Show (and tell) time...

A very handy pinboard with 'censored' lengths

I have been quite stressed, somewhat, or rather what comes with being mentally busy. Preparing for hand in today was slightly fraught to say the least. Other things were determined to get in the way but I eventually got there, minus 2 x A2 paintings that strangely have disappeared off the face of the earth, no doubt I shall find them tomorrow. Maybe it was a sign.

Bound to be writing

I have less practical work this time, more thinking and focusing though..and, there is still a way to go; sampling, experimenting, refining (repeating ad infinitum) and only then producing final pieces.

Pantone colour for 2016 :-)

Today I had to present my work, I had a plan but as is usual it went by the wayside once I started rabbiting, as sometimes I am wont to do. I managed to continue to speak for a good 20 minutes and for someone as quiet as me (!) I think that's an achievement, and I only slightly 'filled up' with the emotion of my subject, once.

I said all I had to say, another achievement as usually I'm kicking myself for missing out that all important, crucial word. (Although one will probably come to me later).

Anyway, I feel good.

Worn out. Raised pile

AND I have big idea's. I will tell you more/them next week...Ciao

P.S. I have just remembered... I forgot to mention Auschwitz.

The End (of something) is Nigh?

Ivan of Chernobyl - Hand Embroidery

I am handing in my main project work for assessment today/tomorrow... I have a suitcase full AND an A2 portfolio. I have already submitted the written part which took me much longer than it should have, due to nitpicking and formatting troubles, the words only took half of the total time, the rest was spent stressfully getting text to line up and images to stay in the correct position. I ended up having to do the whole thing in 'InDesign' as 'Word' is so awful. 

My main concern at the moment is getting it all off the train quickly enough, once that is done my next concern will be 'curating' my sketchbook, notebooks and file on a table (?!) then the presentation of it tomorrow, and filling 25 minutes up with talking.

To help me I will get some preparation done now:

Introduction:

The summing up of my timeline; where I started, where I am now and how I got there.

I'm assuming the tutors will have already read my in depth, reflective essay about that and my process, so hopefully it will be more about the artwork than the theory this time although I'm not so sure!

Show/flick through examples; A2 paintings, my sketchbook, best (mounted) photographs, and fabrics. I must say it IS professionally presented.

My strengths during this project- Practice 1:

• primary research
• visual interpretation/communication of idea's
• testing of initial thoughts
• relevance of materials and techniques to concept/subject
• presentation

Ivan - Detail/Reverse

What didn't work technically?

• digital stitch programming - so far I haven't been able to get it to do what I want, BUT I just need more time.
• laser cutting matching/combined with print (as above), need to sample 'printing' WITH the laser (which I used to be able to do. cf rastering)

What I intend to develop (further) in Practice 2:

• it all feels a little 'bitty' i.e. not logical, due to my ideas jumping about - I hope to focus on ONE main area, at least for a while and actually produce some solid work... I am starting to worry that I have only 18 months left and it doesn't seem long enough to produce an embroidery collection at couture level based on whatever... it could take me that long just to do ONE sample (from past experience).
• confidence - I am confident with the practical aspects regarding the quality, skills, aesthetics and initiative evident within my work, but I need to better articulate my thought process and intellect with regards to the not yet, completed project. My confidence will come from believing that I understand what I want to achieve, and have the knowledge and imagination to convey it to the critic and feeling that it is personal to me but shared and appreciated by others.

I am happy with what I have done, even though it never seems enough and there are too many idea's to try and then to progress and to develop further until they are beautiful... AND I STILL have to research the theory of Aesthetics.

So my conclusion is:

• that I will produce (by the end of practice 3 - the final module) 'a collection of pieces on a theme/addressing an issue, for exhibition' (probably) about Chernobyl and the related issues surrounding the world's worst nuclear disaster, and on it's 30th anniversary. 
• to forget about the fashion fabric design collection, I have decided I am NOT a commercial designer AND I can produce that anyway later if I so choose, from the experimental samples I produce whilst doing the above...can't I?

And, the FINAL conclusion is:

... there is never an end. Is there?

Peer Presentations...

(and learning outcomes)

I was *lucky* with my group 'No.9'. Me, Jacek, Darryl & Ulysses. I went first, this is an excerpt from my introduction;

'I am a textile and surface designer specialising in fabrics for fashion, embellished surfaces and embroidery, now leaning towards textile art. I want to create work that has meaning and more depth, and as a vehicle for raising awareness of issues for international exhibition.'

Working Title(s):

1.     The Presence of Absence 

2.     The Trace of Heterotopia 

3.     Motherland  

I showed 3 examples of artwork, a flick through this blog and my bibliography to illustrate that I understood and was achieving the learning outcomes (!). It went well, I appeared organised and thorough, it didn't matter that I had done the preparation in order to reduce my nerves and help me remember what I wanted to say! The feedback was very positive for which I am grateful. It was more interesting and exciting for me to see what the others, from different disciplines i.e. photography and graphic design, were working on. Then we had to post one image and 20 words on a Tumblr page. (Have a look!) This is primarily for other (and prospective) students to get an idea of what we, as current MA students are all working on.

After that we had to find a partner who was not in that group or from our discipline to dissect the feedback and rewrite our original presentations. I was with Javier, we didn't really do that, but we did talk about our work and he invited me to be in his magazine about 'Memory', I accepted of course. So I now have a 'collaborator'.

Aside: I am rather disappointed in myself for not taking any photographs of today's activities.

Alice Kettle: Pause (detail)

Then a late lecture about her work by the Alice Kettle who is a research fellow at MMU. Interestingly she said there would possibly be an opportunity to work with her on some unknown future project. I'm up for that! Wow.

P.S. I may have to change over to Wordpress, I'm having trouble with my formatting.

To present (in a formal and ceremonious way)...

I present...

A research study project on a (local) contested territory.

On a productive and painless morning, the last session with my lovely group, we surveyed our (very hard to get) exhibition space and then went and played a game to generate a jumble of phrases to describe our joint 'production', it was a great idea which luckily worked first time, whether anyone else will be able to understand it is debatable (though not that necessary) but it's conceptual and fits with the theme! I will be really sad not to be in this class anymore. I am thinking of going to do a 'Contested Territories' MA instead.

Contested Territories Selection

So then, I had to centre myself and focus on the 'presentation' of my work to 2 lecturers. It went much better than I had hoped, because they were nice. It was very positive overall although my blog should be more academic and my final piece should really have been more minimal/abstract. I can live with that. I think I may even pass but only if someone lovely irons my exhibit before it gets hung. I am grateful it's getting hung (and wafted).

Now just to electronically submit and turnitin. Then on with the Practice 1 module (after Paris of course).