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And here is something I made earlier.... 😊

My first go at my new graphics tablet today. I love @lucaslevitan and think his work is just gorgeous. For the gift shop brief I had wanted to photograph some regional landmarks/recognisable spots and illustrate them. However due to a lack of self belief I have up early on. My cartoony chick is patchy and needs some tidying up but overall I’m so pleased with it 😊 I’ve got photos of the transporter bridge, ICI and some other spots that I want to try out next #illustration #graphics #designstudent #creative #art #sundayfunday #hartlepoolcollegeoffe #teesside #teessideuni #maturestudent #regional #middlesbrough #northeast #local #boro #middlesbroughfc #utb #riverside

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Here are the two contenders for the Penguin Book cover.  The images used on both covers are original images by myself -the top two are from photographs I then ‘white-washed’ with acrylics using my hands.  I liked the uneven textures that the paint gave the images leaving them with a three dimensional depth to it.  The bottom image is from my earlier blog post where I was experimenting with spray bottles, water pistols and paint from a great height.  

The first experiments I had done with typography ideas had left me really wanting to use something bold in colour but with a transparency to the individual letters to allow for the chosen background to come through.  I felt that with a black and white cover, red for the font was the obvious choice.  But also I really just needed something that would stand out against it.  I liked the typography so much that I wanted to keep it on the other cover. 

I chose to go with the themes of racism for both of these cover ideas as opposed to the use of ‘noughts and crosses’ from the game.  I represented this through the black and white drip painting (I had been looking at a lot of Jackson Pollock at this point!) and loved how the two colours, despite me doing each of them separately, ended up almost enmeshed with one another.  This reminded me of the nature of the two lead characters from Nought’s and Crosses relationship.  The other cover which features the ‘noughts’ and ‘crosses’ represented by a fist and two crosses arms was a bit on the deeper side so to speak.  I was really influenced by Titus Kaphar’s ‘Traveller’ (2014) and I think this can be seen, particularly on the ‘cross’ image.  I used a fist to represent the ‘nought’ as it is also a nod to the uprising and the emerging threat of terrorism from the Noughts. A fist may be associated with violence and so I wanted to show both of these potential meanings through the image.

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Two pieces for the Penguin Books brief.  I was inspired by Titus Kaphar’s ‘Traveler’ (2014). I used the 2 models hands to show their respective ‘sides’ of Noughts and Crosses.   I used the black paint to ‘overpower’ the fist (the Nought) as the narrative follows a future where the Crosses are the dominant of the two.  However I also chose to cover the hands of the ‘Cross’ with white paint to signify that in the book there is an uprising of terrorist activity which threatens the safety of both Sephy (the Cross) and Callum (the Nought). It isn’t as clear cut as Black vs White or White vs Black as such with opposition emerging and also the complicated nature of Callum and Sepoy’s relationship I wanted the images to feel enmeshed and a little uneasy.

This piece, much like the research element into racial injustice, made me feel uncomfortable to make. I felt such guilt and discomfort with my own white privilege that whether I like it or not, I do have.  However I chose to sit with that feeling and use it.  I shouldn’t feel comfortable making a piece with it’s roots in racism.  Nobody should.

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I love the visually destructive nature of Titus Kaphar’s work. I have looked at a few of his pieces as part of the research element of my book cover entry for the Penguin Books competition.

“Flay”

Painting, 2008

Titus Kaphar

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Gift Shop Brief - A Summary

I had my mind set very early on producing a collection rather than one item.  I chose Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) as the gift shop I would be tailoring my products to be sold in. The reason for this was that the gallery is very community orientated with regular workshops for local residents, exhibitions with local relevance and also the items stocked within the gift shop have local ties -be that through the designs themselves or them being by local designers and artists.

The target audience was, for want of a better explanation, me! I wanted to create something that I would personally purchase.  I knew that if I would buy it then I would put a lot of heart into the design process.  Also, I tend to lean towards quirky and cute items from independent businesses. I am aware from the popularity of Etsy and the traders with shops on there that I am not the only person who enjoys these kinds of items.  And so I narrowed my demographic down to people aged between 20-45 who may have a off the wall, cheeky sense of humour, who may either be local to the region themselves or have family links to Teesside. 

I put the proverbial feelers out in terms of research by first asking myself (and then the natives!) - What do I think of when I think of Middlesbrough? There was a fairly wide response when I put the question out to both residents and non-residents. Here are some of the better answers from social media: 

Riverside

Football

Club Bongo

Parmo

Police Interceptors

Transporter Bridge

The university

Chris Rea

Family 

Diversity

Community

I wanted to take a few of these ideas and incorporate them into several items.  One of my first ideas was a selection of prints which showcased the realities of living in a large North East town which had faced industrial closures.  I wanted to show people how Teesside as an area really encompasses a lot of  community and there is a definite heart to that.  I researched photography by Martin Parr (specifically The Last Resort which showcased the quintessential British seaside holiday), Sirkka-Lissa Konttinen who was behind the Byker photographs and also ‘Byker Revisted’ and finally Lucas Levitan.  I was drawn to Levitan’s work in particular because it was a big deviation from the almost gritty sense of realism involved in the works by Parr and Konttinen and instead offered a quirky, and at times tongue in cheek, look into landmarks.  

