Body of Creative Work

Nina Musial
 Variation- Tuesday
Provocation
I really enjoyed this task where we were
asked to produce 40 drawings, in
different styles, points of view, etc. I
chose a skull as my object, as I was
already interested in the human form,
and I felt like it was fitting. I drew
multiple different types of skulls, as well
as a ribcage to relate to what I was
drawing. I used mostly pencil and used
my prop skull in different perspective,
but I did try to incorporate pen and
charcoal.
 Object – Tuesday Provocation
Here is my attempt at the object task at one
of the Tuesday provocations. We were
described objects where we didn’t know what
they were, and we were told to draw them
from things as 'small circle on the left' and
such. I think I did a good job, as confusing as
the task was, but it was good fun, and it made
me think more critically about descriptions
and how they can affect perception of an
object.
Collage – Tuesday Provocation
I love creating collages. It's so fun cutting pieces out and picking
where they go, to make the whole picture come together, so
when I was tasked to create one, I was very happy. I brought a
magazine that I could cut stuff out of, as well as printed out a
few pictures which I liked.
I tried to create a fever-dream effect on this paper, to create the
feeling of a night-terror. It's something I experience often, so I
feel like my piece is quite accurate. I tried expressing the horror
and fear I feel during them.
 Hybrid – Tuesday
Provocation
In this provocation class we were told to
go out and take videos of things from 5-
30 seconds, I set out on a journey to take
videos of everything green that I saw. I
managed to take around 30 videos, and
they were all of something green that I
spotted. I know most people just did
interesting things they saw, but green is
my favourite colour and I wanted to
experiment with my observational skills.
 Group Trip – Intervention
We were tasked with taking pictures and drawing from the trip
we went on to Great Yarmouth. I chose to take pictures of
shadows, and then proposed a work of horror- a monster that
would stalk people as they walked down the streets and beaches
in Yarmouth.
This was supposed to be a group project, however I decided to
do it alone, and present my work as one cohesive thing, isolated
from other people, as though I was being haunted by the
monster myself.
 3D Workshop
I was invited to the 3D Workshop to create a piece of art, and in a streak
of thought, I made another skull. It first started off with sketches, where I
disassembled the skull itself and decided to make the top skull itself out of
foam, and the bottom out of acrylic.
The foam part I had to use small hot melting devices, where I carved out
the skull shape.
The bottom jaw was more difficult- I first had to cut out acrylic, where it
snapped. I had to mend it back together with some toxic glue. I then used
a heat blaster to melt it a bit, and I then bent it.
I had a lot of fun making it, and I feel like I will return to the 3D workshop
again to experiment more with the figure itself.
 Etching / Intaglio Workshop
I absolutely loved this workshop. I was introduced to
intaglio/etching once more, as I had done it in my previous
university, but this time I truly loved it. There was something
about the intricate way I had to etch into the plastic plate which
really struck me. I once again did something to do with the
figure, this time a ribcage. It took a lot of time to get this level of
detail, around 2 hours of obsessive etching, but I managed to get
a result I loved. Inking up the plate was also a fun process, where
I had to ink up the plastic plate, and then had to wipe it off,
however leaving it in the grooves so that when it was put
through the press it would still leave an impression of the ink.
Printing Workshop
This workshop was very fun, as I have
never tried screen printing before.
We were given pre-made stencils,
however we were also taught how to
make them; you have to use a dark
room which is so cool. I tried to use a
single colour at first with my ink,
however I got more adventurous at
the end and tried multiple. I really
liked using the red and blue, however
I did make a few mistakes, like not
pressing down hard enough and
getting ink stains on the paper.
Carboard structures
We were set a project to create sculptures and pieces
with a 3d element, and my group chose to do an
abstract ribcage.
The structure in the middle is the sternum, while the
spikes are meant to be the ribcage.
I had a lot of fun trying to create something to do
with my project through 3d, as I don't often work
with it. It was a lot of work, but I still ejoyed it.
 Great Yarmouth Trip
During the first weeks, my group travelled to Great
Yarmouth, and we were tasked with making a project
about it. My group chose to do it about the famous
horse sanctuary, the old house of Hannah Sewell.
I drew a lot of horse skeletons, since it's something I'm
interested in, and it was fun exploring a brand new type
of anatomy that I had never tried before.
I also sketched the outside of the house, and I feel like it
came out quite well.
Life Drawing
I loved the life drawing classes I was
in; it helped me explore the human
body as well as helped me get used to
the charcoal medium a bit more. My
first class was drawing a more senior
woman, and my second was with a
much younger model, meaning that I
got to experience different body and
ages through my art. I really loved
drawing them, and I feel like my
drawings represented them well.
 Charcoal – start of my project
I began my project by exploring the human form, first focusing on
the head and face.
For this piece, I tried my hand at using charcoal to first start
expressing my inner feelings as well as how I see the world; rough
and blurry. I quickly sketched a face of a man that came to mind,
and then I further distorted the face by creating a 'Jekyll and Hyde'
type scene by warping the other side of his face. You can still tell
what he is, a man, but it makes it seem more sinister that half his
face is nightmarish.
 Pastel
With this, I attempted to draw a face with a
medium I'm not very familiar with; dry pastel. I
usually like monochrome in my work, so trying to
use colours was something I'm not very familiar
with. I used blue, yellow and green. The yellow I
used on the highlights of the face, while the blue
was meant to represent the black, and the green
was a transition shade. I think it worked pretty
well, and I'm happy you can still tell it's a face
despite it being so rough and convoluted.
 Charcoal face
Here I used a reference to create a silhouette of
a face in the dark. I really enjoyed using
charcoal while drawing the face of the man, so I
decided to try using it again. It came out very
rough, but I feel like the charcoal suits it. I'm
happy it didn't smudge while I was holding it
with the rest of my drawings.
I really enjoy drawing faces, so this was very fun
to try, it was fun to try to replicate a reference in
such a loose medium.
 Graphite sketch
I used a medium I love for this piece; graphite. I'm familiar with
pencil work, so it was easy to create it.
I don't really like how it came out, however, as I feel like the
line variation of charcoal would make it a lot better and
stronger as a piece overall.
It's supposed to be a man drinking water, but I think I made the
hands and water too messy to be made out.
I could have improved a lot in this piece.
Lying man
For this piece I tried to improve upon my last piece's mistake; not using charcoal. I used both graphite and charcoal in
this, which created a messy but organised feeling; you can actually tell what's what in this piece. I really enjoyed
drawing it; I feel like it represents me, despite it being a drawing of a man; I usually lie down and cannot get out of bed
due to my mental health struggles.

