I have enjoyed researching artists and figuring out Illustration as a
whole. It has made me really reflect on who I am as a creative person and
analyse the reasons why I am like I am. I have felt that as it has been
along-side the more practical modules it has been nice to appreciate other
people’s work whilst creating my own. It has also allowed me to post work that
I have created outside of the course and made it have a purpose so I don’t feel
guilty about taking day trips and doing non uni based work. I feel that the
final push is quite a hard project. It is very difficult reflecting on the year
as a whole (I find the end of module evaluations difficult enough) and ordering
thoughts is very difficult for me.
I have found it really useful having this module throughout the degree.
It has inspired me to do work outside of Uni for example filling sketchbooks of
places I have been to but also to reflect on things that I have seen further and
relate them to my own practice. This is relevant to both galleries and places.
Before coming to university I wasn’t really aware of illustration as an
individual subject but I am beginning to notice illustration and its usefulness
everywhere.
I have learnt that I am still exploring how I create images but that it
is becoming more refined due to practice. Through this blog I have been able to
document artists which have caught my eye and some of them have inspired my
work, for example continuous line and Ruth Allen.
I have learnt that Illustration is a very broad term and can be used for
functional images that you see everywhere but also as a piece of craft. I am
still unsure of where I fit into the mix, but I am looking forward to seeing
what direction I will go through the rest of my degree but I am leaning towards
some sort of mixed media collage work.
I enjoyed that this module was not as practical as the others but
particularly that it made anything creative relevant to the degree, and it was
nice going to see things that were enjoyable but I could also document them and
make them relevant to my work.
This was most clearly shown in my visit to Madrid where I left all uni
work at home and made a sketchbook just for myself and I feel that I benefited
a lot from being inspired and having room to play. This is where I started to
really understand playfulness and my continuous line drawings started appearing
regularly.
I really found doing the interdisciplinary task very interesting as it
began to make me see connections between my dancing, music and illustration and
once this process began it’s now impossible to un-see.
I also found the analysing strengths and weaknesses a good task because,
although it was difficult to do, I added ideas over time as they came to me and
I feel that it is quite thorough and honest. Outlining my strengths and
weaknesses really helped me pin point what I need to work on but also what I
have achieved this year.
This year I feel that the methods of image making I have developed this
year are; Photoshop (learning to use a Wacom and enjoying how the analogue
process of drawing translates digitally), continuous line drawings (being a way
of sketching and understanding that not every image has to look beautiful),
collage (developing mixed media art through paper cut-outs, string and paint),
simplicity (trying to create movement through a minimal amount of lines and
beginning to loosen up my image making as I want to become less tight and
controlling). I feel that I am a very process driven/aesthetic image maker.
This is reflective of the images that I like from other artists, like Mark Hearld
and Lucy MacLeod, their work doesn’t have a narrative, it portrays the media
which they have used as a beautiful or interesting image to look at.
I feel that this Illustrated Self brief might be one of the most
stressful briefs I have tackled. Through both projects running along-side each
other I can now make sense of my design process and am aware that there is a
pattern with each brief. The brief put me in an uncomfortable situation where I
had to make a decision part way through my process. I had already identified
this as one of my weaknesses and so this proved very emotionally and mentally
draining. Reflecting back I am glad that I made this decision as I feel that
this piece is very summative of myself. It includes the 4 processes which have
been monumental to my image making this year and are things I want to further
explore. It also visually represents the creative aspects of my life and
captured my character all in one poster.
I have found the Presentation itself very stressful to prepare for. I
have enjoyed reflecting on myself and my creative practice but I have really
struggled to refine everything and put it into a logical order. Through all of
this analysis I have had to reflect deeply on my achievements and problems this
year, and have begun to understand what I want to achieve in the future. The
whole process of analysis and writing is very confusing for me as I have lots
of thoughts buzzing around and feel that everything is connected but I find it
hard to articulate. I feel that I would be more confident presenting if it was
Questions and Answers. I can happily chat away informally for 10 minutes about
things I have made but am going to struggle presenting in a logical order.
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