I have felt unable to write on my blog for the last week, because I was focussed on writing my essay and felt I had nothing to say. But this morning, after a week's silence on the blog front, I have drawn some significant conclusions about my working style.
I have been unable to work in a creative way on my artwork since I got stuck into the essay. I had put this down to a reaction against my working life, where I have multi-tasked for as long I can remember. Since I retired, I have not been able to focus on more than one task at a time, which I have accepted as a pleasant benefit of slowing down as I no longer work for a living.
However I have been writing my essay about factors required to conduct creative thinking. And I identified that creative thinking requires an environment where playfulness is allowed. While I have been working on my essay - which is serious research and writing - I have not allowed myself permission to play! I have planned my time up to the essay deadline of 14 December, and had enough sense to allocate myself rest days. (As a former shift worker, you have rest days rather than weekends) But on rest days, I have only allowed myself to do a restricted range of activities - like going to the V&A to listen to a day lecture on Ravilious (an Essex printer). Other rest days were allocated to going to Bridgwater to be fitted for a new bike (for a summer holiday with my husband cycling Lands End to John O'Groats) or going on a drawing weekend with my sister-in-law who has a weekend's respite from caring for her Mum who has dementia. So my rest days were related to research or to activities that supported or benefited other people. No time was allocated to me just having fun and doing what I enjoy, like drawing! I think my protestant work ethic is over-riding my creativity.
But having said that, it was the research into creativity and playfulness that enabled me to have the shaft of self-awareness that informed my practice (or non-practice as the case may be!)
I have also had further thoughts about how the sense of touch is very, very important to me. Again this is as a result of my essay research. I have known for a long time that I like practical application of artwork, so I enjoy textile art, specifically the creation of furnishing fabric. I thought it was about looking at things and enjoying the visual sense. But I have discovered I enjoy the link between sight and touch. The necessity of touching and feeling fabric when it is used as furnishing fabric is very important to me. I don't need to make art objects, and part of this feeling is about art objects not usually being available to touch. I know I am a very tactile person and I like to keep my hands busy. I have only just worked out that my sense of touch is constantly in use and I like to handle objects/materials a lot.
I also see a link between touch (which is static) and kinetics (which is about movement) which gives feeling when hands are moved across a surface. The tactile sense from the moving hands is called feeling. Emotions are also described as feelings. I see the linguistic synonism of emotion and touch, as feeling, as significant. There is also the linguistic term tact, which means the verbal adroitness of dealing with the feelings of people. Words, hands and emotions, and how they are used, all link together for me.
I had a tutorial with Sara a couple of days ago to discuss my essay, which I think is coming on quite well. I had printed the 4000 words written so far, and in the right hand margin, summarised each paragraph in 4/5 words. Sara was interested in this way of working. I wanted to identify whether the essay flowed in a logical manner. I had laid out the 10 pages of the essay so that only the top page, and all the right hand margins were visible. Sara was quite impressed with the way I had laid it out, and recommended I photograph it. I was a little surprised at this, because it seemed an obvious way to show the key points, without the visual distraction of all the script.
Saturday 24 November 2012
Thursday 15 November 2012
A busy week of ups and downs
I seem to have spent the last week working solidly, but with peaks and troughs of success.
I spent a couple of days reading and paraphrasing my essay. I've got to about the half way stage with my word count, and was quite pleased with the way paragraphs are coming together. I'm starting to get a flow running through the essay, rather than isolated paragraphs.