I had considered possibly photographing well known landmarks from the immediate area and adding illustrations to them.  This took the form of a Godzilla type creature attacking the Riverside, a monkey cheerily hanging from the Transporter Bridge and a funfair (including a helter skelter around a cooling tower) behind the industrial sites at Haverton Hill. However when the time came I simply had designs which I preferred to these.

I then had to think about what items I wanted to specifically design if the prints were not going to be an option.  I researched potentially sellable items by not only their popularity but also by considering the costs to make them.  I would have really liked to have made some cute Popsockets, for example, but the mark up was frankly unfeasible at this point.  And so, I looked into jewellery designers -particularly Stockton based Etsy seller ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’ alongside bigger companies such as Tatty Devine.  I was struck really early on with possibly designing a laser acrylic necklace and so I set about making some designs.  

The 3 designs that I originally came up with were ideas that could have been used for a few different item ideas -enamel pin badges, tote bags and a mug. 

However I quickly realised that I was pursuing too many possibilities and so I returned to the drawing board, so to speak, taking with me the best of the previous designs.  

As part of my research I visited MIMA and the gift shop on several occasions and also emailed Lindsay Richardson about the selection process for the items in the shop.  Lindsay explained that she visits craft fairs and exhibitions by way of researching what is out there herself.  She is sometimes contacted directly by designers or the gallery may already have links to local artists work.

It was at this point I settled on producing 3 mugs with ‘local’ influences depicted through cute illustrations and also 3 greetings cards which had clear ‘local’ messages through typography. 

If I evaluate how things went on this project I would liked to have kept at the prints a little more.  I wasn’t completely sure how Lucas Levitan did his illustrations and so after using acetate to position my images over the original photographs I basically gave up.  In reality I could have researched Levitan and similar artists methods and followed this with further experiments. 

I need to look further into the production side of the finished designs as I found it difficult to get accurate quotes for the items.  I know that after researching MIMA gift shop that I wanted to mugs to retail at £6.50 each and ideally to have appropriate and branded packaging each.  I wanted to sell the cards at £3.50 each which in line with the existing similar items at MIMA and also high street greeting card retailers such as Paperchase was quite reasonable. 

I am happy with the final design outcomes overall.  The typography print was a particular piece I re-worked several times before feeling satisfied enough that I could use it.  But the pedant in me still dislikes that particular item compared to the mugs and greeting cards. 

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Having a play. I am quite fond of this particular typography but as I’m still experimenting the jury is still out at present on the final book cover design.

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Sunday’s are for making a mess!

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A frankly terrifying contraption constructed with a Black & Decker drill and a Tupperware cake storage box.... PAINT SPINNING!!

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Pretty things hidden in the darkest parts of Middlesbrough. Or how it’s more locally known -The Hillstreet Shopping Centre car park.

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The name I’ve settled on for my little mini collection for the #giftshopbrief

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GOODBYE GIFT SHOP BRIEF! I am chuffed with these!

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I’ve been looking at artists who have used their work to explore the long history of racial inequality and discrimination. Alongside Jacob Lawrence and Titus Kaphar in particular, I have really enjoyed reading about Faith Ringgold. She is an amazing artist and isn’t afraid to shy away from difficult subject matter but she is also an incredible woman.

Artist: Faith Ringgold

(1930-)

Faith Ringgold is an American artist best known for her quilts, though she is also a painter and a sculptor

She was born and raised in Harlem New York during the great depression, and much of her inspiration comes from the people, poetry, and music she experienced during that time

Her work is also greatly affected by the racism, sexism, and segregation she has dealt with throughout her life

She enrolled at the City College of New York to major in art, but was forced to change her major because art was considered to be a male profession. She graduated and began teaching, quitting later to devote all her time to her art

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Playing around with apps and typography in bed because that’s how this girl deals with insomnia.

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Final design for the print.

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Yeah we do!

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2018 for me means if you don’t like something -change it. The typography design has risen from it’s watery New Year’s grave. And I love it. Don’t give up.

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Huzzah! The final mockups for the Exit Through The Gift Shop brief.  I am planning to make a layered laser acrylic necklace from the Parmo pop-art design aswell as the tote bag.  I did also do a typography design but I just wasn’t happy with it (despite 4 attempts at it!). Anyway! These items were designed with Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art’s gift shop in mind.  The gallery offers a lot of local artists/designers a platform to showcase and sell their items and so I wanted to keep a regional feel to my own product designs.  I hadn’t really done much illustration before this brief and so it has been an eyeopener that I found it as enjoyable as I did.