OPEN DOOR with STUDIO 3 - Moving Images

As with last week, we began with a cuppa in the basement lounge and some lovely banana cake.
We briefly recapped on what had taken place last session and reviewed the draft printout of the blog for participant’s input.

After moving in to the studio, we began the story writing session with a game of consequences.

This is played with each member of the group starting with a blank piece of paper (A4 size is good). One person asks a series of questions. Each player writes the answer to the first question on their piece of paper, folds over the paper to hide the answer, and passes the paper to another person. The answer to the second question is written below, and the paper folded to cover it, and passed on, as before. This continues until all the questions are asked.

The questions in our game were:

Q.1) Write down the name of a character,

Q.2) Who did they meet?

Q.3) What did the first character say?

Q.4) What did the second character reply?

Q.5) What happened then?

As you can imagine, the results were often hilarious, and most even worked as a mini story!

Captain Squawk;

 Met Flump.
“Let’s go to a disco and rap”;
“No. I had treacle pudding for my breakfast!”;
They both ate all the chocolates but decided that wasn’t enough so they went off for a curry.

John;

Met Tracey;
“What are you having for lunch?”
“Brass monkeys weather, don’t you think”
So they found a really hot nightclub, and danced the night away.

This is a great exercise when thinking about writing for animation – because you really can make anything happen!

After discussing the 3-act-structure (used for creating a story) the group moved on to each writing a very brief story based on 2 characters meeting and what happened, what was said, how this was resolved or brought to an end.

These stories were developed into visual images, either as single image concept designs, as sequential storyboards or in 3D, as plasticine models.

At the end of the session the group discussed an overall theme, and chose ‘winter’.

It was agreed that there is a variety of possible ways to interpret this.

‘It’s challenging doing something in a different way to what I’m used to’

‘The ideas and direction have really progressed this week’.

Re-Cover Project - Week 5

We are more than half way through the Re-cover Project and today we got a bit inky on the ward by introducing a new technique to the men: mono printing.

Across the 2 hour session 5 men came to join us, either choosing 3D plaster casting or mono printing.

For the men who have dropped into our session each week, they were keen to try a different process; working in 2D and developing their drawing and printing skills.

We began by drawing directly onto the polystyrene, some men using images from books by different artists as inspiration.  They scratched the shapes and lines onto the polystyrene and inked up their drawings and pressed them onto paper.

“Ta-dah!” we cheered as we revealed the print from underneath.

“Oo, I love it! Let’s try it again in black!” says one man proudly showing his work to a member of staff.

The session was filled with creative experiments; layering, playing with composition and layout, working onto different coloured backgrounds, mixing new ink colours. And then some men repeated the whole process again with a new understanding and eagerness.

There were many surprises during the session as accidental prints appeared. “This one would actually make a great table cloth,” says one man about this print.

Another man is excited to write reflections about his experience in our sessions. So we are looking forward to reading his words, because he is poet.

This week we have also begun chatting to ward staff and patients about how they would like their work displayed in the ward walls after the project. Discussions are still underway, and we shall keep you informed!

 Bryony and Van

OPEN DOOR - Studio 3 - MOVING IMAGES

The project started with us all meeting in the basement lounge, for a cup of tea and so that Jill could introduce the project.

After filling in photo consent and Learning Plan forms, and discussing the group agreement, everyone moved upstairs to the studio.

By this time several participants, especially Callum, were raring to get started.

Rozi introduced animation as a sequence of still images, by starting with looking at flip books. Animation is the illusion of movement and the flipbooks show a large number of drawings viewed in quick succession. It is the speed that you view the still drawings at, that creates the illusion that the drawings move.

We then looked at how to cut down on the amount of drawing, by using cycles of action or loops. The optical toy, the Zoetrope, is a good way of demonstrating this.

Some participants built a zoetrope, and others drew sequences on the zoetrope strips.

It was great how varied these all were, from abstract shapes, to full story sequences
 (- Kenny from South Park getting shot!)

The abstract shapes always animated in a way that changed the image completely, sometimes so they didn’t look anything like the still drawn image.

There was still time to try some pixilation, which is a technique of animation that makes objects appear to be possessed… or ‘led by the pixies’!

Ian set up the camera on a tripod to hold it steady, pointing at a chair against the wall.

Everyone took it in turns to sit in the chair and be photographed.

