My Final Major Project Brief:
Self love, self growth and mental health is crucial for a healthy and positive life and life style however; it might be difficult. Different people go through different life experiences where it can affect them differently weather that is physically or mentally. It is important to show other individuals how important, precious and short a life is therefore, contracting a visual and positive piece of art is key to happiness, positivity and support towards other dealing with mental and physical problems.
For the first week of the final major project i spent my time doing a calendar plan which will allow me to be more organised and do as much work as i can with in the 6 to 9 weeks we have to do it.
For the past several years social media and other people and influences around me have showed a large amount of support surrounding mental health and body positivity therefore; i would like to focus my research and work based around that subject. My initial thought is mostly based up on women with body positivity as there is a lot of controversial around that. There are many influences that have inspired me to do so such as, Demi Lovato and Ashley Graham as they have thought through body issues and mental health. I am going to do more research upon other influences and celebrities that revolves around positive health and well being. I am going to include positive quotes and drawings of self growth and love in my work where i have already researched up on. Also, my work will include nature and plants surrounding a female figure as the world and earth also grows healthy and positively around us. Moreover, I will take colour in to consideration in my work as different colours represent different emotions and feelings and life experiences. I have decided to have self love and mental health as my project for the final as it also represents my own experiences as an individual and as a woman growing up. Through out the past 10 years i have had to develop my understanding of self love and being mindful of my general and mental health as it s a crutial aspect of growing in to a strong and positive individual. This is the reason i have chosen the brief that i have created for the final major project.
Refer to any techniques and processes you intend to use. Describe the range of media and materials relevant to your project and how you may use them to explore and develop your ideas. Include aspects of studio practice, workshop procedures or the use of particular equipment and software and discuss requirements such as collaboration or consultation with others, work space factors, etc. Provide an indicative timescale for your project and relate the manner in which you intend to divide your time in order to investigate, develop and produce your project appropriately. This should be a meaningful plan to you and should be personalised to your project. You may wish to write your plan as a daily or weekly schedule. Try to reflect a clear and well-structured framework for your research, development and production.
Since the 16 of march i have been in isolation due to the corona virus therefore i have been working continuously at home for the final major project. I will still be carrying on with the brief that i have set up for my self and might include the coronavirus and isolation pandemic to it. I have been focusing on women and their mental health during the pandemic as some people might find it difficult to be on their own. Therefore, i will be making body and portrait painting of women of different sizes and cultures and how the pandemic might affect them. Being alone is difficult and will interfere with an individuals mental health therefore, making pieces of work that inspires and promotes women’s well being and mental health and happiness during the pandemic is crucial.
Due to my limited supplies i have been using a lot of acrylic paints and woking with pencils and pens on top of that, i will also be using some fabric and cardboard in my work to include a variation of textures and work styles.
Due to the ongoing lockdown and have to stay at home i have been creating more and more work where i am able to be creative with the work that i am producing. As this is a current situation in life right now i feel like i am going to change my brief a little to suit my and other circumstance therefore; i will be focusing more up on mental health and self love in isolation and how the effects on social media and the news are affecting a woman’s mental health and self love. Self love can be by going to a salon and pampering however, as shops are not closed, women across the globe are unable to do their usual routine and have these luxuries. Moreover, this means that women need to find other ways at home to self love and care for their mental health and well being as well as their overall health. I think this is the most relevant work that i have ever done with in this course and i can look back at this and remind myself how strong and positive i and other women can be during this time.
Over the past weekend i have been very unmotivated and didn’t have much energy to do any art work or even get out of bed. being in the house 24/7 is extremely hard at the moment. It has now been three weeks and it’s been so funny out which frustrates me so much. However’ today i have found the motivation to get my self in to a routine and do some work. My aim today is finish one whole sketchbook. I don’t have much pages to finish off now however, i feel like i can put more effort in to the sketchbook and make rough pages which shows that my ideas vary and then transfer on to larger scale that is more detailed.
Moreover, being positive and staying active, with a routine and being hopeful is extremely hard with the news on all the time reminding me how many people have died and social media ( although it has been a lot more positive lately). Therefore, it has been hard doing positive and uplifting art work that relates specifically to mental health therefore, i will be focusing my work on the pandemic it self and other aspects that can come along with that such as; mental health, positivity, routine, exams stopping, shops closing and all of that stuff but sty and bring mental health in to the mix.
Today i wanted to incorporate what is happening amount me weather thats physically or in the news in to my art work so that people who look my work is aware and know about some of the things that might have had an effect on people due to the covid19. This is mainly for the future references and for looking back at. In my sketchbook and the larger pieces i want to show my opinion and understand of what is happening around me and how mental health might come in to the also.
