Reflection On the Project Thus Far and My Plans Going Forward

Reflection On the Project Thus Far and My Plans Going Forward

(Reflection on Module 2 and What I intend to do going forward)

Reflecting on my work is an important part of evaluating what I have done and the direction I need to take next. In this essay, it is my intention to go through my body of work and reflect on each aspect critically. This will inform my main aims for the next phase of the project, as well as aspects that I want to experiment with further or alter as my initial lines of investigation becomes clearer and focused. Although I have tried to look at a number of areas of my practice and subsequently experimented briefly with lots of small aspects, looking critically at what I have done will show me where I need to put more focus going forward.

Initially I began with researching artists that had similar subject matter, choice of medium and specifically used their practice as a resource for their role in educating others. This was important for me to begin with because, as outlined in my proposal, my intention is to use my practice to inform the creation of online workshops on a website I will produce. Therefore, looking at artists who educate others on their specialisms is a crucial aspect of understanding where my work sits in context with others and the need for educational resources produced by artists. With this in mind, I decided to look at Jemma Gunning and Luke Adam Hawker in order to generate some of my own ideas and give myself some direction at the very start of the project. I found this valuable because both artists are heavily involved with creating and delivering educational workshops that are based on aspects of how they work, as well as both having similar subject matter to that of my own. Having both aspect with clear similarities to my own interests within my work, it provided me with a starting point of initial notes, as well as a mind map of defining elements of my own practice that I could make into educational content. Although this was a very brief starting point which I could have investigated further into, I feel that looking at these artists briefly while identifying elements of my practice that I deem to be important was crucial at the start of this project because it gave me broad areas of interest to investigate from the beginning. Looking retrospectively on this aspect of the project, I think that one area I could have improved upon was making more of a note between how the artists use their practice as the subject matter for their workshops, as well as just briefly looking at the work. I think this may have give me a slightly more defined direction to go into at an early stage. But, I think that keeping it broad a the beginning, where you can be open to the project going down multiple lines of investigation can be beneficial to its success because you are not putting limitations on what you experiment with. Another aspect that I think I could have added at this stage of the project was more artist references. Adding more artist reference points gives greater justification of the importance of artists using their practice and specialism in ways that are socially engaging or more educationally minded. It also helps when trying to produce a project that considers these connections between practice and the delivery of arts education.

Alongside this initial research, throughout the project I have been researching and analysing the work of other artists who used drawing alongside other mediums such as painting and how they used the drawings to inform other areas of their practice. Artists such as Van Gogh and George Shaw have been included within my research because of the way they approached other mediums and how they produced multiple interpretations of the same image in different mediums. It has helped me consider how I use my references, the outcomes I create from them and also how different mediums produce different feelings and subsequent outcomes. This really enriched my understanding because often I would only use a reference once, and then move on to something else. By looking at these two artists, who used drawing as a preliminary stage in their process, I was able to understand how the artist’s process is vital to the outcome. Often, I would not consider the preparation aspect of a finished piece of work, which resulted in me developing very similar outcomes. By experimenting with observational sketching and generally drawing in different ways will be able to inform me further and change the outcomes of my final, more ‘finished’ pieces. This will only help influence my workshops and help me teach others how to consider drawing in new ways and to be experimental with it. This is something I want to continue considering throughout the next phase of my project because I feel it has really helped me understand how to develop my drawing abilities through looking at the process of other artist’s.

I went on to pursuing a line of investigation and experimentation in the project through collating some reference images to draw from. Collecting such imagery is important at an early stage because it gives me a starting point to refer to in early drawings and sketches, while solidifying a subject matter. I decided to continue with the subject matter from a previous project; small structures such as sheds, outbuildings and agricultural buildings. I think this subject matter really stretches my creativity and has a greater connection to my memories of being around such buildings on the allotment, a place I went with my dad and grandad. Connection to place is a significant aspect of my work because I associate places with fond memories. Many of the buildings I have documented previously have been ones that were owned by my grandad, his friends or my dad. I have slightly branched out from this by adding agricultural structures and other outbuildings, as many of these buildings are connected to allotment gardening that I am familiar with. They also represent many places I have been thought my childhood. With this in mind, the references I began to collate are pivotal to my personal practice because they will be used as primary references for the drawings I produce. This then influences the workshops I plan because the work I make acts as the exemplar work, as well as the photographs being a reference for the participants. I have found that many aspects of the way I work intertwine with each other, forming a gradual process that I often repeat. I think this is a beneficial method of working because it indicates each aspect of how I work has a purpose and it meaningfully influences other aspects of my practice when I produce larger drawings.

