PDP MASTER UNIT 2

Masters Project 1- Exploration Martina Gleeson MA Illustration 31/05/15

UNIT 1 TUTORIALS Tutorial 1/Group Critique: With Paul MA ILLUSTRATION 27/10/15.'Who am I?’project Use the gold pen selectively. Limited use is better as it makes it special and delicate.

Try and focus on a limited colour palette. Explore Shapes and flat colour. Try and make the characters more animated. Review how your characters are posing? Put some weight with them. Exaggerate their postures. Try out screen printing and other print practices.

Break your characters down to keyframes. Look at contemporary children's books.

Artists suggested: Marc Boutavant, Tom Gauld. Oliver Jeffers.

Reflection:I found this tutorial helpful and relevant to my practice. It encouraged me to examine further my interest in character development. It has also allowed me to stretch from the figure, a subject I do too much.

Tutorial/Group Crit 2: With SimOn Granell and Hayley Potter 03/11/15 I am consciously making a decision to stay away from anatomically correct drawings as I know that I can do this already. I have turned my interest to colour and hope to do some printing. Drawings can appear polished.

Focus on deconstructing your drawing and draw more from observation. Use these images later. The point is to see how material functions. Try one material on a piece to see all the different ways you can manipulate it. Otherwise the material gets lost within other materials if you have various mediums all going on at once. For now try keep one foot in reality and one foot in imagination. You can make alterations on your observational drawing. People need to relate so start in reality and then add your imagination. This makes it more believable and relatable. Draw different types of real people. *Suggestion: Try keeping a book of drawings of different people and poses so that you can use them as a references in the future. Build up your visual repertoire.

Artists Suggested: The Drawing Book-Tanya Kovats.

Reflection: I am not really sure of what to make of this critique. I know that the brief is to do observational drawings and to move away from what you normally do but I spent my time on my BA drawing people and was told to draw them here again. That is not moving out of my comfort zone. I do understand why it was suggested though, to get different poses to aid my practice. I did not completely agree with the point about keeping one foot in reality and one foot in imagination in order for people to be able to relate to an image. I believe the image can still be appealing and relatable without its origin drawing deriving from a realistic drawing or realistic observation. I do understand the point being made but I do not fully agree. I have also been basing my characters from real people so I am using them as reference. I know that I need to do more observational and experimental drawings. I also wish to pursue printmaking. Another student showed us her colla-

graphs. They are similar to Lino or woodcuts. Seal with Shellac.

A Collagraph print: is one made from a plate collaged with different textures. A base plate of mount-card or the reverse side of old etching plates can be used. The process is a combination of intaglio and relief. Collage your plate with texture by gluing on wallpaper or torn cardboard shapes with PVA wood glue.

Tutorial 3: Study Plan: With Hayley Potter 10/11/15 Today I met with Hayley Potter, my course leader. We had been previously requested to devise a study plan with regards to our brief ‘ War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo. This brief is given by the House of Illustration. The House of Illustration chose a book every year and invite artists from all over the world to participate in this competition. Each participant must enter three illustrations. The winner then illustrates the rest of the book and the book gets published.

In my study plan I outlined the way in which I would address the brief. I plan to meet the brief using the new skills I have acquired from the ‘Who am I ‘project which is ongoing. I also talk about paying special attention to composition and possibly text. I am still not sure if I will apply text to this brief.

Hayley and I discussed my study plan. She encouraged me to use the term ‘ creative identity’ instead of style when discussing my work. She explained how this leaves more room for me as an artist to stretch to many means of working in both format and medium without boxing myself into one small area. It blurs the boundaries between Fine Art and Illustration allowing freedom in my expression.

Book suggested: ‘Hand Job- A Catalog of Type’ by Michael Perry.

Reflection: I found this tutorial to be straight forward, concise and helpful. It was interesting to learn the difference between ‘ style’ and ‘creative identity’ I have a clear understanding of what it is I need to do next with regards to my study plan, that being 1: Work Skills Check into my study plan.

2: Mention artists who I plan to research that can aid the evaluation and outcome of this brief.

Tutorial 4/Group Critique: With Hayley Potter 01/12/15 Today we met as a group with Hayley and discussed our work and ideas with regards to “War Horse”. I went into this critique knowing that I had not too much prepared as I had been finding it hard to figure out where to start. This project to me is quite overwhelming. I am facing for the first time in my life as an artist a concise brief.

During my BA days I had longed for a brief, something to direct me within the limitless boundaries of Fine Art. But now, having finally been given one I find that I miss the days of focusing on a concept I had chosen to create work from.The freedom of Fine Art. I honestly never thought I would say that. Maybe I am too comfortable within this 'no brief ' cocoon. Perhaps I just need to tackle this brief as I would have my own previously prescribed projects and although I am in an area of design now, use my Fine Art knowledge to work through this brief. The fact that I know that this brief is ultimately for a competition has definitely stunted my excitement in tackling it. I keep finding myself too preoccupied with what I think the judges would want when really I have NO idea what they want. I am struggling greatly with composition, I always have. Not having a consistent small studio space, somewhere to work is definitely taking its tole. I really thought we would have one when I accepted my offer here, however this is not the case so I have no choice but to get on with it and unfortunately work in most cases from home.

Reflection: Basically this whole brief has thrown me through the wringer. I have a good basic idea but I know from experience that the ideas generally come from your work not before hand. But again this is the opposite point to a brief but as an illustrator I need to address this difficulty I have and strengthen it. Hayley pointed out

that I am too preoccupied about my work looking good to let it grow and expand into new areas limiting myself and psyching myself out before I have even put a pencil in my hand. She is right to an extent but I also know that I have not experienced something like this before and I am just struggling to know where to start.

I know that I struggle with composition. I am struggling to find images to reference for my work. I know that I am not excited by this story and do not feel an urge to make work for it. I need to tackle this in a different way, look at it in a way I have not before. I did not get too much from this tutorial but I was not expecting much feedback as I did not have too much prepared physically.

Tutorial 5/Group Critique: Reading between the Lines: Editing Workshop with Hayley Potter 15/12/15 Today we had an editing workshop. In this workshop we presented what images we created for the House of Illustration brief 'War Horse' Each student of the MA full time showed their work to the group. Then Hayley advised the student on the best route to go down artistically with regards to the work presented. Other students also participated by offering advice on things that could be improved on in the work being shown e.g. Adding or removing textures, change in font and colour choices.

I presented various images I had been working on. No image was like the other. I used many different methods in order to make the work as I was struggling to find the right path to go down. I created images from anything from wool, to scanning hay, to drawing and painting traditionally and digitally. I tried to focus on processes I was not familiar with in order to inform my lesser know avenues of different media methods. The process of scanning hay jokingly became a new phrase amongst our class to describe trying something new for a person creatively or for when a person doesn't really know what they are doing “Scanning hay' I really did not know what I was doing so I was trying to figure it out through the process of making as previously advised. I had gone out the week before and took photos using a disposable camera. I took pictures of different marks I found interesting such as stains on the ground that could double up as( in my mind) explosions for scenes in War Horse. I took pictures of the sky thinking that I could use it as a foggy texture. I took pictures of branches thinking that they could double up as barbed wire spikes as seen in the 'No Man's Land' chapter in the book. When I got the pictures developed the quality of the photos was no where near the standard of a normal digital camera but that is what I was going for, this murky, dark and slightly ambiguous feel. I was pleased. I then scanned in the photos to photoshop and used them as textures. I then scanned in a previously drawn image of a horse that I did. I put this on the scanned in photos and then worked on the image . This method of working digitally was completely foreign to me but I enjoyed the process far more than I thought I would. I do still prefer the more traditional way of making things though.

Besides wanting to work with processes that were unfamiliar to me I made a conscious decision to use text in this brief. I usually include text in my work but this time I wanted to try out different ways of making type instead of just drawing it. This is something that I am still working on as I got too carried away with the actual image at the time.

Hayley, noticing that I prefer to make things physically suggested that I do what I was doing on photoshop but with paper in 'real life'. This being the act of layering using paper to create Dioramas. She told me that just because I am in illustration now does not mean that I should forget my roots, that I am a painter. She told me to play to my strengths as that is after all why I was given a place because I was good at what I do.

Reflection: I knew going into the editing workshop that I didn't have anything 'solid' that I would plan on continuing but the process of making things set me off on the right track. I had been feeling overwhelmed with the project previously and had found it very difficult to find out where I should start. Working through the 'unknown' helped, blindly feeling my way around in unfamiliar territory was strange but I found that because I was making work using processes I had not used before that I had no inhibitions, I didn't get to caught up with the aesthetic and enjoyed the process. I enjoyed being in that moment of making even though I wasn't particularly good at it so I suppose there was no pressure to BE good. When Hayley suggested I make Dioramas my initial reaction was....'oh, well that's something new' As an artist I have not really gravitated towards the act of 'making things' I make things like canvas and paintings yes but not really 3D models of things. She thought that from the work I made that it looked quite '3D' anyway so why not push it into new territory that I might enjoy more rather than sitting in front of the computer screen. So this is where I am at now. I am going

to somehow marry the painting world with the diorama world to make some kind creative freestanding progeny, a 'FrankenStage' It is ...exciting.

Tutorial 6/Mock Presentation of work to date on PowerPoint: With Hayley Potter 12/01/16 We had a mock presentation today to prepare us for the presentation we have to make of our work for our assessments. Each students presentation needed to be within fifteen minutes long. Each member of the MA illustration group spoke about their work in relation to the learning outcomes outlined in the course handbook.

We spoke about where we started from in the briefs we have to where we are now while showing slides of our work. We spoke about the 'Who am I' brief and about the 'War Horse' brief. Each student had a different approach in how they presented.

Reflection: If I am being honest, my presentation of work was nowhere near up to the standard of what I would want it to be for my assessments. I knew that going into the mock presentation as I had taken quite an extensive break over the holidays and had somewhat neglected my practice. I found presenting and sitting in and watching everyones presentations to be extremely beneficial for many reasons.

1:I came up with ideas from others while they showed their work 2:Seeing the work of my classmates motivated me to go home and work harder.Looking at different kinds of art excites me, so in turn inspires me to create.

3:They gave examples of the many ways a person can present.

4:I was given pointers and artists to look up after my presentation, not only from my tutor but also from the other students, such as PHLEGM(street artist) and Charming Baker.

5:I gained a clearer and concise idea of what my presentation should include.

6:I saw what I was up against, what I needed to match in terms of skill.

7:I was given words of encouragement and reassurance, which is always nice to hear.

Tutorial 7/Presentation of Professional Development Portfolio content with Lisa Richardson and Simon Granell.

19/01/16 Today we delivered a presentation of what we are expected to address in our PDP. Three of my classmates and I presented to MA Fine Art students, each other and to Lisa and Sim贸n.

This was an exercise merely to show our understanding of the requirements for the PDP. We were not getting assessed on the presentation. We used this time to discuss areas of confusion with regards to the various headings. It was very useful to see the other examples of the PDP from other students as everyone had a very different approach. It was an opportunity to discuss and ask questions. Each of us presented our understanding of the PDP and Lisa and Sim贸n let us know if were missing anything and helped us to understand.

This was a very useful exercise. They reminded us that while the PDP must contain to 10 guideline headings that it can be personal and have our own touch to it. It can be presented in many ways such as a blog, a comic book, a normal book, anything that allowed its content to be presented clearly. I have opted for the simple approach at this moment but as the year continues I will attempt to alter it into something a little more creative.

UNIT 2 TUTORIALS Assessment Feedback and Study Plan discussions with Hayley Potter 23/02/16 Today we had feedback about our first unit project. I was pleased with my mark and comments said regarding my work. The tutors seemed fairly impressed with my War Horse final images and said that they have never really seen anyone make something like that before. Hayley pointed out that I should play to my strengths the next unit and really think about what would excite me. She said that I have great abilities with colour and lighting so that I create pieces of a high atmospheric quality. She advised I use my skills in painting but also to challenge and maybe use my new knowledge of diorama making for this project. I seem to have solid grounding with the concept of the human condition and am able to pick unique observations from normal situations and conversations.

We discussed how these things should play a part in unit two. We talked about ideas I have for this project but I am a little lost as to where to go next. I am finding it difficult to decide on a topic that excites me. I have a few ideas but none of them really appeal to me on a conceptual and provocative level. I need something snappy and current. A topic thats perhaps somewhat shocking or quirky. I plan at looking at myself and finding what makes me tick, what drives me, what I'm passionate about. I think the best way to tackle this next unit it to include myself as a person conceptually in it. Highlight my own unique point of view. This may sound obvious but what I really mean is that I will examine my own feelings, fears and anxieties and use this to fuel my work. Since I started this MA, I have developed a lot of self doubt within my practice and my anxiety levels have grown, not just about my work but about me as a person. I am extremely unsure of myself and lost. I plan to use this project as a opportunity to examine myself and work on my own issues. By using these issues it will strengthen the personal attachment and content within my work. Hopefully the viewer will really be able to feel and see apart of me when they view my work and will help me to address my own issues and heighten my confidence.

Tutorial 8/9 with Joel Lardner 23/03/16 Tutorial 1: Today I had an informal meeting with Joel. I told him about what I had planned to do for this project. I had the idea to create characters and a world based on the iPod which I discussed in the first draft of my study plan. I didn't find this tutorial particularly helpful because I knew when I was explaining the idea to Joel that I wasn't passionate about it. I had only had some core mind mapping done about different ideas for the project and didn't have any solid ground work so he didn't have much to work with so in turn I had vague feedback. Joel was encouraging but I didn't walk away from the tutorial with any fresh ideas.

