Let me introduce a new section on my blog that I hope will be of interest to some of you. I often get asked how I keep creative and inspire myself. Well, one of the many ways is to sketch, draw, paint and design. For many years I was privileged to attend a private design course run by john allen, who I have featured here on the blog before. The course, run in various locations around the UK, was specifically set up to teach craft makers how to come up with an original piece of design. I was the only non-craft maker (thank you for letting me in) but trusted my instincts that although I am a graphic and interior designer I will learn a lot. Oh boy, did I? I am hugely indebted to john.
The premise is simple: a museum/gallery/space is chosen by john. We then visit and are at liberty to select an object, a scene, an environment. We sketch, draw and take photographs. The only important factor is that whatever we, the students, choose has to have enough information for us to be able to go away and design from for the next six months. The end result, usually, is very far removed from the starting point. That’s it.. simple, no? Well…. it took me all these years to understand and I am still a work in progress. Personally, I was never interested in a finished piece but all the various stages of development.
Without further ado, here is one such project. I wanted to set myself a challenge. I asked john whether I could do something different and use the kings cross regeneration as my subject matter. To my surprise, he agreed. I will only show some of the work produced as it is only meant to inspire (I hope) and for me to document my creative journey.
I started with making a collage on tracing paper as to explore which aspects were visually of interest to me. Materials used: watercolours, coloured pencils, black lava acrylic structural paste, golden acrylic gel mediums & molding paste, various black ink makers, glue, french enamel varnishes and magazine cut outs.
Following are some close ups of the collage.
Next I experimented with manipulating some of the photographs in photoshop.
The following pictures show a small selection of various developments into the project. Some are photographed from original artwork. Some are from photocopies I made. I hope you have enjoyed some of this.
18 Comments
That is such a creative approach and great idea. I like your work and I see its power to boos inspiration. Great story!
Oh, Igor thank you! I must admit, I don’t often get shy but I am sitting here a little nervous feeling exposed. Thank you for your kind comment. Much appreciated!
Aww, Tina – I know exactly how you feel! Sharing one’s creative efforts is such a personal thing and we always hope that the viewer either likes the finished piece or can (at least!) appreciate the heart and soul that went into it.
You needn’t be nervous – these are fantastic! The various layers and elements really draw me in. I particularly like the vibrant pieces with geometric cut-outs (3rd and 4th from the bottom).
Gosh, Chi, I am getting overwhelmed with the positive feedback. Thank you so much. When I planned my blogging categories over Xmas I wanted very much to show my personal art. I hope that people will get some inspiration from it, whether the art speaks to them or not. This definitely gives me the confidence to continue this section. Feeling less exposed now:)
Wow Tina. This is awesome. The progression, the direction is really a fantastic thing to see. Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing this 😉
Thank you, oder dank dir!! Very pleased you guys like it. Personally I am always fascinated by ‘the process’. It’s what keeps me inspired.
Thanks so much for having the courage to share something that is personal to you. I get nervous too when I’m sharing something personal on the blog, but we just have to remind ourselves that we belong to a really supportive and positive community of bloggers. I enjoyed seeing where this project started and the process along the way. Well done!
That is soooo good to hear. You are right. I find the blogging community very supportive thanks to BYW. I think the greatest gift was to, not only give us excellent material and fantastic support, but an after-sales:) experience of the highest level. In fact, I’ll be a customer for life… I wish more companies would understand this simple method. Thank you for your encouragement….
so cool. thanks for sharing.
Hi, thank you so much for stopping by. Much appreciated:)
Wow that’s really interesting. It’d have been fascinating to see what product you’d made in the end if you’d gone that far. It clearly would have been something unique. The pictures at the end are so far removed from the start.
I agree that the real genius of BYW is what happens after the course finishes, that was a real surprise to me and something incredibly lovely. I think Holly should set up a new religion as I think I’d follow it!
I love the first photo and how you picked out that tiny splash of yellow in the typeface, I wouldn’t even have noticed it otherwise.
Ha…l love the idea of maybe not ‘religion’ but ‘movement’ or ‘tribe’.
And, unlike religion, it promotes love and growth rather than fear. Enough said:) yes, I’d subscribe immediately!
Thank you for your encouraging comments about the project.
Loving your sketch book drawings and collages looking forward to your next blog entry on the subject!
Thanks love! I am planning my next one in the not so distant future, so watch this space:)
Really inspiring – thanks for sharing & look forward to seeing what you create next xKx
Thank you. Most encouraging.. thank you for the visit here x
Wow, wow, wow. What else can I say Tina… Why haven’t I started exploring everyones’ blogs earlier? Your artwork is just brilliant-LOVE the collages, LOVE the blog…go girl Caroline x
Hey, Caroline. Thank you so much for stopping by. It was so nice seeing you on Saturday. We had fun and must repeat soon.
Thank you for the huge compliment. I was nervous doing this section but the response has been very encouraging so will continue.
Hope you will come to the next meet up. Take care.