COP3 Lecture 3 Notes: Resolving Your Project - Part 1

Field Trip: Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Today I visited Sheffield Botanical Gardens and had a lovely day surrounded by plants - despite the cold weather.

Location: Clarkehouse Rd, Sheffield S10 2LN
Website: http://www.sbg.org.uk/
Florilegium society website: http://www.florilegiumsheffield.org.uk/aims.php

Selection of photos / reference material from the visit:

Purpose of the visit:
Gain primary research, resources and reference material to work from practically
Gain knowledge into the plants exhibited here as well as how a botanical garden "greenhouse" is laid out, etc

Thoughts following visit:
Vast array of plant material to visually respond to / want to educate the audience about through my practical investigation / outcome - however no clear collection of plant species that the gardens specialise in (like the Cycads in the Hortus Botanicus - Amsterdam or Kew Gardens). 

The greenhouse was the most rewarding in terms of reference material and variety of plant species for this time of year (Autumn). 

Plant species world locations within the greenhouse:
Asia
Himalayas
Japan
South & Central America
Southern Africa
Mediterranean
Australia
New Zealand

If I am to use botanical gardens and their plant species as my primary source of reference material and synergy for my practical response, the seasons are now changing and not many flowering plants are in bloom. Does this make for a less visually pleasing aesthetic for creative outcomes? Will my practical idea of my own illustrated florilegium/herbarium still work?

For a larger body of primary first hand material, it may be worth visiting other botanical gardens such as: Tropical World, Leeds, Cambridge Botanical Gardens and Kew Gardens, London.

What Next?
• Decide on specific set of species from visit to respond visually to 
• Research set of species from visit
- Correct scientific latin name
- Interesting information
- Cross section, sex, reproduction, seed, medical use information etc
• Draw and respond visually to resource material and further research about these species from visit
• Create papercut specimens 
• Create publication mock-up: fold out papercut greenhouse

Visual Journal: Leeds Winter Herbarium

As a self initiated practical task and opportunity to experiment with some of the botanical practices and techniques I have been researching about for my project, I have decided to begin collecting my own botanical flora specimens from around Leeds. 

Despite the weather becoming colder as we get closer to winter and much of the flowering plants having been and gone, I was pleasantly surprised at my haul from an afternoon of foraging. Just like the thousands of dried specimens housed within the KEW gardens herbarium for scientific study, I cannot wait to see how my own plants turn out having been dried and pressed into my very own 'Herbarium' of Leeds plant specimens. 

Once dried, I plan on working directly from each of the specimens, taking a closer look at the plants from the perspective of a scientist / botanist and with the eye of an illustrator - putting into practice a range of techniques including dissection, observation, colour theory annotations and thoughts towards composition - just as I have been learning about in my research. Studying and considering each specimen in depth like this, I then hope to have a better understanding of the plant and its keys morphological parts (for ease of binomial identification) which I will then attempt to accurately replicate - visually communicating the specimen illustratively, bringing it back to life via drawing, painting, printing etc. I really hope they don't all go mouldy!

Dried Herbarium Process:

• Cut specimens from locations around Leeds:
- Burley Park
- Cardigan Road
- Woodsley Road
- Hyde Park

• Notations and observations collected, covering:
- Location conditions
- Date / Time / Time of year
- Binomial name of plant
- Surrounding habitat

• Each plant / leaf cutting placed between sheets of paper and card

• Card slotted into plant press and pressure applied to press the flowers

• Pressing duration: At least 1 month

KEW Herbarium

http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/navigator.do

The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London has one of the largest collections of preserved dried flora specimens in the world and these plants are what have underpinned most of the botanical studies and our current understanding of our natural world to date. Along with collecting seeds in seed banks all over the world, countries collect various examples (specimens) of plants species at various stages of a plants life, in order to document its life span and scientific / medical / agricultural / environmental potential. 

