Odilia Bird FDA

 Sewing machine and sticking calico together: To make my first attempt at a patchwork wall hanging I used a sewing machine to stick my previous cyanotypes together. For the composition I moved each piece around and found placements that allowed the edges of each piece to more or less line up without looking to messy, however, for future pieces this is something that I will pay closer attention to as I want the work to look professional and put together. I have little to no experience with sewing machines and was struggling to figure out how to use the one at college, for my first attempt at a stitch I placed two of the cyanotypes together with one overlapping onto of the other and used the neon yellow thread that was already in the machine and the stitching was visible on the front of the work. For my next attempts I managed to get some help from someone more experienced and they showed me how to thread the machine properly, they also suggested a neater way of sewing by placing the...

Cyanotype onto calico test pieces: for the first stage of my project I really wanted to try and created cyanotypes on some new materials and fabrics, to do this I cut up pieces of calico into varying sizes and set up a table in the brightest spot in my back garden. I decided to gather a mixture of flowers and leaves from my garden and placed them on top of the calico and left them all out in the sun for about half an hour until they were fully exposed. I ended up with five cyanotypes, when looking at them I noticed that the sun had managed to get underneath some of the leaves and flowers causing the images to be slightly faded with blurred sides. The edges has a fuzzy aspect to them and I think that this allowed the subjects to seem softer and gentle. On each piece the images seem to fade in and out with some areas standing out more and contrasting the darker blue of the background, and I believe that this effect invokes this surreal and dreamlike atmosphere within the cyanotypes. In t...

 Research: liminal spaces photography: After a one on one talk with my tutor, we spoke about surreal spaces and liminal spaces as a source for my primary research. While staying in a hotel a noticed the during the evening the hallways and stairwells become devoid of any people, and because of this I found these areas to have a surreal aspect to them. It felt odd to me to see spaces that were created for people no have people in them, it felt like a creepy contradiction.  I decided to take this first image of the hotel room because I was struck by how odd the room and archway looked while there was no one there. The photo has been taken at and angle that attempts to showcase the doorways, archway and the wardrobe making it seem as if you are looking at the room in a diagonal line. I find that the colours within this room are very muted and the beige seems to almost overwhelm the room. I think that the wardrobe provides a nice contrast to the lighter tones of the walls and carpe...

  FMP Project Proposal: Exploring the subconscious: For this project I wanted to explore themes of the subconscious and dreams, as well as lucid dreaming. I believe that dreams are an important part of everyones lives, including mine. I wanted to move away slightly from my previous project and the themes of the natural word while still incorporating the surreal elements that were being seen in my final cyanotypes. To do this I have decided to explore the subconscious, the subconscious influences our lives and actions in ways that we often do not realise or understand. I wish to delve into the mind, dreams and even showcase the act of taking control and becoming aware, in ways such as lucid dreaming. I have always been interested in the surreal and am especially drawn to surrealist artists such as Hannah Hoch and Leonora Carrington, with their works seemingly bridging the gap between dreams and reality.  For primary research, I worry that this might be difficult for me as the m...

 Final evaluation and images: An exploration of the natural world: During this project, it was my intention to explore the beauty and intricacies of the natural would around me. I wanted to explore themes of nature, harmony and the ways in which we interact with the world around us. Within my own art practice I have always gravitated towards more natural themes, processes and colours and I found that this project was a good opportunity for me to explore this on a deeper level.  To begin this project I started with more  traditional processes such as sketching and painting, and I was able to use and explore a variety of mediums including oil, acrylic and water colour paint, charcoal, card board, paper, photography and cyanotypes. For the first steps of this project I primarily focused on photography and took trips to places Attenborough Nature Reserve, Skylarks Nature Reserve, Holme Pierrepont, Devon and even included images from a previous trip to 'Gaping Gill' in Yorkshi...

 Ongoing Bibliography: Mcqueen, P., 11th Feb 2025. Gunards Head No.2 (1947) Glacirer (1951 - 77)   Wilhelmina Barnes Graham [Online]. England, Scotland and Wales. Available at:   https://www.artfund.org/explore/get-inspired/features/wilhelmina-barns-graham-and-art-fund  [Accessed 27th October 2025] http://www.carstenpeter.com/en/gallery.html  Carstenpeter.com, No date. No name, Carsten Peter [Online] Available at:  http://www.carstenpeter.com/en/gallery.html  [Accessed 5th November 2025]  adamburtonphotography.com, No date. No name, Adam Burton [Online]Available at:  https://www.adamburtonphotography.com/  [Accessed 5th November 2025] intragram.com, 2025.  Echoes in the Tide, Echoes of the Tide (July 8th 2025, July 11th 2025)  Alexandra Ghimisi [Online]Available at:  https://www.instagram.com/alexandra.ghimisi.art/?hl=en   [Accessed 5th November 2025]  joecornish.co.uk, No date.  Orkney, Windsock Bay. Requie...