With my tutor it was agreed that I make an entirely electronic submission. I’m grateful for this because the cost of sending large-sized parcels from the U.S. to the U.K. are high.
The first assignment of Printmaking 1 consists in a selection of prints made for Projects 1 to 4. I have put practically all my work online already, so there won’t be anything new to see. This is different from the other courses I’ve done so far, where the assignment consisted in producing additional work.
I appreciate the opportunity of compiling a selection of those prints I think are most successful, because this amounts to a more concise overview and forces me to evaluate. The notes, drawings and sketchbook pages belonging to the selected prints are included in the blog articles to which I refer in each section.
To get a purely visual overview of everything I made during part 1, please see the Blog’s Gallery for Part 1, http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?page_id=12
Clicking on an image opens an enlarged view of the print.
Task 1 (Project 1)
– Two early experimental prints (mark making)
– A printed study from life (two objects in a still life)
– Two later experiments
Two early experimental prints (mark making)
I chose two prints from the third markmaking series, red and black ink on white sumi-E paper, 32 x 24 cm. See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=34
A printed study from life (two objects in a still life)
Zucchini and Onion, A3
See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=132
Two later experiments
Landscape at the Baltic Sea (Germany), A3
My cat Gina looking out of the window, A3
See second part of http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=132
Task 2 (Project 2)
– One positive masked monoprint
– One negative masked monoprint
– Plus supporting work showing the development of the layout to the final print
Positive and negative masked monoprints from the penguin series, A3
See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=198
Task 3 (Project 3)
– Two contrasting masked prints in two colours each exploiting positive and negative shapes
– A selection of prints showing experiments in texture and surface detail
– Back drawn monoprints from life either indoors or outdoors
Two contrasting masked prints
See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=255
Experiments in texture and surface detail
Multicolour variations of the penguins
See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=265
Multicolour, multimask variation: Clematis flower and leaf
See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=273
Textured surface experiments
See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=347
Back drawn monoprints from life either indoors or outdoors
A potted plant and my cat Gina sleeping
See http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=376
Task 4 (Project 4)
– Four contrasting monoprints of different subjects demonstrating at least two techniques
Project 4 contains one blog article for each of the four series, plus an introductory and a concluding article with reflections on my work process and evaluation of the outcome.
Project 4 introduction: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=420
Project 4 conclusion: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=624
Series 1: The shoes
Techniques: Positive and negative mask, multiple colour overprinting, textured plate, backdrawing
Blog: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=426
Series 2: Leaves
Techniques: Multiple coloured plate, backdrawing, textured plate
Blog: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=490
Series 3: Skyline
Techniques: Multiple coloured plate, masking, textured plate
Blog: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=529
Series 4: The pond
Techniques: Multiple coloured plate, textured plate, painted plate
Blog: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=561
Reflection
Review the assessment criteria and how you have done against them
Assessment criteria points:
Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills – materials, techniques, observational skills,
visual awareness, design and compositional skills
Quality of Outcome – content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent
manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts,communication of ideas
Demonstration of Creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a
personal voice
Context – reflection, research, critical thinking (learning log)
Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills: materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills
Materials: I employed a wide range of different paper supports for the prints in part one: Different white tones, different surfaces (rough, smooth), different colours, different paper types and weights. I learned that some inks work better with smooth, bright paper and need no dampening, whereas other inks work nicely on rough paper that is dampened before printing. Later in the project I stayed with the paper I knew worked well for the inks I employed (Akua).
Techniques: I worked quite a lot with all the techniques introuced in this part. I also experimented and explored variations in application, for example using different pressure and drawing styles with backdrawing. I think the prints show the breadth of techniques applied.
Observational skills: This is a big topic. I think it shows up mostly in the sketchbook, not sure how it comes across in the prints. If a measure of skill is how photorealistic my prints are, then I’d fail. If it’s about whether I am able to visually analyze and transfer into interesting marks, less bad, though not perfect. To judge my own drawings, I think my observational skills need improvement, in particular landscape drawing. The difficulties may have to do with my deteriorating eyesight (age-related).
Visual awareness: Not sure what is meant by this and what might be the difference to observational skills. Not sure where it might be apparent in my prints. From unreflected understanding, I think I have some degree of visual awareness but this probably needs improvement.
Design and compositional skills: I’m undecided on this one. My impression is that some prints show a good design, whereas others are unclear and muddy. But my focus was not always on composition, because in some cases my aim was simply to explore a technique. Maybe this aspect should be assessed only for the more advanced prints. Taking those from project 4, I like all my compositions. I could have done them differently but I think they’re strong the way they are.
Overall: Not bad for a beginner, maybe 60 percent? But I’m not sure what 100% would represent – the skill level of best monotype artist in the world? Or compared to the best printmaking students? Not sure against what level we as students are measured.
Quality of Outcome – content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent
manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts,communication of ideas
Content: Well, I realized that as soon as I become ambitious with content, it seems to stifle my creative process. So I prefer to use simple topics for now. This is not necessarily a weakness. But this is another criterion which I find hard to understand without further explanantion. Does the content have to be particularly relevant with respect to political or social issues? Or does personal relevance suffice? What if students pretend personal relevance but there’s nothing beyond pretension?
Application of knowledge: If this means knowledge about printmaking techniques, I think I did ok. I think I was in an experimental mode and applied what I learned from the course materials and tried to improve the results from experiences made with my materials.
