Perfectly Me

Journal Day 153-The mugs and business cards are here!

2012-05-09T18:51:00.000+01:00

Both the mugs and the business cards have arrived now- look at them!!

Can't wait to see the rest of it and see how it all turns out :)

Abiento x

Journal Day 152

2012-05-09T15:57:00.000+01:00

Getting everything done on time for this project has been really quite stressful, as in order to have everything professionally manufactured a large amount of time is needed, which I haven't had! Designing and printing everything in 4 weeks is exceptionally tight, and the tea towels and tote bags I have ordered will be delivered just on time on the very day that our assessment starts! Eeshk! Anyway, I have been planning the final show, and how I think I would like it to look in some rough sketches.

Basically the idea is that each product will be displayed in a row, representing the very logical and organised method that has been the style of my project, and has been how my worksheets have been also. This will have a strong visual impact on the viewer, a hit of colour and information.

I will also be displaying some business cards to show the business concept side to my plans and the project, and will have some cupcakes with my designs on them for both the private view, opening day and closing day of the exhibition.

So far I'm really pleased with all of this and think it works well, but am just hoping for all the products to arrive on time and in good condition!

Abiento x

Journal Day 154- Looking Back

2012-05-09T15:13:00.001+01:00

Today I started organising and creating the worksheets for the project. I had not put any of them together after the flamingo designs had been done, as I was on a tight deadline, and so have been printing out the designs and placing them onto worksheets. As well as doing that, I placed my original mood boards onto A1 worksheets to present them, and to make notes around them on what it was that I liked about them/was inspired by. I have had them stuck up in my workspace for the whole project so I can see them easily, and now thought they would need presenting a bit better. In doing these two tasks, I had a chance to look back at my original ideas for the project, and it has really shown me how much I strayed from that inspiration for my own designs. I really should have referred back to them more often to maintain my original ideas, but got too bogged down in the computer room. However it does now give me the opportunity to go back, for my own personal satisfaction, and re-design the bird designs with the original mood boards ideas in mind. This will give me such a different series I believe, and also having done this project, will give me the confidence to really push the designs further than I seem to have done in this project.

I do believe that given more time for this project, I could have had an evaluative period (which I had planned on) to re-asses the designs and then improve on them. It was the inclusion of two new bird designs that eliminated this plan from my project. I really wanted to spend more time exploring what it was that made a pattern work, and with an evaluative period I believe I would have seen new ways of changing and pushing my designs to create much stronger patterns. It was really only at the end of the project, when I was getting bored of the designs, that I started to do this. I would love to spend some time re-doing this project in many ways- starting, essentially, back at the beginning with drawings. I would then re-create my designs with these new elements much more based on the mood boards I originally created using the ideas I had taken from the other artists work.

These ideas included much more rotation of the animals, and random over-laying and over lapping of them with some being opaque. I would have tried to include more hand drawn pattern, such as stripes or doodles into the designs and shapes, and then over-layed (or under-layed) with a silhouetted version of the shape. However most of the designs became very simple, with the silhouette shape as the main motif. I regret this hugely and would really love to have more time to spend on this series of designs.

I have no doubt that when I do have the time, that I will re-vist both the bird series and the pear series, and will dedicate quite some time and energy into re-creating these designs. As I have said in my catalogue, at least the designs created in this course have shown me what I need to be doing more of, and what I did wrong with these designs. They have shown me how I should be designing and working, and how I can work and design. They have given me confidence and a great foundation from which to work with so much of the work and learning already done. Combining this with the online surface pattern course (with Rachel Taylor) that I'm doing, is giving me so much more confidence and excitement over the potential of what I can do. I feel that so much is possible, I just need to do it!

Abiento x

Rachel Taylor- Doing What You Love

2012-05-04T11:59:00.000+01:00

So, nearly two weeks ago I begun an online course focusing on Surface Pattern Design. It's run by Rachel Taylor and Beth Nicholls (founder of Do What You Love) and teaches students, using Rachel Taylor's experience and knowledge, how to create patterns and then turn them into a profitable business. The first module focuses on the creative side of things, starting right at the basics, and progressing forward to the second and third modules which focus slightly more on the business elements.

So far we have just covered the basics, most of which i vaguely knew or understand, but they have know been reinforced, deepened or explained further for me which is great! There are new ways of thinking and drawing which I'm really enjoying and it's so great to not just be inspired to do things, but have actual ways in which to begin doing them. So often you are either given immensely detailed and complication directions to follow that are far beyond your expertise, or your inspired and given no more. I always feel one or the other. So having simples ideas to think about when it comes to drawing simplifies the technique for me and inspires me to actually start doing it. Combining that with this project on the foundation in which I started doing that myself I feel I know have a strong foundation for continuing with pattern design.

