Things which I have been involved in

Since Christmas have been getting involved with other projects outside my MA but I have been incorporating the wrong hand illustrations and way of working. I have been working with the university radio station and some of the DJ's helping with designing for promotion for the shows. Things such as flyers and promotional hoddies and T-shirts as well as ideas illustrating and art work for linked websites. One of the shows is called Spinninseed, it is trying to work outside the radio also creating a collaboration with music art and design. The show itself is a backdrop of music that creates a platform for the student culture to put forward creative ideas and stories. The radio show is there to get people involved and to feel part of something and getting students heard and keeping them in contact with others.

"Spinninseed"

The word "Spinninseed" was inspired by seeds falling in the wind such as a dandelions being taken in the wind or helicopter seeds or maple seeds falling from trees and being taken in the wind. When the seeds are spinning they fall or it carried far but then they replant creating more plants trees and there for new seeds. and this is continuously ongoing, which "Spinninseed" is trying to recreate but through music, art, design and collaboration.

Here are some of the examples which I was asked to create for "Spinninseed"



This is a CD front and back cover, the CD is a snip it of student life with examples of music, interviews and audio from creative nights which "spinninseed" put on last academic year. Its a real example from people, students, professionals and ex-students communicating the need for collaboration in and out of university. Explaining the need for connection, communication, and collaboration, making the most out of what is on our doorstep.

Example of T-shirt design for the show

This is also an example of another t-shirt for the "Spinninseed" but on this on i have taken a illustration from "The wrong hand" sketch book but put a "Spinninseed" spin on it.

Giles Deacon

Other giant Knits which I have been inspired by are These By Giles Deacon, These massive Knits are Amazingly Massive, using all different types of Wool.
The knitting needles must be huge to create this type of tight knit with big wool. I love how they are just wrapped around the body like a massive duvet.

Artty Tee's

Gap Artist T-Shirts

-Shirts as a canvas; Gap Artist edition T-Shirts. 13 Different artist design limited addition T-Shirts. Jeff Koons, Barbara Kuger, Chuck Close and many more.
In May 2008 Gap launched their limited addition t-shirts all designed by famous artist.
This is an example of how art becomes design and then a product but has a sense of being a one off at the same time as they are limited addition.
This is something which I am currently looking in to creating a cross over in to these areas. Art can become a design product or desin product can become a piece of art. but it is about making it clear what it is and then how you show this. I think that these t-shirts are a perfect example of this cross over or thin line between one area and another.
I think that the T-shirt idea of showing the cross over is quit important its like being a die hard fan of a band like Led Zep and owning al the T-shirts. I like the idea of owning a limited products thing which like t-shirts, I collect Records/Lp's original albums not just because I like the music but because I like the art work.
I have currently been in charge of the PR of the University radio station and have been designing T-shirts, hoddies and flyers for the radio and different radio shows. I have been using the influence of "The Wrong hand" to create the designs and it has made me understand just how the cross over can be made with my art and designs.

Artty Tee's for Gap May 2008

PHAT KNITS! THINKING BIG!

I have been thinking BIG as well as small.

I have been thinking of scale and how this could work if I used Knots and kitted within objects made from video tape.
I have come across these artist and designers who have managed to create giant Knits:


Sebastian Schönheit, a design student at the Bauhaus Universty Weimar Germany.
One of his projects is the knitted carpet, his oversized knit work looks as if it could have come from a different. This is a hand knitted carpet, it represents what it is but also it represents the processes of work as a preforming act.
His intentions are to create a product identity creating a reference to material and hand craft tradition.
I an inspired by the simplicity of the end result and how much impact that scale and performance makes it what it is just by a few images.
I could imagine this just how it would be as a live exhibition performance.

www.sebastianschoenheit.de

Bauke Knottnersus is an artist from the Netherlands.
His approaches to design is on a macro level using large threads to create large scale woven objects.
The objects can be arranged in anyway which suites, the giant threads can be knit, woven or simply piled to a variety interior products.
I think that they are Brilliant it reminds me of the film "Honey I shrunk the kids" or "The Borrowers"

http://baukeknottnerus.nl/

Knitted Jewellery

I have been looking at knitted accessories, sometimes they can be uncomfortable, strange and unwearable. But I came across this which I think is pretty sweet, lovely in fact, its from a company called lady luck their pieces are fun and pleasing. This piece I think is lovely and gives me pause for thought.