Coherent presentation: Yes, I think this is a strong point. I’m still a bit inhibited because I think no-one except me might ever want to read all I’m writing in my blog. But I find my blog interesting and it actually helped me to find my way back after pauses due to other commitments.
Discernment: Difficult point. I think I can judge sufficiently well when applying my own criteria. But OCA criteria are a different breed and I did not find them well explained. Maybe others think I’m not able to judge my own works well, but in the long term I hope that it’ll be my own judgement that helps me to develop into a direction that suits me.
Conceptualization of thoughts: Another difficult point. Does it mean how well I’m able to express what I think? Or how well I’m able to transfer my thoughts into works of art? Who would be in a position to assess this? All I know is that English is only my second language so I guess my writing is sometimes incomprehensible for a native speaker. Otherwise, I’d say that I can develop vague thoughts into more meaningful concepts and make something out of it, but I’m not sure how this relates to printmaking.
Communication of ideas: No clear understanding what is meant by this criterion and why it is important for art making. I think my ability to convey my ideas using words is quite good. Conveying ideas using art is probably underdeveloped or would lead to very blunt imagery. Difficult to assess because I tend to not have an idea to convey, because I focus on visual aspects.
Overall: I think the quality of my prints is quite good at this early state of learning, but I’m not able to relate this to the OCA criteria.
Demonstration of Creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a
personal voice
Imagination: A point I’d like to develop further. I think I’m too attached to the real world and not very inventive with visuals. Might need to do some extra projects to work on this. Another idea came up when reflected on the pond series of prints and the use of photos. Maybe I should just have a go at working from imagination, instead from nature or from photographs.
Experimentation: Better than imagination, I think. I really like to play around and try new things. Sometimes I realize that I’m dried out and get stuck, but on other occasions I find it hard to even stop. It’s all a bit untamed. For example, I got lost in colour experimentation while working on the shoe series, whereas the skyline series showed me my limits very quickly. Maybe it depends on the topics. In part 1, I think I did a good job and there was enough experimentation to develop a broader understanding of the possibilities inherent in the techniques.
Invention: Yes, not bad. For example, I invented my own registration method. I also developed a process to texture the inked plate using my press. I experimented with masks and stencils using different materials, and employed transparents to help me with backdrawing. So yes, I think this is a good point.
Development of a personal voice: I’m working on this. I think there’s quite some potential because by nature I prefer doing my own stuff instead of following prescribed routes. But in the early stages, I appreciate a thorough technical introduction to help me master the skills. I think the voice is a bit too weak to be recognized for now, but I think I can improve this.
Overall: Certainly not the most creative person ever, but I think a good average level with some occasional peaks here and there.
Context – reflection, research, critical thinking (learning log)
Reflection: I guess this is another strong point. Maybe I’m even overdoing it. My aim is to become more efficient at reflection. Currently my reflections have a brainstorming character. Of course I try to be attentive how I might use my insights for improvements. But often enough I’m not sure where this or the other idea might lead to. Maybe it’s in the nature of reflection. For now I try to reflect on what I do and how I do it and aim to learn from errors.
Research: Moderate. It is not my main interest, although I like looking at the works from other artists. It’s sometimes difficult to not feel distracted by the research points. But I know they’re good for me and broaden my horizon. But with my time constraints, I prefer printmaking over research on printmaking.
Critical thinking: Highly developed negative thinking about self, but not sure if that’s what the criterion asks for. I’m so aware that I’m only at the very beginning of my journey into artmaking that I must take care not to destroy the tiny bits that are like seeds of future development. The other aspect is critical thinking about other artists, as is required in research. Will need some time to build up the knowledge base. Might become more substantial on level 2.
Overall: I think it’s ok for level 1
Conclusion
I feel embarrassed that I don’t seem to understand the OCA assessment criteria well. I hadn’t been aware of this but it’s quite apparent in the above section where I try to self-assess.
Actually I’m self-assessing all the time, while working on the printmaking projects. One of my aims is to not stop at a level of basic task fulfilment. I try to develop substantial and visually interesting prints. I try to vary the technique if I’m not satisfied with a print, and continue working until I feel that the prints are getting better.
I’m also in the process of developing a working method, from approaching a topic to first tryout prints, evaluation, and improvements in approach to get better results. This is quite basic and personal and I hope that it corresponds at least roughly to OCA criteria.
That said, the entire self-assessment exercise is futile, because I’m currently not permitted to have my coursework assessed. This is because the printmaking course does not fit into my chosen painting degree pathway. I was allowed to study printmaking ‘for personal development’ but without formal assessment. I am quite unhappy that I’m not allowed to have my stuff assessed and try to discuss the issue with OCA, but for now I’m running against a wall.
It is quite destructive to know that I can invest all the effort but will not be allowed to gain academic credit for it. I don’t understand why OCA does not permit assessment outside a degree pathway.
There’s some very good news on this issue: OCA has allowed me to apply for assessment of the printmaking course! I am so glad about this! It really makes a difference and is a big turnaround. I’m leaving the above sections in the blog because they demonstrate the frustration I felt. I feel like having received the entrance ticket for becoming a painter and printmaker. It means the world to me… just hoping I can live up to that dream!
The other thing I’d like to add is that I continue to feel embarrassed about my lack of understanding of the assessment criteria. For now I hope that tutor feedback will shed light on these criteria and how they should be interpreted. But I’ll also do my homework and see if there are not some examples to help me getting to grips with them.