Memories – Holly Goforth

200 Word Statement – Reflective Piece on the Journey of Producing the Work:

I chose to respond to the quilt ‘Three Ships from Hull’, a quilt based on the explorer Captain Cook. The Quilt is made from a cyanotype process and is made up of images showing the places Captain Cook explored and different objects he found there. To create my own response, collected photographs I have taken from different places I have visited or travelled to. Such as, the lake District, Cornwall, Dorset, Italy, and Amsterdam. I then placed these images in a similar layout to the quilt. I have experimented with collaging paper cut out from a magazine to make up images of these places. I then worked on top of the collage with coloured pencils. This helped to add depth, texture. For my response I wanted to focus on travel, holidays and more importantly the memories you create in these different places away from home with the people your travel with. My work therefore became more focussed on souvenirs and commemorating your travels. I used air drying clay to shape rectangular, square and circular plaques before sketching out the illustrations I had created from my photographs on top. I then used watercolour and gouache paints to create my illustrations of places I have visited.

200 Word Statement – on the Work Produced:

The work I have produced is in response to the travel and exploration aspects of the ‘Three Ships from Hull’ quilt. I explored ideas of memories you make when traveling across the country or to other places around the world. These are often memories you talk about years later or stories that you tell your friends and family when you get home. During these trips, we often want to buy objects or find something to take home to remind us of our journey. In tourist towns or cities, it is easy to find souvenirs to buy that we place in our homes. The work I have created represents places I have visited and the memories I have from my visits. I created the plaques from white airdrying clay, working with clay was something new for me. I then created the illustrations using watercolour and gouache paints. Then to link to the seaside and countryside settings of the illustrations I used yard to hang the plaques – the yard reminded me of nets you would find at a coastal town. The plaques are arranged together in a box frame. They are objects that you could place around your home, on the walls or even out in your garden – they are on display to remind you of the journey and memories you have with friends and family when exploring new places.

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