The China Cutlery

MTo further explore the interiors and lifestyle of the upper class passengers whilst on board the Titnaic, I decided to draw a piece of cutlery which would have been used by these guests of this elegant vessel. 

This fork has a delicately decorated ceramic handel which was the main reason I decided to draw this. Ceramics would be one area which I hope to explore further in my project as it was so commonly found on board the Titanic. 

The Workmans boot (2)

I decided to revisit imges of the de stressed work man boots that I had collected as I was very found of the detail in the harsh tired leather aswell as the fraying shoe laces. This was to reinforce the idea of time passing. I chose to create this piece using the mono printing method with black inks into scrap brown paper. 

The Chandelier

An interior which was commonly found throughout the Titanic first class areas were crystal chandeliers. These lighting fixtures draped in the elegance of crystals, added to the ambience of the ship. 

To draw this piece I choose to use tonal pencils aswell as colouring pencils. This was intended to convey the idea of time passing. The tonal study section was to illustrate the black and white photos of the titanic which we today are able to see  whilst the colour pencil was to illustrate how the chandeliers would have looked in full colour to a passenger in the upper class quarters themselves during their time on the magnificent vessel. 

The Feathered Fan

For my next piece I decided to take an observational study of a feathered fan. I thought this would be an appropriate piece to draw as it directly symbolises the elegance of titanic interiors. Feathered fans were commonly used my the upper class passengers of the titanic. The use of a fan symbolises power, wealth and eligance, all of which are also closely associated with the opulent floors of the Titanic. I thought chalks would have been a good medium to use to create an illustration of this feathered fan as chalks create a very soft finish to a piece and I thought this would be appropriate to convey the soft and lightness of the black and peacock feathers.  I liked the smokey finish chalks had, however, I persoannally found them quite messy and I was unable to achieve a level of desired detailing. 

The Tea Cup

After creating a few drawings mainly focusing on the actual building aspect of the titanic I wanted to develop my project by bringing in the grand elegance within the first class. I decided the draw a tea cup and saucer as this type of fine china was commonly found on board. I also thought this would be a great piece to be able to create experimentation pieces from through ceramic, textiles and pattern making. I used colouring pencil to bring out the vibrant colours which convey a sense of energy and class which would have been felt within the first class areas of the titanic through its food, music and dancing. By using the colouring pencils I found that I had created quite a waxy finish to the piece. This made me think once again of the oils found on the ship yards. I liked this effect as it inabled me to make a direct contrast between the opulence of the first class areas to the harsh conditions of the ship yards. I feel this was helped by the addition of darker colours around the tea cups edge to create depth to the piece. 

The Workman's Boot

I decided to do a close up tonal study of an old work man boot which would have been worn by the ship yard workers during the building of the titanic. I chose to do a close up piece to truly illutrate the tired leather and work down soles of the boot. The worn leather represents time and stress. I felt that by using tonal pencils it was much easier to capture the essence of time by creating a black and white image. 

The Oil Lantern

I chose to paint this old rustic oil lantern as this would have been one commonly found in the shipyards during the darker months or when the workers were working late into the night. This lantern was a lot more basic in comparison to the crystal or delicately decorated ones which would have been found on board within the 1st class areas. This directly shows the contrast between the grand elegance and the harsh ship building conditions. 

One of my inspirational artists for this piece was belfasts own artist Terry Bradley whom created a project named 'Sailor Town' where he included portrates of ship workers. One of Bradley's pieces was a blue painting of an angel name the 'Hope Angel'.  When I seen this piece after learning it's name to be 'Hope Angel' I immediately thought of angels association with death. During the sinking of the titanic 1,500 lives were stolen. The fact this angel is called Hope lead to me to imagine the emotions of those on board the titanic during its sinking, all the had was Hope. I really loved the blues used and don't think the piece would have had a better effect with the addition of any more colours. The blues inspired me to think of the ice and cold temperatures of the water. I thought this was a good linking aspect to incorporate with the oil lanterns. Like Bradley's piece I decided to drip the bottoms by watering down my paints and blowing through a straw allowing them to drip across my page in different directions. For my piece this was to portray the lantern smashing as though it had fallen as the ship hit the ice berg. 

