OUIL505
Project Report Alice Franklin
Initial Ideas I started the project knowing that I wanted to go in to something regarding historical events as that’s something ive always been interested in. Only from brainstorming different ideas, I remembered how ‘Ring around the roses’ was written about the bubonic plague, which intrigued me to find out other possible theories behind well known nursery rhymes. I was also looking to try out another method of picture making and thought paper cut illustrations would be great, especially for the theme of children’s nursery rhymes. I started out doing a lot of contextual research and research on the method itself, which both educated me and motivated me to get started. I sometimes do regret spending so much time on researching both the method and the topic as it took a lot of my time up, but I wanted to well inform myself before starting the project, as in previous modules lack of research has been a major downfall for me.
Initial Ideas As the project went on, I started to really get into it. The concept was really interesting to me and I was imagining loads of different conclusions to the module. From all of the contextual research I had done, I had in my head that I wanted to create a 3D paper cut illustration, like Helen Musselwhite’s work. The different layers of paper create a lovely sense of depth, with a limited colour palette and framing, they look extraordinary. But unforetunately this was my first time at ever creating paper cut illustrations so I had to put that idea to one side and focus on more 2D illustrations. Because I was focusing on papercut, I decided to try drawing with shapes as that is what I would be doing when creating the final pieces, and I actually really enjoyed this, it was something totally different and I really enjoyed what the images looked like.
Finished Pieces For my final pieces I decided to narrow my work to just the ‘Jack & Jill’ nursery rhyme. One of the theories of the nursery rhyme was that Charles I wanted to increase tax on liquid measures, which was rejected, instead he changes the size of a half pint (jack) to a quarter pint (Jill) but kept the tax the same price. I decided to create a paper cut illustration of a cask ale pump, focusing on the plaque which could be used to apply on different products. I really like the outcome of this piece as I think the simple shapes for the paper cut is quite effective. I tried to keep the type old fashioned to keep in theme with the time period and kept the design simple to reflect other brands that are out there.
Finished Pieces Another theory behind the nursery rhyme is that it originated from Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. I originally was going to make a paper cut play pamphlet cover as I had never read or seen the play, but when in a crit I was told to look up the play and create something that would be recognizable from it. So I went away and read notes on the play and asked people what was the most memorable part. From the feedback I decided to create a paper cut illustration of Bottom, when he wakes up and his head had turned into the head of an ass. I thought that this would be recognizable to people as which play it had come from. This is my favourite illustration out of the three final pieces, it is simple but yet effective and I like the colour pallete, although it took the longest to make.
Finished Pieces The last theory, and probably the most recognized, is the beheading of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in the 1793 French Revolution. For this I really wanted to create something simple, yet again just using simple shapes to illustrate the story. I made this first and came over a problem with my materials, I had used a tacky PVA, which I had bought when researching different paper crafts, including quilling. This made the paper buckle and crease with it being so wet, I then had to start all over again, but by this time I had been able to gain feedback on what I had achieved so far. It was at this moment I decided to make the final pieces like spot illustration without a background, and I also was given advice to add more shadows and highlight as they preferred those parts. I feel like the feedback definitely helped the progression of my final pieces and I really like all of them which I have made, and it has inspired me to carry on with this technique in the future.
Product Range I ended up having two different ranges of products from my illustrations. I thought I should capitalize on the beer branding as they’re lots of products you could make from this. Originally I was thinking of a bottle label and beer mats but then I moved onto promotional products as well, like the rubber bands, which are famous for promoting businesses, charities and causes. I really like this range of products, the only thing I would improve is that I think the simple paper cut doesnt do it much justice on the bottle label. I feel like a cleaner design would be better. This is something I will improve on next time I try to achieve something like this.
Product Range The next product range I created was inspired by the possibility if a book of collected theories behind nursery rhymes were made, then these would be the merchandise sold along with it. I tried to think of things that would be sold in shops, libraries and gift shops. I am quite happy with how these have worked out, they look professional and could potentially fit within those shop scenarios.
Summative Evaluation I have found this module both fun and testing at the same time. I really enjoyed the project I chose and the method in which I used to do it in but I felt like the method I used was very time consuming and would have liked more time to create something really impressive. My choice of topic really motivated me through the module, I really like historical topics and I found it really interesting and could have researched into it a lot further. I think one of my set backs was that I did a lot of research into the general topic at the beginning, where I could have decreased it and narrowed it down further from the beginning, leaving me more time for developing my ideas and my practice. I chose to do paper cut illustration as I had never done it before but the times I have seen it, I have really liked it as a technique. I found contextual research really influenced my work in this module. I really like the work of Helen Musselwhite, which is why I wanted to create a 3D paper cut at first, although I couldn’t do this in this module, I am definitely going to try this out throughout the summer so I can learn more about the process. This module has swayed my opinion on where I want to take my work in the future, I really want to carry on doing paper cut illustrations as I like the craft that it takes and drawing things in shapes, as I think it changes the way I draw, which I quite like. Although 3D paper cut is something I aspire to achieve at some point, I really enjoyed the 2D pieces I made. They took a lot of time but because I was enjoying the process, I found the whole experience really enjoyable. The only downside to this method of craft is the cost of the materials, as it did start as being quite expensive to get the initial stock, but obviously the cost wouldn’t be as much next time as I now have a good collection of papers. When researching artists, I also looked at their processes and one thing I noted as being important is taking note of stock and noting down what stock you use for each piece, which has inspired me to fill a notebook with swatches for future reference now I want to take it further.
Summative Evaluation My overall final pieces I am really happy with, I am glad I changed the composition, even though it was last minute, which has made me appreciate how helpful feedback is from my peers. I think each piece is quite different from each other, but are connected through concept and style. I think if I had a bit more time, or I was more experienced with paper cut to estimate how long it takes, I would like to have created more pieces, but with the time I had and the set backs I had along the way, I feel like the work load was sufficient and manageable in the time. I am quite happy with the application of my illustration to the products. I found a few ways to apply them, my favourite being the beer products. I feel like although this is my favourite product range, it is different to the other illustrations, which I applied to merchandise. I was quite pleased with my Photoshop skills within this module, even though it might not compare to others, I feel like my individual progression in the programme has improved a lot, especially now I can feel confident enough to just try things out and not need to ask for help from others. I feel like more practice over the summer will definitely help me for when I come back in level 6 and I also think I would really enjoy it as it is giving me more confidence within my work. Overall, I am really happy with the work that I have produced in this module, I think the freedom of choosing my own topic and deliverables etc. has given me motivation to really enjoy the module. I feel like if I had more time to dedicate solely on this module I could have taken it really far, but with other deadlines and lack of organization on my part, I think I didn’t give it as much effort as it could have had. This upsets me a little because although I like what I have created, I just wonder what its potential could be, especially with paper cut giving me a new lease of life. Once again, I find that my time management definitely let me down, I think I could have improved if I had worked to a better schedule but I know exactly how to do things differently next time, so overall I’m taking this as a learning experience and this module has excited me to do new things, and enjoy making things more.