Week 6 Character and wig development.

19th Nov 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

A further development of the wig using more wadding that I found in a fruit and veg box.Added knitting needles, found cables, photos of things of class I believed the character of the wig would like.After my one to one with the artist Erica Eyre we discussed the further progression of perhaps the wigs character and taking the act in more of a surreal direction. I played about using stop motion with mouths/noses/buses etc and added voices i believed that wig would talk in to the speed of the stop motion. Characters that i believed would be very superficial.

I plan with the video’s with the rotating mouths to put some superficial chit-chat over the top of them trying both an american and an English accent.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWf0oPn0zYj0schF3NbmHTUEPsT3LEqz/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIoSjFnr2ziNdpVeOw87j2BYRoCB3el/view?usp=sharing

This video i think lays the foundations of the surreal path that the wig follows and having a life force of it’s own.

I wanted to take a close look at some of Grandma’s peculiar tastes. What does she get up to in her spare time? Erica had mentioned looking at why she hates Louis so much and recreating the scene that happened between these two on the bus but I feel that what makes the character so surreal and funny is the fact that the audience don’t know why she has such a particular hate towards Louis. So I feel that this part is best left as a mystery for the audience.

She had also mentioned that I should perhaps reconsider the use of the crutches in case it offends. I have worked with people with disabilities for 12 years and crutches aren’t used for long term disabilities. What I find particularly interesting about the woman that does use them is she seems to use them in place of walking sticks.

An artist mentioned to me by Erica of particular interest was Shanna Moulton. I like the fact that the character she portrays in whispering pines is in fact her alter ego; and is drawn from the hypochondriac traits that she often displays. I like the very surreal turn that events often seem to take.

Ryan Trecartin

His characters seem to be very superficial and I think would be good inspiration for the character of the wig.Sometimes the filming can be really dis-orientating which i quite like and there is a lot of repetition and a lot of use of body movement in order to take a microscopic look at character.His characters remind me some of some of the Australians comedians Chris Lilley’s characters in ‘Summer heights high’

Mike Sherry I really like some of Mike Sherry’s assemblages especially the textural elements and how they are collated together.I also like the children’s toys he has created which have a sinister feel behind them. It made me think of the old lady’s wig and how it had a soft playful element to it with the texture but in the video’s where it moves it becomes sinister.

https://images.app.goo.gl/YUmiNEmtYVB6jSzd9

https://images.app.goo.gl/13G8GwnBV4kjg3bz8

Bibliography

Mike Kelly. (2014). Art jouet,les arts,art sculpture. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/2e/a4/9e2ea40dc4d76a4891197fc39ed4f163.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/328059154102777182/&tbnid=xzs6k_wPpg6mqM&vet=1&. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020

Moulton Shana. (2004). Whispering pines 3. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=whispering+pines+shana+moulton. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020.

Ryan Trecartin. (2013). Center Jenny. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=center+jenny+ryan+trecartin. Last accessed 22 November 2020.

Youtube. (2013). Mike Kelly by Stedelijk. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bgcSt-5UIuw/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v%3DbgcSt-5UIuw&tbnid=3uo6elwcWXPg_M&vet=1&docid=rvmuYS7jDbYizM&w=1280&h. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020

Week 5 ‘A terrifying night’

8th Nov 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

I decided to put together a video where the ‘bus-shit crazy old lady’ appears completely out of context.I hope this to be one film in a series of many. I plan to film other short films with her quirks etc before looking back at how she became the anger riddled/bitter old lady that she is today.

'a wig and cross crutch'I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag. — ‘a wig and cross crutch’I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag.

When filming i somehow never realised this picture was behind me untill half way through!And that was when I decided the camera should pan in. — ‘a wig and cross crutch’I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag.

I like this still ,but it looks too sexual which obviously isn’t what I’m going for.

This still looks quite sexual which wasn't esactly what i was going for but you don't get to see Louis face this close due to the camera angle when filming anyway. — I like this still ,but it looks too sexual which obviously isn’t what I’m going for.

I think the video was far more sucessful then I had envisioned,the red lighting really gave an atmosperic feel and I think the video was the right level of dark avant_garde humour.I’d say for my first time making a comedic performance and not a serious performance art piece it has turned out well.I must admit it was a lot of fun to make and coming up with ideas. Alot of laughter was involved in the filming of this and I hope it it brings laughter to everyone that watches it especially in these dark times.

