Learning Outcome 1: (Art Process)
Develop and realise a self-directed programme of learning which draws from wide-ranging subject knowledge. (AC Knowledge, AC Process)
My art practice has developed dramatically over the past eight months. I feel a lot more confident in where I am currently and also where I am going. I have become more experimental with materials and found ways to express ideas that I know are true to me. For instance the creation of ‘Mechanical Gut’ is running in the background which you can find here:
Here is the initial sketch and idea behind the piece:
Here is a reflection amidst the making process:
Whilst creating a larger piece that I am making, analysing and adapting during the process of creation, I am also creating smaller pieces such as ‘Doomscroll’ and ‘Take Your Fear Outside’, alongside this I am doodling and sketching by hand everyday, limiting myself to white oil pencil on black paper. Some pieces are very intuitive, such as ‘Dark, light, dark, light’ whilst I was on a walk up to Rodneys Pillar:
I continue to write in the mornings which is still helping my practice and have limited it to one page a day, the three pages a day were eating into time for creating which seemed futile. The pages themselves are adapting, they are less frantic, self focused and easily shifting to my thoughts on what I will do to improve or experiment that day. Some days the writing has become more poetic, for instance ‘Body Blue’ which can be found here:
Along with writing one page of handwriting a day I am also now practicing mark making every morning. Along with this I’m practicing form again and focusing on values and light source in my drawing as I feel I’ve fallen out of this ability. I sometimes have days where my morning drawing practice turns into experiments with watercolour, sketching and digital illustration. An example below
The print show, having deadlines and working to them, really challenged me in the best way possible. I experimented with several styles of print and reflected on whether I wanted to create a piece that appeals to the masses, fought with myself over whether I’m ‘Fine Art’ enough and found a happy medium between the two that felt the most real for me:
Learning Outcome 2: (Research Paper)
Articulate a thorough understanding of your research and establish an informed critical position. (AC Communication)
My research paper has completely changed the way that my brain works, or so it feels. It has changed the way I look at art as a practice itself, its benefits, that it is an inherent need within us. I now see my work, my views and my own interests as solidly places within a network of others researching and investigating.
I also created some accompanying artworks to put my research into practice during the writing process itself
Here is the link to my Research Paper
Learning Outcome 3: (Critical reflection)
Analyse and critically reflect on your practice and its context. (AC Enquiry)
My practice has changed and improved dramatically since the last unit. My thoughts and reflections on this can be found in my post summer blog post:
I have visited many more galleries this Unit and attended performances which has aided me to contextualise my own work. For instance my visit to the Do Suh Ho exhibition at the Tate where I realised what my perfectionism was stopping me from creating- I then went on to begin drawing everyday and it felt as if a plug had been pulled from my chest:
Also a visit to Ikon Gallery to see the exhibition ‘Thread the Loom’ where I had hands on experience with a weaving loom and saw works that felt familiar to my own work in the CSM interim show. Sitting and using a weaving loom in an exhibition space with resident artists that also loved working with fibre.
To further investigate the fibre arts aspects of my work I visited the Sari Exhibition at the Midlands Art Centre.
Visiting the Donald Locke exhibition and investigating the use found object, which I often use within my own work.
Marina Abromavic Erotic Epic, ritual, my own way of living and how it can tie more firmly into my work. Along with visiting the Ben Edge exhibition with a sacred space, linking to my idea of exhibition and church being intrinsically linked. His work blends traditional UK folk ritual and modern day experience. Finding and experiencing in person, the work of other artists that are exploring similar areas to myself has helped me to firmly contextualise my practice and find the similarities and difference between my explorations and theres. For instance my interest and pull towards the digital landscape and how ritual relates to our behaviours within that space. My work aims to utilise the idea of ritual in art practice to also explore ‘rituals’ that draw us into technological systems.
I also spoke to artist Hanny Newton about her work exploring straw spinning and straw craft, which gave me further insight into art as ritual and embedding into the physical through craft
Since writing my research paper, I am now in a space where I am using the process of creation to not only analyse where I need to go next, what works and what doesn’t. I now also analyse how I feel, explore concepts and thoughts about the world. What comes out in the movement and how that effects the work itself. An example of this can be found during the creation of ‘DoomScroll’
I am now a lot more confident in jumping in when it comes to ideas, allowing things to be imperfect and use the knowledge from one piece to inform the next. Here’s an example of the ideas and reflection that came from shooting a test shot for ‘Take your fear outside’
Rae Eliza Digital 