Art workshops

Fonts around Birmingham

We had the assignment to go around Birmingham and create an alphabet where every letter or number is in a different font that we found around the BCU campus and the city.

Introduction to photoshop

Julien Opie

Lasso tool

This is the end result. I wanted to make the lion look realistic so I pasted the face, fur and eyes into the picture. The mane looks colourful and I used William morris floral patterns for the background.

Print Room

I also created this piece. I placed the shapes so it looks like the pyramids of Giza with the sun setting behind them.

Cutting with the lasso tools

Maren Esdar Collage

Inspired by Maren Esdar I created this collage.

I look up to my mother, she is the strongest woman I have seen in my life, and I aspire to be like her.

Her goal in life is to strengthen me, to increase my durability so I can overcome all challenges life throws at me. I portrayed how much I look up to her by putting half of my face on half of hers. This shows how much I want to be like her. I chose the pharaoh goddess Isis for the body because for me she portrays strength the way she’s standing with her wings shows power. In ancient Egyptian mythology she symbolises healing and rebirth and I feel this is something my mom taught me. When life gives you a challenge, when you feel like all you want to do is run away you shouldn’t give up ever. You stand tall, be more powerful than the challenge, find ways to overcome it, heal and start a new chapter with the experiences you’ve gained because of the challenge. My mom’s name is Fatma and the hand that I put is called “kaf Fatma” which means Fatma’s hand and its used to protect people from all the harm. This really reminds me of my mom, she always tries to protect me from the evil this world has but also lets me experience life and learn from the experiences. Me and my mom always go scuba diving together hence the corals that I put. The lotus flower symbolises new beginnings, it grows in murky water which means she creates beauty and grows even in the darkest of times, she always finds a way and creates beauty anywhere she goes.

Process

Editing pictures on photoshop

Process

Here I decided to play with the curves adjustment on photoshop. I realised the adjustment plays with the contrasts and tones. The original image had softer tones of red, pink and blue because it was the sky during sunset. After playing with the curves it created more fluorescent colours of what was in the original so you could see very bright red, pink and blue colours in the sky, and the rest of the picture which is the guy on the motorcycle, the building and the street became more blurry. I really like this adjustment as it shows the essence of the colours you can see in the picture it shows the tones very clearly.

Here I was trying out the filters. I figured I could create a custom filter and chose this picture of an ice tea peach to try it out. I thought the filter would add the whole object to the picture and not just the colours. But I was positively surprised when I realised it only added the colours creating a similar aesthetic to the ice tea can. I really liked how the filter turned out and decided I want to play around with this adjustment a bit more.

Here I figured out that there are filters that are already on photoshop and that I didn’t have to customise so I picked a picture where I liked the style, colour and aesthetic and added the filter to my picture.

I really enjoyed playing around with the filters as they really changed the while aesthetic of the picture. I figured out that only the colours of the chosen picture get added as a filter so I chose a picture with some funky and fluorescent colours. At first it was really bright and you couldn’t really see the details of the picture because of how strong the colours were so I decided to play around with the opacity and the strength to get to the end result I want. I love how it looks like a broken TV channel it gives it a funky and dreamy aesthetic.

I played around with the levels here I realised that it changes the colour intensity. It looks like there’s a foggy layer on top of the picture that make the colours appear less intense. I really like the effect this adjustment makes as I fell it creates a vintage, smokey or foggy look which I really like.

This was my second favourite adjustment to play around with after the custom filters of course. Here I played with the saturation adjustment. I really liked how it made the colours more vivid all the red and yellow tones appear much more vivid so you can really see all the lights. This to me feels like a colourful and happy summer night.

Lotus flower hair clip

I decided to make a lotus flower hair clip for my final project to tell my journey. I find myself in a very transformative phase in my life right now and I chose the lotus flower to symbolise that and I chose for it to be a hair clip to symbolise that it’s never an easy journey to success and that it takes lots of trials and failures and experimentation to get to a place you’re proud of. I chose my hair to symbolise that because it’s been a long journey trying to deal with my hair and finding the right products for it. But now my hair is my favourite thing about me so I chose it to symbolise the hard journey to success. Starting this course I was really excited to learn how to use photoshop and I’m very proud of the skills I have learned this semester. I wanted to keep practicing so I decided to create this design on photoshop. I cut out different diamond shapes using the magnetic lasso tool and arranged them in a way to make them look like lotus flowers. I made sure to create different looking flowers so it’s not too repetitive and also put some pearls. I chose diamonds to create this because to me diamonds also symbolise a journey. It takes a lot of effort to transform diamonds and make them look like how people use them in jewellery. Just like it took a long time and a lot of effort to be comfortable with this new phase in my life and get used to life abroad. Diamonds are obviously not the materialsI will be using to create my final project but I wanted to create this hair clip on photoshop as an inspiration for my final project.

Lino printing

My idea for my final project was to create narrative jewellery that symbolises my own strengthening journey.

I want this piece to represent an experience that I’m experiencing right now. I moved to study abroad a few months ago. It has been a very rocky journey but I managed to adapt and settle in at the end . I want this piece to symbolise the journey, how I dealt with it and how I grew from it.

I chose a Lotus flower to represent this experience because it symbolises new beginnings.

Lotus flowers start as a seed at the bottom of a muddy pond. The stem of the flower then has to navigate obstacles such as rocks to reach the surface and become a beautiful flower.

This represents a journey of personal growth by learning how to deal with obstacles and grow.

I faced a lot of difficulties at the start of the year, a lot of obstacles I had to overcome but I learned how to transform, adapt grow and learn from them. So when we were at the print workshop I decided to draw a lotus flower to connect to the final project.