Medusa has been a very obvious choice in terms of the hair altho Granma sadly doesn’t have the power of looks to entice people in with!

I was encouraged by my partner to watch some of the Monty Python sketches as they may be somewhat of an influence to me.And I just so happened to occur this sketch called ‘hells grannies’ which obviously coincided really well with my project.Altho bus-shit crazy old lady is obviously alot darker I love the thought of grannies rebelling and doing what society doesn’t expect of them.I also think that in a way we all know some old person who rebels like that. I allways remember being in total awe of my friends granny as she looked so sweet but swore like a trooper and would allways be flirting with old men,especially one that used to bring her a paper each day.

A few illustrations of ideas for further filming.I feel that drawing the ideas helps the development of the process and helps them come alive.It also felt natural to use the paper used for creating the wig in order to draw on it.This connection just felt like part of the process.Writing some dialogue also helped with the characters development.I felt that using continous line gave her the most character.

I feel that the prison shot would be a good shot for when she gets caught after all the ‘cable murders’.

A look at giving the wig a personality of it’s own after discovering last week that it had it’s own sculptural almost facial like qualties.I also drew some drawings of potential personalities with added to dialogue.I don’t know if prehaps this would be too much work alongside the character of Granma herself but I am willing to see where this takes me as nothing ventured,nothing gained.

I have the idea of a stop motion where the knitting starts to knit on top of her head and down her face and round her into a scarf.The only issue would be getting the needles to stay upright especially when they are meant to be moving.

I watch alot of murder doccumenties which inspired the idea that every time she creates a murder ‘The cable connects’ appears as she obviously uses this to kill.

I decided to make posters which will be put about town with the hashtag ‘what is the last stop’ so that without people even knowing it she is getting inside there minds as they take a photo and use the hashtag which then connects the image to the internet.So the public become almost part of the performance but without realising it.

I was encouraged by a fellow classmate to watch ‘Commedia dell’Arte.I find it interesting how they talk about ‘moving through the emotions of the character using the body’ as opposed to speaking and this is something I think i will try to take into future performances.

Bibliography

Comedia dell’arte. (2011). Character Shape. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJEwuurzDe4&t=38s. Last accessed 16th Nov 2020.

Youtube. (2010). Monty python-Hells grannies. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmzMzmnB-iQ. Last accessed 13th Nov 2020

Week 4

2nd Nov 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

This week I started to create the wig for the character as well as creating the character herself. I also came to the decision that as the character develops so will the wig.

After some quick development sketches, I got to work creating the wig. The initial starting point was to use a mop-head but the one I had was too small for my head, so I decided to use sheep’s wool and stretched it out and attached it to the scrap material I had used to cover the top of the foam headband. The sheep’s wool didn’t give the desired effect as ‘bus shit crazy old lady’ has really big, almost foam like hair; so I decided to use some wadding mixed in with the sheep’s wool and super-glued it together which was very effective in giving the exaggerated look I wanted. I then took a pair of old glasses and decided to cover them with red collage and the word ‘bus’ at the top; I wanted the character to look like she had walked straight out of a story book with parts of it still attached to her.

Altho i liked the effect of the sheeps wool it wasn't the effect i was looking for and reminded me more of the character 'Jaquerline MCcafferty' from the Limmy show — Altho i liked the effect of the sheeps wool it wasn’t the effect i was looking for and reminded me more of the character ‘Jaquerline MCcafferty’ from the Limmy show

The glasses had a much better effect once the eyebrows were added to them.I was inspired by a devil mask which I felt fitted in well with her character.

sculpture become really eerie and took on a life of it's own after adding a mouth to it.Considering adding more human elements — sculpture become really eerie and took on a life of it’s own after adding a mouth to it.Considering adding more human elements

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fgmtv8k9MhXCOrxnlCxPODYscCiBIG5z/view?usp=sharing

Some quick sketches/scribberlings on how I was planning to develop the wig further/eyes crutches etc.

Decided to put lace on top of the image to see if it encouraged the 'malificent spirit' image I so desired. — Decided to put lace on top of the image to see if it encouraged the ‘malificent spirit’ image I so desired.

