Interview Feedback, Professionalism Skills

My interview went well (I think).

I was a little nervous and said ‘um’ a bit which was annoying but I know this is because I struggle with thinking under pressure. I also know that I will get better at this the more times I have to speak about my work and the more confident I get about my practice – it is also why these PPP tasks (interviews and Pecha Kucha) are a really good experience and way of building that confidence.

I used my website to show my portfolio of work, this helped prompt me on what I wanted to talk about. I did not practice what I had to say about my work too much as my feedback from the Pecha Kucha was that I had too much to say, I had written notes which meant I rushed through it a lot. Of course an interview is a different setting and although we were prep’d on the questions we were asked there was less structure than in the Pecha Kucha. Another good thing about the website was the it meant that when Marianne was speaking David took the opportunity to look at the other work I had on there, focusing on some of my Foundation work. I am very proud of this work but had felt it inappropriate to talk about in the interview as it is from two years ago. Having someone new recognise it as interesting and something I can build upon in my practice was a real confidence boost. In a professional context this happening in an interview would hopefully boost a potential client/employers interest in working with/employing me.

Feedback

• My scarf brief was a good move, and interested them in how I had taken my practice then moved it on to surface pattern. This is something I should continue to experiment with
• Look into surface pattern more, but don’t just think about fabric.
• I have a good sense of colour, so my designs could be less ‘intense’. Perhaps make simple work but with amazing colour.
• I need to start focusing myself on a practice, even though it is good to be interested in a lot of things.
• Consider myself a Digital Artist. Don’t just let the technology skills lead me.
• Focus on what I want to do.
• Try to find way to combine technical interests and sustainability interests.
• Project onto the environment.
• In terms of work placements if I am going down the more Fine Art approach, I need to be saying “I could help you in this way… Here are some examples of my work.”

PPP2

Critical awareness/Problem Analysis

I feel as though my creative practice is leading me to being an entrepreneur or a career as an artist, I have so far been unable to find a design studio that I feel I would fit into. In doing research for work placements and in the interview it became clear to me I am not interested in being a Digital Designer as this is not how I use my technical skills. Even when researching for design agencies and studios that have a sustainable or ethical focus (Yoke) I didn’t find anything that fitted the bill. However even though I feel as though I might not fit into your standard design agency (I still need to keep researching) I do enjoy working to a brief over exploring a method or medium and total artistic expression.

‘Going it alone’ and following the route of being a Digital Artist will involve a lot of hard work and I will still need to gain as much work experience as possible. I think this means that I don’t have to limit myself too much as to the kind of opportunities I look for, as even working for a design agency will give be business experience, especially is if is small I can work closely with the founders. However I have identified artist Chuck Elliot who has a similar style to myself and works digitally and I plan to contact him to see if there is any experience gaining opportunities he can offer me.

This Guardian article about internships and working in the creative industry was useful, if a little outdated, on what to expect from unpaid and paid internships.

Over the summer and in preparation for Level 6 I plan to research and experiment with materials for my COP3 project where I have outlined working with textiles and surface pattern. I have two strong interests, digital technology and the skills and aesthetics that come with this and on the contextual side, my passion for sustainability and the environment. I need to find a way to combine these two interests. I am considering more use of recyclable materials as resource materials for digital design as well as projection on to recycling or the environment.

Innovation

I have really enjoyed the Live module and working in connection with clients (My scarf designs and logo design) and the competition briefs (CC Awards and Love Arts Cover) were a way of working that I had not experienced before – having a limited time to explain my projects in few images to the judges. This has helped me improve my time management and working process as it has required planning and more frequent (self-initiated) deadlines. I have had to become more critical about my own work, what and how it communicates, by asking peers advice and opinions and gaining a broader understanding of my audience.

Working with clients has made me aware of how clear communications need to be, especially as my client communication were mostly e-commerce, and that I need to set out clear requirements to them in terms of what/when and how I can do what they are asking.

Professionalism

I have made a website as part of the Live module and to show my portfolio of work at the interview. I would also like to sort out some business cards promoting myself as a Digital Artist.

