24/01/12 - Collage drawing of objects

Today, we created a collage of drawings from objects on the table before us, using mixed media. At first, we created small sketches of what we planned on drawing from the objects around us and stuck them in our sketchbooks. I used charcoal, chalk and pencil to create the images. When I used chalk, I drew on black tissue paper so it stood out.

We took inspiration from the artist Ben Nicholson, a lot of his work is flat still life with bold colour and shapes. There isn't so much detail in his work in comparison to other artists, however it is just as effective. I like his use of colour, they're not the exact set colour of the object, they are different and stand out. It showed me that I do not need to be precious with my work, and that sometimes mistakes can have a positive outcome in my work as his work shows that perfection is not needed to create a quality piece of work.

Ben Nicholson was a British painter of abstract compositions of landscape and still-life. He had a gift of incorporating European trends into a new style that was recognizably his own, from the likes of Picasso who used cubism. His first notable work was following a meeting with the playwright J. M. Barrie on holiday, Barrie used Nicholson's drawing as a base for a poster for the play, Peter Pan. He was a great traveler and ventured to many places such as America, Paris and Switzerland. He believed that abstract art should be enjoyed by the general public so he created a mural for the garden of Sutton Place in Surrey. Some of his artwork can be seen at the Tate St Ives gallery, Kettle's Yard Art Gallery in Cambridge, and The Hepworth Wakefield.

In my A1 piece, I took into consideration his work and also from another artist, Rosie James. For her work, she uses sewing to outline things and fabrics. For the umbrella, I used a sewing machine to outline it, leaving pieces of the end of the string attached to give it texture and difference. I made the insides using newspaper and PVA to give it a shine, as this gives it a layering looks and to make it more interesting. For the two skulls, I used black and white tissue paper, chalk and charcoal, I then glued these down and plan on using PVA over the top when the entire piece of work is finished. I need to further develop this piece as it is a bit plain and needs more textured layers, colour and drawings. I need to develop other techniques into my work and work faster in order to get a better outcome than what I produced here.

Improvements:

I used a teabag to stain the page and make it look more interesting and less plain than having a white background.I also went over the skulls with chalk and charcoal again to make them bold and stand out more.

These are the objects I drew my sketches from and used to create the large final piece:

The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition held throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote the British contribution to science, technology, industrial design, architecture and the arts. 
At that time, shortly after the end of World War II, much of London was still in ruins and redevelopment was badly needed. The Festival was an attempt to give Britons a feeling of recovery and progress and to promote better-quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival of Britain described itself as "one united act of national reassessment, and one corporate reaffirmation of faith in the nation's future."

The arts were displayed in a series of country-wide musical and dramatic performances. Achievements in architecture were to presented in a new neighbourhood, the Lansbury Estate, planned, built and occupied in the Poplar district of London.

The Festival's centrepiece was the South Bank Exhibition, in the Waterloo area of London, which demonstrated the contribution made by British advances in science, technology and industrial design, displayed, in their practical and applied form, against a background representing the living, working world of the day.

Kid Acne

At just 12, Kid Acne began painting graffiti inspired by scale, colour and immediacy and knew from then, he was talented. Today, his artwork can be seen world wide in Sheffield, London, Manchester, Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, Barcelona, Milan, Paris, Lyon, New York, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and many more in places he has travelled to and he has even worked for world's leading brands like Prada and many others.

Acne was born in South Africa and was raised in Leicestershire, he is now currently based in Sheffield; Kid Acne has released a number of records sporadically throughout the past decade in the genre of rap. They have been very successful to the young hip audiences who enjoy rap and hip-hop music. He was first inspired to write from listening to his friend’s pirate radio when he was young, he wanted to create his own music to express himself other than through his artwork.

His art career began with an appearance on Rolf's Cartoon Club at the age of twelve. Within a year, he'd started writing graffiti by its’ infinity of being anything he wanted it to be, he loved creating artwork. He has painted large murals in Sheffield and across the globe; he has designed Prada T-Shirts, skateboards, and knitwear. He also has his own spray cans and has designed a new range of toys for New York's Kid Robot brand.

With a small group of friends, he spent his teenage years making underground fanzines and releasing limited run 7's on their Invisible Spies imprint. In 2001 the comic book, Kid Acne jointly created Zebra Face with Supreme Vagabond Craftsman. The book follows the adventures of a two dimensional zebra faced superhero and his diabetic sidekick as they battle in a 2D galaxy of scattered baddies. Through indie record, book and clothes stores and by mail order, Acne proudly shifted 1000 globally with no distribution deal website or blog. Now ‘five, three minute animated pilots are being developed, as adaptations from the book’ set to screen this time next year, with new scenarios.

I think that Kid Acne's work is very original, he has created his own style over the years, bringing through what he learnt when he was young and improved on it so much. He uses bright bold colour in his graffiti work, surrounded by a thick black line to make it stand out and to catch the eye of passers by. His work is cartoon like, perhaps to promote towards younger people to inspire them into making their own art and to be original in what they do, like him. Not many graffiti artists have a cartoon theme like his; it definitely stands out from the crowd and is recognizable to almost anyone who knows anything about artwork, as it is completely original. I could use bits of his style in my own work at some point when relevant as it is effective and I really like the style. He is incredibly successful and has a large fan base across the globe.



