year long project - 3rd year

 Following on from last times laser cutting experiments, which worked really well and were exactly what i wanted them to be. I have finished off the remaining designs are updated the previous to fit them to the desired size and fix any mistakes. I then had a little breakdown on the page over the wooden structure; After going back and forth with how the wooden structure would work, in terms of attaching the puzzle structures to the base, I decided that the better alternative would be to use book cloth and to essentially use as a wrap around this also allows for flexibility in whatever way the book is used. This definitely feels like the better way forward as it also removes the risk of splinters and sharp edges however it may make this less long lasting as the wood may fray the book cloth eventually but I think this would happen over a long period so isn't worth thinking about. A couple of screenshots from the digital construction of the puzzle documents as it was so longwinded that...

As mentioned before, it was quite challenging to start the puzzle development - it's not really something my mind naturally does but visually working out really does help! Turning each design into illustrator line work; Took a longgg time and a lot of work but it really came together in the end! I shan't bother including all the ethos files because it doesn’t seem overly necessary but here are a few videos from the laser cutter; The outcome; We have a slider puzzle! It didn't look like it was going to happen for a while but we have a mostly functioning slider puzzle! Needs a bit of work but overall it worked out! What a cute layout! It all worked so well and is actually legible which is kind of surprising in truth. Some rescaling needs to occur but all in all what a success! Now time to develop these further and the remaining puzzles!

 https://literacytrust.org.uk/information/what-is-literacy/what-phonics/#:~:text=Phonics%20involves%20matching%20the%20sounds,words%20by%20sounding%20them%20out.  So, from my understanding, phonics isn't necessarily something that I can specifically apply when writing the book but rather is a tool used by the teacher to help children learn to read the book. So not really something that I need to think too much about rather just ensure there is a good mix of simpler and complex words to allow the children to read some if not most of the book with confidence and independence whilst still learning some new words.

Really not a lot here... pretty sad really but I think my combining art with science and the written language will be a good way of balancing out the book.

  So, to condense all of the information, I think the main things that I will need to focus on will be the notion of starting conversation and discussion, developing and implementing a variety of language and specifically creating opportunities for group work and learning how to do so, whilst still giving the shier amongst the readers a designated platform to share their thoughts. Most of this is something I am already doing. I really think I also need to connect this project to the professional practise unit and include a way for the readers to send both their protest posters and a short description of what they can do to help save the planet and send it over for a small prize to be sent their way. Probably better to do so as a collective rather than as individuals.

  Again, I am already doing a lot of what I have highlighted here really - experiments and simple date collection comes in with the plants and watching them grow. I can certainly add in more engaging questions such as 'Can you name the animals which are leaving?' and 'What other materials and methods do you think you could use to create something similar?' and brief explanations as to why the specific materials need to be used for the activities. Simple little things but more engaging and thought provoking.

 So, slightly over a week later, with 3 working weeks left until hand in I wanted to re-plan, a bit more in depth what is left to do and when it needs doing. The remainder from the previous plan is; - Updated dummy book - Blog posts - Use of colour - Riso print - Research into protest art/rebellion targeted towards children - Cat in the hat - nonsense language  - Digital pop-up layout - Construct wooden structure  - Seed paper - Character development - Storyline (text) - Develop final imagery - Produce final illustrations & create the double page spreads! - Project wrap up Still a fair bit to do with a few additions but it's manageable... probably. For professional practise I need to cut everything out with the laser cutter and put it all together (keyrings) and edit my CV for another business card, collect work for my portfolio and build the website... In terms of what needs doing and when; - Monday 24th (today) - finish pop-up testers, digitally & start on the d...

 Given that I want to include a few pop-up pages, to make the book that bit more interactive (and complicated!!!) so I got a few pop-up books from the library to look through for inspiration; Well damn, quite the variety of pop-up structures and layouts within these books! Some a lotttt more complex than I am going for - nothing like the volcanoes or Thor's hammer but I do rather like a pop-up. The lift the flap elements with the super colourful book (already can't remember the name) works surprisingly well for a simple structure of paper being stuck over the page so for simplicities sake I think that is just hat I shall do! I absolutely adore the London book and the use of layout with the entire page and I think had I seen this earlier on in the project, I possibly would have gone for something a bit like this but it is now a bit late to change the idea so much! I looked through this book by Duncan Birmingham last year for help with the pop-ups I did and it was useful so I fig...