Self Evaluation & Rationale

Self Evaluation:

5 things that I have gained from this work and how it will impact on my practice:

1. I have gained confidence in trying new processes and methods.
2. Getting out of comfort zone by trying new methods and techniques. This will help my practice by helping me to be innovative. My work so far has been described as varied and experimental and this is something that I am glad to hear as my aim was to push myself so that I did go new places.  
3. I have gained better collaging skills from this work- usually I don't work with collage that much but I have found this process surprisingly rewarding and some of the results that I have come up with work really well. 
4. I have improved and refined my analogue crafting methods. This work has forced me to develop my analogue skills. Analogue skills are something that I feel I need to work on as it is an area that I am interested in and a key theme I have chose to look at in this brief. I am not ruling out digital work at this stage but I feel that concentrating on analogue methods of creating images will need to underline my work no matter if it uses digital processes or not.
5. I gave gained direction in my work; the work that I have produced has helped me to recognise the places where I should explore more and the places that I should probably not try again.

5 things you intend to explore further through visual journal and why:

1. I would like to explore more traditional methods of working and making pictures.
2. I would like to explore the use of shapes and graphic forms in my work. I could do this by using adobe illustrator or even more analogue methods like cut paper. 
3. I have enjoyed working with collage in my work and have got some really good comments about it, this is why I am thinking that I will introduce collage into my work.
4. This work encouraged me to innovate; a new method that worked really well was when I drew the negative space in a light layer of tippex and then once dry I went over with a wash of ink. The results were very different to things that I had already dabbled in but I found it a refreshing change. 
5. Negative space is something I haven't worked with that much but is something I definitely want to explore further. It is inspiring how people like Noma Bar use graphic shapes and negative space to communicate an idea so easily.

What theme do i intend to explore further through my visual journal and how will i explore these visually?
Craftsmanship is the encompassing theme of the direction of my work. I like looking at how things are made from hand, how things are laboured over and why and how this is much nicer than mass produced products that are so common today.

This theme is something that may be difficult to explore. I feel the basis of my work will be looking at different craftsmen and how this impacts their practice. For example I could look at how a guy builds a dry stone wall an illustrate the process and the craftsmanship within that (the selection of the stone for different parts of the wall, the laying of them to create something that is strong and stable etc).

How do these themes relate to my research and my chosen author?
The book that I chose to focus on is by Richard Sennett and is called The Craftsman so it directly links to my theme. The Craftsman as a whole explores the idea that everyone is a craftsman in their own right. That we all, in any job or in any area of life can be a craftsman. It is motivation and passion that produces a craftsman but it is the lack of human interaction on products that means the spirit of craftsmanship is removed from it. This is why craftsmanship is slowly decreasing among the people of the 21st century.

What research activities will i undertake in order to explore these themes further and how will these inform my work? Where will i go? What will i do? What will i come back with?
I am planning on researching different ways that people create things, so this may mean that I need to look at 'how to' books, by watching videos on youtube/vimeo videos of artisans doing their craft but also by talking to people about their craft and finding out about it that way.