At the weekend I spent quite a lot of time putting together my presentation for my Degree Planning module, ready for Monday. However I felt the presentation itself was a damp squib. I have not done a lot of drawing preparation for the module, but I have done a lot of thinking, which was the basis of my delivery. I had 3 previous sketchbooks which I was going to use to illustrate how I prepare and research, and how I use colour to convey emotion. I have discovered that I operate on a high level of emotion, and I have intuitively used colour for years to convey this. It is only in the last few months that I have realised this. But I think the tutor missed the point that I was using the sketchbooks to illustrate points, rather than using them as work I have done this semester. I spoke about using pomegranates because they were part of my zeitgeist from my Study Abroad year, and I want to use their colours to represent peace, joy and contentment (my current emotions). Red, orange and yellow are not normally associated with these emotions but I think by combining them with other colours, I can achieve the right emotional feel. The tutor dismissed my comments with " you need to use colour intuitively, not bother with emotional feel" and appeared quite disinterested. I think she completely missed my point. This is my work, and the emotional feel matters to me.
Because other students were quite interested in my drawn sketchbooks, I think I did not show my current working sketchbook which is full of my research and thought processes for the Pomegranate project. So the tutor did not see just how much work I have done. I suspect I have been marked down for this.
I find it really odd that at these presentations, the tutor does not give feedback on what goes well/badly. I specifically asked for feedback, and the other students made some contributions, but the tutor said very little. It makes me feel very uncomfortable to think that I am being marked down when I have asked for feedback and not received it. I feel I have been judged and assessed but I won't be told the outcome until it is too late. I remember speaking to other students who graduated last year, who had this tutor. A couple were disappointed and upset when they only achieved a very basic pass, when they felt their tutorials had been going well. They felt they had been let down as they had not been given any indication that their work was inadequate and they did not expect to get such a low grade. When I have been an assessor, we were taught that in continual assessment, people should know their anticipated grade because of the feedback they had received along the way. A low grade should never come as a shock. And when I was in Australia last year, the critique of work could be absolutely savage - I can't say I liked it, but at least I did know what went well/badly with my work and how other students viewed/interpreted my work. Back in the UK, we seem to be losing the quality of critique/feedback on practical work.
On the following day, Tuesday, I started proofreading the most recent parts of my essay. I began to get vision disturbance, and blossomed into a migraine for the first time in 20 years! That knocked out any work on Tuesday! I think reading books and computer screens, combined with being upset about my disastrous presentation caused it.
On Wednesday, I went to the Essay Plenary session. My Essay Tutor, Sara, gave me back the first draft of my essay, with some really positive feedback remarks. This bucked me up no end. She had given advice to cut a couple of paragraphs which were going off at a tangent to my main argument - and during the week, I had already done this. I was pleased that I was already editing in line with tutorial advice. Strangely, my headache finally lifted at this stage! And it took me years to work out that I operate on a high level of emotion!
Yesterday, I had another extensive session on my essay, and I now have about 4,500 words. I am still waiting for the case study research to reach me, which I plan to write about for 800 words. so I think I am now close to the word limit of 6,000 words. Time to start pruning and editing.
I spent a couple of days reading and paraphrasing my essay. I've got to about the half way stage with my word count, and was quite pleased with the way paragraphs are coming together. I'm starting to get a flow running through the essay, rather than isolated paragraphs.
At the weekend I spent quite a lot of time putting together my presentation for my Degree Planning module, ready for Monday. However I felt the presentation itself was a damp squib. I have not done a lot of drawing preparation for the module, but I have done a lot of thinking, which was the basis of my delivery. I had 3 previous sketchbooks which I was going to use to illustrate how I prepare and research, and how I use colour to convey emotion. I have discovered that I operate on a high level of emotion, and I have intuitively used colour for years to convey this. It is only in the last few months that I have realised this. But I think the tutor missed the point that I was using the sketchbooks to illustrate points, rather than using them as work I have done this semester. I spoke about using pomegranates because they were part of my zeitgeist from my Study Abroad year, and I want to use their colours to represent peace, joy and contentment (my current emotions). Red, orange and yellow are not normally associated with these emotions but I think by combining them with other colours, I can achieve the right emotional feel. The tutor dismissed my comments with " you need to use colour intuitively, not bother with emotional feel" and appeared quite disinterested. I think she completely missed my point. This is my work, and the emotional feel matters to me.
