My subject specialism is art, which boarders on the concepts
of fashion and textiles. Because I cover three area, as a teacher I have to
keep up to date with a lot more aspects of the subject, as oppose to many other
teachers, that may just focus on one aspect of the subject.
In the past and throughout my education I have gained
several qualifications that link with my subject specialism starting from the GCSE
subjects Textiles and Art, then on to A level Art, a BTEC National Diploma in
Art (specialising in Textiles). And then onto my Bachelor of Arts Honours
Degree in Fine Art: Painting and Drawing.
During the time of my education I also spent around 9 months
at Stockport college studying Textiles Surface Design, where I learnt the basic
skills in surface pattern design, and the process that artists and designers go
through in order to achieve success within their work. Even though I only spent
a relatively short time on the course I felt that I did learn a lot about the
subject, including: how to teach it and where to find out relevant information
that I may need with regards to Textiles, surface design and teaching the
subject.
I feel that from doing various courses (spanning over 10
years), I have a developed my subject knowledge greatly, through learning in
different ways and by gaining ideas from different teachers. I have been pushed
to do a lot of self-motivated research, which I now carry on into my current
career.
I still like to practice art when I get the opportunity to
do so and I aim to add new work to my blog, which is shown below. I have three
blogs that signify the three aspects of my artistic life; Fine Art, Fashion and
Textiles. Spaced out between my three blogs are work that I have done in the
past, and some that I have done more recently. In order to make my work, I have
to maintain my subject currency and I do this in several ways, which will be
discussed further.
A good way to maintain my currency is to
go to various countries. Over the year I have been to many countries around the
world, which are known for their more traditional artistic backgrounds such as
Florence, which is a place where one can embrace world famous works of art produced
by some of the most talented craftsmen and painters the world has ever seen. I
have also been to places such as Madrid, New York City, Berlin and London to
observe up and coming contemporary artist and techniques. Visiting places like
this is a very good way to keep up to date with what is current in the world of
art and design, and by actually being there, I get to embrace myself within the
cultures that are in and around these countries.
Throughout this time I have gathered a vast collection of
books, magazines and journals on specific artists, art movements, useful
companies and developing techniques within the areas of Fashion, Textiles and
Art. My preferred magazines for keeping me up to date with developments include
Grazia, Vogue, Elle Decoration, Homes and Gardens, and A N Magazine (to name a
few).
Because magazines come out quite regularly, I feel that they
can give me a much more detailed and accurate account of the changes that are
happening in the world of Art. I try to regularly buy these (especially
magazines), as they don’t only give a good insight into what is happening now.
But sometimes they do explore works of the past and discuss how they are used today.
They also talk about how Art, Fashion and Textiles will be moving in the future
discussing what will be the trends of the near future.
Within this ever-increasing world of media, I find that a
good and easily accessible way to keep up to date with my subject currency is
to regularly go onto websites, to see up and coming art and design events, new
artists and resources which may become available. Sites which I regularly use
include:
- http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries
There are several local galleries and
museums which I attend, including the Huddersfield Art Gallery, Leeds Art
Gallery, Leeds Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Henry Moore Institute,
where I recently saw The Sarah Lucas: Ordinary Things Exhibition (shown below).
When visiting exhibitions, I always have my “teacher” head
on me. I try to think about things like: Could I bring my students here? If
there is not a main exhibition on, is there still something else for my
students to do? What sort of activities could I have my students do whist at
the gallery? Could the work at the exhibition be linked with what we are doing
in class? Etc. I find it is good to go with someone (preferably another
teacher) as you can bounce ideas form one another and can discuss subject currency
with regards to what’s on in the gallery at that time.
I recently participated in a six drawing course, to not only
practice my own current drawing skills, but also to discover new and different
types of ways to drawing and painting, which I could use with my students in
the future. Short courses such as this is a really good way to keep up date
with developments in my subjects and also to work with and learn from others.
Another way to learn from others is to participate in social
networking sites, such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. By joining with certain
groups and liking certain pages, that allows me to get regular updates from these
groups and pages. They inform me about coming events, tell me good artists to
look at and if there are any workshops that I may be able to participate in. I
think that is probably one of the most interactive ways to keep up to date with
what is current. Other social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Artists
Doodle and they too post regular information on forums about art throughout the
world.
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