For this weeks tasks, we were given a set of manual tasks to do, with the focus being on developing our technical skills, ranging from developing our cutting out skills, copying, and following instructions. Generally, I found this set of tasks challenging due to the lack of creativity and the desire to get the outcomes as close to the instructions and examples that were shown. This proved stressful as it became evident that my technical skills lacked in certain areas, such as cutting out straight and perfect pieces of paper with a craft knife. 

With that said, I learnt a lot in doing this project, as going into the second week of tasks, I was more confident due to the things I had learnt in the first, and if I had of had time, I believe I would have been able to do the first weeks tasks better than I had first done. I particularly saw improvement when it came to the presentation tasks, such as the window mount and foam core mount, as although they appeared simple, I feared going into them that they would go wrong as there was room for error, especially given the week prior I had struggled with the cutting out tasks, such as cutting a perfect circle from a piece of card. It was for this reason, that I went back and redid some tasks, such as the circle task and the embossing task to make sure I was happier with the result. 

Having been able to polish up on my cutting skills, the next big task I faced was the putting together of three dimensional objects, particularly holding them together as the materials that I first used proved to be ineffective, hence why they began to fall apart. With that said, I now know what I would have done differently, using better materials, and not trying to fix too many little mistakes, as I believe that was part of the downfall, as the more I messed with them, the more issues I faced. 

Having been able to polish up on my cutting skills, the next big task I faced was the putting together of three dimensional objects, particularly holding them together as the materials that I first used proved to be ineffective, hence why they began to fall apart. With that said, I now know what I would have done differently, using better materials, and not trying to fix too many little mistakes, as I believe that was part of the downfall, as the more I messed with them, the more issues I faced

​Despite the stresses and struggled, I came out with a better understanding of technical skills, and more confident in what I was doing, as I learnt a lot along the way, allowing me to develop my skills going forwards, particularly when it came to cutting out and putting together three dimensional objects. But above all, these tasks proved how necessary these skills are, and how they are needed in the art world, whether it be creating art work or displaying it. 

Admittedly, my favourite task, and probably the one I was most proud of was the final task; making a pop up book surrounding a familiar setting. I believe this was a combination of it being the most creative, and too the final one, being able to put all of my previous learning into it. 

I decided to chose the saying, 'When the cat's away, the mice will play,' and played around with foreground and background with my pop up book. It did take a short while to try and understand how the folds worked, but once I understood it, it was simply a case of putting together the individual pieces. The way I created this piece was by using only paper where I could, with all but the cat's mouth and definition on the mice being made out of card. As small as it was of attention to detail, I believed it had a better effect, giving more dimension to what would have been a flat piece. But above all, it allowed me to use the skills I had used the week prior, as I was now more confident in using a craft knife and building up a layered piece than I would have been if this had been the very first task. 

I personally could see the progress made over the short time of two weeks, as comparing my very first cut outs of the circle to my final attempt, and too my pop up to the first sketchbooks made, I had become more confident, and in turn, knew what worked for me, and what didn't. Going forwards, I believe to develop my skills further, it is simply a case of continuing to use my technical and traditional skills, and being to grow less reliant on the digital processes I put a lot of faith into. 

Originating in Russia in 1915, led by artists such as Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko, The Constructivism movement was heavily made up of art pieces that were abstract and geometric in shape, and bold and limited in colour palettes, and was intended to reflect a modern industrial society, and were heavily used in communist propaganda posters at the time. Although the limited colour palettes, traditionally red, black and white may have been a stylised choice for Constructivism artists, it was too a practical choice, as many of these posters would have been massed produced and full colour prints were expensive. Added to this, many Constructivist pieces made the most of diagonal lines, creating dynamic pieces that only stood out further again the bold backgrounds and worked alongside the text. 