www.ladyluckrulesok.com

The Wrong Hand

The Wrong Hand Doll

One of the gifts that I designed for Christmas gifts was this one the wrong hand doll.
When I was unable to use my right hand I used my left hand to draw and design things and the wrong hand doll became one of them.
I have three younger sisters so one of the ideas which I came up with for them was to make a wrong hand doll as well as t-shirts designed by the wrong hand also.
The wrong hand doll came about because I was doodling whilst thinking of what to draw instead the wrong hand doll came from it.
I made a pattern from the sketches I doodled and then stitched it together when my wrist was a bit better.
But because the pattern was not as well drawn to start with meant that the outcome would look like it had been done with one hand.
I made a small collection of these dolls and gave them away as gifts to my sisters and friends for Christmas.
I know that they are not amazingly put together but in some way they became special because they were created by using the wrong hand.
They do have a strange vodo doll feel to them but yet they also have a homely home made feel,
each one is different slightly so no one is the same.
I think that as gifts the wrong hand dolls worked for me this Christmas, they seamed to be appreciated especially that they had been made whilst I had only full use of one hand.

Knitting

Joanne Haywood

Joanne makes jewellery by knitting, crocheting and stitching and mixing it with a mettle to create jewellery. She explores the materials and she draws on the contradictions of opposites to create a physical objects that is her jewellery.


When I stumbled on to Joanna's web site I felt inspired, I love the fun yet complex ideas behind the finished pieces.
It made me think about how my own work would look as finished pieces especially if I am using material such as video tape.
I also felt that the vibrant colours that she uses is brave, but maybe that's because I don't use much colour, its inspired me to think of how I can incorporate colour into my work.

www.joannehaywood.co.uk

Person Joanne Haywood

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knitting and knotting

I have been looking at my knitting again now that I have full use of both my hands again.
I was inspired by the piece of string which I was given for Christmas from my brother and how we made friendship bracelets.
I have been looking at how I can incorporate it in with my Video tapes, the samples which I have made previously I have been wondering how I can shape them for jewellery.
The samples themselves look worn and have stitches dropped.

This is the Video Tape knitted as raw material it takes up more of the tape and creates a bounce within the new material.

This is the Video Tape as it is when it is stretched and then knitted, it has a net like finish but with wire like control which can be shaped.

New Year Form Me. . . . . .

Happy New Year

So its 2009 and a new year ahead, I actually spent new year in but then went to Brighton to celebrate it for a few days after.
I had never been to Brighton before, I spent tow nights and three days in Brighton, it was supposed to be a photo opportunity to walk around and take lots of photo's which I actually didn't do.
I just walked and wondered around taking in all of the atmosphere that it had to offer.
I found it quite inspirational in a strange way, its so cultural but yet it is completely British.
I loved the second hand shops down side streets, book shops packed with books from floor to ceiling.
The one off shop's which you just know that you would only find it in Brighton, and so many independent shop's selling one off items.
Brighton had quite a fun, cultural and inspiring feel to it, whilst walking around it just made me think of the design label "Red or Dead".

www.redordead.com

"Red or Dead was started by Wayne Andrew Hemingway Esq and his good lady wife, Geraldine Hemingway back in 1982. They had no money, so they emptied their wardrobes and sold them on Camden market one Saturday and before they knew it they had 16 stalls."

Taken from The Red or Dead web site. 13.01.09

Red or Dead

Thames & Hudson Ltd (Nov 1998)

"The "Red or Dead" team established preconceptions of fashion on their head, making the uncool cool, and saying the unsayable. . . . . . . ."

"The Philosophy of Red or Dead comes from my belief that design and fashion shouldn't be only for the rich. Today the whole population is bombarded by media and people have developed a seance of style or something which once preserved for the few."

By using music and culture and own experience as Hemingways inspiration he embodied the ideology of British culture.

Thoughts so far. . . . . . . .


The wrong hand, The dice, video tapes. . . . . . . .


So I have been using the dice decision and as well as working with the wrong hand and been thinking of things which could be made as products .
Now i am thinking of the work which i was doing before I broke my arm, i have been looking at how the recycled video tapes and thinking of how they can be used but using my new way thinking and working.
I think that although braking my arm was a set back it was also a blessing it made me think and adapt to things.
So first things first; I tried to look ant the matirial that iIam using and tried doing some small experiments by using the wrong hand to shape the video tapes.
I did this by just rolling the video tape to create ball like shapes and then trying to keep doing them to see how many I could make and the difference in shapes.
From this I think that I can go back to where I left off and think about ideas for jewellery whilst incorporating the wrong hand.
This is some of the shapes which I created with the wrong hand. . . . . .

Inspiration. . . . . .

Some ideas for Christmas waste. . . . . . . .

I was looking through some of the other Bolg's that I follow (Inhabitathttp://www.inhabitat.com/) and I came across this, a simple yet stylish why to reuse rabbis.
Here sweet rappers have been used to make different types of bags just by using different sweet rappers.
I thought that it was appropriate to put up on my blog just after Christmas as i am sure that many of us have so much waste after Christmas especially sweet rappers.




