Friday, 31 August 2012

Drawing

 ’I don’t care if I can draw or not. I like doing it.’ And I swear to God, from one second to the next I had freedom which I hadn’t had before. From that point on, I didn’t care if I couldn’t make the human form look like the human form. I didn’t care if people liked it. There was this almost like drug-induced sense of freedom.”


Tim Burton is one of the people who I can truly say has been an inspiration to me. From reading is biography, his words have helped me grow in confidence as an artist and designer. It made me realise that there's no such thing as a wrong drawing. It can be whatever you want and you don't even have to have a reason for it.

It doesn't necessarily have to look like the thing you're drawing either. I feel that drawing broadens my mind in the search for new ideas. I love discovering new lines and shapes that give me inspiration. I'm subconsciously recording these lines and shapes in my head as I draw.


When I was in Florence this July I saw the video art piece 'Ruth Drawing Picasso' by Rineke Dijkstra and Fiona Tan at the Accedemia. The video shows about 4 minutes of a young girl drawing. I'd imagine many viewers would find this extremely boring however, I found it quite the opposite. In the video you don't actually see what the girl is drawing or what she is looking at. You just see the freedom in her wrist, the concentration in her face and how much she is looking back at what she is drawing. It just made me realise that drawing is just about looking,  having patience, then interpreting it in your own way.















Florence, Italy Trip

This summer I was lucky enough to make my first visit to Italy. I had an absolutely fantastic time! I love exploring new places and culture. But what I loved most was the amount of art that fills up Florence! Everywhere I looked there was something new that inspired me artistically.

We visited many galleries and museums whilst in Florence such as the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti etc. But my favourite was by far the Accedemia. I went there towards the end of the trip so had seen many copies of Michelangelo's 'David' before hand and didn't think that the real one would be that different. However, I was completely moved by it. This was one of the rare times in my life that I can genuinely say 'it took my breath away'. A photograph of it doesn't come anywhere near close enough to expressing what it feels like to see it in real life!

One of the copies of 'David'

Drawing negative space of Michelangelo's David

Michelangelo in the Accedemia

Michelangelo's David

When I say 'there's inspirational art all around you', one form is architecture. You're surrounded by beautiful buildings filled with lots of tiny details built with human hands. It's just incredible!



The Duomo

Architecture looks even more beautiful at 
Continual Line Drawings






Watercolour



Thursday, 28 June 2012

Bodice/Corset Workshop

My sister Charlotte and I went on a 2 day Corset making workshop in Lyme Regis. We've been on 2 previous workshops with Caroline 'La Di Da' at the Sewing Sanctury and absolutely loved every workshop! I would really recommend her workshops to anyone of all ages.

I designed the bodice so that the stripes would go in all different directions. This made pattern cutting annoningly difficult!

Monday, 11 June 2012

Mini Project - Skeleton/Human Body inspired dress

For my sisters 21st Birthday I decided to make a dress for when we went out for a celebratory dinner. I purchased some fabric in Bristol, the colours which I think have been subconsciously inspired by Parisian Architecture seeing as I have been working with them for such a long time!

I decided to use the human skeleton and body as inspiration as I find it very interesting. Particularly the ribcage, spine and breasts. I have enjoyed life drawing throughout the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design hugely and I find the natural human body so beautiful.












There is something about the naked body that is very personal and almost a big secret. Showing skin has been said to be a way of showing confidence. However, it has also been described as indecent exposure. Clothes are used to cover up the skin and the skin is used to cover up bones and organs so in a way, showing bones is exposing something even more personal so shows more confidence.




I wanted to design a dress that celebrates the naked human body and skeleton in a classy way.






















I would have liked to spend more time on this project and get more out of it!