The Ten Minute Session: The Development

The Ten Minute Sessions can now be found on ACL Essex social media sites.

Having the sessions shared on this blog was a great opportunity to reach a wider audience. However, it did mean some tweaking in regards to content. In keeping with my role at ACL, as an Art Tutor all the activities are now creative and the activities are also accompanied by a written blog post explaining the benefits and skills gained by completing each session.

Below are some of the session (past and future) which will feature on the blog.

• Intro to line drawing: Continuous Line
• Paper folding, make a secret teller
• Doodle these images
• Draw this
• Intro to line drawing: blind line drawing
• Paper folding, make a concertina
• Automatic writing
• Draw straight lines
• Instructional art
• Memory drawing
• Non dominant hand drawing
• Drawing circles
• Double writing
• Emotional mark making
• Object Tracing
• Nature mandala art
• Intro to line drawing: Contour drawing
• Make a cube

Resource Design

What is a resource? Historical and contemporary definitions outline that resources are essentially anything that aid in learners learning. The tools we use a resources change and develop as our use of technology develops, however some items hold their own (paper, pens, books...)

‘Something which can be turned to for support or help, or an available supply of something to be drawn upon when needed’

(Grolier, 1981)

‘Texts, videos, software and other materials that teachers use to assist students’

(Ministry of Education, 2017) 

Resource design is an important part of the role of tutor. When creating resources I want to create things that can be reused where possible - there is no time to keep inventing the wheel. I have also used ADDIES Model of Resources Design (Branch, 2014), when creating my resources as I feel that following the steps outlined in the model allow me to develop the resources in a logical way, while ensuring that I am taking into consideration a pedagogical approaches and also ensuring the resource is being produced to meet the learning outcomes.

     Analysis: Identifying learning problems

     Design: Prototypes developed

     Development: Actual creation of resources

     Implementation: Resources are implemented

     Evaluation: Feedback

The resources below I designed and created in accoracne to ADDIE (Branch, 2014) while teaching Level 2 Art and Design and an FE College during my PGCE placement. More recently I have used these same resources within my teaching of short art courses at ACL Essex. 

However, due to the vague nature of the text used, these could be used in any course or learning as they are not specific to art education. 

The resources where designed and are used as plenary questions at the end of a session to help consolidate the learning which as happened. The questions outlined prompt the learner to reflect on the session and their learning. The questions can be considered with reference to the session learning objectives (Beadle, 2012).

The resources can be used in a number of ways; 
     One question can be picked for the whole class to consider
     Each table or group can be given a different question to discuss
     Individuals can be given specific questions from the set
     Learners can think/pair/share their responses - Giving learners a structure way to reflect on a subject before they have to share their thoughts with the rest of the group (Holcomb, 2001)
     Answers can take place as discussion or can be written in sketchbook

The use of these resource also helps to build a structure into the sessions, as the learners come to expect this part of the session to take place. Having these to hand means that they can also be used throughout the session to prompt contentious reflection throughout. 


References

Beadle, P. (2012) The Book of Plenary: Here Endeth the Lesson… (How to Teach (Independent Thinking). Independent Thinking Press. 

Branch, R. M. (2014) Instructional Design: The ADDIE Approach [Online] Available at: https://www.learning-theories.com/addie-model.html [accessed15/03/20].

Grolier (1981) New Book of Knowledge Dictionary. Volume 1. Boston MA: Houghton.

Holcomb, E. L. (2001) Asking the Right Questions: Techniques for Collaboration and School Change. Corwin; Second edition.

Ministry of Education (2017) What is a learning recourse? [Online] Available at: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp_resources/ [accessed 15/03/20].

Inspiration: From Classroom to the Studio

It happens ever increasingly, that as well as (hopefully) inspiring my learners my session also push my own art practice forward.

In the first instance this was with the line drawing. This time round it is with pointillism. Within this session we were exploring different styles of art to create drawings in. 

Pointillism, or Neo-impressionism is usually used in painting, however within the session we used the style to draw with, this style allows you to create images by building up dots on a page. Within the session we worked with primary colours and dot placement to create outcomes which would then blend together when viewed. Pointillism is depended on the eye and mind to turn the dots viewed into a fuller ranger of tones.

Within all my session I like to provide a range of artist reference, this ensures that the learners have an awareness of what had come before them, as they cannot create art in vacuum (Melee and Cramerotti, 2013). This week we explored the work of artists such as; Roy Lichtenstein, Paul Klee, Georges Seurat and Damian Hirst. By exploring a numbering of artists learners are exposed to a range of ways in which the style has been, can be used.

