Rees, E. (2017) Reading Resources [Photograph].Over the course of my study, the Contribution module has strongly encouraged the notion of my engagement with reading material that feed my interests, whether topically inside or outside of my practice. Whereas the exercise of reading beforehand was put little into effect as most of my attention was drawn to my passion and concern for my practical development in my image making.
Rees, E. (2017) Inspiring Ideas [Drawing].However, from the incorporation of theoretical studies now embedding in my working practices. I have discovered the nutrition that reading provides. As from one material to the next a feeling of satisfaction and hunger grows as I meet with creative minds alike. That has shown me how encountering the thoughts and ideas of others has supplied me with innumerable words of wisdom and fascinating concepts. That has resulted in improvements to my practical studies in my Encounter module. That includes a stronger motivation level, flourishing ideas in my work and most importantly has been greatly responsible for the sense of clarity and enlightenment about my own core beliefs and the values I would like to work in my own practice.
Rees, E. (2017). Picking Resources [Drawing].The guidance obtained from my attendance to the valuable Keynote lectures has provided thorough advice and proved a dear resourcefulness in supplying essential and appropriate research methodologies. Such as ensuring my awareness of the university services to aid my research and writing skills. This includes my acknowledgment of services such as the Library and Metsearch for reliable research materials and the type of referencing required of me that is aided by the ‘cite them right’ service. These resources have become a familiar routine and one that is inspired by lecturers who have persuaded the achievement of such rewarding theoretical craftsmanship that has built up over the three years and led to my pinnacle essay of my university experience being the dissertation.
From these attendances, my ability to source images has been one of the greatest achievements having not previously been to clear on the legalities of its use in my essays. Now I am fully aware of services such as free image databases and in particular the service Bridgeman that has been the easiest and resourceful image source that I have used for my dissertation. I am also more aware of sourcing reliable services outside of the universities collection following instruction for the usage of peer-reviewed material and with learning the indications of trust-worthy websites. This also includes my awareness of ones to avoid such as google images and Wikipedia.
Rees, E. (2017) Autonomous Driving [Drawing].Lecturers have always made it clear the responsibilities that I have as an autonomous student to effectively conduct and accumulate my own research and the benefits of provoking such thought stimulative studies. This also reflects the responsible attitude essential for engineering my future development after university. To be applied to driving my practice forward and being conscious of ideas and events around me. Which highlights an empowering sense of connectivity and purpose to contribute to the greater world of the community of artists and its prospects that lay open and awaiting my attention.
Rees, E. (2017) Hand Up [Drawing].The opportunities to dive in and out of different but fascinating aspects of a variety of insights presented by weekly encounters with individual Contribution staffs personal research has been one of the best experiences of my time at university. For I was always taken aback by how enthusiastic and fascinated the staff were with their philosophies and ideas that they had grown so informed and attached too. This experience had me too very eager with asking questions and getting involved in debates and discussions that arose, which also took myself by surprise. This experience is something that I realise now had practiced my ability to metabolize ideas and open them to further discussion such as their elaboration that can lead to furthermore ideas and debates. The depths of different areas of research illuminated the complexity within the history and developing world of the creative industry to which indicated my responsibilities for future movements and cultural values that I’d wish to move thinking forward with my illustration. Sparking my imagination and feel of importance time and time again and always leading to the same conclusion that was certain. Which was my minds irresistible desire with sharing my ideas on contemporary art making from my student perspective.
Rees, E. (2017) Exhibition Thinker [Drawing].
In terms of the Contribution activities effect to my Exposure (Field) module. Having registered so many philosophies in lesson and sourced from independent reading. I have learnt so much more about the evaluation of artwork and the many ways in which artwork can be explored and interpreted. Through workshops and theoretical theories that have broadened my thinking and established newly informed approaches to my ability to perceive and critical evaluate artwork. That has led to its use in the frequent in-depth dissection of visual language and ability to distinguish between conscious and unconscious material that has come from a greater understanding on the way our minds work. As I am able to see the more greater perceptual forces at work in artwork that are far more important than the aesthetic pleasures of them. That has benefitted my experience of artwork in exhibitions as it has most importantly favoured a fresh new way of approaching artefacts. As I equip my influence from the library discovery of art teacher Robert Henri (1984, p. 8) who proposed what he had adopted from the Impressionists, which was ‘the idea of looking at contemporary life and contemporary scenes with a fresh, unprejudiced, unacademic eye’. To which ideas I have come to wish to promote and challenge within my own exhibition opportunities and ideas of presenting my future artwork and adopted into my own experience of perceiving the artwork of others.
Rees, E. (2017) Selectivity [Photograph].From the Dissertation experience I have understood the need for the filtering process that involves the selectivity of material from learning resources. I have understood that my possession of such material and all of the above experience remains to linger as inspiration on my mind as the insight into a deeper understanding of myself that is highlighted through these curiosities and attention that pull me to meaningful investigations. That has ultimately mirrored the way in which I like to work using the impulses of my up most interests to direct the work in which I make to encourage a work that it the most alive with spirit and enthusiasm.
Ellen Rees University Blog 