Tutorial 2: A few weeks later we met again. I am still in a rut. Joel reviewed my sketch book while we discussed my interests. We were trying to brain storm. He came across some characters that I had drawn and told me that they were strong and that I should definitely develop them further. This was encouraging. He bought me to meet another illustration student in third year who was using a particular type of pencil that he suggested would suit my characters when drawing them. He advised that I just utilize my ability for comedy within my work and use my own situations and memories and apply them to my characters. He told me to build an ensemble of characters with which to explore environments, locations, behavior and relationships. I felt a little better after this tutorial but still not fully convinced that this idea of way of tackling this project is for me. I need to come at this from a different angle is all, an angle that works for me. I will do as he as suggested for a while and see where it takes me.

Tutorial/Group Critique 10 19/04/16 Today we met as a class for the first time since after the Easter break. It was really good to touch base with my classmates and see how their project work was going. Each of us had to show some of our work informally and discuss where we are with it. This was a great opportunity as the we used this session to bounce ideas off one another and suggest different artists that might benefit the person. I came to this session with a strange range of work that seemed all very disconnected. I had my sketchbook, a recent picture I did of Donald Trump, a picture I did for my friends blog about Art Directed Dick Pics of David Attenborough in the wild with the 'wild peni' and a self portrait I did for the sky portrait of the year competition.

This crit was helpful. It was great to get feedback from different people. Certain artists were suggested to me like Ronald Searle and Rembrandt, one of which I knew of already but it was good to get the reminder. My classmates helped me discuss some ideas and reminded me of what type of thing I’m good at, like addressing edgy topics and putting my own unique spin and humour on them. I told them my idea about the iPod and they pointed out that I needed something more provocative. This was reassuring to hear that my classmates think of my work in this way, it was really encouraging. I feel as though I am slowly but surely making headway with this project. It was great to hear about the others work too as I found out some useful artists that I may never have looked at. It was also helpful to see where they were at and was reassuring to know that I was really doing ok. I enjoyed looking at their work and listening to their ideas.

Tutorial 11 with Maria Midttun 03/05/15 Today I had a tutorial with Maria Midttun, a past student of AUB. She is doing pretty well for herself. She graduated from the Arts University 4 years ago. This tutorial was pretty helpful more so in terms of being a successful illustrator than my actual project. I explained my idea to her and showed her some of my current and previous art work. She advised me on keeping a consistency in my work and also in my social media names.i.e.have the same social media artist name in all areas as it will make it easier for people to find you.

I liked talking to her, it was encouraging to see someone my age doing so well for themselves. She told me that I need to be updating my online presence constantly so that people can see that your busy and proactive. She recommended I look up Danny Fox, look up Aesops Fabels and hinduism reincarnation. She gave me her email address so that I can message her if I need advice on anything,what a lovely lady.

I liked the colour balance in her work and some of it is quite charming but it seems to be running along some trend. It feels like to me that this new way of drawing is really prevalent, its in fashion to draw these kind of loopy small eyed characters. Why is everyone drawing this way all of a sudden? I don’t really get it, but I do like her work, you can see a personality in it.

Tutorial/Group Crit 12 Mock Presentation For Assessments.

17/05/16

Today we met informally as a group to practice our body of work presentations with Hayley. It was a student led critique, so we were the ones offering feedback more so than Hayley. Each of us presented our work for 15 minutes. This is always a nerve racking experience. It was a good opportunity to see where everyone else was at in terms of work. This gave me an idea of where I should be. It also forced us structure our work early on and allow us time to put into words what our work was about. This was a helpful exercise. My classmates and Hayley suggested that I need to think about the layout of my book so that it doesn’t just look like a collection of images jumbled in together. Hayley pointed out that I need to be very clear as to why I made what I did. Can I justify the work. Explain the point as if no one has ever heard it before. She stressed how important it is to be obvious.

Hayley also suggested that I need to make myself a set of rules so that it helps to tie the work together. They did ask a few questions at the end that I felt I had explained quiet clearly in the beginning so I am going to have to work on people not zoning out on for this presentation. I am going to try and make this presentation more fluid and professional.

MASTERS PROJECT 1 EXPLORATION STUDY PLAN-REVISITED 2nd Draft.

This study plan will outline how I intend to address this self initiated brief for unit two. I will discuss my concept, points of action in relation to research, methodologies and technologies and show how it fits into contemporary illustration.

Following discussion with Hayley and my classmates, I decided to point my concept in another direction. After researching the concepts I had outlined in the first draft of this study plan, I felt that they did not appeal to me enough as an artist to pursue them any further. Hayley and my classmates agreed that I needed something that reflected my interests and perhaps personality more, something that would keep my focus.

The concept I have chosen applies these three obligations I have constructed for myself as an illustrator. a) The topics must be of personal interest My work is most successful when I have a personal tie to the subject. b) I must always challenge myself but I also must recognize and utilize my artistic assets.

I will use my knowledge of painting, lighting and colour but will attempt to push this knowledge into unfamiliar territory to allow myself to grow as an artist c) I will aim for my work to make a statement about the human condition I will explore the human condition as I have an ability to be sympathetic and empathetic towards this subject. I will attempt to include the figure but also introduce characters I have composed myself.

Before I begin a project, I consider what is it that I am attracted to as both an artist and a person. For me, an art work should be, aesthetically appealing, accessible in terms of understanding the work but also thought provoking and should present aspects of the artist within the work so that the viewer can attempt to relate to it in some way. I will always aim to activate the viewer as a material in my work so that they can gain a higher insight into the piece and can connect with it on different levels.

I met with Hayley about this study plan and we discussed my strengths from unit one. She acknowledged that I have an ability to capture a certain atmosphere in my work through my use of colour and lighting. I will apply these skills and my skills as a painter to aid the creation of my final outcomes for this unit. I will explore different technologies to generate more comprehensive methodologies in my practice. This will allow me to become a more well rounded illustrator.

My Brief: Explore and demonstrate a range of technologies to produce a body of work in relation to the animal and human condition. Utilize new and old methodologies to exhibit the outcome. Use this unit as a way of exploring both concept and processes.

Concept In this unit I will explore the common idiosyncrasies between human beings and animals. I am researching within the context of anthropomorphism, however I will examine factual traits that are obscure or less known than more basic similarities like those of mating rituals or eating habits. I will decontextualize the fact and reconstruct it within a new context by relating and hyperbolizing it to demonstrate the fact in relation to my own experiences, thoughts and observations. I will actively employ a different technology in the creation of each piece so that the process is sympathetic to the subject within the work. This project will be tied together conceptually more so than aesthetically as I aim to use this exploration unit as a means to acquire new skills so that I can be a more employable well rounded illustrator. I will demonstrate my concept in both different styles and processes.

First Step Conceptual Content- First I will research the basic ways animals and people are similar. Then I will explore further peculiarities they share.

Main Sources I will use

Secondary Sources

The New York Times Magazine David Attenborough documentaries National Geographic My own sketch books where I have written down my own observations and experiences Colossal.com,Juxtapose magazine, Instagram, Behance.

General Nature documentaries Pet Home videos- Youtube Ask my peers if they have any stories in relation to the subject.

Library Any other art and design blogs.

Second Step Technologies I aim to use to transform my practice.

Digital, Painting, Paper Mechanics and Lighting (3D practice), printmaking, drawing, photography.

Process Per TechnologyDigital Digital is a new way of working for me. I aim to demonstrate some of this concept using Photoshop. I will use the tutorial on Lynda.com- Photoshop CC Essential Training (2015) and other tutorials on Youtube to help me produce digital work.

Painting Of all the technologies listed, I am most familiar with painting. I did not use it much in the last unit but I feel that I should also use my strengths as well as address my weaknesses. I will use my knowledge of painting to aid both digital work and non digital work.

Paper Mechanics and Lighting (3D practice) I used paper mechanics for the first time in unit one. The process proved rather successful for me. I aim to use this process again and learn more. I will also value the use of light to finish each off image.

Printmaking In this unit I have decided to make the most out of the printmaking facilities. I will use the process of screen-printing, an area I am not too familiar with. I will use this technology to produce pieces that are humourous and snappy to compliment the content in the images.

Drawing I will use drawing in my sketch book to map out my ideas and in my finished work.

Photography I will use photography to document my work and photograph subjects to work from.

Third Step I will chose an animal and human similarity. I will use a personal anecdote, thought, or observation and apply it to the researched fact. I will make primary sketches based on my idea.I will match technology to the basic sketch so that the medium is sympathetic to the content, i.e soft painting to a poignant fact, bright flat colours to a humourous fact.

Fourth Step I will then attempt to compile all the images together into a book. I will display the image on one side and the anecdote/fact on the other side. I hope to have 8 images in the book.

This project fits into contemporary illustration because I am illustrating a researched idea to compile an array of images demonstrating my ability to produce a concept in different media and styles. I am using this unit to explore different media so that I can have a more refined and researched approach for my final outcome for unit 3. I am using relatable anecdotes to draw in the viewer beyond imagery. This book could be used as portfolio of images for my practice.

According to www.uarts.edu -Illustration fits into the public sphere of popular media. Illustration brings life to concepts and stories through image-making. As illustrators we marry our ability to create visually striking images with our own ability to problem solve in unique ways.

I feel that I will display the above description of illustration in this project. I am making a book. The concept is universally relatable. I will bring life to concepts and stories through image making. I will problem solve by composing the image and using a certain medium that best suits that image.

Further Points of Action I will stick to the timetable that I have devised to stay on track with the project. I will have group discussions with my colleagues and tutors in order to acquire new angles in seeing my work. I will to challenge myself. I will research artists on Behance, Hi -fructose, Instagram, Colossal, Juxtapose and other media platforms that address animals and people in their work.

This unit of exploration will enable me to determine a particular way of working so that come unit 3 I will be in a position where I will know what technologies best suit me as an illustrator. This will help with my professional direction and enable me to determine what technologies I should use to communicate my concepts effectively.

LIMERICK PRINTMAKERS STUDIO AND GALLERY-ireland

From my final year show in the Limerick School of Art and Design where I studied Fine Art, painting, I was awarded the Tom Fox Bursary Award. This award entitled me to a six month bursary with the Limerick printmakers (half price membership) and a solo exhibition in Limerick city that would run for three weeks from opening night.

Limerick Printmakers was established in 1999 by three BA printmaking graduates from the Limerick School of Art and Design. Limerick Printmakers Studio and Gallery provide facilities for artists to make work using methods such as etching, lithography, silkscreening, mono-printing and relief printing. As well as offering printing facilities to artists, Limerick Printmakers run classes, group exhibitions and offer an exchange program with other printmakers in Europe.

During my bursary I interviewed with Jess Tobin, the arts administrator and manager of the printmakers. We were in constant conversation throughout my bursary discussing my work, venue and press. I was given the opportunity to show my exhibition in The Belltable 69 O' Connell street, in association with the Lime Tree Theatre Limerick City. Having this tie with a company like Lime Tree was great for advertising as I was in their events guide for 2015.

There were all sorts of matters that Jess and I had to discuss.

The opening date had to correspond with the start of term for the Art school I had done my BA in. This was to draw in a crowd of students, tutors and lecturers.

The time had to be in the evening so that it people could attend after working hours.

The location had to be decided. The Bellatable came into availability and was a perfect option due to its ties with the Lime Tree theatre and location in busiest part of Limerick City. A passerby would be more inclined to go in if it was on the main street.

A variety of advertising was done to prepare for the show. Posters were put up all around the city. Invitations were sent to past tutors and people of importance. A facebook events page was set up. Publications in local newspapers and websites, such as

www.ilovelimerick.ie www.visualartistsireland.ie www.limerickprintmakers.com www.jumpedupcountryboy.com

It was exciting to be mentioned on the Visual Artist of Ireland web page as it has a large audience from painters to actors all across the country. I receive a monthly email from them updating me with what shows are on around the country. In one case I opened it to find the announcement of my show. .

Here is a short excerpt of the announcement of the show from the I Love Limerick Website The location at 69 O’ Connell street (formerly the Belltable Arts Centre) has long been a part of the cultural fabric of the city and Limerick Printmakers are proud to play a part in its legacy during this period.

Limerick Printmakers looks forward to showcasing a selection of artists working within the fields of contemporary printmaking and across other disciplines such as photography, painting and multimedia.

The programme of events will include an exhibition by Martina Gleeson, winner of the Tom Fox Painting Award 2014/2015; an accolade given to an outstanding final year painting student from Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) each year by the Fox family and Limerick Printmakers.

This award commemorates the life and work of Tom Fox, a talented artist and former student of LSAD who passed away in 2010.

Martina’s interests lie in observing the mannerisms of human beings. She enjoys producing images of her observations in a humorous and exaggerated manner and aims to highlight overlooked scenarios within a satirical narrative.

Martina Gleeson’s exhibition will open on Thursday October 15th at 6pm and will run until Monday 2nd November.

It was a fantastic experience to learn about the necessary preparations for a solo exhibition. I am still in contact with the Limerick Printmakers and have the option to participate in any group shows they have. The opening drew in a huge crowd from people I knew and didn't know. I got my name out and sold some work.

Although the night was over whelming, I took the opportunity to talk to as many people as I could, to 'network' to try and have me viewers become familiar with me as a person. From this experience I learned about some of the necessary steps I need to take to further myself professionally. As I have already had a show in the Belltable, if I ever wish to have a show there again I will have the initial exhibition granted by the Limerick Printmakers to back me up. I am able to use the Printmakers for references and have developed a relationship with them allowing me to participate in their shows for exposure and for general advice in the art world.

I hope to develop further contacts in industry this year. I will talk to the print tutors here and ask about local printmakers. I will develop more of an online presence and participate in online discussions to share my work.