I can't wait to see what else the course brings and will no doubt be showing some of what I produce on here soon! :)

Abiento x

Journal Day 146- Final Selection

2012-05-04T11:50:00.000+01:00

(Woop Woop!)

The following designs will be printed onto mugs :)

While these will be on tea-towels,

And these will be on tote bags.

All of them will then be on some gorgeous moo business cards, which I had similar printed before for my photography business and love to bits. I have also considered the idea of making some cupcakes with photo toppers of the designs, but am unsure of the logistics of this and did fiddle about with getting an iphone skin made but thought it would look a bit out of place!

So glad to have this all sent off and sorted and can't wait to see how they turn (especially as I had no samples made! eek!)

Abiento x

Journal Day 150

2012-05-04T11:32:00.003+01:00

It's amazing how long it takes to get things done sometimes. On Monday I had everything prepped and ready to send of the manufacturers to get my products made, however I only managed to get the mugs done, and it wasn't until yesterday that everything else got sent off. Wowza. I'm learning that this stage is time consuming and then lengthy in terms of waiting for items to be made and delivered. I'm hoping for the mugs to arrive today, while the tea towels, bags and business cards I have ordered could be up to and possibly over 2 weeks! It's cutting it so unbelievably close that I am extremely glad to have a fast-tracking option for my catalogue printing. By this stage I feel less like I am constantly catching up!

Abiento x

Journal Day 146

2012-04-30T14:44:00.000+01:00

Today I woke up tired and feeling stressed and overwhelmed with the project and life. However a quick break followed by tutorial allowed me to clear my head and see that I have done all that needs to be done, and that it is time to get these mugs and tea towels printed! Having pushed it last week past the stagnant stage I made a quick breakthrough with some great designs and have plenty of great options for the final show which is great. Yes my head is full of ideas and possibilities but for this project I need to take control and close them down for another time. I don't need to edit and compose the pieces to match, as essentially, this project has become about the process. It became about the method and the ideas, so in order to have a great final show I want a true representation of that, not a composed and edited version. Jane has encouraged me to find and think of lots of other possibilites for procucts for the final show too, as essentially as a surface pattern designer that is the whole point, my designs can cover any surface! Which is really exciting! So, off to the printers we go, and time to stop worrying!

Through this I have to say I have learnt a huge amount about my process as a designer, and the methods I like and work best with, and know that any future project will be hugely enhanced because of this. I can look back at the beginning of the course, and the beginning of my exploration into surface pattern design and can clearly see how I have developed, grown and learnt. I am hugely excited to keep this going and make it into a career! I will post the final design choices later on today when I have selected them! :)

Abiento x

Journal Day 145

2012-04-30T11:25:00.000+01:00

Oh Computers. How I love, and hate you. I spent 5 hours non stop in front of a computer today, and didn't even break for lunch. And now my eyes and my head hurt. Mainly because I walked home, had a salad, and within 10 minutes I had picked my computer back up! Meh.

Anyway, here is a little snippet of what I achieved today, focusing today on Toucan's. I began to struggle today with creating the patterns for this bird, as I felt that in creating patterns with two more birds, I am replicating a lot of the same stuff and it felt slightly stodgy. But I went ahead and did it anyway. Having got a few of the birds in place, I began to introduce the triangles and instantly felt that I wanted a hand drawn element to the design. However in the interest of continuity I left this to create the digital images that I need to work with the other bird design.s By the end of the day I really really wanted to introduce hand drawn elements, and so drew a few leafy, flowery motifs and then scanned them, plus some of the fruit drawings that I had done earlier in the project, and started to see how they would work. Sadly by then it was just gone 4.15 and so we were closing up for the day, and so I will have to spend a bit of the evening messing about if I want anymore computer time today! I'm working both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, so would really like to take my evenings off to relax this weekend! No more square eyes for me please!

The two that I did manage to do are at the end of the post, have a look a see what you think. I quite like the pear one :).

P.S please ignore the rubbish to the far right hand side of each image. Sometimes in editing I forgot to change the furthest (and hidden) birds/triangles. These also feel quite small which I'm not so happy about! They don't have quite the same impact...

