The Proposal - My Major Project
SECTION ONE Influences, Research, Sources and Ideas (guide 175 - 350 words).
My starting point for my Artists Book of Seeds idea was my interview for the Artist Designer
Maker Degree course at the Cardiff School of Art & Design at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
My interviewer asked "what about Artists Books?" to which I naively replied "yes - I have
quite a lot of art books", having misunderstood what she meant! I had never heard of Artists
books, so there is certainly plenty of scope for research.
I will be working within the specialisms of fine art, sculpture, installation and possibly textiles.
The subject of my artists book will be seeds, specifically encapsulation, dispersion and
putting down roots and observing the parallels with human migration.
As such I will join the National Art Library (part of the V&A) and arrange to view some artists
Books. Whilst there I will also have a look through the rest of the museum for inspiration
relating to seeds and growth.
I will visit the Natural History Museum to visit the Modern Botanical Illustration collection,
including contemporary work by Jessica Tcherepnine, Jean Webb and Barbara Everard. I
will also look at historical botanical illustration artists such as Maria Sibylla Merian and Franz
& Ferdinand Bauer.
I will look to Kew Gardens and the National Botanical Garden of Wales for scientific research
into seed casings, seed dispersal mechanisms, seed migration routes, hybridisation and
invasive species etc…
I have gathered wild seeds and purchased seeds, which I will study. I also want to look at
the germination process and so will experiment with growing some under different conditions
and record my observations. I will approach the science department to see if I can use their
microscopes to access a different perspective.
I will research human migration – reasons why, how, where to and the process of integration
into a new society or settlement of a previously uninhabited area.
I plan to create a contemporary sculpture based on the idea of a seed themed artists book,
so I will look at other contemporary artists such as Ai WeiWei and Anthony Gormley for
sculpture, installation and setting inspiration.
SECTION TWO Your Major Project (guide 150 - 300 words).
The title of my project will be “Encapsulation, Dispersion, Putting Down Roots”. I am going to create an Artists Book Sculpture based on the subject matter of seeds, drawing parallels with human migration. I will use various mediums and techniques including textiles, sculpture, drawing and papercrafts to study the naturalistic and biomorphic values and textures of the subject matter from both still life and primary source photography.
I will study the lines and shapes both accurately and expressively, showing my observation skills and my personal interpretation of or reaction to the subject. I shall then abstract the studies, using techniques such as repetition and flow, enlargement, positive and negative shapes, balance, dominance and symmetry. I will experiment with objective, subjective, analogous and complementary colours, as I do have a concern that it might all be a bit beige.
I will work in both 2D and 3D, as the focus of my University Degree is Making. My artistic practice focuses on my strengths - traditional handicrafts and working in a naturalistic manner, so I believe this proposal relates well. I will, however, continue to try to push my boundaries and venture into abstraction and expressionism as I felt my stage 1 ventures in this direction were very successful and is something I would like to pursue further.
My knowledge of Artists Books is very limited, so researching their history and their variety of forms will extend my knowledge, as will researching historical and contemporary botanical illustration artists and sculptural and installation artists. As a keen gardener, I think I know quite a lot about seeds, but deeper scientific research and research into human migration will further my understanding of these subjects.
I plan to do extensive sketching and medium experimentation which will extend my creative and technical ability.
SECTION THREE Techniques, Processes and Timescale (guide 175 - 350 words).
Weekly Tasks
12/03/2018 • Start writing proposal • Source seeds and seed heads for still life observational drawing and primary source photography • Commence still life sketching and observational drawing using a variety of mediums • Minimum 1 blog post per week
19/03/2018 • Join National Art Library and arrange date for viewing of artists books • Continue with observational drawings and abstractions and annotation in sketchbook • Contact science department about viewing seeds under microscope • Complete proposal • Minimum 1 blog post per week
26/03/2018 • Continue observational drawings and abstractions and annotation in sketch book • Commence sculptural experiments with origami and other papercrafts, wire work, felting and other textile techniques • Research human migration – see if there is anyone I can speak to at local universities regarding the subject. • Minimum 1 blog post per week
02/04/2018 (Easter Break) • Visit London (depending on when I am able to arrange viewing of artists books at the V&A, this may change) V&A, National History Museum and Kew Gardens • Continue sculptural experiments • Make sketches of how the final piece will look, including how it will fit into the exhibition space. Consider viewer interaction and other aspects of the installation such as height, width, depth, any technical additions such as sound, video, lighting etc… • Minimum 1 blog post per week
09/04/2018 (Easter Break) • Visit National Botanical Gardens of Wales for further research • Reflect and review drawings and sculpture experiments and see what works and what doesn’t • Refine idea’s and commence working on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
16/04/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
23/04/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
30/04/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
07/05/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
14/05/2018 • Aim to have final piece ready by now, so that I can reflect and make any changes I want to in order to refine the piece. • Minimum 1 blog post per week
21/05/2018 • Refine final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
28/05/2018 • Refine final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week 04/06/2018 • Refine final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
SECTION FOUR Review of your work prior to the major project (guide 125 - 250 words).
