T-shirt Designs

I tried exploring some of the t-shirt designs I'd roughed out today. I quite happy with out they're turning out, but I'm a little worried that they're loosing their initial raw energy. They also feel a little pre-manufactured and not very original. At least with my adelphi church and no more ctrl+z designs, they were quotes from Stew that felt relevant but didn't explicitly showcase the music scene here.

I'm starting to feel a little lost with this project. Though my intention of exploring and showcasing the Hull music scene is still there, I'm starting to feel a little uneasy about the clothing line aspect of the project. Sometimes I feel as though I'm doing a lot more design work than I am illustrating which is leaving me a little uneasy..

TedxHull; A2 Sketch

Pencil Sketch before drawing on the day

Sketching out my image onto A2 took a LOT more time than I thought it would haha. I have some nails up in my room with large bulldog-clips hanging off them that I was able to attach my A2 piece of paper to so it lent against the wall. This allowed me to look at the piece straight on as I was sketching it so I didn't get a warped perspective leaning over a desk to draw the image. 

Though this process took a long time, I'm really glad I did it BEFORE going to draw live. It showed how much time it took to translate the scale, proportion and composition successfully onto the A2 work from an A4 sketch. I needed these details to be correct so I didn't have to worry about placement of things too much during the inking process.

It was at this stage I also decided to ditch the open fields at the top of the image and replace them with text. While I was drawing I was conscious of time, if it took this long to sketch it how long would it take to add all the details to the piece? I decided to fill in the top to cut down the amount of drawing I'd be doing on the day, I also think it allowed the piece to breathe a little more and not look overly cluttered. 

I feel confident going to draw on Friday with this sketch to hand, I'll be transporting the piece with me via train, rolling it up so it doesn't get damaged on the way. 

Fanzine/ Promo Posters?

Using the ideas/ethos of my project so far, I whipped up these quick fanzine style posters today that could be used as a way of promoting the project, or be given away free with the merchandise? I wanted to collage these by hand so they had that DIY/punk feel to them. Photocopying them onto thicker, coloured card gave them a little bit more life too. 

What I like about these posters is I feel like they sum up perfect what I'm trying to accomplish and champion in this project. These obviously feel very far from a finished piece, but I think they capture quite succinctly what this project is about; I just need to push this further.

TedxHull; Rough Composition Drawings

Drawings from collage

In response to the previous college for TedxHull I thought it'd be helpful to try sketching the image out a couple of times quickly so I could get a feel for how I needed to draw the piece. I liked the overall composition but I needed to be sure I'd be able to make the piece work in my own tone of voice. After bashing out these two quick scamps I think I am going to go ahead with this composition. Given that the live-drawing is on the 31st March and I'd like to have a rough sketch done on my paper ahead of the event, it was useful to try out this quick exercise before drawing it out A2. 

TedxHull; Ideas and Composition of piece

Ideas;

• The theme of the event is 'From Where I Stand'. Joe said I didn't have to incorporate this into my image but I thought the live art would work best if it fed off the themes of the talks. Whilst thinking of ideas, I thought it best to start with my own experiences. From Where I Stand is a very personal theme, and given that I would be travelling back home for this piece, I thought about doing something based around my growing up in Hull.
• I'm a strong believer in that the person and attitudes I have today are as of a result of growing up in Hull. I love my home city and I'm very proud of where I come from, given the theme of the event, I thought about my piece centralizing on personal experience.
• As for media, every time I've done a live art event previous to this I've used acrylic paint and board/ canvas. This time however I'd like to use some heavyweight paper and pens. I've been big on my linework this year and this seems like a good opportunity to really get into the crafting of an image. I spoke to Joe about whether or not we'd need easel's and boards to prop out work onto, and he assured me we;d be working against a smooth concrete wall, so as long as the pen wouldn't run through the paper, I was fine to masking tape my piece straight onto the wall. Good times. 

