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Tips:

Mix multiple colors makes it look more beautiful.

Underglaze need to be more and thick.

Remember to compare the number of the color to the actual color of the burned object before coloring.

Don't wash the glaze in the sink.

Remember to put a board on the turntable, otherwise the clay will stick to the turntable and be difficult to clean.

The bottom of the ceramic should not be glazed.

If there is a problem with the glaze, such as accidentally pressing a pit or having a scratch, all the colors and glazes should be wiped and repainted.

This series accidentally burns cracks in the glaze.

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Unit 1 Presentation: Don't be a lonely illustrator

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Unit 1 Presentation: Don't be a lonely illustrator

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In my opinion, project 2 was the one that impressed me the most. At that time, my teacher asked me to redraw, and that redrawing moment was a very important moment for me because I was afraid of starting over from zero. But after experiencing it, I thought it was a good opportunity to overthrow my previous thinking habits and techniques, and to build up a new understanding.

For example, since I love to go to exhibitions. So naturally, I made a publication based on the habit of visiting exhibitions. I used many dark colours as the background of the illustrated book to set off the images, and the layout of on each page lacked variation. So the teacher said it looked like a "photo album".

Moreover, in order to finish the task as quickly as possible, the size of my images was very small, which did not convey the information well. This shows that although both publications and exhibitions present images to convey information, they do so in very different ways. So as illustrator, we need to take this into consideration. In addition, most of my works are based on imagination and are not based on real life. As a result, the content of the illustrations is very ordinary and the techniques are very rough, with uninteresting line arrangements.

Therefore, in the following projects, I slowed down the speed of my drawing, focused on the power and form of each line, instead of just completing the task of filling one surface after another. Also, I was not so eager to pursue results and rush through the process.

I used the light box workshop method to redraw my previous sketches again, change the material, keep the spirit and using the brush to draw more relaxed lines and to find the feeling of freedom of the roamer.

Another aspect of this project that influenced me greatly was the visual expression from the podcast. It gave me a deeper perspective on walking in the countryside and the relationship between human and nature. People at the time were breaking existing rules and boundaries for the right to roam, and this infected my illustrations. Although the writer and I did not meet in person, like the key word “collaboration” mentioned in the lecture, we formed a co-operative relationship and worked together to cross the boundaries of different fields.

Therefore, this project made me realise that a successful publication is not just a outcome of the illustrator alone, or a series of beautiful images done through his imagination and inner emotions, but it needs the connections with the outside world, paying attention to the reactions of audiences, and communicating across borders with people in various fields, so that our illustrations can be more touching to people.

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Louise V.(2023)Illustrating nature[Lecture].Peckham road lecture theatre, London. 24 Oct.

In the fourth week's lecture, Lewis talked about how illustrators in medieval Germany drew plants without reference to the real thing and observing nature, but instead drew them with reference to plants in other illustrated books. Plants existed on their own on the page, without any context, removed from their original environment. They also drew animals as corpses or as animals in zoos, objects that entered the human world.

This surprised me. Thus they were caught in a closed loop of ideology and thus could not progress. Behind this is also a reflection of the anthropocentric ideology of that era, which still exists today, as human beings continue to do self-righteous acts of closeness to nature and environmental protection actions.

However, when I think about it, I'm actually doing the same thing as medieval illustrators in my creations, getting caught up in the flow of information on the internet and relying too much on photo websites. Even photographic images of plants lack the multi-sensory experience of observing the real thing on the ground, and the impact that this first-hand experience has on the illustration.

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2023.1.22
Since the first clay vase I made was too large, I was afraid of failing, so my teacher suggested I make a few more small samples as glaze experiments.

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2023.12.6

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2023.11.6

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2023.10.31
Happy Halloween
According to Paul's instruction, I added a "v" shape of light in the picture to make the picture less crowded and to distinguish the front and back of the objects.

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2023.11.21
White cliffs

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Today I would like to share my thoughts on the "readability" of my work. This is what I have learnt most from the three projects in the first module. What exactly is "readability"? I think it is an attribute that allows the audience to read a work of art, which can also be called the "recognisability" of a work of art. In order for a work of art to be readable, I believe that the content of the work needs to take precedence over the form.

