I had a tutorial with Jonathan to discuss how things are going.
I mentioned how the process led work I'd been doing earlier in the year has provided a strong foundation for more contextual linking, which is one of the feedbacks from the Unit 1 assessment.
Something that was initially daunting was bringing more of myself into my work, something which I wasn't really doing. I have been following a line of enquiry into pilgrimages, repeated visits, connections and links with the past and Jonathan asked how I imagined this will impact my work going forward. It was a tricky question to answer! I think one things that's revealing itself is the idea of treading paths in a physical sense and also back into ourselves. Unearthing fragments of past civilisations and of our own lived experience. It's almost like a conversation. Visually, I can see that this central idea could impact my work more readily, bringing with it aspects of neuroscience and how memories are stored within us, sometimes as fragments. These fragments can seem untidy and fractured- but perhaps there's ways to communicate them in a way to piece something of ourselves back together.
Some other things we spoke about was:
How materiality is very important to me - connecting physically with paint and paper is essential.
The workshops I've been running have been a hugely rewarding way to engage children with some of these ideas, or at least, art making with a somatic and meditative focus.
I talked about how I'd like to explore more in terms of chopping up art work and maybe making a Jacob's ladder type structure with off cuts.
Another questions asked was where is the safety and challenge in my work, and where does this sit on the paper? Another tricky one - but relating to the fact I hold back a bit and don't always want to be too autobiographical. I think just being aware of this is a step in the right direction, and I'll find a way to make the balance right.
We spoke about how I'm quite attached to aesthetic (perhaps linked with the above) and this can sometimes mean I discard work that might actually be more intriguing or revealing. I guess a way to combat this is to keep being as bold as I can. I often feel I would just like to make shapes on the paper but that this can't be enough. I need to challenge myself to let go of this attachment a bit I think.
I'm beginning to make a new work plan with this in mind, as well as other avenues to explore. Jonathan mentioned the letter 'T' as a way to imagine how research works. There's an element of skim researching along, until you find something you want to delve deeper into. I'm beginning to see where this could go.
I also established that writing a summative blog post at this point would be a really useful exercise: to consolidate what I've been doing, where I'm at now, what I'm thinking about - and what I want to explore more from here.
The tutorial has really help me align things a bit and see what the next steps are in terms of research and experiments.