Experiment - Alchemy and the Elements

The basic ideas of Alchemy I've known for a while, however after looking through star signs they showed further links between the Elements and Alchemy. Alchemy makes full use of symbols in its design and in the past was used by many in pursuit of various goals.

In Europe, the most commonly known theory for Alchemy was the transmutation of common metals (e.g. Lead) and making it into rare metals (Such as silver or gold).

This alone was interesting however I thought that the most interesting theory, which many alchemists aimed to create, was the Philosophers stone.

To start this idea, I began by looking into the different symbols used in Alchemy, and their meanings.

Each region had their own set of rules for alchemy, these lead to different used for the symbols and how they were used.

The three primes were seen as the base reagents in the alchemical process.

In Western Alchemy, most experiments were started with the four basic elements, the symbols that were used are taken from the Hellenic.

With the Theory of Planetary metals, only the celestial bodies visible to the naked eye where linked to deities and presented as part of the alchemical equations.

I found that all the different symbols where really interesting, however the meaning behind them all even more so.

Another symbol that is seen frequently throughout alchemy, is the Ouroboros, a symbol seen throughout time, often used to show the idea of infinite. Its depicted as a dragon or serpent eating its own tail in a loop.

For experimenting, I started combining the various symbols to see how they would look, at this point I didn't take the symbols meanings into account, but rather how it looked.

For this one, I used the Fire Symbol as the outer walls, the Sol Symbol in the centre, and then used the three primes in the gaps which were created. After thinking about the meanings, The sun, is made of gas and fire, the Sun is in centre, like how it is in our solar system.

Next I decided on using a circle for the outer part of the symbol, however I decided on using the symbol of the ouroboros instead of just a circle. As said previously the Ouroboros in symbol form represents the infinite. I thought this would be interesting to see how it would look alongside the alchemical symbols.
My first version was this:

This symbol is made from the symbols of fire, water and sun. With this version the Ouroboros was within the circle.

With this version I actually replaced the circle itself with the Ouroboros.

Star Signs Experimental Piece

I want this piece to be personal to me, yet still capture the ideas of the occult and star signs. To start with I thought of different ideas which relate to the star signs.

The list I thought of was:

- Sky

- Stars

- Water Bearer

- Wind

- Night Sky

With these ideas I decided on creating a night scape, which was then related to the idea of Air and Aquarius.

My first step was to create the background.

I started with a dark blue background, and added in an inner shadow via photoshop. This was just to get an idea of how I could proceed with the idea.

I next decided to make the background an even darker blue as I felt that black would be too dark, but this blue wasn't quite dark enough.

My next step was to introduce the constellation into the 'Night Sky'. I used the previously posted basic form of the constellation and changed its colours to white, this was the start of creating the stars, however at this point they were just basic circles, so they didn't really seem powerful or dramatic like I envisioned this piece to be.

My next step was to make the stars actually look like stars.

To do this I played around with a layer effect called 'Outer Glow'. This worked out quite nicely as the stars finally stood out and glowed rather than just being simple circles.

Next I made some small adjustments, again darkening the background a bit, and also making the inner shadow more prominent. I also made the constellation slight more central.

Now that I had the constellation and background, I needed to make the ideas of Air and Aquarius known. I first decided on adding the idea of aquarius to the piece. I began by looking at how other people envisioned Aquarius online. What I previously knew about Aquarius before the research was that it was known as the 'Water Bearer', aquarius was either presented as a male or female pouring water from a jug, normally the latter. For this I decided I would need to make my own image of someone pouring a jug of water. 

Since I was unable to do this at the time I decided to work on the more personal side by using one of the quotes I had found previously. I decided on using the first quote I had found:

"Creativity flows through the veins of individuals with the Aquarius sign."

I found a font called 'Fairy Dust' which I had used a few years ago, however I felt that it really worked for the flowing creation that the quote talked about.

I decided that the 'FairyDust' font may not have been the best choice. I started playing around with other fonts to see which one I felt worked best.

This one makes uses of a font called 'Beyond Wonderland'. I feel that this is a better suited font for this piece.

This font is known as 'Windlass' which although it looks nice, I didn't feel that it was as interesting as the previous two fonts.

In the end I decided on using the 'Beyond Wonderland' font, however I felt that the text needed resizing. I also decided on adding in a drop shadow to the text to see what effect it would have.

I found that the smaller font size and drop shadow worked well for the piece, however I still felt that although I knew that the piece would have the hands added in later, it still needed something more. From this I decided on adding another symbol used to represent Aquarius.

I decided on using the wave sign of Aquarius and having it faded in the background.

With this I had planned on having the jug pourer in the top left corner, however this may change. For now I feel that adding an element of Air to it would make it further relate to the theme. 

Experiment - Star Signs and Elements

Before now I had only really been looking into the more physical representations of the elements, and how they can be used for creation and destruction. I however, was inspired to think of an idea that doesn't consider the elements as physical, but rather symbolic.

This lead me to researching into the Occult side of this, where I found how they linked into the Zodiac and their constellations. I have previously looked up the zodiacs and learnt about them in my past, so using them with the idea of the elements sounds to me like a really interesting approach to the theme.

I have found that each member of the Zodiac each belongs in one of the four categories of the elements, which are as followed:

Earth
- Capricorn
- Virgo
- Taurus

Fire
- Leo
- Sagittarius
- Aries

Water
- Cancer
- Scorpio
- Pisces

Air
- Aquarius
- Libra
- Gemini

Interestingly enough, each Star Sign/ Zodiac are also shown having traits given to the people who fall under them, I found these to be an interesting concept and decided to research what each Zodiac had for their traits:

Aries (21st March - 20th April)
- The strengths of Aries are: Adventurous, energetic, courageous and confident.
- The weaknesses are: Self-centered, short-tempered, impulsive and impatient.