L-R: Roy Lichtenstein: Modern Art (1996), Paul Klee: Seaside Resort in the South of France

(1927), Georges Seurat: Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp (1885), Damien Hirst, Damson Mousse (2016)

Within the session we also looked at the work of Bradley Hart, who expands the Pointillism style by utilising a very everyday item - bubble-wrap. He takes advantage of the pre-existing circles and injects each with paint. 

Bradley Hart, Insomnia, 2009

Within the session we took inspiration from Hart, albeit minus the injections, and used bubble-wrap as one of our materials. The technique we used was to paint directly onto the individual bubbles and then either leave it at this stage, or to then create a print from the painted bubbles. We also used cotton-buds and anything round we could get our hands on. 

In relation to my own practice I found the work of Hart particularly compelling due to the concepts behind the outcome. Our start points echo each other, both beginning with photographs, he with images from his own personal collection, mine with my personal collection of images of road signs. The issue of the mass produced also pops up for the both of us; bubble-wrap is mechanically mass produced, as are my source materials: road signs. This lowers the value of these items (Benjamin, 2015). However, his process tries to tackle this - as does mine - by turning these mass-produced items into originals of sorts. this is achieved by the outcomes being hand rendered and time consuming (Hart, 2019), allowing them to become the antithesis of the mass produced.

As such we are both also dealing with the issue of originals and copies, due to the subject matter and materials we are dealing with. Our works take the mass produced and turn them into originals of sorts (Judovitz, 1998), giving each their own authenticity an aura (Benjamin, 2015). We then both end on the audience’s individual reaction, or interpretations of the work. What does it mean for the viewer to experience each of these outcomes? 

Initial Outcomes

Within my sessions I always have the intention to also take part in the activities, as this allows me to model techniques and styles to learners - allowing them to learn through observation and imitation of behaviours (Bandura, 1977). This can also encourage them to partake in activities which may seem new or difficult.

Much of what I plan for sessions is removed from my own practice and the delivery of these is often the only time I use that skill set. This could be due to a number of reasons such as the activity being simplistic and one, I feel I have already accomplished, or as it is not relevant to what I am doing in the studio. Either way, there is a huge benefit to me here, as it reminds me of the important of, firstly practising skill sets and secondly the importance of play and experimentation. 

For example, while my bubble-wrap outcome let much to be desired I saw how it could be used to quickly create an interesting background and how with practice myself and learners found more successful ways of using the bubble-wrap. Such as cutting it into smaller shapes, rather than trying to achieve everything on one sheet.

In contrast I found myself at one with a cotton-bud fairly quickly - there was more control here, (the issue of the mass produced remains). Going forward this is something that I will continue to play with. I have a feeling that the bold, simple colouring of road signs with work well with this style and this tool.

Development

Pointillism meets The Road Sign Collection 

On reflection, and as with most things I do, I would like to see these bigger - with the

dots smaller but in larger quantities. The finish is too messy and that is I feel down to

the tip of the cotton-bud being too large for the scale I was working on (A5). 

The issue could also be in the viewing, as for Pointillism to take effect the eyes need some

distance from the page. These photos are quite focused in on the outcome. 

I find the blue circle containing the word 'end' to be the most effective and easiest to view.

Perhaps my love for text has something to do with this. 

References

Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory. Prentice Hall. Education. 

Benjamin, W. (2015) Illuminations. London: Penguin.

Gagosian, (2018) Damien Hirst: Colour Space Paintings. [online] Available at: https://gaosian.com/exhibitions/2018/damien-hirst-colour-space-paintings/. [accessed 28/01/20].

Hart, B. (2009) Insomnia. [online] Available at: https://www.bradleyhart.ca/Artist.asp?ArtistID=37166&Akey=5BDJN8BK&ajx=1#!Group1_Pf184646_im7. [accessed 28/01/20].

Judovitz, D. (1998) Unpacking Duchamp: Art in Transit. University of California Press.

Melee, L. and Cramerotti, A. (2013) Art and Revolution. Aesthetic Journalism. 

Tate. (2020a) Whats on: Hatton Gallery: Roy Lichtenstein. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/hatton-gallery/exhibition/roy-Lichtenstein. [accessed 28/01/20].

Tate. (2020b) Paul Klee: Seaside Resort in the South of France. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/klee-seaside-resort-in-the-south-of-france-t06795. [accessed 28/01/20].

Tate. (2020c) Georges Seurat: 1926. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/georges-seurat-1926. [accessed 28/01/20].

