Getting Started

This blog post had been suggested by a couple of people (thank-you for the inspiration!) is all about getting started or re-started with your creative endeavours.

I will keep these tips fairly vague, as I want them to be as applicable to as many creative practices as possible, not just to artists.

Before you try to get started it is useful to understand why you might be having difficulties;

·       You do not know what it is you want to do

·       The task is too big or overwhelming

·       The task seems too easy

·       You fear judgement

·       You are put off by a blank page

(Williams and Reid, 2011)

Hopefully these activities will help you in moments of doubt or during creative dry spells!

  

     1. Do something every day!

      It is good to reflect on what you have done.

Gibbs (1988) provides a useful reflective cycle which you can use to reflect on what it is you have done that day, write a few notes for each stage.

2. Go Dada

Surrealist games are a great way to get creative. One of my favourites is to set yourself some arbitrary rules to follow.

To makes these easier to set make some sets of cards outlining;

- Duration; how long you will spend on the activity; 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes

- Materials; what will you use to create the work, such as; art material, instruments, digital programmes

- Topics/Words; something to use as a starting point, you can also use an only word randomizer for this! (https://randomwordgenerator.com/)

Pick one of each card and get creating

NB: The more of these cards that you can create the more varied your choices will be and the longer the activity will stay fresh.

      3. Look back on what you have done before

      This year, last year, ten years ago. Ask yourself;

- What is it I have previous done?

- How did you create the work? (What materials and processed where used?)

- What context was the work made in? (Education, for fun?)

- Are you pleased with the outcome?

- Can anything be reworked? (Can you use this as a start point?)

Is there anything you would change? (Change it!)

      4. Gain Peer Feedback

It is really difficult to be creative if you are existing within a creative vacuum (Melee and Cramerotti, 2013).

Show others your work and ask for feedback;

- Do you have any ideas how I could develop this work?

- What are your initial thoughts about this work?

- What materials could I use to develop X?

- Are there any processes I could try?

Join us over on the Creative Practitioner Support Programme on Facebook for this: https://www.facebook.com/groups/269213273718843/

     5. Collaborate  

Find other creatives and work together. Put out calls on social media to find those interested or ask creatives that you know directly!

Collaborations can exist in many ways;

- Respond to some work another creative has already created

- Create work together

- Pass work between participants

- Write a brief for others to follow / Ask them to set you a brief

      6. Research

See what others in your creative area (and beyond) are doing. Look at well known creatives as well as up and coming ones.

Look into;

- Creatives focusing on the same topic as you

- Creatives using the same materials as you

- Creatives using the same process as you

NB: When I am stuck, I will come up with a list of key words which relate to what it is I am trying to develop and will start on the big art websites (Tate, MoMA) to see what artists, exhibitions or research comes up.

These websites are great as they will also suggest related artists and allows for quick initial research.

     7. Look at inspirational things…

Even if they don't relate to your creative practice – remember to avoid falling into that vacuum.

     8. Set yourself a brief

If you feel that you have a little more direction, consider what it is you want to do and write your own brief.

Consider it as a self-assigned research project; set aims and objectives as well as a time scale.

     9. Open Calls

There are lots of these about, the easiest thing to do is search ‘open calls’.

NB: I use https://www.curatorspace.com

     10. Make Time

Check my last blog post for this one

Intrinsic Motivation

Your intrinsic motivation also plays a huge part in getting started and using these suggestions!

Build your intrinsic motivation by considering;

- What is it you want to achieve?

- What is you end goal?

- Why do you want to do this?

So, how can you motivate yourself?

·       Be realistic: Unrealistic thinking sets you up for failure

·       Have high standards: High expectations are linked to success / Plan accordingly

·       Set realistic milestones: Chart your progress

·       Reward achievement: Appropriate to the goal 

     Find your motivation: Long term goals

(Cottrell, 2010)

To do this you also need to be aware of threats to your motivation

·       Previous Negative Experience

·       Increased Independence

·       Too High Expectations

·       Workload

·       Disappointing Results

·       Self-Generated Fears

I hope these get you creating!

