Video of Drawings

I produced lots of drawing with the drawing apparatus and instead of posting photographs of each one separately I though making a video almost like a stop motion would be an interesting little project for me to do and here it is. This video is almost like an explosion of movement, maybe explosion isn't the right word because to me that makes me think of destruction and aggressiveness but hopefully you'll understand what I mean after watching the short video.

Slightly disappointed with the quality of the video when I uploaded it but its the best I could get.

Movement

I am really enjoying producing drawings with my new drawing instrument that I blogged about earlier in my blog, all I have to do is place it on top of a piece of paper and with gentle movements just tap the wire in different places and with different forces. As the wire is so much like a spring even the slightest tap will cause it to wobble, vibrate, sway or bounce, movement is the most important factor with this instrument. It showed me how even the slightest movement in space can leave marks and traces.

Here are some of the outcomes, I produces lots and I love how each drawing is so is so unique and individual, no two are the same, they look so delicate and intricate as each little mark represents a movement.

You can click on each photo individually to take a closer look at the detail involved.

Wire and a pen is all I needed!

After lots of trial and error and failed attempts I finally came up with a new method of drawing that I think is blog worthy. Twisting and bending wire in many ways I eventually came up with a spiral cone shape, almost like a spring and simply just attaching a pen to it. My new drawing apparatus! so simple to make yet it took me so long to figure out the correct form and shape. So here it is.

You can see how the wire is coiled in a spiral shape with an ink pen attached in the centre. Now I am going to start producing lots of drawings which will soon be posted on my blog.

Inventing Drawing Instruments

I was just thinking back on the artwork of Tim Knowles and how he cleverly creates drawing devices and apparatuses to create amazing works of art caused by movement. I love how his approach and work enables him relinquish some of his artistic control leaving a lot up to chance and movement within a space. So now I'm going to set myself a challenge and come up with some ideas and drawing instruments of my own! 

Ink in Water

After I cleaned my paintbrush in a cup of water I began noticed the movement of the ink I was using as it spread creating interesting shapes and forms in the water. I thought about how interesting it would be to capture this before the ink spread too much in the water. I got a glass bottle filled it with water and put a thin layer of cooking oil at the top. (The ink didn't move as quick through the layer of oil, this gave me a chance to prepare to capture the movement at the right moment as the ink entered the water).

Just Thought it was Interesting

So I don't think this really relates to my project but as I was clearing my desk in college I noticed a cup that had been filled with water i was using to clean my paintbrushes. All the water had evaporated leaving this interesting ink design at the base. 

Drawing With Milk

I cut up some newsprint into small squares, I drew on these pieces of paper using milk, the drawing at first was only visible for less than a minute as it soaked into the paper and began to dry fast so a lot of the time I lost track of marks I had made and ended up overlapping certain parts of the drawings. To make these drawings visible again I held the drawing over my fire at home, the heat caused the milk to change colour and become visible. The longer it was held over the heat the darker the milk drawing got.

Tim Knowles

I was reading a book I found in the library called 'Drawing Projects - an exploration of the language of drawing' and I came across an artist called Tim Knowles, I found his work and also his process of creating art really interesting and I learned a lot of things from him I can use in a way to benefit my project. Chance is something that is important to the work of Tim Knowles. Works are generated by apparatus, mechanisms, systems and processes beyond the artists control. The outcome of his work is unpredictable and directed by the external forces.

Some of my favourite works by Tim Knowles are:

The Mk1 Postal Project

The artist produced drawings by concealing a drawing apparatus within a package. A pen was attached to a spring wire which moves with motion and movement of the package. The package was put through the postal system and posted from one destination to another. The drawing continued to be produced throughout the journey. Periods of stasis were recorded as the ink continues to flow from the pen producing a larger blot as time goes by.

The Mk2 Postal Project

This project is similar to the Mk1 Postal Project where a drawing apparatus is concealed within a package. The difference is how the drawing apparatus is constructed to produce the drawing. I particularly like the outcome of this project as it represents a journey where each move, wobble, vibration and periods of stillness are recorded.

Long Exposure

Trying out some settings on my camera. I decided to do some experimenting with long exposure, didn't really know what it was or how to use it but I soon found out. Some Christmas lights, a fire and movement was all I needed to get really interesting photographs. I liked this setting because it wasn't until a few minutes after I pressed the shutter I was able to see the result. Although I had some control over the outcome the camera did most of the work.

 The Fire

Drawing Apparatus

I came up with another method of drawing where I was able to relinquish some of my control to produce art.
At my study desk I was able to attach two small hooks to the top then put some string through the hooks. I attached 2 pens to the string keeping them straight using thin wire. I had to control the pen by moving and pulling the string in the direction I needed it to move. It was an interesting experience and believe me it looks a lot easier than it was.

This is my drawing apparatus set up the two outer strings are like the controllers to move the pen.

Here is a short video showing my drawing apparatus in action

(quality isn't the best but hopefully you can understand what i'm doing)

Unpredictable Outcomes

I did a drawing in my sketchbook using the pen and string method but using different motions and movements. This was the result.

At first glace I thought the image appears to be a series of figures standing at various distances, some closer than others. I found it interesting that a method like this where I had little control of the outcome could create a drawing I could interpret in many different ways. 

Wax

I experimented with some wax letting it drip from a height onto a surface. Every drip spread a little until it eventually covered the piece of wood I was letting it drip onto! Each drip was individual and uncontrolled as it spread. I used different colour waxes to emphasise each layer as they overlap each other.

Claude Heath

I love many of Claude Heath's works especially his drawings, not just the drawings themselves but also the process used to create them. These are a few drawings which are from a series of drawings called 'Blind Drawings'. By wearing a blindfold and removing his sense of sight he was also removing a lot of the control he had over the drawings he created. These drawings are free, whimsical and there is a sense of movement and action in the drawings.

I took some photos of my own inspired by the photographs of the storms I posted earlier on my blog. As there was no storm and the weather was relatively calm it was difficult to capture the effect in my photos I was hoping for. I decided to take some photos of the sky anyway. The clouds weren't very apparent in the photos so I decided to use this as an opportunity to attempt practice my photo editing skills. I added different effects, adjusted shadows, highlights etc. to define different aspects of the photos.