End of year presentation

I decided to write down everything I want to cover in my presentation, because I feel like I have so much to say, that I wanted to get it right. I hope I remember everything I have written, but if I don't please read this because it covers so much for me...

(There may be spelling mistakes and random bits but you get the general idea)

If you had asked me this time last year to define my practice, I would have stumbled, and probably given you a completely different answer to today. In this presentation I aim to sum up who I am as a practitioner today, what has happened along the way for me to make these realisations, and where I aim to take my practice in the future.

Last year, the only thing I was confident about was the fact that I wanted to create images through use of analogue methods. I knew I loved screen printing, and anything that meant being a little more hands on.

I was unsure of my practice, and what context to place it in. Being uncertain never filled me with confidence, not only in the work I was producing but also when I was to think about a future career. I wouldn’t have said a year ago that I wanted to continue a career in illustration at all. The love for it has always been there, but the uncertainty of everything seemed to overrule my ambitions somewhat.

I’ve always put pressure on myself to find a distinct style, or a way of working that people could distinguish. However, I realised something this year that has eliminated this worry.

In the past, I had always considered process over content. My focus was always on traditional means of image making, and the never ending search for a style, when all along, what’s really mattered to me the most is what I can say with my work. Having a voice.

My practice has always been diverse, and now I welcome that.

How did I get to this point of realisation?

COP was a good starting point. I learnt so much about my practice during the module. I discovered a new way of working that made it possible for me to apply across a range of disciplines. The method of image making enhanced my skills set, but the knowledge that this method could be used to communicate the same thing in numerous ways was far more enlightening. I tried to eliminate limitations, so that I could communicate to a wider audience. The idea of working with theory, and translating this into visual imagery was the start of me realising the importance of content

Not long after Cop, my housemates and I took a little trip to Warsaw. For no particular reason, purely because the flights were cheap, and we knew the city would be cheap. However, that trip changed a lot for me. It gave me a strange internal inspiration, that I find difficult to explain. The design there was amazing. I came back and instantly knew I would visit again.

I decided to make this zine, that documented our time there, just as a quick personal project. Mainly because I felt so inspired when I returned. This was the first real bit of documentary illustration that I did, which now, surprises me. I can’t believe it took me this long to place my work into a context that worked for me.

Because Warsaw inspired me so much, I decided to email various studios out there, with the potential to intern with them. I will continue to pursue this. I heard back from one studio called Edgar Bak, who are a small team of mainly graphic designers, who have worked for an impressive range of clientele. They told me that they might be taking on an intern later in the year, so I will be chasing this up. Although im not a graphic designer, I feel like I could bring something new to the table, and I could learn a lot from them. With this sudden change of heart, and actually wanting to go after a career in the creative industry, my work ethic completely changed.

I tried really hard to immerse myself in as many creative opportunities as possible. Ive spent a considerable amount of time in the studio, which has improved my practice no end. Just having creative people around me is something I value so much. My peers have taught me so much, and ive found that I am far more confident to just ask for help if I don’t understand something. Ive learnt some shortcuts on photoshop that could have potentially saved me hours in the past. In the studio, I feel like I learn something new everyday, and its exciting!

One of the most influential parts of this year for me has been the Out of Order exhibition. I really wasn’t expecting my print to be as successful as it was. Not only did I sell quite a few in the shop, but I also had people contacting me for prints, some of them I didn’t know either! This was a huge confidence boost for me, not only in work, but also in the networking sense. Being in regular contact with Becky and Andy was good practice, and they were always so encouraging.

Granted, I have hit a few creative brick walls this year, one of them being quite recent. It really threw me off, as I was doing so well, and I was so motivated after the out of order exhibition, that I guess it came as a bit of a shock, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.

When this happens, I realise how grateful I am to be on this course. The people I am surrounded by every day are so encouraging. Em Flan had a really great conversation with me about this one. I was far too focused on the finished product, and I had completely forgotten about process, and play.

I then had a tutorial with Matt, that confirmed this. It was probably the best tutorial I have ever had. He told me to start focusing on my final major project, which will basically be a documentary series based on the life of my dad. It was in this tutorial that I realised how important documentary illustration is to me, and how much it relates to me as a person. We also discussed certain theories that I then started to feed into my practice and project. Having more content and theory really interests me. We discussed flow theory and the open and closed mode of creativity which was a ted talk by john cleese, its really old but I recommend you watch it.

Which is basically…Your mind operates in two ways, open and closed. If your mind is open, you are able to be creative, if your mind is closed, you simply cannot create.

He explains the importance of the open mode. But also the importance of being able to switch between the two. When I put it into the context of my own work, I think what he means is that the idea is a form of creativity, so the sketchbook is where you are most likely to be in an open mode.
To then refine an idea or initial drawing into something thats polished and finished, it is important to enter the closed mode, by which you are focused on that particular thing.

My creative block was weighing me down because I wasn’t even close to the open mode. I was skipping it and aiming to finish something before I had started. The importance of play will now always be a defining factor within my practice.

Paula Scher on abstract says-

“You have to be in a state of play to design, if you are not in a state of play, you can’t make anything.” PREACHED.

To document things correctly, its important that I play with media and process, in order to document in a way that tells a story, communicates something or challenges it.

After this, I started to work like crazy in my sketchbook. I then started to extract elements from the mode of play, and added them into the refined illustrations. I found that by doing this, the image started to feel as though it was documented on location, which immediately gave it more depth, and more of a story. Discovering this way of working has really excited me, so much so that I have been really considering what I can do with reportage illustration. I want to be a journalist of visual imagery. But I want it to make a difference, I don’t want to document meaningless things. I would love for my work to evoke some form of positive social change.

Which is why I have just sent off my application form to volunteer in Greece this summer for a charity called the Timber project. It’s a not for profit organization that was founded to help refugees stranded in Greece and along the Balkan route. This is what they say-

Our projects are aimed at addressing the needs of refugees along the Balkan route.  We strive to improve conditions in the camps by designing and building structures such as distribution markets, children's playgrounds and communal structures which have been used to create women friendly spaces and wifi stations amongst many other applications.

I have written to them with the proposition of going out there to lend a creative hand. If they have any creative jobs that need doing, hopefully I will be considered. The idea would be to go out there, work towards making a difference for a cause that actually matters and makes a difference in the world, whilst using my degree to do so. I would then be able to come back, and work on a documentary series, based on the crisis out there, and the good work people are doing to improve it. I have come to the realization that experiences influence my practice no end. Understanding and learning that I want to work on a documentary portfolio has been great, but I don’t feel as though ive had the time to experience the things I want to document.

I have been asking about the creative in residence opportunity that the college offers, and if I was to get this, I would then have the resources and facilities to make this documentary series, thus improving my portfolio in a far more directed manner.

I could then apply to intern in Poland, making the intern an experience in itself. Both professionally and personally.

Because I have finally reached all of these decisions, I have found that creating an online presence for myself a far more enjoyable task, as I finally know what it is I want, and what I want to gain from my career in the future. I have tried to put the focus on the documentary side of things, in order to get work that is suited to me.

I recently finished a commission for an acquaintance, which had no relation to my practice what so ever. I did the work for next to no money, and didn’t even feel good about it at the end. This isn’t what I want.

I want my values to lie at the heart of what I do, both personally and professionally, if I can stick to this as much as possible, I think I will lead a happy life.

I will leave you with my values, that together, will hopefully create a professional practice that will help me to help make a difference in the world, as well as build me as a person…

EXPERIENCE, EMPATHY, POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE.

Thank you for listening, any questions?