WORKSHOP REVIEWS

MONO-PRINTING

Although i had previous experience in mono-printing, i had alway used water based inks and therefore chose this workshop as a result of the use of oil based inks is what intrigued me about the workshop. Although this change in ink did not make a drastic change to the images, it definitely did make a different effect which allowed me to create bolder and more noticeable lines, experiment more with shading and showed me how to use block colour. I like this as i often work in quite a bold and busy way , however this restricted my ability to do this as a result of the impact of the ink making lots of lines too messy, and therefore making me work in a neater and uniform way. However i feel this worked effectively as i was able to develop different images that i had used in my fine art project to create a more refined and experimental piece, even though i only had limited time to work on my images. I feel that this workshop did help me and teach me some new techniques and allowed me to create sime successful drawings, therefore i do intend to look into mono-printing more in my future fine art studies.

COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

I feel that this workshop was exceptional and taught me a lot. I have had very limited experience in photography, especially in controlled environments, therefore there was a lot of scope to inform me on the basics, thus making this workshop very helpful. I feel that although i had limited experience i created successful photos as i was able to be free in experimentation which allowed me to develop my skills rapidly, for example, with lighting and angles i was able to change the mood or effect of the photo, allowing me to change how i wish the subject to be seen. This workshop has definitely furthered my interest in photography and i do wish to look into doing it further, however in a more fine art style which would allow me to work form or on top of the images.

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS

This workshop was effective in that as it was practical work, instead of on a computer, it allowed me to experiment with text and lettering which is something that i am interested in applying to my work. I liked the experimentation aspect of this work as it allowed me to explore different methods and approaches in order to see which i felt looked best, for example deciding weather i wanted to make the letters that i used clearly letters or more abstract. This meant that, although i am not majorly interested in graphics or visual communications, i was still able to put a fine art twist on the work, it also allowed me to have a more neat and structured piece and experiment with ways of using materials which i would not normally do. Therefore i feel this workshop was also a success as although it did not make me interested in visual communications, it did help me progress my style of work.

HAND LETTERING

This workshop was probably my least favorite simply as it was less suited to my style of work as it was very structured and i feel, more oriented to people interested in illustration or graphics, which i am not. Although i do like the outcome of my work and enjoyed experimenting with a range of different materials, which i will use in my future work, i felt that i was not suited for the intentions of the workshop and wished i was able to do more experimental and free flowing work, such as tracey emins text or work such as jenny holzer. Although i did attempt to do this my abilities were limited as i was unable to print images to work over and was limited to more ‘light hearted’ text, as opposed to something more personal or political, which would have been more interested in and feel would have made my work more insightful.