my latest work - jellyfish sculpture

I have recently been working on a sculpture of a bloom of jellyfish. 

To make these, I have used old plastic water bottles, removed the nozzle and cut the bottom off. With the remaining tube of plastic, I cut a line through it lengthways and then cut thin bands of plastic out of it.
Using a lighter, I melted the end of the bottle to deform it. This created the body of the jellyfish.
Similarly, I melted the bands of plastic which curled under the heat, to form the tentacles.
The jellyfish were then fused together with a glue gun.

the bands of plastic from the bottle which form the tentacles

the body of the jellyfish, contorted under heat

the jellyfish glued together

lit up using a small LED light

I hung the sculpture up from some pipes on the ceiling using just plastic wire and masking tape, so it is easily moved. I gluegunned the wire to the body of the jellyfish.

I shone a light on them using the flash on my phone. I love the colours, the vibrancy of the light and the intricate shadows on the wall behind. 

Working on Personal Project One - jellyfish

I have decided to work on jellyfish for my first personal project at college.

I have chosen to look at this for several reasons, it fits well in the project brief of Light, Space and Movement, I love the colours of jellyfish and it also is well removed from my comfort zone of figurative painting.

Below is some of my preparation work, which includes painting, sculpture, monoprinting and drawing.

Abstract painting in acrylic of ripples of water, based on Susan Derges' photography and bearing resemblance to the work of Maggi Hambling

a Japanese illustration of the God of Fishermen for his relationship with sealife, including jellyfish

a jellyfish made from a bottle which I cut up, melted with a lighter then glued together with a glue gun

                                             

charcoal drawings looking at tone

looking at everyday things which bare resemblance to the aesthetic of jellyfish - curvature, wave, fluidity

sculptural work at college

I have so far done 2 sculptures whilst at college.

The first was made from life, about 30cm tall and out of modelling wax. I found the medium really enjoyable, and despite it being my first sculpture, felt it worked very well

The second was also done from life - mine slightly bigger than life size - and was extremely difficult to do. i believe this is because there was a lot more detail on the full figure sculpture behind which we could hide, whereas a larger sculpture focussing primarily on one thing, the face, leaves very little room for error.

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amendments to the elephant commission

I was not wholly satisfied with the finish on the piece; whilst the face and trunk worked well, I felt the patch of skin in the bottom left corner did not emulate elephant skin well enough, as well as the bottom of the ear looking rushed and muddled.

here is the amended piece

elephant commission - finished!

Finally, I have finished this commission of an elephant. Despite working in a subject matter I am very new to, I feel it has come out quite effectively!

acrylic on canvas, 100cm x 100cm

some work from college!

Sight size and comparative drawing
pencil on A2 paper

Tonal paintings, looking at shape and light 

Black, white, grey and yellow paint, various sized paper

Tonal collage, "drawing with scissors", using white, light grey, dark grey and black paper. 

All paintings/drawings/collages studied from a life model. 

"drawing comes first, then tone and finally colour"

 - Corot, quoted in Oxford Companion to Art

finished summer project "Self Portrait in a Double Space"

50cm x 60cm
oil on canvas