Visual Communication

Visual Communication Workshop

Our first task of the day was to draw a perfect square with just charcoal and a rubber, without using a ruler or any other objects with straight lines to help us. Nicky said this task would be a test of our own character and the way in which we work which I found to be true. The task required immense concentration and patience which I found incredibly difficult as I am extremely impatient and get distracted rather easily. I therefore found I had to push myself to focus and persevere with this frustrating task, but in the end I was rather pleased with the outcome. Not only did I find I could draw a near enough perfect square without a ruler, something I thought couldn't be done, but I also found I'm not as impatient as I thought I was. 

Following the creation of our square we had to use it as a frame for letters and numbers. We had to choose a letter or number from a variety of type faces to recreate inside our inside our square. The letters and numbers were only 2cm x 2cm big on the piece of paper so it was a challenge to enlarge them onto the A2 pieces of paper. I chose an f as it contained both straight lines and curves opposed to just one or the other. I found this task a challenge, however it wasn't as much of a challenge as drawing the square. This task was about trial and error - taking a large step back, being objective, noticing the mistakes and rectifying them. It involved looking carefully at the shapes and forms of the letter, the positive and negative spaces and trying to forget what you think is there and focusing on what is actually in front of you. 

Although it was tough I really enjoyed this task as I learnt a lot about looking, precision and about the way I work as an individual. 

 

The afternoon task was in vast contrast to the task in the morning. Instead of precision, patience and accuracy it was about playful abstraction. Using the wooden letter forms and ink we were asked to create A1 work sheets that contained six compositions that explored colour, texture, mixed media, mark making and pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Day

On the second day of the visual communication workshop we explored natural and manmade forms. We were given a variety of drawing tasks to complete from our chosen object. First we worked from our man made objects, having about 7 minutes to explore each task. We had a task where we had to make a drawing of the object, a task where we had to swap the material we were working with after a minute, a task where we had to explore the space around the object rather than the object itself and a task where we drew around the edge of the object. I found these tasks very interesting and exciting and I loved the use of mix media. 

 

Our second piece was one big drawing of our manmade object and we had about an hour to complete it. I enjoyed this task even more as it was very experimental and I tried to explore as many different media as possible. I wanted to explore the various colours in my object and the movement the object itself makes when it's used. I am very pleased with the result. 

 

For our natural object we had the choice of completing the mini tasks or the larger task. I chose to do the larger task again as I knew I wouldn't do very well at sticking to the smaller task timings if I was to do it myself. I wanted to explore the colour of the leaf and how it compared to the colour of the man made object. I wanted to use mixed media again so I included tissue paper and used both acrylic paint, ink and oil pastels. 

I completed the visual communication workshop by creating another worksheet of wooden letter compositions. I didn't get the chance to use some of the blocks on the previous day so I took the chance to experiment with them.