Jo Boddy
Unit 1 Assessment
LO 1: Formulate, describe and implement a challenging and self directed programme of study, relating to your study statement.
(AC Enquiry)
My work explores human interactions with the landscape. I am interested in how we think about our landscape, what we want and need from it and our attitudes towards it.
In Britain the landscape is entirely constructed by human activities, past and present. We manage our landscape intensively to ensure it gives us what we need with 'the environment' and 'nature' often being thought of as aligning beautifully with human outdoor leisure activities and our pleasure. We ask a lot of our landscape and I want to explore a specific area of land, local to me of which an awful lot is asked.
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I have formulated and described a detailed programme of study in my Study Statement v.1.0
This includes a weekly timetable and longer term plan which describe how it will be implemented.
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The following blog posts show evidence of primary and secondary research methods as I started delving more deeply into the history of landscape art and more general ideas of how the British population has regarded the landscape historically. It makes sense to me to look back over what has gone before to understand current themes and ideas and how these may progress in the future. Thinking about the natural world in general and what we know about it provides further context for my studies.
I plan to work in print and utilise printmaking as my primary method of making, speaking to leading printmakers to gain insights will be a valuable source of primary research.
Spirit of Place: Artists, Writers and the British Landscape by Susan Owens this is what I read out to my group when tasked with presenting some reading that was informing my practise. This book has provided fascinating insights into our changing connections with landscapes over the centuries. It prompted further research into some of the artists and poets mentioned as well as leading me to think more deeply about what my local landscape means to me and what it might mean to other visitors.
Getting back to it - the big idea describes how ideas from a David Attenborough book apply to the landscape and themes I am exploring, it notes the sort of research I want to do and how I might present it visually.
Meeting Chris Orr describes a conversation that took place over a couple of hours during which I gained a wonderful insight into the methods and ideas behind Chris Orr's work as well as an oversight of his work throughout the years. I recognise how incredibly lucky I am to have the opportunity to meet such a giant of the printmaking world and to hear first-hand how he works, where his ideas come from and how he incorporates them into his work. It was also fascinating to hear him put his practice into the wider context of making a living as a printmaker.
LO 2: Implement appropriate working methods for building an independent and effective self-organisation that enables the critical engagement with practice-based research.
(AC Process)
Taken together these posts describe the ways I am exploring new printmaking techniques to use within my work, focussing on practice based research and using workshops to expand my thinking through doing. I am looking back at landscape art movements and work that has gone before and utilising the ideas of others to inform my own, as well as using feedback from peers to expand my thinking about my own work and working practice.
Something New: Eco-Friendly Etching & Something new: Eco Friendly Etching Part 2 (Happy Accidents) these two posts describe my first forays into etching. I was exploring both the process and the results to start expanding my mark making capabilities. The results were recorded in a sketchbook with reflections about what worked, what didn't and how this process might be used in my practice.
Lots of experiments! describes experiments in etching and lithography. While I was focussing on the techniques as they're so new to me my experiments were conducted using imagery of the forest to really test out what sort of images might be possible for me.
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Making reduction linocut with caustic soda etching (part 1) & Completing the reduction linocut (part 2) describe trying out caustic soda etching on lino within a reduction print for the first time and looking with a very critical eye at the final print and considering how I might use what I've learned to improve upon this image.
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Walk in the Forest - 12/1/23 - Palette describes one of my daily walks and the explorations I undertake while I'm there.
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Patchwork describes the process of research informing an idea which prompted further research and then experimentation. The experiments were recorded and evaluated and further ideas noted.
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Landscape Matter Environment in quotation uses highlighting to pull out the words and phrases of others that stood out to me when I read them.
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Progress! describes a session using questioning from others to solve a problem in my work.
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Practise Based Research - realising progress records an afternoon printmaking and realising that I was exploring the forest and the imagery I can make through the printmaking process.
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Workshop: Emerging dialogues through textiles describes a workshop I took in order to expand my thinking and apply new ideas to my work.
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I am using regular blog posts to record and critique my research and progress. I am also utilising several sketchbooks as physical records. I have one for recording technical printmaking experiments where I can note the processes used and my thoughts about what worked and what didn't and how the process may be useful. I have another or keeping notes about exhibitions I have visited which I also record via the blog. I can print out photographs and stick in materials collected at galleries to reflect upon what I though of an exhibition and what I have learned. This will provide a useful resource to revisit as it build up over the years. I have also started a workbook specific to my forest project where I can print out and stick in photographs, grouping them along themes and can record ideas and try out test pieces and samples.
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While keeping the blog is useful for recording ideas and linking themes I am naturally a more 'analogue' person and find that editing pictures and sticking them into sketchbooks works for me. I use spiral bound sketchbooks for this so that I can snip pages and move them about as needed as well as add in more pages as needed. This is an important part of my process.
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LO 3: Communicate a critical understanding of your developing practice.
(AC Knowledge, AC Communication)
Taken together these posts describe how my understanding of my practice has deepened and evolved already since September as a result of broadening my research, finding greater context for my work and exploring ideas outside of my practice.
Seeing my practice as a whole explains how I started pulling all my creative exploits together and viewing them as a whole practice rather than separate entities.
Tutorial 1 31/10/22 this was my first tutorial and I found it fascinating. Jonathan got me thinking very deeply about my motivations and aims for both the course and my art work in general, building on themes I had identified in my first blog post where I laid out what had gone before the MA.
Validation & Seasonal Revelations from Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair Nov 22 is a deep reflection that started based on my success at the Woolwich Contemporary Print fair 2022 where I made new connections within my practice.
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First Term Reflection describes the huge mental shifts that happened for me during the first term of the MA course.
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Coding, AI & Digital Art... it's all Latin is the confirmation for me of my analogue working methods but also analysing how I think and plan my work mentally, in trying something so alien to my way of working it made me delve more deeply into how and why I work the way I do.
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Tutorial 2 26/1/23 this was my second tutorial and as usual Jonathan proved incredibly insightful. He made me feel more confident about a print I had just finished and we discussed the way I think about some of the process. It really helped to pull some of my thinking together and to see some of my processes from a different point of view. Jonathan has an amazing way of noticing some small things that I do and leading me to realise echoes between a process and a theme. It reminds me how important it is to gather feedback and understand how others see my work.
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Imposter Syndrome describes my feelings of worry about not being good enough, through writing the post I asked myself new questions and reframed the way I was thinking. I delved deeper into what it was that was worrying me and how I might overcome the worries. Writing the post was a brilliant way of getting some of the worries off my chest and moving on.
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Principles demonstrates a new, deeper understanding of the core themes around my work and the principles which guide me.
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Part of developing my practise is to exhibit my work. I have three exhibitions taking place in March, one will showcase very new and experimental work and provide a wonderful opportunity for honest feedback from tutors and peers on the MA Arts Programme at CSM as part of the Interim Exhibition. Two other exhibitions will showcase more traditional framed prints, one as part of a printmaking group and one alongside other MA students. As well as gathering feedback from others this will provide me an opportunity to reflect on my practise and to see my work framed and presented as 'final pieces'. Seeing a body of work together is always highly informative for me, but this will also be an interesting test of how I am communicating my ideas visually to a wider audience.
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