Personal Statement

As this is the second time now that I have been through this process, I was a lot more prepared. I also feel a great deal more independent when writing about myself. The difference between Sixth Form and the Foundation Degree is major. I understand know, when comparing the courses, why a lot of universities prefer students who have been through the Foundation. In sixth form my personal statement was moulded to suit a certain style. Typical phrases were made to be written like "All my life I have been interested in drawing" and "I am a committed student" which are - now I look back - wasted valuable words. This time round I had so much to talk about, I took control over what I wanted to write and what I want people to know about me. I didn't focus on 'hobbies' and my 'personality', I focussed on the subject I love most and the things I've been up to to broaden my ideas.

The UAL level three Foundation course at Blackburn College has provided me with opportunities
that I never experienced at A Level. I have had workshops and produced work across different
pathways; exploring and expressing my ideas in alternative forms including print making, spot
welding and film making. All of these activities are presented as "drawing" and this has
helped me focus on the potential of my work across a diverse range of media and outcomes. It
has also encouraged me to experiment and reflect on strengths and weaknesses in my work as
they emerge. Within two weeks of starting the course I found myself on a drawing residential,
on a farm in Lancashire. Over the course of three day and two nights we worked out of the
studio and in the landscape, or in farm buildings, responding to briefs and the location
itself. I worked with a sound artist, Justin Wiggan; who opened my mind to a different
perspective on what art could be. His work relied on collaboration with other artists and
forms and while I am not producing sound, it has forced me to realise that illustration will
often be a collaboration, either with a writer, director, client and most importantly, always
with an audience.
These opportunities to work on live briefs have been challenging, but ultimately rewarding. I
am currently working on a community project called "Blackburn is open." We are running a
gallery in an empty shop in the town centre, and as with the residential, the opportunity I to
work in ways that the classroom or studio does not allow. Occupying space in a gallery has
changed the dynamics of my work; it has given me the ability to think about scale. My work
revolves a lot around text and image; I like to create art with meaning. I am working directly
onto the walls and onto the glass windows. I am experimenting and learning as I go, but the
nature of the location means I always have to consider an audience. This has been a strict
discipline to work to, but is one that I am enjoying. The work I am producing in the gallery
is rooted in research I collected on an educational trip to South Africa in October. The
opportunity to be a student ambassador for the college on this trip was an influential and
inspiring experience. My current work reflects on my time spent there. The final piece will be
like a visual diary that has literally been mapped against the geography and cartography of
the cities we visited. By attaching a visual code to the work, a narrative emerges, one that
is reflective of the actual time spent, but one that also contains a story.
In addition to these opportunities, I am also benefiting from a visiting lecturer programme
that invites a diverse range of practitioners into college to address us formally in the
lecture theatre in the morning, and then conduct tutorials and portfolio reviews with us in
the afternoon. The guests have included, Patti Ellis from The Saatchi Gallery Magazine Art and
Music, the artist Sean Dower, The photographer Paul Kenny and the painter Kirsten Glass. The
combination of these lectures and the crits, screenings and discussions embedded into the
course are extending my theoretical knowledge and help me to place my work in a broad cultural
context.
Prior to starting this course I achieved A for A Level Photography and an A for A Level Fine
Art, I also previously had my work exhibited in Manchester University for the "Storytelling"
exhibition in 2012. The work I produced was a sequence of illustrations about a misunderstood
monster that wasn't as scary as he appeared. Exhibited alongside it was a short poem that I
had written to narrate the images.
I want to be successful of course, I am ambitious. Illustration is something that never leaves
my mind. I aspire to reflect the careers of my favourite illustrators, Chris Riddell, Brett
Helquist and Quentin Blake.
"With my pictures, what I hope is that it encourages the reader to imagine more pictures of
their own."

The Map

I've started drawing a map of the places in Africa that I travelled to. The scale of the map is currently 4 A1 mount boards that I have mounted together. I am planning on hanging these up from the ceiling for the installation idea I have. The map will be the backdrop in which I will hang my framed illustrations on accordingly. 

Life Drawing: Oil Pastels

On The Side: Pet Portrait

Life Drawing: Acrylic

On The Side: Poetry Illustration

I have been requested to illustrate for a collection of poetry which has hopes to become a published children's book.

Paul Kenny Lecture

"Looking at something small thinking big"
Paul Kenny is photographer who's career began from just a hobby. He captured pictures of the same rock from the same wall from the same location annually. Although each image was edited in the same way using double negative and monochrome techniques, it wasn't tiresome to look through each slide. Each photo was different in its own way.

During the presentation I noticed the progression of skill and ideology Paul had gained over the years.

Experimenting with ice.

He experimented with different ideas, textures and objects such as the assembling of leaves, close ups of plastic bottles and tin cans and dried sea water on assetate.

Map Idea

I have begun my idea of mapping out my time in South Africa I got from looking at the London tube map It is going to be similar to the work I did on the gallery wall.