For these two exercises there was a master list of words to use as topics. So it seemed sensible to write them both up together. They were interesting exercises, and I enjoyed being able to not worry about the accuracy of my marks, and to free myself up a bit.
2.3 Turning Words into Pictures
I chose Travel as my topic. It seemed to be the the best blend of challenge and understanding for me. I started on luggage, which seemed to fill my head with details. Especially the sense of leather and stitching. I didn't want to focus on the destination aspect of travel, so my mind moved towards modes of travel. The sensations, comparisons and and similarities.
I tried not to think too much - when something came into my head, I captured it. This gave my work a sense of fluidity that I liked. I did have to pay attention to come back and think of smaller details. I think apart from the luggage this could have been more successful if I had added those little nuances. I tried to experiment with some metaphors, to try and capture some of what it feels like to travel.
2.4 Making a Moodboard
This exercise was pretty tricky for me. I have never done a moodboard before, although I was very familiar with the idea. I have always been in awe when I have seen them, how those creatives have managed to pull together eclectic aspects that suddenly fit together.
I decided to conduct and store my research on Pinterest, as it seemed the most practical option. I do have my own library stored on my PC, but for this exercise I chose a different topic from the list, namely Wild - as I thought it would be a good challenge for me.
(Pinterest board can be found here)
I had this very firm notion in my head about what I wanted to capture. I think the common places to go when you think of the world 'Wild' are things like wildlife, going wild (crazy), or perhaps the exotic wild places of the Earth.
I had a very different feeling when I chose the subject. I had this distinct need to capture the power of the wild. A lot of the time we don't see the power of the wild nature around us. It moves at such a slow, steady, unrelenting pace that we think it to be impotent. That we, the young animals on the surface who live for brief moment have all the power. That we exert control on the earth.
But no matter our accomplishments, the wild will always return to reclaim. That's what I wanted to capture. I started then, with trying to capture aspects of texture on the board, to use as a backdrop and also to ground myself (pun not intended) when placing the images.
I printed out the images I wanted to use onto a sheet of A3 paper. I really wanted to capture a core palette of colour that would form a summary of sorts to the collected images.
I don't have a huge selection of acrylics, so I used a book called the "colour mixing bible"[1] to try and match the core colours amongst the images, and then see what colours would be best to mix to capture them in a swatch on the moodboard.
I carefully placed the images, trying to get a sense of where they naturally fit to give a sense of whole, a sense of theme. I was very please with the end result, especially the palette of colours. I really believe I could have moved on from that mood board to create an image using that palette, and it would have given the same sense of place as the moodboard. This might be something for me to revisit after a while.
I would have liked to have sourced more images to around stone, rock, earth and roots. There is a definite hierarchy to the moodboard which could do with more content lower down.
[1] Sidaway, I. (2002). Colour mixing bible. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
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