Wednesday 13th March,

Today I attended an exhibition which was showing the work of Sally Payen, given how the subject of Paganism is widely debated, I thought I would attend Sally Payen's exhibition in order to view how she portrays an issue which is very damaging to civilisation and led to a lot of public uprisings.
   Sally Payen's main body of work which she was exhibiting, consisted of art which she had developed to portray the riots which happened in this country not so long ago. Her main medium was through the use of paint, she used quite an unusual method, the background is quite dull and lacking in colour with just the bland tones of grey, however, I think the use of the brighter colours in the foreground work well to highlight the issue that the work is trying to communicate.

   The above image is one that stood out most to me amongst her work, I think the use of the shades of grey in the background and differing colours in the foreground which make the figures stand out. I believe this is a great effect as it is easy to differentiate between the law enforcement and the people causing the riots, the clear difference between the official uniforms and the "hoody-types". As a whole I believe the image works well to communicate the struggle that went on throughout the riots and is a great reminder of the law enforcement which should be in place and respected within this country.
   Throughout the exhibition Sally Payen explained to the group how she used a lot of mobile phone/ Youtube footage in order to create these art pieces as accurately as possible. I think this is a great way of drawing inspiration from physical material in order to create ideas.

Image From: http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/painting%20%26%20drawing/art398517

Research!

Wednesday 6th March,

This day was spent in the library at Hereford College of Arts researching, I found some extraordinary works in order to draw inspiration from for my project.This research I will be displaying within my sketchbook in order to keep an in depth log throughout, also putting the work into my sketchbook means it will be accessible to me at all times!
    I have now began to build up a wide variety of references and practitioners, this will be very helpful in aiding me through my work. My research into artists' work is mostly focusing on the mystical but also quite dark connotations of their work. I feel this is inspiring my greatly and the reflection upon each individual artist's work will be shown in my sketchbook along with samples of their work.
   I have began researching my topic in great depth also, I have decided to research the topics of Paganism, Wicca, Shamanism, Black Magic and Angels/ Healing. All of these topics broadly link into Paganism and Practical magic, they are also the areas that I feel most enthusiastic about studying as they are very personal to me. I am a firm believer in the effects of magic and healing, I also think it is important to take notice of the five great elements of our world, something which Paganism is centred around.
 

Chakra Edit Test!

This is my first edit using one of the Chakra symbols, I chose to use the Third Eye Chakra as the eyes are the main focus within this photograph. I created it by making duplicating three different layers of the background photograph. Each layer, I used a different effect, I changed the threshold on the first layer, the second layer I took away the saturation and darkened the contrast and then the top layer I added a blue hue to the shadows and a magenta hue to the highlights. I then changed the opacity of the levels and then merged them together, I feel this is really effective as the image is bold and is a deep image. I then layered the image of the Third Eye Chakra over the top of the eyes, I feel this works well as it also demonstrates the real location of the Chakra. I really like this image and feel the Chakra symbols work well within editing, I will definitely be sampling more images like this.

Chakras!

Chakras also fall into the study of modern witchcraft and healing. The Seven chakras in our body are where the energy flows through. It is believed that blocked energy in any of the seven chakras can lead to illness. I believe chakras are an important part of everyday life as people often forget about taking care of their body throughout their busy schedules. The belief of chakras allows people to find inner peace with their body and to understand what's right and what isn't for it. Having clear chakras is believed to keep a clear perception on life and our surroundings.

This diagram shows where the chakras are located within the body, each different colour represents a different chakra, each chakra is believed to have a different purpose within the body.

Red: Root Chakra: This is believed to be at the base of the spine, and it is the centre for our survival issues such as; food, money and financial security.

Orange: Sacral Chakra: it is believed to be in the lower abdomen, this is the place where our sense of abundance, well being and pleasure is centred and dealt with.

Yellow: Solar Plexus Chakra: is believed to be in the stomach area, it is our control centre for our self-confidence and self- esteem.

