MA Week 31 - an afternoon well spent

An afternoon well spent - 15^th June 2016 

I took the afternoon off and went to the Tall Tales : Crooked Yarns research forum at College. I’ve discussed this in detail here. It really was a thought-provoking afternoon and a validation of the way I’m conducting my research. 

Prior to the forum, I met a former classmate who has sadly suspended her studies. It was great to catch up with her and our conversation yielded a couple of significant points that I want to document.

Sometimes it takes a conversation to make you realise the blindingly obvious. Both of us are mature students, and in my own case I don’t have a first degree in an Art subject. We acknowledged between us that returning to studying art later in life meant we are not in a position to compete with the young graduates in their early 20s. However, we do bring life experience and the experience of our own respective careers. Is there a way that this can be acknowledged within the educational field? How do we make this experience count? In my case, the latter is probably answered by putting to use my transferable skills – project management, presentation skills – and I acknowledged to myself that these skills, which I take for granted and barely notice, are helping me to progress with the course. 

Following on from that, we talked about motivations. We both love being artist/makers and both of us have had health issues. We articulated the joy of doing something creative simply because you can and you are still breathing! Harking back to one of the comments I made in my week 27 post - in and amongst all the methodologies and perspectives from which we try to hang our work, shouldn’t there be one which describes working for the sheer thrill of creativity?

 

 

MA Week 12 - non-traditional students

Reflection on taught session, Friday 8th January 2016

Creative Practitioner Presentation

 

Our course leader, Sam, presented to us to kick off the new term. She started by talking about her own practice, embroidery. She was attracted to this by Rozika Parker's "Subversive Stitch" alongside her growing teenage awareness of, and interest in, feminism. At the same time, she was questioning why traditionally female pursuits such as embroidery, baking, knitting etc are not seen as worthy art forms.. I could relate to what she was saying, having grown up in a broadly similar tine with similar nascent views. 

Sam had exhibited her embroidery firstly in 1992 and included the embroidery hoop as she thought it had the same value as the canvas stretcher. I liked this parallel that she drew.  Her interest in feminism led her to set up a community arts business to help teach disadvantaged groups. This led her into teaching and she has always championed the non-traditional student.  

Sam wanted to improve educators who are educating older people. Through her own experience, she knew that adult learners and return-to-learners could not be shoehorned into the homogenous groups that some studies indicated, and she set about refuting this. She believes that some studies contain element of fiction in their narrative enquiries, seeking truths that are not really present. She contrasted academic studies with the film "Educating Rita" and argued that truth and fiction are present in both.  Her PhD therefore centred on education, social justice and art and design. Her methodologies were practitioner research, narrative enquiry using a longitudinal study of 9 Access to HE students.  She commented that mature students often perceive themselves as “different” rather than mature and work harder than traditional students in order to justify themselves. 

I really enjoyed hearing about Sam's practice. I didn't know she was an embroiderer even though I have known her professionally for 3.5 years. I also really enjoyed her passion for non-traditional learners and her determination to give them (us!) a voice not only through championing courses for us, but also in the academic sphere through her PhD thesis. One lovely moment for me was when her presentation showed a picture of me receiving a prize from Certa, the Access awarding body, when I was a student on her access course. I felt really vindicated with my studies for the New Year.