Protecting my work online.

Having taken an interest in making a website and noticed that I am uploading a lot of images of my work online. I have done some research on tips of how to protect my work. I found this website useful. I am considering making a watermark at the end of this semester when I have a bit more time and using it on my images.

http://www.theartleague.org/blog/2013/01/09/artful-resources-sharing-images-of-your-artwork-online/ 

Skype Alumni Chats

These chats were very interesting and an innovative way of providing us access to alumni (real people) that were recent graduates and prepared to give us good honest advice on live after VisCom.

Although Richard Kilroy’s was quite difficult to hear, I managed to glean some useful tips that I can apply to my own work. He is a men’s fashion illustrator which is not really like anything but the repercussions from his Final Major Project at LCA were really interesting. For this he put together Zines, getting the illustrations by emailing illustrators he liked, no one sent him original work for the first edition, but by the time it got the second an illustrator had seen it and produce some for him. This magazine is now on its 5th edition being printed in large format. This Zine also lead to Thames and Hudson approaching him for a book on mens illustration.

“Client’s work is just as much theres as it is yours.”

“When clients ask you what you charge, always asked what their budget is, or they will underpay you.”

This just proved to me, that really soon I need to start getting my work out into ‘the real world’ as that is how you get your work and your self know. I need to be confident about doing so. Before I do this, I want to make sure I have a website and a business card that will give me a much more professional impact to those who may enjoy what I do.

Patrick Ranger also gave some good advice on how to get work after uni, he suggested a LinkedIn page, and I’ve had a look at his which documents all the work and work experience he has undertaken since his time at uni.

In his industry, TV Production, he mentioned that it was really useful to have connections and be able to name drop, but said that if this wasn’t possible that un-paid internships are really useful.

He also stated that his learning continued after uni and that the gap between now and him graduating is huge. A interesting and positive point – development in practice and skills continues after uni, something I think I forget sometimes.

Dan Hockley video called us from the VICE office in New York which was very exciting.

One thing I picked up on that I found really useful for myself was that he said after uni he realised that it was his technical skills, in a broad range of programme, that was going to get him work. I already have a working knowledge of quite a few Adobe programmes as well as a few others. This has made me more confident in the usefulness of these skills, where previously I had felt that I might have been spreading myself too thin by not focusing on just one type of practice. I now want to increase my skill level as much as I can so that post-uni I can use this to help me earn money, even if it is in a role where I have to relinquish creative control for a few years to be able to get food on the table and establish myself.

Hockley also gave the impression connection are important at helping you get work. As well as saying that company politics was a bigger part of the job than he first had thought. Ultimately I am not keen to work in a massive office/design team and would prefer to work on a much more personal level as part of a smaller team –  or individually. This does not mean it will never be in this situation, or that work politics do not affect smaller organisations, so it is a good thing to be aware of and start building skills that help me deal with these situations.

Lord Whitney “Connoisseurs of Make-Believe” Talk and Studio Visit

This was incredibly inspiring!! LOVED their studio space, could not be more jealous. I think we need to take some of that spirt back into the viscom studio. They (Amy Lord and Rebekah Whitney) said themselves that the studio should be somewhere you want to be.

Rob spilling his drink before we’d even sat down!

Task 5 – Meal Inspired by a Film.

View from the top over Leeds

I was inspired by the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, my Granny was the first person to show me this film, so it brings me fond memories. I know she likes it because it is one of the most memorable films she has seen, mostly because of Audrey Hepburn’s performance as Holly Golightly but also because of the soundtrack, Moon River being her favourite. Both of these have in turn become my favourite parts of the film.

Task 1. Do some networking (look at local networks)

In terms of networking on a local scale I have joined the Leeds Visual Art Forum mailing list, this will keep me informed of local opportunities and events.

