Copic Mechanisms

Wow it has been way too long since I have been on here. I don't really have any excuses, sometimes life just goes a certain way and you get so caught up in it that things fall by the wayside. But here I am, and ready to get back into it.

Third Year in Fine Arts has been a really difficult year so far. So much has changed in the university environment, and my work doesn't seem to fit the current social and political context I find myself in. I've only made a handful of works this year and it just seems to be getting more and more difficult to keep on track.

But not all is lost. I found out earlier this month that I'm going to be featured in Strokes of Genius 9 - Creative Discoveries. For one of my works I made before I got into the University environment. I've been trying to come to terms with what will happen once I finish my undergrad, and pondering whether or not studying fine art was the best idea for me in the first place... But I know at the end of the day, even if things get incredibly difficult, the four years of blood, sweat and tears will be worth it,

In the mean time, I started working on some other artworks completely independent of my work at Wits... Just so that I can stay sane. I've also been getting in touch with my art supplies again, especially after increasing my Copic marker collection significantly since last year. I really do miss making what is considered more "traditional" artworks. I feel like a part of my soul just aches to make work that's beautiful, and makes someone happy to look at. So I started working on this drawing to prove to myself that I can still draw, and fairly decently (I would like to think)

This Copic marker drawing is still incomplete, but its the first large-scale drawing I have done entirely in Copics. The original plan was to use the Copics alongside Faber-Castelle Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils, but the bleed-proof paper I worked on wasn't very receptive to the texture of the pencils, so I just stuck to the Copics.

Here are some things I learnt about Copic markers while working on this drawing:

1. You can never have too many Copic marker colours. They are all useful for some part of a drawing.

2. Bleed-Proof paper, like all surfaces, can only take so much before it starts rejecting the ink of the Copics. You can tell when an area is getting over-worked if the ink dries to a shiny finish rather than a matte finish.

3. A good base drawing = a good final drawing

4. Take your time with learning to blend Copic markers and the results will make themselves clear.

5. It's easy to add darker colours to a drawing than it is to lighten an area afterwards.

Work in progress shot

Until we meet again

Talia

Just Do It!

Hello there dear readers.

My apologies for the late post, I've been moving houses and we haven't had access to the Internet until recently. But here I am now, so let's get straight to it!

Something that has been on my mind a lot this year has been the idea of determination. Determination is actually a difficult concept to define. Usually, having determination is seen a positive character trait, while being stubborn is seen as negative. To me, being determined means that once you have your mind set on a goal, you do everything in your power to make it happen, even if you have problems achieving it along the way. I see it as being so set on achieving your goal you would throw yourself into it to make it happen.

As some of you would know from my previous posts, last year was a difficult time in my life, and I not only lost my sense of self but also my sense of determination. This year, I managed to pull myself together to rebuild and renew my sense of self. I feel like this year I am more determined than I was before the troubles of last year, and that my ambition has returned with a vengeance.

I've found that determination isn't really a trait you're born with, but rather something that you teach yourself. It is something that can be learnt. and also nurtured. It also a skill that can be forgotten if not used.

Something I've noticed with a lot of people in my generation is the surprising lack of determination by a majority. People have no ambition, no drive to want to do better or push themselves,They've allowed themselves to grow comfortable with mediocrity, settle into a comfort zone of "average". And if they do perhaps decide to set a goal, one small hiccup and they give up.

I have no right to judge anyone about how they view their goals in life. I'm just surprised by how little ambition there seems to be. No determination to succeed or do better than the last time. And especially with people in their early twenties, in the prime of their lives.  Perhaps they are waiting for the devil of "tomorrow" to save them. The truth is, there is no tomorrow. The only time to make a difference is right now. But starting a million things and completing none of them is no use either.

Even if you dedicate your entire life to one project, if you finish that project at the end of your lifetime, I can almost guarantee a sense of happiness at having been determined enough to see it through right to the very end.

