Reflection of Materials and Processes

Materials and processes was quite an interesting module as I got to learn new processes such as how to make paper,how to make a video using Adobe premiere software, how to glitch and edit photos by using Photoshop, the process on how to make screen prints and how to capture light graffiti and room obscura's. As well as doing workshops I've been experimenting with different materials and processes, to see what I work with best. I've been working with a vary of medias such as ink, collage, photography, paint and mixed media.

Black and white photography

Mono print and watercolours 

Out of all the workshops I found the photography workshops of learning how to do light graffiti and room obscura the most interesting as I found that the outcome looked really intriguing and was different compared to normal photography. I felt like the images I captured looked quite indie and had an era behind.

Light Graffiti

Room obscura

I explored with a vary of processes but at the time I found out how you could glitch, corrupt an image by simply changing the text file of the image, what I found very interesting as it gave the image a corrupted feeling. I thought I would use this in quite a lot of my work and develop it, but when I became more knowledgeable of Photoshop and editing software I soon changed my mind and went down the path of editing my own photographs.  

A glitched image

Alongside the workshop activities I was creating my own work exploring different approaches with collage and photography that I felt was working quite well as the overall appearance of the pieces looked quite successful.

Collage piece

Material and processes ran alongside fine art practices 3 so I was thinking more of the media strand and photography, but I was creating pieces then taking photographs of the piece, then the photograph itself would become the piece. As I made these quite abstract faces with ink on Perspex, but overall the image I took of the piece worked better than the piece itself, as the image had more character because of the tones of light what was coming through the Perspex at the time.

Photographs of the Perspex piece 

After that piece I decided to create masks to relate to my theme of identity construction later to be about my own self-image. I made the mask out of a vary of materials, latex what was difficult to obtain the shape, items of clothing that I sewed together and tin foil with make up on top. I wanted to take photographs of me wearing them because I wanted the masks to represent how we construct our identity but I didn't want them to be boring and plain, I wanted them to be unique and disturb the viewer as I wanted a reaction.

Tinfoil mask 

Throughout this module I have gained the confidence to try new materials and processes through having workshops and with me just wanting to try new things in this experimental stage. By doing this module I want to take on further the use of Photography and Photoshop as at the moment that is what I’m really interested in, edited and unusual images as well as learning more about the Adobe Premiere software to start creating video pieces as I see that is the direction I want to go down.

Strengths & weaknesses

Strength’s

• Being experimental and just trying new materials even if they didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.
• Developing experiments.
• Finding that one area that I’m definitely interested in, photography and developing it further.
• Creating a variety of artwork.

Weaknesses

• Not keeping up to date with my sketchbook.
• Not being able to create many pieces without a meaning or concept behind it, as this takes time and when only exploring materials and processes I don’t really need a concept.