Research;

• I thought it'd be important to draw influences from my environment growing up in Hull, so the piece would perhaps be more relatable to the general public. 
• I chose a few key locations from both my childhood and teenage years, these were made up of a mixture of residential areas, pubs and clubs. 
• Knowing that I wouldn't be going home next until the day I was live drawing, I used google maps to gather up secondary research material and references for image-making. I also took photographs of myself as a reference for a central figurative character. Hull's a very working class city, and a lot of the residents are fans of Adidas (I think almost everyone I grew up with at home owns an Adidas jacket) so I thought it'd be a nice touch to add that detail into the character design.

Mock-Up Image;

• I wanted to make a collage 'mock-up' of what I was thinking the final piece was going to look like. This allowed me to quickly have a look at composition, scale, and whether or not the piece worked. I wanted the figure to be central to the image, with the surrounding areas branching out from that. I eventually came up with the final composition as seen in the issuu post above. 

Give Em Hull; Considering purpose, tshirt designs and Pizza for the People Research

Pizza for the People

- Promoter and event organiser in Leeds

- Puts on gigs

- Invites local and independent food outlets to each event

- First "Indie Banquet" (name of their events) was hosted in October

- Just had their 4th event since

I thought that give em hull could operate in a way similar to Pizza for the People, but would have their own merchandise for sale at the events and online via a store. The events put on by Give Em Hull would also largely be for charity or local fundraising reasons, in order to be an example for "practice what you preach" in giving back through the music scene.

I keep trying to narrow down exactly what this project has become. Is it a branding/campaign project now more than a poster project? I keep playing with the logo and today tried to come up with some more music related iconography to put onto the back of tshirts. These are just rough scamps at this point, but I'm hoping to explore them larger scale within my sketchbook to determine which ones are working best.

TEDxHull; The Brief

The Client;

• TEDxHull (independently organised TEDtalk event
• At Hull Truck Theatre
• Contacted via email by Joseph Cox on behalf of TEDxHull

The Brief;

• Hi Jazz,

I’m part of the team that organise TEDxHull, a day of TED talks at Hull Truck theatre. At the breaks in between the talks we like to have some things going on in the foyer to keep people entertained. (30 mins in the morning, 30 in the afternoon and 45 at lunch). We've had artists each year doing live art and wondered if you’d like to do it this year?
The whole event is ran not for profit, so I’m afraid as with the speakers and the organisers ourselves there’s no money in it. But we’ve happy to put a small amount towards materials if required. 

Let me know what you think? 

Cheers,
Joe

Rationale;

• Though unpaid, I think this event offers a good opportunity for networking and coverage. I know as freelancers we're not meant to ever do work for free, but given that this is a not for profit organisation in which the speakers themselves also aren't getting paid, and given that it's a local event, I think it's something that I'd like to do. I love taking part in live art events (this will actually be my fourth live art event in front of a crowd in less than two years wowza) as the atmosphere always tends to be one of enjoyment and community spirit. Speaking to Joe I've also been informed we're welcome to sit in on any of the talks too, and that food and drink will also be provided throughout the day.
• It is from a networking perspective, however, that this brief appeals the most. I've been wanting to meet Joe for a while as he runs the Hull based print shop Form that sells a lot of local artist and illustrators work via both their online store and stalls at craft fairs and events (such as this one). He could prove to be a value contact if I decide I want to sell some of my work via another channel. James Fenwick, A Hull based illustrator, will also be providing live art during the day. I'm a fan of James' work, and as someone who has worked for national music clients on gig posters and design jobs, I'd really like to speak to him about how he got those contacts in the first place. To the best of my knowledge he completed his illustration degree in Hull, so I want to know how he found the music jobs that he's completed.

Some Quick mock-ups; FMP

After my sketches the other day, I decided to quickly run them through photoshop and inject some colour to see how they were looking. Though my work so far has been really raw for this project so far, I think that reflects the atmosphere and vibe that I'm going for. Unrestrained, raw and unapologetic.

I ran the first couple of designs through photoshop as posters. I really wanted to bring that bold, almost nostalgic, colour to the pieces to really make them stand out. I chose the yellow and red on the two inside posters to reflect the branding colour of the Adelphi. 