The character frightening small children in their beds.(inspiration taken from the Babadook) — Decided to put lace on top of the image to see if it encouraged the ‘malificent spirit’ image I so desired.

https://images.app.goo.gl/UK8FjggNLorZhA3C6

https://images.app.goo.gl/mENtGa1UMJpnu6xEA

https://images.app.goo.gl/P8QADcV9GrT5LLCG9

https://images.app.goo.gl/EuHvASDRkW6Wvsp38

https://images.app.goo.gl/6cWAeLTgLtTFQ7zP7

https://images.app.goo.gl/N65CiYmH6sDAqoxA8

https://images.app.goo.gl/Lhz24SHW9o7xvMUW7

https://images.app.goo.gl/3UAjyD9DdZyJJs8a9

I also decided to change the name of the character to ‘bus shit crazy old lady’ in order to stray away from any kind of connection with poor mental health and the from the person that she is based on.

Bibliography

BBC. (2005). BBC 2 Limmy show.. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640×360/p01h0dpg.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z1jhd&tbnid=J1gp-oPjjxQDVM&vet=1&docid=RqAgySpN3GORRM&w=640&h. Last accessed 16th Nov 2020.

Pininterest. (2003). Cindy Sherman on photography. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cf/57/c3/cf57c3a8c975e2ae00ba978fcd42db82.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/383720830743465016/&tbnid=djECbq6PtMhvGM&vet=1. Last accessed 3rd Nov 2020

The Third Eye. (2003). Jack Smith and the destruction of Atlantis. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thethird-eye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/the_third_eye_jack_smith_destruction_of_atlantis_02.980×0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thethird-eye.co.uk/jack. Last accessed 8th November 2020

Walliams D. (2003). Gangsta Granny in North. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.clipartkey.com/mpngs/m/115-1157304_gangsta-granny-in-north-gangsta-granny-david-walliams.png&imgrefurl=https://www.clipartkey.com/view/ooimRw_gangsta-g. Last accessed 5th Nov 2020

Wikipedia. (2003). Isa Drenann Still Game. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/stillgame/images/c/ca/Isa.jpg/revision/latest?cb%3D20110822195522&imgrefurl=https://stillgame.fandom.com/wiki/Isa_Drennan&tbnid. Last accessed 9th Nov 2020.

Youtube. (1996). Aunt sponge and Aunt Spike scenes:Dinner. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nAiWhT5ysVo/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DnAiWhT5ysVo&tbnid=511QepWbgS2ikM&vet=1&docid=ny2r0EdKBPl2TM&w=1280. Last accessed 8th November 2020.

Youtube. (2015). Mrs Doyle’s best bit’s.Father Ted compilation. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RSW6oDckOjo/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DRSW6oDckOjo&tbnid=c2aua3LTT2nhtM&vet=1&docid=nG6OdfL8ZLWFUM&w=1280. Last accessed 9th Nov 2020.

Youtube. (2015). The Babadook.A visit from the Babadook. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O4pZH9Miew8/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DO4pZH9Miew8&tbnid=40I97q4MFXJk0M&vet=1&docid=eA4RDM1RrtMLgM&w=1280. Last accessed 8th November 2020.

Week 3 Another derive and mixed media work.

14th Oct 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

I decided to go on another derive with my partner as I felt like we needed a walk in general and because walks and fresh air often help our creative process otherwise our creativity becomes stagment.

It was an incredibly windy day especially down by the pier.I noticed a couple of things I hadn’t noticed before and tried to capture some sounds but due to the wind it was really hard to pick them up.I think once we move to dundee and are able to have access to DJCAD I will try to access DSLR equitement and attach a microphone with a windshield to my phone.

I also started to look at the sea and think of a physical gesture that would best represent the movement of the sea.

Observations of conversations,people,birds and objects.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aXBzgCGLzjCTkoyYxUWd0aM9XZM8xmAz/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aT-0Ec_c_nZ7Cs77zSGgHuR0vFzo0ZK5/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aPFXVPpD6hoft9XBrJtFCt57lTNlpAu6/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aIAsozU-qych5F-0QZUL7XpfWLGsNf2e/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aH-U8HOT6KVIgKQ8oNbF1gyKLVR4QuHO/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aSZHGX7ieEOMsHP4GjVcMA4DxJ-ICkp9/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aEaO24ZS67b-FIpiseEKi0loCpSDMszr/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aFcWO3lXQICpFKlDVPjKc57Q5AEnZe6k/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aCEMUfJxQ-1k5TxkxAFklg_dTDuOJaGR/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aCUK3SHoQujYSeebV8Zn8etS4QHNTWXf/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a14Afocc1CocJLj7HzVr39IR7xQJH2GI/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a4rHKCArhlmRixWj_zDflOFNNvi7WnKv/view?usp=sharing

