Clair Rossiter

http://clairrossiter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/pretty-acetate-prints.html

 

Photographs printed onto acetate.

 

I am intrigued by these pieces by Clair Rossiter. She has printed photographs onto acetate - and even the blurred images work really well, possibly better when creating a sense of illusion.

The pieces almost seem to be made up of lots of different images, as if the photographs are created by leveling images. This is a technique I have been using with tracing paper, but if the acetate printing goes well then I can use images on acetate and layer them to create a bizarre picture - made up of different elements of each photography piece.

I also like the tones of the photography - it gives me an idea of getting different coloured acetate or even painting over/drawing on the acetate once it has been printed on...It would be interesting to write on the acetate, also there is the idea of projection still.

If I could create really interesting design/words on acetate/plastic then it would make a really interesting projection - either onto the floor, wall or ceiling...ceiling is interesting? It would direction the audiences' gaze around my work/different directions/cause disruption/distraction etc. I will work on the designs/sketches I can create on sheets of material - especially if I still cannot get any of my work printed off...

RESEARCH: Vivien Blackburn

http://vivienb.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/digital-images-artists-books-fine-art.html

I have been looking at using acetate and see-through material - I wanted to see how other artists used these materials. I found an artist that uses acetate in a book which I found very interesting as I have been working on my own book of collected images and creative writing. I wondered if I could write or print words onto the acetate to make into pages - or even have images printed onto the acetate that I put over writing in the book.
The artist used a lot of her personal life to create the work, she photocopied her hands and used photoshop to edit the images to create the desired effect. It seems that she wanted to express her own experiences in her book, she felt overwhelmed by family life and uni work so she decided to produce work that expressed that hectic life.

"I used acetate for some pages, to layer lists of words and images so that images changed as you turned the pages, starting with 3 or 4 layers of printed acetate over a paper page, giving multiple versions as you move through the book."


The artist also used some poems and words from Shakespeare to express how she was feeling - I have used a few lyrics in my work but it is mainly important for me to write my own work as I need to feel I am truly releasing the emotions into my work - using the Freudian technique of the Stream of Conscsiousness (or Free association writing) to unload feelings and stresses I have or have had and are stored in my mind. The work is used as almost a therapy to rid myself of unwanted feelings or images but it also works to express hopes and dreams I have and visions for the future. I realise that, as this is very personal, some audience connection can be lost which is why I am using reflective surfaces and intriging imagery to help the audience communicate with the work - see themselves and their own inner feelings within sort-of-speak. I want to show a sense of layers of the mind, how images/thoughts/memories/dreams are piled on top of each other in the mind - the division between the hidden unconscious and the revealed consciousness.

I am thinking I may need more photographs in my work to express what I want - the artist used images that represented how she felt, e.g. "...the windowblinds like prison bars with the looming tower block nearby blocking the sky."

I often use images that mean something to me or represent somewhere I have been, for example an important memory etc. I like the artist's idea of using the blind and clock references to show time ticking away for her, but I do think some of the images are too obvious - she uses lots of clear texts over the top of the images to narrate it which is good but I find it too blatant. I like using texts that suggests feelings and memories rather than creating a sense of a title. Having said that, I have titled some of my creative writing - I use titles when I feel it is appropriate to create a collective of writing, in particular to express a certain memory or situation, when it isn't just about general feelings.

I like the combination of images/patterns/writing. It is inspiration for both my creative collective book and my work onto acetate and mirrors. The transparency of the layers is something I want to capture - I want the audience to be able to peer through the layers to see different levels of writing or images. I have used glass paint on mirrors but I want to use paint or other mediums on acetate or tracing paper and other platics. Maybe thinking of sealing in materials under plastics?

Printing

I am attempting to get some printing done...waiting...

4/12

Holy hell. Okay, well my plan didn't quite work out. First of all I had to buy the materials in which to print on and by the time I had done that and organised everything that needed to be done it was too late to travel to gosta and get them printed before the lecture began...at least I obtained some printable acetate :) I will use it tomorrow when I attempt AGAIN to print off at gosta green!
Also I gained some useful information about where I can buy large amounts of printable acetate - a website or actually going to a shop in Digbeth. And I also found out that I can do some prints on tracing paper and on other kinds of semi see-through materials that I can buy from Margaret street.
Man...I need to just one thing at a time though - it's killing me.
I don't think I will bother making a plan for tomorrow, no point. I'll just see what happens and hopefully I will produce some interesting pieces.