In keeping the same kind of layout as before I'm definitely starting to notice a stagnant and stuck kind of feeling. Nothing is new or original or interesting and more is definitely needed. I want to go back and tweak quite a few of these, and re-asses the layout. Although, having said that, this is only one variation and I did quite a few for the flamingos before finding one I loved so may have to do the same here rather than just changing the colours. This work has to happen soon though in order to get them sent off the the manufacturers for printing. Hopefully if I spend all of Monday in the computer suite then this can happen on Monday evening or Tuesday morning.

So here are the ones with hand drawings. I got a bit carried away...

Abiento x

-What Inspires You?-

2012-04-27T13:00:00.000+01:00

Sometimes browsing through the internet can lull you into vegitative, square eye state. And sometimes it can completely inspire and motivate you. I love those times.

These images in particular inspire me with my business. They give me ideas and make me want to push forward and do it!

Sadly as I have had them save in an inspiration folder for a while, I don't have credits for all of them. However those that I do have, I have included. (If you recognise any of the images or know who's they are- please let me know so I credit them!)

A lot of people are suprised by my plans, which is expected. I also hear of lot of people who have ideas but don't ever do anything about them. My attitude is that I want to do it, so therefore I'm going to do it. Seeing this quote makes me feel okay about that :)

This images, predictably inspires my design side- for thinking up ideas of how I want mine to look. I love the bold graphics for this and feel its probably a very personal style for the designer/owner.

I love Amanda's 'My Better Half' posts, most of all I love the design implemented into each photo- so clever, cute and quirky!

Hell. Yes. It. Is.

This is from Emma Case's lovely new blog (go check it out!!), and I think it's one of the best mini profiles I've seen. Including the text into the image is a great way of doing it rather than having them seperate, and the design style of including an arrow is cute, and links you as a reader directly to Emma and essentially you are making eye contact with her. Fantastic photo choice.

This image simply inspires studio ideas in my. Bright, floral, homely. Love it. (I feel like I know exactly where this image is from, and it's on the tip of my tongue It's quite bugging me now!)

I think this image has drifted all over Pinterest over the last few months, but it's how I want to do life and business in general.

Part of the Alt Summit Online courses, this bad boy reached Pinterest also, and is a great checklist for running a successful blog.

Although silly and simple, this image, from and of Angela Hardison, inspires in me ideas of what I want to be wearing as a Business owner. Something that I value, as I will be the face of my brand, and I can't wait to live the lifestyle where I get to wear stuff like this every day!!

A great example of an image for a post, again from Angela Hardison, is well thought out and considered with style and panache.

In the words of Nike, Just Do It.

I love how this girl looks like she's about to jump. I really want to tell her to just do it! (I feel a bit like her sometimes and can't wait to jump!)

The above 3 images, for me, represent great ideas for blog post designs and photos. Something I can't wait to be doing more of.

These images, created by Ale, of Imaginale, come from her post about her experience listening to Sue Bryce at WPPI earlier this year (2012). She shared some of the business and marketing tips, which for me, is invaluable. Thanks Ale!

Journal Day 144

2012-04-26T22:15:00.000+01:00

Tutorial with Jane flew past me this week, and then I got overwhelmed with the amount to do and forgot to write about! Tutorial went really well, and Jane liked my designs so far. My original idea had been to select say 3 or 4 of my designs (or variations of one design) after evaluating them and working further with them. I would then have had 3 mugs, and some fabric printed from these designs with which I would create a mini room set up. This would have involved a small arm chair and a side table with the mugs, and maybe a vase with flowers on it. Jane pointed out that this could look rather "bitty", unless I upholstered a chair with my fabric. After looking at the work, and the worksheets, on which I have laid the designs she pointed out that both my way of thinking and my way of designing is very logical and my final show should reflect that. She (and I have noticed many other tutors also doing this) pointed out that the final show does not have to include a 'final piece' as such. It does not need to be narrowed down quite such, and that for me this works to my advantage as the logical design process has become the main project, and so the final show should again, reflect this.

And so she suggested that I skip the evaluative process I had chosen, and instead create designs with 2 or 3 more birds. I could then have printed up to say 8 or 10 max. tea towels and mugs of each bird. They could be displayed in rows, by bird and type, creating a 6 x <10 row of pattern and colour products with a strong impact and wow factor. This keeps the products linked, by home placement, allows for mass production and little work on my half. It also give me the option of selling stuff at the show. Over all I loved her idea and am definitely going to do it! Now I'm just researching good manufacturers and prices.

I have also started to re-think my catalogue and whether I want to include home set up style photos with my designs in or not. Part of me thinks this will be really tricky and could look a bit tacky if poorly done. We will give it a go and see, I'm thinking.

