Reflection on myself

Simon Turner - Practitioner


Strenghts

• I think my method of working has definitely improved this year i have learnt the importance of research within my work and how this would lead on to develop ideas. Before i use to think of an initial thought get excited by it and then just concentrate on my initial ideas. Whereas now i understand that there is always improvement in any ideas and researching ways of approaching an idea or ways to develop it can really benefit a better outcome.
•  I have really strived to be as experimental as possible. before uni (during foundation and A levels) i never really used anything other than fine liners in my work but going into my illustration degree i wanted to change this. I think in ways i have definitely achieved this as i haven't done any work this year involving a fine liner and i tried to approach every brief with a new form of media that i was interested to experiment with. This made me learn that the most challenging ways to create work made it much more rewarding. For example this year i used a lot of crayon and paper cut outs which before i found difficult but i think over the course of the year i have really developed using these as a form of making images and discovered what they are used best for e.g. paper cut outs are lovely for shapes.
• I also think this year really made me realise the purpose as to why i want to produce work. I always knew i wanted to make work that i find happy and positive but i defiantly think this year made me realise that most of the time i make my work with the intention to make people smile and once i learnt this it gave me a lot more confidence in my practice as i feel like i want to give my work more of a purpose then to maybe look nice and people smiling at it gives me the motivation to keep going with producing my work.
• I think my image making has potentially improved over the course of the year to i think it has given me a lot more confidence in my own drawing as i have learnt to benefit from bad work and ideas. before i use to be really picky about what i put in my sketchbook and if something didn't look right i would rip it out and forget about it. However since i started this course i don't think i have ripped out a single page instead i found it better to be critical about it and see how this would then benefit future work.  This has helped speed up my ability to make images good and bad.

weaknesses 

• I think one of my main weaknesses of this year has been the blog throughout the year i have found it really had to keep on top of the blog. I understand the reason as to why we have to use it and to be honest i think it's a massively beneficial tool to my practice. However, i always lack the motivation to write on it  I guess i get so carried away with my ideas to that i just want to develop and produce it and most the time i forget to do the blog during this so when i finally get round to it i forget most my thoughts during the process making it very hard to write. I think this will be something i will be focusing on improving the most next year as i think it drags me down a bit as a student and illustrator as i know that being critical about my work during the process will benefit my thoughts on the work and might lead to better outcomes.
• I also think criticism is another thing i lack in, when i do something and i don't like it i am aware of it however i need to analyse more as to why i don't, that is where the blog will help. I also would like more people in level 4 to be more mean and critical about my work.  I think all my fellow level 4 class are all super lovely and I am really thankful for that but i would like some of them to maybe just tell me if something is crap just so i know. Although I think i should mention that i have received good critical comments from my tutors and this helped me keep on track what ideas where bad and which ones good be improved and how.  
• I think my research has definitely improved however, I don't see it as a main strength within my work. First year really stressed the importance to research and I understand that but i think i still find it hard to be fully motivated to do it in certain briefs such as persons of note and especially cop. I think this will be something i want to really improve throughout my time in uni to give my work plenty of context.
• I think my greatest struggle on a module this year was certainly cop. I was the least motivated to do work for this but I knew it was down to me picking a theme that i didn't find interesting in anyway. This made it difficult for me to do my essays and my practical. The struggles of doing cop in first years though really helped me learn to take time within my research and ideas so that i will end up doing something i enjoy. As i found it really hard to motivate myself to work on something when i really didn't enjoy it.
• I think i experimented well this year but i am little disappointed that i didn't make more effort to try some really brave things within my work like make much more use of screen printing or maybe try lyno printing. I think overall, i just don't feel that satisfied with my level of experimentation but i guess i have another 2 years to discover more ways to make images some that i wouldn't of even thought i could be possible at. 

Simon Turner - Student

Positive. 

• I was worried about being a student think i just couldn't imagine if i could handle a life on my own but i think since coming here i realised that you are pretty much never on your own. so i think as a person over this year i have become much more social and outgoing and i think this has helped with my work as when my mood is happy my work is also happy.
• I think i have become a lot more motivated within my life to do things i'm starting to realise now that i need to be more professional in life and i always feel the need of accomplishment. For example, i'm worried to enter my long summer and finish it with no sense of achievement. I guess this means i have become less lazy i just need the motivation to get on and do it.
• I feel like being a student has definitely boosted confidence in myself as a person. I think it's the feeling of properly being an adult that has helped this. I am more open to opportunities which is something i think i lacked last year. This has also helped with me being a practitioner to as i feel more confident with each piece i produce. 
• I think my organisation has always been terrible but it's something i have been trying very hard with this year. I still defiantly feel like i need to improve on this but i'm more aware of it this year and i think that is a good start to a more organised Simon.
• I think one thing i have learnt as a student is to listen more both inside and outside of uni. I usually have my head in the clouds but i feel like this year i have grounded myself back to earth a bit more and this has allowed me to take on feedback a lot better on my work. Therefore, overall i think i am much more switched on.

Negatives

• I think i defiantly need to improve on my attendance next year this is one of the key things for me as i want to get the most out of this course as i possibly can. This means i need to make a lot more use of the free studio times especially during the times when my tutors are in to get full guidance. I also wish i turned up to more cop lectures as i found this subject very difficult and I think i would of benefited from the lectures to gain extra research and context for my essay.
• I think i need to become more healthy as a person to. When I was living at home i would always go out for runs and walks but with everything within close distance i find myself only doing around 1000 steps a day. I also could have a much better diet to and bring a lot more fruit into my day. This is evident as i find it very hard to get up the stairs at college where as at the start i could run up them easy.
• I have found that being a student is incredibly tiring. After a long day at college i can't help but have a nap sometimes this benefits me but other times i end up just sleeping for ages. I think my diet is something to do with this but overall i need to bring more energy into my day and have a much better nights sleep.
• I would like to be a lot more concentrated on my work. On times when i struggle for ideas i begin to really lack motivation. I think if i got a lot more involved in my work instead of just giving up and doing something social this might help my overall work rate and quality. DOn't get me wrong i think sometimes it's good to have a break and that definitely helps me but sometimes i just really try and avoid things and procrastinate
• I think overall i have struggled being a student when my work is something that for me use to be a hobby but it's now life. I think this hasn't put me off image making in anyway but it's weird to think something that use to be fun now brings stress and pressure. Overall, i'm loving my time as an illustration student it's nice to do something that i finally feel a sense of achievement in it however, this hasn't been easy for me I think the high work load is really good for the development of my practice. Although i have really struggled this year some briefs in particular have made me very uncomfortable with my work and at times made me loose confidence but overall i think i have achieved a few things that i have been super proud with.