So here are some easy tips on how to ease determination into your life:

• Set small goals to start with. Say you want to read more often, don't say you'll read the entire Game of Thrones series in a week. You'll probably fail and sink back into the cycle of average. Rather say, I want to read at least 5 pages a day. 
• Set Goals that you know will make you happy. If you can imagine being ecstatic after completing a goal, and a goal that will improve your life, then you will be more determined to achieve it. 
• Ask for help. If you are struggling with being determined, ask your family and those closest to you to help you stay determined. Use role models to show you that all the work wont be for nothing.
• DON'T GIVE UP. This seems so simple but is at the core of determination. If you have a hiccup along the way, don't give up your entire goal because it temporarily became more difficult to achieve.
• Reward yourself for when you achieve your goals. 
• Your goals are not set in stone. If you feel like your goal isn't working for you, then change it.
• Surround yourself with determined people so that you have positive role models to follow.

Until we meet again 

Talia

A Helping Hand

Hello there dear readers! Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate and Happy Eat-As-Many-Chocolate-Eggs-As-You-Can Day to those who don't.

So the first block of third year has already passed! And so quickly too. It has been a busy few weeks, and I have to say I am quite proud of some of the work I've already produced. If you haven't had a chance to look yet, you can check out some of my latest work here and here. I've also been trying to work on my online identity through Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook, posting more often and trying to have new work to post as well. But I will openly admit that it is a ton of work and a ton of effort that goes into doing these kinds of things.

And that brings me to the topic for today's post : Helping other people to succeed!

So, I can testify to the fact that building an identity for your own career is incredibly difficult. Especially when going into a creative field, such as the arts, music, drama, magic and the like. There are far fewer outlets to help young people make it in these fields as they aren't really seen as important or helpful to the economy. So unlike other careers that offer scholarships and internships (that actually pay), we are pretty much left to fend for ourselves.

Now I'm sure some of you are thinking, "But isn't that why you're going to university?". Ah yes, like most people who've gone the studying route, we choose to study in hopes that it will help us land a good job one day when we graduate. But as the unemployment rate of university graduates in South Africa alone, getting a degree isn't good enough anymore. So we have to find ways of making ourselves a career that we can be proud of.

This isn't easy to do alone however, With having to deal with access to specific materials, it can be almost impossible to help yourself with regards to your career. This is why I think it is so important that people, and not just budding creatives, actually make an effort to help each other out where they can. For example, I've been using social media and blogging to help market my work for a few years now, so while I wouldn't call myself a professional at it, I will say that I'm proficient at it. So my partner, Liam, is a budding magician. Writing is not his speciality as the the performing part of magic is his area of expertise. I know the blogging is a great form of exposure, so what did I do? I became a co-author of his blog so that I can help him on the advertising side while he is out there doing what he does best (P.S My Thoughts is the blog, check it out if you have a chance).

Another important part of helping your friends and family and people in general is being encouraging and supportive when things are going well.. and more importantly when they aren't. Help them with whatever resources and in whatever way you can. It could be as simple as lending someone a self-help book you have, or it could be helping them to print some business cards or pamphlets to give away. Any small thing helps, and it could be as simple as saying "I believe in you".

The world is a tough enough place as it is, but it doesn't mean that we can't do something to make it a little better, even if it's just for one person.

Until we meet again
Talia

Processes and Transparencies

Hello there dear readers

I apologise for missing out on a post last weekend. It was a ...turbulent time to say the least. But here I am and it's time for a new post.

So dear readers, let me share with you what I've been up to since I've gone back to varsity this year. So in third year, the second last year of the Fine Arts degree I am studying, we are considered to be "senior" art students, and therefore capable of setting our own projects and briefs to work with. This is a huge jump from first and second year, where the lecturers would decide upon the topic and the artwork we created was thus a response to this topic.

So let me share with you my thought process behind the project I've been working.

I have been interested in typography since a happy accident with typography in First Year. As regular readers of my blog will know (and if you're new, welcome to my blog and have a look here to see my work), I've worked extensively with the medium of typography over the last two years, and of course given the freedom of subject matter and medium, now I have full reigns to work with typography.

