DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA

IDEAIDEAThrough your ideas and research, you develop “process and form”Through your ideas and research, you develop “process and form”

PROCESSThis is the physical activity related to how you work; your decisions, choice of techniques, the materials you select and how they are used. Process can affect an idea.

“It is the essence and spirit of the subject that should be the motivating force and not the paint, paper or media”

FORMThe “form” that your idea develops into is a result of your process and choices, such as: surface, media, materials, composition & design.

How do you get from an idea and concept to final work?

SELECTION

Focus on an idea in order to structure your looking

A theme liberates you from a continual problem of choice

What is the essence of the feeling behind the image you wish to describe?

Infuse the spirit of the subject into your work

with unique qualities

The following 12 slides illustrate The following 12 slides illustrate the development stages the development stages

of of two large works two large works

LandForms I and Landforms II LandForms I and Landforms II

Collaborative drawing by: Jennifer Starkweather & Amanda Hughen

IDEA SUBJECT THEME

o Connection to lando Geological formations of Lethbridge, Alberta

o Man-made structures

o Topographical changes

oColour idea:Deep earth tones contrasted with areas of high-intensity colour, which corresponds to man-made colour legends from geological time-scales. Natural vs. man-made.

o Geology o Geographyo GeomorphologyStudy of landforms and the processes that create them.

o Cartographyo Erosiono Crystalline patternso Sedimentary depositso Cellular structure of coalo Riverso Roadways and bridges

oPhysical nature of land.

oThe manifestation of time revealed in strata and landforms, layered with topographical changes.

Lethbridge Viaduct, 1909 - 5,331 feet long and 314 feet high – the world’s longest and highest trestle bridge

My initial drawing with all the elements – My initial drawing with all the elements – Lethbridge viaduct, landforms, river, cellular structure of coal & roadwaysLethbridge viaduct, landforms, river, cellular structure of coal & roadways..

COLOUR IDEACOLOUR IDEA

Deep earth tones contrasted with areas of high-intensity colour that corresponds to

man-made colour legends from geological time-scales.

Earthy colour vs. contemporary colour.

SUPPORT MATERIALS PROCESS

o Variety of drawing paperso Mylar and Yupo papero Plastico Cardboard packaging o Map pageso Books/Geomorphologyo Envelopeso 1928 Magazine pageso Tracing papero Parchmento Kraft papero Paper lace doilyo Found/layered paint chipo Plaster, paint and paper mixture

oWatercolouroAcrylic paint oGolden flow acrylicsoAcrylic line markersoInksoWalnut inkoPenciloPencil crayonsoPastelsoGesso washesoAcrylic grounds

Clear gessoWatercolour groundPastel groundFibre pasteCoarse molding paste

Distress and alter substrates to visually and metaphorically suggest those natural processes

that shape the earth.

Ink and paint runs and flow.

Erasure through veils of white paint.

Distress through rubbing,laminate, fold, carve,

incise, layer…

Experiment with different materials & techniques – which one satisfies your intentions?

"LandForms I " 56" " X 79" © Jill Ehlert - 2014"LandForms I " 56" " X 79" © Jill Ehlert - 2014

"LandForms II" 64.5" X 74.5" © Jill Ehlert 2014"LandForms II" 64.5" X 74.5" © Jill Ehlert 2014

PRIMARY SOURCES OF INSPIRATIONPRIMARY SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

How do you pursue themes and ideas once you have decided on a subject? How do you pursue themes and ideas once you have decided on a subject? What do you do with your idea? What attitude and approach do you take?What do you do with your idea? What attitude and approach do you take?

IDEA BOOK/SKETCHBOOKIDEA BOOK/SKETCHBOOK

I.Observations, thoughts, emotional responses, poems, quotes, colournotes, descriptions and essential info on your subject. Photos of art workby other artists who inspire your ideas – what are the elements in theirwork that you could use in your own work. Mind Maps.

II.Drawing, sketching and painting; interpreting surfaces and patterns;experiment with techniques and compositional ideas; collage, mark – making, texture, cross hatching, value, brush and ink…

““Reproduce your feeling of the subject”Reproduce your feeling of the subject”

NEW IDEAS WILL FLOW ONCE YOU ARE ABSORBED IN YOUR SUBJECT.NEW IDEAS WILL FLOW ONCE YOU ARE ABSORBED IN YOUR SUBJECT.

MIND MAPMIND MAP

BLOCKS - THESE ARE USUALLY THINGS THAT:

oWe don’t like to do. oWe don’t know how to do something, or just a particular step.oWe don’t know how to start.

Perfectionism sometimes makes us create too big of a task Perfectionism sometimes makes us create too big of a task that is impossible to do. Break this into doable chunks.that is impossible to do. Break this into doable chunks.

ACTION – TRY THESE STEPS TO GET STARTED:

oLearn how to do it.oLearn when to start a particular step. Ask for advice.oDo things one small step at a time. oSometimes we need help! Someone could be doing certain things for us.oHire someone to teach you or to help you.

SKETCHBOOKSSKETCHBOOKSOBSERVING, RECORDING AND COLLECTING MARKSOBSERVING, RECORDING AND COLLECTING MARKS

IDEAS SUBJECT THEMEoLandForms III oDrawings on paper and found surfaces

oPersonal connection to intertidal zones of Vancouver Island.

oNatural phenomena in the intertidal area.

oProcesses of weather’s rhythms and repetitions; the visible and invisible forces of nature and the transformations they sustain on the landscape and the objects in it through:

oAir, wind, water, light and sound.oMovement, notation of time and its rhythm

oColours of the natural world contrasted to colour from found plastic debris.

oIntertidal Zone

oTide Pools

oKnotted Seaweed Clusters

oGeological features

oCellular structure of seaweed, plankton, barnacles and other marine life.

oPlastic jetsam

oProcesses of change that occur in a coastal environment

oPhysical nature of a coastal landscape

oPersonal experience

oSense of place

oFor consideration as work builds:“Beauty & the Grotesque”