Ably Mangle is taking form

a zoom out of the plastics I have stuck in Alby Mangle

So close to being done, it has been a long journey of days and hours

Plastics from around the house

So close to be doing, this piece has taken hours and days to complete.  I have finally glued the household plastic over gold metallic paint to create the bejewelled belly.

Alby is done.

Art can be trial and error 2

Attempt 1 - acrylic 

Attempt 2 - modelling clay

After completing Alby Mangle's beak (this is the name that my university friends have given my albatross). I started to paint his head, neck and back of his body with white acrylic.  Using a brush of medium thickness I applied the paint on quite thickly and practised small curved strokes that would appear textured and hopefully feathery.  I was delighted with the outcome.  Imagine my surprise when I left Alby to dry and returned to discover that the acrylic has dried flat and was completely glossy and without texture. It was that exact moment that I remembered discussions in class about creating texture using gesso.  So another trip to the paint shop, but instead of gesso I found white modelling paste that I would use instead as it was the less expensive option. Price becomes a design element when you are at university.

Art is sometimes accidental

Today I stumbled upon a new techniques.  The first was that I did not have colour in acrylic paints, so I decided to mix my oil colours up to produce the skin colour look of the bottom layer of his beak.  After painting, I realised I had used all of the white oil paints and I needed to tint the top beak with more white so that it was lighter and a little softer.  As I looked around my room which is beginning to resemble a garbage dump of its own accord I spotted a large bottle of white acryclic paint and decided to use that to tint my oil colour for the beak.  The effect was very interesting. The oil and acrylic did not mix at all, but the thickness of the oil paint became textured spots of colours through the white acrylic.  As I used this on the canvas I noticed that it created a perfect amount of uneven tint through the top beak which was very much the effect I was looking for.  Trial and error or a complete fluke, it is definitely true that art is a singular creation sometimes well planned and sometimes accidental.

Brush stroke is nothing like pencil work

Several you tube tutorials later, about painting on canvas and after speaking with friends who are good at painting, I began working on smooth flowing brush strokes.  Holding the paint brush in the way that 

we had been shown in class was difficult for the first wing.  I was using the brush as though it was a pencil but this time I worked out how to make the soft flowing effect of wings that I was looking for.  It was all about long soft rhythmic brush strokes.

Art takes time

There is such a talent to being able to create what you envision in your mind onto a piece of canvas.  The creation of my albatross full of plastic began today.   It has taken me 2 hours to complete.  Where I had hoped the lines of my albatross feathers would be clean and detailed they are more furry, soft and rounded.  Clearly I missed the lesson that demonstrated which way to hold a paintbrush to create effect.  I have developed a new found respect for painting in general.  It seems that pencils are my favoured medium....but today I am creating a statement with my art.  Even if the piece only turns out semi-reasonable, the Statement will still be made. We are causing havoc on our environment and need to consider the way we eliminate and create waste.  In less than 3 minutes I have collected 40 pieces of plastic to be put together in the belly of my bird.  What strikes me is how varied the colours are in each of these pieces and how easily in water these items can be mistaken for a food source.

Today is the creation of one albatross wing. I had planned to complete the other but at this rate I think I may just run out of time.

Art reaches INside YOU

In less than a millisecond Chris Jordan's environmental art makes a massive impact and a confronting statement about the way we are polluting the earth and the animals that live on it.  To write a book that impacted in this magnitude would no doubt take hours to read.  It would be filled with endless heartache, romance, drama and all that goes along with the ebb and flow of life. Chris Jordan's environmental art gives gives rise to an emotional response immediately.  At first I was quite disgusted by the images of dead birds with their bellies full of plastic.  I had thought to myself, "Why would someone put all those plastics inside a dead bird and call it art?". Only after reading did I realise that the someone was "me" and every person who forgets to ensure that they are responsible with the plastics that they purchase and dispose of in our every single day lives.
Midway: Message from the Gyre holds a powerful message.  It speaks volumes as to the affect of our waste and pollution on all life on this planet.  We  must plan better on how to reduce, recycle, rectify and re-use plastics.  Plastic never becomes anything other than plastic.  Even in its smallest molecular structure it is still molecules of plastic.  Unlike canvas, wood, paper, leaves and so many other consumables plastic never decomposes back into the earth.  It leaves its plastic mark on everything and within everything.

 The sketch on the left is my first plan of how I will set about using animals and plastics to mimic the work that Chris Jordan has published. The concept is to use the outer elements of the animal in sketch black and white.  It is an attempt to give a stark contrast between the natural beauty of the animal and the man made plastics that become their demise.  The plastics in their array of colours and shapes will be glued to the piece where the body of the animal would normally be. This is my first sense of excitement about projecting and idea into an art form.

Art is not just PRETTY

Inspiration arrived today.  As if out of nowhere.  Okay it did come directly from somewhere.  I am sure Sue designed her final art class with this it mind.  Today was the culmination of many weeks of rumination.  The use of word association, brought a day of discussion and fresh ideas.  With listening arrived new understanding and I was able to feel free for the first time to search and see. I have finally found some inspiration as to my final piece.  Today's lecture really helped bring out some artistic ideas.  It showed the importance of allowing individuals to gather ideas with freedom and with a sense of openness. No censorship was allowed.  Until now I was toying with Green art and recycled materials, however today after stumbling on a video called "Midway" that showcased the plastics found in  thousands of dead marine birds. A little spark of creation began. The you tube clip below talks about how much waste is thrown into the ocean each hour and in particular plastics.  If our marine birds are dying from plastic then certainly too must other marine creatures.  Chris Jordan has taken thousands of photographs of dead albatross whose stomachs are full of plastics.  Bottle tops, pen lids, soy sauce bottles, pendants,  lighters and so much more that is not food.  It all  makes its way into the stomachs and feeding patterns of these unsuspecting birds; it was sad to realise that they feed the plastic to their young not realising that it is not a food source. The plastics then cause the perishing of these birds as they are unable to digested or passed through their bodies. If it could we would be hit often by small fast flying plastic missiles, which would be a quick way to put a stop to the needless littler creation and pollution of plastics.