Madeleine's Portfolio

 Details of final outcome: Outcome in-situ: Outcome in gallery setting: I feel fulfilled by the outcome I produced. It reflects the effort I put in over my FMP into research, learning new skills and also personal development. It is an artists' book called 'An Ode to the Moon' and is a testament to the enormous range of perspectives we have on the moon. For me, this project has been an enlightening journey on how the world can have so many different viewpoints on the same thing. It has been a personal journey for me and I feel this book is evidence of this. I can't wait to show this book to friends and family. I already have some orders in from people that would like one for themselves- which is ultimately the goal of my project (to share alternative perspectives through allowing ownership and personal connection to my work.)

 Since the start of my FMP, I have kept a moon journal documenting how the moon has come into play within my own life. It has been a place to reflect on how the moon is affecting nature, the astrological world and my experiences. I have made an effort to collect and document photographs I take of the moon in its varying phases and positions in the sky.  I think that keeping this journal has really aided me in bringing this project to a personal level and has contributed to how relevant it has become in my life. I am constantly being reminded of the moon and the focus of my project- and I think I will continue to be for some time. A selection of pages from the journal: (to view more, the full documentation is on the sketchbook slides)

 I feel satisfied with the level of research I pursued and I feel my bibliography is a testament to that. I made an effort to source from a range of mediums as I knew this would strengthen my ideas and add depth to the context of my work.  Bibliography shown below. The numbers correspond to the references I noted in my sketchbook (on small post-it notes.)

 I needed to hand in 3 styles of photography for my final outcome. I enjoyed coming up with the ideas for doing this and am very pleased with the outcomes. Below is the notes and sketches I made while planning. I am pleased with the details shots I got, they look effective together on the page and I feel they communicate the nature of the book effectively without the viewer being able to physically see it and use it.

 In order to aid the editing process of my artists' book, I decided to make a new blog called 'An Ode to the Moon'. This was a place to select and refine the images I would include in the contents of my book and also reflect on each outcome. It was fulfilling to document what each piece meant to me and my personal journey. You can find the blog through the link below: https://anodetothemoon.weebly.com/

I had planned to make handmade paper since the start of my FMP. I knew I wanted to create something using my moon charged water as this would be an outcome that physically used the moon to create it. How I made my own paper: Soaked scrap paper I'd collected since the start of my foundation course in water charged under the full moon. Blended the paper and diluted it with more water. Used a mould and deckle to scoop the mixture in the shape of a page. Layed the mould upside down so it releases the page onto a towel. The towel left texture in the shape of its fabric on the paper. I made multiple pages, layering some moulds so they made larger pieces of paper that could be used in my artists' book.  

 During the formatting and designing of my artists book, I realised that I had an odd number of pages- I need an even amount as I'm using double sided pages so each page needs another on the back. So, I decided to quickly produce one more outcome. This time, using all the text messages I've received over my FMP and creating art from them. Below is a collection of the texts I've received. I wanted to do some research into an artist that could inspire a way of formatting these texts into a piece of art. I looked through a book my aunty got me for my birthday: Picturing and Posting, by Alan Fletcher. He is an artist that experiments with lots of different ways of communicating typography. One collection that I found particularly inspiring was the one shown in my sketchbook below. I was inspired enough to replicate his techniques for my own piece. These are the outcomes from replicating Alan Fletcher's technique. Which is to write out messages in unusual circumstances, for ...

I decided to research and experiment with a specific style of book binding, to find out if its suitable for my project but also to get an idea of how books are put together and to understand the logistics behind them. My notes and experimentation can be seen below.   After deliberating the logistics of using the accordion design, I decided to move on to another one. This decision felt like the right thing for my project and im glad that I took the time to experiment with it before rushing to the first idea that came to mind. I've learned the importance of this during my time on the foundation course and now I feel that experimentation is a core part of my creative practice. Below is a video of me touring the multiple accordion books I made. I wanted to make a variety to ensure that all possibilities were met and I was making the right decision with the format of my book.

After deciding that the accordion book style was not suited to my contents and that the logistics of production are unfavourable, I've decided to focus on a different style of bookmaking: binding with an elastic band. This style of book allows the reader to pull out a page and view it in full a3 style and also rearrange the pages however they please. This style of viewing appeals to my project as it is ultimately a personal journey for me as well as and I want the viewer to experience that in my final piece.   Deciding on the paper type using samples from an NUA elastic-bound prospectus I'm studying (shown in sketchbook and also slides) as well as a fashion magazine. I also decided that I want to use a3 paper so it produces a larger page when folded as this will create the feel of a more realistic book and also will provide a larger poster when page is pulled out. Researching 2 artists that use the elastic book-binding method. It's hard to specifically find artists that use...

 As I approach my final weeks before hand-in, I've decided to start considering and researching the outcome I'd like to produce for my FMP. During a tutorial, my tutor recommended I look into artists books, below you can see my research. I feel drawn to this style of outcome as its the perfect way of displaying the outcomes I've produced over the last months and in a personal way. I will be making the book with my own hands; folding, cutting and binding and I even intend on making some of my own paper to go in it.

 As proposed in my project proposal, I decided to work with the method of sun printing. Below you can see my notes and the process I went through of learning how to produce a sun print. To me, the method sun print is relevant to my project as it uses the sun's light to create imagery- much like the moon. The images we see within the moon are purely reflections of the sun's light off the surface of the moon. So, it feels relevant to portray the images we see on the moon with the sun prints.  These are the black and white transparencies I printed for the sun prints. I wanted to use the 4 moon drawings that reflected the gestalt principles .  And below is the 4 final outcomes of sun prints, using the above transparencies. To develop these sun prints further, I decided to research some graphic design techniques for displaying imagery in an interesting way. I wanted to find a way of displaying the sun prints I'd made in a way that would communicate the meaning behind them. I w...