Art&Design Foundation Diploma Level 3-4

WORK IN ART & DESIGN FOUNDATION DIPLOMA.

On here i am just going to show all the variety of work i will be producing every day on my foundation course since starting in September 2011. Its a bit late updating it now, but don't worry i have lots and lots to share with you. it varies from mix media, to metal work, wood work, and figure drawing. Theres lots and lots of skills i have gained from this foundation course.
The main reason for completing the Art and Design Foundation Diploma Studies course is because I believe it is an essential part of my journey towards university. It’s essential due to the growth in skills you gain in this year and also all the different outlooks it allows you to have at looking at everything around you. But basically it’s another reason to pursue my passion towards art and design for an extra year before university.
Through this course, it has given me the ability to gain new skills and expand on those which were weak. My practical ability to draw is one of these. Prior to this course I always tried to avoid this skill centrally, but in this course you had to embrace it and engage with your own unique style of drawing. Through being persistent with this skill I have found strength in drawing and the ability to analytically draw using different Medias; especially through point and line drawing. Analytically drawing has become one of my fondest skills amongst others.I have become quite fond of mix media; using variety of materials, pictures, words and paints to transform the patterns which I see within the photos and exaggerating them with layers of paint; heavily influenced on the use of colour in these collages.

The amount of work that I have produced already is astonishing. I wouldn’t have though at the beginning of this year I would’ve produced so much. In which most of these are to a high standard in their own unique way. Each different piece of work that I have created portrays a different sense and intention. Without this foundation studies I wouldn’t have had such a strong portfolio which I have created through this diploma. I feel that my work has matured in these several months compared to my studies at sixth form.

In the art history lectures, the development of knowledge we gain through these sessions with our tutors has made a relevant impact of the way I view everything around me. If I see a work of art, I tend used to quickly glance at it, however now I stop and take a second and analyse it. I see beyond the obvious and I am able to look into why the artist has done what he created
and the way he created it. I have also gained in the art history sessions on my course a wider range of vocabulary. This helps me express my opinion and my ideas through the artistic language which this diploma has taught me.

Having chosen 3D as my specialist option I feel this is a great opportunity to express my strength of design which I obtain. I feel I have learnt skills in this area in which this is the only option can provide; due to the amount of machinery and tools I can indulge in. These help me translate my 2D ideas into three- dimension. This option allows me to interlink my interest of fashion and involve this into all of my briefs. You have so much freedom within 3D that you have the ability to create anything that you imagine; to an extent.

LETS START it. Remebering back to all my work which i have completed: you can see the growth as it goes along.

The first term at our foundation course, we went through the exploratory stage which we try out all aspects of the course. The first week was an introductory into which specialism we would take.
One day we went to the beach and had to create a vessel: we decided on a train- chuuuchuuuu.

This is a taster session into the textiles option which i was tempted to take however i chose 3D instead. We had to create a dress from paper inspired from what we made at the beach; train. We took aspects of the train from the rail way tracks and also the coal.


We had to create a wall structure made from random objects.


From this structure, we had to draw it using pencil and also charcoal on different sections of the wall structure. I have figured out my dislike to charcoal as how messy it it-boo. But i particularly like my drawing in pencil because i like the amount of detail i have drawn into the drawing.


It looks like the foundation course LOVES charcoal, because we nearly use it everyday. Just to pre warn you guys.

The next piece we had to draw from a small collage which we created using black and white images we have found in newspapers and magazines.

This below is our Taster into the graphics option. We had to work with typography. We started off with words like BIG, small, Hairy, boil.. and we had to take the first letter of each of these words and draw, and illustrate it in the way to express the words. I used the words; Boil, BIG,small,hairy,float,jump,kick,grow,noise. I particularly liked this and was tempted to take graphics but again as i said i have chosen 3D.

This piece was our first attempt at point and line technique using pencil. We had a really hard setup to attempt to draw however at the end of the day i was overall pleased on my outcome i produced. Even my tutor said so too. Prior to this course i disliked drawing, but now it has become one of my favourite skills. Our setup was Norman Travis' ( our tutor) bike and other oddments around it.

I have realised every time i draw i tend to use this point and line technique which i discovered in the first week on the foundation course. MY FAVE SKILL. you should try it. Another example of point and line is when we had to draw leaves in pencil to try out different compositions in which we would enlarge and draw in charcoal.


ANOTHER THING I HAVE FOUND OUT WHILST DOING THE FOUDATION COURSE; is that before the course i rarely worked on A1 size. When starting the course i was overpowered by the size we were working at, but now it feels normal and if we use smaller it feels odd and harder. I feel at ease now working at this big of size.

The taster session for 3D i loved. We had to create a structure from paper, from an object we saw in the room. I found an old violin and decided to enlarge it to a MASSIVE SIZE.

Also in this taster session we had a limited amount of material we were able to use: strip of wood, scrap of wire and aluminium and we had to use this to combine and make a small structure. Here i created a oval wooden structure the size of my palm.

After having been in the 3D taster it helped me make my decision to persue with 3D to specialise in and have every monday. The reason being is because it is the option which is most related to design. it also gives me the ability to expand my outrageous ideas of my couture garments and the materials i could use. In all my briefs i will take a fashion twist on them all.

Another charcoal drawing: spoon in a jar.

We draw some odd stuff. This brief we had to draw a setup of carrier bags.
The charcoal drawing of the carrier bag was my favourite of the day.

DOROTHY. This was our first encounter of naked figure drawing. At first it was really awkward However as we got past the fact she was naked the drawing turned out particularly good. Also we realised this was only just one of many times we will have to draw dorothy. I know dorothys body better than she does and that is saying something.