First we sketched our drawing on the Lino.

Then we used these tools to engrave the lines into the Lino so they can appear when we print them. I struggled a bit in this step as it was hard to keep a steady hand and cut clean lines.

Then we rolled ink onto the Lino. The engraved lines would not print with colour on the paper as the ink doesn’t reach them.

This is my favourite part. Lifting up the paper and seeing how it printed. You then discover your mistakes and get to decide if they are good artistic mistakes that can add to the print or if you want to redo it.

Making a sketchbook

This week we created sketchbooks from scratch.

First we made marks on a big paper using different materials and colours. We used brushes, sticks, sponges etc. The feeling of gliding the brush across the paper and making marks not regarding the outcome felt really free and it felt like part of my personality is being mirrored in every stroke.

we then folded the paper to create pages for the sketchbook.

After folding it together it created the pages for our sketchbook.

We then had to measure the size of the pages to create a cover for it using cardboard. This part was quite a struggle as it took some time to measure the pages correctly. I had to recut the cardboard a few times before getting it right.

Then I poked holes in the middle to bind the pages together.

We picked some fabric to glue on the cover to make it look more aesthetically pleasing. I feel like I could’ve glued the fabric on the cover a bit better. To me it looks a bit loose.

Printing with hair

The transformative phase of my life is all part of my journey to becoming the best version of myself. A journey is the experiences people go through and the lessons they learn that makes them stronger. I chose to symbolise this part of my journey with a lotus flower and I decided to create a hair clip as my final project because it has been a long journey trying to love my hair. Now my hair is my favourite part of me but it has been a rocky journey trying to build this relationship. Trying to experiment with different products for my hair, trying different hairstyles etc. The hair clip is a constant reminder that it takes time to adapt to things, just like it took time to adapt to my hair and start loving it. When I first moved abroad I really struggled and it took time and a lot of experimentation to start adapting and figuring out this new life. To create a connection with my final project I decided to print using my hair to create marks on the paper. I arranged some hair in the shape of a lotus flower.

I took some of my hair and tried arranging it in the shape of a lotus flower, but it wasn’t enough hair so I decided to use some thin thread that resembles hair to create the print. I also cut a piece of curved paper to create some structure and make it look more like a flower. The stem with the curves represents the obstacles people have to navigate and overcome to bloom.

First I printed it while the hair was still placed on the paper. The hair made the colour not print on the parts where it was on.

After removing the hair there was still an ink imprint with the shape on the glass sheet so I decided to try and print it again. This time the lines where the hair was placed printed in colour while the background colour faded. I especially liked this one

semester 2

Introduction to 3D models

During our first lesson this semester we got the assignment to create 3D models using different materials that were assigned to us. The material we were supposed to use was the computer, we decided to use photoshop because we had too little time to start getting to know a new app. First we used the brush tool to draw a 3D model but the lines didn’t look clean enough. We were then allowed to go steal materials from the materials that were assigned to our classmates. We decided to steal this wooden craft stick. We took a picture of it, used the quick selection tool to remove the background and started placing them in the shape of a 3D square.

We struggled because some of the tools weren’t working properly. The eraser didn’t erase the outlines which made the background not look clean. But we continued putting together our shape as our time was “knapp”

We decided to create a 3D triangle on top of the square making it look like a house with a roof. Reflecting on this task I enjoyed having to work in pairs as it made me get to know more people and share ideas and brainstorm. We struggled mostly with time as we only had 15mins to finish this task. I think if we had more time we’d manage to have a cleaner background and a less simple shape.

Reflection on final project

This final project allowed me to create a narrative piece of jewellery that tells my story. It gave me the freedom to experiment and create a project that has a deep connection with me. Throughout this project I found a lot of satisfaction in the process of connecting different elements to convey a certain story.

I particularly enjoyed the integration of symbolism into my design. Each material used held significance contributing to the narrative woven into the piece.

The use of symbolism in my design was one element that I really liked. Every component that was used had a purpose and added to the story that was woven together throughout the work. My understanding of the expressive potential of symbolism in art has grown as a result of this process, which gave the finished piece more depth and flavour. But looking back, I see that if I had taken inspiration from a larger range of sources, my research of symbolism could have been more broader. Even while I did research, I admit that exploring other options like going to museums and reading a lot would have expanded my source of ideas and inspiration and allowed for a deeper narrative. Also looking at more artists work would have exposed me to new materials and techniques I could’ve experimented with more.

Over the course of the project, time management became an important issue. I struggled with a sense of pressure as deadlines approached, which made it difficult for me to really consider and develop my ideas. This rushed procedure affected the creative process, which made me feel dissatisfied with several parts of my work. Going forward, I intend to manage my time so that thorough research, experiments, and improvement is possible.

When I think back on the workshops I attended this semester, I see unexplored possibilities to incorporate what I have learned into my project. Even though I played around with different materials and learned some Photoshop techniques, I now see how much more I could have done with these tools to improve my presentation and creative process.

Specifically, I want to use my Photoshop skills to make visually appealing presentations and mood boards that inspire.

Also, I recognise the importance of pushing the boundaries of standard materials and methods, encouraging experimentation as a way to promote creativity and originality in my work.

The print workshop was a particular challenge because I found it difficult to incorporate into my project. I’m determined to get past this obstacle in the following semester by actively looking for ways to use printmaking methods in my creative process. I want to take full advantage of this form of art by experimenting and , broadening my creative ideas and improving the level of detail and depth of my work.

In summary, I’m proud of the story and meaning I put into my jewelry piece, but I know there are areas where I can do better. I need to manage my time better, try new things, and get inspiration from different places. By doing this, I believe I can improve my creativity a lot.