In the second and third projects, I always thought of what interesting form to make first, without thinking deeply about the theme and central idea of the artwork, what message I wanted to send to the audience, and therefore many of my artworks appeared to be very mediocre and empty, and failed to resonate with the audience. I often used to rely on my own habits and imagination to produce a beautiful picture rather than a piece of content based on realistic research.

Moreover, regarding "recognisability", there is still a degree of balance. It should not be too easy to be read and recognised, otherwise it will lose its interest and space for reading. Neither can it be too abstract, thus making it impossible for the audience to access the information effectively.

Therefore, in the final analysis, the readability of the work is a question of effective communication with the audience, and also the process of the artist making puzzles. As an artist, you must first figure out what message you want to convey and what puzzle to make. And it is important to understand the best way to get the best feedback from the audience. However, the artist is not bent on pleasing and flattering the audience, it is only an auxiliary reference, and it is still the artist who plays a leading role in the creative process.

Therefore, I believe that a good work is not only the role of the artist alone in the process of conception, but also the process of conception of the work needs the audience's feedback as a ruler to guide the direction of the growth of the work. No matter what kind of work is created, the artist needs to consider the existence of the audience.

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For the sixth version of the model, I recalled the melting elements of the original octopus junk, referred to my teacher's suggestions, imagined entirely new possibilities for future materials and, once again, broke down the original shape of the split museum collection to make a suspended island that serves as a monument to the remains of a lost civilisation.

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For the fifth version of the model, I continued to split the modern collection of the museum and gave a futuristic look. But the teacher said that this one is too much like a robot again, the arms and legs are very human in character and easily recognisable by the viewer. And the whole model is made of one material, very much like a plastic texture. The bright colours of the Memphis furniture and the plastic material of the model are easily reminiscent of children's toys, but this is not really what I wanted. When I created this image, I still didn't know what I really wanted to create. My understanding and imagination of the future archaeology is still very vague.

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The fourth version of the model was inspired by an Adidas shoe  work called “Forum Hi Humanchives” by Frost, Kerwin. The shoes were with five senses, which were great fun, and to made it more interesting, I added a dinosaur Lego. In addition, I added a circus glove to balance the compositional weight of the image. There was a lamp “Ashoka” by Ettore Sottsass from Memphis furniture that was structured much like the archaeological site and the colours stood out, so I added that too.

However, this attempt was still too "easily recognisable". I did not consider my reasons and intentions for creating these combinations to achieve a coherent image, so the faces formed by the five senses on the shoes stood out, and the elements of the museum collection were too complete, with the individual parts fragmented from each other and not forming a whole.Angela suggested that I could visualise the form of discarded concrete rebar.

So what exactly is 'recognisable'? In the end, it is still a question of communicating effectively with the audience. As an artist, you must first figure out what you want to express and what message you want to convey.

Secondly, it is important to understand the means through which you are most able to get the best feedback from your audience. I think a good work in the birth of the process, not just the role of the artist alone, the work of the breeding process also need the audience's feedback as a ruler to guide the direction of growth of the work. However, the artist is not just trying to please and flatter the audience, it is just a kind of auxiliary reference, and the leading role in the creative process is still the artist.

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So I referenced David Usborne's portfolio, Memphis furniture and a host of other modern designs, drew so many sketches to gather inspiration and designed another version of the model. But it was a little too much like a chandelier, and not very interesting. So I went back to work on a fourth version of the model.

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In relation to the themes of future archaeology and “insert here”, I envisioned my AR work travelling through the V&A museum as a dynamic model that is connected to the artefacts around it, so I thought about creating the role of a future archaeologist.

As future archaeology could potentially involve the earth billions of years from now, humans may not necessarily exist at that time, so I designed an alien archaeological robot to excavate artefacts more efficiently and industrially.

However, the image is too abstract and the features about archaeological excavation are not obvious to let the audience know the real intention of my work without my explanation.