So today I started the hummingbirds, and after doing some more sketches in my sketchbook and traced some more photos (this time not my own) to get the bird shapes. I chose to use images that weren't my own as the ones I already had were from Paradise Park, and I had really struggled to take the photos I needed and wanted as many of the birds were not only hidden behind trees, but were also far away and were all in enclosed areas with horrible wire fences in the way. All of which did not make for successful photos!

The one thing I did differently though, was that this time, with the birds already selected and in my mind, and therefore in my sketchbook it was much easier to draw pattern and background ideas on an attached page to the sketches and to play around with ideas in my sketchbook rather than on paper. I don't mind where I do my drawing, but I found that at the beginning of the project I didn't really know what I was planning to do or where I was going to go with the project and so did a lot if drawing that consequently hasn't been used in the project designs at all. While I think that it is completely understandable for this to happen, and is how most of my projects begin, I am really enjoying the confidence and better results that I feel come from the small amount of prior knowledge of choice that I have at this stage for kind of starting again with new bird designs. This is something I think I will have to work hard on in the future. In order to do this I think I need to do a certain amount of drawing before a project begins, before a project proposal happens and even on a daily basis of everything that inspires me in order to have drawings ready and have ideas with which to start a project. This has also been the key and start to a new online course in surface pattern design that I started this week, and can now understand much more where the teacher is coming from. (There will be more on the course to come tomorrow!)

Anyway, onto the Hummingbirds!

What do you think!?

Abiento x

Journal Day 142- Unused inspiration

2012-04-24T13:11:00.000+01:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I can see a couple of ways in which I could have done this project differently, and it is in plain contrast to how I am currently doing it.

At the moment everything I am doing is on a computer. I am designing and creating digitally. I chose to eliminate any chance for possible time wasting or mistakes than can often come from working by hand in the print room. It is hugely time consuming and I felt that I want to be able to quickly and efficiently experiment with the patterns and saw that doing it digitally would allow me to see a range of designs in seconds or minutes rather than days, allowing me to achieve much more.

However when I was browsing through my pinterest I found these:

Original Source here

Lauren Adams

Lara Hardwood. Found here

Lara Hardwood Same as above

Lara Hardwood. Same as above.

Kees Goudzwaard. Found here

Kees Goudzwaard. Same as above.

Melanie Mikecz. Found in her etsy shop here

Harlequin Wallpaper for John Lewis. Found here

Harlequin Wallpaper for John Lewis, found here

Theo Altenberg. Found here

Valerie Roybal

Britt Bass. Found here

Thomas Prinz, Found here

and thought again about how I could have done so much work with paint, colour and textures. I would have almost ignored the birds, or would have created quite abstract bird shapes or perhaps just used bird outlines, all of which I would have liked but do not feel confident doing. It would have been a hugely experimental project, something I feel would have been more appropriate for part 2 of this course. At this stage I want to be able to create quality work and will save the emotional experimentation for my personal time :). Maybe one day...!

Abiento x

Journal Day 141- Worksheets

2012-04-24T12:37:00.000+01:00

Week two of this part is upon us and so for me that means evaluating what has been done. I have shared most of the designs so far, but in order to move forward I have printed them out and placed them, in their groups, onto worksheets. I find that working on a computer can give you tunnel vision, and the best way to really look at what you've done is when you can print them out and see them all together.

The way in which I have been working has allowed the sometimes un-sympathetic medium of digital design to have no effect on me so far. What I have and am focusing on is how and what makes a pattern.

I started with these basic background ideas with the intention of applying a variation of foregrounds to them. What I was interested in was not the over all pattern and it's effect (to a certain degree, with colour choices etc.) but was interesting in asking questions about the application of the foreground to the background.

Lots of multi coloured squares over-lapping to create a busy(!) background that possibly overwhelms the eyes?

Many coloured squares separated to be slightly less busy and easier on the eyes

All one tonal background with fewer squares spread out, but still over lapped for creation of new colours and shapes.

For example;

How does a busy background work with a busy foreground?

one bird repeated evenly, but in a colour that is not easy to see. Is it too much for eyes? Is the colour too light to see the new shapes created by the over-lapping?

In a bolder, more neutral colour the birds become much more dominant than the busy background, but your eyes focus on them rather than the new shapes created by the over-lapping. The colour also highlights the squares that are also the of the same colour which I don't like.

