WORKSHOPS - PROGRESSION WEEK REVIEW

These weeks have definitely changed my perspective of my possible future in terms of pathways, uni courses and career choices. Despite a push from my parents to aim for a more academic route, i have changed my intent to study history or sociology at uin to deciding to study fine art further, with the intent of turning it into a teaching degree after. This has definitely been affected by my current uni experience as it has shown me the importance of being in an all arts uni to fulfill my full creative potential. For me influential peers has been less of a dominating factor for me s the initial friends i did make on the course left, making it hard for me to make new friends, meaning new peers did not affect my thought process. However this has meant that i have really concentrated on my studies and independent work, showing me that i do have a strong passion for art, with or without the social side of uni. Other artists have obviously inspired me to look further into fine art and interesting routes. Even though i have not found any new majorly influential artists for me, the discovery of new artists and interpretations of topics, through attending lectures is something that has definitely made me more interested in the exploration of fine art. Finally the experimentation with new ways of working, such as concepts like the creative process and methods such as printmaking have really pulled me into wanting to learn more and experiment further with these techniques. Moreover, meeting new teachers and seeing their specialities and unique ideas, especially throughout this workshop week, has made me want to explore different ideas through higher education and career paths as social studies and the uniqueness of creative people is something that interests me and inspires my art, at the same time as refining it through the exploration of feedback from new teachers.

I have looked into a number of potential uni courses as a way to educate myself further. Courses such as, commercial photography, history of art, art and history, art and sociology and printmaking. However despite looking into these courses, my passion lies with fine art and i have now decided that this is the course that i wish to do, as although some other courses may lead to more financially stable to secure careers, i wish to take the risk and do what i love in a fully arts uni. I also do not wish to do another, more pathway specific art source, such as printmaking, as i do not feel that i want to limit myself to on medium or speciality or way of working as i have not yet explored enough to limit myself to such an extent. This has been especially highlighted with the workshops i have done this week, proving that there are many mediums and approaches i have not yet tried which may be suiting to me. For example, the photography workshop showed me a number of new ways that i could experiment and explore with another medium and style in a fine art way within my future studies. furthermore , although i prefer contemporary art i do wish to learn other more traditional fine art concepts and techniques.

Although i do not know exactly where a fine art course would take me career wise, i would love to teach as it is something i have tried before in jobs and my EPQ, and have definitely enjoyed it. however , before this i would also like to look into being an independent artist or other routes such as critique and art journalism.

This foundation course will be imperative to my future as it will allow me to build upon a number of skills that i did not have before. These skills are already starting to emerge, for example, heightened confidence has meant my presentation skills have definitely improved since a-levels. Although i missed the last review session due to illness, i could already see improvement from the fine art project to the design project reflection day as it became a lot less daunting and seemed more natural and easy when i was talking and receiving constructive criticism. Moreover the recording and continual analysing and evaluation of my work to refine it has also improved as i am learning how to make my blog effective and record my ideas and thoughts frequently, meaning my work is easily presented and makes it easier to look back on and show my work.