Final Presentation

Script
1. Hello

2. LAU 
Since first year my work has changed so much. I came to first year knowing I liked drawing and that was it and I spent the whole year having no idea what work I wanted to make and looking at everyone elses work hating myself. For some reason it never clicked for me to make gothic work inspired by dark mythology or woodlands when that's all I've ever really liked or liked in other peoples work. When that clicked for me in second year, I began making work that I actually liked and began communicating that message of enchantment. I sold some prints in second year and then actually gained some confidence and then this year I've just carried on with defining my tone of voice, building a portfolio and making the work I've wanted to make.

3.How my work has changed COP
This year I've spent more time on detail and small mark making where as last year my work was more about digital shapes and texture. I prefer this new way of working, I find it therapeutic and I prefer the final outcome when knowing I've spent a long time on a piece of work, I've also enjoyed adding bits of foil and glitter for a magical element. This started in COP when I researched and drew the gothic mermaid and that turned into these detailed almost trippy drawings and that's where this way of working started. 

4. 604 
Since COP I've been mainly looking at mythological creatures, in particular I've been illustrating The Book of Imaginary Beings and that's where these images have come from. I've really been enjoying this and has given me context for where my work could sit in the future in publishing or as spot illustrations. I've realised my work would sit in fields such as this and also surface pattern, print based work or other designs like jewellery. 

5.Print fairs
I've had a bit of professional experience this year as I took part in my first print fair and then also a couple of others. This was one of my goals for this year when I looked back at my presentation last year so it's nice to see that I've achieved that. I took part in the Girl Gang Leeds one first and it was a great experience in meeting people, talking about my work and selling way more than I thought I was going to. This gave me so much needed confidence in my work and the knowledge that there is the market for my work out there. I've also taken part in the Gross Studio Print Fair and that was loads of fun too and then also the Headrow House Open house this weekend just gone. 

6.Find &Seek
Also, Aderice on our course set up a pop up shop called Find & Seek in the Corn Exchange and I was involved in that too. It was exciting to be part of something a bit different to a print fair and have my prints in an actual shop for a weekend. I learnt about selling my work in a more professional environment, how to write an inventory with product codes and I also worked in the shop for a few hours which was fun to talk to the customers about other people's work and what the shop was about. 

7.Myths & Legends
One of my fears with my work is that there isn't that much of a market or opportunities and I sometimes feel like a black sheep. I feel like I've struggled in finding any relevant competitions or briefs that I could do that could potentially lead to my work reaching a wider audience. But I recently came across this exhibition and the deadline is next month. I hope I get to be shown in it as it's something I'm really interested in and a subject matter most of my work revolves around currently and I feel like not many of these types of exhibitions are around. This is my work in progress entry, it's not finished yet but I thought I'd show it anyway. The exhibition is in Liverpool which would be exciting to have my work shown outside of Leeds and not so much to do with uni or people from uni, as new people will see my work. 

8.Shop Dixi
Again with this competition, I found it the other day and it's like it was made for me and I can't wait to enter as I buy pretty much all my jewellery from here. I'm really excited how my woodland illustrations could be used for something different like jewellery designs. If I actually won this, it would lead on to work briefs that would excite me so much. Even if I didn't win it will be something different in my portfolio and I could also send off my designs to similar brands like Regal Rose to see if they wanted any collaborations too. These competitions and exhibitions have made me feel like there is a market and audience for my work, it's just about finding it.

9.Online Presence
This year I have worked on my online and professional presence. I created a website on Wix, set up an Etsy and also made a creative CV. 

10. Online Presence
I've also made business cards, Linked in, The Dots and I've continued to post on Instagram. I think I have a strong visual identity across all my platforms which I think is important in creating a successful brand. I think they all show the message I'm trying to communicate of work inspired by darkness, mythology and enchantment. SO many people look at Instagram and I need to utilise this more and think about posting more on there, even behind the scenes stuff and not just finalised, perfect drawings. LinkedIn and The Dots have been really useful tools in finding creative jobs, that I have applied for and my creative CV has proven to be useful. My business cards have been really useful at print fairs, people have often taken them. I set up an Etsy and have used it to sell work and earrings on and it's been quite successful. I like the outcome of my website as its clear and concise but I do need to buy a proper domain so it's a lot more professional but can't afford that right now but it will be really useful in showing an online portfolio to potential employers

11. Hanbury 
The Hanbury Symposium the other week was really interesting and inspiring. On this course I feel like you're led to believe you have to be a freelance illustrator but these talks were so eye opening in that there are plenty of other creative jobs out there and what jobs actually exist. After Ruby Boddington from It's Nice That mentioned placements in junior project management being available I went away and applied and also researched similar job roles that I'm interested in. I found a few and applied to them. I never really realised I could do a job related to illustration that isn't being a full time freelancer, and I think I could be really happy doing something like that.

12. What Have I Learned What Field I want to go into
I contacted places like McCann and Creative Race for any experience or opportunities but still waiting to hear back. I would like a creative job straight out of uni and I've been applying for jobs such as Junior Project Managers and Creative Artworkers at places like The Mighty Shed and Anyways. I realise that freelancing isn't gonna be easy or happen straight away so I'm going to need another job in the meantime and I'd rather it be a creative job that I will enjoy. I also went to an open day at BCU for a PGCE just to look at my options and I spoke to a really helpful woman from the art department and she was really keen for me to apply and it did sound like a really good course and I like that there is a guaranteed job at the end of it because teachers are so in demand, and this is perhaps something I'd do in the future but I want to explore other avenues first. 

13. Georgie Gozem 
I contacted Georgie Gozem. I contacted her because her work sits in a similar field to mine and she went to this uni and graduated a couple of years ago. I wanted to know how she found graduating and how she has found freelance work so far because I'm so concerned about it. She was SO unbelievable helpful, it turned into quite a long conversation and she gave me some great advice. She asked to see my online portfolio and gave me some tips on that too. The most meaningful advice she gave me was keep the momentum in making work after graduating, freelancing work is not easy and takes a lot of time and work and probably balancing a 'normal' job. She also said how important it is to push your work out there, she gave me ideas on how I could approach shops to sell my prints in, approach bands that I could do artwork for or sending my work to relevant publishers or magazines, there were things I hadn't really thought of doing. She also said to keep the crappy sketchbooks going and I quote 'fuck instagram always making you feel like you have to post finalised, perfect stuff' and I have to agree there and I intend to post more behind the scenes stuff. She just gave me a lot of hope and confidence in graduating, as she had been through it too she seemed the best person I could have talked to.

14. The Future

The last three years have shaped me as a person, creative and has also shaped my work. The course and the experiences I've had has influenced where I want to go after uni, but the uncertainty of graduation and afterwards is still really scary and daunting. My plan is to continue making work after submission and after graduating, keep up to date with my online presence and make those platforms look even more professional. I will keep emailing companies I want to work with with my CV and portfolio and see what happens. I will keep applying to creative jobs I like the look of and see what happens. Ideally, I would like to work in a creative job and have my own work on the side and if that happened to take off I'd be really happy with that. I guess we'll just see what happens

15. Thank you
Any questions?