Moreover, my teacher suggested that in the future, the vision of archaeology can also be expanded to modern industrial design, which is more relevant to the current life.

So I further modified the model.

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This is the first model made, an experimental combination of undersea creatures and porcelain based on the original octopus junk thought up, haven't started sketching yet, so imagination is very limited.

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Michelle,E.(2008)Octopus Junk.Available at:https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O297175/octopus-junk-form-michelle-erickson/(Accessed: 20 Jan 2024)

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Very first practice on the nomad session 

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Very first practice on the nomad session 

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My attempts at modelling before starting the project.

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Reflections on "recognizable"

In relation to the themes of future archaeology and insertion, I envisioned my AR work travelling through the V&A museum as a dynamic model that is connected to the artefacts around it, so I thought about creating the role of a future archaeologist.

As future archaeology could potentially involve the earth billions of years from now, humans may not necessarily exist at that time, so I designed an alien archaeological robot to excavate artefacts more efficiently and industrially. However, the image is too abstract and the features about archaeological excavation are not obvious to let the audience know the real intention of my work without my explanation. Moreover, my teacher suggested that in the future, the vision of archaeology can also be expanded to modern industrial design, which is more relevant to the current life.

So I designed another version of the model by referring to David Usborne's collection, Memphis furniture and a range of other modern designs. But it was a little too chandelier-like and not all that interesting. So I went back to work on a fourth version of the model.

The fourth version of the model was inspired by an Adidas shoe that had five senses on it which was very interesting, and to add to the fun I added dinosaur Lego. In addition, to balance the compositional weight of the image, I added a circus glove. There is a lamp with a structure very much like the archaeological division of the ground, and the colours are very revealing, so I added that as well. But again, this attempt was too "recognisable". I didn't think about the reasons and intentions of these combinations in order to achieve a coherent picture, so the faces created by the five senses on the shoes stand out, and the elements are too complete and fragmented from each other, not forming a whole. My teacher suggested that I imagine the form of discarded concrete rebar.

So what exactly is "recognisable"? After all, it is a question of effective communication with the audience.

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Sea Sculpture | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

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Unknown(1725).Sea Sculpture.Available at: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O172836/sea-sculpture-unknown/(Accessed: 4 Jan 2024)

I first became aware of the "sea sculpture", which is based on the 18th century, when porcelain ships from China were wrecked after fires or typhoons, during which the porcelain was broken and melted at high temperatures, forming a kind of fortuitous assemblage. After sinking to the bottom of the sea, over the years, these pieces of porcelain became the "home" of underwater creatures and plants, which recreated themselves on the porcelain.

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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On display at V&A South Kensington

Ceramics, Room 145

This object was salvaged from the wreck of a trade ship thought to be a Chinese junk, dating to approximately 1725. This corresponds to the reign of the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The wreck was discovered off the Southern coast of Vietnam in 1998 near Ca Mau and is now commonly referred to as the Ca Mau wreck. The ship was carrying Chinese porcelain of various designs for export to South Asia and Europe. This object is one of a group of 182 pieces of porcelain acquired by the V&A from the wreck.

This object as it exists now as a so-called 'sea-sculpture' was created through accident and nature. A number of underglaze blue decorated porcelain pieces were fused together by a fire on board the ship, which was possibly the cause of the wreck. The corals and shells grew on these fused pieces whilst they lay on the seabed. The component pieces of porcelain were mass produced in Jingdezhen, Southern China in the early 18th century.

Category

Object type

Materials and techniques

Underglaze of cobalt blue decorated porcelain pieces fused together by fire with encrusted with shell and coral growths

Brief description

Comprised of several underglaze blue decorated porcelain fragments, large shells and coral.

Physical description

Formed of several pieces of underglaze blue decorated porcelain, including a spittoon and the neck section of a vase. The pieces are fused together and are encrusted with shells and coral.

Dimensions

Styles

Production type

Mass produced

Gallery label

Object history

This object was salvaged from the wreck of a trade ship, probably a Chinese junk dating to approximately 1725. This date corresponds to the reign of the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The wreck was discovered off the Southern coast of Vietnam in 1998 near Ca Mau. The wreck is now commonly referred to as the Ca Mau wreck. By 1999 a total of 51,500 pieces had been recovered form the wreck.

