This week, a lot of people have been on a course trip to Paris. I did not go, not because of lack of interest but mainly because of money. So while uni is quite quiet, I have used this opportunity to make use of the large scanners. Over the week I've been taking in all my work that I've done , to scan. This has taken a while, but is something that I would have needed to do before I leave uni. I now have all my work backed up digitally and ready to use for a website and for the portfolios we will need to put together. For the rest of my time, I've continued to read Carter's 'Nights at the Circus'.

Week Summary : week 2. 31st Jan - 6th Febth

• Scanning.
• Reading of Angela Carter's 'Nights At The Circus'

Didn't miss this one!

Fig Taylor's lecture provided insight into the working world of illustrators. Her information on the different areas of illustrative work and her advice on what to include in our portfolios was very useful. This afternoon I managed to meet with fig and show her my most recent sketch book. She guessed that the work was based on 'The Bloody Chamber', which must have been a good thing.

One Day Project : Identity...

On Tuesday 25th, the 3rd years gathered together to brainstorm ideas for the theme of our exhibition. Ideas were based around the university and the city of Southampton, particularly the docks :
Art School, 130 years,
Nautical, the sea,
Compass, travel, cruise ship, import and export, docks, containers
MOUSTACHE! (inspired by our very own Peter Lloyd!) - Victorians,
B movie poster- theatrical.


After a few hours of sketching we agreed (sort of) on the idea of making a small theatrical stage for a show. Within this stage we can place various back drops, such as of the docks and produce a series of scenarios. I think that we are heading in in the direction of suggesting a theatrical/ circus/ freak show theme! This allows groups of people from the course to select sections of the show to work on, such as the tickets to the show (both the degree show and the 'theatre show'), the stage, the boat to link to the dock, the posters, and so on.
The idea put forward so far, is that each student will choose a character from the show to draw from in their own unique style. They will then insert an appropriate (or not so appropriate, depending on the character) head shot of themselves onto their character. Eg Im tempted to go for the puppeteer and puppet, which relates to themes of my project, or the contortionist....just for comedy value!. To me this seems an exciting project however as it is quite a big production, we agreed to have more meetings concerning this to make sure everyone is happy and to check its working successfully. I am in the group creating the stage, so for now my jobs are to consider the lettering, the decorative top of the theatre curtains, and my characters. I wont put to much time into this just yet though, as all may change.


I haven't had much reading time so far...Im currently applying for university this following year. However its taking a while to complete the application. I'm trying to finish this before things really get going on the FMP. Almost finished though...hope to spend the last couple of hours on it after the lecture tomorrow.


After the trial of my last, and first, blog below, I've decided that I will keep this format of entry for my presentation blog. So I hope to post something of interest daily :).

Jon Norris Wood

Missed the Lecture today... Was waiting outside the wrong room. Doh! Thought it must of been cancelled last minute. Silly me. If it makes it any better, two interior design girls did the same as me. Not sure why they were going to it though.

And so it begins...

I'm using this blog as a continual reflection of the process of my final project for my BA(HONS) illustration degree, which was launched on Monday 24th January. Scary I know!


My initial interests/ ideas are to continue with themes found within fairytale and folklore. My interest in this area began in a 2nd year project, in which I chose to explore the darker meaning behind the fairytale 'Snow White'. I was not aware of the hidden symbolism and sinister tones that were evident within fairy tales before this project and I not only enjoyed the practical side, but found the researching interesting.


For my previous project, I became aware, for the first time, of Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber' book. The short stories were so well suited to my interests, and linked to feminist themes that I had based my dissertation upon. I decided to base my work on her first story within the book.


Pete has asked us to think about, and write a review for our last projects. This will help us to understand our strengths and weaknesses, to improve our FMP's




(A review of my previous 'options project: )

  My chosen theme for my dissertation was‘gender and sexuality’. Within this theme, I focused upon the portrayal of women through imagery, particularly within advertising. This also led me to explore the way in which women are treated by men, and how they respect themselves in return. With the knowledge I had gained from the completion of my dissertation, I was drawn to Angela Carter’s book, “The Bloody Chamber- and Other Short Stories”, as a theme to my options project.

