Study Task 8 | Rationale

What is your theme?

Going from my essay which looked at meaning in art (particularly in folk art and illustration today), I want to try and convey meaning based on where I'm from in the North East. This will involve general themes from the area such as industry, the history, what it's known for, or the landscape, and it may even have personal touches (introducing family stories, connections, careers, etc..)

How are you exploring it visually?

Gathering inspiration from maps, diagrams, and other pictorial forms I want to simplify images based on my research down to motifs and symbols which will hopefully convey their original meaning in a visual form that is not detail-driven or realistic. Simplicity will be important, however if some things end up being mysterious or left to explanation that is also fine, as they mean something to me.

Why are you doing it this way?

Because when I have looked at folk pottery, quilting, tapestries and similar objects they all are packed with simple forms and illustrations, but the meaning they possess is just as important if not more than their outward appearance. It's about telling a story on the surface of an object or material - whether that is a clay pot, or an heirloom quilt, or in my case, on paper.

Materials?

I plan to work with traditional drawing materials, given the paper-based nature of the journal. However I may experiment by taking my drawings/images into digital software, maybe to assemble them all together at a later date? In terms of which element I'm choosing to use, although I'm not certain that may end up being shape. Though I could still bring in line and colour.

Any key theorists/practitioners who have influenced this?

The work of illustrators Hannah Waldron, David Lemm, as well as a number of historical examples of folk art have influenced my ideas for my practical work. They manage to embed stories and meaning within their work through the use of motifs and symbols. By adopting a similar method and using simplistic imagery, I can suggest deeper meaning by creating an assemblage of lots of different motifs into one big picture that conveys the themes and ideas of my research.