Bethan Hemus Art

Category: Uncategorized

  • Sewing my test inflatables: lessons learnt

    My test pieces turned out well, although I had to pin the bejesus out of it to stop it sliding around as expected. The arms are slightly wonky, but for the purposes of testing and refining my fans this weekend it works fine. I just need to be extra careful to check all the arms and seams are level when pinning my final pieces next week. 
    I’ve booked out the textiles studio for Tuesday so I’m all good with my timeline thank all the deities. Starting to feel a little nervous about the show now.
    After seeing both pieces in the gallery space, the 2m height inflatable is more than tall enough. I want it as big as possible, but the 3m high pattern looked obnoxious.
    Just need to experiment with the font and font placement now.

  • Jelly vision: castle performance piece studio work and development

    I used one of my photos and created a test screen, puting a bitmap on the black level of the 2 screen print.
    It came out great 3D wise and the red florists film is definitely the correct choice. But the white highlights are too stark and clearly also need the levels adjusting and possibly also softening with a bitmap. And I think that the “white layer” could be printed in an off white pink. And likewise, the “black layer” in a deep burgundy. I’ll test this.
    I’ve sourced some large pieces of acetate to sandwich the jelly print in like so.
    When I cut out around the shape of the print, it create the illusion of a glossy red jelly suspended mid air like so.
    This is the main art part for my performance for the castle in June. Looking forward to clowning around 🤡
    After playing around with this test piece I realized that the density of the print on the darker level was obscuring visibility, which is a fundamental requirement of the piece.
    After I scaled up the jelly to fit the larger screen, I messed about with the levels a bit more on Adobe Photoshop, applied a bitmap and also made the image more transparent.
    I printed out a cropped section of 3 different options for all 3 of these effects.
    This is the result that I prefer the most and so I went with this option for the darker level.
    Messed about with the levels for the lighter layer at the final size, applying a bitmap similarly.
    And then inverted it ready for the screen.
    Got both layers printed on acetate and then banged them both on a screen ready to print.

    It came out great but the black still felt harsh so I mixed up a burgundy to test instead.
    It looks more realistic and juicy now. I’ll wait to see what it looks like once it’s cut out.

  • V for Vendetta and what font to use

    V for Vendetta, my favourite Alan Moore comic next to Promethea, follow the story’s title character and protagonist, V, an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, as he begins an elaborate and theatrical revolutionist campaign to kill his former captors, bring down the fascist state, and convince the people to abandon fascism in favour of anarchy, while inspiring a young woman, Evey Hammond, to be his protégée.

    It’s quintessentially anti-establishment tone is just one of the reasons I want to nod to this work in my inflatable piece.
    The guy fawkes mask used in the film adaptation was adopted by Anonymous, the online hacktavist group. 
    Since then it has become a key symbol for protests around the globe.
    The font used in that film in called Future Book.
    It’s is licensed here:
    And this is the font used in the original comics:
    My daughter Annabelle was born on bonfire night. I’ve always said that if I didn’t blow up parliament at least once for her birthday then I’d be a failure as a mother.
    Anyway, I’ll think on the font.

  • Creating wacky wavy inflatable patterns

    I made 2 test patterns, one 2m high and one 3m high. This gives me two heights to inflate in the gallery space itself and see now they sit curatorally. And also two heights to test with my fans.
    I decided to go with a flat pattern, because this fabric is a tedious slippery nightmare to work; making sewing a round seam miserable. 
    I will use some of the off cuts to experiment with using a posca paint pen to write on the fabric.
    I am making 5 of these in total, and each one is to be embellished with one of Tony Benn’s questions to the powerful:
    “What power have you got?”
    “Where did you get it from?”
    “In whose interests do you exercise it?” 
    “To whom are you accountable?” 
    “How can we get rid of you?”
    I do love the piece in pink. They look will like giant wafting dicks, which feels appropriate given the conversation. 
    And it’s my branding in a way. 
    BAKER MILLER PINK FORVER!

  • Papplewick pumping station steam day

  • Clever bag

  • “I’d like to be the Pope. That would be my number one choice”

    We are so fucking post satire at this point that my head is spinning. 

    This article helped me to understand. A bit. 

  • Florentijn Hoffman

    https://florentijnhofman.com/

  • “Balloon Dogs” and the “Celebration Series”, Jeff Koons

  • “Silver Clouds”, Andy Warhol