Green: Heart Chakra: is located within the chest, it controls our feelings of love and inner peace.

Blue: Throat Chakra: is located in the throat and is our ability to communicate and express the truth.

Lilac: Third Eye Chakra: is found in the forehead, between the eyes, it is believed to control our ability to focus and our perceptions of our surroundings.

Purple: Crown Chakra: is located at the very top of the head, it controls our feelings of sprituality and our connections with higher spirits. 

This image above shows the different symbols which are used to represent different chakras. From Left to Right: The Root Chakra, The Sacral Chakra, The Solar Plexus Chakra, The Heart Chakra, The Throat Chakra, The Third Eye Chakra, The Crown Chakra. 

I really like the structure of these symbols and I feel they could work really well within my photograph edits. I will move on to trying to include these symbols into my edits. 

Witchcraft!

Given that the majority of my project is focused around witchcraft, I decided to create a couple of images based on this idea. The image below was created by first duplicating the original photograph. I altered the contrast on one layer in order to get the very black outline, I then added a green hue to the other layer and changed the opacity level. I then laid each individual word over in order to change the colour of the text according to the different points in the photograph. I feel this is a very effective image and is very bold and eye catching. I think the darkness and the green hue perfectly suggest witchcraft. 

 From this image, I then created the image below. The image which I have layered over the top is St. Briavels castle. I find it very beneficial to explore the landscapes and old buildings within my local area in order to exploit them and make the most of my art project. I feel the image of the castle works very well layered over the witch image, the atmosphere of the castle, which towers very high and looms over the village, is very haunting. I changed the contrast and saturation of the castle image in order to darken it; I feel this works very well over the witch image as it is all very dark and quite ominous. 

The image below was created from an earlier image which I edited, I simply layered some text over the top of it. I feel this image works well though as it is very dark and the dark makeup and wooded area behind suggests witchcraft; many witchcraft movies are based within wooded areas of land. I focused in on this when I created the below image. The position of the text works well as it is directly across the centre of the image. 

Wiccan Symbols in Editing!

When researching Wiccan Symbols, I decided to add a few into my images whilst editing in order to see how they could work with the images.

 The image above was created through layering. The symbol used in this image is 'Hecate's Wheel', I chose this symbol as I thought it would fit best with this image. With the layering effect and changing opacity of the symbol I was able to line it up exactly where I wanted it. I feel this image works well as the symbol lines up perfectly with the background image.

 I used the 'Triquetra' symbol within this image, I also layered the symbol three times as it is all about the number three. The triquetra is commonly used within wicca and paganism and tends to represent the connection of the mind, body and soul. I feel this image works well as angels are often associated with good souls and people who lived wholesome lives.

 The symbol which I have layered over this photograph is the 'Triple Moon Symbol' represents new beginnings, the full moon in the centre represents the time when magic is at it's most powerful, the final meaning is banishing things away. I layered the symbol over the background image as I felt that it would create a striking outcome, I am very pleased with it and I feel it really stands out.

 This image above is my favourite with the use of the Wiccan symbols. I used the 'Pentagram or Pentacle' in order to create this image, the pentacle represents the four elements, air, fire, water and earth, it also includes the fifth element; spirit. I feel the three images layered together work really well, the star looks really good over the facial features as it fits with the dimensions of the face and features.

Wicca!

A large part of practical magic originates from Wiccan traditions, for this reason, it will be very relevant within my studies during part 3. I think the important part of this research is discovering the varying traditions within Wicca and how they have lead on to the modern magical world. A particular interest of mine is the symbolism within Wicca.

1)

2)

Above are two examples of the sorts of symbols used within Wicca, I feel most are creative and will work well with my photographs when I edit them.

1) http://www.lunasgrimoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/symbols11.gif
2) http://aesobolwillowshade.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/wiccan-symbols.jpg?w=640