Illustration students in general were asked if they were interested in helping out the people at Drake Circus by creating and implementing a large chalk illustration on the floor outside the shopping mall.
Of course, me and Micah said we would do it!
The people at Drake Circus saw the lovely chalk artwork that was done at college for the summer show so luckily for us the main person behind this was able and willing to help us out and we definitely would not have been able to do this without Cass Horsley! (And her amazing A level students who helped out on the day too).
There were alot of time restrictions and other external factors we had to consider for this project which was quite a challenge as usually we work with pencils and paper but this time we had to think about ordering chalk, making sure out design was suitable for the materials/space, what days we were all free as it would take a good few hours, what days were going to be dry as this project could only go ahead if the weather permitted us!!
Also, we had only a few days to get the design created, approved by the marketing bods at college and then forwarded to the marketing people at Drake Circus (as they wanted the chalking finished by the weekend). Me and Micah spent alot of time in the canteen sketching out ideas together, luckily we both approached the task in different ways; Micah started creating characters and icons etc. whereas i began by drawing out some background images and playing with typography which meant we could easily merge our ideas into one cohesive design.
It was a challenge to come up with a design (one that would be very public!) in such a short amount of time but we tackled it head on and through email were able to get the designs approved by everyone and ready to draw up!
We settled on the only dry day of the week, started drawing at 10 am and were finished by just gone 2 pm (just as it started to rain!). It was really good to work with other students from the college and amazing to see our design so large and in so public a space.
Here is the press release from the marketing department at college:
Let us draw your attention…
To celebrate the launch of a new free Wi-Fi service at Drake Circus Shopping Centre in Plymouth, students from nearby Plymouth College of Art will be using their creative talents to produce some eye-catching street art on Thursday 31st October 2013.
The new Wi-Fi service, in partnership with BT, will enable shoppers to surf the net while they shop. Second year students Charmaine McDonough and Micah Shaw, both studying BA (Hons) Illustration at the college, were set the task of working together to develop a design which they will transfer onto the pavement in coloured chalk. Assisting them in the impressive chalking project will be a group of Plymouth College of Art A-Level students, Eleanor Tucker, Emma Nichols, Liam Jenner, Claire Downing and Summer Varley. Lecturer Cass Horsley, who is also a photographer and printmaker, will be coordinating the team “A project like this one gives students an idea of what they can do professionally. Integrating HE and FE students is also very important, it gives them a great sense of progression.”
The project has been planned, designed and created by the students in less than two weeks and the students were lucky to have an open creative brief from Drake Circus.
Charmaine McDonough one of the two illustrators commented “We jumped at the chance to work together on something that would be high impact and visible to lots of local people. Its been great to have a brief that is open to us to interpret’
Proposed design by BA(Hons) Illustration students Charmaine McDonough and Micah Shaw.
A-Level student, Claire Downing said “It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to work together with other students on a big project out of the College.”
Cass has previously worked on a similar project for the Plymouth College of Art end of year Summer Show in June, the artwork, designed by student Jess Driver provided a colourful welcome to visitors of the show.
Cass in action and the completed Summer Show chalking
Why not pop along to see the artwork come to life outside Drake Circus Shopping Centre by the corner glass door entrance at the top of the stairs near Marks and Spencer on Thursday 31st October.
To get online at Drake Circus, search for ‘BTWifi - Drake Circus Shopping Centre’ on your smartphone or tablet.
End
Drake Circus Press Office
To arrange pictures or interviews please contact Leanne Daw, PR and Communications Officer for Plymouth College of Art on 01752 203434 ext 789 or email press@pca.ac.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
Plymouth College of Art’s origins date back to 1856 and we are a specialist and independent art college in the heart of Plymouth city centre. We offer a distinctive variety of programmes in art, design, crafts and media from part-time and short courses through to Foundation Degrees and BA (Hons) Degrees, and Postgraduate degrees, Creative Professional Development and Business courses serving the needs of the creative industries sector. Currently some 2,500 students are enrolled at the College.
Continuing investment in the College’s estate and technical resources, coupled with highly qualified staff, ensures that all students have access to a high quality practice-based experience, enabling them to achieve their full potential. The College is recognised for its effective partnership and collaboration, for example in widening participation into learning and exceptional quality employer engagement, while also being a member of the National Arts Learning Network.
Design work:
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| final design!!! We had to simplify it quite a bit because of how we were going to render it but still looks good i think! |
In the flesh...
Even though it rained just as we finished there was a great sense of accomplishment and the people at Drake Circus loved it as well as the lovely members of the public who came so see what we were up to!
It was a great opportunity to work on a live brief for a real client, especially such an open brief and even better i got to work with Micah on the designs which we don't get to do very often :-) .