I also ran my rough give em hull logo through a site that allows you to order custom embroided merchandise. I wanted to try it on a cap as it's a common item of clothing among the underground music scenes. I took one of my church designs and quickly mocked that up onto a t-shirt too, proposing that the illustrated design would be on the back while the give em hull logo was on the front of the shirt. 

I actually really like how the mocked up tshirt came out. I'm seriously considering turning this project into a material screen printing one rather than one that is poster based. I think if I mocked up a website that explained the ethos and intentions of 'give em hull', the merchandise would fit in well with that. It's something I'm thinking about for sure.

Further Play; FMP

I spent this day writing out a rough 'manifesto' of what I wanted 'Give 'Em Hull' to represent. I took the majority of the campaign objectives from the conversation I'd had with Stew, and the idea of supporting your local space and community. If I were to make this into a brand, these could be posted on the website as something to stand for. Using the merch as a way of spreading the message and getting more artists and musicians involved.

I was thinking about also proposing that give em hull would also organise and put on events to raise money for charity. I used the company 'Pizza for People' as a reference for this idea. Pizza for People organise gigs within the Leeds area, putting on a group of bands as well as organising independent food stalls to appear at the events. I was thinking 'Give em Hull' could perhaps be a hull version of this, but with the profits going to a charity or particular cause in keeping with current events? I know this is a lot to consider, but it's something I'm really trying to figure out. I'd like the works that I make for this project to give something back to a scene that shaped me so much in my teenage years, I'm a little concerned however that this might be too much to take on in the time left available? I'm unsure.

Considering a change of format?

After my conversation with stew I began considering the format of my final pieces. Did I want to target the general public, or did I want to target the musicians of Hull? I kept thinking about the gigs that Stew and Freaks Union put on to raise money for overseas causes. I began thinking about the possibility of running a campaign to champion that kind of thinking, and get the Hull music scene more involved in activism.

With this thought in mind, I began to consider the relevance of gig posters if this was the route I wanted to go down? Perhaps a different format would be a better way of expressing this message and getting local bands involved.

It was at this point I coined the phrase 'Give 'Em Hull'. The words almost naturally fell into place while I was thinking of a slogan or name for this work to branch under. I began to consider using merchandise as a way of spreading this idea that musicians should give more of a shit about what's going on in the world. To prove that they were brave in standing up for something worthy and that they believed in. I considered at this point that I could illustrate punky designs and put them on t-shirts and merch brandishing the title 'Give 'Em Hull'. The Give Em Hull 'company' or 'brand' would then donate some of the profits of the t-shirt sales to places like The Warren that help young people in Hull access much needed counselling services, as well as giving back to the music scene.

I understand this may seem like a big leap to take from my original idea, but it's something that I'm considering at this point. Using slogans and quotes from my conversation with Stew, as well as mottos and sayings that I feel reflect what I'm trying to say could be brandished on the t-shirts too.

At this point I don't want to put myself into a box too much, but this is something that I'm considering as a format to move forward with. My aim to to continue to play around loosely right now, and see what kind of work comes from that.

FMP; Talk with Stewart (Warren Records)

Today I had my phone interview with Stewart Baxter. It lasted about an hour in total and his answers and points of discussion were really interesting and helpful!!

Speaking about how the old punk scene used to get involved with raising money for charity and taking part in marches is something that I hadn't heard about before. What really came across in this interview was Stew's passion for the music scene here and what it stands for. Though he admitted there was less activism within the music scene (he felt it was coming more from the arts scene now) he still believed that the bands in Hull carried with them a similar ideal and community spirit that was active during the late 90s - early noughties.

Moving on from this interview, I think I'd really like to implement some of the ideals that Stewart talked about; passion, community, hard graft. I'd quite like to create a series of work that inspires musicians in Hull to consider how they can continue to make music for a difference (or at the very least to say something).

