I worked very hard for this module, and I think that when I am frustrated with myself, I am very tiresome. But it has all paid off and I am very pleased with the result. My Mum has not been here for 13 years now, but she would have been proud of me.
So now it is time to reflect on the whole process and maybe share the learning points with the second years. So in no particular order:
Practice staging your work, privileging the best pieces, and taking the idiosyncracies of your room and your position within it into account.
Allow plenty of time to stage work, so the inevitable problems do not stress you out.
When planning your semester's work, include a week's down time at the end as a contingency plan, so that if you are ill for a week, you can still hit the deadline.
Let the development work be fun. I had a copy of Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal, which I completed to the theme "My Mother's Work" focussing on jam making as I received it at that time of year. It made a lovely sketchbook, and I very much like it as an object in its own right, because I had fun making it.
Use knowledge gained from all modules in the Final Major Project. I was the only person who wrote artist statements for each collection, and submitted it for assessment in the final module. This is how I explained the concept of each collection, which I think made the work more powerful. I am uncomfortable with my face on the artist statement, so I used photos of my hands working on each piece, as it reinforces the manual nature of My Mum's role, and the hand worked content of each piece. We learned about artist statements, photography and self promotion in Enterprise &Employability which was an excellent, well taught module, yet I appear to have been the only person to apply it in the final module. The only thing I think I could have done better was how I used my 1950s dress. I chose not to submit it for assessment, as it is a marketing tool to associate me with my work at Private View and New Designers. I did not want it to appear as a fashion application for my ideas, staged on a mannequin. However, I could have put a luggage label on it, stating it was a marketing tool, and folded it on top of the box of samples. This would have shown further analysis, and an understanding that customers are buying more than the item - you, as the maker, are part of the product.
Let the development work be fun. I had a copy of Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal, which I completed to the theme "My Mother's Work" focussing on jam making as I received it at that time of year. It made a lovely sketchbook, and I very much like it as an object in its own right, because I had fun making it.
Use knowledge gained from all modules in the Final Major Project. I was the only person who wrote artist statements for each collection, and submitted it for assessment in the final module. This is how I explained the concept of each collection, which I think made the work more powerful. I am uncomfortable with my face on the artist statement, so I used photos of my hands working on each piece, as it reinforces the manual nature of My Mum's role, and the hand worked content of each piece. We learned about artist statements, photography and self promotion in Enterprise &Employability which was an excellent, well taught module, yet I appear to have been the only person to apply it in the final module. The only thing I think I could have done better was how I used my 1950s dress. I chose not to submit it for assessment, as it is a marketing tool to associate me with my work at Private View and New Designers. I did not want it to appear as a fashion application for my ideas, staged on a mannequin. However, I could have put a luggage label on it, stating it was a marketing tool, and folded it on top of the box of samples. This would have shown further analysis, and an understanding that customers are buying more than the item - you, as the maker, are part of the product.
Work as a team and critique each other's work. Practice using appropriate academic language to state what goes well/badly with each other's work, and suggest solutions. Be encouraging, accept peaking and troughing as normal and overcome the words "I don't know" as an answer.
Make sure you have a concept and really chew over what it is, that you want to say. It is normal and acceptable for this to take ages.
Accept that the stress of exhibiting deadlines produces the best work.
Refine your analytical skills. Constantly look at things and exhibitions and ask questions. Go to a wide variety of exhibitions (not just "your" subject). Have an A5 exhibition book (this is the best piece of advice Vanda gave me). On 2 facing pages only, note the exhibition title, date, venue. Draw something. Look at the subject matter, staging, lighting, layout, order of works. Note your opinion of what you looked at. Note ideas you had, that in any way related to your work. Buy one postcard and attach in an original way to the page (I am a stitcher, so I use lots of different ways of sewing). Be critical and apply your thoughts to your work.
Keep a blog and chew over anything you are considering. Blind alleys are part of the creative process, and show development. If not used in the current project, they will be useful at a later date.
Be aware our degree is Contemporary Applied Art. It is not fashion, product design, or commercial textile print. Contemporary means it is of our age. I found this difficult to understand and still struggle to define it. Historical issues can influence our work but we should not do a historical representation. Our degree is about Art applied to something - and we use the forms of textile, ceramic, glass and jewellery. Therefore we need to do a lot of art. I found it strange that I did not do an art class at UH, as part of the degree, but have the resource and motivation to do this outwith the university.
Read the verifiers feedback from previous years. And use it. This is how I realised the importance or documenting my artist research, and making it clear which artists influenced each of my pieces of work. I wrote their names on the cover of the research folder, to make it easy for the verifiers to see who influenced me.
