in my poster i realised that it started to really come together and stood out with aesthetics.