The main think that i have learned from the previous tasks in the Professional Development module has been that i really need to improve upon my research skills as it is something i always burry my head in the sand about in every project. what i need to do is to look deeper into the artists intended meanings for the works, their techniques and processes that they use and how and just more about the artist in general. this is something i normally will just rush through and skim over information and this leaves me feeling that i never learn much from the research, which if i did it correctly i would learn so much more about what the pieces mean, more than just they look nice. and i would learn so much about the art world and how similar another artists ideas could be to my own ideas about art and what they want to say with their work.
Category: Personal Development
Inspiration in my work
The main thing that inspires me with my artwork is often more historical based. i find history fascinating and often use this within my work. because of my interest in history it helps me to feel inspired in my artwork and gives me a subject to go off of, often when I’m not using history i struggled to produce ideas and develop them further into a final piece. I don’t often find much inspiration at the local galleries, as at the Laing art gallery it is all grand, fine paintings that as much as i love them and their history they aren’t where i am at in my practice so i don’t take much knowledge from them. At places like the baltic where it is filled with more contemporary pieces, i often don’t find much inspiration from them, as i often don’t understand what the artist is trying to say with them, i do however quite often like the looks of the pieces or the vast range of materials that are often used.
First Year Targets
Over the course of this year i have found that the strategies that have worked best for me have been to experiment with different techniques before making the final outcome, this helped me to have a bit more understanding of techniques and materials before using them. it also helped my initial ideas develop further. The tasks i have found easiest this year has been to produce a final piece with different processes. i feel that i often spend too much time developing my ideas than actually making them as i get stuck on my ideas sometimes and don’t leave enough time to get my final piece done ahead of schedule. the main thing that i have avoided is the research and the general upkeep of the sketchbooks. this often leaves me in a mad rush in the last week or two of the project to get everything finished and recorded in my sketchbook. this does however help me to get everything done quickly and efficiently however if i set more time throughout the projects to doing the sketchbook i might be able to do things to a higher level of work. next year i think i will try to split my time evenly throughout the project, for example setting a certain amount of time to update my sketchbook rather than working outside of the sketchbook.
Second Year action Plan
Next year one of the main skills i want to develop is my print making skill. i have previously used printing techniques in previous courses i have studied however it is something i haven’t done a lot of in recent years and it is something i want to bring back to my work. i will do this by asking for print room access next year so that i can develop my skills further. I feel that this might be the way i take my artwork further and into a more specific practice within my work.
The main weakness in my work is my researching skill. it is something i have talked about in other blog posts. i think that this is something i really need to focus on next year to bring my marks higher in my projects next year. The main thing i have enjoyed is the freedom of experimentation from this year, i feel that i have developed my skills to a higher level and a more professional finish to my pieces, i want to take this further into my second year so that my works can be more and more professional. Next year i want to develop my photoshop skills and my print making skills further as i feel that i am at my happiest with my work while doing these things. I am currently unsure on what i want to do as a career when i finish my degree, i do want to be a working artist however i don’t know how i will bring in money from that. this is something i can work on over the next two years to get into a place where i know what my career will be.
NCG Online
As part of our final task we had to do a diagnostic report of ourselves. below are my results from my report.
Diagnostic Report Results
as you can see from my results my note taking is a rock bottom. this is due to my dyslexia making it harder for me to write notes. if someone is talking and i need to write down what they are saying while they are saying it i am unable to write the notes because i will be so focused on writing them that i won’t be able to listen meaning i don’t take the information in and won’t be able to write anymore of it down. this is something i need to work on as i then don’t have notes to refer back to.
Creating and Using an Action Plan
Activity: create your action plan
What is my long-term goal?
My goal is to get onto a top up course for my degree
Objectives: what do I want or need to learn?
1. Complete second year
2. Think about what course i want to do 3. attend open days
4. Build portfolio
5. Look at Dyslexia stratagies
Actions: what will I do to achieve this?
- Look at different courses
- print images for portfolio
- Look into college dyslexia support
Resources: what resources or support will I need?
1. Online Research
2. Visit Uni’s
3. look into Dyslexia support online
Success criteria: how will I know if I have succeeded?
I will have recieved a place on my chosen course
Deadlines: what are my target dates for review and completion?
Review date – first week of second year Completion date – end of second year
Reflection of my first year
As the first year of my fine art degree course is coming to an end, here is a reflection of my thoughts and feelings on how my time has went. I feel that one of my main strengths of the course so far has been my experimentation with different techniques and processes to make my final pieces of work, this has been developing skills i already had and defining them so that they can be used to make a higher standard of work. i feel that my main weakness has been researching into artists as i don’t find it that helpful to my way of working, and as it is a requirement within my sketchbooks i feel forced into researching and i don’t get any enjoyment out of it, so i often try to avoid doing it as much as possible, I feel that i need to work on this during my second year so that i can have higher skills to take with me into my third year else where. this would really benefit me and my marks for the course.
Other than the research i feel i have greatly enjoyed my time in my first year of the course and i am looking forward to joining second year in September so i can develop my skills and work further to become more professional in my attitudes to learning and in the production of my work.
Maeve Dawson Art 