Botanical and scientific illustrators work with these preserved specimens under the guidance of a botanist who is well versed in the plants anatomical parts and who can guide the botanical illustrator to the key areas of the plant which require closer study for specific detailed visual communication. Having a dried record of the plant enables scientists and artists to have access to a wide variety of plants from all over the world at any time of the year. The herbarium dried specimen however is not enough for a full picture of what the plant looks like in 'life' for accurate identification and for inclusion in academic journals. Dried specimens lose much of their natural shape and colour during the drying out process, therefore it is the artists responsibility to bring the plant back to life via study, observation and referring to the scientific annotations, so that the plant can be accurately illustrated and recreated for the correct application within botany and scientific circles.

"A collection like this is a vital reference when you need to identify a plant and also serves to fix for ever the identity of thousands of plant names." 

"A herbarium...acts as a source of information about plants - where they are found, what chemicals they have in them, when they flower, what they look like."

"Herbaria that organise their specimens systematically, by family, genus and species, serve as a working hypothesis of a classification of all plants."

"A herbarium is therefore of immense practical use and of fundamental importance to science."

- Royal Botanic Gardens, KEW

Royal Botanic Gardens KEW, 2017. What is a Herbarium?. [Online]
Available at: http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/gotoWhatIsHerbarium.do
[Accessed 20 10 2017]

COP3 Essay Question Ideas

Initial thoughts:



Feedback from Rachel:



Thoughts:

• Concerns about the definition of "Botanical Illustration" 
• Botanical Illustration vs Botanical Art - what is the main focus area for the majority of my research project?

COP3 Project Proposal - Revised: Botanical Illustration

Having reached a creative block with my current COP3 project on Colour and Colour Theory these past few weeks, I have begun looking into other subject areas of interest and relevance to my practice. What has instantly come to mind and caught my attention is my love of botanical illustration and art, having been commissioned to create a few traditional-esque botanical illustrations by friends over this past summer.

Looking back over my previous creative work as well as my Pinterest boards and artists / works that I have bought personally or which have inspired me - I can see a clear pattern emerging. Plants and nature form a key part of my practice and have a clear popularity in contemporary society - creative, decorative, scientific, educational, environmental etc. Taking a closer look at our natural world continues to be a muse for me

This is a subject area I would like to know more about. I have always had an interest in natural science , conservation, our natural world and environmental issues and the way in which illustration can be used to convey scientific concepts and messages I feel will make for a really interesting research project. With this in mind, I have revised my project proposal, have enjoyed getting together some initial research and starting information to get me going and am excited to explore a subject area I hope will inform my own creative practice.

Revised Project Proposal - Botanical Illustration Research Project

COP3 Lecture 2 Notes: Organising Your Research

Integrating Theory & Practice

COP3 Research: The Importance of Colour

https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/importance-of-color-funny-charts-stephen-wildish/

I recently came across the work of Stephen Wildish, who in his series of graphic design pieces - "The Importance of Colour" - explores the interesting world of how colour determines meaning. With his use of striped back infographic motifs - Stephen is able to convey the importance of colour through change and how something as simple as colour change can influence familiarity and message within an image.



What is interesting about this collection of work is that it relies on common imagery, common colour association and the audiences familiarity with both. The simplicity of the message is really valuable here and I would like to explore this notion and the importance of colour choice, association and colour meaning in my own creative practice and practical element for this module. 

Interesting Video: The Pattern Behind Colour Names

Group Tutorial 1 & Presentation Feedback

Ideas and suggestions for further research:

• Research into different languages and colour names / nomenclature, i.e: Russia - name for the colour of turquoise and the "shade test"
• Ancient Greece - no name for the colour blue - explore
• Dyslexia - how colour can be used for learning
• For a more in depth insight into peoples emotional connections to colours - interview family and friends (as well as LAU survey)
• Check out Charlie Peters paintings
• Possible avenue - contact paint companies and ask how they name their paint colours. - Farrow & Ball - individual and unique approach to paint names

Ideas and suggestions for practical response:

• Explore colours and their stories - association
• Personalised swatches / paint names based on survey / interview outcomes and peoples personal stories and connections with colours
• Respond to survey and interview results visually
• Show people a range of colours / colour palettes and see how the audience respond.

