Theo Clarke's MA Diary (NO LONGER UPDATED): My first MA project + Visit to the Harris Museum

Week 2 of my MA study has arrived! On Wednesday, we were given our first project of the year. We have until the 28th October to plan and undertake a project of our choosing that relates to our proposed area of study, in order to test if our plans and focus areas are solid enough to continue to study them for the rest of the year. This of course means that I will be creating a 3D environment as environment art is my area of study. This project will test our research skills and will help to establish our focus for the rest of the year.

The final outcome of the project doesn't have to be anything huge, so I decided from the start that I'd do a very small scene, perhaps a single room, but try to pack it with detail and make it as accurate as possible. I also knew that I would have to choose a theme for the room that would allow me to test my research skills. Early ideas included a 1920's study/library full of art deco furniture and ornaments or a dimly lit 1940's billiard room or war room. After class I went to the library and began to conduct my initial research.

Idea Generation and Research

While browsing images on Pinterest I came across a picture of a WW2 Battle of Britain-era Anderson bomb shelter - the iconic tiny corrugated iron bomb shelter with a rounded top that was dug into gardens all over London and Britain during WW2 to protect civilians. This instantly stood out as a good candidate for my scene - the Anderson shelter was tiny (approx 8 foot square and 6 foot high) so it would be a manageable project for the short time given to us. It would give me plenty of opportunity to create atmosphere by using dim lighting, claustrophobic space and the sounds of an air raid outside. It would also allow me to put my research skills to good use as I would need to research the sites and sounds of a shelter, items from the time period, testimonies from people who spent time in the shelters during the war and so on.

Now that I had decided on an idea for my scene, it was time to do some serious research. I found some books in the library and read about Anderson shelters and the Blitz in general. I created a Pinterest board about the Blitz and began to gather images. I also searched online for details about Anderson shelters and found many useful websites with quotes and information from people who lived through the war and used the shelters.

Testimony of Ted Page, WW2 survivor

Ted Page (center) circa 1950's

As well as the secondary research mentioned above, I contacted my girlfriend's grandad, Ted, who lived through World War 2 and spent time in bomb shelters during air raids, and was later an RAF engineer in the 1950's. Ted was born in 1935 and was just 4 years old when he first entered an air raid shelter at school in Cutsyke, near Castleford in West Yorkshire. I asked various questions about what sort of things could be found in a shelter, the sights and sounds, the atmosphere, the lighting and how a shelter was made.

Ted mentioned that the lighting in an Anderson shelter was usually candles or a parafin lamp and emphasised that this looked dark and eerie and cast shadows onto the walls and ceiling. He also emphasised that shelters were damp and often leaked and he listed items that could be found in every shelter such as such as wooden tables and chairs, bunk beds for the children, lights and a small stove. I will make sure to capture these factors when creating my scene.

This research was very useful and it got me thinking about the individuals who occupied the shelters and the stories that each person might have. I decided that I would try to capture this sense of personality when creating my scene - perhaps I will include small homemade toys, books, family photos and other such personal effects.

Work begins...

By Wednesday evening after several hours of research, I began to create the first 3D model for my scene - the shelter structure itself. It turns out that corrugated iron is a fairly tricky material to model in a realistic way but I got there in the end and the shell of the structure took shape. On Thursday, I began modelling some furniture items - a child-sized bunkbed and a set of shelves.

Visit to the Harris museum

On Thursday, I decided to take a walk around town and visit the Harris Museum and library in search of research material to help with my project, and also to see other exhibits not related to my project that could inspire me in general - I dragged my girlfriend along because we're big fans of the museum! I had a look in some books on the Blitz and the Battle of Britain in the Harris library then headed upstairs where there is an exhibition on the centenary of the First World War, including images of Preston citizens taken during the war and personal effects of servicemen such as letters, tools and leaflets - seeing these items got me thinking about what sort of things I could model for my bomb shelter.

Also in the museum is an exhibit on the role of Preston train station in World War 2. The station was a regular stop-off point for soldiers being transported around the country, so a volunteer-led tea room was set up in the station for soldiers to rest, eat and drink. Items such as mugs and letters are on display. This gave a valuable insight into how civilian and military life became one during the war.