Tuesday, 15 May 2018

Studio Brief 1 Professional Strategy



SCRIPT

1. Hi
        Hi as most of you know I'm Jenny.
2. First year
I started putting this presentation together by looking at my presentation which i gave this time last year. Here are 2 slides from that presentation about what I wanted my work to become, and then what my manifesto was for this year. I was surprised to see how much of this I had accomplished but you can be the judges of that too after this presentation. I struggled a lot with first year and I was worrying too much about everyone else work and not making the brief's my own, and didn't like any of my work and in second year I really set out to make work I enjoyed at liked. I knew I wanted my work to have themes of enchantment, magic, the dark and unknown.
3.Second year
Overall EVALUATE
4.Strengths and what I've learnt
I've learnt so many skills this year, more information about the illustration business and also more about myself and what I enjoy. I've learnt more printing methods in 503, especially lino printing and how to incorporate foil into lino prints. I have learnt so much on Photoshop, last year it was so alien to me but now it's so helpful and quick but I don't want to rely on digital. I want to combine both analogue and digital whilst keeping my tone of voice. I don't believe I've found my style but I think this year I have progressed a lot in finding my tone of voice. I want to carry on experimenting with different medias moving forward but also carry on combining analogue with digital. I like the rawness and unpredictability of analogue but the ease and immediacy of digital even if it's just for editing.
5. Need to improve on
This year I really could have improved on my research skills and the content of my work. I'm always inspired by nature, witchcraft and something but I feel I don't immerse myself fully in information like I could. I know I want my work to focus on magic, witchcraft, the occult, feminism but I think  I get a bit lost with motifs rather than the actual context but if I focused more on research I believe I could push my work and ideas a lot further. Also I feel I need to work more in my sketchbook to visually solve problems, because I often think about my work a lot without actually drawing and experimenting in my sketchbook and again I think my practice could be progressed more if I did this.
6. Colours May Vary
For the first time ever I was able to be part of an exhibition this year. It was really fun and eye-opening being in an exhibition and also helping put it together as a group. I had never realized how much went into planning and putting on an exhibition. The whole process taught me how to present my work in a professional way, as part of an exhibition and as standalone prints. I also sold 2 prints there which was cool cos never really sold any of my work before. This gave me a lot more confidence about my work which I was severely lacking so I suppose this was a real turning point for me in my practice.
7.COP
I enjoyed COP a lot more this year as I got to create work where I was really interested in the content. I chose to research witchcraft, in particular  why modern which craft is increasing and then for the practical part I created 3 greetings cards designs in an attempt to normalize witches. I think I enjoyed this so much because I had put so much into the research beforehand and then that showed in the final pieces. I need to apply this method to my other creative modules. I then got the cards actually printed, folded and packaged with an envelope and I intend to sell. I realized in this module that I find making an actual product really satisfying and exciting.
8.504
So then for 504 I chose to go into retail and packaging. I've realized I prefer to make my own work on what I want and then apply it to products or make products to sell rather than keeping to a brief from someone else that I'm not really interested in. I'm definitely a lot more motivated when working like this. For 504 I created different designs for products such as patterns for bed sheets and tapestries, stickers and notepads etc. I went even further on this module and got some of the products actually made. 504 was the major turning point for me this year where I made the most work, enjoyed the work the most and realized what area of illustration my work sits best.
9.Selling stuff and setting up Insta
Since 504 I learnt how to use laser cutter and also how to make stickers so I have started making my designs into stickers and I've also made earrings and fairy lights I've been selling. Also this year I set up and art instagram and have been posting regularly, I know most students do this anyway but for me it was a big thing as I had never really had to confidence to post my work out there to the public before.
10. Inspiration
For the contact report in the professional practice module I contacted 2 illustrators who inspire me Camille Chew and Cassidy Rae Marietta. Both are inspired my themes of feminism, the occult and this task really pushed me as I would never have the confidence to contact someone as it was a really scary thought but after doing it I would happily do it again.
11. Application
They both make incomes from online shops like etsy, society 6 and red bubble. They gave me many tips in their replies to me and they said websites like society 6 are great as they print on demand and you only have to make the work and they take care of the rest and it supplies them with most of their income. They also said through their online shops, they have been offered commissions where based on the work they have made. They gave me a lot of confidence when hearing about how they got to where they are now, it's really reassuring knowing they started out like me once
12. What do I want to do next year
The past 9 months have made me realise what I want to do, given me way more confidence and shaped my work into something I'm a lot more happy and excited about. Moving forward into level 6 I want to sell work on etsy, take part in craft fairs to sell work and meet illustrators, and I want to keep making more work and having fun with it. Also, after the group project in PP where we proposed an idea of an art therapy centre it has made me realise my interest in community art. Over summer I am volunteering in art workshops in prisons and with homeless people and then from September I am planning to volunteer with the workshops at Inkwell once a week.
13. What I want to work towards after uni
I think in the future community art is something I want to volunteer in but also I want my own practice. Hopefully I can find a way of juggling the two even if it's just volunteering once a week to give back to the community. Over summer I'm going to set up an etsy and put some work on society 6 and also volunteer to gain experience.
14. Manifesto
Looking back at my manifesto from last year and realizing I had accomplished a lot of it I thought I'd set some goals for next year too. I want to put more into researching and really think about what I want to say with my work, make more stuff to sell, and sell more stuff, by setting up an etsy/society 6, and doing craft fairs, and also volunteer different places and gain experience.
15. Thank you


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