Because other students were quite interested in my drawn sketchbooks, I think I did not show my current working sketchbook which is full of my research and thought processes for the Pomegranate project. So the tutor did not see just how much work I have done. I suspect I have been marked down for this.
I find it really odd that at these presentations, the tutor does not give feedback on what goes well/badly. I specifically asked for feedback, and the other students made some contributions, but the tutor said very little. It makes me feel very uncomfortable to think that I am being marked down when I have asked for feedback and not received it. I feel I have been judged and assessed but I won't be told the outcome until it is too late. I remember speaking to other students who graduated last year, who had this tutor. A couple were disappointed and upset when they only achieved a very basic pass, when they felt their tutorials had been going well. They felt they had been let down as they had not been given any indication that their work was inadequate and they did not expect to get such a low grade. When I have been an assessor, we were taught that in continual assessment, people should know their anticipated grade because of the feedback they had received along the way. A low grade should never come as a shock. And when I was in Australia last year, the critique of work could be absolutely savage - I can't say I liked it, but at least I did know what went well/badly with my work and how other students viewed/interpreted my work. Back in the UK, we seem to be losing the quality of critique/feedback on practical work.
On the following day, Tuesday, I started proofreading the most recent parts of my essay. I began to get vision disturbance, and blossomed into a migraine for the first time in 20 years! That knocked out any work on Tuesday! I think reading books and computer screens, combined with being upset about my disastrous presentation caused it.
On Wednesday, I went to the Essay Plenary session. My Essay Tutor, Sara, gave me back the first draft of my essay, with some really positive feedback remarks. This bucked me up no end. She had given advice to cut a couple of paragraphs which were going off at a tangent to my main argument - and during the week, I had already done this. I was pleased that I was already editing in line with tutorial advice. Strangely, my headache finally lifted at this stage! And it took me years to work out that I operate on a high level of emotion!
Yesterday, I had another extensive session on my essay, and I now have about 4,500 words. I am still waiting for the case study research to reach me, which I plan to write about for 800 words. so I think I am now close to the word limit of 6,000 words. Time to start pruning and editing.
Friday 9 November 2012
Further thoughts on My Identity
I am still chewing over my identity as an artist. I had a tutorial on Wednesday with Sara, my tutor. I was saying that I was struggling with the art work for my pomegranates and that I knew this struggle was a normal part of my learning style. I know I have to work through this grief, and that it will all come right in the end. I said I was not really interested in the art object, but that I enjoyed colour, pattern and composition of a piece of cloth. I am interested in the practical application of things, not the beautiful, useless object. I chose to do this BA course because it was about Contemporary Applied Art, not fine art. I don't do things to put on the wall.
Sara made an off-the-cuff remark that this indicated that I was a designer, not an artist. This stopped me in my tracks, as I was not clear of the difference.
So, a textile artist is more conceptual, and applies his/her art to an end product. The artist plans for the object and for the specified environment.
A textile designer is less conceptual (but still has a concept) and designs for a range of fabrics (not end products). Likely to produce lots of swatches (yippee - I love making swatchbooks). The designer leaves the choice of end product to someone else - ie what the fabric is used for, is up to the maker.
This fits with my preference not to be a completer-finisher. The completer-finisher is the team person who ensures I's are dotted and Ts crossed. Every detail is present and correct. I hate this role - once I've done 85% of a task, I've lost interest. I want to move on to the next thing. I am quite happy for someone else to do all the little tidying-up things and make it perfect. So I am happy for someone else to use my product and make something beautiful from it. My contribution was the design and making of the fabric.
I am a textile designer.
Sara made an off-the-cuff remark that this indicated that I was a designer, not an artist. This stopped me in my tracks, as I was not clear of the difference.
So, a textile artist is more conceptual, and applies his/her art to an end product. The artist plans for the object and for the specified environment.