Although I think this aspect of my project has been limited heavily, I think the variety of photographs I have been able to collage has been really useful, and will continue to be as I produce more and more large or small drawings. However, I think that this area was heavily affected by COVID restrictions. This is because of the limitations of going outside and finding appropriate subject matter. But, I do feel that this part of the project is something that will always be ongoing throughout my work. As I find new subject matter, adding it to the collection of photographs will only broaden the project and make it more diverse. But, due to the current climate, my small collection of subject matter shows that I am both limited but still have a variety that I can produce work from. I do think that if such restrictions were not in place I would have had a wider variety of subject matter and would have been able to analyse my photographic decisions further, as well as have more creative freedom on the drawings I produce from them. However, I am pleased that many of the photographs that I have can be both used by myself and the participants of the online workshops I am creating due to their quality and range of intricacies.

In light of collating references, I have been able to produce five A2 fine liner pen drawings of a selection of sheds and outbuildings. All of the drawings have different focuses and show slightly different mark making techniques or approaches, however they look similar due to the medium used. As I have been influenced by the artists mentioned earlier, my emphasis on a number of these drawings was to be informed by preliminary sketches and make a clear focus on the preparation behind the finished pieces. I want to produce more fluid and experimental drawings in the next phase of the project that really stretch my drawing abilities and I feel I will be able to do this through focusing on how I collate references, how I use my photographic references and find new ways to interpret what I can see through different mark making approaches. Although I feel that the drawings I have produced are strong, I still want to see how I can improve and alter my approach to drawing through further experimentation because I think this will ultimately give me a greater understanding of drawing and how I can pass that knowledge on through my workshop content. Being able to generate a range of outcomes that show how I can draw in different ways will also create some diversity in the larger drawings. Experimenting with a medium that has a limited tonal range and that is very difficult to blend can be a challenge, but focusing less on creating finished products will allow me to leave work at different stages and approach my ability to experiment with drawing differently to previous projects.

Integrating drawing from observation into my practice in a more prominent manner has been a positive aspect of the project thus far because it has resulted in me creating a selection of A4 drawings that show different drawing approaches. My main aim for the sketches was to capture the form of the buildings and some of the prominent details. I have found that I am beginning to be slightly looser with my drawing, both larger pieces and small, because I have put more emphasis on experimenting with how I draw in different situations. I think this has been very beneficial to the workshop aspect of the project because all of the areas of experimenting that I am trying to do will inform the tasks and tips given in the educational resources. Experimenting with my process and not solely relying on photographic references has allowed me to draw basic, eye view reference points which I can later create more ‘finished’ work from. This has been beneficial because it has highlighted how important a clear understanding of perspective, mark making and fundamental drawing skills are to my practice. Which is why many of my plans for my workshops focus around fundamental drawing skills such as perspective and how to approach drawing in different ways.

I intend to experiment further with drawing from observation going forward in the project, and also taking some of the approaches form drawing this way into larger pieces of work. I also want to look into changing the surface I work on, drawing in pencil, looking into negative space further and possibly changing the colour of the ink depending on the chosen surface. All of these factors will adapt my approach to drawing further and allow me to experiment more in the next stage of the project.

While experimenting with drawing, I was also experimenting with ways to document my process. This is an important aspect of my project because I want to document what I do for the purposes of the workshops I am producing. Although I would consider this to be an area of the project that needs the most improvement and further experimentation, I think the videos I have created show how effective documenting your own process can be when trying to explain how to do something. Also, watching how someone works is a really effective method of learning, regardless on if the person in the video is saying anything. Seeing how the marks are made and how the person uses their chosen medium can be useful in understanding what the artist does and how they approach their process as a whole. As I am wanting to show students how to draw and apply certain techniques to their work, having a workshop with video content to supplement the written resources helps to target learners who are more visual and may struggle with reading. It adds to the interactive nature of the online resource that many would expect form an educational workshop. I have experimented with screen recording on an iPad while drawing as well as some in-person recording. This is very new to my practice and I acknowledge that it will take further experimentation to create videos that are high quality and effective, however learning to document myself will help me in many different ways. Building confidence in being on camera, how I show people how to approach certain drawing techniques and also being able to document a piece of work from start to finish are all areas I want to develop in this project. It is my intention to continue producing videos and supplement this with more, relevant research. One area where I feel I need to research is how other artists approach video content and possibly follow along to see what I can create from their teaching. I have briefly looked at Bob Ross, as well as other artists who run workshops based around their own specialism, but I haven’t looked specifically at video and how artists use it to the extent I would have liked. Therefore it is a goal to research further in this area to see if it can improve the way I approach videoing myself. Also, researching how to video yourself when producing work to ensure I am getting the appropriate view of my work so what I am doing can be seen and explained properly.