I think I show a lot of loose lines, but it makes a

cohesive picture overall.
Drawing of a man
Here I was out in public and I created a quick sketch of a
man I saw in Starbucks. It came out very loose, but you
can still tell it's a man leaning on his arm.
I chose to make him faceless, as I feel that the facial
features weren't important for this piece. I was mostly just
exploring the figure as well as placement of hands and
anatomy.
The facelessness adds to the piece, in my opinion, as it
shows how even though we see people in public,
eventually they all fade out and become faceless in the
end.
 Statue exploration
Something I love doing is taking my sketchbook to places and
trying to draw in public; with this piece, I was in an art gallery,
sketching a bust of a head. I used charcoal for this piece, using it to
block out the darks solidly, and to use the emptiness and
whiteness of the page as the highlights. It's a basic and simply
sketch, but I feel that it shows the subject clearly; I didn't need any
more detail than there already is.
I could have been more accurate with the proportions, as they are
quite stretched out and distorted, but I feel like it works, especially
with how skewed my world view is.
 Painting of a man
For the first time in a while, I picked up a paint brush and I
tried to do a quick, loose drawing.

I used a dry paintbrush for this, and I feel like the value
difference is shown in the piece. The expression is very
neutral, borderline melancholic – the roughness of the
painting, which is more like a sketch, makes the expression
more up to interpretation by the viewer.
Painting #2
It's very featureless, but it shows the shoulders and head
of a man, looking to the left. I like to think this represents
what I see in my dreams and hallucinations; tall, imposing
and faceless men who follow me around.
Using paint again was very fun, as I last used acrylic a long
while ago, probably during my first year of sixth form.
I could have made the features more apparent, such as
an ear or a chin, but I like the spiral effect of the paint,
that the face is obstructed and unintelligeble.
 Painting #3
For this piece, I used a dry, small paintbrush and I tried to sketch
using paint for the first time. I tried to keep it loose, to try to
suggest shapes rather than outright show them, and I feel that it
worked well with the hand. I once again made it faceless, as I feel
like now I've explored faces enough in my project, and now I
wanted to focus more on the form, rather than the expression of
the pieces.
I wanted to show someone reaching out, as if to save the viewer,
but the darkness surrounding the face is supposed to keep it
mysterious.
Painting #4
This was just a quick sketch I made, where I
outlined the figure with a pencil and then further
elaborated on the figure with black paint- I
obscured the expression on the face, creating an
air of mystery.
I have been painting a few faceless men, and I
feel like this is probably the most basic out of all
of them- just a simple silhouette.
Study of a woman
I loved doing this study, as it was me recalling a woman I
saw at work. I didn't exactly remember her face, so I
decided to black it out- going with the whole faceless
thing.
I used both paint and pencil in this, and I feel like it was
very effective- it makes the work look messy as well as
expressive, but it still maintains the form of the drawing
– a woman with her hair up in a tank top.
I feel like the curve of her breast is accentuated by the
pencil over the paint.
Failed piece #1
I tried creating an expression on this piece, however I gave up
after doing the eyes. I hated how it was coming out, so I
scrapped it in the middle of making it. It was supposed to be
an expression of agony, showing my inner turmoil, however it
ended up looking completely different. I used charcoal, so it
also ended up smudging. I feel like I also placed the eyes
wrong, so it looks disproportionate.
Failed piece #2
This piece was overall a fail. I didn't like making it, and I
didn't like the outcome. It was just a silhouette of a man,
and I scribbled over the face with charcoal, It got
smudged while in my bag, and it was just ruined.
I didn't put much thought into it, so that’s why I feel that
it didn't really work- I was just more drawing for the sake
of drawing, rather than making it come from the heart.
Failed piece #3
I feel like this piece was alright, maybe not my strongest, but
unfortunately it got stained with paint, so it was
automatically ruined. It was one of my more earlier sketches,