It was loaded with Chinese porcelain of various designs for export to South Asia and Europe. This object is one of a group of 182 pieces of porcelain acquired by the V&A from this wreck.

These objects were sold through Sotheby's, Amsterdam at sale AM0967 'Made in Imperial China: 76,000 pieces of export porcelain from the Ca Mau shipwreck, Circa 1725' which took place in 2007.

Historical significance: This object provides useful information about trade, trade routes, design and markets for Chinese porcelain.

Production

Attribution note: The component pieces of porcelain were mass produced in Jingdezhen, Southern China. This object as it exists now as a so-called 'sea-sculpture' was created through accident and nature. These objects were fused together by a fire on board the ship, which was possibly the cause of the wreck. The corals and shells grew on these fused pieces whilst they lay on the seabed.

Summary

This object was salvaged from the wreck of a trade ship thought to be a Chinese junk, dating to approximately 1725. This corresponds to the reign of the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The wreck was discovered off the Southern coast of Vietnam in 1998 near Ca Mau and is now commonly referred to as the Ca Mau wreck. The ship was carrying Chinese porcelain of various designs for export to South Asia and Europe. This object is one of a group of 182 pieces of porcelain acquired by the V&A from the wreck.

This object as it exists now as a so-called 'sea-sculpture' was created through accident and nature. A number of underglaze blue decorated porcelain pieces were fused together by a fire on board the ship, which was possibly the cause of the wreck. The corals and shells grew on these fused pieces whilst they lay on the seabed. The component pieces of porcelain were mass produced in Jingdezhen, Southern China in the early 18th century.

Collection

Accession number

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Sea Sculpture | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

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Comprised of several underglaze blue decorated porcelain fragments, large shells and coral.

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I think this time, despite the redrawing, was a great opportunity for me, because without it, I may never have realized and paid attention to these problems I had, and I would not have had the chance to grow and become better. It’s important to keep drawing more sketchbooks, scan the contents of the sketchbooks, recreate and rearrange them with computer software, try more print editions and break out of my comfort zone.

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Project II the forth, fifth, sixth,seventh edition 

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Project II the forth, fifth, sixth,seventh edition 

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In the end, I took my teacher's advice and scanned and selected the more representative exercises from my sketchbook to continue this style of re-creation. I tried to extend the figure in a topsy-turvy posture to increase the tension of the lines and the vigour of the picture.

However, I felt that ink alone was a bit monotonous, so I added a collage of some landscape illustrations from newspapers to make the picture more layered. The sense of order of the collaged papers contrasts with the contingency of the ink lines, while the overall tone of black, white and grey makes them form a harmony in the picture. This was praised by the teacher.

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For the third version of this assignment I finally took the book seriously and started drawing the official draft. It took me two days to draw all the contents, using coloured pencils and gradient techniques to depict lonely hikers roaming in nature. I also took great care to complete the binding work, cutting express cardboard and pasting black coloured paper onto the cardboard as a background for the illustrations, highlighting the colours of the images. I also learnt a new way of binding, braiding all the cardboards with the gift rope I bought.

But all I got was sharp feedback from the teacher, who thought the binding was very rigid and uninteresting, and that it was still a problem of the small size of the picture, which did not allow the content and texture of the picture to be fully presented. And to add insult to injury, the teacher said that the book also looked like a "photo album"! The word "album" is very serious to me, which means that there is something very wrong with my thinking.

Furthermore, she thought the sketchbook was more interesting than the final work. I was easy to push too hard and my images were easy to be overwhelmed. Because every time I drew in my sketchbook I was not stressed. The art is officially produced in a non-utilitarian state. But when I was preparing to do a final work, I had a utilitarian mindset and wanted to be successful. I was too focused on creating a finished product to value the process and the fun of creating it.

