DAY 1 of the Restricted light experiment:

So today was the official first recording of how the restricted light was effecting the plants. George, as expected has already started to show the effects of his neglect:

George's petals are starting to brown with the limited light.

   

George, Day 1:

Where as Rufus' petals are still as white as the day I brought him home:

Introducing Rufus and George.

As I promised, here are my first photos of my plants, Rufus and George. Rufus is the control experiment where as George will have restricted light. I will document how they change/ progress with the different conditions.

 

George. Day 1.

Rufus. Day 1.

I have covered George over with a paper bag in which I have cut out 4 peep holes; thus restricted the amount of light access to him. He will be watered every 2 days, like Rufus.

One final Photo of the day:

Rufus being over indulged with some chocolate.

Change of Direction...

So, after last time I was completely and utterly confused about where I wanted to take my EMP. I knew I wanted to start again, but where to start was a question. However, last week I had a mini break through- I decided on a theme/ topic and today I had a slightly bigger breakthrough; with the decision of how to explore my theme in an interesting and hopefully invigorating way.
I hear you ask:

'So What is this interesting new change of direction?'

And my reply is: 'RESTRICTION(S)'.

You may wonder where and why I came up with this theme- and let me explain my thinking...

1. I personally have many dietary and health restriction being diabetic and lactose intolerant and therefore thought I could always resort to the Health Restrictions. And on that note, my brother is Epileptic and thus he also has health restrictions- different from me, but they still restrict his lifestyle. ie. He can't drink alcohol and can't look at flashing lights etc.

2. People suffer from mental and physical health restrictions- in terms of Alzheimer's. People maybe physically fit, but if one suffers from mental illness, they are trapped/restricted mentally. On the physical side of things, I was looking at prosthetic limbs and how mobility can restrict ones lifestyle. In saying that, I also looked into Braille and deafness as a restriction. Due to wanting to focus my future career within the advertising industry; I thought it would be relevant to perhaps devise a campaign targetting amnesty and bringing awareness to the those trapped in terrible social conditions.

3. I also wanted to incorporate my love of photography and thus record the various restrictions within the world we live- even if it is as basic as parking and age restrictions.

4. The last part of my project for now is to explore materials and how they can can be used to restrict other objects. ie. Tape, string, cling film. This too will be documented through photography. It will be more exploratory and investigative and perhaps used as a metaphor for the social status part of the brief...

5. Simultaneously, I have bought two little plants- named Rufus and George. Rufus is plant number one- and will be the control experiment. He will be watered and loved and talked to on a daily basis whereas as George will be neglected. He will be placed under a paper bag and only given limited light. He will not be spoken to but will be my experiment of restricted light. He will be my final experiment and thus used to show the difference between a restricted lifestyle and a non-restricted lifestyle.

However, I could restrict myself in terms of the materials I decide to use; I could set myself the challenge of only blue ink and only use A1 paper for example.

I would also explore things that don't have any restrictions- ie. birds...

So to conclude, I think this could be an interesting brief that offers several possibilities.

You will meet Rufus and George tomorrow when I begin to document their life with and without light through photography.

So for now. Good Night.

2011 Update.

Hello again! I must apologize for the lack of updates/ posts etc over the past few weeks. The current work load is no excuse to abandon all my loyal followers- please forgive me. However, in saying that, my work load has been IMMENSE. 


Let me start by saying, I hope you had a happy new year- although a month out of date. 2. I hope you will be pleased as pleased as I am to know that the dissertation is now OVER, completed and HANDED IN. NO MORE FORMAL ESSAYS EVER EVER AGAIN. Oh yeah! and 3. I finally sent in my Watford application work yesterday. Another 'Oh yeah'! (It has been ruling my life for the past 4 months, but finally I sent in my creative test- so lets wait and see...)


So there is my 2011 life summary to date. However, now I need to turn my attentions back to Illustration and my Extended Major Project (EMP). Basically, at present it could be described as non-existent, a disaster, a creative failure, a sketchbook travesty...and so I think you get my drift. Its going nowhere. It is for this reason I decided it was time to return to my blog and report on this miserable situation. As requested by my university, we have to fill out learning agreements stating at the start of each brief what we intend to do, research, submit etc etc. At the time, I had decided to base my EMP on cliches. I wanted to select a few over-used phrases and illustrate them through the use of typography and photography; I wanted to mix different ones up and re-create my own. However, when starting the brief, I realized this was harder to achieve than originally thought. I was unsure where to begin, and more importantly, how to make the brief visually interesting rather than a literal description of the meaning of the cliche.


So, after a seminar today, it has been decided that I am going to re-start my EMP with a different brief; I am going to ignore my learning agreement and find a new topic. I AM FREE OF THE CLICHE! I am going to see where my creative juices lead me. (Hopefully all the way to Watford) but in the mean time, I need a theme. I was thinking about 'Ambition'. I am an ambitious person and everyone has their own dreams- so it could be an interesting theme to explore. I may also look at 'Patterns'; referring to either reoccurring patterns of behaviour or just patterns in terms of design. Maybe the Inspiration fairy will visit me in the night? Anyway, I will keep you updated on my EMP progression as it develops.


On a different note, and since last time, I have now returned from the amazing Windy City that is Chicago. The snow luckily didn't effect me too much- nothing a pair of gloves and a hat couldn't handle. :-)
I have been working on my 'invention' and sourcing ways in which it could be taken to market; more research and all that jazz. As I said to a friend yesterday...


There's never any rest for the wicked.


We decided that the phrase doesn't really make that much sense as there shouldn't be any rest for the wicked. However, once again, we're back on the topic of the damn old cliche...


And back to thinking 'outside the damn old box'.