Talk about trash to treasure! Where the rest of us saw a candy wrapper, Ecoist founders Helen and Jonathan Marcoschamer saw a material that could be re-used to create unique handbags. And they didn’t just stop at candy wrappers, they also use food packaging, soda labels, subway maps, and newspapers to weave together their stylish, study handbags. Unsurprisingly, the broad range of materials have yielded diverse aesthetics: from the bright and colorful to repeating motifs. The company offers a variety of sizes and shapes, so the eco savvy can show their style with something as small as a coin purse or as large as a tote. Now a selection of Ecoist’s handbags, including their popular Every/Any (three shown above left), are available through the Inhabitat Shop.

www.inhabitat.com

Christmas

Christmas 2008 at the Witham-Holden House hold

Christmas for me was at home with the family not always what quite as i am the eldest of seven and the two youngest still believes in Santa and saint Nicolas. I made all my Christmas presents this year mainly for financial reasons but also to make the gifts more personal to the people who I give them to. Thinking that i would be the only one in the Witham Holden House hold to do so; i was quite wrong. My younger Brother Peter and his girlfriend Jo also made all their Christmas Presents for everyone, Christmas day was quite crafty experience and felt a bit like a "Blue Peter" party.


The gifts which he gave me were; Friendship bracelets which he had made himself by useing different types of knots.
A CD with a mixture of different music that he had put together himself.
A rattle snake which he made from recycled bottle tops.
And then we all got a piece of string which was loped together, it was a strange present at first but it was to get use all thinking.
Peter and Jo's idea behind the string was so that we can all play games with it together, such as cats cradle as well as teaching us some interesting knots to use in everyday life.
I found their gifts quite imaginative and fun and it got me thinking about how i could incorporate knots in to my video tape work and knitting.
The Cats cradle games brought back old memories as a child, it was funny watching us all getting tangled up in string.
The games led to us making our own friendship bracelets and my younger sisters showing me how to make scobbies and finger knitting.
I think that I am thinking of looking at other ways of knitting the video tape together with also incorporates using the wrong hand.

The Wrong Hand

"The Wrong Hand"

Whilst thinking of ideas for Christmas gifts i decided to uss the dice idea to create some ides for the wrong hand products.
This is some examples of things which are achievable to create, simple and effective products which would sell.
By using the wrong hand illustrations I created ideas by placing them on everyday items which we all use; Tea cups, mugs, plates, tea-towels, t-shirts and so on here are some examples.

Thoughts on christmas . . . . .

Thoughts on Christmas
With "The Wrong Hand"

So not long now and it will be Christmas so i have been thinking of how i can incorporate my designs and my work in with ideas for Christmas presents.

For me I have many people who i would like to give a gift to at Christmas, I am the eldest of seven and one of twenty nine grandchildren.
My brothers, sisters and parents are the people who i would normally give gifts to so I am currently thinking of ways which i can incorporate my work with gifts to make for them.

Also by making gifts it becomes much more personal , as well as saving money but it also allows me to look at my work in a more of a practical way thinking of products they could be.


So . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

With the current work that I have been doing using the wrong hand and thinking of individuals I have come up with some Christmas present ideas such as . . . . . . . .



This is a T-shirt design that i did free hand no printing involved as i could not lift the screen at this time. But i thought that i could make personalised T-shirts for family members by drawing on them with "The Wrong Hand".
This T-shirt was the first that i did for my sister Elizabeth who is 14 years old, she loves music, fashion and creating her own style.


These are brooches which I made up of unwanted necklaces which I took apart and put them together on to a giant safety pin. Also ideas for Christmas presents.


I made these button hearts because I have a massive collection of buttons they were quick and easy to put together so i could make lots of them as presents for people. . . .


They are simply threaded onto wire and shaped as I do so in to a heart , surprisingly they keep there shape.

The Wrong Hand

The Wrong Hand

I decided to try and paint with the wrong hand to make presents for family members for Christmas as well as try out some ides for the wrong hand development. All the paintings are acrylic on canvas or canvas board.
This is my attempts so far. . . . .


For me painting is just something which I do to relax and think I am not a fine artist but for me it is a good way to get ideas moving in my head .


This painting is an example of a series of paintings i was asked to do which are made up of lots of squares with different shades of colours and textures on. When all the squares put together make one piece for a wall.


This is just a close up of an aboriginal inspired painting for my brother for his new home.


I decided to try and paint using the inspiration of the work that I have been doing useing the wrong hand , the painting above is lots of different tapes and cameras drawn with the wrong had using different tones of paint and pens.


Here is an example of a series of paintings which are made up of the drawings from the wrong hand ideas. They are acrylic on canvas board to mirror the same series of prints, drawings and sketched drawings.