Preparations for Exhibition

This week is the final week so I've been putting up my exhibition! Finally got the shelf up that was top of my list. And my mugs have arrived! I'm very pleased with them.

I'm glad I stuck with the blue colour and I think the typography reflects the words well. The drawn elements look good too and really add interest. 

I've also painted the plates. One of them works better than the other~

I feel the 'just' plate is very attractive, understated and simple. It's an attractive font which I think works well with the word itself, and the execution is also nice. I wanted to keep the plates quite plain to contrast with the drawing on the mugs. However I don't think the 'arrogant' looks so good. I'm not satisfied with the font, the odd capital letter and the fact it looks a little rushed as I was scared of smudging the paint. As a result I decided to re-do this plate in a different font and taking more care over it. 

I tried out different fonts in my journal and chose to use all capitals to represent arrogance, and a grand but simple font. Here is the finished plate mark 2.

I feel this works so much better as it seems a bit more even, and also fits with the font on the other plate better, being a capital letter version of that. I think it captures the feeling of the word 'arrogant' better and looks more attractive.

Then I've been looking at my installation from outside, where it will be viewed from. These pictures don't really show it well but I was experimenting with having a light off (first photo) or on, and the light on looks so much better. This is because it highlights the interior and draws the eye better. I hadn't finished blocking off part of the window but I've done that now. I'll take more photos of the finished thing on Friday (probably with a better camera so it actually shows well).

So all I have to do now is the finishing arrangements. Exciting!

Colour selection

Originally it was thinking about blue and white Dutch tiles, which I saw in the Graves Art Gallery, and willow pattern crockery that made me think about using mugs and plates in my project. It's a style that I've always loved for a long time because it is classic and understated. As a result of this I was drawn to using a single colour on my ceramics, especially as the wallpaper going behind it has a wider range of colours. However I was unsure of what colour to use, given it needs to fit in with the wallpaper. I'm very much drawn to the blue idea but don't know if it would clash. Otherwise I was thinking of a bright pink or aqua to fit in the wallpaper, but this may not have enough impact against similar colours.

Anyway to help me decide I tried them all out.

I just think this traditional blue colour looks great! Plus it is the best reference for the relevant research I have done - ie. inspired by Dutch ceramics, the plates I saw in a charity shop and artists I have looked at. My only worries are that it could clash with the wallpaper (but I don't think it actually would), or that the concept is already too overused... ie. a lot of artists and designers have done this before. However if I'm putting my own new ideas and designs into it and re-exploring the concept then I don't think this is really an issue.

Although I do like the pink appearance it risks making it look way too girly and twee. A little bit of kitsch = okay. But a lot = NO. It's never going to look as classy and classic as the blue. And again I'm worried about it blending in too much with the wallpaper anyway, same with the aqua.

This just strikes me as too weak a colour that will not show up well and be legible.

This has decided me on the point that I'm going to go with the classic blue.