Food- continued

I have begun working on designs for my alternative wallpaper incorporating the theme of food. I have been looking for food that has a pattern (natural and unnatural). So far I have developed designs using Curly Wurlys, pretzels and battenburg cake. I am currently working with my initial designs to find a suitable and interesting layout before screenprinting onto wallpaper. With my initial prints done, I will then be able to adapt them, adding more elements, changing materials etc.

Food (first term)

After researching the aesthetics of food and drink and looking at the physical values they have, I have developed a few ideas as to how to incorporate the theme into my practice.

• Collage with food packaging- Using waste/used food packaging to recreate a classic still life image of food.
• Recipe invention- Developing new recipes and techniques, using the food presention as art in itself.
• Food manipulation- Creating sculptures/ works of art using food products. Experimanting with, and pushing the boundaries of what food can do.
• Photography- A take on the "best in show" displays of fruit and vegetables at horticultural shows. Putting the oddest shaped produce on pisplay.
• Design- Incorporating foods natural aesthetics into wallpaper designs.

Year 2 project plan

This year I plan to work more in printing and textiles, perhaps combining the two. I will begin by looking at wallpaper design and develop my own individual designs through illustration and screen printing. I am interested in looking at layering images and colours, giving the designs more and more depth.
My designs to begin with will be based on natural patterns, for example leaves, shells, flowers, food etc. I am hoping to create alternative designs to the mass produced wallpapers seen in popular interior shops.

What I learnt on Year 1 Interactive Arts

At the end of Year 1 on Interactive Arts, I finally got my head around what was expected of me and my personal practice. On starting the course, i was under the impression that I had to create pieces of ultra modern art that had a deep rooted meaning and expressed shocking/political statements but didn't necessarily look any good. This idea worried me and for the first term, prevented me from producing and developing any work. After many reasuring tutorials I realised that making a statement was fine if you have a statement to make. If not, it is just as fine to produce work based on aesthetics and usage. Knowing this, I am now able to develop my own practice based on illustration and handy-craft.

A Collective Vision- Eyes Not Incuded

During the "summer", students on the MMU Interactive Arts course were given the opportunity to exhibit their own work in an exhibition curated by Ryan Campbell and Adriano Digaudio as part of the Free For Arts art festival.
Together with Ryan Campbell, we created a sculpture conveying the idea of anti-industry. We worked with moss to show how nature can overcome industrial/ man-made products and even adapt into forming strucural forms.
Although Ryan and I had the same general viewpoint on the subject, we had our own individual ideas of how to illustrate them using sculpture and installation. However after looking at each design idea, it was evident that one lead to the other quite "naturally".

New Contemporaries- Laura Zilionyte

From a wide and varied collection of artwork in the Cornerhouse "New Contemporaries" exhibition i found the two small paintings by Laura Zilionyte the most intriguing. The artist has used classic painting techniques and also classic images as the basis for her work. She chooses past/ historic images and re-works and re-edits them to create new meanings and scenarios. Although the image has no deffinate content (image consists of non-descript form and shape), there is a life to the image brought together by the use of chiaroscuro and the splash of strong colour which hold particular connotations. The artist has successfully combined the work and techniques from the past with a fresh, up to date idea of developing new ideas and meaning from a previously set piece. The paintings can be easily linked to the work of Caravaggio and perhaps the dutch Vanitas, yet remains ambiguous, allowing the viewer to develop their own opinion.