Russian exhibition poster, El Lissitzky, 1929. ​

Another example of a Constructivist poster by El Lissitzky is a different example as of how the movement was used to make propaganda. In this piece, it presents the ideals of the communist regime. This piece however brings more of a focus to the photography being the centre piece of the poster, but with that said, it still holds the abstract feel that Rodchenko's piece does, just in a different way, this time through the combination of the girl and the boy to share an 'eye', being the USSR and pointing to an equality between the sexes, as was part of the communist regime. Despite the clear differences between Rodchenko's work and El Lissizky's work, they both have similarities, from the limited colour palette and bold and dynamic composition, and they are both typical Constructivist posters that would have been massed produced in the Constructivist movement, from 1915 to the 1930s. 

Towards the end of the 19th Century, Art Nouveau emerged as a new a decorative style of art, beginning in France and spreading throughout Europe. This style one that began to shape and change the way many viewed and thought about the more traditional arts. Instead, Art Nouveau was most commonly seen within the design world, ranging from architecture, interior design, jewellery and glass design, posters, and illustration. Traditionally, Art Nouveau is associated with natural and delicate forms, however with the movement taking the art world by storm, dominating the end of the 19th Century, many countries and artists created their own unique styles under the broader Art Nouveau movement. 

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's drawing for Windy Hill, at Kilmacolm.

Led by artists known as the 'Glasgow Four', made up of; Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his wife, Margaret McDonalds, her sister Frances McDonalds and her husband Herbert McNair, Glasgow's interpretation of Art Nouveau focused more on geometrical shapes. This was as opposed to the more well known natural style of Art Nouveau, holding back on the more curvaceous shapes and ornamentation and curving vertical lines. With that said, these artists too explored a range of ways in which Art Nouveau could be used, such as in painting, architecture, interiors, furniture and book illustrations. However, in terms of architecture, as Charles Rennie Mackintosh was well known for, the structures remained geometric, with the smaller details that sat upon the buildings such as gates, windows and doorframes being more decorative, embracing the more intricate details of Art Nouveau. 

Queen's Cross Church, Glasgow - Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The Looshaus - Adolf Loos

Similarly to Glasgow, Art Nouveau was interpreted by Austrian artists in their own way. However, unlike Glasgow, Art Nouveau from Vienna could be described as being lavish, and more ornamental, with leading artists being Otto Wagner and  Adolf Loos, well known for their architectural contributions. Much like in other areas of the world, the appearance of Art Nouveau brought about protest to the support of more traditional artistic styles. Although this style of Art Nouveau shared traits with the style from Glasgow, it was noticeably more decorated, with more vibrant colours and patterns. As for these patterns, the majority appeared to be an addition to the geometrical shapes of the base of the buildings, serving as an addition to the structures as opposed to being subtly integrated like that of Glasgow's architectural pieces from this time period. 

Majolica Haus - Otto Wagner

Palacio de Longoria, Jose Grases Riera ​

As Art Nouveau spread throughout different countries, it was inevitable that style changes would also occur in the cities of varying countries, each with their own unique take on the Art Nouveau style. One such example of this was in Spain, which saw Antioni Guadi adopt part of the movement in his own style in Barcelona and artists such as Jose Grases Riera adopt the style in his work in Madrid. Riera's work was noticeably more natural than that of both the previous Scottish and Austrian artists' work in both sense of colour and shape, particularly on the outside of the building. The Palacio de Longoria, built in 1904 by Riera is one of his more notable pieces of work, and to this day is seen as Madrid's most notable pieces of modern architect. 

