Outline of Initial Ideas

My initial idea is based on the boat that I chose from my trip to Pitt Rivers and then developed in to the idea of dreams and adventure, from that I developed my idea by, mind mapping ideas and thoughts to come up with the idea of Greek Myths and Monsters.


I like the idea of Greek Myths and Monsters because they are very different stories to the modern day. Also I have a fondness for the idea behind and the concept of animals and/or creatures that have been made up and created in a persons imagination and have never been seen. Moreover I love the look and design of the monsters in Greek myths, they really are different and unusual to the idea of an animal or the idea of a classic monster.


I would like to make one piece of work which is physical (you can touch and feel it) and make another piece of work which is visual (you can hear and see it). My idea so far is to make a book, which is very old fashioned and different from a normal book being bound and fixed with a set number of pages. I would like to make a book with images along with the story and have them come to life on the computer.


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Second Virtual Talk

Today we had our second online meeting (using Adobe Connect Pro) with Claire McEwan an artist who works as a freelance designer and teams up with schools to lead projects in experimental photography, digital art and printmaking. Claire has a First Class Honours degree from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in textile design.

Claire works with materials, surfaces, shapes and layers, which she then constructs to make abstract and tactile compositions. Claire likes to work in low relief, incorporating lighting and then constructs textile wall pieces.

So far this year (2010) Claire has worked with people/groups like British Museum, Chalfonts Community College, Coachwerks, Charleston House, Due South Restaurant, Park Community School, Weald of Kent Grammar School.

Claire McEwan showed us some of her work to inspire and make use think differently about our project.
(Too see Claire work see below or Click Here)

cmcewan  

Project.onto.Cloth  

C.mcewan.memory

Miss Stower then set us a task to complete, which was to make a page about Claire and what she talked about, we had to think about layout and composition to complete this task. Here is my work.

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Exploring Key Concept

I have decided to explore the idea of an adventure in a dream. I came to this idea by making a mind map for the word memories (click here to see mind map) and then relating the key words from the mind map back in to the chosen object, Salama the boat from Pitt Rivers.


The reason behind choosing the key concept of dreams and adventure is that the boat was hanging in the air, so you could see it from a different angle, which is not often seen for a boat because the boat is normally in water. The idea for adventure came from the boat's journey around the world, going to new and never been seen before places to deliver cargo.


After exploring my key concept, I have come to the idea of Greek Myths and Monsters. I came to this idea by making another mind map on the idea of dreams and adventure. To get to the idea of Greek Myths and Monsters I went from Dreams to Nightmares to Monsters them to Myths and finally to Greek. (for mind map see below)

I feel that this is a good idea because it for one interested me and for another it is not the obvious choice to make for Salama the boat. What I have to do now, is to research Greek Myths and Monsters and also think about how I am going to display it.


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Initial Ideas

So far we have been to Pitt River  to find an object that we would like to develop our project around. Also we have had our First Talk with Jon Lockhart, how will be helping use develop our work.

I feel that I have not thought about the stimulus enough. The stimulus is the word Memories; so what I thought I would do is, make a Mind Map on the word  "memories". I choose to make a mind map instead of a brain storm because a mind map, unlike a brain storm is the way I think, linking ideas together and following thoughts.

First I used a technique called "Word Association" and wrote all the words down on post-it notes and stuck them to my wall and then started to link ideas together to make a mind map. To see my Word Association and Mind Map see below.

Word Association

Mind Map

After linking the words together I digitally made it on the computer, by using some mind map software called "Mindnode". To see the finish Mind Map see below.In class with Miss Stower we have been looking at layout and composition. We have created a piece of work to show our understanding of layout and composition; to do this we have had to think about where the words are placed on the page and how they are  placed, are they portrait or landscape, are they curved or straight and all questions like that. The piece of work was based on our initial ideas from our object at Pitt Rivers which we did an activity on, to develop our thoughts and feelings towards the object in question. To see my "Initial Ideas" see below.

Memories

In class with Miss Stower we have been looking at layout and composition. We have created a piece of work to show our understanding of layout and composition; to do this we have had to think about where the words are placed on the page and how they are placed, are they portrait or landscape, are they curved or straight and all question like that. The piece of work was based on our initial ideas from our object at Pitt Rivers which we did an activity on, to develop our thoughts and feelings towards the object in question. To see my "Initial Ideas" see below.

