Self portrait
I gave myself the assignment to create a self-portrait in order to practice my drawing and painting skills. I started out with making lots of studies from different angles of my face and the upper part of my body, using photos or a mirror. First using only pencils, then trying out different colors and painting techniques. I decided I liked working with unrealistic colors for this painting.
The final piece was made using acrylic paint on canvas.
Knölniur
My friend Juul Janssen and I started a little project just for fun. It started out as a drawing game where we alternately took turns in adding something to the drawing, both using a different colored pencil. We created a poster of an absurd kind of fantasy world and a fantasy animal called Knölnuir.
Knölniur is a genderless creature that is supposed to be very ugly and weird, with bare human feet as front legs, leaf-blowers as back legs that has crooked eyes and a long tongue sticking out. We think his weirdness and ugliness makes him lovable.
Juul is an illustration/animation student and made a digital poster of this world. We liked Knölniur so much that we made more sketches and drawings of it. I made my own sketches and impressions and we made t-shirts, stickers and even Christmas and birthday cards.
Tiles
Tiles
I did a workshop on tile making that I really enjoyed. I learned different techniques working with clay and plaster. We approached the tiles as a form of art instead of them only being functional.
I made a press mold out of plaster to reproduce my handmade tile, this tile has a cross shaped pattern based on a tattoo of a pine tree that I have on the back of my leg.
I also made a tile in which plaster is the final product, instead of it being sketching material or a mold. I pressed some plant parts into a piece of clay, then took them out and poured plaster over it, making it look as if there are plants in the plaster.
Ugly ceramics
They are not finished yet, but I am making a few small ceramic works with faces that are a bit unsettling and ugly. I like making these to practice with clay and sculpting.