Some chose to wear a mask which was drawn onto, and more drawings added each time the mask was used. The photos were played back in rapid succession so that the images appeared to animate.

The session ended on a screening of animations created by Ian G and Howard. These are an impressive mixture of poetry, painting, and model animations combining composited backgrounds. An inspiration for the project.

Re-Cover Project - Week 4

Six men joined us for the fourth session, the halfway mark for the project, and joined us for more casting sculptures. Four returned from the previous weeks and said that they were looking forward to the Friday afternoon workshop, as they had already formed some ideas of what they were going to make.

One man wanted to make several pieces for friends to give as gifts.

Another took a painterly route to create his reliefs, as he showed a talent for drawing.

Having cast his hands and feet, one man took the plunge to have his face done, "to have a complete set," as he joked. It was a brave thing to do, as he was covered in alginate and plaster bandages for a good 20 minutes, breathing through straws.

The resultant negative 'hollow' mould gives the optical illusion of a positive, coming out at you.

When the cast is revealed, the man came face to face with himself! A lot of details are captured, even the stubble. "It made my day." He said. He had been deliberating for two weeks, now he was very glad that he's done it.

Van Nong and Bryony Pritchard.

Re-Cover Project - Week 3

Seacroft Hospital - Male psychiatry unit

A group of 9 men with 4 staff joined us in the communal activity room this week, some returning from previous sessions full to the brim with new ideas. Others who were new to the plaster sculpting process eagerly joined us as Van and I laid the table with our objects and materials; clay, plaster of paris, pots, brushes, small objects such as shells, keys and coins.

This week we introduced a few extra elements; coloured food dye, formed plastic packaging and silicone cake moulds. We got very playful (and a bit messy!) with the materials as a calm and focused energy filled the room and the men thought up new ideas and approaches using the plaster and colour dye. There were lots of surprises as we experimented with the different materials, some we thought looked like tasty Indian sweets.

One man made a wonderful cast of a small teddy bear, which we wrapped in cling film to protect it. He was so pleased with his result that he decided to give it away to a friend as a Christmas present.

For those who have developed some skills with us over the last few weeks, we used the minty fresh smelling material alginate to create full casts of hands. This process is always met with “Wows!” as we remove the alginate to reveal the hand beneath. 

We even made some casts of feet using modroc plaster bandage, another sculpting material that is really interesting to use and dries quite quickly.  The men enjoyed having a plaster shoe made to fit, saying

“It’s so calming and therapeutic”

“For a moment I can forget all my worries”.

Bryony Pritchard and Van Nong

Open Door Project - Year 2

We've now begun Year 2 of the Open Door project and I'm pleased to say the first project with Studio 3 has started with lots of energy!  We've doubled the size of the group with the number of new people who've joined - we hope they choose to stay with the group once the Open Door project has ended.

The primary aim of this second year is to work with many of the groups we worked with in the first year in order to build on the skills they nurtured during their introduction to the project.  This second year will be an opportunity for them to really develop their artistic capabilities, try new art forms they haven't tried before and work towards a public exhibition which will bring together the work produced across all four projects.

We light the touch paper of the second year with a visual arts and animation project with adult mental health service users.  The first workshop has already taken place and we were really pleased to welcome some new faces into our building this Wednesday.

Throughout the coming 12 weeks, artists Jill Johnson and Rozi Fuller will be blogging about the project.  As this is such a vocal group we also hope some of the participants will be writing pieces for the blog too.

So sit back, feet up, cup of tea in hand and prepare to watch this next project unfold!

Hayley Mason - Projects Manager

Re-Cover Project - Week 2

A couple of familiar faces returned for the second session, as well as new participants, to try out more casting.

The work is more refined and thoughtful, as they begin to understand the process; impressing negative spaces in the clay then making the positives by pouring in the plaster.

We also introduced alginate to make whole casts, as shown by this hand, below. Alginate is used frequently by dentists to cast teeth! Now artists use it to cast just about anything. It is seaweed-based, therefore non-toxic and bio-degradeable, and it has a familiar smell of toothpaste!

The hand is enveloped in the alginate until it sets - only a few minutes - then removed. Plaster-of Paris is then poured into the negative void. When the plaster is set, the alginate is removed.....and voila!

The detail is so clear that you can make out the skin pores. This has encouraged and inspired a couple of participants to have their faces cast for next session!