Error | Introductory Week : Preparation Tasks

This week I

. . .

 Explored the Ravensbourne building | Took part in a laser-cutting workshop 

Looked for examples of errors in the world around me | Visited Whitechapel Gallery

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Focus piece

This is my first experimental laser cut 

: 

I learned to create a vector file and to use RGB colour modes to set the cutter guides. 

» Red = cut | Blue = outline | black = engrave/solid fill

I chose to print on wood, to reflect my interest in natural sustainable materials.

. . .

Analysing my work, I notice that the curved ‘swoosh’ underlining my name has feathered edges, in contrast to the clean font in the text and the circle. I like the energy and movement in the hand-drawn element as a counterpoint to the restrained typography. 

The name is balanced on the circle, which is held steady by the end of the swoosh. 

The circle motif is echoed in the dot of the ‘i’ and the full stop after the ‘B.’

This could have been further echoed with curved corners.

The outlined text allows the quality of the wood to dominate.

. . .

Based on these observations, I want to refine and improve my Illustrator skills, smooth the swoosh and add curved corners.

. . .

I will include these things in my future practice:

. Taking a moment to think what else might be possible, beyond what has been suggested/demonstrated.

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Sketchbook notes

This week in my sketchbook I gathered examples of errors I saw in the world around me. I found a range from tiny to huge, natural to manmade. A rotten tomato called to mind Cicely Mary Barker’s flower fairies. My fairy is very much a supernatural creature, blue-skinned and impish. I want to develop my digital illustration skills so that I can play with colour balances and cleaning up images once they are scanned from an original drawing.

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Gallery Inspiration

On Thursday I visited Whitechapel Gallery

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Tracing Absence | Portal de Plata | Zadie Xa

. . .

I used my iPhone to capture street images that caught my eye on the way; and was excited to find them mirrored in Sadie Xa’s installation ― a hanging dress, an appliquéd knife. 

Themes of error and redemption echoed with my sketchbook explorations. 

I experimented with word-sketching and using just a double-ended red/blue pencil. 

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Next week I will

. . .

Explore the impact of error on my practice until now, so that I can make the most of the course to develop my own impactful visual language.