Sunday, 30 May 2021

[LAUIL602] Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) Yorkshire Graduate Award 2021

 

YSP Opportunity Information

I came across this opportunity for the YSP graduate award 2021 for the chance to win £500, a residency of up to four weeks at the sculpture park, onsite accommodation, access to facilities including metal and wood workshops, studio space and half a day with the technical team through the Leeds Arts Union instagram page. The deadline ruminated at the back of my mind and as it approached closer I knew I had to try and enter. bI kept the below information

• To submit application to curators@ysp.org.uk before 2pm on Monday, 31 May 2021

• To submit a 5 page PDF including a short statement on current practice, any information on final degree show, images of work and simple outline of plans if I were to win the residency.

Here is my 5 page PDF:

 



 Reflection: Regardless of whether I win the residency or not, I want to reflect on how proud I feel right now. I feel such a huge sense of achievement that I haven't felt in a very long time. I kept fighting the aggressive and pessimistic voice in my head that said, "You won't get this. Why would you? Why are you even trying? Someone sighted who isn't a health and safety risk is going to get it."

Perhaps so. No matter what, I fought that voice. I fought that self-doubt and I fought all of my visual barriers to get into Photoshop and try to design something, using many snap grids, to give myself a chance. That is the difference between the Kim of now and the Kim of last year who didn't even try, didn't know what her practice was, where she was headed or what she was doing after retinal detachment. 

I have worked so hard this past year, outside of university and in my own time, to figure out what I was interested in and worked at that constantly - even when the chips were down and I was at my worst. Now it is about making connections, continuing to push against my self-doubt and believing in myself. There is a spark of self-belief and I have to keep adding wood to that fire.

Now that I have submitted t one opportunity, it will get easier. This feels like a personal celebration. Not because I've won anything, but because I've took the time and effort to make this PDF application and dared to try.

Friday, 28 May 2021

[LAUIL602] Funded Studio Spaces: Applications Open

 


I received an e-mail from Careers & Employability about open applications for studio space at Duke Studios and Patrick Studios. Duncan previously told me about this earlier in the week and I've been heavily thinking about studio spaces with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park application. I will be applying to all 3 as you have to be in it to win it. I am working with Guide Dogs to secure somewhere to rent once I hand-in all of my work on August 9th and my contract with Abodus expires in early September. I would like to stay Leeds-based to continue working on my emerging practice.

The deadline to be mindful of is 21st June 2021

Thursday, 27 May 2021

[LAUIL602] Visual Arts Association with Gita Joshi: Empowering Artists with Self Representation

Gita Joshi does lot of coaching for artists. Early-mid career artists. Empowering artists to establish them. 

• How did you get into art world? 

Graduated in Art History back in the '90s. I thought you had to work for a museum and that was it. We know that the museum is quite closed off world. Wanted to make my own path. Don't have to work with just museum. Can be independent, have creative control. Premises in London in Waterloo. Received submissions, not good ones, not fit for me, but there is a knowledge gap there that I can help build them up and support them. Sessions at the gallery called "Getting Gallery Ready.' Only £5. Bit more info for them on what to do next. 2014, on the board of Camberwell Arts, meeting lots of artists, art dealers' input, more successful open studio event. Get more people in, use the audience they had and the audience we were sending. Blended together. Slowly build. Alongside having my own gallery. Podcast was born out of that as well. Around 2016-2017. Great conversations born out of that bringing into the public domain.Giving the artist a voice and increase their attention. Orgaically. Golden thread that runs through it. Saw a need for what I was doing. 

• You say in your book that being an artists today is like being a business owner. Tell us more about that?

There is a business transaction happening there. Artists need to get paid, they need to sell their work. Need to take responsibility, self advocacy. Raise memetum until other people talk about them too. Creative calling, Not everyone everyone has to sell their art which is fine, it can be leisurely for them. But for who this applies to and who want to make a living, it is very much a business. Sales, marketing and product. Trinity. Both the maker/producer and manage, sales and marketing. Doing it in a manageable way. Small steps. Do it at your own pace, own decisions, empowering, freeing being a business owner. Not fitting into someone else's infrastructure. Get to build your own. Make your own destiny.

