Collaging, my first attempt...

I went to the science museum in London with college and collected photographs of objects, people and places for research to go towards my new assignment. Today, we were asked to use images we collected to create a collage. This is our first real practical session since starting the new brief so I was excited to get stuck in. 

My final collage

I took one photo that I thought could describe one of the typical groups of consumer at the museum. An elderly man leisurely strolling and browsing at all the museum had to offer. We went on a weekday, and apart from the herds of school children, this seemed to be the main target audience. Anyway, I liked this image and really liked his silhouette so I decided to develop this and use it as my main material in the collage. 

The graphite paper after continuously tracing

I firstly traced the image of the man using graphite paper. I liked the outcome and decided to layer more but going around in a spiral. The inspiration of this was from a handout we had of photocopied science pages, one page showing a geometric spiral image with a lot of overlapping lines which is what I tried to achieve with the man. A thing I did want to pick up about the man was that in my photograph, he was carrying a Jigsaw bag which gave him a very high and respected status in my opinion as not everyone can afford to shop there. He was very well dressed and from this I came up with the presumption that he is a well to do gentleman. To translate this in the images I traced, the only detailing I gave was the Jigsaw logo on the bag he was carrying. This image of the man could very easily be changed if the man was carrying a Primark bag as that is what our society picks up on and judges when taking just a glance at strangers in the street. 

Reduced down in size

Next, I reduced the size of the tracing I did down to A5 size. I then put it through the printer again and printed it on the side diagonal to it. I wanted these images to be the base of my collage. I like how ordered the initial idea of spiralling the image seemed but how the end result is actually quite chaotic. From a quick look, it also resembles a flower which is interesting! 

1

2

3

4

I then, using a photocopy from the science book of that spiral geometric shape, cut the shape up into pieces and thought about how I could incorporate them into the collage. I really liked numbers 1 and 3 so merged them together to get number 4. I like how it looks like negative space of the shape and how they each disguise different parts of the tracing I did earlier on. 

I found another small shape from the page but I didn't feel like it fitted anywhere when i tried to position it on the page. 

Using the idea of circles, I decided to cut out 3 circles from the centre of the tracing of the man which was the chaotic section and re arrange these on the page. I didn't really like where I positioned them as they didn't look right in the white space on their own. When i had them overlapping the other geometric shapes from earlier seen below, I found that they looked much better and even started to remind me of science as it looked like something from the science based sitcom 'The Big Bang Theory!'

Lastly, I photocopied the reverse image of the man that was created when I was tracing and placed him in different positions on the page. As it was a reverse image, it meant that the lettering on the jigsaw bag is back to front which I think is the only problem. I thought that multiple images looked better and kept with the little theme of repetition that I had going on. I also like that the photocopier picked up on some smudges on the paper from the graphite as it gives the collage some tone. One thing that I think it needs is colour. I could perhaps work into it in the future, it could look nice to work into it using thread as it would give the collage some texture and colour at the same time. 

I am very happy with the work I created today and surprised that it took me no longer than 2 hours. It's so easy to re arrange images on a page, and without glueing anything down, you can never mistake and can keep shuffling and adding things until you find the perfect outcome. 

The worst person for keeping things up!

I can never stick to anything, I think I've always been that way. Back when I was in school I must have started so many different activities; piano lessons, trampolining, netball, dance, you name it I gave it a go. I just never quite stuck it out. My parents would be lucky to see me attend a 3rd lesson of anything. Now I'm 20 and things have not changed. I was determined to start driving, now, I stretched further than 3 lessons. Pretty sure I hit the 10th, but I soon lost interest. The gym, bought all my new gear, 12 month membership, think I last went in May. This blog, I was sure I would update it everyday, now how long did that last!? 

I'm now a part timer, go to college and generally a much busier person than in January. To be fair to myself, think I had a few bad weeks in January and February hence me not posting every day like I thought I would. Now, I'm determined to start posting again. This time, not just fashion and beauty or my over obsessive organising posts but college related things. I'm studying art and design and finally feel like I'm back on track with everything. That feeling is bliss!

Here goes...

Hidden Treasures

My wardrobe and I have been bonding a lot over the last few days. I love coming across pieces that I forgot I even had. There were a few bits, I asked myself why they haven't yet seen daylight!? I'm embarrassed to say that some unloved pieces still had their tags on. Well, I'm going to give my neglected clothing some lovin'.

I found a gorgeous skirt that I must have only worn once in the last two years from Urban Outfitters. I have no idea why I haven't worn it more, it's quite an easy piece to style. I'm thinking of wearing it tomorrow evening when I meet my girls for drinks, it's casual yet dressy at the same time. 

It's about knee high on me, elasticated at the waist and has a gorgeous metallic leaf print all over. I'm gonna team it with a plain black cami, ankle boots and if it gets a bit chilly, my fluffy black jumper. Wardrobe good deed done for the day! 