   My options project consisted of drawing from parts of the first story within the book, “The Bloody Chamber”, that I found of most interest. This included themes of masks being used to hide one’s true, dark, identity and the idea of women being compared to fragile, innocent lambs while men are compared to lions whom want to corrupt this innocence. I also used the theme of love and marriage being linked with violence and death. This was achieved through the use of images portraying, blood dripping lilies, as lilies were used as marital flowers but also as funeral flowers. In addition to this, I produced a series of images of a ruby chocker that symbolised a marital gift but also hinted at a slit throat and to the way in which the young bride was to meet her death. This leads me to another theme that I explored within my project, idea that the young bride, was tempted by her murdering husband’s riches, such as, the large castle, and a luxurious life style and the gifts that he provided for her. This links to an element of my dissertation, that women feel the need to accessorise, to adapt and improve their self image through material goods. This is in order to appeal to men and other women. The girl’s temptation of material gain was to lead to her downfall- her death.

   The story can be linked to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve as the girl is told by her partner not to enter the locked room. But she, like Eve is tempted by the knowledge she will gain of her husband from doing so. However this girl, with the help of her independent mother, manages to escape her punishment which symbolises a break from stereotypical opinions of an obedient, suppressed wife. From the knowledge gained of her husband, and through her mother’s influence the girl learnt to brake the chain of women viewing themselves as under control of (or at the mercy of ) men, and determine her own destiny. However my project did not focus on this aspect of the story. Therefore there is an opportunity to continue this theme within my final major project.

   Throughout out my project I continued to use colour themes that were mentioned within the story, white, representing innocence, red, symbolising the blood of violence and women’s bleeding, and black representing dark intentions.  I achieved this through the medium of inks, paints and coloured card. My final outcomes took the form of a series of quotes relevant to my final illustrations that were place within large, white and red screen printed mirror or picture frames. A quote was followed by the relevant image, which had been improved using Photoshop, and then also placed within a frame. The frames relate to a sense of wealth that was evident within the book. Furthermore, they refer to quotes that describe a collection of images of women and indeed the male figure’s own corpse collection. I also completed three colourgraphs which I completed within the print room, again printing using white black and red. These posters consisted of the bloody chamber door and two of the wives, the ‘Evening Star’ and the ‘Opera Singer’. The posters included many symbols which I had explored within my sketch book. Finally, a made a large box in which I painted in order to appear as the ‘bloody chamber door’. I included the card cut I produced for my door print, resembling wood, on the lid as well as a fake, decorative, key and lock. All elements of my project were then placed inside the box.

   In review of my project, I am pleased with my sketchbook work. I feel I have explored the story’s themes and ideas efficiently and have shown an understanding of the story’s symbolism and dark nature. I have also moved away from the story slightly in order to add elements as an example of my own imagination. However, I have continued with strong themes, such as colour, throughout my project. I feel however that my final pieces are somewhat of an anti climax. I believe that they are not to the standard expected from viewing my preparatory work. I believe I need to settle on an effective outcome earlier on in my next project. I must choose a pathway that works well with my style of working. I also attempted to explore all areas of the book that interests me, and while I did complete the majority of work that I wanted to, this may have produced added pressure. By narrowing down quotes, sections or themes that I wish to explore, I may have more time to concentrate on final pieces. Moreover I may have a clear indication of what I want to do. 






Here's what i intend to do for this new project....

Proposal for FMP

 For my final major project, I would like to continue to explore fairytales and folklores and their feminist and underlying dark themes. My dissertation was based on gender and sexuality, focusing on the way in which women have been portrayed within visual images and the media. Knowledge that I have gained from the completion of my dissertation will influence my project and supply a useful background.

     During my previous project, I became aware of the author Angela Carter. I would like to continue exploring her stories for my next project. A story that has inspired me so far is called “Ashputtle, Or the Mother’s Ghost”.  This story consists of 3 versions of Carters story, which seems to be based upon the story of Cinderella.

Wangechi Mutu is an artist who also explores feminist themes and whose work I enjoy. Mutu uses a collage of images of female body parts and mechanical parts to construct her own unique species of women. She focuses on the idea that her women have survived some kind of a war that has altered them in many ways, but has also made them stronger and more powerful. She confronts stereotypical ideas of beauty through her women.

Mutu. I Have Peg Leg Nightmares, 2003, 

('Wangechi Mutu A Shady Promise' book.)

Paula Rego is another artist who deals with the sinister twist in fairytales.  She successfully captures an uneasy atmosphere within all of her images. This is an element that I would like to create within my own images. Rego also uses etching within her work. This is a medium that has been suggested to me for this project.