• Artists self representing. What does that mean? What should we be mindful of? What would main tips be for artists be?

- You can be your own agent, advocate. That can happen alongside working with galleries.

- What do you want to be known for? Getting your statement, catalogue, price list, in an online world, using your website as your digital world, showing digital fairs you have participated in. Staying on top of that. If I was my own bank manager what do I need to have in place? Laying the foundations. Marketing in older ways too. Mailing list. Building rapport with subscribers who sign up. Social media. Open studios. In person events. multi-faceted, All supporting one another. Gallery show. Doing it in steps and ways that are comfortable. Have a go. Some foundation to grow on.No matter what stage of your career, its about getting your art out there and sharing your message and being authentic. Finding your creative voice. There is a formula to self representing. Finding your voice in marketing too. There comes a point where some of it may need to be automated. You need to decide that. Also if to bring someone else in.

- Our first port of call is to follow someone on instagram. Consistency of showing up on it. Curators, artists, writers, for everyone. If you want to make a connection. Follow someone on instagram. That tool is sitting there. We are only 5 steps away from people online now.

• In terms of selling art, sales are going to happen and it will happen quickly. You talk of the long game and sowing the seeds. What are your views?

Consistency is massive. If we go to an art fair, there may we things we see but we see 60 things. Instagram is very low level advertising. Billboard advertising and tv and bus advertising is big business and high level advertising. Knowledge gap between what you're selling and your buyer potentially "adding to cart." Nurture them by showing up for them. Showing your practice. Share last year's wins. Validate their attention they are going them. Visibility. Being at the forefront of people's minds. It is about being patient and knowing what you stand for. A cheaper line of prints isn't always the answer, who do you need to become? What information do you need to put out there? Knowing what your niche is. Clear creative voice running through that. Takes time too build that momentum. Seeing your nerve. Going to events you get feedback. You may sell, you may not. The public, your neighbouring stands. Speak to art fair directors. Get that feedback. Confidence and where you position yourself and where you sell your products. Price from a position from where you can move up from. 

• There is a lack of confidence in artists pricing their work, and not having enough confidence in what they do.

Yes, it's a barrier in a successful art practice. You need to have an understanding of why you do what you do. How you communicate on socials. People are interested in people. Your own story. Delving into what you do. That personal work. That's the personal stuff, what you stand for, your journey, it's unique. Your experience is unique, standing by that and getting to know that. Personal development angle. Comparing it to someone else who looks like they have it sorted online. A tip - confidence. What's working. Evidence of what has worked. What was a sale. Why did it work? Confidence of knowing you could pass the gate-keepers. Looking at the little wins. What you do on a daily basis. Gratitude is a big part of it. Reframe the story.

• How should artists better communicate their work?

People are interested in people. great to see some personality. Their brand. The brand is the artist. Don't use the model of a gallery who is glossy and cold. Fear of intimacy. Be intimate in communication. Be warm. Hear your voice. Artist statement (around 250 words) statement you stand behind, using that as the basis as what you chat about on socials. Show work in progress - it is great because you are taking people on a journey. It's not possible for everyone every day but its the best form of content for socials. People are more interesting than they realise. Remembering that in every moment. What have you done today that is share worthy? Source material from a pile of books. Documenting the work in progress. Career highlights. The new people don't know that so let them celebrate that with you. Don't let you feel like you are boring people. Your brand becomes recognisable from reposting. Consistency. 

• Absolutely. Posting twice a week, or every day, try to get a routine at peak times before breakfast, during dinner and in the evening. Be savvy. What you may think is boring other people won't. Coming out of the pandemic, what do you think artists should be focusing on now?

