Leeds Armouries...

At Leeds Armouries, I was most drawn to the older french weapons. Especially the swords. I really liked the intricate patterns on the handles and the amazing craftmanship, that created such beautiful work. Most were used for decorative weapons. Which i found interesting, because weapons would have been seen as a mark of wealth and hierarchy, and power. But now perceptions have changed, and we view them as scary, and dangerous, and associate them often with gangs.

Leeds Armouries...

The photographs for these didn't come out extremely sucessfully. But what I really liked when I was there was the different armour and costume the horses were dressed in. It was interesting seeing how different cultures would decorate their horses for war. The English horses were covered in beautiful steel and metal armour like their rider. Which must have been quite heavy. This brought up another interesting aspect, that they used different breeds of horses dependant on the style of armour. Large cob breeds were used in English war, as they are bigger, stockier and stronger, so could carry heavy weights. However in Oriental war, the horses were Arabic breeds, so were a lot smaller, thiner, and dainty. The armour on these were more decorative, with tassels, and mesh for protection. These are a lot more to do with making them appear to be oriental, and a mark of the country they were fighting for, rather than protection.

I really liked the jousting costume for the horses as well. They were all matching their riders, as if they were a team. And the cloth they were dressed in represented the crest and heritage of the rider.

Photography and Photoshop...

We went out and took photographs all around college. We were told to hold out camera in different ways and not to look at the photos as we took them or after we had taken them. This way they were a lot free-er and more interesting. I really enjoyed this way of taking photographs it was fun, and really exciting and sometimes suprising when we did load them onto the computer. We also changed shutter speed, so we would get blurry photographs, so when they were manipulated and overlapped they would look very interesting.
I really like my manipulated images. Especially the shaddowy one's, I think they are very effective, interesting and abstract. Which makes them visually appealing. I also really like the layered up effect of the outside with the inside, creating juxtaposition, and therefore an interesting composition.

Henry Moore...

I was excited to see these drawings by Henry Moore at the Hepworth gallery, because I had only really seen his sculptures at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I really like how he uses dark backgrounds and draws in with white. Or this could be the other way around. Either way I think it creates a very interesting effect and makes it very emotive. The messages seem to read pain and hardwork. So the dark background, really portrays this. I also like how he works in continuous line. A new technique that I have just learnt to do. It creates very interesting and sometimes quite tonal drawings. The way he draws his lines means it builds up form, wothout an actual outline.

Barbara Hepworth...

When we were at the Hepworth gallery, I was really drawn to the works of Barbara Hepworth. (We were not allowed to take photographs, so these are internet images).
I really like the cut outs in her sculptures, because when you looked through them, they would create interesting view points. This work reminded me very much of Henry Moore's sculptures. So I was very interested to find out that they were friends and actually worked together.

Hepworth Gallery...

The hepworth gallery.
I found the architecture of the gallery very interested. David Chipperfield designed it in 2003. He wanted to capture the essence of the surroundings, which was very industrial, so it is very inkeeping. It also seems as if he has designed it and made it in concrete to mirror the sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. So it is very clever and thoughtful design. However on first glance, although I thought the shapes and angles of the building were interesting, I found the grey concrete to be very dull, and made it seem quite boring. Also as the concrete becomes weathered it'll get darker and darker, looking duller and duller. But I do appriciate and think it is very clever of Chipperfield to want to mirror the sculptural nature of the artwork in which the gallery contains.

Portraits Of Gemma...

These are the 9 photographs I chose of Gemma, which I think capture aspects of her personality the best. The fun, giggly Gemma, which is then contrasted with the more serious looks, of concentration, and maybe sometimes shock or confusion. Overall these images do portray Gemma as bubbly and lively, which are the trates I got from her when photographing her. I like the usage of the 9 images put together, as it gives a more indepth look into her personality and shows all aspects (as discussed).

Kedleston Hall...

When we visited Kedleston Hall, two main things struck me about the place: The grandure of the Hall and the lighting, both natural and artificial. In the main part of the Hall the sky lights really helped illuminate the place and made it feel very open and because it was ligthing the pillars and intricate tiling, it made the place look very beautiful. The beautiful lighting I felt complimented the amazing statues tiles ect. Also the stairs of the Hall were very unusual and looked suspended. However my favourite steps were outside (shown above) they swept around and created a very grand, high class feeling. These two major features I felt when put together made Kedleston Hall quite spectacular.

My Life In 4 Objects... Tickets!

These collection of objects show my life at the present. They all portray that I am enjoying life and having fun.