A friend of mine uses Twitter to find competitions and possible job opportunities. I will use this for the same reason. I hope to contact various employers so that when I have completed the MA I have given myself as much opportunities as I can. I plan on joining the Association of Illustrators also.

Example of Poster used for show is on the following page.

FORKBEARD FANTASY The theatre group Forkbeard Fantasy recently held a retrospective in the university. I was lucky enough to sit in on a panel discussion they had before the exhibition opened. I was so taken by the exhibition that I thought it might be a good idea to spend a few days with them to see behind the scenes. This, is easier said than done.

Who are Forkbeard Fantasy?

Forkbeard Fantasy pioneers of cross-art form multimedia theatre. Their subversive performances are a seemingly anarchic mix of film, animation, puppets, ludicrous costumes, mechanical sets and gothic vaudeville. Influenced by the avant-garde happenings, underground theatre and performance art of the 60’s and 70’s, Forkbeard’s unique style also bears the hallmark of Edward Lear, Heath Robinson, Beckett and Brecht, tempered with Surrealism and a Montypython-esque penchant for lampooning eccentric Britishness.

Hayley contacted Sean Aita, the curator of the retrospective that was held in the university informing him that I would like to get in contact with Forkbeard. He suggested that I message them myself. I rang and emailed but received no response. I informed Sean of this and he emailed them asking them to contact me to which they said that they had already responded, inviting me to a work shop on the 22nd of April. I did not receive this email or else my email was playing the same trick on me as it did for the Sky Portrait Competition. Chris of Forkbeard did not sound too happy, hopefully this does not impact on my chances of seeing the Forkbeard studios.

I have since emailed them twice hoping to set up a day in July to go to Devon and see the studios.I have not gotten a reply. I plan on showing them that I am serious about coming down and working with them. Whatever it takes.

UPDATE-MAY 23 I just received an email from Chris telling me that the studio is shut down at the moment for building works but mentioned that I might be able to come for a time in July. This will give me time to figure out what I want to get out of my visit. I am very much looking forward to it.

Unit 1- These are some artists I included in my PDP in the first unit. I have chosen to keep them in my PDP as I believe that they are still relevant to my practice in unit 2. I discuss their relevance below.

MARC BOUTAVANT

Marc Boutavant is an award-winning french author and illustrator. His stories involving a busy little bear character called Mouk have become an animated TV series.

His target audience ranges between children between 4-12. He has worked for a number of French children's publishers, including Sartacane, Editions Mila and Bayard.

To be completely honest Marcs work is still fairly new to me. I have browsed his gallery looking through his images quickly. They stuck so I must like them. What I find appealing is his use of a broad range of colour and dynamic composition within his images. A narrative is established within his imagery which enables to viewer to flow visually through the image.

Like any good artist/illustrator, their work must be, for me among many other things, visually energizing. I believe that there should be levels of story telling so that when you look closer at the artwork,you see new things that you missed the first time. This is evident within Marc's work.

RELEVANCE TO MY PRACTICE This artist was suggested to me by Paul, a tutor in AUB during my first critique in the university. His suggestion was made after viewing my work and seeing some similarities in terms of areas of interest. Colour and characters.

Here is an example of one of my drawings.

Paul suggested that I make my characters more dynamic as seen in Boutavant’s work. I must address different postures. Marc also includes text in his work which is an area of interest of mine as I often include text in my work.

His work is a display of bold colours, balanced composition and interesting content allowing the viewer to experience a world he has made, something I hope to achieve one day like so many of my artistic heroes.

His works evokes that sincere sense of charm as we are somehow able to relate to the characters in his images because of their human like mannerisms. This artist is relevant to my practice in unit two as my goals have not changed, only grown. I still want to create worlds. I will always value colour within my work. I feel that Marc is probably more relevant to my practice now more than ever. I have decided to focus my unit two practice on constructing imagery to do with the similarity in mannerisms that humans and animals share, such as grief, humour, ritual and anything else I can find that they have in common drawing on my own experience to inform the imagery. Marc’s work displays animals in a very humane way, which I feel is important to study further and try and incorporate his approach in a way that aids my practice.

Media used: Graphic tablet, pen.

TOM GAULD Tom Gauld was also suggested to me by Paul in unit 1 and again by Joel Lardner in unit 2.

Tom is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He draws weekly cartoons for the Guardian newspaper and New Scientist magazine and has created a number of comic books. His work is fueled by deadpan comedy, blank characters and a limited colour palette. The composition of his drawings tends to be in comic strip format.

RELEVANCE TO MY PRACTICE Humour is an ongoing theme in my practice. I feel that humour can take an image that bit further where by the viewer can experience appreciation for an image in an extra way other than A) Aesthetically pleasing B) Relatable + 3) I wasn't expecting that Art, I feel can sometimes put too much emphasis on....pretension, without meaning to. Not everything that is created must be serious or sad. Its hard not to be with the topics of today such as to the refugee crisis or gender labels. Yes there is most certainly a place for that kind of art and it is extremely important but humour in my opinion is equally as important in art. It can address topics of relevance or also act as a respite from reality. Art should provoke all sorts of feelings, from the positive to the negative, from silliness to seriousness.

To illustrate this point, here is an image I created of Donald Trump as the 'Third anti Christ' In this image I am addressing the seriousness of the very real possibility that Donal Trump could actually become the next president of America. While the thought of this is unsettling, I use humour as a tool to let the air out of the political balloon. Sometimes we need humour to cope with the bad.

Something I would like to become more successful with would be choosing a suitable colour palette, a limited one. I tend to sometimes over work a drawing with too much colour ,when for that particular image it would be more successful in a minimal colour palette. As I said earlier I regard colour very highly in my practice but I would like to have the ability to be able to edit down as well. I would also like to experiment with paring down detail in my work, to capture the most important features in a character. Again text is an essential component in all of Tom’s work.

Tom Gauld’s illustrations show scenarios. The rock comic for example, has drawn from his own personal exchange he has had, we all have had as people with other people. He has put himself into the rock, into this inanimate object. He does the same with animals. He is relevant to my practice in unit 2 for this reason.

I aim to activate my own experiences from memory and use them within my work to demonstrate certain similarities between humans and animals.

Media used: Graphic tablet, pen, pencil.

JOHN KENN MORTENSEN

Joh Kenn Mortensen is probably best known for his tiny pen drawings of monsters on post it notes. He was born in Denmark and writes and directs shows for kids “It is a little window into a different world, made on office supplies.'-John Kenn

RELEVANCE TO MY PRACTICE. I have always been drawn into images rendered in pen. The delicacy of the fine lines he manages to achieve demands skill and patience.They are neat and concise reflecting the surface he works on. His illustrations are indeed, a window into another world. He plays on themes that come from our imaginations as children. I remember being afraid to pass the cupboard under my stairs at night. The door was always slightly ajar and I used to imagine being dragged inside by some creature that dwelled there waiting for me to sneak down for a glass of milk. He appeals to the frightened kid in us. He pulls on the strings of nostalgia in a way we wouldn’t expect. I never thought as a kid that I would one day swoon over monster drawings reminding me of the one under my stairs. His drawings make us yearn for the days when all we were afraid of were imaginary monsters.

In contrast to these fine lines, Kenn leaves chunks of negative space. This creates a bold divide between his pen work and the yellow of the post it note. I am someone who usually works large scale, but I do love a good drawing/doodle on any surface. His work reminds me of a far more sophisticated version of those drawings that you do when your on the phone to someone. I think its the repetitive line and size.

His pen work and subject matter appeal to me greatly. I aim to address these areas in my practice. Like so many artists I love, John Kenn Mortensen has created his own world to share. This is what I want to do too.

As part of my practice I have decided to attempt a different process for each piece. The work will share a common conceptual ground but the aesthetics will vary. This is for two reasons.

A)To suit the the subject matter. For example, if I wanted to create something that suggested sadness, the image should be rendered delicately to match the emotion in the piece. wB) To discover, play and learn new ways in creating imagery.

I plan on using Kenn’s approach in one of my project pieces.

Media used: Pen on post it notes

KATI HECK I think it's time for a shout out to the ladies, and not just the ladies, but the Fine Artist ladies out there. I recently discovered Kati Heck when a friend of mine visited Holland and saw her work. He thought her work was similar to mine and so bought me back a book of her paintings ( All in dutch, but at least I can look at the pictures) Heck is an artist based in Antwerp. Her main methodology of practice in painting but she also dabbles in areas of sculpture and video art.

Kati's canvases give the illusion of collage. She blends realism, illustration, cartoon and expressive painterly gestures, incorporating references to humour, feminism, sex and history. Each painting plays out a possible narrative, using compositional elements to create suggestive links between her visual descriptions. Heck has been described as a 'post feminist' because of her confrontational representation of the female body.

Her large scale paintings draw from personal experience and popular culture. She often physically includes herself and people she knows in her work. She uses the diversity of painting as a means to engage with the potential in her imagination, she is projecting fantasies.

RELEVANCE TO MY PRACTICE There is a certain unshakeable confidence obvious in Heck's work. You can see it in the brushstroke and scale. I aim to get this confidence back. I often include myself in my work literally and conceptually like Heck.

I also feature people i know in my work. Heck's paintings are large scale, painted in oil, feature text, explore themes of personal experience and pop culture and use humour as a material. My work shares the same points of interest. Even her approach to painting is similar to mine, areas of expressive marks and unfinished limbs.This is why I am drawn to her work. I plan to continue working in this way but I also plan on building on it by educating myself with new ways of making work.

My Work

I feel that it is in important to point out that this is not work from this unit. I do however like this aesthetic and plan on using this approach in this project.

As well as painting, Kati’s approach to art is quite theatrical. She often asks her subjects to dress up in costumes. She has also made 3D artwork. This is something I am open to trying too as I have very little experience with it. I think it will be good to try something with a completely foreign approach such as going 3D as I will have no expectation of myself. This will help loosen up my creative process and focus on the joy of making instead of the knowledge of validation. I will inevitably learn something new.

Media Used: Oil paint, mixed media.

JOAN CORNELLa Joan is a Spanish cartoonist and illustrator who is famous for his unsettling, surreal humour and black humorous comic strips as well as a very distinctive style.

These are only the tip of the ice-berg. Joan relies on simplicity of colour and line to depict his disturbing content matter. The bright colours compliment the twisted concepts in his work.

RELEVANCE TO MY PRACTICE The colour and shock factor is what draws me to Joan’s work. His images stick with you.

I do not think however that I will go down such a bold route in my practice conceptually, although is can be quite liberating. A friend of mine asked me to submit an illustration to her blog.

www.artdirecteddickpics.com

I did this illustration in unit two with some goals in mind.

A) I wanted to create most of the image digitally.

B)I wanted to challenge myself.

C)Had the chance to be featured with another artist.

D)Boost online presence.

E)I wanted to do something fun and different.

I achieved all these things.

I feel that although I may not follow the same shock factor path as CornellĂĄ, I will still look to him to remind myself that art, illustration can be anything I want it to be and I can address anything I want, I have that freedom. I do also enjoy his colour palette and plan on drawing further inspiration from him in terms of colour composition decisions and the way in which he uses colour to accentuate a theme, i.e the bright colours accentuate the sadistic messages in his work more so than dark colours would. His palette is more jarring and daunting the brighter it is and aids his concept successfully.

RALPH STEADMAN When I first moved over to the UK I was visiting my Aunt in her home town, Winchester. She needed to go to the library or in this case the equivalently named 'Discovery Centre'.

This was no ordinary library, no it was a library/performance venue,cafĂŠ, IT suite, kids play area and gallery all rolled into one. 'England do it right' I thought.

As my aunt, little cousin and I walked in we was greeted by this poster.

I stood and gawped at it for a few moments knowing I recognized the image and then read that there was a Retrospective show on of Ralph Steadmans work throughout the years on in this very discovery centre,...and it was free. I actually couldn't believe it. I love Ralph Steadman but the fact that I just wandered into a free show unknowingly in my Aunts 'local' is bizarre. So forgetting I was in a library, I booted up the stairs with my cousin who is nine following closely behind.

As usual there was an invigilator pacing around. She saw me and my cousin enter and asked if I was familiar with Steadmans work. I thought that her asking me this was an invitation for a discussion about his work and launched into how I loved his drawings for Hunter.S.Thompsons 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' and 'Animal Farm' and so on. She abruptly interrupted- this was great I thought,she's clearly so excited about this discussion that she can't wait to get a word in...

'So then you know that these pieces are not in fact suitable for our younger viewers'­nodding towards my cousin of nine.Oh. Slightly deflated and embarrassed I viewed the rest of the show solo. But she was right, you forget about these things when your not nine or a mother.

WHO IS RALPH STEADMAN Ralph Steadman is an English graphic artist. In 1969 he receieved his big break when he was asked to illustrate for the Kentucky Derby, where he worked alongside Hunter. S. Thompson, an American journalist and would collaborate with him further to produce' Fear and Loathing is Las Vegas' which was later turned into a film,'The Curse of Lono,' coverage of the Watergate Scandals and numerous articles in the Rolling Stone magazine.

This show presented a range of his work throughout the years from his slightly grotesque drawings of animals in combat and images of 'Breaking Bad' characters to child (nine year old) friendly drawings of when he worked on 'Alice in Wonderland.'

His tools, a short film and art work was displayed. He works mainly in inks and prints, working fast to achieve a thrashy fluidity that we recognize in his work.

He is known for creating images embodying sinister sometimes silly characters.

A man about the people, his work often displays death(sometimes in brutal ways) human rights issues, questionable 'overly child friendly' characters and nature.

I have decided to keep this exhibition in my PDP because I find Ralph Steadman relevant to my practice because of his style and technique. I look to him for inspiration and have reviewed his work on Animal Farm for this project unit 2.