Initial Ideas

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First Virtual Talk

Today we had a online meeting (using Adobe Connect Pro) with Jon Lockhart an artist who works with schools around the UK. Jon has a Masters in Fine Art from the University of Reading in 2004 and has been awarded a grant in 2008 from The Arts Council Research and Development.

Jon works in both physical and digital media by making installations for companies and schools. Jon also works along side schools helping them develop there creativity and use of such programmes as Photoshop and Illustrator.

Jon has worked with people/groups like Birmingham Council, I.C.S.S North Warwickshire, Maiden Erlegh Specialist Arts and Business School, Oxford Community School,  St Bernard's Grammar School and The Tate Gallery. (To see more Click Here)

Jon talked about a project that he was involved with where people brought items of worth to them, either an object that has a strong memory or a back story to it. Then they had to draw it, photograph it, write about it, scan it, or even leave it on the 'museum' shelves to be seen by future visitors. This project was called The People's Museum because the people involved where the artists and creators of their work. (To see more about this project go to Here or Here)    

Jon also talked about a interesting project that the BBC are running on a Radio 4 show called "Today's Object", in which the listeners of the show sends in images of objects that is related to a time period. Jon thought that this might be useful to use to see what other people do with historical objects and what they mean to them. (To find out more Click Here)

Jon also showed us some of his photos to do with projects and installations that he has been involved with. (To see there photo Click Here or see below)

After he talked, he opened the floor to any questions, here are some of them.

Question:

How did you first get in to working with schools and educational projects?

Answer:

"It was a lucky mistake, I just got in to one and then they all came flooding in."

Question:

Do you find that your finished work is very different and much more developed than your first idea?

Answer:

"Yes, Because I started with one idea and I think along that line to another, better, more creative one than I started with. There is nothing called a bad idea, just an undeveloped one.  

Question:

Do you find that there are limitations to your work?

Answer:

"No, because if I can't do something then I give it to someone that can, e.g. I wanted a large poster painted but I could not do it, so I sent it to a printers that could."

Question:

How do you come up with ideas?

Answer:

"I take a visit to some thought provoking places, like a museum and see what comes to mind and write every idea down, even if it is bad and off the wall because it might not be good for this project but brilliant for another. I also have a look in art books, old school books or anything that makes me think of ideas. If I have a brief then that also gives me ideas as well."

If you would like to find out more about Jon Lockhart then,  Click Here.

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The Prologue

So this week we have started the new course called "The Project," with all three teachers; Mr Michie, Miss Stower and Mr Munster. To get the course kick started we have been to Pitt Rivers a museum of "Anthropology and world Archaeology, University of Oxford" but before that… What have we been doing in class?


In class, this week we have had lessons with Mr Michie and Mr Munster, as Miss Stower's lesson was taken up by going to Pitt Rivers. However we have explored the idea of memories with Mr Munster by making and creating a brain storm / mind map of My Life in Sound and My Day in Sound. With Mr Michie we have learnt about what the project need us to fulfil in the unit and what this unit is about. (For more information see "The Project" page of this blog.) Also Mr Michie has taught us how to use blogger and the features it has like widgets, pages, and background / templates.

My Life in Sound and My Day in Sound

As I have said above, for Miss Stower's lesson, we went to the "Pitt Rivers Museum" (for some information see the image below) to study about Anthropological and Archaeological objects and objets d'art. When we got there we met a curator of the museum, who showed us the basic guide and layout of the museum. She gave us a task to find a similar historical item in the museum that she gave us. I got an item that comes from West Africa and was used as a fertility doll to make African women pregnant.

We then got given tasks (which can be seen below) to complete, to do with looking around the museum and finding objects that we liked the look of and which appealed to us.

Object Exploration

Here are all of my photos from the trip in a contact sheet.

My response, thoughts and feelings to activities. (See above for activities)

Activity 1

Here are the photos that I took of the front of Pitt Rivers to document my initial thoughts and feelings towards it. I felt that the appearance of Pitt Rivers gave me the impression of a grand, royalistic building that has been there for generations and had an impact on the way that the museum had been laid out and designed.

Above are the photos I took to document objects that interested me in the museum.


Photos 1 to 2 are Snow Goggles used by some nationalities.
Photo 3 is a German - European Padlock. The padlock is dated (below the keyhole) 1645.
Photos 4 to 5 is a Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Photos 6 to 8 is a South American - Peruvian, Cranium showing Trepanation.

Activity 2

These photo show the object that I have chosen to develop my project on.

Words that I think about when I see "Salama" (the boat, object).

