So below are my finished works for the ceramic project.

Overall I'm happy with the effect but do feel I ran out of time in the end.. my time and planning was lacked and this shows in my final.piece.. 

Mushrooms (photography and pottery idea)

While I've been out walking the dog the last few seasons I couldn't help but fall in love with the patterns textures and colours of the fungi/mushrooms around about the woods. Ive been obsessed with taking photographs of them, for no reason other than I like them.  

Strange looking growths (conks) on the trees gave me the idea to create some pottery style fungi growing out of some of the old interesting boards Ive also collected over the years. I think they could make an interesting mix of natural and made. 

illustration research - William Blake

William Blake was born in London in 1757. A poet, painter and somewhat of a philosopher, he is well known for his books of poems, which he illustrated himself.  He believed the imagination to be the most important element of human existence. 

Songs of Innocence - was first published in 1789 and was composed and printed the pages himself. Adding the text and image together showed how much he believed that both together, gave more impact of the intimate relationship the they shared to expressing the whole. 



Coloured etching below, the reason I like these images below are simple, the style of romanticism and  feeling that coincides with what visionary religious beliefs Blake had really do come across. As an illustration I think each artist should have his own style of sense of what makes him tick.  It was said that Blake opposed the Newtonian view of the universe and I like how this theme may come across in other works I look into. 

  

Blake's poems of this period are of interest to me. I decided to look at a poem before viewing Blake's illustration.

The Clod and the Pebble

‘Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.’

So sung a little Clod of Clay
Trodden with the cattle’s feet,
But a Pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

‘Love seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another’s loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven’s despite.’

 The Clod and the Pebble are a binary pair: selfless/selfish, giving/taking, heaven/hell. 

Firstly, I was surprised to see the image of animals, a pond and frogs etc. A poem about clay and a stone regarding love I thought would be more obvious to the reader. I do like the complex less obvious images when thinking of the philosophical senses and imagination.

  

The way I feel I can relate to the work of Blake, is in the fact that the story and imagery isn't just about art. It the journey and the inlining meaning, the questions and selfness he brings in his work. The visuals above are soft and dream like (childlike), but if you look at the other etching Blake's done you can see a difference in his approach.



Nebuchadnezzar - these images consist of colour print, ink and watercolour.
This work I like because it has been continued from one book to another. While totally different detail and narrative exists.

first

followed on example

The story is of the king Nebuchadnezzar who lost his mind and was reduced to animalistic madness.

A series of prints I also enjoy are below. 

These images seem soft still but with greater detail that the ones in the poems/book I talked about before.

The book of Job - these engraving had me interested not just because of the detail and style but the stories and philosophy etc behind them. 

   

So as you can see the style of Blake is somewhat varied but I can see similar details in the bodies and torso's of the figures in all the prints. I do think this style is a great personal characteristic to have. 

William Blake famously declared: “I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s.”

I want to continue with my findings on William Blake but for now I must not get carried away at this stage. 

David LaChapelle (P)

LaChapelle was born in 1963, he is a well known and controversial Fine Art, commercial photographer as well as a music and film director.


His early photography interests came from the way his mother would set up family portraits and she encouraged this interest in the art direction. At the age of 17 he got work photographing and documenting the work of Warhol and Interview magazine. Warhol was to have said do what ever you like as long as it looks good.






He is best known for his photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. His work well its full in many ways, humour, colour, fact, environmental issues, portraits of many celebrities. He has exhibited his work in several galleries and museums over the years. His work structure played a massive part in his mental health and while working 14 hour days and always demanding perfection in all he did left him exhausted and some what of a binge drinker. He left all the madness and found himself searching for a more peaceful life, He was also diagnosed having bipolar disorder and being gay from a young age, he conceived himself he had aids. It seems to me that the work load did indeed impact on his health.  Now retired on a Hawaiian island aged 51 he still makes work that is away from the commercial and fashion  style and now is considered is style now is more fine art based. On reflection he said "he had nothing left to say in the realm of fashion", his themes became difficult for magazines to digest.

 




Work i intend to look at is from two of the still lifes series.


The first one is the wax works Lachapelle decided to photograph after they were destroyed by vandalism in the Dublin wax work museum.



       






For me these images do give me a sense of unease. Maybe because many of the celebrities are dead and it feels wrong to see them in a vulnerable and somewhat unnatural light.


The scale of the photographs I feel do impact on the viewer and how we connect to them. The portraiture style and composition given to them make them more realistic. The lighting works well to gives this affect also. 


I enjoy how these images make me feel slighty ill upon considering the person. It makes me think of the condition the celebrities do face and ask Lachapelle said just how fragile we are.


The second still life series is the flower still life.

So far this one is my personal favorite. The flowers remand me of the female genitials. Mixed with the images of the dolls and the round peach etc. I find this image speaks of sexuality, mothers instinct  and live.


   

Its hard to tell if its a photograph or a painting. I feel he has used many techniques to give this style. From the symbolic style of the old masters of still life he gives a modern hint and wants the viewer to question the hidden meaning. I do believe this works well.  His work is packed with the modern age like the plastics. He has researched and considered every little thing as well as the title and seasons.

I feel connected on many levels of this guys work and would like to consider his work further later down the line.