'Beasts or Best Friends'Animals in Art. Exhibition This was an exhibition mainly of paintings. Many of the paintings were of domesticated animals like dogs or cats but there were also some paintings of tigers and mythical creatures such as 'wave horses' horses that appear in the foam of the waves. The tiger paintings it seemed were done by an artist explorer, who came across it on is travels.

“Adored as pets, worshipped as gods, exploited for food and hunted for sport. Are humans really animals' best friends?'�- Russell-Cotes Museum Statement 2015-2016.

The exhibition suggests the portrayal of animals in art shows our understanding of what it is to be a human being, we feel love, pain,happiness,loss. It is all relatable as like humans, animals can feel all these things too and so this is presented to us in the paintings.

The exhibition includes work by some of the most famous animal painter in their day, such as Edwin Landseer, Lucy Kemp-Welch and James Ward.

Personally I wasn't overly impressed with this exhibition and found myself skimming through it so that I could wander around the main part of the museum again. While I do love animals and art, I've seen this kind of thing done a hundred times.If you just take the exhibition out of context, it is essentially a collection of some boringly accurate paintings of animals, a few interesting sculptures and some rather poorly done renderings of dogs. Had this been exhibited in 1901, it might have been more interesting with the promise of images of 'new' and exotic animals. The most interesting thing about the show was its concept but failed to dive deeper.

Having the show off the main room of the museum which houses all the immaculate large scale paintings permanently home to the museum didn't exactly help. It was the equivalent of Cheryl Cole bumbling up on stage to follow a powerhouse performance by Bey贸nce. Ok in her field, nice to look at but essentially mild and low in content value.

I have kept this section in my PDP for unit two because of my project about the similarities between people and animals. Looking at relationships and complete role swapping could be an interesting perspective for unit three.

THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM AND THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM OXFORD

This was a trip open across the board to all illustrators in the University. A few MA graphic designers came along too. The Pitt Rivers Museum is attached to the Museum of Natural History.

We had the opportunity to visit these two museums and draw from what we saw. We had access to all sorts of interesting objects (which we could not touch of coarse) such as dinosaur skeleton structures, stuffed crocodiles, bears, sloths, crystalized rocks and the general architecture of the building. I haven't even gotten to the Pitt Rivers section yet.

I will most definitely visit Oxford again for these Museums.There was so much to see that it was a little difficult to take it all in at once. As well as great drawing reference material, there was so many things to learn about that it would inevitably fuel ideas for future projects. I hope to continue along the lines of animal and human relationships for the last unit so I think a trip back to oxford will be very necessary.

ForkBeard Fantasy Theatre of Animation Forkbeard Fantasy theatre group put on an exhibition on in the university. I had never heard of them before and was extremely pleasantly surprised. The exhibition was a display of all things weird and wonderful. It is a retrospective of all their work from over the years. On show were animations, drawings, scribblings of their ideas within a studio they reconstructed in the space, audio recordings, projections and large 3D constructions of characters, some of which were interactive. Nozzles and strings were attached to some of these characters so that you can move or look inside of them and even get into some of them.

This exhibition was up there with some of my favorite shows I have ever seen. It was magnificent! It was refreshing to see such a playful attitude towards art and I really enjoyed the somewhat old school method of making their animations and shows akin to a pantomime. Before the opening they had a panel discussion about their time in Forkbeard and their projects which I was lucky enough to get a ticket for. This is the kind of work I want to be involved in. Work that makes the audience laugh and interact. It has a mad scientist meets vocational artist vibe about it but not in a pretentious hoity-toity fashion. I would love to spend a bit of time with this theatre group and see behind the scenes. I have asked Hayley to see if she can help me organize a meet up and see what happens. I'm very excited about it!

EMPIRELAND An old tutor of mine from my BA just had an exhibition opening in Dublin, back home. I went to go see this while I was back for the Easter Holidays. The piece on show was commissioned in light of the anniversary of the 1916 rising in Ireland. The 1916 Rising was when Ireland took its first steps towards independence from Britain. This year marks its 100 year anniversary. The piece on show was a massive 5 meter painting of Ireland, showing how much it has grown in the past 100 years.

It was a joy to look at. I love large scale paintings that you can look at again and again and find new things each time you look at it.The layout and colours are similar to the way in which I paint and reminded my of why I love art so much. For me painting will never die out as an art form, I feel that its so much more expressive than a digitally rendered image.

Between walks to the next gallery I went to I also got to see some street art, one of which was a Connor Harrington a hero of mine who also attended the Limerick School of Art and Design back in the day.

THE RHA The Royal Hibernian Academy is a gallery in Dublin City. On display were pieces from and open submission exhibition. The artists featured were my contemporaries, including one of my classmates from my BA. Seeing this exhibition really motivated me to keep up with my painting again, especially after seeing my classmates work on display there. This is one of my favorite gallery spaces in Ireland.

BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE EXHIBITION

I tried to make use of my time while I was at home by seeing as many exhibitions as I could. My cousin James who is in his third year of studying printmaking had his class show while I was visiting.This was another great exhibition. This exhibition drew on themes of Freud's theories on pleasure. This is the theory that the mind seeks pleasure and avoids pain. The exhibition was a showcase of a mix of traditional printmaking, video work, installations and digital prints. It was inspiring to see a third year class come up with such an amazing and thought provoking show. James's piece was made up of three large scale circular pieces with a projection playing on top of them. He carved into each circle , inked them up and fitted lyrical text and mirrors onto each piece. His work was about the need to consume between the ages of 18 to 25. The need to party, to try things, to experiment with substances, music, literature anything and everything, the need to be a sponge and be a little reckless. The idea that so many people look down on the idea of 'the session' instead of just embracing it while you can and learning what you can. The project was of his friend speaking about this urgently and excitably over a trance backing track. I am not being biased but this was the best piece for both aesthetic and concept. This show gave me loads of ideas and reminded me of other ways in which an idea can be displayed.

EVA INTERNATIONAL- STILL THE BARBARIANS

Referred to as Irelands Biennail of Contemporary Art, EVA International recently in my home city of Limerick.

Every two years EVA works with guest curators to create a 12 week programme of exhibitions and events that engage with the people of Limerick. Artists projects are selected through an international open and invited call for proposals and exhibitions that take place in both gallery and non-gallery spaces. This years curator is Koyo Kouoh who I got to meet briefly.

Responding to the context of the 100year anniversary of the 1916 Rising in Ireland, EVA 2016 investigates the post-colonial condition of Ireland as a point of departure from where artistic reflections, critical redefinitions and political transformations are articulated.

Featured Work Jounal Rappe: Journal Télévisé Rappé (JTR) was created by Xuman and Keyti, both rappers and activists. Launched in April 2013 by these two key figures of the Senegalese music scene, Journal Rappé is a ‘rapped’ news programme that became extremely famous in Senegal, in neighbouring countries, and abroad. Conceived as a humorous show that, in the beginning took the form of YouTube videos, the aim of the programme was to amuse and to interest young people, particularly, in the news, through a format and selection of information that is closer to Senegalese daily life. Taking the form of a rap song, and shot in two versions (French and Wolof), Journal Rappé lasts three to four minutes only (which is the average length of a song) and gives a review of the salient events of the week, both in Senegal and worldwide.

ILLUSTRATION TALK WITH PAUL October 26th 2015 Today we had a talk with Paul a tutor in illustration, about illustration.

He said that people like to touch and hold things, that it was a good idea to create an artwork that a person can do this with. Through out the talk he would mention artists to look at such as Laura Carling and Kristi Minchin.

He said that illustration is -Creative problem solving -Visualisation of concepts -Social and cultural awareness -Knowledge of context and audience -Practical He discussed how there is a certain pressure of innovation- you must push the boundaries- it is good to fail because you learn from these failures. He talked about superficiality, that theres this sense that illustration has to be current which is not necessarily the right way to see it. He said that it would be good to use a basic core practice, i.e. A kid's book illustrator to generate more areas of work. He talked about Oliver Jeffers, the children's book illustrator/author who is also an artist.

He mentioned that we should look at a documentary called 'Made You Look' by Anthony Peters. 'Made You Look' explores the area of the commercial arts in the 21st century. It gives an insight into how contemporary creative people feel about about the challenges and triumphs of living in the digital age. It also shows some of the work of the UK's top talent and gives us an insight into their own creative habitats.

Paul talked about Zines, that people wanted to buy something that they could own, touch and hold. He discussed the different inks they use and how vegetable based inks are more intense than regular inks.

Then Paul mentioned something that grabbed my attention-the Authorial Illustrator. This is an illustrator that rejects commercial work. An illustrator that is their own boss, such as Shaun Tan. This would be my ideal form as an illustrator-ah to be able to dream.

To quote Paul- 'Great illustration is often associated with great texts or context' For example 'A Clock Work Orange'

To keep a practice going, you must as an illustrator/artist address the issues of today. Alexis Deacon was another illustrator mentioned at this point. Create your own world, understand how it works. You yourself must buy into it. You must create its own vocabulary.Go about it with an honest with what you do.

Not only was this talk very informative but I also found it in a way very motivational. Learning about all the different areas of illustration made eager to work. That always happens when I look at different kinds of art work, it pushes me to start creating.

Catrin Morgan November 20th 2015 I found Catrin Morgan's work to be extremely interesting. Catrin is a tutor in Falmouth Arts University. She is also doing a Phd in illustration.

Catrin creates work based around hidden agendas. She showed us an image of a black and white drawing of houses in an English estate. Each house was comprised of dots. She proceeded to tell us that these houses were hidden communication centers for women who were recruited to army intelligence, many at just the age of 17. Their job was to read morse code. The dots that I mentioned earlier were in actual fact, morse code interviews with these women that Catrin had with them.

As Catrin continued to talk about her work she mentioned a whole array of projects that dealt with the theme of deception. She had created a book, that indeed looked like a book but did not really make sense. She had done interviews with someone for her book. She included the edited out parts of the recordings in the book so that it was hard to make sense of. She would make areas of text larger than others on parts of the page.

She also discussed an article she found in a magazine where the author had written a piece about an award winning graphic designer. It was an interview. Beside the interview was a picture of said graphic designer.

Apparently the whole thing was made up and the person didn't even exist. The man in the photo was just a random person. She said that if you looked closely at the image once knowing that its all a fake you begin noticing things about the image that you might have over looked if you had believed the story. For example in this case she pointed out that there was a life jacket in the corner of the image, why was it there? What has that got to do with a graphic designer?

She then talked about a book that she won the opportunity of illustrating 'The Age of Warren and String' by Ben Marcus. This book seemed to appeal to her as it was packed with deceptions and peculiar passages of content. It is somewhat of a postmodern catalog of life. She decided to illustrate the book like an instruction manual.

I really enjoyed listening to her talk. Although her aesthetic is something I would not generally go for I found that it backed up her concepts perfectly. She is an artist I aim to keep an eye on. She made me think about deception and hidden connotations within my own practice. How I could at some point make my work into some kind of interactive game for viewers. She made me think about my work in a different angle, something I always welcome.

After her talk any student was invited to show her and Vincent Larkin their own work in a presentation format comprising of five slides. It was to be work that we were working on at that time. Only our MA class took part in this. She posed a series of questions that we had to ask ourselves about out work. When she was finished we had to present our work addressing these questions. This was a little challenging as well, we did not fully understand what she was asking us, for example one of the questions was ( in relation to our work)

What does it conceal?'

My response was- 'Things I'm afraid of.' My reason being that I often use humour to address topics of both a serious and non serious nature. I use bright colours. These images hide behind their humour and colour to conceal things that I don't want to admit about my art work, wether it be a weakness I might have within myself as a person or a weakness in terms of skill in my artwork. Overall I felt that her talk and illustration conversation we had afterwards about our work to be helpful and insightful. It was a new perspective. Image below-presented image to Catrin and Vincent.

Networking and Self Marketing for Creatives.

November 11th 2015.

Today I attended a lecture by Steve Gordon about networking and self marketing.

Networking can help with -Spreading word -Having a positive relationship -Personal Development -Getting advice -Accessing a hidden job market -Gaining confidence He gave us a few pointers about networking as an individual. Employers love a person who has a good reputation and who is trustworthy. Think about your personality and figure out what is the best way for you to network, what do you have to offer that is unique to you.He also told us that people get jobs more from networking than they do from agencies.

60-80%= Networking 10-20%=Agencies 5-15%=Approaching the employer 5-15%= Advertising jobs He advised us on good sites to join to explain our work. He told us that as well as out own blogs, we should be active on others to get conversations going. Linkedin was suggested as he said that many employers visit this site to look for potential people to work with. It is also a great way to contact the companies that you wish to possibly work for. All the contact details of employers are there for you to access. The key he said was to

Start with who you know He told us that we should get used to talking to people about our work so that way people can spread the word of your work. It is easier for them to do that and talk about it if they know what it is about.

Another site he suggested we join was Instagram (which I have not yet done) He told us that we should look for unaddressed niches that we could possibly fit our work into. He told us about a 'Meet Draw' event that sometimes happens in Bournemouth that would be beneficial to go to.

-Be proactive -Host an event -Go to meet ups or start some -Attend exhibitions and industry events -Target a certain area of people -Pick up the phone -Start a blog and contribute to other blogs -Mail shots

One point another student in the class made was very beneficial. He said that make sure that you are constantly active on all your media platforms. Even if you are not making new work every week and you have nothing new to share, write a post or retweet an image or artist you liked or just show that your present. That way if your present, you won't fade away into the vastness that is the world wide web and be forgotten about.

People will remember you more if your always there.

Gordon then gave us pointers about what makes a good networker.