So for this particular project, I decided to relate typography to the idea of access. So when is writing accessible to people, and when is it not? I wanted to play around with ideas of English being perhaps a more accessible language to understand (within a university context) than the language of the artwork. And how I could refuse the viewer access, or certainly make it intentionally more difficult for the viewer to relate to and actually access or understand the work.

How I decided to go about this was to use transparency sheets to write on:

These sheets were my own personal feelings, thoughts and emotions, as well as opinions about how I feel being an art student at an art school is quite inaccessible and the frustrations of being in art school. 

After this process, I then wanted to suspend these sheets from the ceiling of my studio space:

As you can see... this was somewhat untidy and well... the sort of baby steps towards an actual installation. So after this I decided the bulldog clips and looked terrible, so I refined it a bit using beading crimps to tie the transparency sheets:

This looks a LOT better, but something was still bothering me about this format. After speaking to my lecturer, we kind of concluded that it was because they were at eye-level. It was too easy to engage with them on an artistic level and not to mention that the lighting wasn't as effective... so to combat this I decided to hang them differently...

Now here I had caught onto something that really worked. I loved the way the light diffused the transparency sheets and the words themselves, and as you can see in the first picture, it was infinitely more successful than I would have guessed before. But alas it still needs a bit of tweaking, which I will share with you this coming weekend, dear readers.

Until we meet again
Talia

Some Passion a Day to Keep the Blues at Bay

Hello again dear readers. So I've decided to get back to posting on a weekend again seeing as I have more time to play around with thoughts and ideas and it is easier to be a bit more consistent in posting times. So let's get started then!

So something that has been in the back of my mind since an argument had with my significant other was the idea of passion. And how I have tons of it in some ways and really not enough in other ways. And I guess you could say I was startled (to say the least), that it was thought that I throw so much passion into my artwork and very little into anything else. I liked to think that I was passionate about the things that matter to me, and not just art. 

So what is passion exactly?

Urban Dictionary : Passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible.

That's a pretty good definition of it. Putting in a lot more effort than what is "required". So this is actually quite easy to measure with school and university and anything that distinctly measures your level of effort. For example, if 50% is the required mark to pass, but you want to put your all into it and you get 80%, then you technically put in 30% more effort than what is necessary. Now life is not that easy to measure, and no one is giving you that much feedback that is so easy to decipher.

I know that for me, being passionate about my career and art work isn't exactly difficult, it's second nature to me to do the best possible job I can, But I haven't ever put the equivalent amount of effort into anything else, just the thought of putting that much effort in exhausts me. 

But the thing is that great results only come from hard work and passion. Nothing good has ever been achieved without a ton of extra effort and dedication, and ultimately love. I have been trying to apply a passionate and dedicated attitude to my life as a whole rather than just through art. Making time for the people that matter, and making time for the other aspects of life, such as reading, spending time relaxing and also making memories with the people you care about.

I've found, like with anything else really, that making goals is a good way to help be consistently and consciously more passionate in all the areas of your life. For example, making sure you stop your busy work schedule to have tea when your special person gets home from work. Taking the time to say "I love you" like its the only chance you'll have to say it again.

Passion is a consistent job, but the benefits I think will be so worth it.

Until we meet again 

Talia

Exhibition Review: The Sound of Silence

Hello again dear readers.

So today I thought I would try something else new to help me to stay motivated to see exhibitions throughout the year. So to start off my own Exhibitions Review, I will talk about the newly opened The Sound Of Silence exhibition by New York based artist, Alfredo Jaar.

The Sound of Silence
2006
Wood structure, aluminum, fluorescent tubes, LED lights, flash lights, tripods, video projection
Software designed by Ravi Rajan
Installation view at école des Beaux Arts, Paris 2011
Photographer: Charles Duprat
Artist: Alfredo Jaar

On Tuesday night, in the heart of Braamfontein at Wits Art Museum (WAM), the much anticipated Sound of Silence exhibition was officially opened to the public. The curiosity in me for this exhibition definitely started when a prior visit to WAM revealed a massive black curtain concealing the sounds of machinery, an obviously large construction taking place behind the scenes but a secret to be kept until the opening of the exhibition.

