I have just written my Degree Planning Proposal, so I have identified what I want to produce in textile print and why. My tutor sent me the Self-Assessment form for this degree module and I need to consider what the criteria mean, in order to have any chance of completing the form prior to my mid-module review in February.
Knowledge and Understanding of media and processes appropriate to Applied Art
In my area of textile print, I define this as the media I use for the whole textile print process. This will include art media for monochrome and colour drawing, media for design preparation (Photoshop, silkscreen preparation, binders and inks, screen cleaning materials), materials, health and safety requirements, manual and digital print practices, and methods of fixing print. I know a fair amount now about each of these subjects, although I would assess my skill level as that of a developing apprentice, rather than someone approaching master status. I have not yet made a 'masterpiece'.
Knowledge and Understanding of the significance of the works of other practitioners in Applied Art
I feel I am developing in this area. I find it difficult to find exhibitions of applied art, particularly that which identifies the textile artist. I work at Warners Textile Archive and one of the facts that is repeated, is that textiles rarely had the designer attributed to them - the company had far greater status and publicity. Attributing the designer is a very late 20th century development. However, I do attend various exhibitions and museums to look at other people's work and my field of interest is in the practical application of art, not in art installations. I am interested in the integration of art into the domestic environment when the work might literally be described to be "wallpaper" - so well integrated into its environment, that it is no longer actively noticed. Also, my sort of applied art can support the quotation "Anonymous was a woman" because the designers of domestic furnishings is mostly unattributed.
Knowledge and Understanding of the relationship between form and function
My work has a very practical application, so the link between form and function is critical to me. Domestic furnishings need to be fit for purpose - durable, well made, light resistent, appealing to the touch, with a predictable lifespan to enable replacement to maintain a contemporary feel and support commercial artists without creating unnecessary landfill.
Conceptual Skills and attributes to generate, critically evaluate and apply ideas and concepts independently in response to self-initiated study
I don't think my ideas are particularly original because I am working with repeat prints of fruit for textiles. However I am very clear about how my work is contemporary because it reflects the age in which I created it, as the pomegranate is significant to my year in Australia, plants were significant to both me and my father (who is recently deceased) and digital print is a technique of the 21st century. So this indicates I have generated and critically evaluated the theme to which I am working. I am developing skills in a print field which is new to me and I am quite good at defining and working towards a goal via self initiated study. I don't need to be managed and monitored constantly by tutors in order to produce an end product by a set time.
Conceptual Skills and attributes to employ both divergent and convergent thinking in the process of observation, enquiry, visualisation and realisation
At this stage I am working with divergent thinking about my pomegranate digital print. I am working with different art media, exploring the pomegranate as a drawn object. I am using different styles of drawing as I observe it in single units, groups, whole and dissected. I look at how fruit is depicted on household objects - in department store displays, magazines and museum shops. I can visualise my hand drawn pomegranates being manipulated by photoshop and applied to tea towels, and oven gloves; mugs and other crockery; etched onto glassware, on stationery and greetings cards. I can see digital textile print being embellished with stitch, screen print and manipulation.
Over the next couple of months, I will explore the 'enquiry' stage of this criteria, by sampling many different options and combinations. Then once the evaluation of the experimentation has taken place, I will funnel down the multiplicity of ideas, towards the realisation of the final product(s).
Conceptual Skills and attributes to develop ideas through to material outcomes as appropriate to Applied Art (digital textile print)
I think this is about showing how the initial idea of working with a hand drawn pomegranate has developed beyond the idea of printing the initial drawing on fabric. So, exploring singles and multiples, using various media, cropping back to show a section of a fruit, enlarging and reducing the scale, layering different drawn images, using more than one print technique on a piece of fabric; applying the imagery to different domestic objects and other disciplines. This exploration of an idea is what I enjoy.
Practical skills - employ appropriate materials, media and material processes systematically and coherently with skills and imagination, whilst observing good working practices
I think I can do this quite well. Once I am on a roll, I practice a lot. I am keen to work systematically, and having a plan that works through a lot of samples in an ordered, disciplined manner is very helpful. I have set myself a weekly programme for the next 3 months, and this has brought home to me just how much work I am proposing, and that I need to get stuck into the drawing stage right now. I need lots of sample drawings in order for there to be variety at the fabric print stage. Writing my essay provided a lot of the base information for options on integrating hand craft into digital print. This was time well spent.
Transferable Skills - study independently, set goals, manage workloads, meet deadlines using initiative and taking appropriate decisions
I am quite good at this. I have set up a good plan for study, taking in a variety of learning styles - classes; museums; shop displays; reading; taking advice, etc. I know what I plan to do and when, and have the funds and motivation to complete my aims. I am confident I will be ready for mid module review.
Transferable Skills - analyse information and experiences, formulate independent judgements and articulate reasoned arguments through reflection, review and evaluation
With the various classes I have booked at the V&A and City Lit, I will need to sort the interesting information from the useful information to this module. Then I need to work out how to apply the salient points to my work so that I can articulate the environment to which I am designing, and how to apply my art in a coherent way that makes it contemporary to the domestic interior.
Present ideas and work to audiences in a variety of situations
I have explained my work over the last 6 months in tutorials, to tutors and other students, both in group sessions and one-to-one situations. I have discussed my work with family members who have no experience of textile print, and who have limited sight, so my powers of description have been stretched.
Research, evaluate and employ information from a variety of sources
I am getting better at using a diversity of sources. I surprised myself when I finally grasped how to use magazines(!) by scanning through back issues of interior magazines, keeping a theme in mind, and ripping out all the pages that had printed textiles on them. I then reviewed them, cutting out anything I liked, and stuck them in my sketchbook. Previously I had only ripped out things that I thought pertinent, but beng less selective gave me more to think about, and more diverse ideas to explore.
So, I am using books, magazines, journal articles, museums, classes, internet art searches, and stately home and other tourist visits to explore my subjects.
I know what I need to do - roll on the next 6 weeks until mid module review and see what the evaluation of my research concludes.
No comments:
Post a Comment