References

Cottrell, S. (2010) Skills for success: personal development and employability. 2nd edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Palgrave Study Skills).

Curator Space. (2020) Curator Space. [online] Available at: https://www.curatorspace.com. [accessed 21/03/20].

Gibbs. G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford.

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

MoMA. (2020) Museum of Modern Art. [online] Available at: https://www.moma.org/. [accessed 21/03/20].

Random Word Generator. (2020) Random Word Generator. [Online] Available at: https://randomwordgenerator.com/. [accessed 21/03/20].

Tate. (2020) Tate. [online] Available at: www.tate.org.uk. [accessed 21/03/20].

Williams, K. and Reid, M. (2011) Time management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Pocket study skills).

Tips for Working at Home: Routine, routine, routine.

As a part time freelancer/artist, I have some experience of lone working at home. Like many I will be spending even more time at home as my teaching roles go digital.

Here are some tips from me to you (the new homeworker), that I have used before and will be using in the next few weeks.

Disclaimer, a lot of this is common sense. However, sometimes it is nice to be reminded of these things.

Bad habits are easy to get into. So, start off right.

I have attached some really useful (other people's words, not mine) resource examples to help with this.

Start your planning now, start with the routine things. Use colour coding to help you see at a glance what it is you are supposed to be doing and when. By writing these things down you are making yourself more accountable to them and by making them more visual you are making them easier to remember.

Green: Life Admin

• Set yourself a time to get up and stick to it. Parallel to this, set yourself a bedtime and stick to it.
• It is easy to get into a cycle of going to bed later, getting up later and quickly becoming nocturnal.
• Get into the habit of getting up and getting washed/dressed. Try not to turn into a sloth.
• Set your mealtimes and any prep time. Ensuring that you have three real meals a day and not replacing them with snacking.

Blue: Work

• If you are working from home write on the hours you are expected to work, it is easy to end up over working.
• Make sure you schedule in your lunch break and sent a clear end time.
• If you are working at a computer usual rules apply, have regular breaks and look into the distance every now and then.

Yellow: Social Time 

• OK we might not be leaving the house, but you will want to find a way to communicate with others. 
• Schedule in phone calls, video calls or whatever works for you. 
• Make time for this thing that usually happens naturally in a work environment. Talk to colleagues throughout the day.
• Check in with others.

Purple: Health: mental, physical

• Make sure you make time for it. I
• In your lunch break stepping away from the laptop.
• Look at downloading some free fitness apps for hiit workouts, yoga or meditation. 
• Make sure you make time for you.

White: Spare Time

• If you find yourself without work or education filling the majority of the day take advantage of the time to learn something new. Schedule this is and dedicate yourself to it.
• There are loads of free learning websites to develop skills or download a book app and make a start on the classics.
• Once you have filled your calendar with these activities, see what time you have left and consider what it is you might fill that time with.
• We all need down time but avoid wasteful activities which are not going to benefit you in the long run, like watching the news on repeat or looking people up on social media.

Time management is the linchpin that everything else balances on. Get that right and you are halfway there. What you fit into your time will be individual, but if you start with what you know and work from there it is easy to manage.

I have facilitated time management workshops to a whole host of people in several different contexts. The one thing that I found if that the principles are the same if you are trying to get your life back on track, or if you’re an academic.

Now, back to wasting time. The below activity, Yesterday, is a great way to reflect on how you are spending your time and what you are achieving. But it also allows you to identify areas of improvement.

Give it ago…

You can repeat this activity daily. It also helps to add another layer to the activity if you get someone else to do the same and them share your answers. This can be particularly useful when trying to think of ways to overcome the ‘wasteful’ activity.

This brings me to my last point, setting aims. You can use your ‘wasteful’ activity as inspiration here. Or you can pick something more ambitious.

Whatever you do aim to achieve something and make it SMART.

If you have not come across SMART aims before let me introduce them to you. They are a sure-fire way to keep you on track, accountable and motivated.