As most exhibitions start off, there were speeches of thanks and gratitude to the museum and the artist and all the people involved in the organisation of the exhibition. There were free drinks and a surprisingly upbeat DJ present, and a large crowd of students, art-lovers, hipsters and the like hovering around the drinks tables. After the (thankfully) short speeches, we made our way into the gallery space.

We were met with a shockingly bright wall of light facing the entrance of the main gallery, made up of rows of vertical fluorescent light bulbs, Not only was this a shock to the senses of each visitor to the gallery, but it also heightened the intrigue surrounding this exhibition. This wall of light was part of a rectangular structure in the center of the gallery, and formed the exterior back wall of this room within a room. A queue was formed alongside the wall of the gallery for people to view this installation.

About 20 people were let into the room at once, and we were asked to switch off our cellphones.  We proceeded to walk around the room and walk in through a small entrance illuminated by a strip of green light. What was inside this room was essentially a small theatre, with both standing and room to sit. We positioned ourselves at the back corner. The lights, which were already dimmed, switched off completely as a small film began to play.

Now I am not going to ruin this artwork and explain every detail of the film, as it is best experienced within the artwork itself. But to simplify things, the film is about photographer Kevin Carter.

So now I will share with you some of my thoughts on this exhibition.

I felt like this was truly a remarkable piece and I would highly recommend that anyone who is able to get to the museum to view this work seizes the opportunity. While most of us are used to the shock appeal that most artworks generate, this installation is a refreshing depart from shock-appeal towards a more poignant need to create an impact on the audience. This impact is created from the moment the viewer enters the space and is affronted with this immediate bright, conflicting and intruding, wall of light. Viewers of the work are forced to face this light while waiting to view the artwork, and the light certainly creates an atmospheric tension surrounding the gallery.

The actual film is simple, poignant, tense and highly effective for the message it is trying to convey. I don't know about the other people who attended the exhibition, but I know that while watching this film I felt infuriated, and at the same time, hollowed by the content of the film. I left the exhibition with a profound sense of loss, and having experienced in the smallest of ways what it would have been like to be the "victim" of the photographer. This exhibition definitely made me consider photography as an act of violence and destruction, to both the photographed subject and the photographers themselves.

The exhibition closes on the 10th of April 2016 and the gallery hours are Wednesdays to Sundays from 10h00 until 16h00. The entrance to the gallery is free and the museum is situated on the corner of Jorissen Street and Jan Smuts.

Until we meet again
Talia

The Human Typewriter

So, it has been one official week since I have returned to university. As a third year, and studying Fine Art... Not to mention French as an additional major. Since my last post, it seems like me taking reigns of my own happiness has been a good strategy to approach life with. I haven't necessarily been getting a lot more done, but I feel like everyday that has passed has been one that was lived well, to the fullest. A day well spent everyday can only lead to happiness I think.

So now that I've caught you up on my emotional goals ,dear readers, I shall tell you a little bit about my first week back.

So its the first week, and I have already been dubbed "The Human Typewriter", by one of the lecturers who had been tutoring me this week. I quite like that. It has a nerdy/artsy/awesome ring to it. I think I shall keep that name around! And if you, dear reader, are wondering why on earth I would consider this to be an affectionate nickname, it is because I am in love with typography as a medium of expression.

To me, one of the most interesting things I have discovered since I have started studying art in university is the beautiful relationship that a love of writing and a love of art can share. They are not separate mediums in the discipline of humanities, but have so many similarities that draw the two (excuse the pun) together. I have always loved creating art, and I have always had somewhat of a secondary interest in writing.

Only once I discovered the art form known as typography, did I discover how words can be the vehicle to create art.

To put it simply,

I make art with words.

And this year I finally have the freedom to make as much art as I want in any way I want to. So I dub this year, 2016, the Year of the Human Typewriter. 

