Acrylic

F R O M  B U Y I N G  T O  C U T T I N G

The acrylic sorting was a nightmare to say the least. In the end we had to order the perspex in from a larger supplier. Here is the link to the supplier website : http://www.plasticstockist.com/Clear-Perspex-Acrylic-Sheet/Clear-Cast-Perspex-Acrylic-Sheet.aspx

Luckily Eloise was amazing and ordered the perspex on her card and we all gave her the money which came to around £11.95 each. Overall we ordered 8 x 2mm perspex sheets which were to be delivered sometime the following week. We then organised a lazer cutting workshop with Aden who kindly managed to fit us in to his manic schedule when the perspex had been delivered.

Eloise kindly informed the group members who weren't here of our plans for the perspex and how our tiles were going to work.

Today we also discussed the idea of making a powerpoint presentation for the pitch, however, as the pitch is going to take place in the art cafe itself, we realised there wouldn't be anywhere to project it. Because of this we began as a group, writing up a pitch handout. We thought we could summarise our idea nicely in a leaflet as well as discussing it. 

Triangles, triangles and more triangles

FULL DAY IN THE STUDIO

Today has been an absolute killer and we all now feel as if our minds have been completely blown. None of us realised how difficult it would be to work out how our idea was actually going to work. We spent the entire day going from one idea to the next. Each one beginning great and ending up going back to the drawing board. This was mainly because we needed both an affordable idea and an idea that would be effective and show off our work to the best ability. We struggled a little today as some of the group members couldn't make it for good reason or didn't turn up. We felt we really could of done with some more help. 

We worked out that as there were four tables in the cafe we could divide 175 between 8 which came to 22 each with a spare. This meant two peoples work per table. We began creating some prototypes of the triangles for the tables. To do this we had to work out the sizes that we needed. We measured the tables length and width which came to 301cm long x 97.3cm wide. This meant that we needed to use an A2 size sheet of perspex at least. 

Next we cut out the triangles and placed them onto one of the tables in the cafe. We wanted to see how they would fit together and work interactively. We decided that we would created one template so that everybody used the same template to cut down on wasted time in the lazer cutting room as otherwise it would be too expensive. Below is a photograph of how we intend to place the triangles so that people will want to move them around. 

MMU Cafe Entrance Idea

W H E R E 

1.Floor 

 This week our group met and decided to discuss our final piece and where we could see it going for the exhibition. Firstly we met around a table and showed each other samples of the work that we had each produced individually. As well as this we discussed whose work would fit well together when exhibiting. We were a little confused as a group and so decided to find a tutor to speak with. We found Julie who explained that the 'play' group would be exhibiting in the Kraak Gallery in the Northern Quarter. However, earlier in the week another group had come up with the idea of exhibiting in the new cafe in the art building but had recently cancelled. Following this we started to discuss what our work would be like in the cafe and after some consideration we thought it would be interesting to take up this newly evacuated space. To do this we would have to find a suitable area to display our work in the entrance which would compliment our work and follow health and safety regulations. The only way we would be able to exhibit our work in the cafe would be to pitch our idea to the Dean professionally and create a clear idea and some prototypes of the work in order demonstrate exactly what the space could look like. 

After some more discussions we decided as a group to go for the pitch as we felt it would give us great experience especially for the future. Julie helped us to organise the date for this coming friday. At this point our idea was to create a tiled floor underneath the entrance stairs as you can see in both pictures. We felt this space would fit with our work as it would be both out of the way, and fit our work nicely. We wanted our tiles to brighten up the grey space in the entrance. We decided as a group that we could link back to the theme of 175, by making 175 tiles between us. This would mean making 22 each and having a spare left over. The idea we had was to sandwich our work within something that was safe as it would be in a public space. From this we decided to trap our work under a layer of clear perspex so that it would be safe. 

2. Tables

We decided as a group that although the stair space would fit our work nicely, there was also a possibility of the pitch not being successful for health and safety reasons. Because of this we searched around the space some more and found somewhere that wasn't immediately obvious to exhibit our work. TABLES. There are four large tables in the cafe and we found this idea interesting as this way people could actually interact with our work more. And so after all the discussing about the stair space, we chose to pitch for the table surfaces instead. This would mean that we would have to make pieces which could be wiped clean if they got dirty (perspex) and also would not scratch the table on the bottom (we are going to use felt.)

Developed Ideas

C H I L D  I M A G I N A T I O N

Most recently I have decided to create my individual tiles based on a child's imagination. To do this I tried to encapsulate all of the things I remember imagining and wishing as a child. These ideas are a few of the developed ideas I produced using mixed media. These ideas were developed to test what kind of idea/design I would want to put in my tiles for the exhibition later on.  Below is one of my first designs. I have created it using mixed media. I have used a photograph of myself and used watercolour to create a tricycle. For the grass I have built up layers of cut photographs of grass as well as plain green pieces of paper. I have also stitched to create more texture onto the piece using both machine stitch for the grass and hand stitching french knots for the flowers. 

Im not entirely sure where the idea for this piece came from but here I was trying to demonstrate that childs imagination is all in the mind and it allows us to create fantasies and games. For this I therefore cut around a photograph and stitched black lines in place of the faces. I also wanted to see if I could make this piece more old looking so I used a rocking horse and vintage paper for the background. I hoped it would help it look more nostalgic but I actually preferred the more 'make believe' and 'imagined'  samples in the end. 

The last one of my developed ideas is probably the most successful. I really tried to think what I used to  imagine as a child and I remember always thinking that the priory in my village was a castle. I wanted it to be my castle. I have therefore drawn this image onto coloured inks that i felt fitted the piece and created a border of flowers by again using layers and both hand and machine stitch. I found this part of the project quite reflective and it was nice to think about memories and how I could portray that through art. 

'Drawings'

N O S T A L G I A

Below are some of my initial 'drawings' and thoughts after thinking about producing tiles and collages of mixed media. For our own work we have each decided on going back to our roots and developing our feelings on this somehow. For me I think the most interesting part about going back to my roots is looking at my childhood memories and photographs and so in my work I want to develop this idea further.

Lomography Wall

M O R E  I D E A S

After walking around the Northern Quarter I got some more inspiration following the idea of tiles. I suggested to the group that following up with our pictures and collages the idea could be developed into tiles or our own Lomo Wall. The Lomo Wall is near Piccadilly and features 14,000 individual photographs from members of the public both locally and worldwide. The photographs are all shots of surroundings featured in a lomographic way. 

Initial Idea on 'Tiles'

T H O U G H T  P R O C E S S E S 

The initial idea to use tiles for our exhibition came from Toni, a film and media student who came across the tiles and images collectively put together by staff members working at Marks and Spencer in the Arndale. The collective piece can be found outside Marks and Spencer on the first floor. 

Back to my roots

S T .  O S Y T H