Rego, The Family,

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://library.thinkquest.org/17016/family.jpg&imgrefurl=http://library.thinkquest.org/17016/depart.htm&usg=__YOkgR7XB3jfSa71GCiFWqQB4tSQ=&h=638&w=59

Two other artists that have been suggested to me to inform my project are Ana Maria Pacheco and Marcelle Hanselaar. Both Pacheco and Hanselaar's use etching to create an uneasy atmosphere, similarly to Rego.

Pacheco, Dark Night Of The Soul, 1994,

http://www.culture24.org.uk/places+to+go/east+of+england/norwich/art24228

Hanselaar, La Petite Mort 7, 2005,

http://www.culture24.org.uk/places+to+go/east+of+england/norwich/art2422

Literary work that may inform my project, in addition to Carter, is Marina Warner’s ‘From the Beast to the Blonde’, and possibly Bruno Bettelhelm's ‘The Uses of Enchantment’. A useful website is http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/ . These texts will further my understanding of the symbolism that is used within fairytales.

I think I will use mainly ink and paints for my project. I will attempt etching with aquatint, as suggested, but as I have not tried this before, I am unsure as of yet how successful this process will be. In the event that the etching does not go to plan, I will also experiment with stitching. This would link to the time period of fairytales and to connotations of a ‘woman’s job’.

As for now, I have taken out some more of Carter's books form the university library and I am keeping in mind the other short stories within 'The Bloody Chamber'....


....Bring on the reading!

Week Summary : week 1. 24th-29th

• Presentation Document launch
• Presentation Document work shop
• One Day Project: Identity
• Self Promotion project Launch
• Tutorial with Peter Lloyd
• Presentation Document Introduction: What is a 'Pres Doc'?
• Review of 'Options' Project
• Proposal for FMP
• Reading of Angela Carter's 'Nights at the Circus'
• Lecture: John Norris Wood
• Lecture: Fig Taylor: portfolio consultant 

About me

Hey! I am an illustration student currently in my third year studying at Southampton Solent University. Through university, i have been influenced by feminist theory and the darker side to fairytale and folklore. Therefore, I have chosen a project that is based on Angela Carter's story, 'Ashputtle, Or the Mother Ghost'. Carter's story is based on the Brother Grimms 'Cinderella' story. Carter often explores the darker side to fairytales. I wanted to reflect this within my imagery, using shadow and suggestion to create an uneasy atmosphere.


I became interested in researching the symbolism and true meaning behind fairytales after a second year project based on this theme. I had not been aware of this sinister side and enjoyed looking further. 


Through the use of this blog, I realised that I have been interested in the meaning behind images since my A Levels. It was during this time that I remember researching Botticelli's work. I was interested in the reasons to why he included certain element within his work. For example, using bees to refer to a family that he worked for (Vespe family= vespe= bees). His work was like a puzzle and encouraged me to think about them after viewing them. 


This blog has also reminded me of a 'shadow' project a was given for my As exam work. This theme was one of about five. We were then able to chose which theme we wanted to work on. I didn't realise this before writing my blog, but i have been interested in this theme since (as I have now chosen to use a similar theme). I have discovered that I also enjoy images that use suggestion or have an uneasy or mysterious atmosphere to them. Again this is because they make me wonder what is going on in the picture.


At university, I gained knowledge of art history through university lectures. I chose to study Art History at As Level. I enjoy learning about art as much as I enjoy making it. During lectures, I specifically enjoyed classes on semiotics.


All these influences including knowledge that I have gained from my 'gender and sexuality' dissertation,  have encouraged me to produce my own work which I hope leaves viewers questioning and looking further into my images.

About the presentation document blog

I am using this blog as a reflective diary to record the development through my 3rd year BA(Hons) Illustration, final, major project which is a series of aquatints for Angela Carter's story, Ashputtle. I want to use a blog for my presentation document mainly because i have never used a blog and I want to learn how to. I chose to continue using a blog because it was easy to access at home and at uni, it was neat and organised and i believe it looks more professional.

Contents

1. About the presentation document blog     22/01/11

2. About me                                             22/01/11

3. Reflective Diary                                     24/01/11 - 13/05/11

4. Conclusion                                           13/05/11

5. Bibliography                                         13/05/11