medusa chandelier

During my induction for my University course my class was dropped a hint as to what our self directed project may be.  One word - umbrella.  Itching to get back into the course I decided to start doing a little research.  I'm well aware I may be risking going off topic seeing as I don't actually have any other information on the brief but it is my belief that you can always learn something new and discover something that one day may be of use.

I carried out general research into the word 'umbrella' and found a couple of key words that I chose to investigate further.  The words 'jellyfish' and 'medusa' were two things I never thought of when thinking about the word umbrella.  Whilst investigating these words further I cam across the sculptor Timothy Horn and his Medusa Chandelier.  

There are so many aspects of this design that I find interesting one glance at it is just not enough.

A link to Timothy Horn's website  http://www.timothyhorn.net/bio

Some more drawings

This week I have been trying to work bigger with my drawings and move away from my comfort zone of small precise drawings and let go a bit more.  I popped along to my local B&Q and picked up some spray paints to draw with.  Once I started working bigger I quite enjoyed it.  Here are a couple of examples of the work I have done so far.

Spray paint 

Spray paint with white chalk (one of my favorites)

Charcoal

I couldn't resist putting in this pencil drawing of part of the structure surrounding the chandelier especially as the title of this project is 'a space' i think the surrounding architecture is equally as important as Dale Chihuly's piece.

Sketches

I decided to try out the multiple pencils techniques for myself.

 Pencils and coloured pencils 

Pencils with water colour paint

Worth a read

While visiting London I came across a wonderful book called Tiaras Past and Present by Geoffrey Munn.

From ancient designs to modern, royalty to the catwalk this book provides wonderful images and information on some of the most beautiful Tiaras in the world and how the design of Tiaras has changed with the movements.  As well as the Tiaras there are design drawings which are equally as beautiful.  

In contrast to a piece that is regarded as a symbol of class and quality another book I would highly recommend is Lark Books 500 Plastic Jewelry Designs.

This book celebrates the versatility of the material and the designers who use it.  Inspiring designs demonstrate how a modern material can be used to create unique pieces and prove you don't need the most expensive materials to make a beautiful piece of jewelry.

Let's draw!

As this is drawing project it seems only natural that I researched into how Dale Chihuly draws his own ideas.  The designs themselves are usually large in scale, especially his instillation pieces so it makes sense that his drawings are large in scale too.

Another great image I found was of Dale Chihuly holding not one pencil but many, a technique I plan to try out in my project.

Both these images came from Dale Chihuly's website http://www.chihuly.com/

A space

A Space - the title of my summer drawing project for University.  The space I chose was the reception at the V&A in London.  Dale Chihuly's glass chandelier caught my eye from the moment I stepped foot in the museum, therefore, it seemed only natural that it be the perfect subject for my drawing project.

Dale Chihuly's website provides a large amount of information for anyone who is interested in his work.

http://www.chihuly.com/ 

Dale Chihuly's V&A glass chandelier

This summer I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum for the first time and was delighted to see a piece of art by one of my favorite glass artists.  Dale Chihuly's glass chandelier is one I would recommend seeing for yourself, although there are some wonderful photographs of it.   

The reception desk is positioned under this stunning chandelier as though drawing people in.  This was the first of many objects in the V&A to inspire me.