-Give more than you take -Listen -Business cards -Enjoy yourself -Follow up on meetings -Show enthusiasm -Be focused -Have good body language

Make sure that you are -Easy to work with -Amenable -Form a good working relationship -Distinction gained from unique selling points Get creative with your way of networking as you are the product. Having a positive bio on your website can draw in a potential employer. Have a striking business card that is memorable. He then showed us some examples. One person make a business card that when you folded it a certain it turned into a 3D chair.

I found this seminar to be extremely helpful and insightful. Some of the information I knew but there areas that I had overlooked and taken for granted. For example, start with who you know. Thats so simple and makes so much sense. Even if they are not in the art world just tell them about your work anyway. What he said about negotiations grabbed my attention. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. The great thing is that Gordon is set up on the university so that if we are seeking any further advice on marketing ourselves he is near by. As cold as the term 'Networking' can be it is really just a label, a cold and corporate label but it is what it is and must be done.

Visual and Multimodal Metaphor Phil Jones December 1st 2015 Today we had a lecture about the role a metaphor plays in an image. Our understanding of words is based on the access they give us to semantic frames or domains of experience. We do not connect to the whole domain of experience.

Example: John Small is a Star John Small=Cricketer Star= Celestial body One domain is used to explain another. Metaphors mean different things through usage. He recalled a journalist coining the word 'Star' as an adjective and said that this idea was completely new.

He showed us a series of metaphorical images, one of a chandelier that doubles up as a bomb. 'If it breaks

its everywhere' To be honest I wasn't too sure what to make of this talk. Parts of it were interesting but I would have liked it explained a little further. Some of it was a little hard to get a handle on but it is something that I most certainly will read further into.

AOI TALK January 22nd 2016 Today, two representatives from the Association of illustrators came to AUB to give the illustration department a talk.

This,was absolutely brilliant. They spoke about -Getting your work out there as an illustrator -Licenses that an illustrator needs to acquire when starting a job -The different kind of contracts there are -Tips about contacting employers -Managing your accounts as an illustrator -The Do's and Don'ts when working with a client -Illustrators rights to their product.

-Pricing your artwork and putting a price on your time.

-Problems with copyright.

They talked about so many things I didn't know. They also said that we get a discounted membership as we are AUB students for half the price it is for non AUB students. As an association that looks out for the best interest off illustrators they offer to look over your contracts and approve them fair and just. I had little to know idea about some of this side to illustration, the business side. The practicalities are so so important. I was keen since I have been here to get some information on the business and marketing side of this profession.

The AOI have published a book that discusses these areas in more depth.

The great thing about the AOI is any illustrator with a decent portfolio can just join straight away. At home, the Irish Illustrators association have an application process if you want membership and must be approved by a panel.

I was thoroughly happy with the talk. It was probably one of the most helpful and practical talks I have ever been to really.

Level 6 Crit Experience.

March 1st 2016

Today we got to sit in on a Level 6 work sharing crit. Each student did a presentation on their work. They discussed what they were working now and were given feedback from the tutors. This was very beneficial to me as I had the opportunity to see massive range of projects they were working on from animations to comics and children's book stories. It was interesting to hear the feedback from the tutors and the other students offered great advice and encouragement to one another. It was also an opportunity to talk to some of the students about their work. I stayed there for the whole day and came out of it feeling motivated and reassured that I was capable of making work just as good as them. 足

YOUTUBE VIDEOS THE REALITIES OF BEING A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST WITH CHRIS OATELY AND NOAH BRADLEY One evening I was setting up my work space preparing to get creative and native. I don't always like to listen to music while I work as sometimes I find it distracting. It very much depends on the kind of art work I am doing. If I am painting, I listen to music as I find the flow of a song can help with hand gestures while I paint and help to free up my movements. When I am trying to figure out a new process of working however, I like to listen to artist talks. This helps me to stay motivated and see the task through till the end. They are particularly helpful when working on something new as many times I might get agitated with what I am making. I would get so frustrated if it wasn't working that I would want to give up and go back to the way of working I know. If I listen to the artist talk however they usually have some kind of inspirational story where they talk about their own struggles with creating work, problem solving methods and sometimes some light hearted anecdotes from their personal experiences. What they have to say acts as a kind of fuel because I hear their success stories and think, if they can do it, I can do it.

This particular talk, while not very reassuring was very informative. Chris and Noah discussed topics such as, wether or not art school is a good idea to go to, is it necessary? They discussed tips on getting your work out there and seen. They stress how important it is to keep working on something in every spare moment you get . The best way to get past a block is to work through it. They talk about how sometimes life can get in the way of ďżź producing work and you must learn to put it first. Sometimes you will have to miss those nights out or cinema trips in order to give yourself the best chance you can in making it in the art world. They each shared aspects of their own artistic journey in relation to the topics discussed.

Chris Oately was a concept artist for Disney for three to four years and has now developed an online art school teaching thousands of people animation.

Noah Bradley is a painter. He paints for video games and films. He is known to speak out against the idea of Art School.

I think that I will listen to this video again as there is a lot of useful information in it. I have recommended it to some friends and they found it very insightful. One thing I did notice however was that there was a high sense of 'one up man-ship' throughout the video, mainly coming from Chris Oately's side of the discussion. It was as if he knew that Noah was a better artist than he was and he kept making the talk a little bit too much about him. Ah, the ego of an artist. In one instance, Noah posed the question to him, 'How do you personally deal with artist block?' to which Chris replied 'Mmmm well, I don't think I have ever gotten artist block, if anything I struggle with stepping away from my work and taking a break you know? I have to remind myself to stop and take a small break' This really irritated me. Of course at some point in his life he has gotten artist block. Why not be honest about it when thousands of young impressionable artist are listening, hoping he will say something insightful only to get a slap in the face with one big fat egotistical lie. He did a good job of making himself sound petty.

HOT ART WET CITY A set of videos I also enjoy listening to while I work is from a youtube channel based from a studio and gallery in Vancouver called 'Hot Art We City'. The channel has produced dozens of videos interviewing painters, illustrators, graphic designers and singers. Each short video shows the artist in his or her own studio working.

The camera pans over their work while they talk and shows their other pieces. The artist proceeds to talk about their practice and experience as a creative.

I listen to this channel for the same reasons I listened to the 'Realities of being a professional artist' video. They motivate me and allow insight into other peoples creative processes.

PROGRAMMES and Documentaries This programme choice is kind of a curve ball but I do feel that it is relevant to my practice in some way.

The TV programme I am talking about is called 'Nathan For You'

Nathan is a Canadian business graduate. His job is to go around to local businesses and try and improve their customer interest. Unbeknown to the business owner, Nathan's methods of business improvement are ..controversial. It is obvious from watching the programme that Nathan is coming up with ideas that are so ridiculous that they would never ever work...but they do in a strange way. He knows this already but has developed a character that seems to the business owner, serious about his work. The show is basically a spoof of the 'Under cover boss' TV series.

WHAT IS NATHAN FOR YOU ABOUT Nathan's tactics are ridiculous and creative. His problem solving methods are so obscure that one would wonder how in the world anyone could come up with them. In one episode Nathan tries to improve the business of a coffee shop in L.A. To get business in, Nathan suggests to the owner that they should revamp the brand and use a logo that people already know to get customers. His suggestion, Starbucks. Straight away the coffee shop owner turns down the idea. He doesn't want to draw any unwanted law suit. He wouldn't stand a chance against 'the big guys' But Nathan, being a business graduate knows that a business cannot sue if for example someone is just doing a parody of the business. A parody of something is not copy right infringement. He suggests that if they call it an 'art installation' they cannot get sued. So the plan was to use the Logo but change the name to

'Dumb Starbucks'

The coffee shop owner still wasn't comfortable with the idea so Nathan decides to do it on his own in a different location. He does up an empty shop to look exactly like Starbucks. The same cups, uniforms, napkins, coffee names, everything, everything was the same except for the addition of 'Dumb' before Starbucks.( I should mention here that the TV show is portrayed as a reality TV show.Everything is real except for Nathan's genuine belief in the idea and his personality) The project ended up getting national attention across America.

Soon News crews were coming from all over the country to cover the story of 'Dumb Starbucks' Thousands of people flocked to see this rogue 'art installation'. Some people were even convinced that it was a Banksy piece.

RELEVANCE TO MY PRACTICE I found myself struggling at the beginning of this MA to start doing work and to over come certain obstacles.

After watching this TV show it made me think. Nathan had an idea, he went with it and came across obstacles, attacked it from a different angle and over came those obstacles. His ideas evolved throughout the process just by starting them and doing them. I can apply this to my process of working.

I draw on ideas from absolutely all areas of my life. What I do and see in my day to day living informs my practice. I watch tv,I see whats happening on the TV. I get ideas. 'Nathan For You' is a comedy. Nathan is an innovator, a creative thinker and a product. His character is necessary in his story telling to compliment the event he is part taking in, in each episode.

I am a creative thinker. I use humour as a language in my work. I, my work is a product. I try to include aspects of me in what I do. Nathan's approach to problem solving is so 'outside the box' that it influences my way of thinking. It prompts me to try and think so far outside the box, that I can't even see the box. He created an art installation that got national attention without even meaning to. He did what he wanted to do because he had an idea. He knew it was crazy but he did it anyway. Thats the kind of creative I aim to be. I want to take risks on projects. I want to attempt things so far fetched and see them work out. He has shown me that if you put the work in, the research, the time, you can achieve more than you set our to achieve. I now find myself having an idea. I then try to jump as drastically as I can from the initial idea and relate it back somehow.

I ask myself what kind of approach might Nathan have? What loop holes can I jump through and manipulate creatively? What other way can I tackle this concept?

David attenborough nature documentaries It's funny how one thing leads you onto another without you even realising it.

I was researching for my friends 'Dick Pic' blog illustration, I was looking for a perfect 'David Attenborough pose' for my image. This of course, side tracked me and I ended up watching hours and hours of his documentaries and other nature documentaries. It was from this that I thought of my concept for the second unit.

I haven't met a single person who doesn't like a bit of Attenborough ( voice wise) so researching for this unit was thoroughly enjoyable. His documentaries of course led me onto other nature documentaries non BBC related. It was from his 'Blue Planet' series where I was exposed to the harsh yet extremely poignant actions of a gigantic female octopus. The octopus finds a safe place to lay her eggs. This is the first and last brood she will ever have. She will stay in this safe place caring for her one hundred thousand eggs for 6 months until they hatch. During this time she will massage the eggs and keep them safe from predators. She cannot leave the safe place to feed and so inevitably starves to death. She dies once she see's her babies hatch.

This struck a chord. I couldn't get over how selfless and beautiful she was yet still it was a basic display of survival, ie what must be done, must be done for the sake of keeping the species alive. But I knew there was something more to it, a real emotion. So I dug deeper and found out that when an octopus gets bored, they become depressed and some have even been known to try and commit suicide in captivity.

Naturally this made me wonder what other animals display such humane like qualities.

How ignorant are we to the feelings of other species?

What else don't we know?

David Attenborough Documentary series: The Blue Planet, Life in the Undergrowth,The Life of Birds, Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life, Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice, The Life of Mammals.

Other: Animals Like Us, Black Fish.

A very good example of how ignorant we are to the emotions of animals is shown in 'Black Fish' one of the most harrowing documentaries I have ever seen. It unsettled me so much that I find myself regularly thinking about it. The Orca or Killer Whale captive in Sea World displays more humane emotions than some humans.

Research shows that they are in fact more emotionally developed than humans. MRI scans have shown that the brain lobes that deal with emotions are enlarged in the orca's brains. The orca in this documentary certainly proves this fact.

Researching for this project not only informed my practice but has made me more aware, has made me think about how humans are with animals, how we dictate their lifestyles and how we've pretty much been a disastrous influence on most aspects of their lives. I am so interested in this project but it also made me feel a bit ashamed which is something I really wasn't expecting. That was when I knew this project was right for me though, I felt a strong personal tie to it, not just because I was using my own experiences, thoughts or observations but because I actually cared about the topic. My project might in some way make people more aware (in an upbeat way)

SECRET LIFE OF THE HU MAN PUPS May 26th 2016

A new documentary on E4 literally just came out about people who dress up as puppies. It's like the universe knows what I'm doing my project on but as given me a new angle. As a means of research ( and a break during this assessment week) I watched it. During the show I searched online to see if it was a fake, I just couldn't believe this was a real thing. I am a very open minded person but this, this just took the dog biscuit.

The episode follows people in the UK who dress up as dogs in latex costumes. While this act isn't seen as sexual in the UK, its more an act of escapism. When the the show travels to Antwerp for a 'World Puppy Contest' its obvious that there are many sexual elements about it. In this puppy world there are the puppies and the handlers. The handlers act the same as an owner would a dog. They feed it, play with it and pet it. The puppy plays up to its handlers needs much like a dog would.

I hadn't thought about my project from this angle before. How are humans like animals in obscure ways? I was so taken by how odd animal behaviours are that I hadn't even considered the other side of things, which I am a little ashamed to admit as an artist. It is definitely something I am going to look into for my final project and am pretty excited about....I'm not going to go around dressing up as a dog though.

BOOKS Grayson Perry-Playing to the gallery Helping Contemporary Art in its Struggle to be Understood I recently read this book and would recommend it to everyone and anyone.

As well as being a refreshing outlook on the contemporary Fine Art world, Perry relays some valuable insight into the insecurities we share as artists, he lets us know that it is ok to doubt. He makes some really interesting points about what is art and well, what is just crap.