Some gestural marks made whilst listening to one of the videos with crow noises in it.The marks remind me of chinese characters and words.The yellow was the sweet sound of the sparrows,the loose black marks are the hum drum of the schoolchildren making there way past us.I found there conversations quite interesting (little bits you may be able to hear) such as ‘my phone is bigger then yours’ and something about the year 11s.I found the bragging quite interesting as this is usually something children mimick from their parents.

Gestural marks that i made using the same flowing gestural movements that are featured in one of the videos above.I feel that the mixed blues looked much better once I had deconstructed the painting and put it back together again as the illustrations created a map like effected within the ocean of blue and represented the characters and things i noticed on my walk.The use of gestural marks towards the end of the painting i feel were more effective then the mixed blues as you could see them more clearly and I felt that they captured the performative aspect much better and gave the impression of the flow and the crash of the sea.I think I would like to try making some more of thoose marks on paper and add some more illustrations to it.

Some quick illustrations of ‘batshit crazy granny’ whom we bumped into on our first walk (she hates Louis for some reason and once turned on the bus with her fingers to her eyes then pointed at Louis as if to say ‘I’m watching you’…This is where the lazers come from streaming from her eyes.Her favourite thing to say when she gets on the bus is ‘WHat is the last STop on this BUses route?’ She tends to over pronounciate the beggining of her words which I also find interesting.I felt like ‘what is the last stop?’worked quite well with the theme of the project aswell.

Pic no2 is the ‘It’s a wee bit windy ay?’ character that we occured talking to his friend.

And a man I decided was in the ‘secret santa society’ walking along by the pier.He had quite the undercover look about him.

I feel like i have taken the oppertunity of the derive to make the most of the local characters in the area and giving them back stories. Aswell as paying attention to the noises and visuals around me and making marks and performative pieces to co-incide with that.I’m currently moving flat and don’t have access to the studio so I would like to of spent more time working on a large scale and focusing on the perfromative side of things but I haven’t had the chance.I will obviously be looking to focus more on that next week once we have moved up.

Week 2 A Derive

12th Oct 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

Asked by the uni lecturers to take a local derive myself and my partner (who is also on my fine art course) decided to take an hour long one.Louis decided to choose my destination by closing his eyes and scrolling upwards on google maps.We then followed the instructions google maps gave us.I doccumeted interactions made,sights,smells and sounds partially using a small reflective diary.

I noticed many sounds and sights and also had an interaction with a very friendly homeless man selling the big issue and a small child on a bike.A simple ‘hi’ but interaction none the less.

I feel like i am generally a very visually aware person so I don’t feel like I noticed anything more then I usually would but i feel that audibly I switched on to the noises around me and tried to identify.I noticed particualry how noises would clash against each other.The sweet sounds of the birds chirping against the harsh craw of the crow.The children playing against a man shouting to his wife about an unfair situation at his work. I also noticed how his energy almost made his toddler run away with only his wife noticing.I realised that even tho I don’t live in city centre that there was so much noise pollution surrounding me.Other noises were drilling,lorries reversing and an coversation made comical (I found) merely by the accents of the male workmen conversing.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_ajo-ZqD7R_SCAcCYzQQg6X4m45DO4Qp/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_XSxE4ceey8KhTcdY9-ZkAyuxnjgYFQM/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_XKje6D1rWUqbW9FIjfz2Y518fdDhfpN/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Uzm7MDjDzCr0vkO7ygN2I7bDMqL_osc/view?usp=sharing

I feel like the derive can be added to my repetoir in terms of ways of working especially during these times and not allways having access to the studio.

I am hoping to collaberate with my partner once we have worked on some of our own stuff.After watching a doccumentary about the situationalists I feel inspried by one of the pieces I saw on that to do some gestural work on lining paper that i have whilst listening to some of the audio.Hopefully the outcome will be sucessful!

Graded Unit.Development Work.

28th Apr 2020 | harussell1

Driven by the sucess of using water with bones and natural items to float I decided to go down a more Ophelia inspired route and use the local river to create movement with a sheet and add flowers and the bones to it as it flowed.

