Now I need to add type to the poster, so ive done some research into typography and the different ways people have used it. Alot of these examples ive used I have done almost the same type of thing in my sketchbook. I particularly like cutting the type out of the paper leaving a stencil, stencils are great for making a piece of type look look different in many ways. You can paint onto the stencil, use ink, pen oil pastels and you can also use the stencil itself as the type and put something behind it like a print or a photo.

This is one that has been cut out and ive done this a few times, its a simple and effective method. I like how this one is 3d and the cut outs have been used with the stencil instead of being thrown away.

This piece looks like it may have been done with a stencil and then ink has been splattered around the neat type giving it this look which ive often done and I think it looks great.

I think this may have just been drawn straight onto the paper but it looks like it has been sewn on. Ive done some sewing in the obs and comms project and I also used it in my final piece and it looks great, so I could use the same type of method for this piece because I like using textiles.

At first I thought that this was a stencil but its actually photos of buildings from below and the  shapes of the buildings have created a letter which looks great, I can imagine this taking a long time to find buildings that are layed out like this but it really looks great. I really could have used this method in my last project because it was about architecture.

Now that I have done this research I've come to the conclusion that I want to use a stencil for the final poster design. I may paint on the stencil or just use the stencil itself. Now I need to find a font that I want to use which I wont find very hard. I need a type that goes well with my swirly cone shape sculpture, so I need a swirly font.

Ive now made my final sculpture and I've taken some experimental photos of the piece. To set up the photo area I used black paper against my bedroom wall and used a bedroom lamp to light up the sculpture.

I like the angle of this photo but unfortunatly you can see the crease in the paper, so if i wanted to use this I would have to put the photo on photoshop and erase the the crease.

I love the lighting on this piece but its a bit to bright at the front and you cant really see the detail of the cones, so I need to either move the light further back or put a light piece of paper infront of the light to dim it. But I do like how the light gives a big shadow behind it.

I really like this photo because it really shows the detail of the cones but its not very bright and I dont like how one side is bright and the other is a lot darker. I think what I'm going to do next is add a light to the back of the sculpture so that the light shines through the cones making it look like a lamp shade. I also noticed when I look through the back and close one eye it gives a honey comb effect but when I tried to take a photo of it it didnt work because the holes are too small for the camera.

I really like how this has come out but id like it to be a bit brighter but trying different angles just didnt seem to work and the light I had wasnt bright enough for the effect I wanted.

This isnt a very good photo but its an example of the fact I couldnt get it bright enough but I still like the idea and think I could make it look a lot better if I had a stronger light and different surroundings.



Heres some more experiments I have done at home. I came up with this method when experimenting with simply folding and pleating paper into a fan like form and the more I folded this piece it started to go round and form into a spiral shape. When I streched it out and placed it down it crinkled into this shape which i think looks very effective and gives great shadows. I then held it up to see how it looked and this also was an effective experiment. But I'm not sure where else I could go with this idea I suppose I could make a few more like this but in different sizes and see how well they fit together, or I could make a very big one and see how that works out.

Heres some primary research on spiral forms that may inspire me to think more about what I could do with this form. I've always loved the art nouveau movement, and particularly the architectural side. I love flowers and nature and art nouveau is very swirly and inspired by nature. Ive always loved this staircase done by Belgum architect Victor Horta.

Now I've looked at this staircase its made me think about what I want to do for the poster design. I love the intrequite patterns and swirls in art nouveau pieces and I particularly like the artist Alphonse Mucha. The borders around the posters are exactly what I'm thinking of using and I could also use some of the folded paper patterns ive experimented with, I could even use the spiral staircase as a pop up on the poster.

Cones!

Because I was thinking of simple shapes and repeating them I suddenly thought about cones and how easy it could be to make a structure. I started off by cutting out different sized and length circles out and ,making them into cones and then sticking them together I also stuck them into each other having a smaller cone in a bigger one! The shadows that they create in and around the cones are great.

Heres some ptimary research on cone shaped objects and natural forms that could inspire me to think of a new way to put cones together.

Heres some more research on cone shapes and artists that have used paper, the piece below is a shop floor design of a paper cave which is a great example of the use of repetition and how effective it can be.

This is a great piece for inspiration as ive already being playing around with sort of idea, i like that the cones arent attached to anything so that when you lift the sculpture up it looks like a beehive with all the small holes at the end which is pretty cool if it was a hanging piece.

I love making jewelery and this is a beautiful way of using cones but I dont think this is made out of paper and its also attached with a chain which my brief doesnt allow, but still its a lovely idea and makes me think about the many ways I can apply my skills and creativity.

Inspiration and pretty things..

Heres a few of richard sweeneys peices, some of them are simple patterns and when put together they look very complex when really theyre quite simple. He does a lot of big pleated bits of paper and bends them into hilly like structures.

 Heres some pieces from Helen Mussel White an artist and illustrator that makes distinctive hand crafted work that makes a strong impact. I personally think that this work really stands out and its bright bold characters are great to look at.

Experimenting with the more simple ideas..

After getting an understanding of how richard manipulates paper I found it hard to do exactly what he was doing and I think I was trying too hard to make something really complex like his pieces can be!
So I stopped trying bend paper in all directions and adding as many cuts and creases and i just made this simple piece. I just got a small piece of paper and cut 5 mm slits in and put creases in each line and when taking a photo of it it really looked cool!

Workshop 1 with Richard Sweeney

Wednesday 26th Jan

This is our first paper engineering workshop with Richard Sweeney.
Richard studied Art and Design in 2002 and then went on to study three dimensional design which led him to hand manipulating paper into sculpture like forms.He also does photography and takes photos of his pieces and catches the light and shadows that they create.

Richard started by giving us a demonstration of a simple paper design and showed us how the paper bends, hangs and creates shadows. At first I thought this exercise was going to be simple but as soon as i started I realised how hard it was to make the paper do what i wanted it to.

Heres a few experiments I did in the workshops;