This conversation has really lit a fire under my ass to get this project going. I really want to make something that's filled with as much passion as Stew was talking about, I hope that's something I can do!!

interview with stew written while on the phone

Contacting Stew

• I recently contacted Stewart Baxter from Warren Records about possibly doing an interview about the Hull music scene and his thoughts about how it's changed and evolved since he first became a part of it. Stew has been super helpful and agreed to take part, so I took the day to write out some questions to ask him over the phone.
• Telephone interview works best as it allows for a more conversational tone of voice and I think you get more from a human conversation than you do form a written 'questionnaire' style of interview.

Questions I intend to ask Stew;

- How long have you been in the Hull punk music scene?
-  How did you get into it?
- What bands have you been in?
- Any memories that stand out (ask at the end)
- How has the scene changed since the 1990's?
- How about the style from then to now?
- Have the venues changed?
- How many people were in the scene compared to now? Was it a close knit community?
- The ages of people involved? (varied or not)
- Did you use to do anything other than gigs?
- Best memory to date?

• Though I have these written down as rough questions, I don't feel obliged to stick to them all during the interview. I'm hoping Stew feels comfortable enough to go off on tangents and discuss things I perhaps wouldn't have thought about asking. Though I'd consider myself as fairly involved within the current Hull music scene, I have nowhere near as much experience in the field as Stew, so I'm hoping he can shine some light onto things I previously didn't know about.

Initial Start on FMP

Today I started with some sketches for my FMP. I know I want the focus to be on the underground Hull music scene, but I'm not sure which direction I want to take this in yet. My end goal is to showcase the Hull scene in a way that's engaging to the public, and informative about the underground culture here. With Hull being city of culture, I think quite a few of the grassroots places and people here are already being given space to shine, which means that my own work would have to stand out from the pre-existing city of culture work.

I started with what I know, which is that a lot of the home grown music talent here is born through venues such as The Adelphi and The Warren Youth Project. I did a little more research into the backgrounds of both places, but really I just wanted to start making some practical work. I'm really trying to get across the bravery and resilience of such places. I've chosen to work in an A3 sketchbook for this brief, in the hopes that it pushes and encourages me to work bolder and with less fears of making things 'neat and perfect'. I believe the work should reflect the Hull passion and bravery, so bold honest illustrations are what I'm looking for here.

RESEARCH SUMMED UP

Adelphi

- The New Adelphi Club has open for 33 years now

- Hosted bands such as Pulp, Oasis, Radiohead, Green Day. The Beautiful South

- Holds local gigs every week

- Massive supporter of local music scene

- Feels like home

The Warren

- Local charity for Hull youth

- Proves free counselling and other services to young people 

- Provides free music recording, producing, workshops etc as well as rehearsal space

- Warren Records also releases music for young people via their label

- Been around around 30 years also

For the past 30 years, The Warren Youth Project – an independent charity - has been providing vital support services to marginalised and vulnerable young people in Hull. Operating from a former fire- station in Hull city-centre, the Warren’s staff team offers free support, guidance, training, music, education and counselling services to young people aged 14-25 who are experiencing unemployment, homelessness, isolation, sexual abuse, physical abuse, drug-abuse, bullying, neglect, domestic violence, family-relationship breakdown, learning difficulties, racism and homophobia. We also work very closely with young people who are experiencing physical and mental health problems such as self-harming, eating disorders, depression, psychosis, STDs and loneliness to name but a few.

We also provide a music service – Warren Records (link here) – which supports young people to develop their musical potential in any field or genre by providing free rehearsal and recording studio space and support. As well as being a vital element of our strategy to support and empower vulnerable young people, Warren Records also plays a prominent role in the city’s arts community by facilitating access for those who might not otherwise engage and is also working with City of Culture 2017 to promote local music and local musicians. It is now a primary partner in all the city’s major arts festivals and has successfully facilitated countless live performances along with the digital release of hundreds of music recordings which may otherwise have never been heard due to the unaffordability of recording facilities to young people.

Moving forward I was thinking about contacting Stewart Baxter from Warren Records as he's someone I've built a good professional friendship with over the past year or so. I think he'd be happy to help with my project, and getting his take on the music scene would be really beneficial. As well as working at Warren Records for a few years now, Stew has also been in the Hull punk scene for quite some time. I'm hoping that having some primary research will give my work a sense of authenticity.