Skeleton drawing- we do many compositions like this, lots of boxes for different views of the object in front of us.
Concentrating on pattern we were given images collaborated from magazines in which we had to extract the patterns and shapes we saw in the image and expand them. Exploding them around the page so that they would link with each other. The first we did we had to keep it just black and white. But an assignment we had to do at home- we had to re do this in colour. I loved doing this, this is more my forte.

Another charcoal drawing: this is of a piece of mirrored card scrupled up. ( can't tell)

Next we were working with the subject of tools where we had to draw the tools in linear forms in 2D. So they were flat. From these drawings we did a collage of them all overlapping them and enlarging them. From this piece that we did we had to take sections of this drawing and recreate them using mix media- still only black and white.

The next we were concentrating on story boards, the first we drew in linear black and white.
( my day before college)
We carried this on through 3D and recreated another story board in clay.
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From working with clay, we created a pot. That would reflect our personality. i decided to create a pot with all hanging of photos of memories which are important and people who mean a lot to me in my life...
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Also in 3D we had to create something that used contrasting materials. I created a toothbrush that had nails to represent the brissles. The hardness of the nails comparing to the soft brissles that are usually on the toothbrush.
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We spent a day on still life objects and how we can represent these using only black and white toned paint. We first used white background and onto this we used black paint.
Then we had a black background on which we used white paint to draw the still life.
Another figure drawing session with dorothy.
This is a point and line drawing using charcoal.
This charcoal drawing was a 5 minute drawing in charcoal to capture dorothy.

The next few figure drawings, were done by a metre long bamboo stick with a piece of charcoal on the end: more restricted with the movement. Some of these drawings we added a wash which was done by a paintbrush on the other end of the stick.


This next one is my moms fave: i gave it her as a present at christmas. Done in the same technique as above.
oddments inside a box, using point and line technique: sight sized and propotional drawing: pencil and then linear lines in wash of black paint.

With this idea of proportional drawing: we had to take a photo from a magazine and proportionally shrink it, draw it the same and enlarge it onto a1 scale ( in charcoal).


Mix media 4 box: coins jellybabys. We had to portray the same theme throughout all 4 pieces.

banana drawing.


simplistic colours.

This was our first painting using coloured paint. it was a still life setup with a mixture of vibrant and neutral colours.

here is the first montage which influenced quite a few more. I involved magazine and newspaper images, and words to create this collage. I took influence off the pattern i created prior to this brief. I used layers of paint and other mediums to create these collages. influence by robert rauschenberg.





In 3D we had to translate a 2D image into 3D. I took inspiration from the structure of Rachel Freire's work and used a welderer to create simplistic corset and dress.


That was the end of the exploratory stage. From this we moved onto the pathways stage. Each section was a 4 week project on a particular day. The first project was concentrating on still life drawing and making them into mix media. We drew at first pencil still life drawing that moved onto charcoal. From sections of these drawings we had to create 3 mix media using black and white colours and different materials to represent, Dark and light, Dark and mid tone, Light and mid tone.
Here are the 3 mix media pieces.



Then we drew another still life set-up however these had more variety of textured objects and translucent materials. We had to do the first in charcoal, then the second using colour. From this we had to do an abstract mix media using colour from a section of either of these drawings.



another project was based on drawing things in front of you represented on a stage. The first draw ins we drew our own shoes. How we can make them look as though they have a foot in them and their own personality. We first drew them in pencil and then drawing them with a wash of paint.


From this staged effect we had the challenge of drawing a male figure fully clothed this time ( thank god) but he was staged with different objects surrounding him i.e. horizontal and vertical masking tape and the chair he was sat upon. This was done in charcoal.

The next project was based on the human figure. We used different ways on drawing the figure.






One week in this unit we used colour, first just block colours and then using a strip of cardboard. Lastly we did a proper painting of the figure using all the realistic colours.


Still in this project we had to draw what we saw in front of us. The interior of the room which may involve the human figure. I found this really hard to get into proportion.



Now into the 3D specialisms: we had to create a body mounted structure in which i want to make something inspired by Gareth Pugh. I wanted to make something that would restrict the ability to move. I somehow wanted to make it light up also. I used the technique that i have acquired of weltering; to create the basis structure and then on top of this i layered tissue paper to create some sort of human lantern.
the first image is myself wrapped in fairy lights which would go inside the lantern to light it up.

The next 4 week project we were given the title Self portrait in a metaphorical box. We had to create a linear cube and create a self portrait inside that would represent ourselves. I had this idea of making it look like a stage, and a circus with curtains.

So that you could open it and keep some parts closed. Like my personality i don't like to show it all at once, i keep things back. Thats what all the different sections are too my box: the different ideas of my personality. The frontal side i represented it like a fashion shop window because of my interest in fashion and how i was to peruse it as my further career and at university. I added all different objects that relate to fashion.

You might see at the top of this some fairy lights. I wanted it to feel homely and all girlie like myself, so inside the apex roof i have inserted fairy lights which reflect on all the different sides apart from the basement.
The basement i have tried to represent as the saying "everyone has skeletons in their closet" ( had to put a skeleton in there. I scratched all my fears into the paint and made it all gloomy. So you can't really see it as much as all the other things in my box. I don't show all my fears and try to hide it all from people, hence it being dark and at the bottom underneath everything else.
The other side i made a chalk board. Childs toy. Because i am still a child at heart. Also this can be changed and wiped off. It doesn't have to stay the same and i can draw anything on it. Showing my passion for art.

The last section to my box, was the upper part of the basement. I made this my home, and a warm side. I love being at home and that is where i feel safe and myself. I added carpet for warmth, and the lettering HOME and LOVE. I made 2 clay cats, which represent my two cats i have poppy and simba.

********RECYCLABLE STRUCTURE. ( go on repetitive forms page )******