Carmen McNally's Art

Below is my allocated space. I was originally supposed to show 3 piece, however I didn't manage to complete the cyanotype piece. The space works well for the 'Memory Layers' piece. If i could change one thing it would be the lighting as its a little dark in my space. I need to hang my perspex layers on the wooden beams but I need to work out the distance between them before I fix them into space. So far, I am not blown away about how my piece is beginning to look as I put it together. I feel that the pillar on white perspex is too overpowering over the background. I will continue putting it together but in the meantime I want to see if I can make up this pillar onto clear perspex if I have the time.  

In the video below, I speak about the hurdles I had to navigate through and how I overcame them. I know the small mistakes will only be noticed if I point them out, so I’m not going to beat myself up about them. I’m proud of how I improvised and found ways to get the layers cut out successfully. It showed me that I can problem-solve under pressure and still create something I’m happy with.

 I had to make a frame to hang my size A0 photograph. I was really proud of myself for doing this with simple instruction from the 3D workshop technician as I have never done this before, but now I know how to do it I can do it again. This will give my photo a professional finish once I painted the edges black.  These are the five wooden beams I painted to sit across my boards and support the perspex layers. I’ll rest them on top of my boards, and once I’m happy with the depth of each layer, I’ll fix them into place. My tutor advised me of this as I was going to use a frame that I had previously made. However, I am happy that I listen to him regarding the beams.

I printed in all 5 screens in pink first and the following day I printed in teal. I kept the continuity with the pink being on the right as I believe this suggested movement. I was a little concerned when I printed the street art as it looked like a negative print. I placed some newsprint paper underneath the clear perspex and I can see that it printed successfully. This was the only screenprint printed on white perspex as it will be the last layer. I did find that the teal and hot pink didn't create the navy that it did with my test piece. It came out with a more purple tone. I think the white background created a solid base for it to sit on. 

 The videos below shows my process using the UV light box to expose the fabric. I have my collage printed on two A1 pieces of acetate that I will join up to make it A0 on the UV box.  I unfortunately was unsuccessful as the cyanotype on A0-sized fabric washed straight off. I understand that there's no guarantee how it will turn out. I will try again with a different fabric next time.

I have made quite a lot of changes. I made a few more layers of blossom and I made the numbers and dials on the clock more highlighted. The acetate print on the left is the new improved version that I'm hoping will expose a lot better. This video documents my problem-solving and what I plan to do. I took a trip to Hobbycraft to purchase some soft netting fabric in size A0 that I will use first before trying the calico fabric.

Collage I created a collage on PhotoShop mixing together photos from my past. This beautiful blossom from outside my old house. The Sphinx in Crystal Palace Park, a close up of the Crystal Palace tower. A close up of whisteria from my old backgarden and the Thornton Heath clock tower from another area I lived in as a teenager. I had to use the lasso tools to cut around the sphinx, the clock tower and the other photos I want to use. It was extremely time consuming to remover the sky between the tower and blossom. However, it paid off as I was really happy with my outcome. This is my process of removing the background Next I will make a collage with the pictures. This is the collage I made layering the photos and changing the opacity to allow them to blend in together. I want this piece to be more abstract. I painted some A4 muslin cloth test pieces to see how it turned out.  The contrast on the acetate wasn't strong enough so when it was being exposed to light, you could barely...

  https://maverickbeyond.com/2024/09/25/cyanotype- sculptures-exploring-physical-space-with-photography/

 I have printed on paper to see if this is the look that I definately want Tony helped my get the right shade of teal  I really like the staggered effect. I want to use the pink on the right as they're walking left it has really created movement.

The technician from print made up 5 large screens, slightly bigger that size A1. I have got 5 pieces of 600cm x 100cm  perspex 4 clear and 1 white.  I just wanted to see how they looked layered up Even thought though the work of nun that is in the Print technicians office is a punk art theme and my work doesn't relate to it, I am still inspired by the colours and the staggered/double image effect. This is the effect I am going to test out on some paper first.