Today I took the chance to have a look around the arts festival at college. This is where students who were leaving the college to progress elsewhere, had their work up on displays for everybody to see. Whilst I was there I tok some pictures Some students even made little cards and booklets for you to write your thoughts and comments on, which i thought was a very good idea. One student in particular had a kind-of 'comments box' where you could write on a piece of paper a short story relating to an element of her work, such as 'love' and 'heartbreak' etc so it could possible influence on a later project of hers.
Here are a few of the artists who's work I really liked:
Jessica Twibey
Course: L3 Ext Dip Art & Design Y2
Unfortunately, these were the only two pieces of her work that were on show. I really like the overlapping techniques that she's used. On the top piece of work I really like the use of layering different transparencies as it brings some elements of the background through, making the foreground not look as harsh. One thing I find interesting is how she used lighter greys at the back, darker greys in the middle and black on the foreground, which is usually used to show how far away things are in black an white landscape images. However, with the text, I feel that it could have been aligned better and there could have been a margin to separate the text from the very edge of the page; but i do like how the counters have been filled in. On the bottom image, I really like how the feather on the left in the background looks like shading and texture/detail on what appears to be a rams skull. I quite like the whole black and white/greyscale theme, but I feel that the skull could do with a bit more shading as a little too much of the background comes through.
Katy Eyre
Course: L3 Ext Dip in Interactive Media Design
I really like this students work as it's a combination of photography and illustration work. On the top image; these are two are book covers designed for one of my favourite books. I feel that the illustrations reflect the storyline of the book and the theme very well. The colours, especially the yellow one, very well with the contents and story line of the book. Also, the illustrations of dexter himself fit perfectly to the actor who plays dexter in the TV series. The way she's drawn him highlights the key aspects of Dexters features that hint into his personality, for example: in the yellow one, he looks dark, evil and sinister, which is what he is on the inside and the colours she's used for him contrast well with the key colour of the book. The text also suits the work 'Dexter' and makes it look sharp and edgy with the serif font. One element of this that really caught my eye and gives an insight to the main features in the book was the drop of blood along the spine with the number of the book inside it. It's a very interesting way of showing the number of the book, and I feel that the red contrasts well with the colours of the books.
On the second piece of work, I really like how the greyscale photos show off the features of the subjects, especially the lion. To get these levels of contrast, I think she must have used Adobe Photoshop and changed the image to greyscale, and then edited the curves and levels of the images. This makes them seem that bit more powerful and interesting as it highlights certain parts of the subjects in the images.
Joshua Peroti
Course: L3 Foundation Art & Design
Personally, I've always had an interest in photography, whether it be landscapes, objects or portraits. Joshua's work instantly caught my eye as I walked past. This may be due to how it was laid out or it may be the colour effects used. On the top photo, the book which says 'look book' on it was a professionally made book featuring this students work, mainly portraits and side profiles of models. Each one of these photos had a good angle and had a good placement, such as in the middle or 3/4 up the photograph, and not randomly places which I found very professional. I also like the colour schemes used and the effects used which alter the colour balances of the photos. I will be able to take influence from Joshua's work, from the interesting positioning and sizes of the objects and the sizes the photos actually are/what they're on.
Course: BTEC L3 Ext Dip in Interactive Media Design
Jack Rattray
Course: BTEC L3 Ext Dip in Interactive Media Design
I find the top piece of Jack's work the most interesting. I really like how it's a new piece of design yet he's made it look distressed and old which is an effect I really like and would love to figure out how to incorporate in my own work. I also like how the composition works really well and that the colours go well together and don't clash. Another thing I like is how the boarder is bigger at the bottom, drawing our attention to it and leaving room for some text as well. However, I feel that the top boarder should have been the same width as the left and right sides of the boarder. I quite like the middle design as well. I really like the idea of forming a shape out of a thumbprint, as it can give a big insight as to what the book is about. I also like how colour was kept to a minimum, as it doesn't look too overcrowded and bright. However, I feel that the thumbprint could be a darker colour as it's hard to see the design from far away, like on the photo or example. I also like the contrast between the white text and the blue background, as the writing is easily legible. I feel that Jack's work has influenced me, as it has given me ideas that I would use in future projects.
