Exterior influences: What lessons and influences have I gained from the study of other practitioners and how have I implemented these into my own work? What impact has doing this course had on my working practices?
As an artist, I take lessons and influences from other people's work to help improve my own. Some of the artists who have influenced me are
Jemele Wright and Lucy Freeman and then more recently I have also been influenced by what I have seen
in my course. I have changed my working practices based on the influence of
other practitioners such as Tracy Emin and Judith Scott who tell stories
through their work and have helped me interpret themes more broadly. As a
student, I have realised the importance of exploring other people's work and how
taking inspiration from their work can improve my own. Through this exploration, my knowledge of materials and methods has vastly expanded, allowing me to be
more creative and develop new techniques. This course has also helped me to see
how IT can help develop my skills as a textile artist. For this assessment, I have
reflected on my work and how I have changed as a result of this course.
I reflected on my work to see how other practitioners have
influenced it. Working practices have changed due to artists such as Tracey
Emin, an artist I was aware of before I began this course, but I needed to
understand the work I was looking at and all the excitement over her work.
After looking online at several of her pieces, the first two that stood out to
me were 'My Bed' and 'Terribly Wrong.' Before my understanding of working
practices and the confidence to question the work, I was looking at, I naively
thought it was just a messy bed and a basic note and drawing.
This was not the case, and it can relate to the message Emin
is trying to convey. Emin approaches controversial subjects in the world and
embodies them into artwork, allowing viewers to think about the piece and
interpret the work how they want to. I was inspired to open up about my life
and include it in my work—in a kind of hidden way that makes the viewer unpick
the work they are viewing and interpret it their own way, such as my perinatal
depression vessel piece.
I have also become more confident being forced to explore
working with my face, seeing my exhausted face staring back at me. Marcelo
Moreal's work inspired me to have fun and embrace a more playful view of my
working practice. This is evident in my collage work, with the silly placements
of the collage pieces. I was pushing myself out of my comfort zone and learning
this new technique, which continued throughout this unit. It felt fun to push
myself with colour, techniques, and themes. This would not have been possible
without the influences I gained from studying other practitioners.
The theme of the journey has followed me through my work. I am drawn to this theme because it set off an initial spark with my first assignment, which involved walking to Ham House and listening to the sounds around me rather than what I was seeing and seeing those sounds as visual marks. Since then, I have wanted to explore and develop this idea further.
My most effective process has been exploring life from the first walk and seeing that journey with a different way of thinking, creating a map with mark-making to the colourful, vibrant playground maps made from shapes; reflecting on my work, you can see visual growth in my use of colour. I have been able to communicate my ideas of journeys by exploring the different forms and different meanings they have depending on where we are going, familiarity, comfort, and taking inspiration from artificial shapes and natural shapes combined to make one thing.
Many of the artists that have inspired me have been given to
me as part of my coursework, yet others have come from being out exploring the
world it could be a gallery, exhibition, or a stroll in the park. Taking it all
in colours, sounds, objects, and the feelings I am feeling at that time. Taking
inspiration from Matthew Harris and Howard Skempton with their landscape work
and Jamele Wrights's use of colour and putting in my twist with my emotions of
the joy I felt at the park, visually shown in colour form and the childlike
feeling of the park and time shared with my children in the playful shapes.
I have taken inspiration from other practitioners and used
it to inspire my work, for example. Lucy Freeman's collage work, an artist I
had not previously become familiar with, has given me joy in exploring collage
further. I have created my textures with everyday objects, such as the pattern
on a drink glass. Or the uneven surface in a brick wall, creating another level
to an otherwise flat piece of work. A key area I have taken away from this
course and other practitioners is finding the art in everything. It has helped
me explore unusual mediums such as wax and the exciting colour combinations,
textures, and patterns in a playground. Then, I could display them as a mood
board to express my feelings and ideas in one place.
It was like each artist had sprinkled their inspiration on
my work; I didn't realise this until I sat down and reflected on it. My piece,
which developed as part of a journey, was inspired by the work of Elise Engir
and her work on documenting her journeys. Then, I used bright, playful colours,
becoming more confident in colour as a result of exploring artists such as
Michael Brennand and Hew Locke, mixed with the shapes developed from my collage
inspired by Lucy Freeman, and then finally, the map idea came from Matthew
Harris and Howard Skimpton. I was being inspired but making the work my own.
I expressed my feelings through my work through colours,
shapes, and textures. To me, it documented my journey visually. I can see it,
but would the viewer initially see this as it is not a literal map? It makes
the viewer look deeper into the piece and understand what I am trying to tell
them. I have looked at many different artists' work, and one I should mention
is Judith Scott. Throughout my studies, I have returned to her work, inspired
by her wrapping technique. I have always found something quite mysterious about
the wrapping, trying to hide what's inside and keep it safe. This is a complete
contrast to when I began my degree, thinking of art as a literal item—for
example, a flower painting.
This course has impacted my work by opening my eyes to art
and where textiles fit into the art world. Before this course, I thought of
textiles as patchwork quilts, bunting, and Christmas decorations, which I now
see are not the case. There is so much more to textiles than fabric. I have
enjoyed exploring new and unconventional materials, such as reusing plastic
bags to weave and create suffolk puffs that resembled a jellyfish floating
through the ocean, flickering flame created from vibrant tissue paper dipped in
wax. This course was crucial for me to have the knowledge and confidence to
explore my art.
During this course, I have explored more than just the
materials; I have also used unconventional tools. I used sandpaper to create
texture, made my tools out of cardboard, and made exciting marks. Mark-making
helped to inspire my journey work. Walking through the street with my daughter
in my buggy, clearing my mind and becoming aware of all the sounds I could
hear: the revving of the cars, the wheels of the buggy on the pavement, and
birds' songs. I then began to think of those sounds as marks, visualising them
in my mind. I would never have felt like this before this course. Is this how a
proper artist thinks?
A theme played a vital role in some of my more successful
pieces. I felt more confident and engaged with the theme I had chosen. The
playtime theme began with a mood board, and it just felt joyful, fun and filled
with love. And as it made me feel that way, it came through in the work through
vibrant colours, adventurous techniques, and a vast amount of research. I have
learnt that this is a vital part of the learning moving forward; I need to find
joy in my work to keep me engaged and motivated. I need to put my
interpretation of a task rather than being literal with the task.
In this unit alone I have learnt about the golden rule which
helps an artist to understand where the viewers eye will be drawn as well as
colour trends and how colour can be used within art. I have enjoyed becoming
more confident in where to find information and enjoy pulling inspiration from
other practitioners I have seen during my studies and look forward to exploring
this further and building my bank of knowledge on art. I now understand that
art is more than just what you see, it is also what it makes you feel and about
the interpretation of the viewer, art can also be about expressing yourself and
can be individual to everyone who views it. As part of my learning I have
become more confident in my work, have learnt to question things, push
boundaries and have fun with my creations.
There is more to art than the perfect portrait or
beautifully stitched tapestry. My research on other practitioners taught me
that art is more than what you see; you must pick it apart to understand it.
Delve into the different layers to understand the story the artist tells us.
Like a poem or a song, but as a physical item, the reader or listener can
interpret it as they wish. There is no right or wrong; it's how you feel as an
artist and how you want to express yourself as an individual. I have learnt from
practitioners to become more confident in my work, push boundaries, question
things, and have fun while creating my art.
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