Work In Progress

Today we had the work in progress group meeting with johnny Hannah to get some feedback on the work we have completed in the first few weeks of the Final major project. I explained my Goddess idea to johnny as he had not heard much about it and was pleased that i had already got stuck in with lino printing and testing out ideas and layouts.

Johnny commented on how i need to take my project down a more focussed route now and experimenting and getting stuck in with lino printing first was great but now i need to concentrate on my research and planning out what to do next.

Having gone full steam ahead with my project at the start i have now stepped back and decided to take my time and really figure out what it is i need to research and what 4 goddesses i want to focus all my energy on.

My To Do List

• Research and decide what 4 Goddesses to pick to illustrate
• Test out ideas with lino cut and maybe try 3 colour linocut
• Keep on gathering research to aid final images
• Start testing with the laser cut machine
• Test prints with laser cut images

 

Development Work

Reading through my book on Gods and Goddess’s i am trying to search out and find 4 goddess’s that are connected in some way and have lots of symbolism attached to them. I want them to be complex but also easily understandable to the viewer. I want these Goddess’s to represent strength and for each goddess to have a story behind them.  Below are two rough sketches i have done to depict goddess’s of Celtic Tradition. They are the image of Ceridwyn Goddess of nature and worshipped mother figure and Morrigan the Celtic Goddess of war and fighting. Again i have used the pen and ink process to get my ideas down quickly and organise negative and positive space.

Below is Morrigan

Above is Ceridwyn

I chose these two to try out as when reading and researching about these two Celtic goddess’s it was apparent that they were strong women with power. Each goddess had specific symbols attached to them to make them easier to define between one another. Ceridwyn had the tiny sapling plant and the plant seed emblem to represent her affiliation with nature. Morrigan has the 4 axes’s to represent her fighting spirit.

After brainstorming an idea for each Goddess and drawing out a rough of a possible design it became apparent to me that to just concentrate on Celtic Goddesses wasn’t delving deep enough. Although each goddess in there own right had symbolism attached to them i have decided it is not enough symbolism to create 4 dynamic and powerful and thought provoking final pieces. These rough images though can help me with discovering composition and positive and negative space in my chosen goddesses.

i will be spending this week deciding and researching what Goddesses to focus my designs on.

 

 

Celtic Goddess From Start To Finish

Here is my Celtic Goddess portrayal from start to finish from initial idea to completed colour artwork.

Initial A5 ink and pen drawing

Rough outline sketch of Celtic Goddess

Scanned in finished Pencil sketch ready to colour

Initial first colour session using watercolour paint and inks

Scanned in finished artwork

I dont usually work in watercolour but in this instance as it was the weekend and access to the studios to purchase lino or print was unavailable i decided to work from home and see what i could create with little materials. Using watercolour was quite a challenge for myself as i am more adept at using acrylic and oil paint. Looking for positives i feel the colours i chose for a Earthy feel was correct and the symbolism isn’t to obvious which is what i like in my artwork.

I do however feel that this piece lacks originality and that my Goddess has a cartoon like quality that i don’t like. I like my work finished and neat but even for me this artwork seems to overworked and not natural enough.

My next step is re working ideas and adding more symbolism and trying to create a more organic and original portrayal of Goddess’s.

Celtic Creativity

Putting my Moon Goddess work to one side i decided to read up on the books i purchased from my trip to London. The “Signs and Symbols” book and “An A to Z of Pagan Gods & Goddess’s” book i purchased from Treadwells was my first port of call. In my initial research plan i had stated i was to research all types of different folklore tales and Goddess’s from different cultures and backgrounds. I stated i would research into Celtic Folklore and the Goddess’s surrounding Celtic tradtions.

While looking through the”A to Z of Gods and Goddess’s” book for research i came across the celtic theme i was looking for as shown below.

Reading up on Aoibheall and how she was a strong Celtic Goddess i decided to jump straight into my mini A5 sketchpad and draw with pen and ink what came to my mind and how i envisioned her.

I have added some quite obvious symbols such as the Shamrock and as she is the Deity of Earth i added leaves and the shining sunshine behind her.

I wanted to take this drawing further but not have the symbols so obvious. Doing a bit of further reading in my ‘Symbols and Signs” book i discovered some Celtic symbols i could use in my next piece as shown below.

The Celtic Knot symbolising growth and Spiritulism

Another Celtic Knot this time more simple and the largely more recognisable symbol. Again meaning Pagan spirit and strength and wisdom.

Another symbol that came up in my research was the Celtic Serpent.This symbolises rebirth and is usually as a protector to the God or Goddess.

I wanted to include all these symbols in my work and the next stage of the development of portraying a Celtic Goddess.The next stage i will show the process from start to finish of how my idea grew and how it ended up in my next post.

Lights Camera Action

I made a quick video experimenting with the spotlight and seeing how depth affected the artwork. Moving the artwork from close to far away in the video shows how the lights bounces off different parts and how this looks. This is my first attempt at using video media to present my work and even thought this video is short i can see how taking a static lino print to a moving image works well and is a successful experiment.  I am pleased with the outcome of this and will be experimenting more with lights later on when my laser cut images are complete and i have printed my  final pieces.

