18 December 2013

Kingston University: 'Raku' and woodblock printing

I wanted to try my hand at woodcut, and I saw Vessel as the best excuse for it. So with my inspiration from the Shunga exhibition, I went to see Iaonnis, our print technician, for some advice. Turns out he is hugely passionate about woodcuts, so I was able to use his (very expensive!?!) wood engraving tools. They were incredible to use, and maybe has to be on my list of tools that I must MUST have... We used some scrap hard wood from the woodshop called jelutong (which for future reference, is NOT hard enough for putting in the press...)

We started out with a tested piece. Each piece of wood was meticulously sanded down to be perfectly smooth and flat. 



Then there was the design! I initially hoped for a little triptych, but mostly because if one went wrong I still had two. (sorry for being rubbish and not photographing them, but I figured I better get this post done before I forget!)

Before you start chiselling away though, I was using some incredibly expensive tools that I borrowed from our print technician Iaonnis, so it is a job that needs investing in! The wood, the tools, the design, everything is vital to making these kinds of prints. No willy nilly MDF, chipboard stuff! Although it works, there is nothing more satisfying than investing in pieces like this, even if the final outcome isn't there, it's all part of learning the process. Why do it if you don't do it well?

Typically, something would go wrong... As soon as I started using the press, the blocks ended up getting squished! So had to do some last minute job on acrylic, which actually works very well in a similar way. Below is the acrylic version.



I plan to do a LOT more print in the next term, I feel that the print room is the biggest thing that I will get out of this course for me. I guess now is a good time to reflect on the first term... I would say that it has been really incredibly enjoyable, and thankfully all the hard work has paid off! However, in reflection... I still can't help but wish I did Textiles. Thankfully, this realisation has made me more proactive in that direction, and I definitely WILL be doing some more fashion illustration. It might not be the career I want to specifically pursue but hey, I love doing it, and doing stuff I love definitely shouldn't stop. My assessment tutorial went well, and it was especially nice to talk about what I need to do to make the next steps. I certainly won't be getting firsts all the time, but as hard as it is to remember, that's not my main goal of this degree. It is obviously to make a career out of my hobby!

We have a pretty relaxing Christmas this year actually... An essay (on a cool topic, I might add) and then some location drawing. Hopefully I can keep you all in the know more gradually next term! I can't promise it as such but I guess following me on Instagram (insta_vivien) might help...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thankyou all again for the support and just for reading!

10 December 2013

Kingston University: Jonathan Cape Graphic Novel

This is from forever ago, I'd totally forgotten I'd even done it! I made a graphic novel as part of my summer project. It was a real toil to get to this, and I went through so many ideas but got there in the end.

This is a story recounting a hike that Jonas and I took in the Austria over the summer. Soppy, but very honest. And what is work without heart, eh?




It still needs some editing, and I may add one last page as well, and consider putting it on my shop... There's certainly not very much on there! I'm quite enjoying the graphic novel as a format, and works surprisingly well with me. Hopefully I can get to do some more if I have the time! 

09 December 2013

Kingston University: Location Drawing, Kew Bridge Steam Museum

Freezing away at Kew Bridge Steam Museum, these were produced!





Quite happy with these, seeing as I haven't done any location drawing in a long time. Hopefully I can get back into it.

Kingston University: Crispin Finn

The last project was working with power duo (plus dog Finn) Crispin Finn. We were also put into pairs and assigned a number. The lovely Jodie and I were assigned (lucky) 17!

 Our brief wanted us to use two colours and print. Crispin Finn set us a questionnaire which we were to use as additional starting points aside from our number. We got right into the project and we found that age was the way we wanted to go with this, looking at how we felt at 17, how we all acted and what it means to be 17.

We saw it as a time for rebellion, but also when our emotions are conflicting. Wanting to grow up (and drinking obvs) but also feeling afraid of the pressures of adulthood. We got through it very progressively, and seeing as we were working in pairs we did everything together, sketchbooks, printing the lot! It was really good fun and we loved our outcome.

Being two reportage girls, of course our first move was an exhibition to draw. We headed to the Bill Woodrow exhibition at the RA armed with fluorescent orange and teal colours.



After that we experimented with objects, and we landed on the car as our muse. After little success cutting up a tyre (turns out they have steel bands inside?!), we went for toy cars and hammered them flat ready for printing with.



Our final prints!




The greyboard prints were made using carbon paper, and we lay all the pieces over it and prints on two sides of A3 greyboard. These then created the carbon paper prints, which we rolled ink onto and printed again.

I'm loving using the print rooms so much, I can't wait to be in there more.

Vessel at CRATE Brewery

Here are a few pictures of our event at CRATE. Perhaps a little slower in fundraising, but we've really enjoyed being here and look forward to the next events! And this is my print, I promise to post up some pictures of that specifically, and tell you about the process later.






Thankyou to everybody for coming down, it means so much to us! And we're off to a great start on the fundraising front! Only one of them sold in the end so if you're interested in buying, they're still about!

Kingston University: Life drawing with Hannah

This year, our life drawing sessions are with Jake, making it the notorious experimental life drawing. All the colours and theatre and crazy music, was a lot of fun indeed. Our model Hannah was great, and a real character... I think she very much liked performing for us!