Real Life Barbie Doll...

I've been interested at seeing how the media really does come into play been trying to find newspaper articles which seem to show proof that it is a bad portrayal of women's image. Below is a link to an article that I just thought was pretty shocking about a mother who is a 'real living barbie' who let her 16 year old daughter be injected with botox.

It's so common nowadays for girls to be unhappy with how the look and this is because they turn to things they see in the media and to Barbie as their idols - this object of perfection.

http://www.webmd.boots.com/news/20100303/human-barbie-injects-her-teenage-daughter-with-botox

It seems that the Barbie doll is a key 'icon' within mainstream society and especially between young girls! Shocking...

It's been said that Barbie's waist was actually at one point in time even smaller than it is today! Complaints were taken to Mattel the toy company and there a voice was raised for the un-realistic body image it portrays to young girls and how dangerous it could be.

Statistics & 'A Beautiful Lie'

Below is a link to a web page I found on statistics about young girls and how unhappy they are with their body image even at the early age of 10!

It's very shocking, and was useful for my dissertation...It also talks about the mainstream culture of today and how this is imperil in how these young girls are understanding more about how their bodies 'should' look - but they shouldn't!

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Young-Girls-Unhappy-With-Appearance-Consider-Cosmetic-Surgery-And-Diets/Article/200911115430845

A Beautiful Lie. This shows how body image can be so manipulated and airbrushed. It makes you rethink what you see in the magazines and on tele and adverts. Is this perfected look really ever something girls will be able to have? It's a good example of how un-true the representations of women are which we see in the media and in mainstream culture...

Wake up Call...Freelance Illustration

Had a tutorial with Graham today about how to approach my interview for PPD. Was a real wake up call! Got so much to learn and experience before my interview...

- Need a new approach to my business card:

All information on there that people would want to know, what am I, who am I, email, website, phone number?

- Get a nice website together:

What are other illustrators using as portfolios? We have entered a digital age...What do they send to clients....how do they get clients?

- I need to get some client based work!!! How do illustrators go about doing that? Agents?

- SPEAK TO MATT about his life as a freelancer, what did he do when he left university? How does he get clients, how did he get clients...

- Write questions to send to many of my favourite illustrators

'What are the top 5 pieces of advice would you give to a freelance illustrator just starting out?'

'What were your experiences of starting your career?'

'What sort of work did you want when you started out'? How do you go about getting contacts? How does being a freelancer operate? Where is illustration now? How does freelancing all work? How much do you charge? The best way to network?

Attach my website

- Re-do Business Plan, work out costs, how much you charge for illustration to live comfortably?

- Research into how illustration is received now, where is illustration now, how will it develop over the next few years?

- Join AOI, ask questions

- Sort out CV:

Illustrator & Maker

Have subtitles on CV

Education near the bottom,they don't care what college you went to.

Exhibitions seperate

Publications

- Work experience within Art Therapy

- Course available, where they are wheres the best one?

IN INTERVIEW BE 'TO THE POINT'. - With lots of background knowlegde of any field you're going into.

Condensing the points above:

1. Informed on Art Therapy Courses

2. Must get work experience with the kind of people I want to be working with.

3. How do you get work as freelance illustrator!

4. Business Card

5. Who do I want to be illustrating for?

6. Re-do Business Enterprise Plan for Freelance Illustrator

7. Where do I see my work?

8. Do I need a website - Get portfolio as well. Digital and 3D

9. CV - Adjust it, add clients list and add subtitles.

10. Take charge of Interview, list what I want to tell them.

Things to Achieve...

...over the next few months:

- A fully functioning blog, with posts every other day of new illustrations

- Get Big Cartel up and running properly

- Plans for a website

- More jewellery design

- Practice Pyrography

- Speak to Grandmas

- Buy Leanne Shapton book and be her

- Work work work to develop a strong portfolio of 8 good examples of my work

- Experiment with wood....print techniques and stuff

- Stay excited :)

Beauty Within Society...

Beauty Within Society.

Below is a video that shows what the beauty industry and mostly then, the media has on society...
It is nothing but interesting when you really question what TV does to us, girls in particular?