And, I did have a sense of confusion and constraint during the whole process of the landscape painting series. Under the time constraint, I was still using my best and accustomed brushstrokes and painting styles, and completing a piece of artwork with no layers of filler colors and gradient colors. I didn't break out of my comfort zone, which is why I reflect on the mediocrity and uninteresting nature of my work.

I think that maybe I have not received special visual training because I have been studying art history and related theories, and I have only learnt to obtain and interpret information from images, but I have no understanding of how to better express and convey information through images.

I may have been influenced by previous exhibitions, thinking that the plain colors of large areas are like exhibition walls, which can set off the contents of the works. But I neglected the core of a publication, which was to make a book that could convey information, not a pure picture book. I only saw how to better present the illustrations and didn't focus on the connection from the inside and outside of the image with composition, ideas, media.

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The second version of the booklet continued my interest in shaped books by creating an organ book with slanted edges that continued upwards to represent the movement of mountains. I poked a hole through all the pages and even came up with a story for the design. I wanted to present a journey of the heart. City people want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and come to the countryside to find a peaceful life. After a long and arduous journey, they finally realise that this rare serenity is just a stone's throw away, in everyone's heart. Just like the hole I designed, from the first page to the last night, the whole book is closed, and found that these holes overlap together, the first page and the last page are so close to each other.

I felt that this idea was particularly good, probably thanks to my four years of studying art appreciation, and was quite capable of finding an explanation for the work. As you can imagine, I put the cart before the horse, ignoring the fact that the most important thing in an illustrated book should be the content of the book, not the form, and so the teacher rejected it again because the size of the picture was too small to allow the content of the illustration to be adequately presented.

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The first version of the booklet was a map-folding book with a fun twist, where I used a map of the UK as a page and folded it into 12 copies as required by the task. The process of reading was to open the map of the UK, fold it up and put it into a cardboard box in the shape of a travelling shoe for the cover. I was confident that both the map of the UK and the travelling shoe cover fitted well with my chosen theme of countryside wanderings, and that the book design was extremely clever, with the only drawback perhaps being that the images were too small to show the drawings. Little did I realise that it was this that made the form outweigh the content, and that the reading process was overly complicated, and suffered from my teacher's disapproval.

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I always have a lot of ideas, and it's easy to vacillate. Through the training of Project Two, I realized that  it is not the best to present all ideas. The theme and content of the painting is not the more the better, but the choice.

Furthermore, the sketchbook is more interesting than the final work. I am easy to push too hard and my images are easy to be overwhelmed. Because every time I draw in my sketchbook I'm not stressed, and the art is officially produced in a non-utilitarian state. But when I was preparing to do a final work, I had a utilitarian mindset and wanted to be successful. I was too focused on creating a finished product to value the process and the fun of creating it.

And, I did have a sense of confusion and constraint during the whole process of the landscape painting series. Under the time constraint, I was still using my best and accustomed brushstrokes and painting styles, and completing a piece of artwork with no layers of filler colors and gradient colors. I didn't break out of my comfort zone, which is why I reflect on the mediocrity and uninteresting nature of my work.

I think that maybe I have not received special visual training because I have been studying art history and related theories, and I have only learnt to obtain and interpret information from images, but I have no understanding of how to better express and convey information through images.

I may have been influenced by previous exhibitions, thinking that the plain colors of large areas are like exhibition walls, which can set off the contents of the works. But I neglected the core of a publication, which was to make a book that could convey information, not a pure picture book. I only saw how to better present the illustrations and didn't focus on the connection from the inside and outside of the image with composition, ideas, media.

I think this time, despite the redrawing, was a great opportunity for me, because without it, I may never have realized and paid attention to these problems I had, and I would not have had the chance to grow and become better. It’s important to keep drawing more sketchbooks, scan the contents of the sketchbooks, recreate and rearrange them with computer software, try more print editions and break out of my comfort zone.

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I always have a lot of ideas, and it's easy to vacillate. The tutorial on November 10th made me realize that it is not the best to present all ideas. The theme and content of the painting is not the more the better, but the choice.

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Today, I try to draw figures from anywhere, not from the person's head, no pencil drafts, and judge the shape of my drawing by feeling. I draw hands and pleats still feel inaccurate.

