This module has definitely been a bit of a turning point for me, I feel its the first project we’ve undertaken where I’ve really gained a feeling of myself as a real illustrator and crafts-person. The time I have committed to coming up with ideas, carrying out research and actually grafting everyday to create a final product is incomparable to any other projects I’ve done before. I’ve really seen how in self led projects where you are responsible for determining the subject matter and the thing you are portraying in your final outcome, you have to be not only more self motivated, but also passionate about the subject matter, engaged at all times and above all, very sure of what you are trying to communicate.
During this project I have picked up a few new skills, first of all screen printing which I had learnt to do previously but now feel way more confident in doing by myself. I feel sure that I’ll work with this process in the future, not just because I like the kind of work that can be achieved through it, but also because I have found that the act of producing the work, and going through the process of making is something I find very soothing, especially when you end up with a great image.
I think I’m slowly starting to learn how to use my blog, not only to organise my thoughts, but to make sense of any progress or setbacks I might be having. However I do feel I need to make more of an effort to make sure I record any artistic inspiration and contextual knowledge on my blog. I also feel like I have found a new passion for finding things out during the research portion of this project. As my subject was the very vague one of ‘ghosts’ I kind of had to just go out into York and ask around for anything around the subject matter that might be of relevance. In doing this I not only had some really fascinating conversations with people but I also found out that just talking to strangers isn't really that daunting because actually most people are up for a little chat, especially if you’re giving them the oppurtunity to talk about themselves.
The final outcome is something I’m actually really happy with, although it was created a little too late in the project to have any really kind of meaning or message behind it. I really enjoyed the process of working with watercolour and pencil to create my own little impressions of the shops I saw around me, and really really enjoyed the trip down memory lane of thinking of all the shops that have been shut down in the past. Something I feel I’ve done well at is communicating the melancholy of the forgotten shops by selecting the appropriate materials to do so. For the final book I also opted to make a concertina book which has not only taught me that patience is a virtue, but also how to format a document on In Design which is a skill I know I’ll use in the future. I also surprisingly enjoyed the process of crafting the actual concertina book, I think because I am a meticulous person so it was something I could take my time and care with and its ended up looking pretty neat.
Where I think I let myself down during this project was in the selection of a research topic. One of the words I was given at the beginning was Folklore, which was to me the most inspiring, especially when I realised I could maybe use it to explore the idea of ghosts, which is something that really interests me anyway. When researching ghosts I took a really literal approach and headed to York to talk to people about various hauntings and experiences, which while exciting to me at the time, was really stuff I could have found out about on the internet or in the library. Whilst in York I was also really inspired by the mundanity of ‘Britains most haunted City’ and subsequently went on to produce a lot of first hand images of the buildings and shops there. This was a total breakthrough for me, someone who usually detests doing observational drawings. However during this project I feel very thankful to have fallen in love with the process of observing something, a building or object and translating into my own representation of it.
I think it all comes down to the fact that I just got too excited by everything I had seen, being too caught up in the idea of being a ‘visual journalist’ and making my research subject something so broad. For a while I was just trying desperately to mix the idea of the cute ghost character I’d come up with, and the observational drawings of buildings to create something with a meaning. But actually in doing this I was creating something that was convoluted and hard to understand, and didn't really look that great. I think what I’ve realised about myself is that I am a very practical person that try to find a way to organise everything, and during this very broad project where we’ve been allowed to set our own parameters, I think I’ve tried to make things easier for myself but trying to fit my picture book into a genre. What I am just now starting to realise is that the real point of being a visual journalist whilst obviously is to report what is happening around me, is also to report my personal perspective of whats going on around me. Illustration is a platform that I have been given not only to make nice images, but also hopefully to convey a sense of something and a tone of voice in my work that is specific to me.
I feel positively that this module has helped me to not only get to know more about illustration and the research methods we can use to help inform our future practice, but also to learn more about myself and how I fit inside the world of illustration. I have learnt that I need to listen to my instincts more, and trust that I have good things to say. I have learnt that I actually do have a lot of things to say and I sometimes rush to say them all at once and maybe this is why this project seemed so directionless at first. I have learnt that sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ones and I need to trust that a good idea will turn into a good final outcome. I have learnt that I do have trouble articulating myself sometimes, but that the best way to combat this is to step back from what I am doing, and to not let the message of what I am trying to say get lost in the millions of ideas I’m having. But most of all I have learnt that I need to not be afraid to think more, I need to start to develop my own voice and talk louder about the things I am passionate about. And in doing this, hopefully I will be able to stay more engaged with the subject at hand for longer, hopefully being able to finish the project without becoming bored of it, and make some interesting images that others are able to enjoy consuming just as much as I’ve enjoyed making.
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