- East African Coast

- Boat

- Ownership - Empire

- Journey - Adventure - Discovery

- Sea

- Freedom - Exploration - Unknown

- Power - Wind

- Wood

- Support - Faith

- Theft - Money - Treasure - Pirates


Activity 3

The image above is a sketch of the Salama that I did from memory.

The slideshow above shows my 3D cardboard model of my chosen object, "Salama." 

Above are my frottages of what I think the Salama's surface and texture might look like.

Photos 1 to 4 are what I think the wood might look like.

Photo 5 is what I think the rope might look like.

Photo 6 is what I think the sail might look like.

Activity 4

Physical Features

-What does it look and feel like?

To me it looks like a boat, but taking that away I would say the shell, being long and narrow resembles a banana to me with the oars being match sticks. As I was not allowed to touch it I would think it would feel very hard and rough, being made out of wood, the only way I guess I can tell you how it would feel, would be to say, it is like a dead, dry, old piece of wood.

-What colour is it? 

I would describing the colours as being browns, greys, greens, creams and white, very neutral and natural colours.

-What does it smell like?

As I could not get very close to it I would say it smells very old, decaying, damp, salty, fishy are just some of the words I could think of.

-What is it made of? 

The Salama was made out of wood, rope and the sail was made out of some sort of cloth, maybe hessian,

-Is it natural or manufactured substance?

All of the boat was made out of natural materials and I would say that it was also made by hand. 

- Is the object complete?

I think the object is complete as I don't see any missing parts it has a sail, a shell (boat) and some thing to help it move (oars).

Construction

-How was it made?

I think it was made by getting one long tree trunk of wood and planing, cutting and hollowed out to the size and shape it needed to be. Also some of the parts are bind together with rope.

-Is it hand made or machine made?

I think as it is very old and made out of wood then it would have had to be made by hand as that was the only way to make something at that time. 

-Was it made in a mould or in pieces?

At the time in which it was made there was no way to mould wood so it would of had to be made in pieces and then put together.

-How was it fixed together?

By looking very carefully at it I have come to the conclusion that it was fixed together with some sort of glue or some sort of resin. Also it has been fixed together by nails and wood joins.

Function 

-What was it made for? 

I am under the impression that it was made for sailing up and down rivers and waterways most likely to carry some sort of cargo, maybe people or even items of use.

-How has the object been used? 

The object has been used for sailing on the water most likely in rivers than in the sea because of its narrow design it is suited for the river and waterways.

-How has the object been changed?

The object has been changed in two ways, one by natural courses and the other being man made. The natural change is down to erosion and decay over time but the man made change is down to the way the Pitt Rivers has displayed it by hanging it up in the air.

Design

-Does it do the job it was intended to do well?

I am guessing that when"Salama" was on the water it did it's job well because if it didn't do it's job well than it would not be here today

-Were the best materials used?

I would say that the best materials were used at the time it was made.

-Is it decorated?

Yes, Salama is decorated with, I would say war paint to protect the boat and the crew members from evil spirits  

-How is it decorated?

Salama is decorated with white and green paint with eyes on the front and a tail on the back.

-Do you like the way it looks?

I think that the way it has been design and decorated suits the boat from where it comes from and the mentality of the people at the time. So yes I do like the simple design and minimal decoration.

-Would other people like it?

It depends on if people like that style of design but I think it is more down to the message and story behind it and I think people will like it.

Value

-What is it worth?

You can not put a price on this type of historical artefact. For one person it might be worth nothing and for another it might be millions if not billions of pounds. I would say a lot of money what ever it is.

-To the people who made it?

To the people that made it, it would have been a lot because they made it and got payed for making it at the end.

-To the people who used it?

To the people that used it, it would be worth a lot, it is a way to get one thing from one place to another with great ease.

-To the people who keep it?

To the people who keep it, it is more than money is worth because of the historical meaning behind it and the story that goes with it.

-To you?

To me it is worth as much as I am interested in it and for as long as I am interested in it.

-To a bank?

For a bank it is worth as much as the insurance is worth and for as long as the owner pays for the insurance.

-To a museum?

To the museum it is priceless because of the story and message behind it. Also for the reason why did the people of that time make it. 

Activity 5

Here are some other questions that I came up with about my object, "Salama."

- Who Sailed it? 

- What was it used for?

- When was it used?

- Where did it go to and come from?

- Why was it used?

- Who was the captain?

- What was the cargo?

- When did it start sailing?

- When did it finish sailing?

- Where in the world was it made?

- Where in the world did it hit port (make land)?

- What roles where needed to sail the boat?

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