I enjoyed completing this assignment and, whilst not all my practice samples were successful in most cases I understand why and will learn from these samples to adapt and refine future work. In particular I am developing a better feel for matching materials to tools (the paper choice in the crumpling exercises for example) and the importance of the correct choice of fabrics (for example in the hot water fusing exercise). It is also indicative that I felt that there was much more to explore and it was difficult to decide which exercises to complete.
The exercises I felt were most successful were those in the folding and crumpling section. This is perhaps because I had a clear line of thought from the inspiration material to the end results. I was able to incorporate inspiration from the natural world, fungi/mushrooms, leaf skeletons, plants, waves – as well as shapes and forms taken from the manmade environment – ridged panels, built structures, tracks etc.
As drawing is something I find particularly difficult I selected carefully the objects I wanted to attempt to reproduce in traditional media (pencil, pen, paint) so that these were both challenging and would develop my ability to draw. I watched (and am continuing to watch!) many YouTube videos and am reading a number of books with practical exercises to assist me in seeing light and shade, perspective etc. Drawing crumpled paper was particularly difficult, however, I feel that there was definite progress from the first pencil drawing through to the third drawing.
In addition to traditional media I also interpreted my inspiration sources in collage, torn papers, moulding paste and print.
I feel that this has been a positive start to the course, with lots more scope to develop future work.