PROJECT SUMMARY + FINAL DESIGN IDEAS

Project Summary:

At first I found this project quite difficult. I didn't feel inspired to draw in my sketchbook and wasn't sure how I would ultimately bring everything together to form design ideas that would be relelvant to things I had been looking at or reading about.

However, I found that by combining a blog with the sketchbook, I could use both to provide ideas for the other and I found that actually it was quite a good system.

I am surprised at the end results, because I wasn't really sure what they would look like until I started making them. However, once I began putting the bits together it all fell in to place. 

This has been a challenging, but ultimately rewarding project..

Final Design Ideas:
 
These are mixed media collages i've made in response to work from my sketch book and research on my blog.
I photocopied images from my sketch book that particularly interested me or stood out as being visually strong. I needed a way of bringing all my different ideas together and found that collage seems to naturally fit this. It has meant that I can move things around and play with different colours/textures/shapes easily as I go...


 

Inspiration:

VnA Chair (Sketchbook/Blog)

Flooring Pattern from hatching Grids (Sketchbook/Blog)

Inspiration:
Japanese Garden Rocks (Sketchbook/Blog)

Patterned Rug  Path (Blog)

Japanese Garden Theme (Blog)

Rocks and Children (Installation, VnA Courtyard, Visit)

Inspiration:
'Mask' Sculpture - Part of a VnA Chair (Sketchbook/Blog)

Patterened Plinths (Sketchbook - b+w pencil flower sketch)

Focal Point (Sketchbook)

Grid Paving (Blog/Sketchbook)

Inspiration:
Church Spire (Sketchbook)
 Paving Sets (Sketchbook/Blog)
 Frank Lloyd Wright, Stained Glass (Blog)
Andrea Cochran (Blog)
Ulf Nordfjell (Blog)

 

Inspiration:
Stachys Drawing (Sketchbok)
 Community Garden (Blog)
Foliage (Sketchbook)

Inspiration:
Chairs, VnA Visit (Sketchbook/Blog)
Community Garden (Blog)
Paving - Rug/Japanese Garden/Neo Bankside (Blog)
Stone Roof (Drawing, Sketchbook)

SKETCHBOOK PROJECT ROUNDUP

The sketchbook project has been a two-fold process for me. I have recorded visually in my sketchbook, alongside collecting images/photographs/research on my blog. I wanted to keep them both separate, because when I work on a project I use my computer all the time to research and record my findings. If I ever do make sketches, they are only really for very quick reference- and do not hold a lot of detail or notes for me to refer to at a later date. However, they can be useful for capturing things on the go.
I feel that this has been working well for me in this project, but it is now time to start bringing everything together to form more cohesive design ideas which could be applied to designs I may make in the future.  I will take references from my sketchbook and visual sources I have got on my blog and see what the results are.  

I've never done this before, so I will be interested to see the results....

JOE SACCO

JOE SACCO (b.1960- )
Political Cartoonist
Pen and Ink
The original article I read on him in the Telegraph Magazine: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10334363/The-world-of-cartoonist-and-journalist-Joe-Sacco.html


The Great War 

Other work:

BRICKWORK PATTERNS

HOCKNEY PT.2 - SKETCHBOOK WORK

David Hockney
Sketchbook Work

Some more inspiration for my own sketchbook. I like these quick observations Hockney made as much as the finished pieces because they really get a sense of the place itself, before it gets filtered through his brain and altered. He fills the pages really well also and his use of paint allows him to be both bold and detailed at once (important when observing nature)

JERRY DI FALCO

JERRY DI FALCO
Philadelphia, USA
http://www.saatchiart.com/gerarddifalco 

I think this work is really great, it's so expressive and the lines are really bold. An effect that can be quite hard to achieve through etching. I love the way he fills the page right to the edges.
The reason i've also put them on here though, is that they remind me of the sort of work you might get in a sketchbook - capturing a moment or thing of interest

PLANT FINDING

I found these drawings on a blog and thought they were a good example of simple and clear plant sketches . . .

BRUNO MUNARI

BRUNO MUNARI (b.1907)
Artist / Designer

I love the work of Munari, and find that it influences me regularly in how I approach design work. I love the sense of playfulness present in his work, as well as freedom within design. These images are just the tip of the iceberg of his collection of work as a whole.

 

COLOUR PALETTES

MOVIES IN COLOR
Blog
http://moviesincolor.com/about

This blog breaks down film stills in to their colour palettes. It's a really good way of getting you to look at things purely based on the colours rather than being distracted by the actual objects or action occurring in the frame. 
This is really useful skill to practice for garden design, as it enables you to focus on just colour within a design. However, the same discipline could of course also be applied to looking at, for example, leaf shape / plant form / texture / shade + light etc
(see sketchbook)

Moonrise Kingdom, 2012
Director: Wes Anderson
Cinematography: Robert D. Yeoman

Trainspotting, 1996
Director: Danny Boyle
Cinematography: Brian Tufano

Rear Window, 1954

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Cinematography: Robert Burks

Pulp Fiction, 1994

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cinematography: Andrej Sekula

Groundhog Day, 1993

Director: Harold Ramis

Cinematography: John Bailey

VERULAMIUM MUSEUM VISIT

VERULAMIUM MUSEUM

ST ALBANS 

A small museum of Roman artifacts collected from the area surrounding St Albans. I have a bit of a thing (thanks to my graphics background) for museum displays and how objects are laid out and I made a few sketches of things that particularly caught my interest (see sketch book). 

I also love materials like clay, stone/flint, glass, wood, primitive metal (i.e roman coins) and textiles like woven fabric. All of these materials can be utilised in design, but are often shunned for more modern materials or high spec finishes unless you are viewing a 'cottage garden' type of design. I would like to incorporate old techniques and materials in modern design to create a sense of contrast and engage people more in the space.

some photos from my sisters phone to hopefully follow soon *note to self* remember camera......

MATERIALS OF INTEREST FROM ROMAN TIMES:

clay.

glass.

 

metal.

V+A DAY DRAWING +LOOKING

GAETANO PESCE (b. 1939)

CROSBY CHILD'S CHAIR

POURED RESIN

1998

www.gaetanopesce.com

This is the chair that I drew at the museum - a really fun piece of design. I  love the colours and materials used to create the feel of 'throw away design' out of something so familiar to us - the chair. Garden design can often become very precious about the idea that it is going to be there for a long time - I like the idea of turning this idea on its head..

Some more of Pesce's work: