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On Reflection: New Beginnings




As I sit and write this (in bed, obviously) it's pouring down with rain, which will hopefully make for a good sunrise in the morning. Only time will tell. I've just started my second week back, into my second year on the BA Drawing degree at Falmouth University. So far I've spent much of my time in the print room pushing myself with colour and working BIGGER. It's only taken me three years of being here to finally have the confidence to do it.

A lot of the time I work small because I like the intimacy of my work, people will ask to look through my sketchbook and actively want to look and feel my work. It is this tactile quality within my collages and drawing that is something that is very important. I have found it hard to have the confidence to push myself into working bigger because I fear my work would lose this sense of intimacy and tactility. However we got set our first proper project this week titled 'the emergent process' and I've been using it to really push myself out of my comfort zone. This has meant working in COLOUR and BIGGER.

The whole idea behind the project is to enhance our way of thinking and making. I have taken the brief and understood that they want us to further our way of thinking to a new level. I think for a lot of people this has meant working 3D and learning how to manipulate a new material. I have chosen to manipulate ink (printmaking ink) and paper. This project lends itself to my way of thinking because as someone who works with process and the idea of a happy accident being something I can in-corporate into my work, I've been reflecting more on how i've worked on projects on the past.

I have not felt this enthused about making in a while. I have always been afraid of the idea of colour mixing because of the fear I've not been very good at it. However I went into the print room last week and worked with Steph to play around with colour palettes. This actually resulted in turning a Monoprint in a gradient style pieces exploring the interaction with colours. This was successful because is emulates a time for me (the colours indicate a sunrise) where I feel most content. I often get up very early or to quote my friend 'Megan Early' just because it gives me time to think and push myself into the day. I often work best when I get up too and sometimes draw. This time of the morning is quiet and still and I just enjoy sitting on the harbour taking in the day.

Starting back at University is always tricky. I am someone who pushes myself too much and I am already tired but because art is what drives me, I have this momentum to keep going. (I'm not really sure where I get my energy from). However I am using this term to just play, work bigger and explore processes I've always been to 'scared' to use. I think through years of telling myself I can't do certain things I actually believe it. I'm learning to take chances with things in work more and this excites me because I have a real hunger for knowledge and learning about how people see the world.










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