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

Bralet Design and Making - 1 day project

Underwear as Outwear
 A few drawings from my sketchbook to show the design process of my bralet.

 I still had a load of this red stripy fabric left over from my previous mini project so I decided to make a bralet rather than spend £20 or so on one from the high street. The fabric has a cute 1950's feel to it which I love!

I've never made my own pattern before so I found this a real challenge. I wanted the bra cup cut into three sections so that when they are joined to the rest of the bralet (as you can see) they make a sweet heart shape giving the 'sweetheart neckline' a purpose. The holey, embroidered fabric on the ribcage adds a subtle sexy feel to it. The stripes all pointing in different directions make the bust look very 3D and in effect larger than in reality. Always a bonus!

1 day projects

My friend, Katie, wanted a rucksack for her birthday. I decided to try and make one. Not bad for a first attempt!

I would also like to make my friend, Harry a little present because he is so lovely! Here are a few ideas of what I would like to embroider onto a cushion, maybe? Just because he loves Tim Burton as much as I do! I'm still undecided.

Final Project - Initial Research

My idea for my FMP is based around pleasing the human senses. I would like to design and make a costume piece for dance that satisfies more than just the eyes. There is so much scope in terms of finding new and innovative ways of making something that is aesthetic to the ears, nose and hands as well as the eyes.

Here is a few sketchbook pages of my initial research and from my research week in Paris.

I went looking round charity shops and picked up anything I could find that made sounds. I wanted to find things that wouldn't obviously make sound. Examples of these were: a lampshade, glass beads, a badmiton racket, forks etc. Above is an example of drawing with the objects I found eg. a fork with acrylic ink.

Magazine research into images that typically smell nice.

Magazine research into images that typically feel nice. Hair is something that is always advertised as being 'soft if you buy this conditioner' etc. There is some sort of unnatural obsession with having soft and shiny hair.

Inspiration from French architecture and colour for costume for dance.

Inspiration from French architecture and colour for costume for dance.

Inspiration from French architecture and colour for costume for dance.

Inspiration from French architecture and colour for costume for dance.

Inspiration from French architecture and colour for costume for dance. Looking at texture as well.

Designing using images that subconciously say to the eye that they smell nice.

A collection of perfume samples from Paris woven together. This page smells lovely!

Drawings from Paris

Drawing in response to the sound of The Musee D'Orsay

Continual Line Drawing

Line drawings

Mainly continual line using biro. Quick drawings on the train. I was trying to keep quite a sad element to the drawings to develop a general depressing mood and atmosphere.