Taurus (21st April - 21st May)
- The strengths of Taurus are: Compassionate, dependable, loyal, reliable, physical and mental strength.
- The weaknesses traits are: Stubbornness, aggressiveness, sensitivity and difficulty to accept change.

Gemini (22nd May - 21st June)
- The strengths of Gemini are: Jovial, Good communication skills, inquisitiveness and flexibility.
- The weaknesses are: Selfishness, restlessness, confusing personalities and difficulty towards being on time.

Cancer (22nd June - 23rd July)
- The strengths of Cancer are: Adaptability, loyalty, strong bonds with family and empathy.
- The weaknesses are: Moodiness, sensitivity, emotional outbursts and indecisiveness.

Leo (24th July - 23rd August)
- The strengths of Leo are: Kindness, Big-Heartedbess, energetic, optimistic, honesty, loyalty
- The weaknesses are: Prone to Jealousy, Possessiveness, egotism, or a dominating personality.

Virgo (24th August - 23rd September)
- The strengths of Virgo are: Perfectionist, realistic, practical, dependable, sincere and patient.
- The weaknesses are: Far too critical, restless, lack demonstrativeness and often push themselves too far.

Libra (24th September - 23rd October)
- The positive traits of Libra are: Patience, balance, gregarious, loving, affectionate, cheerful, energetic and socially gifted
- The weaknesses are: Indecisiveness, carelessness, prone to indulgence and being overly emotional and sensitive.

Scorpio (24th October - 21st November)
- The strengths of Scorpio are: Loyalty, trustworthiness, passionate, charismatic, caring and patience.
- The weaknesses are: Stubbornness, jealousy, overly sensitive and egotistical.

Sagittarius (22nd November - 21st December)
- The strengths of Sagittarius are: Honesty, forthrightness, lightheartedness, intellectual and good communication skills.
- The weaknesses are: Sharp tongue, prone to change, restlessness and a flirtatious nature.

Capricorn (22nd December - 20th January)
- The strengths of Capricorn are: Hardworking, responsible, reliable, loyal, sincerity and strong will power.
- The weaknesses are: Introvert, obstinate, short tempered and difficulty accepting authority.

Aquarius (21st January - 19th February)
- The strengths of Aquarius are: Friendly, affable, intelligent, kind, compassionate and practical.
- The weaknesses are: Unpredictable, adamant, dislike towards making commitments and hatred towards conventions.

Pisces (20th February - 20th March)
- The strengths of Pisces are: Intuitive, empathetic, uninterested in material things and a sharp memory.
- The weaknesses are: Overly emotional or sensitive, prone to wistfulness, mood swings and inflexibility.



I decided that for an experiment, I would take the element and star sign which I fell under and use them for the base of my experiment.

My birthday is January 31st, which makes me an 'Aquarius', so my Element is 'Air'.

During my research I found this quote which I found to be really inspiring towards the idea of me being an Aquarius, this was:

"Creativity flows through the veins of individuals with the Aquarius sign."
I then decided to research further into the constellation which is Aquarius. I found that Aquarius is the symbol of the water bearer, making it seem odd that it's element is air.
My research into the Air element told me that those in the air category are primarily focused on intellectual pursuits and innovation. They are typically thinking of creative or unorthodox ideas, and often are involved by introducing clever remarks and wit. They are thought to be constantly testing things and theorising. This is were I found a second inspiration quote:

"To them, reality is a laboratory in which they may experiment and record."

Below is a basic image showing the layout of the Aquarius constellation:

I decided that this was going to be included in a piece made of this as it seems a good way of connecting the different idea. I could also use this to envisage the idea of "Creativity flowing through the veins" as I thought the lines between the stars could represent the veins.

- Work Continued in next Post

Artist Research: Bill Viola

Name: Bill Viola

Occupation: Video Artist, Electronic Artist, New Media Artist

Born: 25th January 1951

Nationality: American

About his work

Bill Viola's work often featured the themes of fundamental human features, including death, birth, aspects of consciousness. Some of his works included making use of the basic elements such as fire and water, which is good as it relates to our theme of the four elements. He often made use of slow-motion in his videos, which made them seem more dramatic and powerful.

Viola's Three Structures

What I found really interesting was his theory on how he believes there are three different structures to describe the patterns of data structures: Branching, Matrix and Schizo.

- Branching: A structure which takes the user straight from point A to point B

- Matrix: Like the branching system, crossed over with multiple other branches, the user could enter at any      point, and come out at any point.

- Schizo: A structure which is random, where the user could become lost.

Although his three structures may not directly link to his work, however It probably adds to his idea of humans consciousness.

Experiment - Watching the World Burn

For an experiment I decided to create a short animation using Flash. Out of the elements I had a good amount amount of wind and air related pieces, but none towards the ideas of Fire. This lead to the inspiration of burning the world. I created a quick graphical globe within Photoshop and placed it in Flash.

Then, by using the 'Burn' Tool I created a second 'burnt' globe.

With this I then created an overlaying fire effect for the actual way of burning in the animation. I have attempted creating realistic animated fire overlays in the past, however with this time I went for a graphical looking fire.

After placing the needed files into flash, I began using the burnt globe as an overlay for the clean globe. I then adjusted the Alpha of the burnt globe to make it seem as if the globe was being burned by the fire.

The end result was this:

I felt that this piece was interesting to do as by searching for pieces similar to this one, I found a Video Artist called Bill Viola. I though that this would be a turning point in my ideas and inspirations for the rest of the exam.