The Westologist. (2020) Pointillism. [online] Available at: http://www.thewestologist.com/arts/of-paint-and-pixels. [accessed 28/01/20].

Artist Research: Everyday Things

When developing new work, it is probably a good idea to examine what has come before. Artist research is one of those areas of my practice which is probably neglected too often. With tight time constraints I often pick playing in the studio over artist research. However, this is when my duel role of artist/teaching is beneficial, as when planning sessions, I will always include artist reference to learners to draw upon. This aspect of planning directly feeds into my own art practice, as I will inevitably be inspired by, or see connection to my own practice in some of the artists I present to my learners.

Recently I was looking for examples of artists who created several outcomes based on the same object for a session which focused on still life drawing. I had not noticed at the time, but by searching within these terms I was already drawing parallels to my own practice, as I am essentially look at artists who are creating collections of the same type of thing – for me that thing is road signs. For the artists I researched that type of thing varies. However, what does stay the same is that the artists are often looking at things that fall into the notion of the everyday.

This pull of the everyday as inspiration within art may come from the lure of having the power to help it escape the commonplace, by manipulating the subject matter, controlling it within an art context or simply letting it surrender to the free-play of our subjectivity (Vaneigem, 1983). Whatever it is, the everyday is as popular now as an art subject as it ever has been.

The first artist falls into the latter category, as I have enjoyed the work of Michael Craig-Martin for as long as I can remember. Initially this was due to An Oak Tree, 1973 which as an artwork holds conceptual thinking processes at its centre (Manchester, 2002), conceptual art plays a huge part in my practice.

Craig-Martin, An Oak Tree, 1973

However, more recently I looked to Craig-Martin in reference to his drawing and sculptures. Within my art teaching we look at his works in relation to line drawing techniques, to illustrate how drawings do not have to exist on the page but can also exist sculpturally.

His recent exhibition, The Shape of Things (2019b), echoes my linguistic preference – this is in preference to the word ‘object’ mostly, as object/art objects/everyday objects come with a lot of baggage. Thing feels relatively baggage free. The exhibition sees six steel sculptures installed outside around the Kinder Lake in Houston (Craig-Martin, 2019b). What is evident in these works and the others like them is firstly the simplicity and the power of a strong line to convey information about things. But also, the use of increased scale. The work perhaps slips into notions of the uncanny, by taking these familiar things and changing them in such a way that they start to feel strange (Freud, 1919).

Craig-Martin, Sculpture, 2019a

His things of choice; paperclips, scissors, bottle openers, umbrellas are usually overlooked, very everyday and probably unchoice (O’Doherty, 1986) as subject matter to most. These three categories, I feel are shared with The Road Sign Collection. They are both over looked in the same way, as we use paperclips and road signs functionally, but they are overlooked in other ways. They are very much a means to an end. By using these and increasing the scale Craig-Martin can make the viewer look again (Sedation, 2019). Not only at these supersized versions, but also at the originals, helping to emphasis the significance of these things in our everyday lives. Playing with scale is still on my to-do list and is something that I very much want to explore. Particularly, when seeing how successful the outcomes can be when done well.

The move into sculpture is possibly where the similarities end between me and Craig-Martin. It is not something that I have considered playing with, my main worry is that they would become copies of the original signs, which are in themselves (functional) sculptures. The change in scale would have to be significant to make my outcomes different enough, original enough.

Patrick Caulfield’s work was new to me, (and they actually reminded me of Craig-Martins painting when I first saw them – though his clearly have come before Craig-Martin, you do not always discover things in chronological order).

Craig-Martin, Untitled, 2016 / Caulfield, Wine Glasses, 1969

A quick search of Caulfield and you will see many outcomes which focus on ordinary everyday things, such as wine glasses. Looking at his work I felt that familiar parallel to my own practice, again we both working with collections of everyday items. His style draws on paring down what is in front of him resulting in simplistic but effective still life images. This is something that I want to bring across into The Road Sign Collection. When I first started to draw each of the road signs, I was concerned with capturing every scratch and dent and following them though with the continuous line, however going forward my intention is to pare this back to the most essential lines only. The use of block colour is something I want to explore and having every detail traced stands in the way of this aesthetic.

The print-like nature of his paintings manages to make even the most three-dimensional shape appear flat and I think that, in essence this is what I want to do. As mentioned, before I intend to eschew the sculptural and I guess the opposite of that is to make everything at two-dimensional as possible. It feels just as effective as a means to get the audience to consider these things in a new way.

