AT4 Reflection

 

This unit has been a bit of a light bulb moment, I suddenly felt fully engaged in the work. I think this was due to the more practical side of the work I also went on a more restrictive stance on this unit make myself be more creative with what materials I had, thus producing more interesting pieces.

I decided to be more restrictive as I thought it would make stretch how the yarn/material could be manipulated into the pieces I was looking to create. For example, using the tape and newspaper to plait and weave with. There was the opportunity to purchase a few items, with my red/blue series. But again, using household items that were purchased at a local DIY store and pushing their purposes into something aesthetically interesting.

Going through another lockdown leaving me unable to look at materials and items has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities around me, even recycling out clothing into yarn.

I have also learnt a number of new skills throughout this task including French knitting, crocheting squares and creating my own yarn. What I am taking away from these skills is the mindfulness that is achieved. Usually learning a new skill can be stressful but I find them relaxing and become lost in time. Perhaps this is why I have enjoyed this unit so much.

I look forward to taking this new mindfulness and techniques into my future work. I am hoping to continue with my creative thought processes, experimenting with more unconventional materials and making them into wonderfully interesting pieces.

Assessment Criteria

Demonstration of technical and visual skills- In this unit I have used a mixture of materials, observing the ways the materials can be used for each task. Thinking how I can make this material work for me and what I want to achieve. Or on occasions doing the complete opposite, find a material and experimenting with it to see how it folds, melt, and transforms and seeing how these qualities could fit into my work.

I have tried to be mindful of my proportions of colour, I often become over excited using to many colours rather than observing what I am trying to create and being mindful of the proportions and colour balance in the pieces.

Quality of outcome- I am finding as I go through ATV the more practical the units become the more, I am enjoying the content and creating more creative, interesting pieces. I am using my sketchbook more and learning to research ideas and concepts but should need to remember to log the journey. By this I mean taking pictures of how I have developed a piece, where it came from and ended up. I often only log the final piece, missing the vital phases on how I go there.

I have become more confident in completing my learning log, a task that used to daunt me. I do wish I could attend exhibitions to help with my research and knowledge. I feel I could expand on my vocabulary within my work by reading more articles. I have recently booked on two talks and purchased a new book which I am hoping will help me on my textiles journey.

Demonstration of creativity- I have found I have become more creative when restricting myself with colours, materials, and techniques. Working on what tools I have using my creativity to produce a visually interesting piece. Some of the more interesting pieces coming from experimentation with the yarns and techniques, wondering what would happen if I twisted something slightly differently or knitted a bit looser or tighter. I was the same with material, the tape was the right colour for the collage work, how could I make this sticky flat tape into a yarn, can I pull it, heat it up, make it firmer by wrapping it around something. It was the unknown and experimenting to see what would happen. The glass series of yarn were my successful as it involved plastic something I would not usually us. I really enjoyed the experimental process of using the material, evolving into some of my creative pieces.

Context- Within this unit an integral part has been learning new techniques, this involved using research methods into techniques. Looking into techniques that would best represent the piece I was looking to create. I found it a lot easier to follow video tutorials over written instructions, using step by step YouTube videos to follow. Throughout this unit I have created practice pieces, perhaps creating several before I was happy to display one as my final piece. As there were many new techniques, I felt some of the pieces were not up to standard and need to be developed further. As the course continues, I am becoming more critical of my work, but also knowing me limits and knowing when to stop.