Queen Project: October 2012

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

The Printing Process

Firstly, we have to draw the picture of the queen we want to be printed, on to the lino. You can either do this free hand or you can use tracing paper. 
Secondly, using the lino cutters, cut out the drawing making sure that you are doing it right (all the raised area will be printed). When doing this process you have to make sure that you cut away from your body and have to make sure that your fingers arnt in the way to provent hurting yourself.
Once you have got your image correct on the lino, you then start to add the prefered coloured ink using a roller, you have to make sure that your roller is not overloaded and the ink is spread evenly over the lino so you dont get any splodges.
You then print your lino print on to the chosen fabric.
Once the lino is carefully placed onto the fabric, you then use a clean roller and roll over the top so that you know the ink had actually printed onto the fabric all over.
Once you have done this carefully lift the lino off the fabric and leave fabric to dry.

My Drawings

Really quick stick and ink drawing coloured in with watercolour paints. I purposfully made the watercolout look messy and made it go 'out the lines'.

Just a simple pencil drawing. I'm not very happy with this one, I dont think it looks anything like the queen.

Stick and ink drawing. This one scares me a bit :/

Again just a pencil drawing. Im quite happy with this one although could be better. And below just a drawing using a black biro pen.

North Wales-based artist Nick Elphick is a passionate visionary who has spent the last ten years working to the bone to better understand form and the human mind. With lots of experience in all areas of sculpting, moulding and casting, including teaching. Nick has a team of skilled workers which lets him create any type of commission, large or small.

When researching into Nick Elphic I found some really amazing sculptures he has done. He completesd 4 bronze sculptures for the olympic opra. Elphick from Llandudno, Conwy, was asked to sculpt Greek Olympic figures for the Garsington Opera in June, weeks before London 2012 opens. It is based at the home of the late philanthropist Sir Jean Paul Getty II. Mr Elphick said he was working 16-hour days because it was "one of those things you can't turn down".

''When we dream, anything is possible..''

Looking at Nick elphicks work has got me interested in some other sculptures. Especially the one locally. 'Dream' is situated in St. Helens

Dream is 20 metres high, however its foundation go almost twice that height down underground...

On average, 100,000 vehicles pass Dream daily, equating to more than 35 million vehicles each year...

A total of 6,160 man-hours were spent on site, during the construction of Dream and more than 5,500 cups of tea and coffee were drunk.

Dream is by Jaume Plensa. Jeaume Plensas work is displayed in Yorkshire Stulpture park... A place I have visited on a college trip.

Chester Giants

At Chester the Giant City, they encourage people to get together and build a Giant in time for the 'Big Giant Parade' that takes place in Chester as part of the summer's Chestival events. The aim for the Parade for the the Queens Jubilee was the bring together at least 60 community Queen Elizabeth II Giants and 6,000 people from across Cheshire and Warrington. They wanted to create the most amazing, diverse and olourful Jubilee celebrations in the whole of the UK. They want national and international media to capture all of our hard work and send it around the world as an example of something that is really spectacular. The garment we are creating does not have to be an exact copy of one of the queens outfits,but should embody some aspects of our own community

After looking at the giants I have been doing more research into puppetry and I have become very interested. One thing that has caught my eye is The Giant Puppet in Liverpool.

Three giant puppets have taken to the streets of Liverpool to play out a weekend-long street theatre production inspired by the Titanic. A 30ft (9m) wooden puppet of a little girl "woke up" in Stanley Park before walking through the north of the city with her dog, papier mache puppet Xolo. A 50ft (15m) puppet of her uncle later emerged from Salthouse Dock and set off through the city centre.

It has been created by Nantes-based French company Royal de Luxe as part of Liverpool commemorations for the recent 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

It was inspired by a letter written by a young girl to her father, who was a steward on the Liverpool-registered liner.

The event will show the girl, called Little Girl Giant, walking around Liverpool on a quest to learn news of her father. Spectators saw her uncle - clad in a deep sea diving costume - emerge from Salthouse Dock with letters from the Titanic.