In relation to my own practice this research has given me a few things to consider;

• I need to do something with scale and not just say I am going to
• I am also intrigued to explore the uncanny a little more, as surrealism usually finds its way into my practice this route of enquiry could be fitting
• As I continue to develop my digital skills, I will explore making the road signs more two-dimensional

References

Adams, T. (2015) Interview: Michael Craig-Martin: ‘I have always thought everything important is right in front of you. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/26/michael-craig-martin-interview-everything-important-is-in-front-of-you--guru. [accessed 23/01/20].

Freud, S. (1919) The Uncanny. Imago, Bd. V., 1919 [Translated by Alix Strachey.]

M, Craig-Martin. (2019a) Sculpture. [Online] Available at: https://www.michaelcraigmartin.co.uk/exhibitions/2019/5/31/sculpture. [accessed 23/01/20].

M, Craig-Martin. (2019b) The Shape of Things. [Online] Available at: https://www.michaelcraigmartin.co.uk/exhibitions/2019/8/1/the-shape-of-things. [accessed 23/01/20].

M, Craig-Martin. (2015) Paintings: Untitled. [Online] Available at: https://www.michaelcraigmartin.co.uk/painting. [accessed 23/01/20].

Manchester, E. (2002) Summary: Michael Craig-Martin: An Oak Tree, 1973. [Online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/craig-martin-an-oak-tree-l02262. [accessed 23/01/20].

O’Doherty, B. (1986) Inside the White Cube. University of California Press. 

Sedation. (2019) Michael Craig-Martin: Sculpture. [Online] Available at: https://www.seditionart.com/magazine/michael-craig-martin-sculpture. [accessed 23/01/20].

Tate. (2020) Caulfield: Wine Glass. [Online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/caulfield-wine-glasses-p04092. [accessed 23/01/20].

Vaneigem, R. (1983) The Revolution of Everyday Life. London: Rebel Press.

Developing a continuation course

I am very pleased to be back at ACL delivering a short Exploring Drawing and Illustration course. I am particularly looking forward to delivering this short course as it is a continuation course with learners who have previous attended.

Our last course finished in mid-November 2019, meaning that we have been away for some time! This has given me the perfect opportunity to come up with a challenging new connect activity, to link what we learnt previously with what we will be doing going forward.
At the centre of this course is line drawing and so I wanted to revisit these techniques as a cornerstone of the course. To do this I have re-invented the first activity that these learners would have participated in, in their very first session. 

The original activity saw the learners work together to match together title, descriptions and images of line drawing techniques. 

The updated activity asks learners to think/pair/share (Gunter, Estes, and Schwab, 1999) on a worksheet which asks them to name and describe the like drawing techniques (images of the techniques are provided). 

The intention of this re-imagined activity was twofold; to act as a new initial assessment and to see how much theoretical information has been retained and to build on the principles of Blooms (Anderson, Krathwohl and Bloom, 2001), working on the basis of learners being able to recall information in the first instance. 

The first incarnation of this activity was delivered as a group activity to work as a duel ice breaker-initial assessment activity. however as these learners know each other the need for an ice breaker will be limited. Instead, at the start of the session we will have time for this as we complete the mandatory start of course admin.

References 

Anderson, L.W., Krathwohl and Bloom, B.S. (2001) A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: a revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.


Gunter, M. A., Estes, T. H., & Schwab, J. H. (1999) Instruction: A Models Approach, 3rd edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Portfolio Career

Since I completed my PGCE in 2017 it is safe to say that I have fallen into the category of someone with a portfolio career. I currently work in three different job roles; at a Higher Educational Institution three days a week, I teach art at ACL Colchester (seasonal) and I work freelance for SPACE Colchester developing and running the Creative Practitioner Support Programme. I also run the Colchester Art Society Social Media pages and edit their newsletter in a voluntary capacity and have am a practising (and exhibiting) artist. 

so, what is a portfolio career? 

“A portfolio career, simply put, is a working style where you have several strings to your career bow – multiple streams of income – often creating a mix of employment, freelancing, and / or consultancy”  

(Stanley, 2020)

Falling into the career category was not particularly a conscious choice. I was offered my first teaching job PGCE in 2017 at ACL the same month I finished the course. This was excited and unexpected. This was also a seasonal art tutor job, meaning the hours where not consistent. However, knowing that I wanted to go and complete my MA Fine Art the job was perfect, as at a maximum it would be one day a week, leaving me plenty of time for my full-time course. The upon finishing my MA in September 2018 I applied for my position at the Higher Educational Institution, advertised at three days a week, it was perfect as I knew I wanted to continue teaching at ACL as and when I could as I enjoy it so much there. Around the same time, I approached SPACE Colchester about running some kind of peer-feedback session for creative graduates (something I had been researching into during my MA) and that too came off the ground, with two sessions being held a month. Before I knew it, I had three different career paths running simultaneously.

