Interview for PGCE course

Interview for PGCE course

I was so pleased to find out that I am able to apply for the full time PGCE course in September. I won't be a graduate with hons so therefore I will come away with a level 5 Diploma but this will qualify me to teach in the life long learning sector up to and including Foundation Degree level which is fantastic. After being offered a place at Derby Uni on their second year I would have needed to do a further 2 years to gain BA (HONS) and then a further year PGCE when I just want to get stuck in and teach. It was a knock back that hit me hard and it took me some time to come to terms with. Then to find out I could stay at BSDC and do teacher training felt amazing.

I received an invitation to interview on the very next day through the post - I couldn't believe this as I hadn't yet filled out my application form! I have filled it and sent it off now and have gathered together all the relevant things I need to produce at interview. Evidence of my Maths, English and Science grades at GCSE level, CV, character reference (which Lance agreed to provide for me), passport and level 6 dissertation (essay as I don't have a dissertation) . I am left to put together a 10 minute presentation of why I want to become a teacher...not sure what to put into this!!!

Whish me luck :-)

Joseph Wright Project - 16/5

Joseph Wright Project - 16 / 5

I agreed to lend a hand by taking our work across to the Gallery in Derby ready to be hung in preparation for the opening night on the 23rd next week. Bit stressful as some pieces weren't ready to go and others needed wrapping to transport safely. I had to be back in Swad in time to collect my son from school and I was 10 minutes late in the end but luckily my friend kept Louis with her until I arrived.  I was frustrated by this and will have to bear it in mind in the future when volunteering as he must come first.

Jane Hardstaff was welcoming and appreciated us taking the paintings across. We showed her the Show Reel that had been made with all our other works made in response to JW. Unfortunately due to space and a theme running across the exhibition the other artworks couldn't be accommodated,  however for a few seconds they will each be shown on one of the walls of the gallery which I think is a nice alternative. We can all put on our creative CV that we have exhibited at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

It was the first time I had seen the Show Reel and thought it looked good although some of the work had been compromised by placing text in front of it. I really like that my film has been left to the end and hope they are able to play it with sound because the impact and significance of the work will be lost. I will just have to wait and see how it pans out on the night.

Hand in day - Wednesday 14/5

Hand in Day - Wednesday 14 / 5

All went according to plan I felt nice and relaxed. Arrived early as usual but this gave me time to copy some exhibition plans into my sketchbook so that the tutors can see my ideas clearly and understand how I picture displaying my work. The trouble is as yet we don't know what space we are getting so I have planned for small and larger areas. All my ideas include the projection of my film and  displaying a collection of my photographs from a series taken specifically for this gender roles in the home project 'See Behind the Smile 2'. I have printed my photos onto A4 sized cotton sheets that will be pegged onto a washing line using the pegs I have written text onto. Bringing images materials and everyday objects together as well as significant words should all help viewers to understand the meaning behind my work, the message I want to send.

My written work i completed in advance which has given me some breathing space, eased the pressure a bit and given me time to make sure my sketchbooks are complete. Having gone over them last week there were some parts I have been able to improve on and I am particularly pleased with the presentation of my Self Promotion sketchbook. It was necessary for me to rethink how I was going to hand this in because half way through the process my sketchbook started falling apart. To overcome this I turned it into a kind of flip book held together by a metal ring. This was great because I have been able to add pages in that I had forgotten at first and still present a book that shows my  design process clearly and in order/sequence.

I gave myself plenty of time the day before hand in to write my evaluations and consider exactly what I wanted to include. As I had already written my 2 year reflection piece I wanted to make my project evaluations very specific, this made them quite brief. However I had also written detailed analysis of each part of my Self Promotion Project so rather than repeating myself I reflected on how successful I thought the project had been. There is no point in repeating just to lengthen my evaluation.

Me and the girls went for an extended lunch out which was fab, I find it hard to believe that the two years have come to an end, since Christmas the time at college has flown by and I have really enjoyed the projects we had been set. I am looking forward to seeing everyone's work in the exhibition next month and I can't wait to get some feedback about my work. All I can do now is hope that my work is good enough to receive high marks as I really want to come away with a distinction...there's nothing wrong with being ambitious!

