In this quote from Mid-Century scholar-illustrator Dorothy Hartley, she proposes that Celtic the knotwork patterns that prevail in Irish Folk Art originated as depictions of woven artifacts. I had never previously considered that these graphic patterns were based on handmade textiles. I'm now eager to explore the visual link between these patterns and the reeds and hay which were used to create
The final output of my practice will be an animated film which will be shaped by the research I have gathered. Because my research results in a new creative artifact it can be defined as practice-based research. The animated film that draws on my extensive research is a contribution to new knowledge in the illustration industry.
This week in my gesture drawing course I moved on to working with ink. In the past I have shied away from using ink in my work, possibly because it is so dominating on the page and each mark feels so permanent but I quickly realised that offering more consideration to each stroke, while still moving freely resulted in very interesting pieces.
My gesture drawing course continued and this week I focused on experimenting with Charcoal as a medium. I had only ever used charcoal before during art class in secondary school and was pleasantly surprised by how freeing I found it to work with. It forced me to work bigger and looser and encouraged me to consider the overall shape of the form,
One of the aims of my proposal is to explore and better understand the practice and work of Mid-Century illustrators, whose distinctive style I have admired for a long time. I have always been particularly impressed with the career and creative output of American designer Alexander Girard who is renowned for his bright geometric patterns and graphic illustrations.
Today I visited IMMA to see an exhibition called "As above, so Below: Portals, Visions, Spirits & Mystics". It displays modern works exploring spirituality from a rang of perspectives, many of the pieces being displayed in Ireland for the first time. As my MA project is centred around folklore I thought it would be interesting to see other practitioners unique take on how
I am planning on creating a short animated film as a final outcome for my Practice modules and am keen to investigate how other practitioners from visual communication backgrounds present their work. The most common platforms for contemporary practitioners are online channels such as Vimeo and Youtube, which are free to use and offer almost unlimited possibilities to expose the work to
One of my personal objectives over the course of this MA is to improve my draftsmanship skills as an illustrator. Having worked in a predominantly digital space since I graduated from my undergraduate course I am keen to take this opportunity to improve my hand rendering skills.
One of my MA research questions is: 1. How can I tell Irish folk stories through visuals of native wildlife? So far I have gathered some initial ideas for animation narratives, mostly from Niall Mac Coitir's 'Ireland's Wild Plants' and from participating in two guided wildlife walks focusing on folkloric traditions.
In creating a bird design, I read all I can find about the subject before touching pencil to paper. I would like to observe it in real life, but this is unfortunately often impossible. Besides, I am not a qualified field naturalist in the sense that most wildlife artists are, having arrived at my interest in nature illustration by a more roundabout