And hopefully dear readers, we will see some results soon. But for now, here is some of my older work, hopefully explaining why I have a catchy new nickname.

Until we meet again
Talia

Get Up Again

Hi there again dear readers. I know, I went from a massive break from blog posts to a sudden flow of things to write about. I guess I've just had a ton on my mind lately, and I feel like talking about it with you, dear readers, is a good way to convey my thoughts and feel like someone out there is just listening to what I have to say. 

So dear readers, something I've had on my mind lately is the idea of strength and self-empowerment. To me, I've always had a deep rooted fear of appearing weak to other people. I hate crying, being sick, being injured, being too emotional. Anything that knocks me off my A-game. To be honest, it doesn't take much to knock someone off their A-game. It can be feeling under the weather. feeling over-worked, upset about relationship or personal problems, or just having a bad day. I have been off my A-game more often than not recently. For me, it's been because of relationship and personal problems. I've been so emotional in the last few months I think I've had my share of negative emotions for a lifetime. 

The problem with emotional turmoil is that I've developed the bad habit of moping over a negative situation. I can think of a lot of reasons why this has changed, but the biggest reason why it bugs me is that I feel excruciatingly weak. 

As said before, it is the one thing I am most afraid of.

So as of today, I am done with this crappy feeling of being weak. Yeah sure, things get crappy in life. We all make bad decisions and sometimes it feels like the light at the end of the tunnel is just an illusion, 

Life is hard, 

We get knocked down.

We get winded.

We bleed.

We must get up again. 

I am so sick and tired of waking up and feeling like getting through another day is going to be tough on me. I am 20 for God's sake, I should be changing the world every day, not sitting and moping about things that WILL NOT matter in the grand scheme of things. Here is where the importance of self-empowerment comes in. See dear readers, this is something I have realised over the last few years. 

No one else will make your dreams come true for you. 

No one else will fight harder for you than yourself. 

No one else will ever be able to understand your life better than you,

Stop relying on other people to make things happen for you, they have their own lives to worry about. So at the start of every day, you are the one in charge of how it goes and how it ends. I won't lie, I've had a bit of a crappy day, and I have no one else to blame but myself (much as I would like to shift the blame I know I would be kidding myself), but here and now, typing this blog post - and listening to Pump It! by the Black Eyed Peas - I feel like I am doing something with my day. and something in me is stirring. A flicker of that inner strength that has been so stifled in the months past. 

I am not backing down from life anymore. I will fight until my last breath. I will make every day count this year, and I will be damned if I let anything and anyone get in my way.

Fight for your dreams dear readers, make your days count for more than yesterday-filled-regrets.

Until we meet again

Talia

P.S. This was the inspiration behind my latest art positivity typography pages, you can check them out under the Art & Other Creative Items Page.

An Art Supply Review: The Pen (Is Mightier Than The Sword)

Hi there dear readers! SO today I thought that I would try something new... A review of sorts. I use a lot of art supplies in my practice as an artist in the making, and one of my favourite tools of the trade is my trusty fineliner. But there are many different types of fine liners and they all have their advantages and annoyances. So here I will present to you my first Art Supply Review:

An Art Supply Review

The Pen (Is Mightier Than The Sword)

By Talia Naicker

So this is a small test page I have drawn up for this blog post to show the various kinds of pens I have tried out over the years. 

As you can see, I have tried out several different brands, and each has their own unique makeup, so it's important to try as many as you can so that you can see what actually works for the style of art you are interested in making.

FABER-CASTELL PITT ARTISTS PENS

So these are the Pitt Artist Pens, made by the trusted Faber-Castell. As you can see, I have only used the Script Size Pen, and so my experience with this particular pen is quite limited. From what I can tell, it leaves a crisp clean line and has a beautiful opaque black ink. My only downside with this particular range of pens is the limited nib sizes, as compared to other brands. These are also fairly pricey though they are a great all-round use pen for artists.