7/5/14 presentation of 'Selfie' Film

Presentation of 'Selfie' Film Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Tracey and Sue came in again today to see our progress and to offer any help. I questioned how I should present my film ie what format - memory stick/DVD etc - they are getting back to me with a decision asap. They seemed to like my film and gave positive feedback and encouragement so I feel proud of my piece so far. When I explained why I had chosen the music extract from Mozart's Piano Concerto 21 they appreciated my reasoning. They mentioned that the 10 seconds I gave for people to read my intro perhaps wasn't long enough, a way round this would be to split up this slide's information into 3 separate slides. I discussed with them that the response I got through Face Book wasn't what I had expected and so resorted to appealing through my Instagram account too. As I was working to a deadline I made the decision to effectively 'steal' selfie pictures that were suitable for my project when this attempt also failed to produce the number of selfies I wanted. This raises the question of copy rights - I have come to the conclusion that the images I have used were posted on a social media website for all to see and as I am showing each image for less than a second and re appropriating them so I shouldn't be infringing on anyones right to privacy.

Actions:

Make the adjustments to the intro of my selfie film and wait for them to get back to me about the format they need it in.

Ideas for new work - SBtS2 5/5

Ideas for new photographs - SBtS2

• Hands tied by cable from the iron
• Close up + full body shot standing head bowed down n iron hanging
• Cable of hoover tied around my body - curled up on the floor
• Cable of hoover tied around my neck
• Head of hoover in front of my face close up + full body shot
All the above show how tied I feel to performing these tasks and how restricted they make me as a person - I'm bound to them.

Actions:
Take these photos tomorrow when I get the time to and consider the results - work with them in some way either by simply printing them onto fabric or adding to them with stitch.

Wednesday 30/4

6Wednesday 30 / 4

• Joseph Wright Project
The Tutors at our college are fab. Today I thought I would try and learn through online tutorials how to render my 45 seconds of film for the Joseph Wright Exhibition. However things didn't run smoothly,  once rendering had finished it didn't play smoothly. It kept buffering and losing sound. Lance found that I hadn't altered the quality and had made my film in HD making the file size huge. So Lance came to my rescue again and rendered it condensing it and it played fine after that. I think if the college did a beginners course in film making/editing I would seriously consider doing it as the settings and things are so confusing to me as a complete novice!

• Self Promotion Project
I showed some of the group and Lance my website to get some feedback. I'm really pleased that they all said they liked it. I completed my drawn/sketch of the website showing how it all links together and how it can be navigated (loads of red arrows with 'click' written on them) but I think because it covers two pages it's not really clear enough so I intend to photocopy what I have done and probably stick them in so it can be folded out therefore larger than the size of my A5 sketchbook.

• CV
I made a start on writing the details of my CV although I'm yet to decide on how to lay it out and display it? All the other parts to my Self Promotion Project I have scanned into the computer my hand written work (business card, letter head) so for the CV to fit in I should use the same techniques and therefore produce a consistency through my SP pack. I think i need to speak to Mark tomorrow and get some ideas together. I really want it to stand out, materials might help with this. I saw some of the others CV designs and they have put in loads of effort. I particularly like Tracey's because it screams Textile Artist, her use of materials is great. I don't want the graphic design style of Lotty and Jasmine to have any influence over my choices like it did when I was working on my business cards!!! I am after making something that truly represents me as an artist.

1 Written Piece Down - 1 to go 30/4

1 Written Piece Down - 1 to go 30 / 4

I did manage to write my 2 year reflection over the Easter break which I'm glad about. I decided to tackle that instead of the 5 year plan as I have some questions to ask Lance regarding content etc before I embark on that one.

I actually enjoyed reading back over my journal,  it reminded me of thoughts and feelings I had well and truly forgotten about some bad some great. While I read through I kept in mind that what I needed to write wasn't a summary of the two years as such, but instead an analysis of the new skills I have learned while doing the fd and most importantly how these will help me to progress and achieve my goals in the future.

It has given me confidence in my work as well as myself on a personal level and I feel taking on the fd was the best decision I could have made at this point in my life. I was in a place that was centered around my home and family stuck in the same routine and unable to see a future outside of it. The course has given me time to reflect and a chance to really discover who I am and who I want to be.

I passed on my first draft to Steph who kindly read over it and suggested I think about any negative aspects over the two years, which I will think about and maybe discuss it with my friends on the course before adding a new section. Overall I'm glad I only have one further written aspect to complete now as it will give me more time to concentrate on my practical work.