Skirt - Urban Outfitters 2 years ago

Cami - Miss Seldridge £16

Boots - Topshop £45

Necklace - Miss Selfridge £12.50

Jumper - H&M £14.99

Gym Fever

I did it. I rejoined the gym. It is so typical to join the gym in the new year, 'new year new me,' and all that. But truth is, it's not for any resolution, it's because I have free time that needs filling, and back when I was a member 2 years ago, I actually enjoyed going. The bit I find hard is the getting up and going. I like the exercise (sometimes) and I definitely love the feeling after a sweaty workout! So, how am I going to know that I'll be motivated enough to not waste my membership? Well, I had a brainwave. I love nothing more than buying new clothes then finding an excuse to go out just so I can show them off. So, if I had a sparkly new pair of trainers, I'm going to need to go to the gym to show them off right? You know where this is going, I indulged in some online shopping.

I have no idea about gym wear. I've only stepped into a sports shop about 3 times in my life, and I'm not very fond of them. I tried out the Nike website. I was surprised. The women's trainers were all actually quite easy on the eyes. Who knew I could find it in me to lust after sport shoes. I was going to go for a pair of bright pink trainers, but at the moment, as mentioned in previous posts, black is the new black. I fell in love with a pair, and they are now on their way to me. 

Nike -  £100 £79.89

Oh and did I mention, they were in the sale! Now, I can't really talk about them much, they look comfy, they look pretty cool, and that's all I can say about trainers as I'm not an expert! 

So I was about to checkout, then I thought, 'Oh no! How am I gonna carry all my gym things to the gym!?' Of course I have my handbags, but when I went the other day, my Zara bag looked a bit out of place and a bit stressed in such a sweaty, sporty environment. I may have added a bag to my cart to complete my gym girl look. 

Nike - £35

It's practical, pretty and purple! The three important p's... It has 2 sections, and apparently has little pockets too, my favourite! Now I've got to wait for my new purchases to arrive, then I'm gonna start hitting the gym big time, hopefully. 

Nail Varnish Organisor

I think that the most personal gifts are the best kind. My aunt is always very thoughtful when it comes to my christmas and birthday presents. One year it was my handmade memory box, another it was a beautiful Alexander McQueen book, this year was my nail varnish shelf.

Now, that doesn't sound very exciting, but she knows me well. I love organising and I also have quite a large love and a mighty collection of nail varnishes. My cousin was so excited for me to open the present. Unfortunately, I was in hospital over christmas so I didn't get to until late boxing day. It was probably one of my favourite gifts this christmas. 

Not only is it a nail varnish shelf, but it is in the shape of an OPI bottle. I'd never seen such a thing-and I'm an organising geek! Today, after lots of nagging and pushing, my Dad finally put it up for me. The most exciting bit was deciding which ones to put out on display, then my friend was back over to colour coordinate again! Although it doesn't store all my polishes, its nice to have my favourites out, and I can rotate when my collection grows! 

Primark Purchases

So today, after popping into Ikea, I thought it would be rude not to have a little look in Primark. Now, most of the things in there were utter rubbish! I still managed to find 3 little gems though, which I think I will get a lot of wear out of. 

First thing I picked up was this oversized grey jumper. It is plain, and to be honest theres not much to it but I'll wear it with a gilet over the top and a big chunky necklace. This is definitely a great layering piece!

Primark - £10

This little beaut is much needed in my wardrobe! Tartan seems to be everywhere, and I own not one single piece. It's a lovely sheer shirt, will look great tucked into my velvet A line skirt. Again, this will look great with my gilet layered over the top. Really excited to wear this one!

Primark - £12

The last one, which is another jumper, I was a bit unsure about as it looks a little Christmassy. I tried it on though and its so snug. As it does have those specks of glitter running through it, it could be quite dressy, tucked into a little skater skirt with boots, or I think it would look great with a pair of coated jeans. 

Primark - £10

Wardrobe Clear Out:Part One

I have a dreadful need to have a place for everything and everything in its place, well at least thats the case in my bedroom. Today my friend and I tackled my wardrobe. I think, a tidy closet is a tidy head. We managed to get through all my skirts, shorts, tops, shoes and handbags today. My bed became a wasteland, broken hangers spread all over the room, I discovered things that I wouldn't wish upon anyone to wear! 

The first OCD thing I needed to do was switch my hangers. I hate seeing all my odd hangers lined up, everything came of those and were put onto neat black ones. I know its time consuming, but it really does make all the difference! My friend then colour coordinated everything, which apparently she has a great love for. I don't know how but I managed to fill 4 bin bags. 

Tomorrow, I'm going to Ikea to buy some more of my special black hangers, and I might see what neat little storage solutions I can find to utilise my space. 

The evidence of a hard days work

All my tops sorted into type then colour

Again, colour coordinated

The remainder of my flats, after throwing out about 6 or 7 pairs!