I have spent a significant amount of time reflecting on the feedback I received from my Tutor on Part 4 (Tutor, 2021). Overall I would say that the feedback was positive and encouraging. The general course of the work that I am doing seems to be productive, but with plenty of food for thought as scope for improvement.
I’ve decided to respond specifically to some of the comments from the feedback in the following sections.
Developing my practice
I’m pleased to see you have begun to develop ideas and highlighting specific areas of your practice to focus on. Subject matter and context will be key in underlining your practice, so pay particular attention to what materials you use in order to investigate your thematic ideas. (Tutor, 2021:5)
Try to maintain room for the unexpected and keep fluidity within your process to allow things to appear and change. Experimenting with processes will be important, allowing you to relinquish control of your materials and discover happy accidents, which can imbue work with unknown qualities. (Tutor, 2021:5)
I decided fairly early on when considering my approach to work though themes (Howard, 2020). The initial themes I worked though were based within the form of the Raven (Howard, 2021) and working with Organic Forms (Howard, 2021a). The Raven form required significant research in terms of the shape and form of the subject which would embody the idea of the subject, rather than trying to develop a realistic Raven.
As part of this work I developed two pieces, and there is significant scope for this to become a series of works. It is very likely that I will continue to develop the idea in the future, to try to encapsulate the essence of what find find inspiring about ravens.
There is a similar approach with the development of the Organic Form works. (Howard, 2021a) These push what I am doing with the material in completing them in a finished form. They go significantly beyond what I have managed to achieve previously in ceramics, as well as exploring the forms.
… I recommend you explore creating work that confronts your taste and pushes the boundaries of your practice. I very much enjoyed most of your work from Project 8, not least because there is a sense of humour and playfulness, but because the work appears driven by more conceptual ideas, political motives, and the desire to deliver meaning. … (Tutor, 2021:2)
The work “Into each life” (Howard, 2021b) is starting to explore in this direction, bringing a reflection of my feelings into the form. This is an area that I have a number of additional ideas to develop, and hope to explore more fully as my practice develops.
Improving analysis and writing up
… There is scope to build on this, utilising more academic structure and resources, and making more interpretations and references to themes, context, and subject matter. … (Tutor, 2021:2)
Moving forward, I encourage you to unpack more of your thinking and interpretation of the meaning your work is communicating, drawing greater connections between the historical and contemporary contexts that inform your work (LO4). There are some sophisticated ideas in your work from this part, which have scope to be developed through a greater synthesis of context, and a rigorous engagement of a particular line of enquiry. (Tutor 2021:3)
These areas are still a work in progress for my development at the moment. I have been working on expanding my explanation of the works, and the thinking which has lead to the development of a work. I am aware, however, that I need to place more emphasis on the rigorous application of an academic content to the work. This is an area that I will continue to need to work on as I move forwards.
Bibliography
Howard, D. (2020) Considering part 5. At: https://david515893s1.wordpress.com/2020/12/13/considering-part-5/ (accessed 05/04/2021)
Howard, D. (2021) Raven. At: https://david515893s1.wordpress.com/2021/03/28/raven/ (accessed 05/04/2021)
Howard, D. (2021a) Organic form. At: https://david515893s1.wordpress.com/2021/03/28/organic-form/ (accessed 05/04/2021)
Howard, D. (2021b) Into each life. At: https://david515893s1.wordpress.com/2021/04/03/into-each-life/ (accessed 05/04/2021)
Tutor (2021) Formative feedback, dated 25/01/2021. [Attachment to Assignment 4 feedback email sent to Howard, D., dated 29/01/2021]
David Howard, Sculpture 1 