Student Creative: Ellie Jones

I am_­ an MA Illustration student and I am very grateful for the opportunity of working with the MoDiP collection. What first drew my interest was the collection of old photographs from British factories, they are mostly black and white and show an age when plastics became really popular – the 70s, which actually isn’t really that long ago. The people photographed seem full of personality and you can see what era it was by how they have styled their hair and clothing. I feel a personal connection to those people too, as my mother worked in a factory at that time.

Shrink-wrapping with Polyethylene film

I went to the museum to do some preliminary sketches to gather further ideas and to immerse myself in the museum collection. I found that I was captivated by the transparent clock, and the cicada brooches.

Coloured pencil sketch of three cicada brooches designed by Pat Thornton

Coloured pencil sketch of the translucent clockwork alarm clock

These objects made me think about the layering in plastics. Plastics can be transparent, revealing the workings of machines underneath, and it can be translucent with other colours in it which is beautiful.

So, I’ve been exploring both the photographic elements and transparency/layering in my work, using tracing paper, acetate and paper cutting.

Photograph print depicting dip coating polyethylene cut

out with watercolour pattern behind.

Layered cicada. Ink on layers of tracing paper.

I am going to continue exploring these ideas, and I look forward to seeing where it will lead me!

Student Creative

Ellie Jones - MA Illustration

Student Creative: Judith Allen

I was incredibly excited to be given the opportunity to be a student creative for MoDiP this year. 

When it came to choosing where to do my MA in illustration, MoDiP was one of the main assets that drew me to studying at AUB. Having a museum with a rich history of design and an extensive collection of fascinating objects right on campus, is an incredible bonus for any arts student. It’s like having your own cabinet of curiosities, full of inspiration! 

Coming from a background in social anthropology, I’m particularly interested in how objects have meaning to us, the history and stories behind seemingly ordinary everyday objects, and why we collect the objects we do. 

Figure 1 Initial sketches from MoDiP at the beginning of term

Working with MoDiP has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to explore this further through my creative practice, whilst also learning how the development of plastics technology and attitudes to plastics over time has helped to shape the design of different objects over the last century. 

My original idea was to explore the stories behind certain objects within the museum by making small polymer clay models of the objects, and placing them in shadow boxes, that had paper cut illustrations showing the story of the object behind them.

Figure 2 Initial experiments with paper cutting and shadow art

However after a little more research into building shadow boxes and several failed polymer clay experiments, I decided to take a more illustrative approach to my project.

My new idea is to create an interactive picture book with pop up and lift the flap elements, exploring the last 100 years of history through objects within the museum in a fun and tactile illustrative way that all ages can enjoy!

Figure 3 Sketches Through the Centuries- 1920's objects

Figure 4 Ink and pencil sketches of early objects in the museum

This is going to be an exciting experiment that involves me relying on my key skills of observational drawing and painting, whilst also drawing on new skills of book binding and paper craft. I’m excited to bring this project to life and to illustrate the stories behind the fascinating objects MoDiP holds.

Student Creative

Judith Allen - MA Illustration

Student Creative: Jak Hansford

I was really pleased to get the chance to write a proposal for the Student Creative project with MoDiP. As an Undergraduate at the Arts University Bournemouth, I was able to familiarise myself with MoDiP and the collection it houses. Using the fantastic objects on offer, I was inspired to kick start projects, essays and sketchbook work.

Now studying on the MA Fine Art course at AUB, I have the chance to bring my perspective to this project and develop exciting pieces for MoDiP. As a textile artist I work a lot with colour, shape and texture. I will bring these elements of my work to the project and take full advantage of what MoDiP offers.

Observing, drawing and photographing carefully selected objects, I will be creating something exciting and tactile through one of my key skills, tufting. The image below will show you how a finished tufted piece will look, drawing inspiration from MoDiP objects that had previously inspired me.

Image 1: Close up of tufted piece showing interesting details

This process weaves fibres such as threads and yarns into a backing fabric and is mostly used within the industry of rug making. These are referred to as a pile and the length or technique can be changed for different purposes. Such as a ‘Cut pile’ in Image 1. They are cut to leave ‘tufts’ or fringed yarns. The second type of pile is known as the ‘Loop pile’. This forms a loop woven through the backing fabric leaving more of stitched look (Image 2).

Image 2: Combining techniques and introducing new fibres to loop pile tufting.

Tufting creates a soft, inviting and interactive surface that is very tactile and comforting. Self-teaching this skill, I have been able to find ways of making more contemporary pieces that really challenge the potential of this as an art form - some of which can be by combining techniques and introducing other fibres by hand (Image 2 and Image 3).

Image 3: Adding additional yarns for a fringed look and create more interactive movement

This commission will help further my research and allow a freedom of style through my inspiration of MoDiP's objects. Having studied them before, I know you don't have to work in or with plastics to use this resource effectively. My intention is to showcase this idea and show how beneficial MoDiP's collection can be to any area of study. This will be a fantastic chance to visit new areas within my own work and produce a piece entirely unique and new. I am excited to share this experience and cannot wait to update you all at the halfway point with how it is progressing!

Student Creative

Jak Hansford – MA Fine Art