Plan for the next few days

I have discovered that if I use fixative on the reflective sheets (once they have been printed on) it seals the image better. Although the quality is still not completely smudge-free...I plan to work on that.
I want to bring a selection of materials to gosta green tomorrow that I will attempt to print onto. I will ask the advice of the technicians to see if there is a better way to make the ink stay on the surfaces. I will first go to Spectrum to find acetate, gloss paper and also any kind of see-through paper that might create interesting effects.

03/12

I managed to print on reflective card!! It worked really well, the images were very clear and detail as well as the colours being reflective...it worked perfectly! :) I cannot wait to try this on a larger scale, it will really look interesting and bizarre. I am thinking of perhaps writing things into the card before printing onto it and seeing how that looks. The levels of image and writing will create a sense of depth - as if you can look through the image into something else entirely - I will need to experiment more with layers and deciding which looks best. There is the fear of creating too many layers and distorting the orginal images so it will just be trial-and-error for now.


Unfortuantely, so far the reflective card printing has not dried yet and smears every time it is touched...hopefully it will dry but if not then I either cover the image in smoothed-out cling film or encase it in a picture frame or just put glass over it. The effect is really good and dazzling to look at so I would hate for it not to be used - I'm sure there is a solution somewhere!

Also I went to gosta to sort out large scale printing and was told that if I could provide the materials I wanted to print onto then they could do it :) I said I wanted to use tracing paper but also other forms of see-through/semi see-through materials. The IT guy suggested I check out materials such as screens that are used at bus stops...the possibilities are endless! I will look at different materials I can order online - some materials I can obtain locally so I can try them out then before using them on larger scales. I am really pleased with today, the information is very useful and makes me feel a little more at ease. At the moment I am working on layering images and combining them with hand-written prose. I want to develop the sense of layering and levels of the mind - fragments. I am doing all these on reflective and see-through surfaces, e.g. plastic sheets and small mirrors etc. I plan to work on small paintings perhaps this week to layer photography over the top of - I am using layers of photography at the moment printed onto tracing paper. My larger paintings will be useful when printing large see-through screens/sheets which can be attached to these expressive pieces. I feel better than before about my work.

Week 03/12/12

I have created some smaller pieces so far using my photography and reflective surfaces. I used small mirrors, some reflective card and photographs printed onto tracing paper. I used these materials to create a sense of layering - so that you can look through the photography into the reflective surfaces.
My next stage of development is printing onto large scale, e.g. A1 or A0, to create large photography pieces that I will layer over reflective surfaces or over the paintings I have already done. I want to do this to create levels of the unconscious, layers of the mind - looking at the depths of imagery, emotions, thoughts and dreams etc.

I will print off some more images onto tracing paper to work with - decide which pieces I want to use. I will select images that have things to do with my memories, certain things that I hold emotional value too but also images that have a great depth of detail as I want some interesting images that the audience can look through into the reflective mirrors or cards.

I plan to go to gosta green in the week to sort out different size images I can print off - I am hoping that it won't be too difficult to get images printed onto tracing paper/plotting paper or any type of paper that can be seen through. If gosta green doesn't offer the options I want then I will head over to Bourneville to see if they can help me out. :)
Hopefully it will work.

I am want to create different kinds of layering - maybe using objects...Funnily enough this was one of my original ideas when my project was on the very broad subject of dreams. I keep having this idea of using a type of wire or even brambles (possibly fake if it's easier) to create a layer over the top of a piece of photography. The idea of sealed-in thoughts, things hidden in the unconscious, things that sometimes I don't want to be seen by others...secrets and half-revealed dark thoughts. I like the idea of doing a personal project because, although on some level in can make my feelings vulnerable to critisim, I have come to realise that anything bad felt can be dispersed by using the technique of sublimation - taking bad feelings and making them into something creative. Positive transformation of unpleasant memories or thoughts :) Although not all my thoughts are of bad things, often the worst feelings come out if I just relax and let my unconscious release things I want to get rid of.

I do get worried that my tutor or other artists will not take my work seriously...think that it is something placid or just an "emo" idea...but I am determined to communicate with the audience using the imagery and the visual effects as well as put across my thoughts and images I have or have connection with. I do feel more positive about it than before - I was concerned about being too caught up in my mind, but having put things in perspective I believe I can create a connection and a level of mystery with my work that will intrigued an audience and open up the context a little better. It is just a case of experimentation and working out with surface I want to work on. The boards were too solid to represent layers really...mirrors and see-through surfaces show a level of depth, depth of the mind.

I mean, what the hell? I'll create something interesting in the end because I am putting so much effort into my work. :)