To be SMART (and who doesn’t want to be smart?!) your aim needs to be;

For example, the below is not SMART

“Join the gym and go everyday”

This is SMART

Specific: Join ‘TheGym’ in Colchester

Measurable: Membership will be attained

Achievable: I have researched a number of gyms and this is the best fir for me, it is local, and I can afford the membership fee

Relevant: I want to improve my physical health

Time-based: Join the first weekend in May

As you can see, the ‘go everyday’ has not made it into this SMART aim. This is because it requires its own SMART aim.

I hope that this blog post can help you in some small way.

Some thoughts: I'm an Associate Fellow! (AFHEA)

Having a portfolio career and working across different educational sectors is rewarding, keeps me on my toes and allows me to develop my teaching practice in several contexts. However, it also comes with its challenges.

One of these is the need for continuous professional development within each sector. Working in both Further Education and Higher Education often means that the CPD activities differ depending on the need in each sector. It also means that while a lot of the skill sets develop transferable skills, or good life experiences that the recognition of these activities is not necessarily recognised by both sectors. A related issue here is the practicalities of this, CPD takes time and as a part time employee it can be difficult to find the time to fit these activities into a workload. 

In this vein I have just received my Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), this is great recognition for my work in a HEI, however what does it mean for my role within FE? Nothing really. However, I was encouraged to attain my AFHEA as my PGCE teacher training qualification is not as highly recognised in HE as it is in FE and these new letters I get to put after my name go some way to proving myself in a HEI context.

The application process for the AFHEA focused on the UK Professional Standards Framework (PSF), for teaching and supporting learning in higher education (2011), whereas the PGCE focused on Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers in Education and Training (UKPS) (Education and Training Foundation, 2014).

Both frameworks focus on the use of a triangulation of valued standards, which mirror each other to an extent and mean that what I am expected to do in each sector does not really differ (other than the wording used).

PSF (2011)

Areas of Activity

Core Knowledge

Professional Values

UKPS (2014)

Professional Skills

Professional Knowledge and Understanding

Professional Values and Attributes 

In order to attain my PGCE I met the UKPS (2014) over my year of training; teaching and completing assignments about that teaching and related theory. The route to gaining the AFHEA was undoubtedly quicker and relied on writing a relatively short piece of text about how you meet the PSF (2011), backed up by two colleagues who as verify your claims. In my mind it is clear that if I had not completed the PGCE my application for AFHEA would have taken me a lot longer to a) achieve what was outlined of me, b) to be able to contextualise this with theory and c) to write the application form. As these are skills sets that I gained and developed (and have continued to keep on top of) from the PGCE). 

In my practical teaching experience - and the planning of it, it have not personally felt a discrepancy in how I approach my teaching practice, from working with traditional FE students in a further educational setting, to delivering sessions within a HEI and working within adult community learning. This might be down to my personal teaching philosophy, in which I see the importance of valuing and respecting each learner as an individual and being able to meet their individual needs. This is something that essentially both sector look for.

Professional Values

Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities (UKPSF, 2011)

Professional Values and Attributes  

Reflect on what works best in your teaching and learning to meet the diverse needs of learners (Education and Training Foundation, 2014)

The biggest difference working across the two sectors is who, as a teacher/tutor, we are answerable to. Within FE we have Ofsted, whereas within HE we look to the OFS (Office for Students). Both exist to inspect institutions and to uphold standards. 

References

Education and Training Foundation. (2014) Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers in Education and Training. [PDF] https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ETF_Professional_Standards_Digital_FINAL.pdf. [accessed 14/03/20].

UKPSF. (2011) UK Professional Standards Framework (PSF) for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. [PDF] https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/advance-he/UK%20Professional%20Standards%20Framework_1570613241.pdf. [accessed 14/03/20].

Continued...The Road Sign Collection - Series One Development (Firstsite Collectors Group Bursary)

The Road Sign Collection drawings are now complete. 

Next Steps

- To print and review The Road Sign Collection
- To cut down The Road Sign Collection from 71 to 50
- To seek peer advice on The Road Sign Collection; How to group the work, How to cut down the collection to 50 signs
- Look into types of book; shape and size, visual/colouring 

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].