“Completing my project based on Through the Looking Glass and receiving feedback from my tutor was both a nerve-wracking and a rewarding experience. I often feel apprehensive about how my work will be received and whether I’ve done enough to meet expectations. However, I was delighted to hear that my tutor was blown away by my efforts, particularly in handmade crafting, the stunning illustrations I created, and my integration of technology. She also recognised my initiative in learning Blender, expressing eagerness to see the animation I am currently working on. My tutor has also encouraged me to start marketing myself, and playfully adviced me to display my sculptures at home rather than sell them. This feedback gave me a renewed sense of confidence in my abilities. Hearing her say, ‘ If you don’t have confidence now you never will, well done Gemma,’ and that she was impressed and blown away by my work was incredibly affirming, and it’s a reminder to trust in my creative instincts moving forward.”
Category: Reflection on tutor feedback
tutor feedback
When I finished Assignment 4, I was concerned about what my tutor would think of my work. For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt like my work isn’t good enough. However, after receiving feedback from my tutor, I understood that my concerns were unfounded because the tutor provided great feedback. This event led me to be more confident in my abilities. I’m more motivated to keep working hard on this course. It gave me a huge boost of confidence and assured me that I was on the right course with my studies.
The concept of imagination that I chose for the assignment is so broad that it encouraged me to think outside the box by employing mind maps and primary research. For the first time, this led my work to reflects my personal style.
Reflecting on my visual approach to the task, I would proceed in the same manner that I would with the research. Visiting Oxford helped me engage with the story on a different level. Throughout the journey, I imagined myself as Alice in a variety of settings, including visiting the river she would have taken boat rides on, seeing the fields she would have played in, and the inspiration around Oxford that led Lewis Carroll, all of which helped me channel those ideas into my artwork.
The final images’ strengths are that they demonstrate perspective, movement, attention to detail, and expression against a complex background. The illustrations’ flaws could be improved by working on more refined facial expressions with the sculptures I produced, as well as paying closer attention to detail with the sculptures. This might be accomplished by adding whiskers to the rabbit and more detail to the fur. This could be accomplished by researching human or animal facial anatomy to create more realistic depictions.
The work’s scale was suitable for assignment four, but going forward, I’ll need to make sure I set up the right size at the start of the project to prevent it from unintentionally becoming distorted in any way. For example, if I want my work to be used as book illustrations or merchandise.
Part Two: Visual Approaches
After receiving my tutor’s feedback regarding my artwork, I was pleased to discover that I had explored a diverse range of concepts and mediums. This demonstrates that I experimented more and attempted to finish each exercise to the best of my ability, pushing myself beyond my comfort zone.
Hearing which artworks my tutor enjoyed the most was interesting, and her answer surprised me. She particularly enjoyed a sketch of a wizard that had been digitally enhanced.
She thought the drawing was strong, and even though I was pleased with it, I have never felt confident creating digital art, so hearing that my technical abilities have improved was reassuring.
As I mentioned in my blog, I’ve never been a fan of collage work, but I began to enjoy it when I understood it could be utilised to express ideas. Hearing that my tutor loved looking at them was encouraging.
The fact that my assignment presentation was well-received and that I overcame the technical difficulties of utilising a new software package made me happy. I’ve received a few constructive comments from my tutor to help me polish the presentation more before I submit it for assessment. I had never created a live presentation before, so discussing my work was a little intimidating. Yet, now that I’ve done it once, I believe it will be simpler the next time.
After finishing part two and speaking to my tutor I am surprised that my artwork may go in a new direction in the future. Previously, I had liked creating illustrations that conveyed everyday humour. However, I have realised now illustrations with a narrative, meaning and sometimes with a political stance are more memorable and have a bigger impact on my audience. This is something I am going to have to think hard about how to take this strength forward in my illustration practice. For the first time, I am embracing change and recognising strengths in my work and not being so hard on myself.
Assignment one
I was relieved to hear that my blog is simple to use, as this will make it easy for visitors to find and read my work.
I said in part one that I struggle with managing my time, and getting some help from my tutor was great. My tutor advised me of the 888 principles, so I investigated this more (Kit.,2020). Planning eight hours of study, eight hours of ‘me time’, and eight hours of sleep will assist me in better managing my everyday life. I may not have the exact schedule, but it offers me something to plan for.
My tutor also advised me to use a stopwatch for me to sit and study for a designated time such as an hour, so I did this as a test and it did stop me from being interrupted by social media, phone calls, or coffee breaks. She also suggests that I use a Gantt chart to visualise time I have available for each assignment. I researched it, but I also found a very user-friendly app called the Todolist. I have now added all of my upcoming tasks to this app. It is useful since I can now see the work I have to perform in the upcoming days, weeks, and months. To further help me keep organised, I have also created a computerised daily schedule. Both of these new strategies will make it easier for me to calculate how much time I have left to study. There is also a choice to add personal events to the daily schedule.
My tutor has suggested a book to help with writing about art, (Barnet, 2014) which I will borrow from the library, and I was relieved to find that, despite my dyslexia, my written work is developing positively.
It was discouraging to learn that my citations were not correct. Every time I have written something from a source, I have ensured I included references. I was unaware, however, of the unreliability of Wikipedia and the Tate as research sources and that my format was incorrect. It was fortunate that my tutor pointed out that I was not properly referencing because she informed me that the university library offers a tutorial that would teach me how to do it correctly.
It is interesting that my tutor said it might be time for me to launch a website; this is something I have been considering doing for a while. I currently have a digital portfolio that needs additional work still, but it is not a website. I have not felt prepared to do this because I have thought the only work I can show is what I have done during this degree. Reflecting on this issue it has made me realise I ought to be producing work that I enjoy doing in my leisure time, too. Now that I have a time management strategy in place, this will be simpler to do.
The last assignment of part one helped my practice by allowing me to think differently about making mistakes and being more confident. Hopefully, I will remember to practise this skill throughout the rest of the course.
Overall, I have learned a lot from the work produced in part one of this course and can now go forward with new ideas and new strategies of working.
Bibliography
Barnet, S. (2014) A short guide to writing about art, global edition. 11th edn. London: Pearson Education.
Kit., C. (2020) 8–8–8 Rule: Living a Balanced and Happy Life. Singapore: CKSPACE. Available at: https://youtu.be/hZizLOgrVBo.
Visual Skills 2 