One thing in particular that stuck from the book was when he was talking about the audience. He talks about how the general public might see two paintings, one that they have seen before dozens of times and the other, just once. The latter could be far more beautiful and skillfully done but because the audience have seen the other one before (and might not even realise it) they gravitate towards the familiar and classify it as 'A better work of art' I found this very interesting. It made me wonder how I could manipulate my audience... think about it, we could trick the audience into thinking something is better than it is, just by repetition.

Towards the end of the book, Perry notes that the moment he decided to be an artist was the exact moment that he felt pressurised to put away childish things' I found myself alone with my brothers toy cars and realised I could no longer lose myself. Self-consciousness had crept in.� I can relate to this situation. No, I didn't have a stop playing with the beanie babies its all over moment, I can relate because pressure

for me, has sometimes ruined my love for making art. Not pressure from deadlines or tutors, pressure from myself-, pressure that says,I have to be brilliant at this and that , its hard to play when your afraid to fail because of the pressure I put on myself for it to be an amazing piece of art, and it often never is, I just have it in my head that it has to be the best, when whats the point? What am I getting out of this? Why do I need validation for something I am supposed to love?

He also talks about the pressure we experience from technology. He's no traditionalist as we know but he points our for artists in my generation is seems harder for us because we are so overwhelmed by information coming from everywhere its hard to know what to work on or where to begin.

With one click of a button, we can see if our idea has 'been done' or not instead of allowing ourselves the freedom to have fun with the idea and explore it. In the end, we don't bother as again, its been done.

I think I am going to read this book again.

BOOKS Apter,S. (2013)The mixed-media artist. Cincinnati, Ohio: North Light Books.

Caplin, S. and Banks, A. (2011) Illustration Pocket Essentials, United Kingdom: ILEX Blake, Q. (1998) All join in. London: Random House Children’s Books.

Book, I. (2014) Visual poetry. Spain: Index Book.

Browne, C., Gorillaz, Hewlett, J. C., Eaters, Z. F. and Gorillaz, C. B. &, design by J. C. Hewlett & Zombie Flesh Eaters (2006) Rise of the ogre: Gorillaz. London: Michael Joseph.

Burns, C. (2005) Black hole. London: Jonathan Cape.

Edwards, E. H. (2001) The new encyclopedia of the horse. Edited by Sharon Lucas. London: Dorling Kindersley Publishers.

Funny!: Twenty-Five years of laughter from the Pixar story room (2015) United States: Chronicle Books.

Groening, M. and Morrison, B. (2007) The Simpsons handbook: Secret tips from the pros. New York: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Howard, T. (1994) The illustrated horse. London: Grange Books PLC. Jones, C., Groening, M. and Spielberg, S. (1999) Chuck Amuck: The life and times of the animated cartoonist.

New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Kati Heck - Kopf = Kopfnuss (2013) Spain: Gestion Cultural y Comunicacion.

Kovats, T., Darwent, C., MacFarlane, K. and Stout, K. (2007) The drawing book: A survey of drawing - the primary means of expression. London: Black Dog Publishing.

Lia, S. (2012) Please god, find me a husband! London: Jonathan Cape.

Mortensen,J.K (2012) Sticky Monsters, United Kingdom, Square Peg. Parr, P. (2016) Sketching for animation: Developing ideas, characters and layouts in your sketchbook. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic.

Perry, G. and IVONNE, P. (2014) Playing to the gallery: Helping contemporary art in its struggle to be understood. United Kingdom: Particular Books.

Rotovision, Illustrators, S. of and Bossert, J. (1992) Illustrators 33: The society of illustrators thirty third annual of American illustration. Edited by Robert Altemus. United States: Published for the Society of Illustrators by Rotovision,1991.

Rees, D. and Blechman, N. (2014) How to be an illustrator. 2nd edn. United Kingdom: Laurence King Publishing.

Rees, Y. and Kerswell, J. (1992) Horses. London: Tiger Books Int. Skinner, H. (1994b) Videographics: Design for the small screen. London: Batsford.

Steadman, R. (1988) The big I am. London: Jonathan Cape.

Stern, S. and Illustrators, A. of (2008) The illustrator’s guide to law and business practice (association of illustrators). London: AOI, Association of Illustrators.

Tan, S. (2013) The rules of summer. Sydney: Lothian Children’s Books.

Ungerer, T. (2009) The three robbers. London: Phaidon Press.

Viva, F. and Kim, C. R. (2015) Young charlotte, filmmaker. United States: Museum Of Modern Art, Ny. Wigan, M. and Williams, M. ‘Wigan’ (2006) Thinking visually: Adj. Using thought or rational judgement, adv.

Relating to seeing or sight: Visual perception. New York, NY: Distributed in the USA & Canada by Watson-Guptill.

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Statement of practice unit 2

As an illustrator, my work is informed by the demeanor of humans, their mannerisms and behaviours. For this unit, I decided to extend my studies by exploring the common idiosyncrasies between humans and animals. I am researching within the context of anthropomorphism, however I examine the factual behaviours that are obscure or less known than more basic similarities like those of mating rituals or eating habits.

I decontextualize the fact and reconstruct it within a new more personal context. As a result, the final outcome is a compilation of a projection of my own thoughts, experiences and observations along with the initial fact.

I have always thought of humour as a valuable social and artistic tool. It is a common feature within our genetic makeup and when used has immediate powerful positive connotations. I aim to activate humour as a vehicle to allow my viewers to travel through my work.

In this project, I have employed a broad range of technologies in order to create each image. I have produced work digitally, through painting and printmaking, drawing, and 3D paper mechanics.

I have used this unit as an exploration into concept, methods of working and technologies. This project was used to critically analyze my practice. The aim is not necessarily to have a book of corresponding imagery in terms of media and aesthetic. The aim is to address new methods to improve my skills in illustration and to demonstrate a concept in a visually stimulating form.

These workshops started off as a happy coincidence. My classmate Lisa and I were in the illustration studio on the Friday morning after an illustration social was on the night before celebrating Guy Fawkes night. We were the only two students int the studio at the time. Then J.R. walked past and asked if we needed help with anything. It turned out that he had prepared an entire lecture and workshop for his first year class about illustrator explaining why we use illustrator, its advantages and how with the aid of work books. None of his class showed up, probably because of the festivities the night before so instead he offered the workshop/lecture to us. Jackpot. I had never in my life used illustrator before or a drawing tablet.

Workshop 1:Illustrator6 November 2015 J.R gave us a brief lecture on illustrator showing us why artists use it, its advantages and how to use it. We were presented with different artists who used it, showing us how it can be used to take your artwork to the next level. He then gave us a workbook each. The workbook showed a digitally made illustration on the front cover of a pot with various vegetables around and going into it. He told us to make this image using illustrator.

He was extremely patient and very helpful. He explained everything in a way that made illustrator seem not so daunting and easier to understand.

Reflection: I really enjoyed this workshop.It was completely new territory for me. At the end of the workshop I had made an illustration completely digitally. I felt an extreme sense of satisfaction and pride as I lent back in my chair and admired my handy work on the monitor. I find creating illustrations using these programs to be very difficult. I have not much experience with them but when I made this, I felt like I was pushing my practice into the next necessary stage. This exercise looks simple but I definitely learned some new things. In doing these workshops and pushing myself with programs such as Lynda.com I will take the necessary steps to strengthen my practice to become a more comprehensive illustrator.

Workshop 2:Indesign1 December 2015 Since the first workshop was such a success we decided as a class that it would be beneficial to get more workshops from J.R. in other Adobe programs too. We posted on our class Facebook page what program people would be most interested in tackling next. J.R. said that if we were interested in getting classes with him that he would help us out. He went through why people use Indesign and showed us a few fundamentals. He also gave us a workbook this time but did the exercise with us showing us on a projector. Again this class was extremely helpful. We were shown how to lay out text and images as shown in magazines and newspapers.

Reflection: I found this class very helpful and will attempt the apply what I learned to my PDP. We plan on having having more classes.

Workshop 3:After Affects- Animation18 March 2016 Todays workshop has been my favorite workshop to date. We got to animate! J.R. Broke this workshop into two sections. First he showed us examples of different types of animations such as drawn stop motion, clay and digital and just digital. He then took us through making a simple animation. When we got the basics down ( and I mean the basics) he showed us this tutorial video by Rob Plaskow. It was actually very entertaining and a really very good tutorial.

We each set about making our own characters and eventually, we managed to make them more too. It was a very proud moment.

Reflection: I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop and found it possibly the most useful. I hope to animate more in future projects. At least I have an idea of where to begin now.

My first attempt at an animated character- Cloudy Mc Cloudson.

Screen-printing analysis

As part of my project in unit 2, I have decided to create a compilation of images addressing my concept but using different processes. The process of learning and using new skills is also part of my concept, this is so that I can apply a skill to to suit the emotion of the image and also upgrade my knowledge of other means of creating work.

While attending AUB, I want to make the most out of the facilities here, in particular, the printmaking studio.

Printmaking is a meticulous practice and requires a lot of patience and ability to forward plan. Personally, I have never been one for predesigning in such a conscientious manner, but for screen-printing it is essential.

No forward planning, no point.

It is a process I have been keen to master and overcome my initial ' Awh this is too hard, I can't do this' juvenile attitude.When done correctly the outcome is very rewarding and results in a much faster work production.

All I have to do is get organised and plan.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. I had, had an induction in the last unit and so, signed up for screen-printing for this unit. This was not good.

I couldn't remember much from the induction and was always second guessing myself which resulted in me bumbling around the studio and proceeding to print without really knowing what I was doing. Screen-printing is an unforgiving process, you make a mistake in the early stages and your goosed for the rest of it. The whole day went by and all I did was waste it. I left feeling deflated and a little stupid to be honest. The screen had not been cleaned properly before me but I didn't see that ( nor did the tutors-which is a bit ridiculous) until I had exposed my own screen and had begun printing. It wasn't coming out right.

I was lost in the chaos of the print room and asked one of the tutors what was wrong with my image, why wasn't it working? I was a little appalled with their 'blah' response about the screen. If a screen had been left, not properly cleaned at my old university, there would have been hell to pay. The students respected them. The whole process was for nothing. I had also exposed the image the wrong way so all my text was backwards. I was hitting levels of frustration, tipping a solid 8 on the richter scale.I was put off.

I waited a few weeks and signed up for another induction.

I was going to get this process DOWN! Failed Screenprint-->

A few weeks later I had an induction with an extremely helpful tutor, Erica. She showed me how to prepare my image on photoshop before printing and walked me through it step by step. I had known more than I realized and just had to go for it. I was confident enough by the end of it that I was printing on to painted backgrounds and experimenting. I went on since to go back to create two more images using screen-printing and now I love it. Yes it is difficult and time consuming and most of it is 80% prep and 20% printing but when given the respect that the process deserves , it pays you back ten fold. Here are some examples of what I made in my induction with Erica.

Following this minor personal success I decided to 'Go hard or go home' as they say. I was going to attempt a four colour screen print. I know that for me, a large portion of making successful images is confidence- believing that you can do it like no one else- that strength comes through in the image I think. You can see it in the marks. I could see it in my old paintings, but not so much these days. Time to get it back!

Project-Brief description (summary version) In this unit I explore the common idiosyncrasies within human beings and animals. I am researching within the context of anthropomorphism however, I examine factual traits that are considered obscure or lesser known than basic mannerisms . I aim to decontextualize the 'fact' and reconstruct it within a new context directly relatable to my own experiences, thoughts and observations. Some images are playful and humourous while others attempt to incapsulate a deeper poignancy. I employ a different process to every two to three pieces in order to transcend my artistic capabilities to gain a new comprehensive understanding within other media. This is to upgrade my appeal as an illustrator/artist.

PROCESS FOR FOUR COLOURED SCREEN-PRINT. FACT- Dolphins must be conscious to breath. This means that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, otherwise they would suffocate. They do let half of their brain sleep at a time. Dolphins have been recorded singing in whale at night time. Researchers have confirmed that they are in fact- sleep singing.

PERSONAL ANECDOTEA few weeks ago, I stayed over in my boyfriends house.

I was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of mumbling. He was sleep talking and repeated the same sentence twice- “For 2PAC' I told him the next day and he burst out laughing. It turns out whenever he goes on a night out with his friends, they sometimes 'pour one out for 2pac'(The rapper) Rough sketch of Image

I then proceeded to colour it in photoshop. After this I eventually managed to divide the colours into their own layers and changed them to black. They need to be black in order to expose them onto the screen, any other colour won't work.

4 Colour Seperation Layers

It was tricky to completely match up each layer as I was using different sizes of paper but I am happy with the result.As well as trying different processes to create different work, I wanted to utilize different styles, this is what I did for screen-print 3. I wanted to create a raw image, not too overworked, simple. It needed to express the scenario in the image through line. I screen-printed onto paper, cardboard from pizza boxes and roughly painted cardboard . This has been my favorite screen-print so far, why? Because you can see the confidence in the line. I'm getting my mojo back!

Pre-Prep Image

Final Image

Workshop with Zoe Sinclair: Web Marketing/ Professionalism 10/05/16 WHY WE NEED THIS WEB/MARKETING PROFESSIONALISM WORKSHOP. A strong online presence will ultimately help us in the following ways Get future shows/ a gallery/sell our work Get residencies/ grants/ awards/ commission/sponsorship Get media coverage/raise our profiles Get face to face meetings And crucially, it will make you easier to work with/ refer/ assist/ find/ review First we were asked to divide into pairs with someone we didn't know very well. We had this workshop with the Fine Art MA's so I teamed up with Julia from that group.

We were then given this handout.

