I thought about studying another author, because I felt as though 504 was one of my strengths last year. It saw a huge turning point in my work, and gave me the confidence I needed to create the work I wanted. I liked exploring the life and works of Leonora Carrington, and creating work around my discoveries.
Beatrix Potter was not only an author, but an artist, a botanist (which I really love about her), a businesswoman and a pioneer. If i was to study her I think I would look into the botany side of things, her intelligence and her scientific illustrations.
I think she would be an incredibly interesting person to study and make work about.
Im doing a sculptural ceramics course starting November too, which could tie nicely into this brief if I was to do it.
Ive recently finished watching a new series called 'The Get down' on Netflix, which was about the music scene in the Bronx in the 1970's-80's.
I didn't really know anything about the bronx until i watched this, about the poverty and the neglect after the war, and the crime that immersed because of this. I found it really interesting. The disco and hiphop scene around this time is something that really grabbed my attention, and that I thought I could make into one of my briefs.
Im still on the fence about this one at the moment, but it could definitely work.
Could do some old school posters, zines could make it into a narrative, could look at the fashion and the costume and the underground scene. I could screen print and experiment with vibrant colours that could contrast the bleakness of the Bronx. Lots of possibilities, and thats definitely what this is for now.
The idea behind this has come gradually over the summer months. I started working at surf snowdonia, which has sparked and inspired me massively. I see a potential gap in the market for a clothing brand that promotes and encourages outdoor activities, has a positive impact on health in the younger generations.
Ive got a few ideas kicking around. For example, I like the idea of it being a gender neutral company, that potentially sells clothes, longboards skateboards, surfboards etc. That promotes healthy eating and exercise.
I see a gap in the market for illustrated garments. Ripcurl is one of the most renowned surf brands, yet I feel it lacks authenticity.
This is as illustrative as it gets really. Yes, simple is good and what not, but I feel like more can be achieved. So a gender mutual clothing range focusing on extreme sports and general health.
This brief combines a bunch of my passions, which is why I think it could be successful. It's also something that could be continued after uni, which gives me more of an incentive to get it done.
Ive gathered a bunch of useful contacts over the summer, that could really make this work.
This is where I worked-
There's opportunities for collaborating here, for a potential future business, for growth and development and its something that gets me excited.
Last year, my house mate Joe and I started discussing the possibilities of a collaboration. As it happens, this is now the brief I am most excited about, as its a complete and utter challenge, and something that we will both have to work incredibly hard at.
"If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough!" (Great quote from the lecture yesterday thanks Sharon)
So our aim is to produce an A0 Lino cut. Definitely 2 colours, perhaps a reduction, and a very limited run. We want to make something that represents the diverse culture in Leeds. That celebrates how amazing this city is, its independence and its ever growing creativity.
Last year, Secret 7 turned out to be my favourite responsive brief, and probably the most successful.
I wasn't expecting to complete them all, however as I completed each one I became more and more interested in creating artwork for the music.
Secret 7 got me all creative. There were no restrictions. I tried everything.
Getting one in was a huge confidence boost for me last year, and made me realise what a successful piece of artwork is in the eyes of the viewer. I would like to enhance the skills I put into the piece that got through. Try some more paper cut, experiment some more.
I think I can better myself this year round, and hopefully the songs are amazing too. I think its important to build and learn from the achievements and mistakes of last year and mould them this year. The timing of this one will be good too, as it comes after dissertation hand in, as I don't want to choose competitions that will destroy me because of time management. Managing my time this year will be essential.
This year I would like to tackle this competition brief, and come up with something original, inventive and informative. I like the idea of telling my own story in picture form. I think its a really good one to get me going for the year, as the deadline is 2nd January, so would need to start thinking about it pretty soon.
WHY THIS BRIEF-
I really like the theme this year, and think that I could tie some Cop3 work into this story. Not something shocking, but perhaps a comic with the underlying message of global warming, and how this looks. Or perhaps a dystopian world. There's loads of options. I like how open it is.
There are no limitations to media, and the specs are very straight forward, a4 or a3, 1 to 4 pages. This gives lots of space to play around with, formats, interesting looking comics etc.
Like Lizzy Stewarts playful frames. Varied sizes, layouts etc.
Colour palettes will be important, and I think I should keep it to a minimum. I tend to over do colour, and I lack skill in colour palettes massively, so this should be a good chance for me to improve on this and challenge myself.
