Making my GARP instead of blogging. (October till February)

For my degree I have to make a GARP as a design appropriate form of a dissertation. It has the requirements of a 6000 to 8000 word essay with 20% of the mark based on presentation.

I began initially researching back in July on skulls throughout the world throughout history. Very non specific and muddled to begin with. However, as I was researching skulls through the summer I became interested in what was motivating these depictions of the skull. I found the common thread of the skull being used as a depiction of death and I really became interested in the different cultural attitudes towards death. This enabled me to narrow my essay down to the evolution of the cultural attitude towards death in England. When researching the English medieval depictions of skulls and death I found it bizarre and sometimes violent. I wanted to explore how the attitude towards death had evolved so much from then until today. I found it really interesting how the depictions of skulls through the different time periods really reflected the realities of the daily life of the time. 

The writing went well because I picked something to research that I have been interested in for years so I knew I could stand to research and write about it for nearly a year. I forget the final word count (probably somewhere in the 7000's) but I was more interested in writing something good than filling up the word count. I really enjoyed making the physical book and I had enough forethought to allow myself enough time to do it properly. I intended to have printing on the cover but the book cloth didn't respond well to the paint. Solution: a neat little band for decoration which serves as a duel purpose to hold the book together. 

As I allowed myself enough time I managed to put on a couple of little details which for me really finish off the book like the black headbands either side of the spine and the little black ribbon bookmark. I also tried reddening the edges of the pages which was the easiest yet most effective part of the whole process. I just got some red ink on a tissue and ran it quickly along the whole edge of the pages whilst holding it in a clamp. Just some small touches which I have never been able to try before. 

Here is my GARP: Death and the Skull from Medieval till WWII. 

It is perfect bound and hard cased. 

All finished now. I am a little bit scared how I managed to make a real book. But this is also very exciting and opens up my mind to some new book making possibilities. 

Now I am going to be making a lot more things instead of researching and writing. There are some super duper exciting ideas in the pipeline which I am very eager to be getting on with. 

Therefore I must be ending this post here. 

Love and Skulls and Fishes 

Victoria 

X

#designerei international superstar in the BAUHAUS

Never fear world, I have returned from a trip to another country, I didn't get lost or anything and I am no safe in my kitchen with a cuppa tea. 

I have taken part in the designerei international handmade fair in the Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany.

SUPER EXCITING! 

I made a fair few euros but best of all I got to have a lovely little wander around the Bauhaus. The bauhaus is such a beautiful building, just looking at it doing it's thing was amazing. It made me feel like I had stepped into Jaques Tati's film Mon Oncle a fair few times which was dream like and delightful. Both my Grandpas are architects so I feel like I have some sort of genetic pre-disposition to appreciate the building. 

The ethos of inter disciplinary work really chimes with me as well so I felt very happy having a lovely wander around Anhalt University and the Bauhaus itself. 

This is a photographic summary of my trip:

 I am a very proud stall holder. ( A photograph of a snazzy little polaroid) 

A couple of my favourite shots of the Bauhaus.

It was a very misty night in Dessau the first night I was wandering about.

Leipzig

Home Again

I think maybe one day I will get a house above the clouds. It makes me so happy to be above the clouds with just the sun for company. 

I would also like to get a little house in Germany, it feels like I would be happy there, I always feel so excited about making things when I am there.

I will perhaps post some polariods soon, but for now you can have these photographs while I unpack,

Liebe und Fische,

Victoria 

X

You're acting very koi (carp)

Something very exciting had the potential to happen soon but I am of the feeling that opportunities are like wolves, I'm not going to believe its arrived until it's jaws ate firmly wrapped around my head.

So, I will just say three things, 

prints

pets

Singapore

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Basically I am doing a new set of prints so here is the first in the run. My koi carp (plural).

This shows a bit of the stages of the process as well and my messy nest of a table. 

 The paper print out cut-and-stick version, the tracing, the lino and the ink print. 

I make a lot of different mark making decisions made at each stage.

The initial black and white print.

The first inking of the koi

Addition of water so the fishies can swim

Colour version two.

Orange Koi

Koi Carp symbolise change traditionally so I am going to give one of the Koi to my friend Silvia, as she is expecting her first child next year. The koi also look like a mummy and baby Koi which is fortunate, I am hoping the koi will be a good luck omen for her ready for the biggest change in her life.

