Over the last year I have discovered a lot about myself as an artist such as my strengths & weaknesses. I have also learned some new skills & research.  My main weaknesses would be angles (3D perspective), outline, & the facial structure. My main strengths are colour (blending & mixing), shading (tone), & detail (mark making). The new skills I have learned are various types of monoprinting, and textiles like sewing and stuffing. I particularly enjoyed textiles & making a mini stuffed animal for my theme at the time. I have came across quite a few artists & photographers who’ve influenced me & my work such as: Blossfeldt, Anna Atkin, Ana Mendieta,Tsang Jonstone, Käthe Kollwitz, Edvard Munch & Nigel Henderson. 

 

The theme I have chosen to explore is distortion. Distortion is when something is pulled, twisted & manipulated to change the shape/look. This interests me because there’s a wide range of things I can experiment with. E.g: faces, objects, animals, & landscapes... My aims are to create uncomfortable & horror related pieces of work while also photographing things in different compositions e.g: through water, shaped glass, broken mirror, reflections e.t.c.. I would also like to experiment with photograms.  

I am also linking my project to emotions & have made a sub theme ‘behind the mask’. 

The concept of my project is ‘behind the mask’. The aim is to display hidden emotions that we hide on a day to day basis through creative & expressive ways - also adding distortion any way I can.  

I will experiment with at least 3 materials  

out of chalk, charcoal, oil pastel, oil based ink & acrylic. I will also be experimenting with 3D materials like clay & wire - perhaps resin if there’s enough time.  I’m planning to make a 3D piece & or a lino print for my final piece. 

 

For every piece of work I do, there’s always a plan, research & annotations connected explaining what the piece of work is, how it links to the theme, and a what went well & a how could I improve. I always went back and reflected on my research to come up with new ideas. Self-reflection is very important as it helps points out strengths & weaknesses.