The objects include a ticket to Ayia Napa, Malaga in Spain, a ticket to see Alan Carr at the Sheffield Arena, logo’s from nightclubs and photo’s of me and my friends.

Although this is not just one object, they all portray the same thing; that I am enjoying being a teenager, having fun and enjoying life with friends!

Throughout GCSE and A-level I worked very hard and was constantly stressed and barely had time to go out, see my friends and enjoy myself.

So at the end of A-level, when I finally turned 18, I started going out and finally    de-stressed and started enjoying being a teenager. So these objects show what is important to me, (I don’t mean alcohol  necessarily) having a good time with my friends, and becoming more independent.

All the objects are memories of amazing times I’ve had. From a holiday in Ayia Napa to a holiday in Spain (both with friends) and brilliant nights out and events with my friends.

This doesn’t mean that I’m not still focused on work and my future, but I’m learning how to balance both, without work life taking over me again!

All these objects will probably be lost in the future, or ruined (as most of them are paper) but the memories will always be there. The message they portray will always be there too; to enjoy life and that my friends are extremely important, which they always will be.

My Life In 4 Objects... Mid Teens/Late Teens.

This necklace was a present given to me for my 16th birthday, from my best friend. I had bought her a similar heart shaped necklace for her 16th birthday a few months before mine. So these necklaces became our own, unique friendship necklaces. We wore them all the time, until they became too precious to 

us, and we stopped wearing them everyday and just wear them for    special occasions like going out and prom’s.

The necklace although wasn’t very expensive has now became priceless because of the significance it now holds; of me and my best friends    friendship, and all the years at school together and special events we’ve been to together and special times we’ve  shared together, such as prom and trips away together, such as Belgium, Doncaster, Alton Towers ect.

The object itself has obviously been designed with a clear intention on   audience (gifts for young women/girls) as it is very dainty, sparkly and pink. Also the heart shaped pendant connotes love, so is fitting for mine and my friends friendship necklaces.

I will continue wearing this necklace until it breaks (which hopefully won’t be for a very long time), as it is a symbol of friendship, and hopefully our friendship will continue for a very, very long time too.

My Life In 4 Objects... Late Childhood/Early Teens.

From as far back as I can remember I have always loved horses. I started horse riding when I was 8, the same time at which I started collecting toy and model horses. The Julip make of horses  were supposed to be models in which you built up stables, schooling arenas, jumping courses, ect. However I just wanted them as toys. I used to make my own stables out of cardboard shoe boxes and made jumps out of bits of cardboard and  pipe cleaners.

I collected these until I was about 12, by then I had quite a lot of them. (more than is shown on the picture).

Although I stopped collecting them and playing with them, my interest of horses carried on well into my teens and still to this day.

When I was about 14 I shared a horse with one of our neighbours, until he became too old to ride and was taken away to some sort of retirement place for horses. These toys and models have become a symbol of my love for horses and horse   riding, and remind me of the horse I part owned when I was 14.

I still ride now once a week. I have entered small competitions such as gymkhanas and pony club events (dressage mainly) and have placed 1st a couple of times. However now it has become more of a hobby, as I can’t go riding as much as I would like due to work and school and University in the future. I still plan on    continuing horse riding wherever I go and hopefully one day I will own a horse!

My Life In 4 Objects.

Unlike most other children who at 4 years old were carrying around dolls or teddy’s, my favourite object was my Mondrian biography. I carried it around with me everywhere for years.

This book belonged to my dad, when he was studying Fine Art at university. He showed me the book when I was about 4, thinking that the colours and shapes would be exciting to me. And they were. The book became my prized possession. Apparently I used to 

Sit and look through all the images in the book over and over again. It was obviously very loved because it had to be taped together! I also completely defaced the book, with scribbles and spelling practise, which adds to the significance of the book.

I remember my favourite image from the Mondrian book- “The Red Tree.” Even now I know why I liked it so much. The colours are exciting, with the contrasting and complimentary colours of the blue background against the red for the tree, pushing it to the foreground. The expressive ways in which it is painted make it look alive and exciting. However when I was 4 or 5 the contrasting colours must have been visually exciting to me without actually knowing why I liked it. I just did.

I’d like to think that this object started my interest in art as well as the influence of my dad, and it probably did have a big impact on that. And that is why this object is so special to me; it helped me in my interest in art and was also a place I began writing and first started drawing (although they are only scribbles). I think this object will come everywhere with me in the future, as a memory of my childhood and as my beginnings into art (or hopefully).