Tropical, 80's coloured birds clash with the multi coloured background, but the strong, repeated bird pattern stands out without dominating the background entirely.

How does a simple background work with the same busy foreground?

The background, now separated, is much easier for the eye to focus on. This in turn makes it (as it is brighter and bolder) more dominant than the foreground. The birds in the foreground are slightly opaque adding to this. Again the colour choice of the foreground is pretty awful and does not help it to look good. However I do think that a neutral colour would not work either. Having a foreground and background so separate seems to be part of the problem.

What about a background that is simple and of one tonal theme?

Here, the colours all work well together making the image much more aesthetically pleasing in general, however I still don't like the background as it feels like there isn't enough of one for the many may birds present.

Here the colours do not matter as much, as I feel that it works because the background and foreground match in terms of having a similar amount of information and activity.

This kind of organised grouping for the birds is preferable for me to the many many birds of the pattern 2 above. It is group, structured and repeated. Same as the background.

Admittedly the colour choices for these ideas was awful, and to be honest I hate how they have turned out. But at the end of the day they have done the job and shown me ideas and basics on how the foreground and background can work together. I also think that having a background and foreground so separate makes the patterns look weird- Having them linked/related and joined in some way is what makes a complete and good pattern.

In order to gain the bird pattern in photoshop I traced photographs and drawings and scanned them into photoshop. I spent an afternoon tracing many different versions of the birds together to again see how each idea and format of the birds would work. Like I said, I have been working very logically towards creating the patterns.

Once this was all done I started a fresh and began creating the patterns. For each one I have two or more versions in order to experiment and see what works better and what I prefer.

Again, for example;

Same bird layout as above, but with different colours and on a white background.

With an orange background. (Bright and 80's!)

Blue background- still bright but not so 80's, more of a beach feel.

With a pink background it has a girly feeling.

Smaller birds, with big yellow triangles and small grey triangles. More of a spaced out feel. Not quite enough?

With the addition of yellow triangles, it feels more full and detailed.

With no background triangles it feels a little bare.

Pale yellow birds for a toned down feeling

much poppier with a bright yellow

poppy yellow with stripes. Stripe additions always make me think of wallpaper, so not sure how I feel about this!

Pale blue version, feels suitable for much more surfaces.

Purple, for a mature but girly feel. All of these plain patterns can really be done in any colour to suit the need or person.

Add in some blue and centred yellow triangles with a red bird. The yellow birds give lots of details and linear pattern for the eyes to follow.

A fuschia pink is a slightly nicer fit with the other colours.

Pale stripes and dots give it a wallpaper feel again but add more detail and info.

A bolder bird makes them much more dominant, and while I like this I think the bird could be toned down a bit to find a middle ground between the two.

Back to the red, with dirty yellow stripes. I really do not like this colour combo.

butter cup yellow stripes give it a much better feel but the red is still not working for me.

even brighter yellows bring back a feel of the 80's and are very happy :)

this time dirty yellow, but bolder. Gives an earthy feel that I think could work if the red was also earthy or was replaced for another earthy colour. Quite a toned down and mature feeling.

girly pinks! with only dots for a more simplified feel, with opaque birds to create new shapes and colours for added info. If this had stripes it would be too much.

bolder colours, still opaqued slightly. This I think takes away from the girly feel.

A simple feel with only dots, with added green for a unique twist that I love!

Bright yellow triangles add another shape to the dots.

Paled out a bit they become less of a focal point which I think is preferable.

Thick stripes and thin stripes enhance a wallpaper feeling you could get! Possibly a bit too much?

Shadows create a mirage that quite frankly hurts the eyes

Spaced out shadows add nothing but confusion.

A simple green stripe on one side rather than both adds a bit of a quirk but does not take away from the wallpaper feel

plainer, with no bright blue stripes gives a maturer feel, but is too plain for my liking.

So far I feel that this method is working quite successfully for me, allowing to evaluate and choose as I go. It is very methodical and not at all expressive or emotional, but for this project I am happy to work this way! As I go on I can see many ways in which I could have done it differently, but that is something I could try when the time frees up again :)

Abiento x

Journal Day 139: The Key Is In The Planning

2012-04-24T10:58:00.004+01:00

One part of my life ( and my personality) is how crazily organised I am. I'm known for being a control freak and one of the most organised people that most of my friends know. In order for me to balance everything I have going on in my life I write lists. I find it crucial. It honestly is the only way I feel I could succeed in life. I have lists for the year, the next 3 months and then on a weekly and daily basis! Sounds like too much? I don't think so.