but I accidentally put it under some of my painted pieces,
and it got ruined.
This piece helped me learn more about charcoal, since that’s
what I used to make it, and it helped me explore the
structure of the human face more, but because of the paint
splatter it was ruined.
 Failed piece #5
I hate this drawing. It was supposed to be the
silhouette of a man standing, and the background
slightly filled in, however it came out horribly.
You can barely tell that there is even a figure in it- I
tried drawing an expression, however I feel that it
messed up the composition of the piece. It's much
too loose and rough, and it doesn't even suggest the
shape of a figure.
Back study
I really enjoyed drawing this, as I feel like it came
out particularly well.
I used both charcoal and pencil, and I feel that
the line variation in the piece makes the shapes
stand out more. It has a rough feeling to it, but
you can tell it's the back of a person.
I used it to represent how I currently feel about
societies feelings towards me, like it's turning its
back on me. I felt like this piece should be
headless, as it wasn't really about the head, but
about the body itself.
This piece signaled a change in the direction of
my work, as it funneled me down the figuratism
line, and it lead me to explore more about the
body, instead of the head and face.
 Sitting man
This was the first piece I created in the
inspiration of Derek Overfield. I recreated his line
variation with pencil and charcoal.
The piece let me explore a new position of the
human body, as I had never drawn someone in
this position.
It was fun using both charcoal and pencil in this, I
kept switching them out whenever I needed
them, and I feel like the piece really benefitted
from it; I think I've used it in enough pieces to say
it's currently my preferred medium.
 Standing man
I once again used the charcoal + pencil medium, but I feel
that the charcoal mostly took over this piece, the pencil
only being used to make the finer details.
I feel like this figure is very fluid, in the middle of moving.
The face is slightly blurred, but you can still tell theres a
slight expression on it- he's not faceless like most of my
pieces.
This piece was heavily inspired by Derek Overfield- I feel
like his work inspired me deeply- so I attempted to
replicate the feeling his work gave me.
Sitting woman
This woman was also created using charcoal
and pencil. It makes the work look more rough-
although the more prominent details are drawn
with charcoal. I wanted the overlapping /
unclear areas to stand out more.
This is a woman with her back to the viewer,
almost as if she's turning her back onto society.
I don't like this work that much, but I still feel
like it's a strong piece- it shows the similarity
and correlation with my work and Overfield's.
Multiple women
This piece was more of a test of what I could do. I
wanted to create a piece with many overlapping
features, something that shows movement throughout
the work. I decided to do the body of a woman, one
that was moving and constantly changing position.
I drew this piece from a video, where I drew the woman
every few minutes over each drawing, as if the drawing
itself is moving.
I used very fine charcoal lines for this, and I feel like it
makes each pose stand out, which couldn't be achieved
with pencil. The smudging also shows movement in the
piece more.
Experimentation with Colour
This experiment was really fun to do- I wanted to try using
something different in my work, something I'd never used
before, and I landed on using oil pastel.
I created a silhouette of a man facing to the right, almost
solemnly. I loved using the bright colours of the yellow and red,
which made the piece very vivid and made it stand out.
I decided to keep this piece faceless once more, going along the
theme with my work.
 Failed piece #6
This piece didn't work for me at all.
It's supposed to be a man doubling over in pain,
however the piece is just very messy and convoluted.
I think it would be better with the ugly thick hand on
the bottom right, and the smudging really ruins the
piece also, as I didn’t want to show movement in this
piece.
Mini sketchbook
I often took a small sketchbook in public and
drew what I saw or what I was feeling. Many of
the drawings are loose and not based on much,
apart from the basic form I would see or imagine.
I used graphite pencil to express myself loosely,
but now that I think about it charcoal might've
been easier to use.

The piece above is probably

my favourite, as even
without a face it shows
profound loneliness.