ATV5 Reflection
Reflection on assignment 5
Looking back at all the work I have created I feel in some areas I have made a lot of progress, but today I felt somewhat stifled by this too and felt I had lost some of the spontaneity too, I felt the pressure of this being my final project and it needing to show progress. But really it does and especially re-working some of assignment 2 made me realise how much I have done and how much I have learnt and how much more sophisticated my work is now than when I started. My drawing and sketchbooks especially have become more focused, and I feel I am finally starting to get a bit of the missing link between my sketchbook and my textile work, something I have been struggling with a lot. I always get inspired by the process of making and then almost have to come up with the story of how I got there afterwards. I still veer off enormously once I am stitching and can only “feel” the link with the original inspiration and drawings, rather than actively see it or discuss it.
My sketchbook has become more of a work book, with me playing with colours and textures rather than jotting down ideas for future work. I am inspired by materials and led by these when creating, I find working from a drawing stiffles my creativity, we have discussed this at lenght and still haven’t entirely resolved this. I am always looking forwards and never flick through sketchbooks or work I have created for inspiration, I always start with something fresh. Some of the course has absolutely forced me to work into my own work and this has been an interesting process but I’m afraid I feel too set in my ways to make this a permanent change. Hence I don’t use sketchbooks to jot down or work through ideas, inspuration comes in a flash, in my head, whilst I am making/ sewing/ knitting/ drawing. I have learnt to try and come up with a process of recording this perhaps afterwards but it slips my mind constantly and yet again I have found I haven’t touched a sketchbook for months on end. I have done various drawing courses and I really enjoy drawing but cannot seem to make the jump to designing by drawing. I understand you need to see my thought processes and not just the finished piece so I know I have to resolve this but remain unsure how. My best work is done on the hoof, as I go, you can feel the excitement and joy in these pieces. The ones I have been forced to design on paper first feel stilted, off, not like mine.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I have just completed an online Exploring sketchbooks course which has set me free and allowed me to work fast and create masses and not be too precious about anything that goes into my sketchbook, and this may help me make the links between the design brief and the final work in future. I like the drawing part of the course, I love having learnt to draw without looking and with my left hand, I have loved translating this into textiles. I still struggle to translate drawings into textile concepts on paper first. Paper not having at all the same qualities as textiles, I can’t really express what I can either in 2D with my drawings or in 3D with the textiles, and I am not convinced any of my paper explorations in this last assignment have been useful, although oddly I didn’t mind them in my second assignment so much.
Here is a video of my sketches, inspirations and recordings of my ATV work:
Reflection using assessment criteria
Demonstration of creativity
Assesment criteria for the course:
- Demonstration of technical and visual skills — materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skill.
“I think I am more than capably demonstrating my technical and visual skills so far. This hasn’t been a far stretch for me as I work in the creative industries and have a long record of creative courses and assessments behind me too. I like making things look right and presenting them properly, I understand how materials behave and am always excited to learn about new materials and get to grip with techniques easily”. This is what I wrote in November and I don’t think I have much to add to this!
- Quality of outcome — content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
“I do worry that because I find it so forced to design in sketchbooks and don’t draw much it is hard to show the development of my ideas. My brain is like a wildfire when creating, jumping from one thing to the next so quickly that for me to try articulate that process is near impossible. I don’t often know why I pulled out this yarn or made that mark there because I’m just bubbling away with ideas inspired by the materials and brief and one idea instantly leads to the next. I don’t think that means I am not discerning though, or that my work isn’t underpinned by knowledge or a solid design framework, it’s just the story behind it is often missing and it feels fake to make one up after the event”. Again this is from my last assignment, and I am now starting to grasp the missing jump between inspiration and developed work, I think that is probably more a mental hurdle than a physical one.
- Demonstration of creativity — imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.
“I feel my personal voice is quite clear, even outside this course everything I make, whether it is a knitted shawl or a dress or the paint work on my stairs, is so obviously done by me, so identifiable, that I feel I have quite a strong direction. I am naturally experimental and adventurous and not afraid to play and try things and to add unusual materials and think outside of the box. In fact I feel this course is teaching me to have a bit more of a plan, to create items that work together, to go back to older work and revisit things to create new things from, which is a new and exciting direction for me”. I do feel I need to slow down a bit and be more considered and not rush to the next part because I’ both impatient and always in a hurry because I have so little time. My biggest challenge!
- Context — reflection, research, critical thinking.
I have really enjoyed the research for this assignment and rater than one artist I picked three, but could have picked 50 really! I am constantly inspired by photographers, musicians, writers, weavers, knitters, gardeners, my friends, etc! Seeing where my work is falling was a lot clearer with this assignment when I really looked at the artists and the art that makes my heart sing the loudest, they are often funny, over the top, textural, colourful, even silly, innovative, with an energy that comes at you! That doesn’t mean I can’t and won’t make slower more considered and less colourful work but I found it liberating to incorporate crochet for example. I spent some years feeling I wasn’t a “proper” artist because I use craft and not paints but I’m over that now and it’s been great to be a bit silly in my final collection. I mean silly as in frivolous, cartoon like, playful.
Now can be a good time to also reflect on what you have gained from the course so far and how you can build on this. Also consider aspects that that your tutor may have highlighted to push or consider a bit further or to go more deeply into.
I have started to find my voice, my time management skills, my confidence in my drawing skills, and have identified clearly where my gaps are and what I need to do to fill these. This course has been a fantastically fun way to start on my textiles degree. I need to learn to be more careful and less hasty, less messy and explore more and not hurtle along to the next bit.
