Final push

The Easter break is over and the stress is on; it's the last 3 weeks before hand in. After an Easter break that has been nowhere as productive as I would like I'm feeling the stress! I'm annoyed as well as I'm having to miss my crit for this week as I'm going to London for my portfolio review which I didn't realise but the date couldn't be changed. While I was at home I was reading through 'Creative Block' by  Daniella Krysa and came across an article on Arian Bahzadi that had a quote that will stick with me during this countdown:

'If you're not suffering from lack of sleep, you're not doing it right.'

It's time to knuckle down and work as hard as possible now to do as well as I can. I've made a list of everything I need to do this week which involves updating research files, finding primary research and putting practical work into full steam ahead. Hopefully with dedication it can be done; as Paul Arden said:

 'It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be.'

'Series II', Arian Behzadi

It also occurred to me today that I ought to create a personal development file as I have created a Twitter, website, creative CV and blog etc as part of this unit and I ought to put that all together to highlight the work I've done and to show how I am developing into a professional individual. I also need to get business cards printed as soon as possible- that can be added to the to do list.

Portfolio planning

With less than 4 weeks to go until hand in, creating my portfolio is at the forefront of my mind. I have spent the past few days doing some research into different options and companies and I have defiantly decided I want something individual and custom made. I don't want plastic sleeves as personally I find them a bit tacky and I'm not sure I want to be committed to one screw post book. I want my work to be handled and appreciated meaning a box with a mix of printed material seems a good option, but I still want it to look refined and professional.

At first I was drawn to the idea of a wooden box and I was aiming to commission a friend to make me one. However when I started researching how I wanted it inside it became less practical as I would want a professional inside with slots and indents with ribbon pulls that would be hard for a binders to then fit inside. I found myself become more interested in the options that were available from book binders as they often have portfolio designs tailored to the client's needs.

These designs from Nicole Anderson's studio in America show some really great packaging designs for the different products. I like the triangular fold out envelopes that can hold a few loose images as whilst most of my work is book-based it would be nice to have an option for any singular images or material that is better as small prints.

I liked the design of this clamshell portfolio as it is simplistic yet effective with a standard hard bound book but with an individual fine art print that slides out underneath with a ribbon pull. This makes  nice combination of printed media and again confirms my idea of having different materials together that can  pull out individually to be handled that you can't experience with plastic sleeves.

This example is a fairly simple and classic design but I was drawn to the way the book is indented into the casing with the slot for the business card opposite. It again shows me how different materials can sit together in the same housing in more innovative ways. I think ideally I would like a printed book indented in with an area for a smaller booklet such as the business card above and possibly a double indented box with pace for the triangular fold out sleeves.

As I am so unsure I have booked an appointment with the London Bookbinders on Tuesday 29th in order to talk over my project, and hopefully should budget allow, get it in the making. Luckily it also coincides with the Pick Me Up fair at Somerset House for some fresh inspiration!

Brothers Grimm tales

After getting frustrated a few days ago at how my Easter productivity was going I am still feeling the same but trying to work through it. I have managed to do some more development on 'The Valley of Restlessness' but I still only have 2 half finished illustrations out of 3 finals. I think the solution will be to focus on the main fairytales I want to illustrate and work on the Poe poem as a side workshop to keep myself experimenting and give some creative relief when I get frustrated with the other work.

I have been looking into the Brothers Grimm fairy tales as I feel the sinister undertone is what I am looking for in my imagery and I have narrowed it down to three: Hans the Hedgehog, The Seven Ravens and The story of the Youth Who Left Home to Learn Fear. I narrowed it down to these three as they inspired me the most and I began getting visual ideas, possibly because they are all quite straightforward and dark. I find some fairy tales go off on strange tangents and bring in more unnecessary characters where I prefer to focus on the main protagonists and their journey. Hans the Hedgehog is about a son who is top half hedgehog, bottom half man and is judged by his family and peers so he rides off on his cockerel into the forest on his own adventure, which is undeniably a unique tale. The seven ravens resonated with me as I like the idea of a flock of cursed brothers saved by their sister on a long journey to recover them. The Story of the Youth Who Left Home to Learn Fear is a really dark and magical tale full of ghosts, ghouls and bravery and I am particularly excited to start planning my visuals for this story.

David Hockney's Brothers Grimm tales

The next stage is for me to start story boarding and drafting up some initial ideas so that when I start working on visualising my ideas I will have a range of ideas to reference from and keep me focused on what originally inspired me. Power on!

Easter frustration

It is half way through the Easter holidays and I am finding myself a bit frustrated! Things with family are finally getting back on track with my brother moving to my town which is brilliant but unfortunately the move and practicalities have left me with very little time to work. I am trying to spend as much time as I can in my spare time but it is a set back never the less.

I wanted to complete 3 illustrations in response to Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Valley of Restlessness' as a short day or so exercise to get me back into practical work and the new project. Unfortunately I haven't had a whole day to do this so it has been spread over several days and I haven't had the time to resolve issues as fast as I would like. I currently have one illustration in the making although I am extremely happy with it. I am wanting to move more in digital collage and mixed media layering after the success of my UEA collaboration and this illustration has helped me feel confident that this is the right direction to go. The conflict I am having is trying to blend hand-drawn material with digital as it worked well in my UEA work as they were on separate pages in the book but complemented each other, whereas here I am trying to have them in the same illustrations as I don't think they'll work separate this time. I suppose the solution is to go all digital or find of way of subtly including some hand drawn illustrations and textures in the final images.

'The Valley of Restlessness'

The idea behind this illustration is to show the men in the valley before they go off to war and th valley becomes 'restless'. I have combined 4 different photographs and coloured the different layers to create some depth and atmosphere. I want to play around with removing their eyes to give a sinister feel that they are now dead at war and bring in that sense of foreboding in the valley.

The next stage is to keep developing and try and get as much work as I can before I return to Norwich for the last term. There's nothing I can do but plan and try!