Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION OUIL402 Personal & Professional Practice 1
Level
04
Credits
20
End of Module Self Evaluation NAME
Jay Stelling
1. What learning have you inherited through this module and how has it impacted on your own understanding of professional practice? Consider yourself as a student at University as much as an illustrator: Considering where I want to go and what I want to do after University has been a big part of this first year. I think it’s important to have a clear goal and direction so that I can strive towards this future objective. Throughout the year I’ve tried to make work that builds towards this and have been using my PPP blog to learn more about the industry I’m going into. I’ve learned about different types of illustration and where illustration exists. Although my intentions, aspirations and direction have changed throughout this first year, this module has helped me to understand how I can achieve these goals and follow in the footsteps of artists I admire. I’ve reviewed my own internal criteria for success. By standardising this list, I know how I can improve my work and celebrate my progress. I’ve learned how to sell my work on Etsy and have successfully made a profit from this! I’ve sold several dolls; I’m really proud of these sales but I’ve also learned that people are willing to pay more for OOAK art, so need to learn more about price tags and advertising. I’ve had to work independently and motivate myself to conduct research without the constant direction of a tutor or brief. 2. What approaches/ types of research have you found most valuable over this module? Why did they have such an impact? I’ve used Pinterest to gather a collection of reference ‘boards’. This has been an easy way to quickly explore themes, searching for artists who make work around a similar subject or artists that work with a particular media (paperclay dolls) or art form that I’m interested in (e.g. costume). This has been useful to collect, revisit and review my interests. I think that the more interested I have become in art forms, the more interesting my work has become. By looking at a wider range of artists and finding passion for them, I’ve become much more passionate about the work I’ve produced in response. I’ve enjoyed going out to visit galleries, exhibitions and performances such as ‘Moominland Midwinter’ in Manchester and Noel Fielding’s Art Exhibition in Harrogate. This has given me a chance to see the how different forms of illustration exist in the real world and to analyse them from a first-hand experience. Speaking to artists is another way that I’ve been able to understand how they work. Eleni Kalorkoti visited our course to chat to us about her practice and I enjoyed hearing how she set briefs for herself when her work wasn’t in demand, a very personal and sensitive issue that you don’t hear artists speak about in interviews. Attending Bigheads has been valuable because it’s allowed me to see inside the working environments of these artists. I particularly enjoyed watching Studio Mamma Wolf since they are artists that I’ve followed for years and it was exciting to finally see behind the work I’ve admired for so long. I’ve used my blog to document my research and then analyse subjects in depth, evaluating the work to decode how they have been made and what makes them successful. Since my blog has been so personal and pivotal to my development, I’ve been reading other artists’ blogs, like that of puppet-maker Alison Duddle, to investigate how they have tackled creative issues. The library has been useful to access books and journals – I even requested a book for my own interest ‘Mr Finch – Living in a FairyTale World’.
3. In what way has PPP informed the way your work in other modules and your illustration practice as a whole? Studying personal and professional practise has helped me to identify what a professional attitude is. Working in a professional manner has involved taking briefs seriously, as though they were real clients. It has also pushed me to make the most of group crits and peer reviews, giving and receiving valuable feedback on work produced on all modules. Since exploring the illustration industry, I’ve been thinking a lot more about the bigger picture and how my art could fit into this world. I’m asking myself more questions and being a lot more critical of my practice as a result of this. By consulting my criteria for success from PPP, I’ve identified areas of weakness and strengths of my work in each module within the end of module evaluations. I’ve conducted a consistent reflective practise for each module through my blog. Researching and using Pinterest has exposed me to lots of different artists, spurring my work to take on new directions, new media and new ways of working. I think I’ve gained some confidence in myself as an illustrator because this module has encouraged me to start thinking of myself as one, rather than just a student. The grades I’ve received have reinforced this confidence and I think I’ve been a little more adventurous and playful since finding this confidence, putting less restrictions and boundaries on myself. I don’t think I would have considered submitting a film to Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal Fan Film competition (as part of Vis Com Persons of Note) before PPP – I wouldn’t have thought it was relevant to my studies, appropriate for an illustration brief or possible in the time I had. I have impressed myself.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your PPP submission and how will you address this in the future? We’ve had lots of modules going on at the same time so I didn’t pay PPP as much attention as I should have. Next year I would like to devote at least one evening a week to blogging PPP (Feature Friday – an artist case study a week), starting from the start of the year rather than rushing at the end of the module. I need to be more consistent in this. I’ve let my anxiety get in the way and hold me back sometimes, feeling as though my work is not good enough or having doubts about an Illustration career. This is something I’m always working on and trying to battle and will continue to in the future. I found that taking on another persona gave me confidence in the Presentation and in the Studio, so this might be a way to overcome any illustration-related anxiety, by working under a pen name or assuming an alterego through performance. My illustrated self outcome was limited – I don’t think it’s my best piece of work, it doesn’t communicate very clearly and it’s not interesting enough! I think it could have been stronger if I’d used my sketchbook more to rough and plan alternative concepts. I’d like to visit more galleries, exhibitions, festivals and theatre shows.
5. What communities of practice and professional contexts do you intend to investigate further as you approach level 5? Why do they appeal to you? I’ve started to explore puppetry and performance within this module, such as the work of Jim Henson and The Horse and Bamboo Theatre Company. Puppetry appeals to me because it is a tangible and dynamic translation of illustration that I’ve had fun trying in VisCom. I studied performing arts at school and in Red Triangle Drama Group. I really miss acting and would like to study the relationship between storytelling and performance further. Jim Henson is again the reason why I’m interested in costume design, set design, special effects and make up. I’m curious as to how filmmakers manage to construct an entire, believable world and want to have a go myself. I’d be interested in collaborating with other specialisms too (e.g. fashion, photography etc.) My dolls exist as products on Etsy, so I want to learn more about the OOAK Art doll/toy trend and successful examples in this area.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’) 5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor 1 2 3 4 5 Attendance x Punctuality x Motivation x Commitment x Quantity of work produced x Quality of work produced x Contribution to the group x The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.
A copy of your end of module self evaluation should be posted to your studio practice blog. This should be the last post before the submission of work and will provide the starting point for the assessment process. Post a copy of your evaluation to your PPP blog as evidence of your own on going evaluation. Notes