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Today we learned about the various forms of books and the three methods of binding. I explored different sizes and shapes of pages bound together to make four models of books.

I chose highly saturated red, yellow and blue colored paper as the main color. Because these colors are very strong and eye-catching, they can give readers a strong visual impact and attract their attention.

The first book I made was a face made up of pages. At first I didn't want to do this theme, I just wanted to make a book with pages of different sizes and dimensions. In the process of experimentation, I realized that arranging the pages from large to small could present a deep three-dimensional dimension that could arouse the curiosity and interest of the readers, so I bound the pages in order of size. As I got deeper into paper cutting, I realized that the geometric shapes could form a symmetrical human face, so I did the theme of the five senses for my first book. With Valerie as my guide, I also built on this model and learned how to secure books with three-hole sewing.

My second book model focused on exploring the possibilities of folding on top of different sized book pages. After my classmates shared their work, I realized that many of them had great designs for folding mechanisms for three-dimensional handmade books, and I was eager to learn and use them in my work. Therefore, I added a lot of folding elements to the second model, and I wanted the model to show the process of unwrapping the "gift box". The process of unwrapping reminds me of blooming flowers, so I went with a botanical theme for the second model.

I also completed the third model by folding the pages, connecting the three books with the folds and keeping the three bindings (this was a development of Matt's method of binding the two books together).

The fourth book model I didn't try too deeply due to time constraints, but simply made a sandwich by holding three different shapes of paper together with coil binding.

For the layout of the book content, I at first just pasted the geometric shapes on a white background, the shapes were cut off from each other, no relationship was created, and my thinking was somewhat limited. After being inspired by Angela and other cases, I started to use the leftover paper as the background to explore more interspersions and combinations between shapes. I went from cutting and pasting randomly to acting selectively and systematically, and finally to aesthetically combining shapes.

To summarize, although today's session was a bit intense for the brain, I enjoyed the condensed experimental sessions that promoted creativity at all times, kept my brain active, and saw my progress and growth in a short period of time.

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Jhinuk S.(2023)‘Collaboration’ is a code word for care[Lecture].Peckham Road Lecture Theatre, London. 17 Oct.

After listening to the third lecture, I found that cooperation can be achieved in all aspects of the art world. Starting from the generation of artistic concepts, an illustrator can communicate with people in different professional fields across the border, which helps to obtain new information and knowledge and see problems from different perspectives. Professionals in other fields can also interpret illustrations from their point of view and promote each other to form a virtuous circle. Everyone has their own specialty and can be an expert.

In the process of collective creation with professionals in other fields, interest is the most important, and interest makes people pay attention to the content and object of communication. Driven by interest, you will regain confidence where you didn't have it before.

In the curatorial process, together with museum professionals, discussing different possible narratives will make the exhibition more vibrant. On the basis of curatorial communication, illustrators and museum people are also communicating with the audience.

Before the lecture, I only knew about collaborations within the art world, and I never thought that people outside the art world could spark ideas with artists.

Therefore, we need to actively build new artistic exchange communities that welcome people from all walks of life. On the basis of each person's different specialties and professions, starting from personal interests and concerns, we learn skills from each other, draw on each other's strengths and weaknesses, and jointly promote and develop.

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I learned the importance of visual readability in a work of art from my first critique.

For readability, the use of color tones is very important, you can use different purity and brightness color to distinguish the level of the picture. If you compare the picture to sound, too many colors will become noisy. So you have to control the number of colors, learn to simplify, subtract. For example, in my painting "Impressions of London", the composition is too full, the colors of the oreground and background, the bus and the buildings are not distinguished, and the composition of the picture is too full to leave any blank space. This makes the audience uncomfortable.

Secondly, whether the work is stick to the topic or not is an important factor for the success of thematic creation. Works stick to the topic makes it easier for the audience to understand the content, making the work readable. For example, our theme is "one day", which is a time theme, then we must appear time-related content to imply the theme.