The longer lists stay in my head- my plans for the year; what I need to do and accomplish. Once we get into quarterly periods its less list form and more calendar/ timetable form. What's happening when, and what I need to do. The weekly lists are what enable me to make those things happen. What needs to be done this week, or even today? Well mine look a little something like this;

I have so many lists going at any one time, and so many notebooks that just get used for lists and notes and planning. But I love it :).

It helps me to get a good grade in my course, enables me to to get things done for the online course I do. It helps me to make sure that everything is on track for the next course I start in October (finance, credit transfers etc.) They ensure that my flat stays clean and pretty and that I keep on top of my d.i.y projects. They help me remember and figure out what's left to plan and book for my Italy trip in September.

All in all I lead a BUSY life. There is always lots going on at any one time, and quite simply a diary alone just is not enough! (oh yes I fill those up easily too!)

Does it seem weird or too much? I certainly don't think so :)

Abiento x

Journal Day 137

2012-04-18T13:43:00.000+01:00

Today the pattern creation continued. I'm still learning how to actually create patterns so have started looking for tutorials and stuff online. I'd like to start doing some more hand-drawings for these patterns, possibly some doodle type things. Anyway, here's the results from today.


Pale yellow

Bolder yellow with stripes

pale blue

brighter blue

a much subtler combination of purple and grey


fuschia pink


dark coral


coral with dots

fuschia with dots

fuschia with dots and yellow stripes

purple stripes

bolder/darker grey

pale yellow stripes

dark yellow stripes

very girly pink triangles

bolder pink flamingos

green triangles

dirty yellow triangles

2 green stripes

crayz eye hurting mirage/shadow

still slightly painful shadows

singular green stripe


no green stripe!

Abiento x

Journal Day 136

2012-04-17T10:15:00.000+01:00

And were back! The chaos is waiting to ensue this term but here I am, back.

I decided to take the whole easter break as a break from the blog too. To be perfectly honest I forgot about it, ran out of time for it, and then chose to leave it for a bit. I enjoyed the break. However now that part 3 of my course has well and truly started I need to start using the journal posts here again.

Today I jumped straight in with worksheet and idea development. I have a very strategic method set in place for this project by which I plan to play around with all the possible ideas, designs and colour methods I can think of with the shapes I have taken from my bird and fruit drawings. I will be incorporating shapes into this to create patterns and will mix and match my ideas to see what works best. In order to do this I have traced the shapes from my sketchbook and photos onto plain printing paper, and have then be able to lay them over the top to figure out combinations and patterns.

By scanning these and adding colour I can easily design the patterns I want to based on the principles I decided upon and chose from my mood boards;

- animal silhouettes
- bright colour (blues/oranges/yellow/greens/pinks)
- geometrical and basic shapes
- overlays and use or transparency

Today I began the experimentation stage with these patterns, trying to develop the patterns. I have started at the basic stage and plan to add to them where needed based on evaluation.

A simple repetition- can be in any colour and works well with any product.

Overlay of 3 different flamingos

Doesn't feel quite right or finished, but has a nice beachy feel

Chevrons add detail and pattern, but does it work?

Stripes showing through the flamingo shapes. Feels very dark and needs adjusting.

Too plain and simple? and too different in size?

Needs a background- add something behind. Triangles?

Very busy and flamingos would work better in a different colour. Maybe orange?

Still very busy but works well I think. Background and colour choices may need slight adjustments.

Simple enough to work? Colour adjustments?

Would it work better if the birds were an outline?

Needs more shapes in the background to work, and the birds are jagged.

Add more to the background. And re-consider colour choices.

Too much? Definitely needs adjustment.

I will be spending tomorrow doing the same thing on the computer, and then will print them all on on wednesday in order to evaluate them and make adjustments. I am quite pleased with the very methodical way of working that I have developed for this project. I feel it is strategic rather than developmental or emotional and should be very successful.

Abiento x

Lately I've been loving...

2012-04-16T22:00:00.000+01:00

Lately I've been loving unique self portraits. They've been inspiring me to re-do my mini self portrait project from last year. I started that one and then ended that one pretty quickly and the more I see beautiful self portraits the more I want to try and recreate them.

All the best ones seem to scream their emotions out loud, and seem so free. Plus I have got to get me some of those coloured tights!!

Any tips on keeping up the motivation and dedicating the time!?