Julia interviewed me first and wrote down my answers. This was quite difficult but helpful.I didn't have very long to answer these questions and had to answer as if the person knew absolutely nothing about my work, which she did not. It was a valuable exercise to succinctly identify certain things in my practice- from why I work the way I do to what materials I generally use and why. It really forced us to think about our practice

I realized something when Julia was interviewing me. Each answer I gave came out automatically and when I read it back over, I found that the answers were not altogether true in relation to the work I am doing now.

The work that I am not whole heartedly enjoying. The work that doesn't feel right. All the answers I gave her were in relation to my practice before the MA. It was a light bulb moment. I need to go back to this way of working. Yes, I will learn new methods but still use what I know and address topics I really have an interest in, instead of forcing myself to do something else that I cannot identify with.

After this exercise, Zoe then showed us examples of different artist statements. Some were serious and had a rather high brow Fine Artist approach and others didn't take themselves too seriously. Zoe pointed out that your artwork is not going to appeal to everyone and so, your statement will not appeal to everyone, so focus on a specific area, and do that area well.

See next page for some examples.

We then discussed each Bio and talked about strong and weak points in each one. It was refreshing to see a statement( Steve Moberly) that didn’t have a certain pretentiousness attached to it. Some people bought up the point though, that saying ‘ Pretended to be a chef for two decades’ demonstrated poor professional follow through while others thought it was a light hearted appealing approach. This is a good example of how your statement may not appeal to everyone, but its important that it appeals those you want it to appeal to.

Personally, I prefer Steve’s approach. He mightn’t get away with this humour if his work was sub par but on the contrary I think its brilliant. He can afford to be amusing in his statement. Its all about if the work that goes with it.

We were then given the task to write our own short biography consisting of three sentences. We had to make it concise and the the point. It must be written in the third person as it looks more professional and so catalogues/journalists/programmes can simply copy and paste your biography without making any adjustments. It needs to be factual but also show you in the best light.

Steve Moberly ( Past student of AUB)

Here is a quick rough example of mine.

Martina Gleeson is an Irish artist (b:1992) who graduated from the Limerick School of Art and Design in 2014 with a First Class Honours Degree in Fine Art Painting.

From her graduate show, Martina was awarded the Tom Fox bursary award which granted her a solo exhibition 'OH NO!' in the Belltable (Limerick City)and a 6-month printmaking person with the Limerick Printmakers. Martina's work is informed by her observations and analysis of human beings, using humour as a material to depict the narratives of our common ground as people.

Zoe then noted that in my artist CV that I should include that I was born in Australia showing that I have citizenship there which may open up the possibility of Australian competitions, jobs and clients.This is something I had not even considered.

We then proceeded to look at variations of different artist websites, all of which were made from Weebly.com, a website builder. Each of these websites had a different template. We then discussed what aspects worked and what ones didn't on each site. One girl had a video interview on her home page which looked very professional and was extremely informative. Easy navigation was also discussed and proper heading names.

These are all things I plan to keep in mind when I edit my own website MartinaGleeson.com

I already have a website but I have not had time to edit it yet. A friend of mine bought a domain name for me for my birthday this year and got me started. I plan on dedicating a week of my time to all my online presence when assessments are over. Here is a screen shot of it as it stands so far.

I did not return for session 2 as to be honest I knew this section wouldn't be very helpful. I did not want to waste my time making a fake website when I had assessment work to prepare for. I plan on addressing my website after my assessments.

Lynda .com

Something I am eager to get better at this year is the digital side of creating art work. I feel that it is necessary to have knowledge of certain sections of the Adobe Suite to not only make different kinds of art work to be more employable. I began taking tutorials on Lynda.com. The tutorial I am taking is Photoshop CC Essential Training (2015). I am surprised by how much of it I know actually know already. I am learning a lot of new things though obviously. I plan on moving on to InDesign and Illustrator once I know about Photoshop. The tutorials are really easy to follow. I do them along with the narrator so that I remember the process better.

Bristol Trip

23 February 2016

I really had no idea what to expect on our visit to Bristol.

I had heard very little about it only that Banksy the graffiti artist hails from there, of which we saw evidence.

The minute we hit the city, I loved it. The street art, the not too big but still city feel to it, the people, everything. It sucked me in and I want to go back. To be honest, this is what I thought Bournemouth was going to be like....'cough'. We did a walking tour and were eventually taken to Hamilton house.

Inside housed illustrators and graphic designers, most of which were working on separate projects.

The collective is a place for people to work. Hamilton House seems to be well known in that general area as Bristol is the largest city in the south west of England. The illustrators and Graphic designers working there get a lot of work as, if a client needs something done, they contact Hamilton House. So, illustrators get a steady work environment and various projects

to work on. The general atmosphere in the work space was so inviting and creative. I liked it a lot, good good vibes. I would really like to work in a place like that someday. Seeing these studios, street art and general city really motivated me. There was so many characters around too and the city is rich with a gritty street art culture and hi-jinx. It reminded me there is so much more out there and well, that I will not be in Bournemouth for much longer. it was exciting and reassuring to see that there are places like that for us out there. Its one thing to hear about it but to see it makes the idea all the more accessible.Take.me.back.

London pick me up graphics art festival April 2016

Today we went to London Pick Me Up Graphic Design and Illustration Festival in Somerset House. The festival features top emerging illustrators and designers as well as more established names in the graphic arts.

One area of the festival was dedicated to well known typography artist Alan Kitching. Kitching's retrospective ' A Life in Letterpress' spans over six decades of his work, I understand the magnitude of this man's influence on typography however, this area, type, does not really interest me as an artist so this event was a little lost on me and I found myself passing through this section rather quickly to get to the small area devoted to illustration.

Despite the area for illustration being so small I discovered two illustrators that will stay in my permanent collection of 'illustrators I swoon over'. These illustrators are Aart-Jan Venema and Camilla Perkins.

Aart -Jan Venema is a Dutch illustrator who is fascinated by exploration and discovery. His aim is to take the viewer with him on his little trips, by filling his busy compositions with little stories. He is inspired by the Dutch painters Bosch and Brueghel. Venema creates images that allows the viewer to naturally flow through the image discovering new things on each viewing. His use of colour his skilled and considered and doesn't contradict an already busy narrative.

Camilla Perkins is an illustrator based in Brighton, She graduated from the University of Westminster in 2012.

Her work is a combination of digital and hand painted elements, using a variety of methods to create different layers of texture and patterns.. For Pick Me Up, Camilla exhibited a project inspired by African sub cultures, primarily from a fashion perspective. I love the use of digital and traditional in her work and the surfaces she works on. I am always drawn to colourful images and strive to activate colour as a dominant element in my work.

To be completely honest, I thought the festival was a bit of a money racket. The area designated to illustration was pretty small and then the rest was for graphic designers. There was a whole floor and a half of artists stalls and collectives such as Hato Press and Grey Jam. Yes it was cool to see the work but one floor was just looking for more money. The merchandise was pretty cool and very tempting but naturally it was pricey as a lot of the things were original prints or screen prints. We took part in a comic book 'workshop'.

This was fun but not very useful. I did swap business cards with the illustrator who was conducting it though. You never know! I suppose the festival gave me insight into a few different avenues an illustrator can go down. I liked the energy , I just wish there was more interaction between the artists and visitors. Over all, I am happy I went.

'OH NO!’- SOLO EXHIBITION October 2015

Before the MA I was preparing for my first solo exhibition. I had been preparing for six months leading up to the MA. While I had started my MA I was still doing some editing for a video piece I had in the show. The show was comprised of paintings, prints and a video piece. I was awarded the Tom Fox bursary award at the end of my BA. This entitled me to a six month bursary with a printmakers at home and a solo show in the Belltable in Limerick City Ireland.

I had to go home after the first two weeks of the MA to prepare for its opening. It was to run for three weeks.

And boy oh boy was it a success. It was one of the best experiences of my life so far. I had never felt adrenaline like that during an event and it was over before I knew it.

The show was called 'OH NO!' because each piece portrayed an 'OH NO!' moment in a persons life ,wether its sitting beside someone who won't stop talking to you on a bus or experiencing the feeling that something or someone is under your bed.

ARTIST STATEMENT FOR SHOW

Martina’s general interest lies in observing the mannerisms of human beings to inform her the artwork. Her work for this show “OH NO!” deconstructs her observations of the familiar to present to the viewer an alternate reconstructed representation of the unexamined tribulations, anxieties, mishaps and irritations in a somewhat satirical fashion.In this body of work there are various levels of feeling and perception displayed inherent in a variety of situations that evoke the ‘OH NO!” response. She employs the techniques of painting,screen-printing and digital work to illustrate her personal experiences universally relatable that fall under the ‘OH NO!” broken, turned inside out umbrella.

LATCH ON January 2016 Over the christmas holidays I had to opportunity to give a talk to group of adults with learning difficulties about being an artist. I took in some of my art work into the Latch On centre and told them about the different processes I go through for a painting. One girl in the class, Nicki was really into art and told me that she had a few commissions on the go. She also showed me her artwork. I showed them how to mix different colours to get other colours, e.g. Blue and Yellow= Green. They then proceeded to do their own paintings and seemed to really enjoy it.

I found the experience really rewarding and enjoyable. It only took one morning to go in and spend time with them.They seemed to really enjoy it because they asked me to come back in when I was back in Ireland again. I would definitely like to get involved in more projects like this in the future.

Share the positive artist vibrations.

LSAD-OPEN EXHIBITION

While I was at home for the Easter break, i got wind that my old Art College or Uni as they say here was having an OPEN exhibition. Only a certain number of entries would be selected and displayed. Since I was home and still have work from my own exhibition I decided to enter and am happy to say I got selected. I was up with some very talented artists, some still attending the art college and others who had finished a few years.

Unfortunately, the opening was on right after I returned back to Bournemouth. Even thought the exhibition was in my old art university, and I have displayed work with them many times, any opportunity to get your work seen is a good opportunity as you never know who might see it. A friend of mine managed to take some pictures of my work while it was still up.

My piece-’’You’re not you when you’re Hungry

We each received and email informing us about this competition' Sky Portrait Artist of the Year' I had heard of this competition before but was glad of the reminder.

Competition outline: To enter, a candidate must create and enter a self portrait. Each successful candidate chosen to take part in the competition would have to go through various rounds or heats. If they passed their own heat they would then go up against the finalists and paint again while being filmed. Similar to 'The Great British Bake off' The winner would then receive a ÂŁ10,000 commission. Last year the winner painted Sir Ian McKellen.

I decided to enter the competition. I entered it for five reasons, 1-I really really wanted to just paint. No big project behind it, I just wanted to paint.

2- I suppose, I was seeking some kind of validation for my skill. Since starting this Masters I feel like my self belief in my craft has dropped considerably. I needed to prove to myself that I could achieve something, that I was good enough.

3- It was EXCITING! It was something new and the possibility of even getting through was something to get excited about! Something to break the routine.

4-The exposure 5-And obviously, that big fat ÂŁ10,000 prize!

So, I spent a considerable amount of time on the piece. I worked and worked on it, more than I usually would a painting, which might not be the best thing. I really tried and pushed myself to keep going. I was doing this for me. It was strange painting myself and in the end I am not really sure it looked like me. It looked like me, but an aspect of me, a part of me, maybe, how I was feeling that whole time I was working on it- a frustrated 'are you really trying to do this' look, staring right out at me, taunting me. It was a testing process, no one likes to look at themselves for too long. For me, I feel like the picture is missing something and what it might be is , not to sound too 'cringe' but self belief, its like my spirit is broken. There is no fluidity to the piece.

FINAL RESULT-OIL PAINT AND HOUSE PAINT

Outcome- I entered the piece and filled in the application fully,....or so I thought. The deadline was the end of April. I had it in a few days before the deadline. I checked my emails every.single.day. to see if I got anything.

Right before the successful candidates were announced , about 4 days before, I did my routine email check.

Nothing. I decided to have a look in my Junk folder.....and there it was, weeks ago, a day after I had submitted my entry, I had received and email from a competition rep. They informed me that I had uploaded a painting twice instead of one painting and one passport picture of myself. They advised that I correct my mistake and resend it before deadline. This message was three weeks old. I.was.devastated. I checked the terms and conditions but I already knew the answer 'If a candidate submits an uncompleted application and fails to respond within 48 hours, the candidate's application will be disqualified and no longer taken into consideration for the competition.'

My application was pulled.I had lost out all because of my frustratingly scatty way of doing things. I checked and checked that application and did it slowly but it just took one miss click to screw things up.I have never been more annoyed at myself in my life.

A Lesson Learned

Yes, I made a rather stupid mistake. And no, I might not have been selected for the competition but this mistake did teach me something. RECHECK EVERYTHING AND BE EXTREMELY THOROUGH. Missing out on this opportunity today may be why I don't miss out in a job in the future because I can't and won't make the same mistake again. I also learned that I do not need validation from others, yes, its nice to get and hear but I should have confidence in my own skill, my validation should and will be the only validation that I need.I think my painting says that.

mASTERS pROJECTS 2015 AND 2016

HOUSE OF ILLUSTRATION BRIEF THE BRIEF Around November of the MA we were given this years House of Illustration brief 'War Horse' by Michael Morpurgo. The brief requested that we illustrate three scenes from the book. The scenes could be near one another. We also had to illustrate the book cover. During my BA I was never really given a brief so I was excited to be working on a project that had laid out some guidance.

I began by downloading the audio book. I drew while listening to it and typed out the scenes I thought to be the most visually appealing. I then stuck these on my wall so that I had easy access to the description of each scene. It was a good idea to do this because i could read them while I was getting ready for Uni in my room or just when I was pottering around. They're constant presence would remind me that I have a project to do.