When it comes to content, what I have learned from other students' works is not to depict the content too frankly, the first thing that comes to mind should be discarded, it is not interesting. One piece of draft is definitely not enough, the content of the picture needs to leave some space for the audience to interpret, so that they can think and imagine. We can use some symbols, images allusions and art history knowledge to imply the audience.

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Right page is better!

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Learn from William Kentridgeu’s charcoal pencil painting 

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Learn from William Kentridgeu’s charcoal pencil painting 

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It was during William Kentridgeu's Charcoal Sketches of Figures that I first realised that I had a poor grasp of the proportions of the features and the position of the figure, and tended to draw beyond the confines of the paper.

Maybe it's because I was sitting at my desk today and my body muscles were so tense and my posture so fixed that I couldn't get my body to relax. Plus I started drawing from the eyes, so the facial proportions are weird. I may need more practice and adjustments in the future. I'll see if I can draw the proportions standing up next time.

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In today's lesson on museum collecting, I got to see a lot of strange tools whose purpose is hard to guess. Collector David Usborne has a passion for collecting objects whose function cannot always be deciphered, which have surreal qualities or anthropomorphic forms, while others are individual components of larger structures or systems. These include agricultural tools, household items, medical devices, and more.

The biggest thing I learned in this class was to use my imagination to the fullest. When I look at an item, it's not just from its function and most general perspective. To discard the first thought that comes to mind, we need to think out of the box and look at it from different perspectives. For example, think outside the box in terms of shapes, narratives, materials, etc.

Also, I think it’s a good idea to gather all the graduate diploma students idea on the Padlet. Because after finished a full sketchbook, I have ran out of ideas and have no idea how to go on the next four themes😭.

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Today, with the cost of cutting a finger to understand the principle and operation of woodcut printmaking (color printmaking). Different from the color prints I used to contact with which there were many templates, today only one board was used to complete the composition of four colors, which took me some time to understand. Several different types of colors and different shades of color are superimposed together with the texture of the roller to create a unique piece of work, which gives me a sense of accomplishment. I prefer the bright and heavy version.

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Some textile collage from fashion magazines 

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Some textile collage from fashion magazines 

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I mimicked the sewing form with paper tape, and the tape as a line was inspired by the pictures Mrs.Angela provided in class.

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It's a little difficult for me to color the tree layers and draw the leaves.

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Bailey,J.(2021) Many hands make a quilt: short histories of racial quilting. London: Common Press.

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Today, Mr.Matt presented some of his portfolio and introduced a new method of using light box. Light box can make animations and also helps illustrators to improve and polish their image in steps or in a progress. After that, Matt taught us to cut the paper in pieces and place them in different positions. Then copying the image and print it. You can print many versions of the work with different combinations. Finally,  make a collage. This method can make image more possibilities and boost our inspiration.

In the middle of Project 2, when my work got stuck in a bottleneck and the images were very rigid, Angela suggested that I should learn from the loose lines in sketchbook and use the light box to repeat the work to experience the different rendering of each drawing. This reminded me of one of the "six methods" mentioned in Xie He's "Records of Ancient Paintings" in the Southern Qi Dynasty of China - "transferring and modelling". Unlike copying famous paintings by "transferring and modelling", using a light box again depicts one's own paintings. Moreover, it is possible to move the paper around during the copying process, adding more possibilities to the picture.

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In today's class, I learned how to be spontaneous, how to lose control, how to create without a plan. Because some control is to be constrained to oneself, conscious thinking and value judgment will affect the output and realization of good ideas and inspiration, and will not dare to draw!

In addition, today I also learned how to abandon the past observation and thinking methods, not to draw the pictures on the mobile phone, but to memorize them in my mind and create a new image with the impression in my memory.

Today's image creation in the way of paper cutting is actually my second attempt. Last summer, I made a children's picture book of Chinese folk paper-cut, in which a large number of paper-cut figures were also used, practiced at that time. So I feel that I have added more patterns to the decoupage image design to reflect my skills.