The initial idea didn’t go quite as planned as the flow ws too fast and the bones and flowers floated off of the sheet too fast to capture anything.I then realsied that the idea would of worked better in still water.

The way the sheet rippled and moved in the light i found captivating.It was therapeutic to watch and made me think about giving up to forces we can’t control.The shapes within the sheet moved and changed shape moving in different directions with the flow of the current.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sftv3_z-5FLTcbaw03LSHu_A9Qd4Oj2C

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sOvt0IH7et2q_9vMgczJob1RDL7jRScS

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s_griFE7fA9CnOl1eibjZUasJSBlbwca

The heavy dust sheet then started to take on a sculptural form within the water,almost body-like in the 2nd photo which was once again fascinating to watch.And once again brought me back to the painting of Ophelia.

Once taken from the water the material took on even more of a scuptural form and i was able to create different shapes with it in the trees.The third photo made me think of a cocoon.I loved the way the light filtered throught the material highlighting the different shapes within it.

I hung the sheet to dry and very quickly realised that it created some really interesting shadows with the light projected onto it.I decided to create some child-like creative shadow figures behind the sheet.Invoking the feeling of child-like playfulness that time spent in nature gives us.

Graded Unit.Development work

28th Apr 2020 | harussell1

Inspired by the painting ‘Ophelia’ and the ritualistic/sacrificial element of ancient pagan beliefs I decided to mix the two together.The water gave the stagment effect of current situations,and the plant dipped into water the life waiting within it.I feel that it almost reflects how myself and many others feel just now like stagmented life forces waiting for a chance to breathe when given the normality of a ritual that we reckonise.I feel that this experiementaion worked sucessfully and I would like to experiment further with it at a later date.

A mixture of imagery using found pheasant/grouse bones on a shooting site.I found some burnt plastic on top of wood and really liked how it visually reminded me of decay and of the flesh slowly being eaten away.I felt that the bones really related well to this.I also decided to experiment with ready mades using different compositions.

melted plastic on wood,a good representation of decay and something I would like to recreate in the future

I really like the image of this wood hanging.I think it plays alot of tricks on the mind and acts almost like an abstract art piece.It looks like it could be part of a mysterious woodland ritual and has a feel of the blair witch project about it

The Blair witch project used mysterious symbols made from sticks/wood throughout in order to build fear throughout the movie.

Ritualistic circle found whilst visiting St Mary’s loch.I yet again found an air of mystery surrounding this yet fascination.With so many questions like; ‘what is it for?’ ‘is it a burial site?’ ‘is it just kids messing around?’ it made me think how interesting it would be to create something within nature that would give people a similar pattern of thought.

Kind of like Damien Hursts; ‘Treasures from the wreck of the unbelivable’

People were intrigued by ‘the treasures of the wreck of the unbelivable.’ A film was made about the discovery of them which then turned out to be fake obviously.I can understand the thought pattern behind Hurst making this having the power of knowing it’s fake and watching others intrigue is quite quite itneresting within itself

Artist Bio,Statement and CV

18th Apr 2020 | harussell1

Heather Anne Russell

Biography

Born in Cornwall and moving to Scotland when she was 10.Heather has spent the last 6 years as an Edinburgh based artist.She is currently studying the HND Contemporary art practice course at Edinburgh college and completed the UAL Foundation Studies course in 2019.

Statement

Heather predominately has alot of feminist based themes in her work looking at alot of issues women face in the world today.She is inspired by the likes of Tracey Emin,Sarah Lucas and Louise Bourgeois.She specialises in performance based art,mixed media and textiles.

Education

UAL Level 3 Foundation diploma in Art and design-2018-2019

HND Contemporary Art Practice, Edinburgh College 2019-present

Exhibitions

2020– 2D Hubcap Edinburgh college

2020-Body as Material,North Edinburgh Arts

2019– End of year show,Foundation studios Edinburgh college

Artists Talks

2020-In Conversation with Samatha Dick-HubCAP,Edinburgh college

2020-Shareen Sorour-Edinburgh College Libary,Edinburgh college

2020-Emma Hales-Edinburgh College Libary,Edinburgh college

Curatorial Projects

2017 – Name, Organisation, Location

Awards & Residencies

2017 – Name, Organisation, Location

Publications / Press

2017 – Press name, link

2017 – Publication title, Article title, Issue information, link if available

Film screenings

2020 – ‘The Void’-North Edinburgh Arts-Pilton

Relevant Professional Experience

2017 to Present – Title, Organisation, Location

Graded unit.Experimentation/Research

1st Apr 20203rd Apr 2020 | harussell1

‘Ophelia’ By John Everett Millais. This pre raphaeite painting I felt connected well with my theme due to the model’s dream like connection with nature.Altho the meaning of the painting has a darker turn as the painting is based on Ophelia from Shakesphere’s Ophelia who sang whilst floating down the river before drowning. I quite like the sinister turn of events as i feel this fits well with my theme.