Here is one of my favorites from a vast range of his work, I love how simple it is, a black and white image with a unique design of twins who look like they might possibly dressed as sunflowers. Their faces are strange, almost as if they are quinting at something or maybe that's just how they look.


I also like his quote pieces, I like how they are all in a similar style when it comes to the font and the actual design except with different colours, making them noticeably his as they are unique to his personality and reflect who he is. This work can be seen in many different places from sides of houses, buildings, walls and on canvas', like this particular image.

Green Wash

Greenwash
From reading the Greenwash Guide, I have found that Greenwash means false advertising and the promotion of 'so called' environmentally friendly policies or products. Many companies promote environmentally friendly products to consumers however, there is no truth in their words unless it has been proved. They use scientific words without actually having any meaning in them (the guide calls this 'fluff,') fooling the buyers into believing the company know what they are talking about. A basic censorship over the truth of the product. It was taken from the term 'Whitewash.' To whitewash is a metaphor meaning to gloss over or cover something up. It is especially used in the context of corporations, governments or other organisations.

Research into Coastal Erosion

Coastal change is part of a natural process created by waves.

• Waves bring with them particles of rocks and sand that grind the cliff down.
• The constant force of water against the shore wears it away.
• The action of powerful waves causes rocks and pebbles from the shore to smash into each other and break up.
• Acids in the sea also slowly dissolve certain types of rocks.

Erosion of coasts with hard rocks tends to be slower, and can form dramatic rock formations over time, including tunnels, bridges, columns or pillars. Coastal erosion and coastal flooding are often linked, one may lead to another.

JRF impacts of Climate Change - This website states that there is a direct link of coastal erosion to climate change. They state that local communities in the area of the coast will be greatly affected as changes a progressively becoming faster. 'Coastal areas are likely to be highly vulnerable to climate change because, in addition to changes in temperature and precipitation and more frequent flooding, they will be affected by rises in sea level and wave heights and accelerated coastal erosion.' This may mean that soon, the people who live here will have to move before the problem gets worse and they are put in danger. Erosion rates vary significantly from area to area, some parts of the coast are eroding faster than others.

There is also a fear for the habitats of the animals that live on the coast. Mostly, the feeding ground for birds are in danger and the birds themselves. They feed from salt marsh, mudflats and beaches and these are gradually dissapearing with the rising of the tides and the coast eroding away with it. There are habitat creation programmes that have been set up to protect them by relocating them elsewhere through the Enviroment Agency. If these changes are not made, there is a risk of damaging the eco-system as birds of the coast will die out from a lack of food, also if they cannot find food anywhere else other than where they usually feed. The Enviroment Agency has already taken action in attempts to try and save the coast and wildlife. Nine offshore breakwaters have been constructed to protect the coast around Sea Palling. The purpose of the breakwaters is to prevent storm waves from reaching the beach and to alter the natural processes so that a wider beach is able to develop behind them. In addition to the defences preventing waves from eroding the cliffs, there are also numerous structures that help prevent groundwater from causing erosion.


People who are not living near the coast and live inland, may not be affected by the erosion of the coast however wildlife may be. There could be disruptions in the food chain if the birds begin to die out from starving, therefore other species of animals will be affected. This will eventually lead to humans being affected, as there will be mass amounts of species beginning to die out. 


One of the main campaigns to help save the coast is the NVCC. They were 'set up to meet the growing need for a combined resource for all the various groups around our shores campaigning to get Government to commit to defend our coastlines, and to ensure social justice for coastal communities.' Their policies consist of supporting the preservation of the coasts and keeping the welfare of local people and wildlife in mind. It is also a website to link other communities together so they can update and keep in touch. This way they can talk about what is happening in their area and if there is any support needed in campaigning for their local coast.


There are five generic strategies for coastal defense:

• Do nothing, no protection, leading to eventual abandonment
• Managed retreat or realignment, which plans for retreat and adopts engineering solutions that recognise natural processes of adjustment, and identifying a new line of defence where to construct new defences
• Hold the line, shoreline protection, whereby seawalls are constructed around the coastlines
• Move seawards, by constructing new defenses seaward the original ones
• Limited intervention, accommodation, by which adjustments are made to be able to cope with inundation, raising coastal land and buildings vertically

The decision to choose a strategy is site-specific, depending on pattern of relative sea-level change, geomorphological setting (how the land looks), sediment availability and erosion, as well a series of social, economic and political factors. A conclusion was made that the best defence against erosion is a natural wide flat beach topped off at the inshore end with either high deep sand dunes or a shingle bank. These natural structures absorb the wave energy and offers protection be it for flood plain or erodable cliff. Rock could also be used as a defense strategy as it protects the base of seawalls and prevents direct attack and damage of the wall from fierce waves. Another advantage of using rock is that if the rocks are moved during heavy storms it is a simple procedure to replace them in the correct position. The use of rock armour in certain areas may look out of place and is not suitable for use in all locations and other ideas may have to be taken into consideration.