That being said, there is a clear cross-over between the three. Teaching, tutoring, facilitating – whatever you want to call it. I enjoy working in these kinds of environments and being part of someone’s educational journey; whether it be accredited or otherwise. I get to meet lots of interesting people and have a lot of interesting conversations.

However, at the forefront of all these choices has been the consideration of them in conjunction with my art practice, would I still have time to have an art practice if I do this?

My weeks tend to vary. Here is what the rest of January looks like so far:

Monday: HEI, CAS Social Media Posting, AP

Tuesday: CAS Newsletter development, Blog Writing, Catching up on emails 

Wednesday: HEI, CAS Social Media Posting

Thursday: AP, ACL Planning

Friday: HEI, AP

Saturday: CAS Meeting, Art application writing

Sunday: AP, Research

Monday: HEI, CAS Social Media Posting, AP

Tuesday: ACL Planning, Blog Writing 

Wednesday: HEI, CAS Social Media Posting, Unfamiliars Event 

Thursday: Facilitate the Creative Practitioner Support Programme at SPACE Colchester

Friday: ACL Training 

Saturday: AP, Art application writing

Sunday: -

Monday: HEI, CAS Social Media Posting, AP

Tuesday: ACL Teaching 

Wednesday: HEI, CAS Social Media Posting

Thursday: Blog Writing 

Friday: HEI

Saturday: Facilitate the Creative Practitioner Support Programme at SPACE Colchester

Sunday: Art application writing

*HEI = Higher Educational Institution

*CAS = Colchester Art Society

*ACL = Adult Community Learning 

*AP = Art Practice 

I am also currently in the process for writing my application to become an Associate Fellow of Higher Education, so I will need to factor this in at some point this month.

There are definite advantages to working in this way, there is the flexibility which comes with it meaning I can go to my weekly yoga class on a Tuesday morning and get work done in the evening or at the weekend.  

Interestingly, 'what do you do?' has become the most difficult question to answer since starting this portfolio career journey and usually my answer changes depending on who has asked the question. Though maybe I should just reply with ‘I have a portfolio career’ and answer any follow-up questions if they arise.

I do however think that this career option should not be romanticised, as it does come with its setbacks (mostly financial, only one of my jobs is permanent year-round work). Overall, this is something that I can tolerate at the moment. The other issue comes from clashing appointments and the need to prioritise, while I work in this way in order to have time for my art practice, it simultaneously seems to be the thing at the bottom of the pile and the first thing to get neglected when I am busy. Which I now realise is quite ironic.

Time management has become key, by identifying reoccurring events and plotting these throughout the year I am usually able to slot other things around them.

References

Stanley, N. (2020) What To Do When You Want To Do Everything: Is A Portfolio Career Right For You? [online] Available at: https://www.careershifters.org/expert-advice/what-to-do-when-you-want-to-do-everything-is-a-portfolio-career-right-for-you [accessed 07/01/20].

New Year, New Art

Welcome to my first post of 2020!

A few early updates...

Creative Practitioner Support Programme

Our peer-to-peer feedback sessions continue this month and every month until July. Pop along for art-y chats and networking opportunities.

Find us on Facebook for more information, or drop me an email at abbie@spacestudios.org.uk

Firstsite Collectors Group Bursary

I am pleased to announce that I have been awarded a bursary from the Firstsite Collectors Group, this bursary will go towards developing my digital skills.

The use of technology has become more central to my practice this year, with a particular focus on digital drawings. The bursary will enable to me to invest in this part of my practice more, buy updated digital software and undertake a short course.


Colchester Art Society

Last year my involvement with Colchester Art Society grew and I have been publicising what we and our members do over on Instagram and Twitter. 

We now have over 1,100 followers on each site, giving the members great exposure. Make sure you follow us to see our regular Members Monday and Throwback Thursday posts.

Unfamiliars

In 2019 I started to regularly take part in the Unfamiliars events and this will continue in 2020. There are some exciting things to come!

For more about about Unfamiliars find them online on their website and on Facebook

Exploring Drawing And Illustration

Join me for a short course at ACL Colchester. Produce you own enchanting illustrations for books, greetings cards, posters and so much more. Let your imagination take flight and explore this fascinating subject.   

These are ten week, unaccredited courses. 

Book Online Via ACL:

Tuesday 10-12 from 21st January 2020

Tuesday 1-3 from 21st January 2020