Abiento x

Lost in another world

2012-03-21T13:53:00.000+00:00

I love books. It's a fact. I also love stories. And while you might assume that they come hand in hand, I want to explore the stories further outside the realms of books. The stories I love are of people, and lives. Simple and familiar to the lives that we ourselves live. Sometimes a bit of drama or fantasy certainly doesn't hinder a story line, but the life of celebrity doesn't interest me.

These stories are often found now-a-days in tv series, movies and of course, books. I love to have a story to follow and find that I enjoy having something to watch or listen to whilst I'm busy with my daily errands and jobs. Just listening to music or the radio isn't always enough for me. (Sometimes I wonder if I have ADHD!) And so I watch tv series's from start to finish over and over again, spending hours following a long story line.

Recently however I ventured back into the option of books, heading straight for the audio version. Audiobooks allow me to follow a story whilst continuing to do other things (which reading does not allow) and I remember loving a couple of audio books when I was a child. Strangely enough one of my favorite reasons for having audio books around is for running.... I get bored of music and need ridiculously upbeat music to keep me going. Whereas with a story I am interested and happy, the time just flies by.

The one problem with audio books is the price, starting at £10 a decent audio book can reach up £50! I do not have that kind of money.... But what I have found is that a local library will only charge you 50p to rent an audiobook (a cd version can easily be imported into your iTunes to listen to on your iPod and keep forever ;) and at most an extra 50p to reserve them.

I recently borrowed all of the Harry Potter Cd's from the kids section (yup the kids stories tend to be my favorite...easy to fall back into and listen along to!) and I cannot stop listening. I find I'm much happier to get on and do things when I have the lush tones of Stephen Fry to keep me entertained. I cannot recommend them enough!

Do you have any favorite stories or ways of entertaining yourself? Or are you quite happy with the radio, or even silence?

Monday Mornings Come and Go

2012-03-19T13:00:00.000+00:00

Monday Mornings. Oh Joy. Mine started out with a run, and then a trip into town to sign lots of paperwork for our flat! We move on Thursday and it's soo exciting!! We can't wait :). But this is how I spent my Sunday evening after work, I love watching the first half about her as a person and more importantly as a business woman. It's so nice to see that side, and to see the normal her that isn't just a superstar.

Abiento x

Happy Mothers Day!

2012-03-18T13:00:00.000+00:00

This is for my mumma, who lives far far away and is missed greatly.

Happy Mothers Day to my mum and all the others out there! :)

Abiento x

Friday Fun

2012-03-16T14:56:00.000+00:00

I don't know whether to say that Wimp came up trumps for finding this or whether to say that Japan came up trumps! This is far too cool, far too clever and far too well done for it not become a phenomenon. The creative use of technology is fun, inventive and brings us into a whole new realm of possibilities within performance art. Like I said- too coll!.

Enjoy your Friday :)

Abiento x

Journal Day 114

2012-03-15T19:58:00.000+00:00

So today was more about experimentation; bringing the drawings in my sketchbook out into the open on a worksheet to allow me to see them all at once, and have the space to play around with them a bit. What I learnt was that so far I have been playing it safe, sticking to flat colours and marker pens when working on paper. I need to play around more and take risks; using different media such as paint and collage. Something Jane has been trying to convince me to do for a while....

I also tried layering colour by use of colouring with pencils ontop of the marker pens to see what happened- I was pleasantly suprised! What came about was experimentation with colours, the discovery that great new colours can be made, and that yellow seems to brighten and enrich any colour. At last I'm opening up to the idea of risk taking and can see how it will help me. I can see how this project could/is unfolding and I'm really excited!

Abiento x

[What] can I do?

2012-03-15T16:00:00.002+00:00

Yesterday I decided to discover what I can do in Photoshop for my project. My first main concern was that I would struggle to get the colour blending I hoped for by over-laying geometrical shapes. I found that by altering the opacity of the shapes I could indeed do exactly what I wanted! This was pleasantly suprising, and reaffirming for me. It showed me that I can and should be able to do exactly what I want to with my designs in photoshop. It is now more about what my knowledge will allow me to do, not what my ability or tool (photoshop) will allow me to do.

What I love about this is how the over-lay of the shapes almost in itself creates a pattern. The new shapes and colours that are created really excites me.

Next, I decided to continue this idea by comparing this with less of an over-lay of the shapes.

While I still like this layout, and think it could work as a background (perhaps with negative or white shapes/pattern on top), when I first looked at it I found it to be too much. Strangely the many many shapes formed in the first layout makes it a bit of a blur and a haze, making it easier on the eye. Whereas this layout gives more for the eye to follow, possibly making it too much information? Am I right? Or is it actually the other way around? I need some distance and outside perspective to see this for me.

