Last semester I managed to complete three relatively small briefs which extended onto other things. This was less than I had planned to do but I realise now that my plan was too optimistic, especially towards the end of the semester when context of practice was taking up almost all of my time.
Harrison Advent Calendar Competition - ink, digital editing, quick turnaround,
Illustrated Fact Series (incomplete) - self directed brief, ink, research/factual, composition, process driven, experimentation, exploration of media,
Virgin Media Communication Box - decorative design, public art, digital, painting, colour,
The Little Art Collection - decorative design, pattern, product application, textiles, digital, ink, quick turnaround.
Briefs I didn’t do… and next steps.
I didn’t get as much work done for my self driven illustrated facts project as I had hoped. I was aiming for ten images but only managed to complete three which is pretty low. I do still really want to bring this brief to some form of conclusion so I am going to use these two weeks to keep experimenting with ink and producing more images for this brief.
I had planned to make a full set of christmas cards but I felt I left it too late to be making these, I realise now that people buy sets of christmas cards long before December. Maybe this is a personal task to do over summer so I am prepared for the Christmas ahead and any art fairs or other selling opportunities that may arise. I did adapt my advent calendar design into a christmas card which I did manage to sell individually. I also have a couple of people ask for sets ready for next year. I can use this week to get these printed and sent off and just to get on top of everything.
I realised last semester that completing the To Kill A Mockingbird book cover by Christmas was too optimistic. I do still want to do this brief and potentially the Adrian Mole book cover too. I need to see how much I manage to get done this week but this is something I could potentially start mid-february and focus intensely on that project for a while.
I managed to pick up a pet portrait commission over Christmas. We have a lot of my artwork up in our family home and my dad is self employed so we often have customers in our house. Some people noticed my work and commissioned me to draw their dog. I met with them, took photos of their dog and explained the situation with my current workload and they said they were in no rush so it didn’t matter when it was completed. It’s nice that they are really laid back but I am setting myself the deadline to have this completed by the 20th of January.
Reflection
I think the briefs I have done so far do feed into where I want my practice to be going, although I am finding hard to identify this with words. I think the Penguin book covers will help me to identify this more clearly and decide whether I can see my work in publishing.
I have been thinking quite a bit about book illustration recently and it’s something I do want to try. I am not so keen on the idea of children’s books as I don’t really feel my work engages with a young age group too well, and also character and narrative are not really strongpoints of mine. I was thinking more about more factual books, maybe looking at diagrams and visually explaining information. This may have stemmed from the illustrated facts brief I have been working on - anyway, I want to playa round with this idea and see if anything comes of it.
Since cop is now out of the way, I feel like I just want to throw myself into making work that I like! I’m also feeling a bit hesitant because I feel like I have all this freedom and I just hope I am making the right choices with my briefs. I am thinking the process through but I’m an ‘over-thinker’ as well.
Over the next two weeks I will…
Catch up on sleep.
Stop eating potato waffles and cook real food again.
Make work that I enjoy.
NOT THINK ABOUT COP.
Finish off odds and ends from last semester.
Complete the tasks set in the briefing today.
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