Let There Be Light

To experiment further with the lino prints i did previously i have decided to experiment with light and how this affects the overall artwork. I was thinking of ways to experiment with my printed lino images and while browsing the web found this image below

PROJECTS

This is of card cut images, that i think are most likely to be laser cut and not by hand. The images are projected onto plain walls to create shadows and light. This inspired me to experiment with light with the lino cuts. I think within the final major project there is still room to experiment with new techniques and ideas and so this is what i have decided to do.

Below are images i have taken of the Moon Goddess lino print with a spotlight shining behind it to give it real moon shine upon it.

 

 

I think these worked really well as it makes the image look like the moon is actually shining. The paper the print is already on is quite thick and is a naturally made part with small paper chippings in it which gives it a lovely hand made look.

This process of taking a plain lino print and using it in a different way has inspired me to think about how i will present my Laser Cut Prints. I have the idea of hanging up my A2 prints from the ceiling using wire and shining lights behind them a bit like stained glass windows. Goddess’s are deities and are worshipped just as Jesus is in a church so to play on this idea would be quite interesting.

In my next blog post i will explore this idea further with images and research.

Lino Like A Pro

So working on the advice to get stuck in with printing and creating work, i have done just that!. I decided to take one of my sketches from my sketchbook as shown below

The sketch is of a Moon Goddess i depicted myself and i have explored this theme and altered it slightly and created a lino cut from this. i enjoy lino printing and like to start projects by creatings images and transfering thse onto lino.The Lino cut took about 4 hours to complete and below are the results.

I am happy with the results as i used different techniques with this lino cut that i had no used before. I used the end of the lino tool to gauge holes in the lino to represent a starry night. I also used a variety of different shaped tools to create different line thickness’s so the end effect was interesting to look at visually.

In my final artworks  i will be depicting 4 different Goddess’s ( which i have not fully decided on as of yet) As each goddess will be depicting something important and with lots of meaning i will need to be adding in lots of symbolism.I decided to try and test out incorporate some symbolism within my lino cut. As i was depicting a Goddess of the Moon i wanted to add symbols representing this. The symbols surrounding the Goddess are the symbols for the Planets as show below.

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=167

I have decided to print these in the colour Blue as i found it to be appropriate for the work, i have used a dark blue to start with to represent the dark night that a Moon Goddess protects.

Good points about the Lino cut

• bold and gets the symbolism across well
• Colour works well in keeping with the night theme
• New cutting techniques worked ( gauging for the stars effect)
• Positive and Negative space compliments each other

Bad points about the Lino Cut

• Mistaken slips and mishaps from the cutting tool
• Patterns seem non symbolic and for decoration only
• The overall outcome is not quite up to scratch yet
• More symbolism needs to be added

After printing this lino cut i had been inspired by something i stumbled upon while googling indian patterns this is shown below

http://www.indianweddingsite.com/purple-plum-and-gold-indian-wedding-color-inspiration/

i decided to use it and experiment with a Gold and Purple colour palette and use my lino cut to print on Gold paper with Purple ink as shown below

I was really pleased with how these editions came out and think this gives the print a really exciting edge to it. More experiments to follow in my next blog post.

Vlog For My Blog

Here is my Video log for my trip to London that explains my day and how i felt and whats next on the project agenda!

For some reason by video blog goes out of sync with the sound half way so bare with this!

To Ye Olde London Town

Here are the pictures that i have edited and selected the best from my trip to London and the places i managed to visit.All these images were taken by myself with my DSLR digital camera.

Atlantis bookstore

Atlantis shop front

V&A Museum Decor

V&A South Asian decor

South East Asian the Goddess Durga Deity

South East Asian Wall Decor

Islamic fireplace decor

V&A Wall Decoration

Clock cabinet from Hamilton Palace at the V&A

Islamic Wall Decor

Scroll painting with four Mandala’s 1400

I have selected and chosen these images as I’m really inspired by the patterns in some of the artworks. The colours and shapes of the wall decor are inspirational and have given me new ideas on shapes and patterns i can use in my own artwork.

Hip Happening Hangouts

I have compiled a list of places to visit in the next few weeks. These are places of interest for my project and will help with my ongoing research. As my previous post stated i have a broad range of research in areas such as Hindu Religion and Esoteric symbolism and so i have carefully chosen specific shops and galleries that will help with these particular research areas.

Treadwell’s Esoteric Store

Treadwells is an Occult bookstore specialising in Academic Occult  books and Tarot readings on a daily basis.

http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Atlantis Occult Bookstore

Atlantis bookstore holds occult books and specialises in Folklore books too.

http://www.theatlantisbookshop.com/

Watkins Bookstore

Watkins bookstore is the oldest bookstore that sells Esoteric books. Here you can also get the newest releases.

http://www.watkinsbooks.com/

Mysteries London

A fun shop full of Tarot cards and readings with a twist.You can also purchase incense and other occult items.

http://www.mysteries.co.uk/

The Victoria And Albert Museum

The V&A has an extensive collection of South East Asian artefacts and Islamic artefacts.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

Foyle’s Bookstore

Foyles bookstore is a popular chain that now holds books from an existing Occult bookstore that closed down.

http://www.foyles.co.uk/

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

The Hindu temple in Neasden is the largest in Europe and is open to the public for a tour round.

http://londonmandir.baps.org/

I will be visiting some of these places on my trip to London tomorow and making a video blog about my time there.