After collecting a sucession of various items from the abandoned village I decided to make some ‘ready mades’ and then draw continous line drawings from there.Some of these ready mades were a mixture of natural and non-natural found items.As I felt this was important considering that one of the themes is one of people going back to nature and it kind of shows that transition or partial transition through use of materials.One of the ready mades included a corroding saucepan lid and the inner tube of a bike tyre.I felt encouraged to use both these items as I felt they were representative of hobbies that people may be rediscovering currently or doing more of since their infrastructure has crumbled.

After making a dream catcher like item from the inner of the bike tube in order to make a connection with the native Americans i then decided to transform it into a pagan like headpiece by adding pieces of bark and wild flowers.

My partner owns a gas mask which I decided to use whilst wearing the headpiece as i felt that it connected well with the surgical masks people are currently wearing but also to an era where people may of been feeling emotions similar to what they are feeling now.Such as fear,vunerabilty and numbness.I also created a stick which I tied a plastic cable and bolt to which i found in the woods my ititial reaction whilst creating it was thinking of the spirit stick a Native American may of used during ritual/ceremonys but during the photo’s it had a different effect and started to look quite threatening and more like a weapon. Also getting feedback from peers and a thought i had myself is that i feel like the clothing either needs to go or prehaps experimentation with symbolic marks on the body using the red clay like mud which is very much present in this part of scotland.

Initially i took the photo’s with a stone wall in the background but I realised that the headpiece was soon being lost to the background as the colours merged too much and i felt that we needed greenery in the background in order for it to ‘pop’ and it order for the idea to better connect to nature.On the day of the shoot it was really sunny so much so that at times it was hard to get the right angle without the shadow of the photographer falling onto the model.What I did like tho was the rainbow like effect that was brought on by the sun.Also the angle my partner shot the photo’s of me from wasn’t the angle i was looking for but worked suprisingly well as due to his height it looked like I was being looked down on and gave quite an intimidating effect.I then decided to follow on from that by walking round the model and getting my partner to walk around me whilst filming.I felt that this gave the feeling that there was something out there watching you that you have no control of and yet it controls you just like the panidemic has done with many people.

In the first video you will noticed I have left me talking to my partner (Louis) in at the beggining of the video as it has quite a muffled yet eerie effect which I like.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlQfDJWrLeyYTyRbe7ZW7yMPA7Jjrs-H

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ncR28kCXrYl6HOxosolxmbmC5dJQ4j3J

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n7I5YORRb-L3KPCSIE6i90rz56DW5GFi

Photo’s of the headpiece also worked quite well within nature.I also decided to capture the slight breeze moving which moved the headpiece ever so slighy on video and to create a feeling of intimidation by walking around the model

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nO-NmXnGPJtbXbClo2ThJDgKadTy-YaO

I have started to experiement with line drawings of the photo’s and what i hope to do is pick out shapes from these line drawrings and try to connect them with shapes within nature in order to make some kind of symbols out of them.

The pictures have a surreal ‘trippy’ like quality to them

Whilst shooting photo’s in the woods I found stones by the river which had very primitive looking marks on them.I found this very interesting and it has given me inspiration for using a stick with some of the afore mentioned red clay mud in order to make similar marks.

Primitive looking marks.I think i will come back to look for these stones at a later date to use for further experimentation

Aboriginal cave painting which uses similar markings as thoose found on the rocks.

I then discovered what turned out to be a rats skull. (It’s jaw lay seperatley) I hope to experiment with my use of this.

Heather’s blog

Author: harussell1

Week 6 Character and wig development.

Week 5 ‘A terrifying night’

Week 4

Week 3 Another derive and mixed media work.

Week 2 A Derive

Graded Unit.Development Work.

Graded Unit.Development work

Artist Bio,Statement and CV

Graded unit.Experimentation/Research