Reporting from the Windy City

So, here I am writing from across the pond in the amazing city that is Chicago. I love it here. No matter how many times I visit (due to having family here) I get just as excited. The people, the atmosphere, the Christmassy-ness, just everything about the place makes me all happy. I feel that I am in one of those 'chocolate box' winter Christmas movies- (Home Alone-esque). I think the only thing that would make my Christmas visits even more special was if I was young enough to still believe in Santa!

To be honest, the prime reason for this visit was for medical purposes, but it doesn't stop me enjoying the chicago festivities. I took my first walk downtown today, ventured into the wonderdul Walgreens. The store that possibly stocks a little bit of everything. Oh the american-ness. I could live here, at least for a period of time. Ideally, I  would like to have an internship at the Chicago branch of JWT. And yes, although it is the vacation period, the work doesn't stop. I still need to complete my 10 questions- slowly but surely getting there.

The photo above is of The Bean. It is located in the Millenium Park opposite my Uncle's office- (on Randolph and Michigan Avenue).
The Bean is just one example of the art that Chicago has to offer. It boasts several art galleries; including The Chicago Art Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art-where I saw an artist called Richard Tuttle. (At the time, I didn't really understand his work, although when I later read up on him, I found his work to be very interesting. He experiments and explores the boundaries between what is a painting and what is a sculture. ie. what makes something 2D or 3D? Definitely wirth a 'Google').

An example of Richard Tuttle's work- combining painting and sculpture.

Chicago is also home to thousands of theatres- in which I have seen one of my favourite shows of all time- Spamalot. A pure comical, musical masterpiece. One for all and all for one...

Unfortunately, due to my ever increasing work load and sometimes procrastinating skills, I haven't brought my beauty of a camera this trip. She is being greatly missed as I love a bit of experimental photography. I figured I should prioritize my advertising work and dissertation before I started playing with apertures, ISOs and depths of fields...

On another note however, I am now also in the process of becoming an Inventor. Yep, an Inventor. I have designed a product and am currently awaiting patenting. So for now, the product is still highly secret and confidential, although I'm hoping one day it will bring me my first of many millions! (Well, if not, it's still something to add to my CV).

So for now, I shall love and leave you from the Windy City. (At least with the time difference, I'm not writing my blog at 4am)!

A Little Bit of Advice...and a recommendation

So I found this quotation and think it should be in any creative person's rule book...


'Even if you can't draw, do a little doodle or rip an illustration from a magazine- these ideas will help bring your ideas to life'.


Thanks John Emmerling.


On a completely different note, but I thought as it was coming up for the festive season, and a little bit of humour does wanders for these freezing nights and days, I wanted to recommend the wonderful book that is...

I know I have said in the past that I am not a reader, but this is just brilliant. I laughed outloud on the train, on the tube or in my bedroom. I definitely think this book should be on everyone's Christmas wish list. Pure 'comic genius'.


And following on, now at 04.57 past the hour, commenting on funny, have you seen the new Buttercup cough medicine advert?


It is also just brilliantly funny/ comical/ humourous etc.  It involves various wild animals coughing and spluttering with several amusing accents and voice overs. Just lurve it... I laugh every time I see it, and the more I take note and experience advertising, I realize humour goes a very loooooooong way within the industry.

Here are some clips taken from the advert. Look out for it. It would make me want to buy it over any other cough medicine, purely from the fact I remember the ad and I remember the product.

ONE DOWN AND ONE TO GO....(Breath and Sigh and Relax)

So today was the day. The day that I had been working towards. HAND-IN. At 14.00 hrs sharp, in the studio and don't be late. Everything all boxed up in our new 20L plastic submission boxes, very posh but very organized. One brief down and one to go till my wonderful student years come to an end. (very sad...sob...sob)
Anyway, there is no time for sadness now as I need to get cracking, writing, planning, you name it, I gotta do it on my Final Major Project. And like usual when faced with the immense challenge of creating a brief, my mind goes into over-drive and over-thinking about what would make a good brief, what won't, what will excite and awake my creative illustrative/ advertising juices- what do I want to spend my next 5 months working towards? What is going to get me a f**king good degree grade? Well at present, at the ripe old hour of 04.38 in the morning, I have convinced myself that I am going to explore the term


THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...


I hate hate this term with a passion because what is the bloody box? Where is the box, who decided what the box is and where the boundaries lie between being inside it and outside it? Its like the other overly irritating phrase about more bloody boxes... 'ticks all the right boxes'. Once again, who organized and designed what boxes should be ticked? So in my box rant, I feel I could explore this theme through the use of photography, line drawings, taking inspiration from my Christmas travels to Chicago, looking at landscapes, locations, various boxes albeit post-boxes, cardboard boxes, cereal boxes etc. Who Knows? I don't. I just know I hate boxes- unless of course my thought process is so much so, I am just slightly 'outside the box' and I get my place at Watford advertising and copywriting. And on that note, I need to incorporate my future career prospects within this brief, so perhaps a hint of typography may appear, illustrations for advertising. I don;t know, once again, I need to sort my head into various lists, action plans and deadlines.


Incase you're wandering, I am still struggling along with completing my creative test for Watford. I have answered all the questions now but they need to be re-drafted, worked upon and improved before submission. I also need to come up with my own ad campaigns for my portfolio- so I have decided to work with products I enjoy/ like for some and for others, once again, I have tried to think outside the damn box, so have chosen more obscure items. Like shoelaces and a dog lead. Hay ho ho ho...Merry Xmas everyone.


I may just mention, that i had another Design Buddy meeting the other day with Richard Gregory which proved overly beneficial. He alerted me to some typography layout rules, creative decisions and overall advice about my application work. Another meeting is hopefully going to be organized for the middle of Jan, so will keep you updated on any further progress...