The Ropes

My next drawings were observational tonal studies of some ropes. I decided to create two different rope drawings as I thought this would benifit when I came to my experimentation where I would be able to possibly create patterns and effect using the different twists and knots in the ropes. Similarly to the chains, these drawings were intended to portray the harsh conditions through which these ships were built. The slight fraying of the ropes portray tiredness, a lack of strength and working over a long period of time. These are experiences which were also faced by the ship builders themselves whilst working on the titanic. I chose to use normal pencils to create these pieces to reinforce the idea of time scale. The photos of the titanic and that era which I observed  during my research were all in black and white due to the lack of technology. Through tonal studies I feel that they iusteate this illusion of older day photos well. 

The Chains

My first observational drawing was of two  chains which are now rusted as they were exposed to water over time. I decided to draw this as I wanted to illustrate chains which would have been used during the ship building of the Titanic. It was important for the chains to be rusted and old as I wanted to portray the harsh conditions through which the titanic was build using the likes of these chains. When drawing these chains I used colouring pencils as I felt I was able to create an almost waxy finish to the drawing. This was in order to give the illusions of the oils and dirt would would have coated the workers building the ship. I also incorporated a range of colours to bring in the idea of the luxurious fabrics which draped the titanic to link the harsh conditions during the building of the ship and the grand upulance of the finished vessel. 

My Inspiration

The Titanic was one of 3 'Olympic Class' liners commissioned by the White Star Line which was built at the Harland and Wolf shipyard in Belfast. Construction of the magnificent vessel began on march 31st 1909. the titanic is known to be one of the industrial marvels of its age, with the titanic being the biggest, fastest and most luxurious.

Finally after 3 years the Titanic was built and ready to set sail on her maiden voyage. Passengers on this elegant vessel consisted of silent movie stars, school teachers, millionaires and emigrants whom all shared the dream of finding a new life in America where this ship was intended to sail to.
on the fifth day of the during, reports of ice forced Captain Edward Smith to travel along a new path. Sunday 14th of April 1912, the sky was moonless, the waves drew flat and the air was chilling. These conditions made spotting ice on the water incredibly difficult for the ship crew.

11:40pm : ''Ice berg! right ahead!" 40 seconds later and a series of holes where being torn into the hull of the titanic. with immediate reports from the chief architect Thomas Andrews, that the ship would defiantly sink. the titanic was built to stay afloat even if 4 of the front hulls were breached however, 6 of the ships hulls were immediately breached and 5 of which were completely flooded within the hour.
less than three hours later, the titanic lay still on the Atlantic ocean floor, 4km down, claiming the lives of 1,500.
For many people, the tragic fate of the sinking of the Titanic would come to mark the passing of the opulence of the Edwardian era and foreshadowed the global tragedy of World War One. The story of the Titanic captured the imagination of the public across the globe, spawning countless books, films, plays, memorials, museums and exhibitions. The discovery of the wreck by oceanographer Robert Ballard on a Franco-American expedition in 1985 gave rise to a fresh wave of interest that continues to this day.

An example of this method of revival of the Titanic would be the newly built titanic quarters in Belfast which is in close proximity to the actual Harland and Wolf shipyards themselves. This waterfront regeneration of the Titanic opened on march 31st 2012 to march the anniversary of the ships maiden voyage on march 31st 1909. the building of the titanic quarters was a huge investment, costing £97million, however it invested into the imaginations and hearts of people across the world, with a recording of 8000,000 visitors in its first year of opening. others believe this revival of the titanic brought back pride to the people of Belfast as it did when the ship was built there initially.

An Introduction to my Project

The Titanic, famous for being the unsinkable ship that hit an ice burg and sunk, or to some, the ship that never sank. To me, the Titanic had great mystery behind it which I wanted to explore and develop through my project.
In the movie, with Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio, we get a sense of the luxury and beauty in the ship. I thought this would be a great aspect to focus on through experimentation with textiles as there is so much to do, whether that be the fine dining china or the luxurious fabrics that draped the ships in great elegance.
 However, after visiting the newly built Titanic Quarters in Belfast I was made aware of the harsh conditions through which these ships were built. This gave me the idea to base my project on the contrast between the 1st class experience on The Titanic with the harsh working conditions that the ship yard workers experienced.