During the session, we played with collages to generate some initial ideas. Then we can add extra ideas and make changes as we experiment further through drawing alterations. We did primary research in Shoreditch and used it as the source to cut up and collage in class.
I had printed my Shoreditch pictures a day before and brought all the equipment needed for class. I made sure to bring all the necessary stuff for the class by rechecking the announcements and information from past PowerPoint. I did this so I won’t need to borrow any equipment from a friend as this might hamper the work they are doing. I enjoyed collaging the images to make designs, even so, I ran out of ideas and was confused about what shapes I should form in order to make them interesting. I particularly didn’t have a whole design look in my mind, so I just went with the flow and tried cutting different shapes and seeing which one suits each other the most. In other words, it was difficult for me to move from one idea to the next. I was basically cutting interesting shapes in the images and experimenting with them. After some time, I managed to get all 5 designs done during the time given. I was actually feeling very nervous and anxious during the process, it was one of those times where I felt like I was ‘lost’. I felt better after my classmates said they liked my work, it was very exciting to have a such supportive environment. I did realize that I kept comparing myself to others, feeling like my work is not good and creative enough. This is one of my worst habits that I need to have control of. Although I think it might also be a positive thing, a way to push myself to explore and extend myself. I, too, struggled when we had to draw the designs on A3 papers as we had to alter them. I have never taken a proper drawing class or practiced that much. I wasn’t able to imagine what details I should add to the designs. Instead of drawing with no concept or technique at all, I chose to look for information on drawing in the last 20 minutes. I continued my work at home to have more focus while doing some research on how to illustrate textures. My skills in drawing made my progress in class slower than others, which affects my performance.
The pictures I had chosen were all of the similar ways of photography. I picked the wall art pictures that had been taken from afar. If only I had the right thoughts about the project, I would’ve chosen pictures of variety that capture the details of the wall art to make the design more diverse and less confusing. The teacher did help me during the process by giving some advice on which areas I need to improve. He was able to explain it clearly so it was easy to understand. He did point out some interesting features in my design and that it might be a great idea to develop them. As mentioned, he gave some guidance and because of this, I was able to know what step I should take next. Next, I will explore more in terms of choosing resources. Doing this will help in creating different outcomes than what I had imagined before. One of my main problems was always finding a suitable idea when designing, I suppose the solution to this is to do more research and practice to improve the skills I am lacking, which can be done in so many ways.
