It has been ages...

I have been busy enjoying the Summer, and it has been lovely. I feel completely refreshed and have decided to begin some work. I have just bought a Moleskine journal, which I LOVE, so will hopefully have lots of drawings to post in the coming weeks. Here are some photos from the end of year show which my work had been leading up to. My idea changed dramatically from having a piece featuring movement of some kind. In terms of the reaction I wanted to achieve, however, this idea of beauty and horror being experienced simultaneously by the viewer, it was incredibly succesful. Finally what I had been trying to achieve throughout the year came together.

You can't tell from the photographs but the piece measured 9 feet in length!

Visual Delights

I haven't posted for what seems like ages...so I've decided to begin with a photo of the bowl that I glazed for my Mummy for Mothers Day :)

My friend Jess and I had such a fun day glazing our pottery on the Barbican, along with my homemade brownies and my handmade card I felt very pleased with myself.

This month it's been spend, spend, spend and I have bought more than usual...I bought this shirt below from Urban Outfitters, I love this shop soooo much. I think its rubbish that the nearest one is in Bristol :( Although I did have a lovely day out there with my mum, and I bought my boyfriend Rob some lovely heart cookies from Millies cookies which he loved...so smiles all round :)

And here is a jumper which I bought on Tuesday, Topshop of course...it's very Alexa.

Flutter...Twitch...

...Movement!!! Something which, from the very beginning of my project, I have wanted to create in my work (but I always seem to drift away and forget how important it is) as it is still not moth season I will have to interpret this idea of the movement of the moth myself, as I originally wanted to film and project some live ones (I think moth season begins in May...which is when my project ends!!) So I have been working with fans... And have been thinking about stop-motion animation, which is easy peasy...maybe a little too easy, but quite effective...

And last but not least...

...some beautiful carnations which my Mummy bought for me :)

Night is sublime, day is beautiful

Using the heat-transfer onto silk I have been experimenting with the use of darkness, light, shadow and movement. I want to bring these elements into my work as I feel they are incredibly important in connection to the subject matter of moths, and the fear evoked when we experience them; darkness itself carries many negative connotations. Above are images from my experimental 'installation' piece, displayed in the dark with only one spotlight. They have been described as veils, almost like veils of death; I love this idea of moths being a representation of both life and death. I have also been really interested in the idea of the sublime, and the contemporary sublime...

Silky Smooth

So I FINALLY managed to find a way of transferring a photocopied image perfectly...using heat-transfer which is a really quick process and can be used on a variety of materials. I experimented with canvas and silk, although the silk took LOTS of experimenting; the timing varied depending on the type of silk and the size of the image!! However, it was sooo worth all the time spent (and money for the magic-touch paper) as the silk images are beautiful, and I love the transparency effect. Although they are still in the experimental stage, I really want to develop them into an actual 'piece.'

Inspired by the work of Jennifer Angus I created this canvas piece which uses pattern to seduce the viewer into a familiarity, and then to shock them out of that comfort zone when the subject matter becomes clear. However, I feel that the pattern almost makes the moths less 'real' as they are so still; compared to the experimental pieces which look like they have literally just flown and landed. Hmm...more experimentation needed...

There's Something About Moths

As this is my first post I thought I would give a little insight into my practice. My work often takes subject matters which provoke disgust, or a negative view in society, and treats them in a way which is at once aesthetically pleasing and horrifying. I have decided to focus on moths as I love this contrast between this idea of the beauty and the beast, the 'beautiful' butterfly and the 'ugly' moth, and to diverse from the negative connotations which moths carry. I want the viewer to experience both beauty and horror simultaneously, by seducing the viewer into a familiarity and then to be jolted out of that comfort.

An image I created by layering acetates of enlarged photocopies of moths.