Group Work - 14th March 2013

This activity involved us all to work as a group and find out what we were all interested in and how a certain image shown to us give us ideas on group work. My mind was set on working in a primary school, and the area i wanted to push was textiles, as i felt there was an absence of it in the primary school art curriculum. We came up with ideas on what we would do in our environment and how we would engage people. I felt these questions were quite important, engaging people and maintaining their interest in the subject is key, if focus is lost especially in a primary school the children may start acting rowdy and distract others. Ive learnt that we need to establish their motivation and bring in new skills for them with from our own experiences.

We looked at a image above of a group of Ducklings. We were asked to say what we thought about that image and how it related to group work. Many ideas come over, which i never thought could come out of such an image. Ideas of leadership, teamwork and community were shown through that image. These ideas will help me once I'm in my environment, as i may be asked to work in a team or leading a group.

Research and First Impressions.

My decision for picking college one was because I wanted to be able to teach people about art and textiles. I felt like this area lacked in places like primary school and I wanted to show these students what art and textiles is really about. I wanted to open more opportunities for them and for them to see the reality of the art and textiles world. People see textiles and art as a non-academic subject; I wanted to avoid that idea and put across the view that the subject I am currently learning is amazing and has allowed me to broaden my skills and knowledge in many areas. Doing this is a way of bringing out their creative side and is different from their normal curriculum subjects.  So allowing me to attend and show these children what I do is a way for myself to understand what children are like, give me a taster on working as a teacher and how I would cope in such an environment. Thinking about future ambitions, I have always wanted to become a teacher and so this college fit perfectly in what I wanted to achieve.

There were a number of organisations that interested me such as START and Venture arts, where we were able to work with disabled and mental health patients. I felt like this was an area where I never imagined working in, so I was intrigued by it. From the lectures, I could tell the patients were very talented and on levels above me. I felt this was an area, which could educate me on illnesses that I have not come across, and it was a way for us to learn from each other. However, attending the lecture on the Northernden Primary School, I wanted to be able to open the doors of art and textiles from a younger age, so I decided to focus on this area.

Much advice was given in each lecture such as planning ahead, planning realistic aims for the weeks of what you want to teach and encouraging everyone to join in activities. Also to think about the age group you are working with and how to understand and speak to them. Equipment, materials and techniques used are very important aspect. This area was frequently discussed in lectures and workshops. For example: Disabled students may need longer period of time to complete their work and may require help. This depends on the type of organisation you are working with. 

The introductory session on the 11^th march built our confidence up as we immediately had an ice breaking game with the group and got us interacting. The task we were given was to create a drawing on mug on what your partner was interested in. I felt this was such an exciting and fun way of getting to know someone, it breaks boundaries and tension. This may also be useful, as I could use this task in my environment. We were also given a tour of Stockport; coming to a new environment was daunting because of getting lost and not knowing where you’re going. I felt like this is related to entering the world of teaching, not knowing what’s going to happen, and where you’re going to end up. Will my mind change at the end of this project and where will I turn. 

UNIT X

COLLEGE ONE

This college will introduce you to a number of different ways of working as an artist educator, be that Artist in Residence, Gallery Educator, Teacher or Independent artist delivering workshops to the general public.

Evaluation

Digital Print is an area that allowed me to be broad with my decisions and so I decided to base my project on jewellery. I have chosen to do competitions for Bradford textiles society. This brief was broad and allowed me to experiment. The detail, colour, material of jewellery etc. fascinated me. I wanted to produce a collection of prints that had the feel of jewellery as it is seen to be precious, secretive and valuable. I wanted to create that discreetness within my pattern, to show that woman wear jewellery in secret.
I began my project by researching into eras that jewellery dominated and realised I was interested in the colour and detail of the Edwardian period. Colours of silver and pearl dominated that era of jewellery and so I took pictures of my own jewellery that had the characteristics of Edwardian jewellery. I started experimenting by using different medias to create my drawings from metallic pens to foil to try to create the surface of the jewellery. I then started to create my prints by combining both my images and drawings into one. I came up with my best eight prints and finalised two for both my competitions.
Throughout the project I felt like I was consistent and managed my time effectively, however if I had more time I think I could have produced prints that were to an even higher standard. I also would have been able to produce some of my print into actual garments. Overall, I felt the project went well and I enjoyed having competitions to do, although they were challenging. From digital print, I felt I have gained another set of skills, as I explored the adobe program illustrator, which was useful and will be beneficial for future projects.

prints.

drawings