As well as this I have joined the waiting list for a very popular event at home in Bristol, the North Bristol Art Trail. Held on the last weekend of November every year, it is the most popular of the Bristol art trails. It has been running for 13 years and is open to new and established artists – it’s ever growing popularity has meant that the waiting list to exhibit as part of the weekend is now a few years long. Hence my pre-emptivity in joining now, in the hope that by the time I’m back in bristol in 2016 I will be near the top of the list.

Leaflets and map from 2014 trail

Task 3 – Volunteer. The People’s Republic of Stoke Croft.

Stokes Croft is an area in Bristol that holds great importance to me; I went to school just outside the area, I regularly pass through on my way in and out of town and my friends and I have been using the services and taking part in events held there since our early teens. It is this place that for a multitude of reasons had significant impact on my interests, as well as the decision to further study, Art and Design. There is a strong independent vibe to Stokes Croft due to the shops, businesses and the population. It is this independence that fuelled the riots against Tesco’s invasion into the area.

“Think Local” mural in support of the “No Tesco” campaign.

Further reading: The Independent’s article and the Bristol Post’s.

Task 2 – Listen to Desert Island Disks

Initially I was not that keen on this task – say the words Radio 4 to me and the first thing I think of is, sitting at the dinner table as a child with my parents and being “shhh’d” everytime I opened my mouth to speak because I was interrupting The Archers. Why we couldn’t eat earlier I do not know – this being in a time before iPlayer – but these memories have induced a life long grudge against the radio station. But I did always enjoy the relaxed tone of the Desert Island Disk programs, these ones were not a silents listening experience, even if the songs played always went over my head. So a little exploration into the episodes available on the now existent iPlayer and found that perhaps it is time for me to put the hard feelings aside – there were a few names I recognised; Steve McQueen, Ed Miliband, Malorie Blackman and Sarah Millican to name a few. I’m not about to turn into The Archers’ number one fan, but I may tune in once in a while to the odd DID show or catch up with them at my own pace.

I’ve listen to a few, one that I really enjoyed was John Bishop’s from 2012, he’s a comedian who I would probably class in my favourites, so it was interesting to find out how he came to the profession and hear a personal view on his background. Quite a different interpretation from what a Google search turns up.

Out of the songs John picked I knew only the first: The Beatles – I saw her standing there. But surprised myself in recognising a couple of the others, David Bowie’s Lets Dance and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama. I’ve never been very good at remembering artists or song names – the music is always captured by my brain rather anything word related.

Listening to this got me thinking about some of the tracks I might take to a desert island with me – Lionel Richie’s All Night Long would definitely be on the list, this song always gets my best friend and I bopping around the room, or the street, or in the taxi. Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Greenday is a song from my childhood and even though I’ve moved away from Greenday as the years have gone by, it brings fond memories of messing around after school when life was perhaps a little less complicated. I’d have to have some songs that reminded me of family out there with me, so The Boarderers’, Bootscootin’ Woman would be coming with me. I saw this band with my Aunt and Granny at the age of 5 on a trip to stay with my Aunt in Australia  and have been dancing around to there music every since. I’m not one to listen to music as I sleep, finding it more distracting than soothing but in time when I need to quite down the thoughts pinging round my brain I turn to Daley, being on a desert island probably means theres going to be a few rough days – perhaps when the sun tanning doesn’t go so well – Daley’s Smoking Gun would be perfect for these situations.

I am almost reluctant to create a definitive list, feeling that life, hopefully, has a lot more experiences to throw at me and that music will come and go through out these events. Songs and artists moving in and out of importance to me.

Task 4 – Discuss a Documentary

One hungover Sunday in my house we watched the documentary film BlackFish, purely I think because it was on Netflix. Its a film about Killer Whales and how they have behaved in captivity, it focus’ around one specific whale, Tilikum who has been involved in the deaths of three trainers at various marine captivity centres. Where the animals are trained and used as entertainment for the crowds. There has been quite a bit of controversy about the angle the film depicts over the reasons as to why the deaths have happened. SeaWorld, who have Tilikum at their Orlando marine park, refused to be involved with the film and have hit back at the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite for his representation on the issue of keeping these animals in captivity.

Film Image