And so from there I decided to see what this layout would look like with more negative space (in colour). This would leave room for a pattern as a background as well as the one in the foreground.

Here I went with a colour theme to keep the pattern slightly simpler. However I do feel that this could work well with each of the 3 squares in each set being a different colour. That was a risk I didn't want to take when I was creating the layouts in photoshop, but feel that I should have done.

Abiento x

Journal Day 113

2012-03-14T18:50:00.000+00:00

This project has taken me a while to get into. From a suggestion of my tutor's I started with birds; mainly tropical birds. I headed to Paradise Park in Hayle and snapped some photos of the birds from which I have based a few simple drawings and have found shapes with which to work with. I tried to start drawing at the Park, and found that I could draw, mainly better with colour, but that it wasn't what I was after. I tried various things, working with line mainly. A week in, with not much work I hit a wall. I started thinking and thought that perhaps it was the birds- maybe the birds wasn't for me? However I picked up my sketchbook, rifled through and had some ideas of how to develop and continue drawing. I decided to carry on, and am really pleased I did. I learnt that by taking some time and perspective, and that going back on what I had already done I could develop and re-think my project. Doing research into other work that has similar features and characteristics to what I want my work to be has really helped. Jane suggested not looking into other work too much, and in many ways I agree, although I have found it helpful in terms of coming up with new ideas for patterns, backgrounds and layouts.

I have started to think more in depth of what it is that draws me to pieces that I have found and discovered a few patterns and links. In order to identify them I am going to include the mood board pieces again, with captions.

So, starting from top left, down and around linking back up.
1. Messy, bold colours that merge together.
2. Geometric shapes (triangles) that form the shape of an item and are filled with detail/pattern.
3. Stripes of colour create a pattern.
4. (skipping a few to the print of the forest) Geometric shapes that form the background of a piece with a theme of colours.
5. (Again skipping a few) Shapes in shapes (dots in squares) that form a pattern and act as a detail.

1. Over-lay of shapes to form a shape.
2. Over-lay of shapes to form a pattern.
3. Colours combined to form a background.
4. Block colour shapes over-layed to create the pattern. Symmetrical and opposite over-lays.
5. Over-lay of triangles creates lots of new colours.
6. Chevron stripes as a possibility for detail inside a shape.
7. Overlay of bear (and people) creates both new shapes and new colours.
8. Over-lay of wine glass shapes to form a pattern.
9. Stripes and colours combined in a pattern to create the detail on the inside of a shape.
10. (back to the beginning) Basic shapes taken from what looks to be birds, repeated, mirrored and in various colours.

1.Two bolder colours, but with 4 colours and 4 over-lays of the same shapes makes a pattern stand out.
2. (bottom left) Bird pattern laid over another pattern, laid over a colour.
3. Colour and line over-laid to create a new pattern.
5. Block colour shapes over-laid but with no transparency.
6. (Pear) Simple shape with multiple colours and details inside
7. (repeat bird pattern) Simple bird shape made into a pattern with mirroring and varying colours.

From this I can see that there are the following ideas and preferences emerging that I would like to explore within my own work, as a base from which to take my drawings.

The idea of pattern inside a shape appeals to me as a way of offering up detail in what could become work full of just colour.
The use of shape and colour to form a pattern or even another shape.
Block shapes
Linear drawing and patterns (perhaps best saved/used for the background?)
Bright bold colours with a simple pallette that always seems to involve blue and yellow plus 3 more colours. (usually green, pink or red and a neutral tone.
Over-lay of the block shapes, with some transparency to create new colours and shapes. (This is what most excites me- see the bear image, the person smoking image and the orange black and white bird image.)
Simplicity within patterns- stripes, chevrons and dots. (Something that was the basis of the pattern in my previous project.)

Abiento x

Mood Boards are the way forward

2012-03-14T13:00:00.001+00:00

Some of you may have seen some of my current project inspiration before on here, or even on Pinterest, but I created these mood boards with the images and thought I would share them here as part of my journal.

[Click on the link to pinterest to find each image and it's original source]

Shapes and Patterns

Layers and over lapping

Colour, Shape and Pattern

Photography Inspiration [It's in the Details]

2012-03-13T13:00:00.000+00:00

I've begun to notice that there is one thing in common with most of the portraits I save- their focus and attention to detail. So I have collected them together here to showcase the most beautiful of the bunch.

(I know the artists behind most but am missing some gaps- feel free to let me know if you do, so I can credit them properly!)