Helena Mardle
Week 1 – Introduction to Sustainability
This week’s lecture on sustainability reminded me of the importance of looking at how it can be incorporated into my practice. I decided to use a single-use coffee cup I had, and use it as a printing tool . This meant it was not just single use anymore, and had been given another use. It was also really interesting to see how something so simple could create such interesting marks.
Week 2 – Emerging Technologies in Fashion
The incorporation of technology into our world is allowing us to expand our ideas further than we had previously imagined, and this is especially prominent within the fashion industry. An example of this that fascinates me is Adobe’s ‘Project Primrose’, I wanted to create some prints that I think would be interesting on their AI powered dress.
Katz, L. (2023). Adobe’s Wild Interactive Dress Changes Patterns When You Want It To. Forbes. [online] 17 Oct. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lesliekatz/2023/10/16/see-adobes-interactive-dress-change-patterns-with-the-click-of-a-button/?sh=48c47486d14c [Accessed 3 Nov. 2023].
Week 3 – Nature
This week’s lecture was about nature, so I have decided to explore the nature surrounding me and where I live through a series of sketches, as I find this the best way to document nature in the most authentic way.
Week 4 – Cultural Sustainability
This week’s lecture was on cultural sustainability. I decided to create some work about the Welsh culture and the struggle that Welsh people have faced when it comes to speaking their own language and taking part in their own cultural traditions.
Week 5 – Empathy
This week’s lecture was on empathy. I wanted to look at colour psychology and how certain colours evoke certain feelings in people, and how this can be used within art to create a more impactful piece. I read a study on colour psychology, it was interesting to see what colours evoke what emotion
Elliot, A.J. (2015). Color and psychological functioning: a review of theoretical and empirical work. Frontiers in Psychology, [online] 6. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00368.
Self Reflection
During the ‘intro to’ project, we had a chance to adapt to studying in university, working every week on a series of lectures, where we would reflect on the lecture and produce work based on those lectures. I really enjoyed getting to learn about a variety of topics and being able to try new things with my work every week. I think that the ‘intro to’ unit has gone well for me, and I am happy with all of my outcomes.
In addition, writing the academic essay allowed me to revise my academic writing skills, something I had begun to develop on my Foundation in Art, Design & Media course last year. I found it quite easy to pick up those skills and use them for this essay. However, I think that my essay writing techniques have been further developed and will continue to develop as the year progresses. This is something I am going to consciously work on as I do find writing quite difficult at times.
I think with the next stages of my education I need to learn to balance my time more effectively, as I have found it difficult initially adapting to living away at home, and balancing my social life, work and education all at the same time.
Overall, I have found the ‘intro to’ unit very useful in preparing me for the next three years of my education, and I am looking forward to developing new skills throughout my degree.
I think you’ve done a very good job during these weeks. I’m really impressed by your works. I love the print you made using the coffee cups. And the marks are fantastic. Your work is really creative and experimental. I can tell that you have already fully understood the meaning of this section.
For the topic of week two, I’m glad to see you used the Adobe. The dress you made is pretty but I think it could be more creative. I really love the color you’ve chosen. It looks really good.
For the section of Nature, I really appreciate that you used different style to draw. Your work is very simple but beautiful. I think you could explore more about other things in nature, not just about the plant.
For the Cultural Sustainability, I’m very happy to know about the Welsh culture and I think it’s really cool to use the Welsh language to create works. I really enjoy the color of your work, but I think you can explore more.
For the last topic, it is a very impressive idea to use the color psychology. I really love your paintings and I also love the mark making you’ve done.
I can feel you really tried to respond to the topics in a creative way. And I’m really happy to see your fantastic works. You not only did those works, but also use different medias to expand them. I really appreciate that. However, I think you could do more research and explore more about the topic, and tried to make some specific drawings. Hope my suggestions can help you.