A textile designer is less conceptual (but still has a concept) and designs for a range of fabrics (not end products). Likely to produce lots of swatches (yippee - I love making swatchbooks). The designer leaves the choice of end product to someone else - ie what the fabric is used for, is up to the maker.
This fits with my preference not to be a completer-finisher. The completer-finisher is the team person who ensures I's are dotted and Ts crossed. Every detail is present and correct. I hate this role - once I've done 85% of a task, I've lost interest. I want to move on to the next thing. I am quite happy for someone else to do all the little tidying-up things and make it perfect. So I am happy for someone else to use my product and make something beautiful from it. My contribution was the design and making of the fabric.
I am a textile designer.
Tuesday 6 November 2012
Hollywood Costume exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum
Yesterday I had a day trip to London to the V&A Museum. I intended to do some serious reading at the National Art Library, but I forgot it is closed on Mondays!
So instead I saw the Hollywood Costume exhibition. One of the good things about my student membership at the V&A is that I can see any exhibition, free, at any time, without having to book in advance or wait until the next viewing slot is available. Great!
Although I am not a costume designer (or even interested in film) I found some very pertinent points made by the quotes of designers at the exhibition.
MGM Costume Designer Adrian (1903-1959) said
"Few people in an audience, watching a great screen production realise the importance of any gown worn by the female star. They may notice that it is attractive, that they would like to have it copied, that it is becoming. But the fact that it was definitely planned to mirror some definite mood, to be as much a part of the play as the lines or the scenery, seldom occurs to them. But that, most assuredly, is true".
Costumes have to fit with weather, date location and genre of the film. They have to fit the scene and the story. Costumes exist within narrative and visual context.
Details function as clues for social and emotional signposts for the audience. Costume designers create stories for each film character.
Ellen Morojnick (b 1949) said "Contemporary costume is very difficult to design. Modern costume design is successful if the audience do not notice them but connect to characters nonetheless. Contemporary costume means you have to work twice as hard to make them disappear."
When it is well designed, costume embodies the psychological, social and emotional condition of the character at a particular moment in the story.
Costumes ... channel ... new people. The actor's gait, posture, gesture, and their entire physicality are informed by what they wear.
All the above gives a lot of food for thought, albeit slightly adapted for my use in textile print for domestic interiors. But the principles are the same. Basic reflections on what is important have been given to me by the designers of the Hollywood Costume exhibition. Now I just need to apply the principles to my own work!
So instead I saw the Hollywood Costume exhibition. One of the good things about my student membership at the V&A is that I can see any exhibition, free, at any time, without having to book in advance or wait until the next viewing slot is available. Great!
Although I am not a costume designer (or even interested in film) I found some very pertinent points made by the quotes of designers at the exhibition.
MGM Costume Designer Adrian (1903-1959) said
"Few people in an audience, watching a great screen production realise the importance of any gown worn by the female star. They may notice that it is attractive, that they would like to have it copied, that it is becoming. But the fact that it was definitely planned to mirror some definite mood, to be as much a part of the play as the lines or the scenery, seldom occurs to them. But that, most assuredly, is true".
Costumes have to fit with weather, date location and genre of the film. They have to fit the scene and the story. Costumes exist within narrative and visual context.
Details function as clues for social and emotional signposts for the audience. Costume designers create stories for each film character.
Ellen Morojnick (b 1949) said "Contemporary costume is very difficult to design. Modern costume design is successful if the audience do not notice them but connect to characters nonetheless. Contemporary costume means you have to work twice as hard to make them disappear."
When it is well designed, costume embodies the psychological, social and emotional condition of the character at a particular moment in the story.
Costumes ... channel ... new people. The actor's gait, posture, gesture, and their entire physicality are informed by what they wear.
All the above gives a lot of food for thought, albeit slightly adapted for my use in textile print for domestic interiors. But the principles are the same. Basic reflections on what is important have been given to me by the designers of the Hollywood Costume exhibition. Now I just need to apply the principles to my own work!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)