Procrastination

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Originally uploaded by lucy rose

I got a bit distracted from my Mythology project this afternoon and ended up drawing my collection of rings.

If you go to the Flickr link, there's notes on a few of them...

The Mythological Guide To Nature

I put together a mock-up of the Guide To Nature. One side is the Mythological Guide, and you turn it upside down for the Scientific Guide. I'm quite pleased with how it's looking.

HOWEVER...

I've decided on something slightly different (and I'm going to stick to it this time). Rather than just producing the Guide To Nature as my final piece, I'm going to combine it in one book with all the other various pieces I've done over the course of this project. So it's going to be one big book of mythology. I think it'll be a more successful piece, showcasing a whole selection of approaches to the subject.

So I've started experimenting with the content, trying to get an order worked out, and playing around with different paper stocks and such. I've got about three weeks to develop it. I'm quite excited about it, actually! Need to start looking in to some local bookbinders, too...

Film Festival

There's a very satisfying feeling that comes from seeing something you worked hard on in all its printed glory. Much of last month was spent developing the programme for the Southend on Sea Film Festival, and I've just got my hands on a few copies of it - really pleased with how it's come together!

Image making No.2

Although I was reasonably pleased with the watercolour illustrations for the Mythology book, I wanted to try a different approach. Cardboard cutouts have been arranged and photographed to depict the forces of nature. I think they create a stronger set of visuals than the previous illustrations - by making something 3D they also lean towards the sculpture/monument aspect of mythology, in a way.

They were also pretty fun to make. A little messy, mind...

Image making No. 1

Right. From my slight dilemma as to which direction to take my mythology project, I've made some decisions and started working towards my final piece. I decided to go with the Mythological Guide to Nature - a book which will double up with the Scientific Guide To Nature to show the contrast between the explanations.

With the concept decided, I've spent a bit of time experimenting with imagery. The above examples combine watercolour backgrounds with line drawings to represent various natural phenomena.

Thinking out loud.

I can be a bit indecisive. Two weeks out of college for Easter at a fairly vital point in my project is not ideal, as I don't have tutors and friends to bounce ideas off of. So I'm going to do a bit of thinking out loud here, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions that might help me make my mind up, they'd be very welcome!

Right. My mythology project. Six weeks remain to put together a final piece to exhibit in the graduate shows. I've been re-assessing all the pieces I've worked on in the project so far, and have decided there's two possible routes to go down.

1. Mythology and Science. Remember I did those It's Ok posters? Well I think there's some potential in the idea that mythology was used to explain the forces of nature when there was no science to turn to. So I'm thinking of maybe making a publication - "The Mythological Guide to Nature". It could then be turned up the other way (or maybe just a separate book), and you've got "The Scientific Guide to Nature". One presents the gods and goddesses in some way, whilst the other presents the science with the complex diagrams etc.

2. Preserving Mythology. You know how I archived the contents of Pandora's Box in an old frame? Well, I thought I could combine that idea with the empty jars concept, and have a series of empty frames. I'd make a book to go with it (like an exhibition catalogue), explaining what is supposedly in the frames (e.g Nemesis' wheel of fortune, or the discus that killed Hyacinthus). But the frames are empty to highlight the fact that mythology is not tangible, myths are just made up stories, yet we still try to preserve them.

Rambling over.

I might just try out both options, anyway...

Pandora's Box

The myth of Pandora's Box is all about feminine curiosity. Pandora was desperate to know what was inside the box, and as she opened it out flew all the evils of the world. Hope, however, remained trapped in the bottom of the box. In one version of the story I read that the spirits were in the form of little moth-like creatures that flew out and started stinging everyone, ruining the bliss that had previously existed.

So, I cut some moth shapes out of card. I suspended them in a jar, but being able to see in to the jar defeats the point of Pandora's Box... So I moved on.

I went to a charity shop and found an old decoupage box frame. I figured a different way of approaching the idea was not to re-create Pandora's Box but instead present its contents like artifacts in a museum. When I went to The British Museum there were so many monuments and statues documenting figures from mythology (Which is all a bit bizarre really, seeing as it's all fictitious) so I think this approach is quite appropriate.

Packaging mythology

The mythology project is gradually progressing, and last week I decided to package mythology. The idea is this: Myths are not real or tangible in any way, yet we still try to preserve them. Hence the empty jars. I tried packaging specific gods (shown above), then the concept of a myth (shown below):