I found getting into this brief to be tough. I had longed for a brief throughout my BA and now that I finally had it, I detested it. I hated its limitations. Knowing that the brief was for a competition had me too pre-occupied with trying to think of what would win, what people would like, instead of doing what I would like. I decided after having a talk with Hayley that I wouldn't enter the competition and just concentrated on making good work for my portfolio. The subject matter of the brief was not up my usual alley either. There was no humour to hide behind. It was what it was, a story about a horse in World War One, so naturally, the illustrations had to reflect the sophistication of the topic. Oh, I did not like this brief much at all, but hey, thats what I'm here for. I want to be able to adapt for a brief, learn new artistic processes and just generally be prepared to illustrate anything.

I knew that I wanted to create illustrations using a new method besides painting. I wanted to push myself and test myself. First, I needed to gather reference material. I knew that I needed to go to somewhere where they had real live horses so that I could take pictures. Two of my classmates and I headed out to one of my classmate’s farm where she had horses. We spent the day taking pictures of our surroundings, documenting everything we could. I used a disposable camera. I know, I know but it actually worked in my favor. Each picture I got (or that at least managed to come out after developing) had a murky hazy atmosphere about them.

This is what I was going for as I wanted to use them in photoshop. I looked at branches of tree’s and thought that they could double up as barbed wire images. I would find marks on the ground and think that they could look like bits of soot and dust rising up from the smoking craters in No Man’s Land.

After I had gotten the photos developed I scanned them into my computer and began to try and make something with them in Photoshop and Illustrator, two programmes I am very unfamiliar with. I had also taken some hay from the farm to see if I could do something with it.

Process: I combined hand drawn images with disposable camera photos. I then proceeded to edit them in photoshop. These were the results.

I had done some research on how horses see the world. They are colour blind and their vision is slightly blurred the closer an object is. They can see 350 degrees around them if they are standing still. I had originally planned to make illustrations using this knowledge. I wanted to depict everything from a horses point of view excluding warm hues of reds and slightly blurred. I had also wanted to include text. This scene is the portrayal of Topthorn's death.

For the next image I decided to use the hay that I had taken from the farm. I scanned it into my computer. Yes, I scanned it in. I drew up a drawing and painted in some sections. I then scanned it into my computer and edited it further in photoshop.

Captain Nicholls sketches Joey.

I knew that these were not going to be in my final collection of images for War Horse. There was something that I didn't particularly like about them but none the less they were useful and took me to the next stage of development. On seeing these, Hayley pointed out that my images all looked very '3D' She suggested that instead of using photoshop to layer things, why not do it in real life? She advised me against forgetting my skill set, she told me to use what I learned from my BA and apply it to this brief.....I never made things in 3D in my BA. Here we go again, lets give it a shot. I had nothing to lose.

So, over the christmas break I payed a visit to my cousin's house. They had horses. At this time I had access to a decent camera and could get sharp reference photos. I also had access to my 16 year old cousin, who in my opinion, would make a perfect Albert. Bearing this in mind I asked my sister and cousin Jack if they would mind dressing up as the characters from the book so that I could use them in my project. They instantly obliged.

I realized something while I was at home for Christmas. Throughout my practice, I have been drawing on the help of my friends and family to make my work. I might use them as references to draw from, or they might influence me in some way and I wouldn't even realize at the time, but when I look back now, I see just how involved they really were. I enjoy making something that involves the people I care about. I find it that I care more about a project if it holds some kind of personal ground with me. Since I moved to Bournemouth, I didn't have that kind of access anymore and I struggled. All these people were in a completely different country...I ended up having them for this project at least.

Again I took some of these images into photoshop to see what I could do with them.

Now I was onto the final phase.

I was going to attempt to make paper dioramas.

I decided to scrap using text completely in this brief as they would be far too fiddly to make.

I decided to include the horse and revert the colour palette back to normal. I had to think about simplifying the shapes if I was going to be cutting them out of paper. I usually try to steer clear of anything that is precise and concise. If I was to describe what paper dioramas are, I would use those exact words.

ITS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN To give myself the best chance I could to ensure that the end result would be a success I did as much research as I could. I knew that I could not afford to waste time on this especially if I was going to be working on each diorama for so long. They had to come out right. Jenni, our technician advised me on what tools I would need. She told me to pick up a deep set object like a frame, something that I could sit my paper cut outs into. She also told me to change the blade as often as possible to ensure a clean cut on the paper. I reviewed paper dioramas on Pinterest and found little to no instructions on how to make them. I had no choice, I took the plunge. These were my final results.

What I ended up making was not the traditional diorama that might come to mind. I ended hue for each one and printed them onto tracing paper. This allowed me to be able to shine I really disliked this project in the beginning and never fully loved it but I have to say, I am achieved something new. Definitely portfolio worthy I think.

d up still using the disposable camera photos I had taken of the sky. I changed the colour e a light through the back. so proud of what I produced in the end. I went completely out of my comfort zone and

The 'Who am I?' brief was the first brief we were assigned on our MA. Through exploring this question, we were asked to deconstruct our practice and explore diverse approaches to creating images. The following themes were explored.

1) The human/ animal gaze 2) The self portrait 3) Landscapes/seascapes 4) Inanimate objects/still life 5) Interiors/ exteriors architecture

We were expected to produce 20 images at the least per theme. The work was to be seen as a way of developing other artistic processes of creating work. We were not expected to produce final outcomes.

I found it difficult to get into this brief as I was over thinking it. We literally just had to draw the guidelines.

I found myself becoming too preoccupied with the aesthetic of the work. I would labour on an image until I thought it was good. I was afraid to produce bad work.

I explored the following methods of image making

1)Through Photoshop and Illustrator 2)Using the same methods one would use in photoshop such as layering in 3Dtrying it out in 'real life' using paper 3)Exploring the use of non typical mark making tools such as-wool and hay 4)Relief printmaking 5)Painting using house paint, inks, water colours, acrylics 6)Charcoal and pastel drawings.

7)Crayon and colouring pencil drawings 8)Attempting different drawings styles

I eventually let go of my artistic inhibitions and drew for one reason, for fun. I found myself enjoying the process of making work again. I stopped becoming too pre-occupied with the level of sophistication per drawing. It took me a long time to wrap my head around this brief which is silly I know, but there was a lot of factors influencing my work ethic. I found it hard to work in the studio as there was no set place for the MA's and would often be herded from one room to another. I found it difficult to work at home as the only area I could work in where I had some privacy from my housemates was my room. Its a tiny room. I was also finding it difficult to just generally adjust to my new surroundings. I hadn't expected moving country to impact me so greatly, to impact my practice in a negative way.

This project brought things up about me that I didn't expect and I hadn't even started making work yet. I missed my friends, I missed my family, I missed home. I couldn't manage to get a firm foot hold anywhere and found myself floating through each day producing nothing. I was not a happy illustrator.

I found myself really questioning my choice on coming back here. The grass is always greener, eh? After the christmas holidays I made the decision to go back, guns blazing. The initial awkwardness of meeting new people and being in a new place had passed. On my return I threw myself into the work. I was enjoying it. I enjoyed being busy, having a focus. Things were becoming clearer through the process of just making.

I was and am now a happy illustrator.

MASTERS PROJECT 1 UNIT 2- EXPLORATION

Oh where do I begin. I did struggle with this project but not for the same reasons I did in unit one. I was making work, trying out different technologies and keeping busy. This time, it wasn't so much the fear of failing that was holding me back, it was deciding and sticking to ONE CONCEPT. I am a notorious concept hopper when left to my own devices. I was excited to set my own brief for this unit but was forcing myself to address ideas that didn't really suit me as an illustrator. They were good ideas but perhaps now was not their time in my career to be explored.

So I began making mind map after mind map. This was helpful but I knew I needed to start drawing. I met with Joel twice and to be honest , I didn't find these tutorials too helpful, but part of that was because I didn't have anything solid to start from. I think he knew that I was still feeling my way around in the dark and so couldn't give me much specific advice.

I had started off wanting to do a project about butterflies and moths....I think I always knew it wasn't right for me. I needed something that packed a punch and wasn't so lets all play together in the flowery garden. I then had an idea to do something about music, the world in an iPod about the songs we skip when our iPod is set to shuffle. Again, this was not appealing enough.

I went home for a few days over Easter and again was feeling a little lost. I used this time to go to as many exhibitions as I could to try and get some sparks flying. I also talked with friends and family about the difficulties I was having in terms of the creative process. I spoke about how I doubted my role as an illustrator and wondered if this was why so many people after art college leave art behind and pursue something else? Because the doubt of the real world creeps in and they are afraid to try in case they get shot down. Are the ones who are successful the ones that say 'to hell with what you think, I'm going to do my thing'.? I had the fear in me again about failing. If I don't try then I'll be too old, it'll be too late in the game to fail. Art college was like a safe playground, or was it really like that? Was that my version of it. Its been smoothish sailing for me up until this masters, others have met their failures already and they have grown and become successful because of those failures. I spoke about this to my friend and well, he set me straight. He told me I was absolutely right but that I have as much chance as anyone to become successful.He reminded me that I was good, that I loved art and all I need is to find my 'thing' my passion- this is where the obligations I set myself as an illustrator came from which you see below. I felt so good after this talk, so realigned and so excited. On the side,

I was researching for a friends project about ‘art directed dick pics’ I had the idea of drawing up an image of David Attenborough, in the wild, surrounded by feral ‘dicks’ This is featured in another section of my PDP. See here for full blog on art directed dick pics http://artdirecteddickpics.com/

This is turn led me to binge watch David Attenborough documentaries where I found out loads of peculiar similarities between animals and people, not basic ones, but really obscure ones. And so my idea was born into the world, a fragile baby monkey which I would nurture for the next few weeks and mold it into something new.

As an illustrator I have set myself three basic obligations. a) The topics must be of personal interest My work is most successful when I have a personal tie to the subject. b) I must always challenge myself but I also must recognize and utilize my artistic assets.

I will use my knowledge of painting, lighting and colour but will attempt to push this knowledge into unfamiliar territory to allow myself to grow as an artist c) I will aim for my work to make a statement about the human condition I will explore the human condition as I have an ability to be sympathetic and empathetic towards this subject. I will attempt to include the figure but also introduce characters I have composed myself.

My Brief: Explore and demonstrate a range of technologies to produce a body of work relation to the animal and human condition. Utilize new and old methodologies to exhibit the outcome. Use this unit as a way of exploring both concept and processes.

In this unit I explored the common idiosyncrasies between human beings and animals. I researched within the context of anthropomorphism, however I examined factual traits that are obscure or less known than more basic similarities like those of mating rituals or eating habits. I decontextualized the fact and reconstructed it within a new context by relating and hyperbolizing it to demonstrate the fact in relation to my own experiences, thoughts and observations. I actively employed a different technology in the creation of each piece so that the process is sympathetic to the subject within the work. This project is tied together conceptually more so than aesthetically as I aim to use this exploration unit as a means to acquire new skills so that I can be a more employable well rounded illustrator. I have demonstrated my concept in both different styles and processes.

I really enjoyed this project when I got into it. Not only was I learning new ways of working and getting good at a new process but I was learning heaps about animals. The more I learned, the more I felt a little ashamed for being a human. I know that sounds a little strange but we are so ignorant to the emotions of animals. We really have no idea! Because I experiencing these feelings of shame and respect from what I was learning, I knew that this project was right for me because I felt something. I was able to use these facts, use my own observations and experiences and my own relationships to apply them to what I learned. I had identified in the pervious unit that I needed a personal tie to a project to be pulled into it and so utilized this identification and applied it to this concept.

I feel like I am getting my creative confidence back. I definitely think I have come on leaps and bounds on the digital side of things and with screen-printing. I enjoyed being this busy in a project, it was stimulating and I felt like I was accomplishing something. What I made for this brief is so completely different in some ways to what I would have been making before this course but also I can see some parts of me it in. Parts of me that I would have had in my previous work.

For this project I embraced digital technologies by making still images and a gif.

I made screen prints and combined digital work to make to double page spreads for my book.

I painted, I made 3D work and I drew. The 3D work was interesting as I used what I learned from the first unit when I was making the dioramas for 'War Horse' There was lots of little things to consider for this piece really. I had to think of the lay out for the living room, design and make my own wall paper for the background, consider areas to leave free of material of lighting and figure out a layering process.

I drew out various compositions before committing to one to produce for a final image.

I actually really enjoyed making patterns and used this idea for my elephant piece.

Compiling the images into a book was the most exciting part. I really enjoyed the text aspect of it, hand writing it, coming up with what to put beside each image. I think the text really brought the final product together.

Coming up with puns and complimentary sentences was an interesting and somewhat testing exercise but I think the outcome was successful. I never expected to produce something small scale..and so organised. I made a mock book first that was very basic. In this book I had included my diorama of the octopus. When I saw the book together, I knew I had to make a decision to leave the octopus in or to take it out. I decided that this particular image did not really work with the others. It was the only 3D piece. Although I am making work about the similar peculiarities of animals and humans and the different processes I can use to demonstrate, still I decided that the octopus piece just didn't sit in with the rest. It felt strange taking it out but I knew visually that it wouldn't be right to leave it there.

I am pretty happy with the end result but the best thing is that I feel like I can take this project further into the next unit. I believe that there is room for it to evolve, improve and maybe come from it at a different angle. I have the momentum built up now and I aim to keep rolling with it.

I reviewed a lot of different artists during this project. I looked for them for style and colour inspiration, composition influences and technology ideas. Some of who I researched were, Lisa Yuskavage, an American painter,Colorado based artists, Deepti Nair and Harikrishnan Panicker who practice paper mechanics, Jamie Hewlett an English comic book artist, most famous for his co-creation of the art work for Gorillaz.

Lisa Yuskavage

Deepti Nair and Harikrishnan Panicker

Jamie Hewlett

Fin