Flux and Flow

Life has just been so hectic of late that blogging and updating has become secondary on my list of priorities to coursework. It is really at the centre of my life right now as I become fully immersed in my research and concept development and neglect leisurely activities, although house-keeping this blog is an important part of my design process and a way to express my methods and ideas.

Here's my week in images:

1. New favourite - such a delicate little gold horseshoe necklace.
2. New additions to this sunglass-mad person's collection!
3. Frequent inspiration visit in the rose garden.
4. Working diligently away like a little rabbit digging his hole!
5. Obsessed with gold items - two additions to my wardrobe - a gold Minkpink a-line skirt I picke dup at a local vintage shop and a Keepsake Trust in Me Lamé skater skirt from Birdcage Boutique , so beautiful, I don't much care if people stare at me like I am an alien on the street! Life is far too short to be modest always.
6. T2 was busy busy busy on Saturday, with their Happy Hour free gift promo! I bought my regular 8 pack mix of tea varieties and received this box of lovely Ruby Red Rosehip tea! It sounds delightful and I am excited to try it!

Here is also some of the concept work I've been working on for the Poster for Tomorrow competition, centered around the theme of "A Home for Everyone" and the British Journal of Aesthetics cover design, focused on Form & Function. I am playing around with ideas of refraction/reflection, light prisms and crystals/gemstones for the BJA and looking at using the less than < symbol are symbolism for the dehumanisation and caricature-representation of homeless people in the public domain.

To those reading this, I hope you have/had a lovely day. x

Welcome to the Doll-house

This week has been quite full on, even though it is a study break (not for me, now that I'm post-grad now)! But I do enjoy a bit of a challenge from time to time. As I write, the weather is quite dreadful outside - it is pouring rain everywhere and is freezing! Though I do love this type of weather when I am safe and tucked up in my bed with a good book and a lovely cup of warm milky tea. I've been working fervently on my projects this week and I am glad I still have another week to catch up to the level I wish to be at.



Here's my week in images:

1. While the weather was still mild and lovely, my sister and I visited the beach and walked along the jetty - it was a nice change of pace from the city environment.
2. My old ceramic teapot finally gave up the ghost and thus I desperately needed a new tea pot, so I purchased this one from T2, which is of course my new obsession!
3. New purchases - pretty mint jumper from Vinnies for $12, Picnic at Hanging Rock special 2-disc edition (I have been wanting to see the documentary on the making of the film forever!) for $15 and 4 Maybelline Babylips lip balms in Berry Crush for $10.
4. A little more additions - Dotti pork pie hat in a khaki colour for $9.95 + floral anklet socks for $5.95 and scored some free American Apparel hold up tights, which I have been needing for winter!
5. New Frankie magazine (so beautiful, I love the embossing on the cover!) and Sportsgirl studded slipper shoes for only $13 from $80! Bargain!
6. One of my favourite outfits from this week - my new favourite mint jumper, pleated chiffon mini skirt, heart print tights and my classic gold watch.

The following images are things I had been working on during the last month and a bit of this month as one of my studio projects for a design forum held at my university - basically I just designed some of the promotional material for the afternoon. This included a GIF animation to be displayed in the lecture theatre and a series of posters at different sizes, which were stuck up around the university. I was looking at incorporating the notion of designers as multi-faceted individuals, layered and diverse (as illustrated by the spectrum the 10 creates). The gradation goes up/down by 10% and there are 10 10s in the spectrum. The concept also draws upon the idea of light rays and direction.

The animation. The poster series.

This is one bit of the concept work I am currently doing for a cover design of the next British Journal of Aesthetics competition. I am looking into the motion of the framework and skeletal structure as the function behind the form of the object it supports (as the theme is form and function) and studying the process of metamorphosis and change through blooming flowers and life cycles.



Here is another playlist I created this week to herald in the notion of transcendence and lightness.

≈ Transcendence ≈ from bambisvalentine on 8tracks Radio.

Incipient

Hello! ♡

So it's official - I am finished with my degree! I managed to pass everything well and I am super happy with how everything turned out! Now it is just time to play the waiting game to see if I am accepted to do the masters degree and be prepared for the graduation ceremony next year! Very excited but also a little nervous. :) Three years have flown by so quickly and I feel I've learnt a lot about design and where my skills lie, but of course there is much life-long learning to be continued.

I have started working on those personal illustrations that I have sorely neglected during this year (now that I have my holiday time), but I will finish them soon, otherwise I'll feel unfulfilled as I always feel when I haven't finished something I've started. (I have too many notes all over my phone and computer of things to complete!)

This work is just a little amalgamation of all the things at the current time I find comforting and pretty, just a little illustration to pass the time.

This is titled Winter Harvest and relates to the season of Winter, the notion of cycles, seasonal vegetables, fruits and herbs and protectors of the forests and their respective wildlife. I have entered this into the Yen Young Female Art Awards, which you can check out here.

My illustration of Boudicca is quite close to its final stage, however I still have to work on perfecting certain elements, but I have left it at home as it is too hard to safely cart around watercolour paper on airplanes. This was the last photographed stage it was at.

Here are a few snapshots of things that have related to my life at this present moment. (From L-R, top to bottom):
1. Photo editing and in a current phase of loving white and roses. Plus, these sunglasses are so perfect for summer.
2. Finding nostalgic childhood books that are so wonderfully illustrated.
3. Setting up the Christmas tree, it looks so magical.
4. Starting the first in what I want to be a series of small portraits of women I find intriguing and inspiring, This initial sketch is of Virginia Woolf. It doesn't resemble her greatly; it is funny how the simple stroke of a pencil can dramatically alter the expressions within a drawing, something so tiny can have such a great impact on the resemblance of the subject.
5. My cockatiel Buzz, a strange parrot indeed - she only likes one person in my family and it isn't me!
6. One of my 21st birthday presents, a gold diamond ring from my grandmother. ♡

My holiday afternoons will consist of reading the newest Frankie and Lula magazines, and drinking plenty of tea.

I have been listening to a lot of soundtracks from some of my favourite films of late, this one has been permeating my mind for quote some time now. It is the Love Theme and Finale by Ennio Morricone from the 1997 version of Lolita. So beautiful and peaceful. ♡



That is all for now, until next time,

Morning Dew

Hello lovelies,

Once again, I have been distant from my blog, but I am updating to show you some of the work I have been feverishly working on during the time since I last posted.

I'm working on some covers for publications for three Shakespeare plays. I chose a play from each of the three genres - history, comedy and drama and started to illustrate some concepts for them. I wanted to select characters that were most intriguing to me from each of the plays, so they could be the focal point of the cover design. So far I'm just trying to illustrate and test to see what works and what doesn't, so below are examples of what I've been drawing.

Illustrations of plants for Hamlet - some rue, fennel, a violet and a daisy.

Puck illustration for A Midsummer Night's Dream book cover.

Falstaff illustration for Henry IV Part One book cover.

Ophelia illustration for Hamlet book cover.

I've also been working on other stressful projects (including the making of my portfolio) so I wont be able to post for a while, a few more weeks until I've finished classes, then I might have a few spare moments to write. But as of now, I have barely any time.

So good-bye until next time!