Palacio de Longoria, Jose Grases Riera ​

Nancy is widely considered to be at the centre of the Art Nouveau movement, and instead focused on a more decorative style, using inspiration from the natural world and interpretation it to create something new and unusual for the time period. Being the centre of the movement, many of these decorative style of buildings and pieces of art still stand today. In Nancy, this style was too used in many different areas of the arts, with Émile Gallé using it to create delicate and intricate glass pieces, to Henri Sauvage's architectural work. Whether it was in smalller pieces or the larger buildings topped off with decorative works, many took inspiration from natural and natural forms, a sharp contrast to the geometrical shapes found in Glasgow and artists such as 

                                                      First Uni project has been completed!
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Tasked with making a comic for a classic nursery rhyme in a group, I was given the task of creating and illustrating a comic based on the rhyme 'Jack Spratt'. In a group, we first came up with the layout and pacing of the comic, whilst individually working on sketches and rough ideas for the settings and characters taking centre stage of the comic. And with the initial idea being centred around a medieval style, it gave each member of the group a staring point to create settings and characters that could be brought back to the group for feedback and to see if they could be used in the lead up to the final week of planning and producing the comic.

It was from here we learnt that in order to reach the deadline, dividing the responsibilities up between the three of us to ensure all pages were divided up in a way that ensured the whole comic still looked coherent and like one big piece as opposed to three sections of a piece. For this reason, I was tasked with taking on the two inside illustrations, back page illustration and softer colouring of the first page.  With the short amount of time to complete a heavy number of pages, quickly I learnt that I needed to get ideas down quickly and start from there. Having made quick thumbnail sketches on paper, I began to refine ideas digitally, and working to get a final piece. 

Having completed this project in the time limit, and as a group led me to learn a few things along the way; whether it be how to lead a group through organisation, or creating and narrowing ideas in a group setting. When it came to my own work however, learning how to push myself in the amount of work I created and the quality of it was key; ensuring it looked good, whilst letting go of believing everything had to be perfect. This allowed for me to be more spontaneous and experimental with my shading, straying from the usual way I shade pieces. This in turn ensured that able to do above the minimum necessary, whilst still having time to complete the work, and pull everything together with the help of other team members. 

​Japonism and Japanese influence 
 
In the 19th Century, obsessions with art from the previously isolated Japan swept the western world, with many seeing to collect Japanese artefacts, whether it be paintings, prints, or china pieces. Some of the earliest examples of this were samples of ukiyo-e that were to be seen in Paris. With Japanese ports opening to the global economy in 1854, and more and more Japanese prints becoming available, many artists sought to use its influence in their own work.

Gustav Klimt 

Gustav Klimt is one of the artists of the late 19th Century, early 20th Century artists that adopted some of the influence seen in Japanese works. Some examples of this are more obvious, such as in the 1918 painting 'Lady with a fan', which depicts a woman wearing a westernised take on a Kimono, wearing the garment off the shoulder as opposed to original way of wearing. Too is the Japanese influence seen in the fan she is holding, and too the patterns used being similar to Japanese artists known for their use of patterns such as Kikukawa Eizan's work. 

Even in his earlier works, the influence of Japonism was clear. In Klimt's 1898 piece, 'Fish Blood' appears to be influenced by the bolder and cleaner line work that was seen in many ukiyo-e prints of the late 19th Century. Additionally, the simple shading of the piece, only in black and white, was reminiscent of the simple shapes and colours that was seen in many ukiyo-e of the time. 

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​When tasked with choosing a piece of clothing I could research the context behind, I decided to look into a more formal piece of clothing given the more distinctive silhouettes when it comes to dresses.

​As a starting point, looking into the shape and the way in which the fabric is intended to flow from the form, this particular dress makes the most of the skater dress style, intended to give a more of a fitted shape. This style of clothing in particular can be both formal wear or casual ware depending on the material and fabrics due to its generally lighter feel. This style of dress in associated with the 1950s, for its fitted waist with an A-line skirt, resembling loose flowing outfits worn by figure skaters and hence the name.

In regards to colour of the dress, being a purplish-plum shade, made up or red and blues, it is to have connotations of wealth and luxury due to how expensive purple dyes were to produce in earlier time periods. It is for this reason why this dress in particular could be classed as more formal wear, given the connotations of the purple hue, yet at the same time is muted enough to ensure the garment appears sophisticated and more mature than a more vibrant shade of purple.