There are very exciting things going on later in the week so I shall be blogging some lovely things shorty.

That's all for now though, 

Love and Peas

Victoria

X

Dia de los linos

Recently I have been researching the history of Mexico and the development of the Day of the Dead celebrations and it set me off on my usual skull doodle which I have been minorly obsessed with for years.

This one skull is a little further along the evolutionary chain with his elongated head.

I was going for equal parts celebratory and scary.

This is the chief in all his lino glory.

Skulls hanging out to dry.

I had a bit of a problem initially with colour as my usual method of watercolour over lino was far too dull for the vibrancy I wanted to achieve with the day of the dead style of my skulls.

The nat chool skulls bro.

My housemate buddy pal had the great idea to use my inks to make them more vibrant so this was the initial result:

Choowler but nat chooewl enough yet...

I remembered that a girl on my foundation course who used inks a lot and her paintings always turned out really beautiful and ephemeral because she used the medium of ink for its best use, the bleeding of colours into each other.

This is what I came up with:

Pretty choowl but it doesn't have the main skull as white which I felt makes the image lose some of its impact.

THEREFORE I MADE THIS.

SUPER CHOOWEL:

Super trippy but nice and deliciously bright, kinda beautiful in a scary way.

A selection of the choowelst skulls.

All ready for day of the dead.

*** choowel, choowl and chool are cool ways of saying cool. I don't think it translates in writing***

I shouldn't write blog posts when I'm sleepy.

Love and Peas

( and skulls )

Victoria

X

Our kitchen is a studio sometimes. (A picture guide)

This is a blog post about how to turn a useable space into a studio.

Needs Must.

STUDENT POWER.

 

Most of these pictures were taken before the inprint fair when Charlotte and I went a little print crazy in the kitchen.

 

The master at work.

The screen printing process 

 Charlotte in the kitchen studio.

 

 

Charlotte's lino injury. She soldiered on.

 

 

Charlotte's linos with the dinner table at the end restored to it's function.

 

 

 

Ally having an aggressive print package.

 

 

Ally's packaging mountain.

The Mr Fox production/ washing line.

Everything of mine packed up ready for the fair.

Love and Fishes

Victoria

x

 



A Series of Fortunate Events

This is how my series of fortunate events went:

1. My work is published by Inprint print exchange fair on Facebook
2. Landbaby (A shop at the Bluecoat gallery) comments on my work on Facebook
3. I hand in a business card to Landbaby
4. Claire, the owner of Landbaby introduces herself at the Inprint fair
5. Everyone falls in love with Claire
6. I take my work in to Landbaby
7. Claire stocks my work at Landbaby
8. My work sells at Landbaby
9. We all live happily ever after
10. The End.

 

This is the Mr Fox card in situ along with Ally's birthday cards

(the ones with the string around them)

 

I am very lucky to have met Claire, I am also very lucky that Claire is the owner of such a beautiful and adorable shop as Landbaby.

 

Have a little investigate of it:

 

http://www.landbaby.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Landbaby-at-the-Bluecoat/89408539268?fref=ts

 

 

I feel very excited by this new opportunity as Landbaby has been ranked #35 on Vogue's list of 100 best shops outside London and Claire has just won the RIBA best independent business of the year.

This is a LEGIT place people.

 

 

Things are plodding along very nicely

Love and Fishes

Victoria

X

 

Inprint Exchange 22nd September

This occurred in the past.

Four of the best ladies in the biz sharing one massive stall

(two tables pushed together) with a two person back up team.

ENTOURAGE.

 

Part of the table gang squished into the back of Alex's car.

Squished is a bit of an understatement.

I'm pretty sure Ally is scared for life.

My section of our stall. I had unframed prints in our print racks at either end of the table.  

Lucy, Ally and Charlotte (wo)manning the stall like pros.

 

 

Charlotte having a hide behind Monsieur Fox

All went splendidly, everyone sold and I think everyone had a cheeky little buy from the other stall holders.

Now to plow all my profits into more frames and paper to make more prints.

 

C'est la vie mon amis.

 

Amore et poisson

Victoria

x