In the class review today, Mrs. Angela gave me a very helpful guidance. She said that my picture was too full for the narrative, with too many elements and clues. If I’m creating a zine, I can use many pages to show the plot. However, my current composition makes the audience unable to see the key points, unable to read the content and meaning of the picture, which requires the author's interpretation to understand.

I agree with her very much. When I was creating, I also felt messy and did not know how to improve it. Mrs. Valerie said, maybe the distance between me and the work was too close. I felt a little tired in the afternoon, so I finished this paper cutting work sitting down, not standing up, so the distance is relatively close and the perspective is relatively simple and steady. If I had done it standing up in the afternoon, my work would probably have been in better shape and composition!

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Lecture week 1 review: What is illustration?

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Lecture week 1 review: What is illustration?

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Darryl C.(2023)What is illustration[Lecture].Peckham Road Lecture Theatre, London, 3 Oct.

I asked a question at one of the lectures and now I have a new epiphany in conjunction with the first week's lecture. I used to ask, how do I find my style? When do I find my style? Will a recognisable style become a shackle for the artist again?

At the time, Jayoon Choi answered that you don't need to worry about style, and that you should experiment with mediums and content while you are in school, and try out the many possibilities of illustration. Now that I'm looking back on the first week's lecture, I realise that I had overlooked a quote from Darryl Clifton, and now I'm noticing it again. It probably means that the content and style of an illustration will reflect the author's cultural background.

The reverse is also true: each person is born unique, with a different cultural background, and therefore has a different brain and heart moulded to see the world from a different perspective. Even if the subject matter and the emotions expressed are similar, there will always be something special about each person. Therefore, style does not become a limitation, and there is no need to deliberately set new standards and pursue personal style, because style is already in everyone's blood.

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This is the pattern on a treasure box. I love the spiral pattern on it, which reminds me of Chinese and Japanese moire and wavy pattern.

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This is the pattern on a treasure box. I love the spiral pattern on it, which reminds me of Chinese and Japanese moire and wavy pattern.

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The patterns on the primitive tribal pottery are very similar to modern comics, which makes me feel a sense of humor.🤣

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In addition to the body shape of the snake, I think we should pay attention to the pattern, dynamics and expression of the snake.

I use red because red, like snakes, is both dangerous and attractive. Red and snakes remind me of the TV series American Horror Story, Medusa with her head full of snakes, and the dangerous and sexy female agents in the James Bond movies.

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If I paint a cactus with human movements, I think of circus acrobatics. I was so inspired by the brushwork at the Bologna Children's Book Illustration Exhibition that I tried to distinguish the texture of the dry brush from the solid torso of the cactus. In addition, circus reminds me of exaggerated performances and bright colors, so I use red and green.

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Drawing the pencil from the side view is very flat, too ordinary and boring. I hope to add spatial dimension and perspective to the picture.

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I want to show more time state of fish in one picture.

Red represents lively and life.
Blue represents still and death.

I added some points to add more form than just lines.

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Today I learned to draw while standing up, never tried before! The arm muscles are more relaxed when drawing while standing.

I pinched the brush and drew the hair with dry strokes to feel more able to express the texture of the hair.

Adding more water to make the color lighter will show the volume better.

It is a pity that finer brushes are not used today to depict the features of the characters.

And it is hard to control the energy.

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Keefer, A. and Lassry, E. (2012)On onions. New York: Primary Information.

The connection between onions and eyes:
1. Onions irritates eyes and make people cry.
- a boy can’t cry remind the author about onions. ( I think the onion can be the boy’s medicine but maybe to spicy and the author didn’t move on this point.)
- movie cry is more healthy than onion cry
2. Shape similar: round shape and onion sections are like retinas.
3. Color similar

The main point of the book are two: Tears and Sadness.

Interest point:
Tear bottle: a bereaved Victorian would save mourning tears into a bottle and be released from grief when the last of the liquid evaporated. (Lassry, 2012, p. 211)
It’s a romantic way to release from sadness.
Quantifying emotions and feelings by bottle volume and time to evaporation.

Questions:
why the onions photographs in the book is repeating? Because we can’t avoid onions crying? We need to cry when we cutting onions every time?