Plan for Last Semester

Plan - How to get the most out of the last semester and what I aim to be doing after I leave

5 Things I've already done:

• Student ambassador work
• Life after college
• Sold work 
• Had exhibitions
• Had commissions
• Lots of industry research
• Online Presence

5 Things to do before I leave:

• Create a website
• Contact people in industry
• Identify what I'd like to do / where I want to work
• Work experience
• Studio Visits
• Portfolio

5 Things I need to have done by next year:

• Get a job 
• Get a place to live (not at parents')
• Afford things
• Do something I'm proud of career wise
• Have a studio space (if still relevant)

5 Things I need to do within 5 years:

• Have a job I like
• Know my goals - know more about industry and how I sit within it 
• Learn to drive
• Save for a mortgage
• Get a car
• Not be stressed 

General Evaluation

What I've learned so far throughout level 6:

Context of Practice 

Now I've completed Context of Practice and got my grades; some thoughts:

   This project went well (ish) I didn't suffer as much as I thought and it certainly didn't kill me. 
The written aspect was hard to imagine throughout level 4 and 5; it seemed impossible to do something that big, to research that much, to write so many words, whilst keeping it cohesive and maintaining a level of criticality. BUT, I did, and the outcome was pretty good, considering. 

   I got 67% over all and I'm happy about this, but I just wish I could have pushed it that bit further to get a first. That would have been difficult, though - I worked the absolute hardest I could. 

   This being said, my practical work did suffer a bit as a consequence of me being me, struggling with it but not asking for help. Idiot. I did so well with the written part because I got so much help and encouragement with it; I was worried about it the most, but I didn't recognise that I'm not exactly the best at the practical side either, and I need to worry about that enough to seek help for it. 
I was confused a lot of the way through, peer feedback didn't help me very much. (I still don't take criticism as well as I should) So from now on, I should seek help for anything I'm confused with. I'd say it's the main thing I've struggled with throughout the programme. 

   Another thought I've had as a result of my CoP feedback - I seem to be better at writing than I am at illustration? I get the best grades from modules that require me to write considerable amounts on subjects I'm passionate about (PPP, COP) Have I gone into the wrong profession?!

Extended Practice 

   So far I'm not feeling too great about extended practice. I think that I'm being daunted about the significance of the module, and the workload. I know that I push myself to do as much work as I can, but it never feels like enough. Feeling this way can get pretty tiring and stressful at times, and leads to counter-productivity. Over the next few weeks I should ask for help during tutorials.  

   One thing I'm trying to sort out is my organisation with briefs - in responsive this was my biggest issue, since I tried to do everything at once and applied less of myself to each brief due to stretching my attention out between them all. Now, I will be focussing most of my attention on my big/ main brief, and will complete the rest of my projects on the side of this. 

   I struggle from a lack of multi-tasking skills. I can only work in one mode at a time; Drawing and making, writing and analysing, researching and editing are things that I must focus all of my attention to; so I will spend a significant amount of time on each, instead of doing a logical cycle of each process every day. For example, instead of drawing something and blogging about it, I tend to try and draw lots on one day and then blog about each idea on a separate day. I find it impossible to disconnect from one 'mode' and going into another, so when I haven't done a massive blogging session I feel behind, and that goes for each process. 

Personal and Professional Practice

So I started off well, then I got too into CoP and was scared to come back to PPP because I haven't progressed. This is bad news because based on what I've said already, it can be a downward spiral for me. It's time to get my shit back together now though! I must add my research of the industry, get my list of contacts, and get my online presence/promotion sorted. 

Barbie

http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/barbie-embraces-diversity-with-three-new-body-shapes

I just love this! The way Barbie is bringing new dolls that inspire body diversity into their collection is a good example of how popular culture is effected by social media activists. It is good to see this happening after it has been raised for so long that body diversity is not celebrated enough. This would have been good for my CoP project, although my concerns for issues in pop culture will always be there. 

Charlotte Day - Website

I love how minimal Charlotte Day's website is - it is effective because it is straight forward, clean feeling, and draws attention to her busy, beautiful work, which is easily accessible and clear to see.