SAKURA MICROPERM

These are the Sakura Microperm Pens. I will admit I bought these pens online as they were not available from the stores in my area. These are definitely not my favourite pens for drawing or writing use, as I find they have an annoying tendency to bleed through papers I could easily use with other pens. They also leave a blurred line as opposed to the crisp lines I am looking for in my drawings. There are also only 3 sizes, which I find quite limiting. Although this pen might not suit my needs, I could easily see the benefit for a more sketchy and fluid drawing style.

STAEDTLER PIGMENT LINER

These are the Staedtler Pigment Liners. I have only tried the smallest size available, the 0.05mm, as this was the size that was particularly difficult to come across in most art stores in my local area. Judging by the use of the 0.05mm, I quite like the look and feel of this pen. I have always been a fan of the Staedtler Products for fine art use and these pens are definitely a winner. I will make a point of giving the other sizes a go at some point.

UNIPIN FINE LINERS

These are my absolute favourite pens to work with for both sketching, writing and drawing. I love these pens and have been using them for years now. I find the range of sizes just perfect to work with for just about any subject matter, especially for the type of typographic drawings I like to work with. I have a set of these in my art kit, in my handbag, in my varsity bag and a bunch of extras. I find that these are quite budget friendly compared to other pens on the market, and last for an incredibly long time even if used frequently. The 0.05mm tip is also a bit more durable than other tips and can be handled with more ease than other pens I have used.

PIGMA MICRON LINERS

I have only recently invested in these pens, but from the experimenting I've done, they seem to have as much to offer as the unipin pens. There is also the added Graphic Range and each size is available in a Sepia colour as well as a black. I think that these are a slightly more expensive alternative to the unipins but an all-rounder nonetheless

COPIC MULTILINER SET B2

These are the non-aluminium cased multiliners made by Copic. These pens are absolutely stunning and have an amazingly tiny 0.03mm tip, which is a size I have not seen offered by another brand. They are sturdy and the plastic cased ones are significantly cheaper than their aluminium counterparts. However, I found that after a month of not using them, they dried up a little bit, but quickly flowed when scribbled with gently. These pens are made for constant use.

So dear readers, I hope you will find some aspect of this review useful in some way. I know that for now, Unipins are definitely my go to art supply for drawing in ink!

Until we meet again

Talia

A Work In Progress : Reflections

So today I thought that I would share some of my work in progress of a small drawing that I started on Monday. It was just a drawing started on a whim and because I had finished my commissioned drawing a few days prior to that. So I will upload the final drawing soon, but here is a glimpse at how it was made:

So dear readers, I am off for now. I will upload a picture of the drawing as soon as it is complete. Enjoy what is left of your weekend.

Until we meet again

Talia

Sweet '16

Wow.

2015 has come and gone in the blink of an eye and here we are, fresh (well a little bit stale now) in 2016. A few days ago, I felt a feeling within me that I don't think I have quite experienced before. I could best describe it as a feeling of ambling along, you know, letting life just happen to you instead of making things happen in your life.

I guess you could say I've been feeling like this since last year, when my passion for art wasn't take as much of a part in my life as I would have liked. A lot of emotional and personal issues also made it more difficult to feel stable in my own life and a lot went downhill for me. But I remember reading a saying recently, something along the lines of when your life seems to be falling apart, in reality its all the pieces falling into place.

I'll say that since last year I have learnt a lot about myself. Mostly negatives I had chosen to ignore, but also strengths that I didn't know I had. I've learnt to balance people in my life, and that a life filled with only yourself and work is indeed a lonely life. I've also learnt that without my passion for art to guide me, I am nothing. A nobody with nothing to show. SO this year is the year I WILL make the change for myself.

I am done taking orders from lecturers at art school telling me how my art should look.

I am done trying to be something I am not.

I am my own artist and I will damn well make the art I like and want to make. Maybe if I stop caring so much about what other people want me to make, then at least I will be proud of everything I have made. And hopefully make this year a far more fruitful and encouraging year than 2015.

Goodbye Awkward 2015.
Hello Sweet '16.

Until we meet again
Talia

P.S. I have uploaded a photo of my latest work onto the Art and Other Creative Items page.