Considerations:

• Accurate yet realistic timeline - how much can I achieve with the time remaining? 
• when to roll out survey, finish primary and secondary research, when to have interviews and begin practical work, etc

To do:

• Create time line / project time frame for research and start of practical response
• Define research question
• Create set of interview questions for family and friends (or should i use the same questions that appear in my "Pick A Colour" survey?)

COP3 Introductory Presentation: COLOUR

10 Minute presentation summarising my project research so far into the topic of Colour

Colour Presentation:

Main points to discuss:

COP3 Practical Ideas: COLOUR

Emotional colouring book – images to be coloured based upon the audiences emotion – where they pick the colour they think best represents that emotion.

Information book – investigation of colour (facts, famous quotes, drawings, applying and manipulating theory

- interactive artwork

- artwork based upon primary research (survey/study of LCA students)

“pick a colour” – project. Ask the audience to pick a colour and through picking that colour – be taken on a journey all about that particular colour. What colours go well with it. Where it originated. Special facts about the colour etc, famous artists quotes – colour and their associations. Change peoples minds about the colour and teach them something new?…all illustrated by me. A mini illustrated book for each.

A series of prints or an illustrated book – where subliminal messages using colour and association techniques are applied.…

-This all depends on the audience and subjectivity though. The background and influence of life on the viewer greatly affects what they associate with what colour and how my image can be read. Play with association and make it work no matter what the association.

Create a multi story book or sequence of prints – if red is the audiences favourite colour – red in the image becomes the “hero” of the story and they follow the red colour through the journey. If blue is the audiences favourite colour the audience follows the blue through a different story and so on. – expand and develop. Kind of how goosebumps stories work and interact with the audience.

Ask the audience to “pick a colour”. Depending on what colour they pick – their attention is drawn to this colour throughout the artwork and the story is told differently for that specific colour when focused on it. And by subliminally asking the audience to pick a specific colour – this action draws their attention to this colour within the images / my final pieces. Play with this notion – creating images that create certain emotions and use certain colour rules for that colour choice ( apply what I have found in my research to do this).

Colouring book – that somehow determines that persons mood depending on what colour or content to colour in relates to memories and emotional connections to colour. Like a journal / diary / artefact to colour in and hep remember the colours that shape us. Explore and develop further. Engages audience. Asks the audience questions like – what is the colour of your favourite jacket? And then they can find the colour and colour I in themselves. A record of their colour memories.

> Propose an app that then scans the coloured in image and depending on what colours used / what % of colour in the coloured in image – can determine what that persons mood is? Propose?

- colouring notebook for adults – cool idea: https://coloringnotebook.com/

A series of abstract visual responses using collage 

Inspiration: Atelier Bingo

An emotional response and visual journal – in response to peoples favourite colours Inspiration:  Marian Deuchars

A palette series per person based on the results from my survey?

Artwork like this that is emotional and specific to the colours themselves

Inspiration: Colour Crush - Ioveprintstudio (Pinterest)

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Notes to Self (regarding practical outcome and relation to my practice)

I like to create:

• tactile artwork
• interactive artwork
• educational artwork
• informational artwork
• graphical
• layers, shape, texture and colour orientated
• highly detailed
• impactive artwork
• print making
• paper cut
• digital shape and texture
• physical and tactile
• watercolour

illustrated books

• as an artefact
• an illustrated visual journal
• as collections
• multiple responses to data
• emotional / shows a journey / shows a visual investigation into something
• as educational & informative
• interactive and tactile for the audience

illustrated prints

• compositional
• educate and inform
• stand out and shock
• a series / set / collection of prints
• linked by colour, shape, media, composition, theme etc