Project 3: Learning Log

Learning Log

First thoughts after my tutorial and looking at reflective thinking You Tube videos.

In my second assignment I was concerned about not producing enough work that I probably over produced. Rather than let the materials and visual ideas libraries come together naturally I wanted to pull them apart to tick the boxes for the course material. This had the end result of confusing me and I did not allow myself to step back and look at the work I had achieved and why.

It is interesting that this section of the course wants to stop and look and evaluate.
At this point I want to pull my proposal in to sections and reflect on whether it says what I actually want to work on and achieve.

The aim of my proposal will be to reflect and show in different media how I felt and others when going through symptoms of the menopause. I want to challenge myself to interpret feelings and health through art this in itself will take a great deal of thought to how I approach this. Looking at other artists to see their journeys will be one way of deciding how I want to do this.

Describe
Interpret
Evaluate
Plan for the Future

I have started with looking at a lot of You Tube videos, some of links my tutor sent me and some I found on my searches. This type of learning has asked me to take a different approach which is challenging and at times disconcerting. One of the methods I found to use was the Gibbs 1998 Reflective Model and downloaded a template to help me reflect better in a more understandable way.
I think that one of my major problems is that I do think and analyse but I never know how to actually describe what and when I am doing it so hopefully by using this template through the next assignments will help this become more like second nature.

Reflections on my pratical work
Description: What Happened ?
For Assignment 2 in my Personal Specialism I was asked to create a visual re-collection, a materials library, look at extremes in creating and construct a proposal.
I set about producing a large body of drawing and sample work which went in a variety of routes. Weaving, Crochet, Drawing, Embroidery and Painting.
I just kept sampling and whilst I did reflect a little along the way I did not structure this in a very relevant way that others could understand.
At the end of the assignement I created a proposal.

Feelings: What were you thinking and feeling ?
In the visual pre-collection and library stage I felt lost, I hadn't a clue about how much work was required. All I kept thinking was about Level 2 which required lots of sampling to be produced. So I kept sampling. I felt worried that I hadn't done enough or experimented enough.
I put lots of thoughts down as samples or drawings, some of which I feel are interesting, some which I don't feel go anywhere.
For my proposal, I came to the theme through my work in my research and it feels natural to develop the menopause as I want something that I can feel very close to.
However within the proposal, looking back on it I feel as though my thoughts wander a little.

 Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience ?
What I feel was good
Challenging myself with colour - I really feel as though my colour pallete is very strong and the correct one for the theme. It is not my normal colour pallette but I am rather glad that I pushed and restricted myself to work with colour that is not my prefered choice.
Weaving - I have produced many weaving samples and I feel that my inital ones really resonated with what I wanted to achieve - the build up of colour representing heat in hot flushes. I probably produced too many weaves without reflecting and builiding on where these should be going but they are interesting.
Embroidery - the embroidered uterus were some of the earliest pieces I produced and some of the samples which a clear development from my sketches and painting and relationship to the subject matter.
What I feel was not effective
I created so many crochet squares and I didn't know why I was really creating them, I had some idea that they would be a bedspread or something, however they didn't really have a clear enough message. I sewed some of them together for a sample and embroidered 51 - the average age women go through the menopause, however I didn't think this had a satisfactory message.
I became confused about all my ideas and didn't reflect enough on how I could progress through the ideas. I felt by making lots of samples and drawings I would somehow get through the ideas and suddenly see a clear way through, but it didn't happen. I just became more confused.
I have mixed feelings about my proposal, the subject matter is good, it is close to my heart as I wanted, however I had a good clear start which became confused and ran out of steam.

Analysis

I need to re-visit and re-look at what I want to say in my proposal, thinking about what I actually feel about the subject. In this manner I should ignore the thoughts of others at this point so I don't get too muddled.

Menopause - the 'last taboo in the workplace' and how to challenge this. Why do I want to challenge this and what would success look like ? I feel that I don't need to make such big statements, I was looking at the previous statements I made in the proposal and for me success would be more people discussing and talking about the menopause.

Even if it was one more person that my work resonates with this is a success.

Failure would be no-one feeling anything about my work, whether people like it or not just to discuss it is success as the main taboo I feel about the menopause is people ignoring it.

Conclusion: What else could I have done ?

I need to look at being more focused and stop and analyse more about what I want to say. I can also enlist the views of others to help me. If they come from a different perspective then I can stop and evaluate and see how and why that differs to my own.
I should not feel rushed in to making tens of samples of something to 'bulk' out my work but take things steady and slowly to consider all aspects.
I also want to research what I like about textiles and where I want to take my work and what I enjoy.

Action Plan
1) Review reflective learning information from all possible media to aim to get it second nature.
2) If I am getting lost, stop and reflect where I have got to before continuing anymore.
3) Review my proposal, highlighting the bits I want to keep in and those I want to change - however analyse why I want to keep elements in and discard.
4) Research other textiles artists
5) Ask my tutor and the OCA support for help if I feel I am getting lost
6) Take time to adjust and be happy with what I am trying to say in my work
7) Realize this is my work, not someone else's, I have to be true to myself first
8) I am doing this for enjoyment and to find what medium I am happiest with and what really speaks to me


Researching Artists

Looking at We Object by Susanne Scott Constantine (below), I really love the way she has incorporated words within the watercolour. I find the piece has a lot of vibrancy and emotion which is something I really want to strive for in my work.

Marie Bergstedt - Jay  (below)

I am interested in Bergstedt's embroideries and how painterly they worked in the portraits she produces. The linework created from the sewing creates emotion and feeling from minimal touches and colour palettes.

The delicate feeling from using thread and keeping it loose creates a vulnerability to the piece which is a really lovely technique. Bergstedt also uses layering in some of her work to create depth of images and give ghostly effects which are really effective.

I talk about the vulnerability of Bergstedt's work and then look at Grayson Perry's work which is extremely influential about talking about society in art. However nothing seems vulnerable about Perry's are the strong flat imagery of the two pieces here are outlined in black with bold colours to create strength.  The subtlety is dialled down to allow for Perry's ideas and voice to be heard. The images should not obscure the thought behind the piece. This is emphasised very well in the use of text to ensure we understand the thought and context of the pieces.

Reading and thinking about Perry's artworks led me to analyse how strong do I want my message within my artwork. I find this very difficult to decide and I don't really think I am at the stage where I can make a decision yet. I need to keep working and refining but ensuring that there is context within my work.

By building on additions to my scrapbook this is really helping me reviewing what inspires me and how I want my work to resonate and tell a story.

This weekend when I was in Liverpool I saw a weaving by Jill Hutchinson in the Roman Catholic Cathedral which was inspiring in using recycled materials and how it built up colour to convey the image. I love the movement of this weave which is very difficult to get and also the 3D elements of the trees and bushes.