MA Term 2 - Taking Stock (2)

So where now?

I make no apologies for trying out new techniques at this stage in the MA. It is a delight and a privilege to be able to do so. What I do need to do is pull these together towards the end of this module, identify which one(s) I would like to continue with, and understand how I will take this forward into the next module, where the work will need to become more directed and finalised.

Unplanning?

 

After typing up yesterday’s post, I went back and wrote all over my plan (above) and felt lots better for it. I realised I needed to refine the “drivers” and to re-write them as objectives that might not be “SMART” but were “SMARTer”. This could then give a little bit more focus to my experimentation.

Learn more about printmaking

Try as many techniques as possible/sensible. Which one(s) do I enjoy? Identify how these can contribute to my practice to date of layered mixed media work.

Learn more about Laser cutting

Find out more about preparing images. Concentrate on one or two images and refine these. Identify how laser cutting could be used as a “tool” to help development of experimental and interesting pieces

Generate as many ideas as possible

Document all of them, even though most (all?) of them will probably need to be parked at the moment.

Do something a bit scary re personal development

Submit something to Show & Tell. Identify threads that could be used for abstracts to submit to student journals (likely to be ongoing – will likely need more practical experience before I can write something )

Research artists

Choose one or two and get a couple of references to write up a blogpost.

Draw for 15 minutes a day at least 3 times a week

Probably won’t do this every week (any week?), but not letting myself off the hook with this one.

Do the blog slog every Monday

This is only achievable if I learn to summarise the taught sessions more concisely. Otherwise I am just going to get behind. It’s a shame, because there is so much of interest to reflect on every week. I think I will have to try just picking out the most pertinent points and discussing how they relate to my own practice.

Time management

Practical work always takes ages. I need to admit this to myself. So I need to cut off with experimentation with new techniques mid-February and hopefully produce some pieces of creative and written work that pull things together.

Something else I need to think about is ongoing work to identify my own theoretical perspectives. This is very slowly taking shape through the research methods sessions. I am not yet totally sure how to write about it in terms of my practice but I should bear my practice uppermost in my mind when writing up those sessions. That should help.