One of my most successful pieces was my relief work from stage 1 – rockpool abstraction.
Subdued, monotone colouring pushed me out of my comfort zone, but it was very effective
and I would like to pursue this further. As seeds and seedheads are largely beige this will
give me an opportunity to progress my work in subtle tones and shades, but I will also
experiment with colour.
I also experimented with expression and abstraction, so I would like to push this further in
my stage 3 project. My usual practice would be to create a more naturalistic representation,
so this will be a challenge for me.
Another challenge will be to keep up with the annotation and blog writing – I tend to start off
enthusiastically typing away, but once I start getting into the practical side of things, the
writing down and explanation of the theory behind what I’m doing tends to get neglected.
In Stage 2, my concept diverged down many routes and it became unachievable to do the
level of research I would have liked into each avenue. Whilst diversity is good, I should have
borne in mind the timescale I had to complete the project and adjusted the scope
accordingly. In stage 3 I have much longer, but again my subject is open to excessive
divergence and I will have to balance the level of research with time remaining.
Appendix
Places:
Kew Gardens
V&A
National Art Library & Study Rooms at V&A
Natural History Museum
National Botanical Gardens of Wales
Books:
Paper Textiles – Christina Leitner – A&C Black Publishers – 2005
Folding Architecture – Sophia Vyzoviti – BIS Publishers – 2003
Art in Felt & Stitch – Moy Mackay – Search Press – 2012
Feltmaking – Deborah McGavock & Christine Lewis – Cowood Press – 2000
Complete Origami – Eric Kenneway – Ebury Press – 1993
Plant Migration: The Dynamics of Geographic Patterning in Seed Plant Species – Jonathan D
Sauer – University of California Press – 1991
New Diasporas: Mass Exodus, Dispersal & Regrouping of Migrant Communities – Nicholas Van
Hear – Routledge – 1998
The Great Migrations: from the earliest humans to the age of globalisation – John Haywood –
Quercus – 2008
Origins: An Atlas of Human Migration – Russell Editor King – Publisher: N/a; First UK Edition
Edition – 2007
Artists:
Anselm Keifer
Jessica Tcherepnine
Jean Webb
Barbara Everard
Maria Sibylla Merian
Franz & Ferdinand Bauer
Deborah Fenn
Ai Wei Wei
Anthony Gormley
Heather Ackroyd & Dan Harvey
My starting point for my Artists Book of Seeds idea was my interview for the Artist Designer
Maker Degree course at the Cardiff School of Art & Design at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
My interviewer asked "what about Artists Books?" to which I naively replied "yes - I have
quite a lot of art books", having misunderstood what she meant! I had never heard of Artists
books, so there is certainly plenty of scope for research.
I will be working within the specialisms of fine art, sculpture, installation and possibly textiles.
The subject of my artists book will be seeds, specifically encapsulation, dispersion and
putting down roots and observing the parallels with human migration.
As such I will join the National Art Library (part of the V&A) and arrange to view some artists
Books. Whilst there I will also have a look through the rest of the museum for inspiration
relating to seeds and growth.
I will visit the Natural History Museum to visit the Modern Botanical Illustration collection,
including contemporary work by Jessica Tcherepnine, Jean Webb and Barbara Everard. I
will also look at historical botanical illustration artists such as Maria Sibylla Merian and Franz
& Ferdinand Bauer.
I will look to Kew Gardens and the National Botanical Garden of Wales for scientific research
into seed casings, seed dispersal mechanisms, seed migration routes, hybridisation and
invasive species etc…
I have gathered wild seeds and purchased seeds, which I will study. I also want to look at
the germination process and so will experiment with growing some under different conditions
and record my observations. I will approach the science department to see if I can use their
microscopes to access a different perspective.
I will research human migration – reasons why, how, where to and the process of integration
into a new society or settlement of a previously uninhabited area.
I plan to create a contemporary sculpture based on the idea of a seed themed artists book,
so I will look at other contemporary artists such as Ai WeiWei and Anthony Gormley for
sculpture, installation and setting inspiration.
SECTION TWO Your Major Project (guide 150 - 300 words).
The title of my project will be “Encapsulation, Dispersion, Putting Down Roots”. I am going to create an Artists Book Sculpture based on the subject matter of seeds, drawing parallels with human migration. I will use various mediums and techniques including textiles, sculpture, drawing and papercrafts to study the naturalistic and biomorphic values and textures of the subject matter from both still life and primary source photography.
I will study the lines and shapes both accurately and expressively, showing my observation skills and my personal interpretation of or reaction to the subject. I shall then abstract the studies, using techniques such as repetition and flow, enlargement, positive and negative shapes, balance, dominance and symmetry. I will experiment with objective, subjective, analogous and complementary colours, as I do have a concern that it might all be a bit beige.
