This past week I continued to do a lot of making including new buildings and remodeling old ones. I also am beginning to play more with the buildings, themselves, by having some windows and doors open up to allow the viewer to peek inside. Below is my "newly-remodeled" Marienburger Straße 6 (where I lived) with a view inside to expose a large me laughing at the kitchen table. Parts of the scene are not exposed and it's only when one investigates closely that he or she will be able to discern what is going on. I like that about it.
I also allowed the door and window of the bakery/cafe sowohl als auch to open up. Inside is the postcard my sister sent me from Germany (she is studying abroad right now) of a lady in a ridiculous cherry-like hat pouring tea/coffee at a table with a large German Black Forest Cake placed in front of her. I thought the postcard was especially fitting because of the nature of the building.
*Note: This image was taken before I did the window/door cutaway with my sister's postcard.
I also redid Tukadu (the toy store) after receiving the vintage Berlin stamps I ordered. These stamps are bright, bold and colorful AND have wooden toys depicted on them. I am much happier with this new building. I actually never really like the old Tukadu.
Other amendments are the added on walls of Kaisers and Kino Babylon. The latter has a work of graffiti on the side of it, which I made based off of an actual work of graffiti that I saw in Berlin. The new wall is itself still somewhat spartan for my taste but I think I will be able to resolve this issue of so much orangeness with a figure that I place against the wall. Below are images of Kaisers and Kino Babylon, respectively, with a close-up detail of the graffiti.
Lastly, I made a new building, Mao-Thai, which was a really delicious Vietnamese restaurant I ate at in Berlin. I was lucky to have saved both Mao-Thai's business card and its takeout menu from when I was there, and I incorporated both into my building construction.
On Thursday before class Janie, Seth, Amanda and Erica came to my apartment to view the work in-person (thanks again!). I got really useful feedback and below I will list some of the key issues that came up so that I can refer to them in the coming weeks and attempt to tackle them.
- Use streets as a way to unify the entire composition and will lead the eye from grouping to grouping--consider lavender or a purplish grey.
*Janie--I was looking on Hollander's website and I came across this paper. While it does have a pattern, it is a subtle one. I think it is a really nice combination of the lavender/grey you were talking about. Because images often look very different online, I am going to go to the store this weekend to check it out in-person. What do you think of this color, though?
- Create 'breathing' areas of solid blocks of color and consider bringing in some darker value regions.
*Janie--although this image is a bit different than what you were describing with skies changing colors, I still think it's a really nice example of how effective large blocks of colors can be.
- Have more elements extend outside the confines of the rectangular surface (like the hills are doing). Right now the overall shape of my composition reads as a rectangle with bumps. Consider having an undulating top where the bumps gradually recede downward.
- The grey expanse of color near the bottom right is not working (I agree).
- Have roads follow the contours of buildings' positions for greater visual interest and variety as well as to help unite the piece.
- Consider straying from strictly "road" (gray) or "grass" (green) colors, opting for color choices based on color relationships.
- Consider working with just the background surface colors/road demarcations and organizing my buildings and other elements based on that layout.
- Use trees as a way to highlight certain elements or to provide interesting opportunities for compelling color relationships.
- Buy many solid papers and experiment with placing different ones behind different elements--do not glue anything for awhile.
Below is my less than stellar photo of what I have so far:
Utilization of Time:Collaging/constructing buildings: 25 hours
Gluing down new areas: 3.5 hours
Arranging/experimenting with my composition: 1.5 hours
*Note: I also made some other stuff (including a post office) that I forgot to mention
*CLOSE-UP IMAGE OF MAO-THAI COMING SOON!
Wow Laura! I'm so glad to see all this progress you've been making. I especially think the park area in the top right corner looks great (I think its the organic shape of the border/fence). I'm still not completely sold on the streets...have you tried other papers for the pavement? The shape still doesn't read as a road to me, due to the strange perspective that's happening. Do you necessarily need roads? Something to consider.
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteThe lavender gray looks good, though of course it's hard to tell like this. I say try it and lets see. Where did you get Little Lulu??!! It is actually a good model isn't it. I love the black silhouettes in one of the buildings but can't figure out which building it is. I look forward to seeing the next steps.
Janie
I love "Little Lulu" cartoons. The one you have above (and its coloring) is great. I love the peekaboo concept too. I like the little tomato/Charlie C. thing you did also. That way, you'll know if they're really observing.
ReplyDeleteDang girl! you are whipping thing out like crazy! I absolutely love it! I love the way you are animating the buildings... each one seems to tell its own story and is unique to the others. I keep thinking of you piece as almost a series of stories in one big story- I want to shrink down and go inside these places to discover each! I can't wait to see them all together!
ReplyDeleteI do think using large blocks of color will be helpful for "breaking points" since you do have so much going on.
I like the color of the new paper you found for the roads and think you should try it to see how it looks!
Also, this is just are really random thought... but as I saw you talk about layering things, it popped into my head, what if you didn't necessarily glue things down flat? As in, what if some of the pieces rose off the background just a little bit (like 1/4 inch?)??? I donno, that may add too much, but maybe something to experiment.
Great work so far and I can't wait to see it all come together!
I love the new additions that you have made since I saw your work last time. I really like the idea of revealing things through the windows. This gives the viewer even more to discover. I also really like that each building has its own character and its own style, but it all comes together so nicely. I can tell that you are really passionate about this project. I can also tell that each place has its own significance in your memories. Great work! I want to see it in person!
ReplyDelete