Artwork Update July

Hi everyone! I'm here to update you on how my first 2 weeks back at TAFE have gone.

I'm starting lots of self-directed projects this term, which is both worrying and exciting because I have to come up with my own ideas for what to make (within subject guidelines).

For my conceptual drawing class I am continuing the drawings I did of draped sheets (around me) in bed that I showed you a month ago (here). I have new photos and I'm starting by experimenting with different materials. My first little tests are these two:

The drawing on the left was done with compressed charcoal (and was drawn with a little less care, I must admit), and the right drawing is willow charcoal (like my previous drawings). Upon careful consideration my teacher and I decided that the right one is better. What do you think?

Then for my multi-disciplinary drawing class my big idea is to do a lot of text and drawings using wire and hot glue. So far it's not turning out anywhere near as elegant as I imagined:

 I bet you can't read what it says!

 I have two painting classes, and in one of them I am painting myself. It took a lot of courage to decide to do that, because the positions I'm in are related to when I was ill with OCD and struggling to get into bed. But I wanted to paint the figure, and I can't get a live model in class every week, so I came up with this. I started the first painting today. Here's a look at my work area at TAFE:

And here's what I'd done after my first class today:

It is just the bare shapes at the moment. I really struggled getting the proportions right, and even now I am not happy with it. My teacher assures me it can all be fixed though so I'm not despairing (yet).

And lastly here is a quick look at the three paintings I did for our project week at Luna Park. They are now on display at my TAFE. What do you think?

Guest Artist Feature July 2012

It's time for the first guest artist feature here on Hannah Goanna. I chose an artist who's latest work really amazed me: Deb Affleck - a fellow art student at Kogarah TAFE.

The story behind these works is that our drawing teacher guided us in making ink drawings by putting a bit of paint on one side of a piece of paper ripped from an old book, then folding the paper and opening to reveal the pattern. I showed some of my own works from these here and here.

Deb wasn't able to make it to that class, and so didn't realise that we were doing them so large! But I'm glad, because she ended up with these beautiful works:

They're not very big - unfortunately I did not measure them but maybe about  40-50cm tall? Deb has used string to bind the little ink drawings in the frames in a way that recall pinned insects! I am in love with them! Unfortunately these photos do not do them justice.

Here's what Deb has to say about these works titled "Life in Motion":

"This artwork evolved due to a number of associations I saw.
The Rorschach exercise got me thinking of my interpretation of how as a tool in psychiatry and psychology, Rorschach is used to attempt to 'pin down' a person's thoughts, shadows, patterns, processes, strengths, etc. This brought to mind images of butterflies being preserved & displayed in cases; colour and life pinned, no longer able to move.
In searching for the book to use [to rip paper out of], I was so fortunate to find the perfect one amongst the discard pile. Perfect because it told the mythological, archetypal story known as "The Hero's Journey"-a concept used in various healthcare modalities to encourage people along their healing and life journey. "The Jason Voyage" by Tim Severin told the tale of how a man with a passionate vision convinced others to join him in proving that the Greek myth of Jason and The Golden Fleece was probable, and not a fable. They did it in 1984.
They lived and breathed The Hero's Journey, and combining this with the Rorschach concept and the butterfly concept fueled a passion in me to create this artwork.
I hope you enjoy, and are uplifted by it."
Deb Affleck 2012

Please leave comments if you like these as much as I do!

You can contact Deb at either of these emails:
debaffle_ck@hotmail.com
debaffleckartist@gmail.com

Knitting Update July 2012

Hello everyone!

I have just finished putting up all the new dolls my nanna has knitted lately. I have also rearranged the knitting gallery (link above) so that it shows dolls already sold - dolls that are still for sale can be seen at my shop.

I'm really amazed by how pretty all the dolls are. Nanna loves to experiment with colours, and she really does a great job.

I would really appreciate it if you pass the shop link to anyone who might like a doll. Here's some of the new dolls:

Jewellery Update July 2012

I have been making some new jewellery and taking better photos in the last week. Below is a sneak peek of some of my new work coming soon to my shop. What do you think?

Unfortunately this jewellery is not going to plan. I'll have to work on them more before I can put them in my shop - sorry for any premature excitement!

Artwork Update June 2012 Part 4

Now I'd like to show you the best of my work from my Conceptual Drawing class. I set it all up on a wall in my classroom (sorry about the desk in the way):

Here are some close ups. First, my ink/water drawings based on the bark of a tree in an old National Geographic:

My favourite drawings for the year. These I did on cartridge paper with willow charcoal (using paper stumps). They are made from photos I took of myself in bed. I like them so much (and got good feedback on them from my teacher) that I plan to use this technique for my self-directed project next term.

Here are some small ink drawings that are inspired by my experience with mental illness.

"Pretend"

 

"Fear"

"Insatiable"

 You might recognise this one as similar to a drawing from 2011 called "Illness" - this was inspired by it, but I'm not sure which version I prefer.

 "Desperation"

"Distraction"

 

 "Madness"

 I'm not 100% happy with this. I meant it to be never-ending, always changing, but with a more jagged edge than shown here.

These are my first works for this year, that were for a project about blurring images. I used one of my mum's kitchen dishes, and experimented with charcoal, fixative, and rubbers.

My favourite technique I discovered was used to make the drawing below. I drew the dish with willow, compressed charcoal, and white conte. Then I fixed it, then went over the top with red conte. Finally I used my rubber to smear the red conte into a pattern.

Finally, I am also fond of these artworks. Like the bark drawings above, these were inspired by images of flowers and leaves in old National Geographics. I used white pens on paper, then water to make these ghost-like effects.

I would love comments about what you think of these artworks, by the way. :)

Artwork Update June 2012 Part 3

 Here are some of my best drawings that I have done so far this year...

 This was done by taping two pens to a piece of dowl, then sticking the dowl in a drill, and using the drill to make these circular patterns. It took some practice and trial and error, but I'm pleased with the finished drawing.

This is some self portraits done in ink. I wasn't particularly pleased with them, but my teacher liked them, so I'm not complaining! :)

 These are two drawings that were inspired by the movie Galaxy Quest (a favourite of mine). The top image is an ink adaptation of a scene from the movie on the planet they visited. The lower image is the script from that scene written out by hand. 
[I just realised the top one is upside down! Oh dear...]

These are the best of my ink drawings (that I showed all together a few months ago). They were done by putting ink on pages from an old book, and folding the paper in half.

This is my collage, that I call the Phoenix. It's a bit weird, but I like it.

Pet Diary June 2012

We've had terrible weather lately here in Sydney! Yesterday (Queen's Birthday public holiday) was so cold that I caught Georgie (my dog) shivering! So I went rummaging in his wardrobe box for a jumper (the first time I remember having to do that in his life!). I found that he's grown out of all his jumpers! That's quite mind-boggling to me, since he's so tiny!

Anyway, I went searching for a shop open on the public holiday, and eventually found that Pet Barn at Alexandria was open, so my wonderful mum drove me out there and I picked up two blue jumpers. I wasn't the only one there looking for winter dog clothing!

So, here's his new clothes. First a light blue jumper that says "Good at being bad" on the back. I left that on him last night while he slept because I was worried he'd be cold.

Then a warmer jumper (that has been dubbed his 'pimp' jumper). I stopped myself from getting anything with hoods because though they are adorable, Georgie absolutely hates them!

He's such a good model! He just sat any way I put him while I took the photos! I should have taken photos of him in his raincoat too, but another time maybe.
I plan to buy him more winter wear soon! I might even order him this adorable beanie I found on etsy here