I will work in both 2D and 3D, as the focus of my University Degree is Making. My artistic practice focuses on my strengths - traditional handicrafts and working in a naturalistic manner, so I believe this proposal relates well. I will, however, continue to try to push my boundaries and venture into abstraction and expressionism as I felt my stage 1 ventures in this direction were very successful and is something I would like to pursue further.
My knowledge of Artists Books is very limited, so researching their history and their variety of forms will extend my knowledge, as will researching historical and contemporary botanical illustration artists and sculptural and installation artists. As a keen gardener, I think I know quite a lot about seeds, but deeper scientific research and research into human migration will further my understanding of these subjects.
I plan to do extensive sketching and medium experimentation which will extend my creative and technical ability.
SECTION THREE Techniques, Processes and Timescale (guide 175 - 350 words).
Weekly Tasks
12/03/2018 • Start writing proposal • Source seeds and seed heads for still life observational drawing and primary source photography • Commence still life sketching and observational drawing using a variety of mediums • Minimum 1 blog post per week
19/03/2018 • Join National Art Library and arrange date for viewing of artists books • Continue with observational drawings and abstractions and annotation in sketchbook • Contact science department about viewing seeds under microscope • Complete proposal • Minimum 1 blog post per week
26/03/2018 • Continue observational drawings and abstractions and annotation in sketch book • Commence sculptural experiments with origami and other papercrafts, wire work, felting and other textile techniques • Research human migration – see if there is anyone I can speak to at local universities regarding the subject. • Minimum 1 blog post per week
02/04/2018 (Easter Break) • Visit London (depending on when I am able to arrange viewing of artists books at the V&A, this may change) V&A, National History Museum and Kew Gardens • Continue sculptural experiments • Make sketches of how the final piece will look, including how it will fit into the exhibition space. Consider viewer interaction and other aspects of the installation such as height, width, depth, any technical additions such as sound, video, lighting etc… • Minimum 1 blog post per week
09/04/2018 (Easter Break) • Visit National Botanical Gardens of Wales for further research • Reflect and review drawings and sculpture experiments and see what works and what doesn’t • Refine idea’s and commence working on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
16/04/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
23/04/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
30/04/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
07/05/2018 • Work on final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
14/05/2018 • Aim to have final piece ready by now, so that I can reflect and make any changes I want to in order to refine the piece. • Minimum 1 blog post per week
21/05/2018 • Refine final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
28/05/2018 • Refine final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week 04/06/2018 • Refine final piece • Minimum 1 blog post per week
SECTION FOUR Review of your work prior to the major project (guide 125 - 250 words).
One of my most successful pieces was my relief work from stage 1 – rockpool abstraction.
Subdued, monotone colouring pushed me out of my comfort zone, but it was very effective
and I would like to pursue this further. As seeds and seedheads are largely beige this will
give me an opportunity to progress my work in subtle tones and shades, but I will also
experiment with colour.
I also experimented with expression and abstraction, so I would like to push this further in
my stage 3 project. My usual practice would be to create a more naturalistic representation,
so this will be a challenge for me.
Another challenge will be to keep up with the annotation and blog writing – I tend to start off
enthusiastically typing away, but once I start getting into the practical side of things, the
writing down and explanation of the theory behind what I’m doing tends to get neglected.
In Stage 2, my concept diverged down many routes and it became unachievable to do the
level of research I would have liked into each avenue. Whilst diversity is good, I should have
borne in mind the timescale I had to complete the project and adjusted the scope
accordingly. In stage 3 I have much longer, but again my subject is open to excessive
divergence and I will have to balance the level of research with time remaining.
Appendix
Places:
Kew Gardens
V&A
National Art Library & Study Rooms at V&A
Natural History Museum
National Botanical Gardens of Wales
Books:
Paper Textiles – Christina Leitner – A&C Black Publishers – 2005
Folding Architecture – Sophia Vyzoviti – BIS Publishers – 2003
Art in Felt & Stitch – Moy Mackay – Search Press – 2012
Feltmaking – Deborah McGavock & Christine Lewis – Cowood Press – 2000
Complete Origami – Eric Kenneway – Ebury Press – 1993
Plant Migration: The Dynamics of Geographic Patterning in Seed Plant Species – Jonathan D
Sauer – University of California Press – 1991
New Diasporas: Mass Exodus, Dispersal & Regrouping of Migrant Communities – Nicholas Van
Hear – Routledge – 1998
The Great Migrations: from the earliest humans to the age of globalisation – John Haywood –
Quercus – 2008
Origins: An Atlas of Human Migration – Russell Editor King – Publisher: N/a; First UK Edition
Edition – 2007
Artists:
Anselm Keifer
Jessica Tcherepnine
Jean Webb
Barbara Everard
Maria Sibylla Merian
Franz & Ferdinand Bauer
Deborah Fenn
Ai Wei Wei
Anthony Gormley
Heather Ackroyd & Dan Harvey
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