Finally, I decided on a direction for my workshop content and have begun planning the content. As I want multiple workshops on the website I am producing, I wanted to select areas of my practice that were important enough to produce a workshop around. The most important areas of my practice are perspective, mark making and choice of medium which are all areas I want to create or incorporate into workshops. I have decided to produce a perspective workshop first because I feel its one of the most important fundamentals of drawing, as well as something I use every time I draw due to my chosen subject matter. From this decision I have begun drafting written content and producing worksheets with different tasks on them. I have done various research on other educational content from artists and educators in order to develop my own. I found that a mixture of tasks, artist references and helpful tips and tricks are all useful in helping someone understand how to use a certain technique. Looking at the resources of artists and teachers showed me that the information needs to be clear, easy to understand and to provide enough diagrams so that the student can follow along with each task themselves. The added complication of having my workshops online is a lack of physical interaction with the students, therefore important tools such as clear tips, videos and diagrams become really important to the usability of the workshops. To check the usability I tested a two tasks on my brother who is a home-educated student who relies on online resources. I felt that this was, and will continue to be, important to do because I can directly test if my tasks that I have devised work and are easy to understand. The fact that they were successful with a student who struggles with aspects of his learning was a really positive and I feel that as I go through and produce more within this written workshop, I will have him test more tasks to assess the usability of the content.

I have been able to write half a workshop on perspective, focusing the first section of key terminology and one point perspective. Although it is taking time to slowly put together, it think that I have been able to produce a series of information, tasks and worksheets that are really easy to use, are beneficial to my target audience of KS3/4 and also be suitable for a student at home. There are aspects of the workshop I am keen to expand on and improve such as the layout, adding more content and refining it into a more finished product. However these aspects are done over time and with more research required on how to approach the next stages of its construction. I have also been storyboarding tasks that are able to be documented by video, labelling them the ‘draw-along’ section of the workshop. Storyboarding the videos has been really useful in planning what each video would look like, as well as condensing each task into four or five easy steps for the student to understand. This is something I intend to do more of going forward in the project because I feel that I did not do enough planning in this area up until this point. As mentioned previously, having a workshop with interactive or videoed elements is vital to the engagement and overall understanding of the student. Having simple one, two and three point perspective tasks documented on video also helps with students who may feel daunted by drawing to follow along visually, at their own pace. By the end, it is my intention to publish this on an online education website that I create, as well as having a bank of videos on the website where students can re-watch tasks as a reference point for their future work both in or out of school.

Looking back on the project thus far, I can see positives in terms of how many areas I have been able to experiment in, and the outcomes that have come from this. One major area of improvement I would like to focus on would be the video content and how I both plan and execute this aspect of my work. Although it is very new to me, I still want to refine my technique to produce videos for the workshops that are clear and easy to follow. To do this I will research into video further and how artists use it effectively. Another area I want to improve is my personal drawing skills and how to diversify it to push my practice into new areas of discovery. I think I need to push myself creatively to focus less on ‘finished’ work and try to create a body of work that is more experimental and diverse in terms of drawing. Below, I intent to create a brief action plan of what I intend on doing next for the project in light of my reflection. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of my project up until this point, and acknowledge that areas require further investigation and development to make the outcomes more realised.

ACTION PLAN:

• Make further alterations to the perspective workshop: Add tasks and information about two and three point perspective, as well as alterations to the worksheets. There is also a need for a visual alteration to make it look more professional.

• Finalise the workshop in its entirety: Get to a point with the workshop that it feels complete and have it tested for its usability. This is important to do to check if the workshop is clear, easy to understand and if a student can apply the technique being shown to them in their own work

• Experiment with Video Further: this is important because I have only done eight or nine videos in the project so far, which means I need to do more to experiment with angles, what I am capturing and how to capture it. More research is required in this aspect of the project to help with my overall understanding.

• Experiment Further with My Drawing and Find ways to incorporate it into my workshops: As my practice develops and changes I want my workshops to reflect this. Having new ways of drawing, on new surfaces, new inks or using pencil are all areas I could explore and incorporate into my workshops to show how to diversify your work in different ways while focusing on the fundamentals of drawing.

• Begin putting together the website: Putting the website together is an aspect of the project I have not looked into yet. But, having a clear and easy to navigate website that the workshop can be available on is important because I want students to be able to use it easily.