Little Girl Giant and her dog were "woken" by young musicians from Liverpool Philharmonic's In Harmony project at the start of the event at about 09:40 BST.

They moved through the city, coming to rest at Everton Brow at 12:30 BST.

They set off again at 16:30 BST, walking down Lime Street and through Liverpool One arriving at the Echo Arena on the waterfront at 19:30 BST, before going to "sleep" at the Kings Dock at 20:00 BST.

Thousands watched as the girl's uncle made his way past Liverpool waterfront and headed on a three-mile journey to Stanley Park in the Anfield area of the city.

The Puppet show is not only for liverpool but it is shown all over the world in places like vietnam.

"Some roads were not big enough for the giants, so we have had to be strategic about where to go.''

"Two hours of walking with giants is really physical work."

"To work with such a world-renowned company as Royal de Luxe is a real coup for Liverpool and it's wonderful we can mark this important anniversary with an unforgettable event."

Another celebration i have found is the Mexico's Day of the Dead.

It is held 1st and 2nd of november. But this is not a sad celebration, The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed.

celebrants honor those who have passed away by visiting graves or building altars and decorating them with flowers, skulls, and the departed's favorite items. The souls of the dead are lured back for a visit not only with prayer but also with tequila, candy, storytelling, and parades.

When Jim Hammond came off the road after six years of touring with The Lion King as its puppetmaster, he settled in Fort Lauderdale, where he founded the Puppet Network and, not long afterward, got to work on making Day of the Dead a signature event.

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair,

London. She was the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The princess was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. She was names after her mother and her middle names are from her two grandmothers - Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary.

Her early years were spent at 145 Picadilly, London and also the country homes of her grandparents. In 1930 Elizabeth gained a sister With the birth of Princess Margaret Rose. The family was very close.

Queen Elizabeth was third in line for the throne so it seemed unlikely that she would be queen. However after the death of King George V, the new King - her uncle Edward VIII dramatically ebdicated so he could marry Wallis Simpson. The queens father then became King George VI and she became heir to the throne.

With the outbreak of the War II Elizabeth and her sister stayed out of London and spent their time in Windsor Castle. At the castle, she made one of the famous broadcasts. Over the radio, she spoke to reasure the children who had been evacuated from their homes and families The 14-year-old princess, showing her calm and firm personality, told them that "in the end, all will be well for God will care for us and give us victory and peace."

In 1945, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help in the war. She trained side-by-side with other British women to be an expert driver and mechanic. While her volunteer work only lasted a few months, it offered Elizabeth a glimpse into a different, non-royal world.

Elizabeth first met Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, when she was only 13 and was smitten with him from the start. Distant cousins, the pair kept in touch over the years and eventually fell in love. Her father, King George VI, was hesitant about them being together. Philip had ties to the Danish and Greek royal families, but he wasnt wealthy and was a bit 'rough' in his personality. They made an unusual pair. Elizabeth was quiet and reserved while Philip was boisterous and outspoken.
At the time of their marriage in 1947, Great Britain was still recovering from the ravages of World War II. Elizabeth is said to have collected clothing coupons to get fabric for her gown. The ceremony was held at London's Westminster Abbey on November 20.

The couple wasted no time in producing a heir. Son Charles was born the following year and daughter Anne arrived in 1950

On February 6, 1952 King George VII died and Elizabeth began the responsibilities of the ruling monarch. The Queen and Prince Philip were in Kenya at the time of her father's death.

Her official coronation took place 2nd June 1953 in Westminster Abbey. And for the first time, the ceremony was broadcast on television, allowing people from across the globe to witness the event.

So much has happened over the years of The Queen's life. Television has been invented, man has walked on the moon for the first time and the Berlin Wall has been built and then razed to the ground. Her Majesty's life has seen many changes too, from fulfilling her role as Queen at the age of 25, to raising a family, to world travel on a scale so different previous monarchs.

Queen aged 2 - 1928