Over the easter holidays i have been focusing on what i would like to do as my final piece and how the work that i have already done connects to the final piece. previously i had done some different things which include covid -19 and what is going on in the word at the moment; i did that so who ever looks at my work is able to recognise why I’m doing and changing my brief to be something that is relatable to our current situation.
I have been practicing how to sketch a face accurately and how the body structures in different poses as this is what i will include in my final piece. As seen in the photos i have also done very rough sketches of scenes of someone watching tv, in the shower and in the bath. On social media i came across many articles which talks about how to help mental health during this time especially to those who are no longer in school, the main thing that was mentioned was to have a routine and be as healthy as possible which is what i will also be showing in the final piece at the end.
Over the past few weeks i have been finishing my sketchbooks and preparing for the final piece. I have been doing some rough developmental sketches of the final piece and started a bit of it. Initially i wanted to make scenes that promotes healthy mental health during lockdown on 20 pieces of wood that is the size of a general mug coaster however; due to talking with others i have decided to put paintings of women on each of the pieces. Instead of putting the scenes on the coasters i have started to create a book that i will be a “guide” for lockdown in order to promote happiness and health during quarantine.
Over the past few days i have been concentrating on the biggest piece of the final major project. The piece is about an A1 size and i will be using mix media. I have started off with acrylic paint as a base layer and i will be layering that with pencil, crayon and many more. I will also put in a lot of patterns and detailing in to it. This piece is very important to betray happiness, acceptance and a good mental state. Being able to see women of different sizes and skin tones together unites women. It makes them feel more powerful and appreciated by them selves and others.
For the final piece I also wanted to create a little book where i would call it “quarantine guide to good mental health”. However, due to having a tight deadline approaching fast, i might have to make a quick design showing my intensions and what it could have become. However, in the meantime i will be focusing on creating this big piece that is currently being developed every day.
When creating this work for the final major projects, i had many of my own visions and ideas as to what i wanted in my sketchbook and throughout. As part of my work i did do some research in order to find some other artists and inspiration for the progression of my work. As a result; i did not find a specific graphic designer and illustrator therefore i decided to go on pinterest. Pinterest game me a lot of inspiration and ways to develop my work even further. However, i did not find a specific artist that inspired me thought out therefore; i decided to find articles, websites, celebrities and brands that supported mental health and body positivity. One of the articles was found on the BBC website which gave information about how an individual could improve their mental health during the lockdown.
This is the link to the BBC website which also shows a video! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/newsbeat-52411394/coronavirus-dr-radha-s-five-mental-health-tips-for-lockdown
As well as looking at websites I also researched celebrities and brands that promote a good mental health and self love. Some of the examples include; Demi Lovato, Chrissy Teigen and Lili Reinhart. I found this information on website called redbookmag.com; https://www.redbookmag.com/body/mental-health/g24474898/best-celebrity-body-positive-moments/.
Some of the brand that promote self love and body positivity which is a huge factor in a woman’s mental health and well being is; ASOS, BooHoo and many more.
One of the illustrators that i have been looking at for inspiration is ‘Custard Moon Illustrations’ which creates portraits of people who ask for it weather that are; families, individuals, men, women and children. I chose this illustrator as it has a very similar way of work as i have for my major final project which i thought was perfect as a reference. Below shows a couple of examples of her work that i have seen on her facebook page as a freelancer illustrator from Yorkshire.
These are the finished coasters that will be presented for the final exhibition. I will be setting them up on a white background where; they will be hung up by string and pegs. The initial idea behind these coasters is to show that beauty comes in many different colours, sizes, shapes and background. I decided to not give the ladies faces as a face leads an individual to judge them selves therefore, by removing the focal points of the face will always reveal a beautiful person weather that individual believes it or not.
This is the planning page for this piece of the exhibition work. It clearly shows how I will set up the work and how it will be displayed. All of the pieces with in the exhibition will relate with each other with the woman figure and the colours that i have chosen. The coasters have been painted on with white emulsion and then painted again on top with acrylic and then, i have added a paint felt tip to give more detail in the face shape and structure. I have also given a simple background so that the focal point of the women are not distracted from.
While creating the final piece i have also been practicing typography in order to create the writing on my work more attractive and make it fit more appropriately. This is a little book that i have created with various of quotes that relate to my brief in different styles.
My sketchbooks;
My sketchbooks are where my ideas have progressed and developed through out the weeks of creating the final major project pieces. These sketchbooks consist of ideas, brainstorming and documenting my time in lockdown. I have used a variation of things in order to create my sketchbook as it is. Although i had limited supplies due to not being in college i still managed to continuously work in my sketchbooks. As well as doing work in my sketchbooks i have created work outside in larger scale to have a variation of work produced.
ChloeWorbeywjecfoundation2019 