Naomi Wolf - The Beauty Myth

Started reading this for my dissertation but I have continued to read on to get more of a knowlege of what's going on in the world in diffferent areas of subject in society, surrounding body image. Naomi's book talks about how 'The Beauty Myth' functions at work, in the media and in culture throughout society. Interesting chapters are 'Hunger' and 'Work', looks do get you places and beauty is important, especially within sexual selection.

Reading it, it's a kind of wake-up call to myself and many many others being a victim of 'The Beauty Myth'. Through work, through culture and through sex.

Black Swan...

Saw this film today...it's absolutely amazing! What really hit home to me was the metaphor, hidden within it at and at the end, which speaks to me and says that in the struggle to find perfection - ses contantly fighting herself all the way through the film, trying to be what she's not.

I feel that many girls are facing this within society today.

She's also trying to live up to the women that played the White Swan before her and this brings to light the idea of women in society always trying to better other women and striving to be like them.

Notes on THE GAZE.

This topic has been key in my dissertation subject and really identifies the idea of women being there to be looked at and observed and in turn women being aware of this and acting and looking a certain way. Do they really want to feel that they have to do this? It's making me think about possible images I could paint and put together, questioning women's will, to look a certain way and how they shouldn't care and enjoy their lives instead of constantly being aware of being watched.

Here are some notes I took on The Gaze, and these should really help me with research and understanding my subject more:

Big Cartel account...

Looked back at my Big Cartel webpage today and quite frankly it looks horrible, was looking at an illustrator I like page and really like the colours used and how fresh it looks, didn't realise it was bigcartel for a while...

http://jodybarton.bigcartel.com/

Mine looks terrible at the second, I'm going to try and work to make it look better and unrecognisable like Jody Bartons'. Also looking through the work he does which is bold in colour, but then looking at some of his other work which is done by brush and bright colours has made me want to experiment with colour more. I am really enjoying the zine which illustrators I admire put together as so for this project I want to make sure this is something I incorporate. I think I might start with the subject I chose as 'Things I don't believe' / 'Things you shouldn't believe'.

THE MALE GAZE - John Berger.

Been reading this as part of my dissertation, gaining more knowledge about the Male Gaze and how women are taught to self-regulate from a young age. They are very aware of being looked at and in turn are always making themselves look nice and want to look attractive at all time, being a 'sight'.

It also speaks of how the 'mirror' is now a symbol of a woman's vanity and this has lead me to think about the frames I will use within my work and brooches and also a possibility to involve them somehow in my final show.

I've found the old television series really useful and interesting to watch aswell...much like the book but nice to see something more visual! This particular clip is the part on the female nude within society...

Yummy Illustrators!

Come across a couple of total babes this week!

Gemma Correll:

As well as a gorgeous website...she has some lovely work, very cute.

Suzi Kemp:

Of course I've fallen in love with Suzi Kemps work because she is an ink user! I love her paining style but I also enjoy the subject matters that she deals with in her work. They have that serious but playful energy which I am wanting to portray in my work! A good find...

Idea of Approach...

Idea of Approach:

Been thinking lots about what it's important to achieve through my last few months at uni and about my life when I leave university. There will be so much competition when I leave and ultimately I need a knock-out portfolio and a good start professionally.

So I begin this module wanting to ultimately prepare for life after Vis Com!

Expanding all my work and becoming confident in showing myself and talking about myself...

This will come through:

- building a website

- being able to describe who I am and what I do properly

- A good business card

- a good portfolio

- reaching other creatives who inspire me and learning from them

- Keeping up to date with the world of illustration and everyone in it

Female Desires: Rosalind Coward.

Rosalind Coward's 'Female Desires', discusses this idea of the female form being the wrong one and this idea that fiction has seen a sexual revolution or that pornography has almost merged into mainstream fiction. The representations of female sexuality in today's culture, reinforce the role of women in society today. The role women play has been the same for so long that it seems it is not open to change. Coward discusses Romance, royalty, food and fashion, also comparing it with other theorists, examining the controversial things which govern our perceptions of female sexuality.