Methods and Materials Workshop

Today, I had signed up to take part in a Methods and Materials Workshop with Stuart McKenzie, one of my 2nd year tutors. I knew before I had signed up I would enjoy it but it exceeded my expections. The aim of the workshop was to deepen students knowledge of practical and technical issues relating to drawing and paper. It covered a huge range of issues like surfaces, surface prep, pallette management, mediums, glazing, and much much more. I think this kind of workshop teaching method is absolutely vital to art education and something which I would like to see much more of at the art school. Here's a nice quote by Stuart which really sums up my own feelings on the matter.

"it should however be remembered that the learning of the skill base, materials and methods also has a theoretical as well as practical application and it should be remembered that you are learning a visual language and that the act of painting is not merely a craft but an intellectual activity."

The other fantastic thing about one of my course tutors delivering this workshop was the ability for him to help relate the practical side of materials and methods to our project brief this term.

In term 2, we have been assigned a brief, which is a relief to me after a very open first term (no specific project brief). However the freedom allowed in term one did allow me to find and explore something which truly interested me. So in that sense it was very beneficial (it was just the lack of confidence to commit to only one idea from vast amounts of ideas) Anyways, here is my brief for the term:

"The aim of the project in Term 2 is to expand the range of possibilities available in your work. Building upon the skills and ideas developed in Term 1, you are encouraged to expand and develop the possibilities in you work as a whole in response to the underlying theme of multiple or sequence, narrative or time based elements such as an artist book, sequence of drawings or paintings, series of prints, objects constructed in multiple or any other permutation of this theme."

After the break up with my boyfriend, I've managed to continue to develop my method of working last term involving the theme of love and loss, memory and philosophy. Just hope it goes as good as it looks in my head.