Everything is online now. Continue to build your audience. Now we can go out and see things, different form of networking. Nice to see people living in your area. Deeper connections. But there is a hesitancy of booking a fair booth or booking to go to a show. What if it's cancelled? Taking small steps. The country is at different stages as is the world but only we are in the same, safe space. Right across the board. We will continue to have online. Nurture the online buyer. The online presence has been accelerated through Covid. Different income streams running together. Landlords are welcome to artists using space, putting work in the window to look somewhat animated. Artists coming together and collaborating to use space. Leveraging partnerships and networking.Collaborative. Saves on time, materials, etc. Creative projects between selves liberating, empowering, confidence and experience. build on to get extra visibility. Art in the public space. Recognising that as as a partnership. Don't be passive. Be proactive. 

• When artists submit work to you, what do you look for?

It's fine for artists to work in any medium but artists should be consistent in what they submit. 5 images that sit together well. Come from the same body of work. If they are in the experimental phase of their practice, I scroll on. If you are putting out different things, it's confusing people. If one is sculpture, another an oil painting, I'm confused. it isn't reaching your end goal. it confuses the potential buyer. It isn't helpful. Being business minded. What is going to be front of house. 

• What motivates and inspires you?

What is possible. Community, society, people. I'm always learning and growing. Self, personal development. The more healing I do. intuitively know. Healed through creative practice. interesting and empowering. The more we acknowledge that. 

• Best tips from a successful show?

Have confidence in talking about your work. Don't get drunk! Be grateful for whatever happens. Prepare. Make sure you're organised. Have a set price point. Perhaps have a prize draw. Mind-check your energy. Be careful of "mood hoovers" sucking the energy out of you and the room. Change your energy to be more magnetic. Step into gratitude. Be your authentic self. Build rapport. People often buy from people they've built a relationship with and who they click with.

Make Your Mark Summit coming soon with VAA

visual-artists.org/home/mentorship for mentorship get in touch at hello@visual-artists.org


Reflection:

I recently found Gita Joshi on Instagram as she had featured an artist in her new book, "Show Your Art,' that I follow. She mentioned a very interesting quote and I was immediately drawn to her knowledge. She said: 

"When I wrote Show Your Art, the subtitle, how to build an art career without a gallery, was based on a lot of keyword research. The book delivers on the subtitle. 

I've said many times the intention for the book is the empower the artist to take their business, visibility and audience into their own hands. Then when you approach a gallery, you're able to go into the relationship at peer to peer entry. 

What doesn't work so well for me or any galleries I know, is the cold email from an artist that goes along the lines of "I'm a struggling artist and need a gallery to sell my work."

The undertone here is the artist as victim, and the galleries as a rescuer, a position they didn't ask for. A responsibility they didn't ask for. 

It recreates the child-parent or student-teacher dynamic. Not peer-to-peer business relationship. 

Working with a gallery is a business relationship. Selling through a gallery is a business relationship. And you get to build your art business first."

This is pretty eye-opening advice to be mindful of the way that I will be engaging with professionals when university is over and to level myself with them. I am the one creating work, the gallery is at the other end of the business transaction. That is not to say that nice relationships and niceties cannot be born from correspondence, but t be mindful of how I frame emails when the time comes and not to beg if I ever lose momentum in the future.

Through her instagram I found out about this event, and from the back of how immediate and powerful I found this information, booked a ticket with Eventbrite. A lot of the information wasn't necessarily new but hearing it at this point in my journey, now that I'm on the other end of trauma and recovering from a bad few years, trying to take back control of my life and completing my degree, it was powerful to hear some of these words. Things like self representation, advocacy, having agency, having respect for myself in terms of pricing. None of this is new as I've heard it a number of times throughout university, but it hits different now.

Another nice things from this was the community aspect of the chat. There was a number of other artists, writers and professionals including someone who makes their own canvases, who shared their websites and instagram details and we followed each other from this. There was also discussion in the chat around collaboration and doing something that way. IT's certainly something to think about.

I need to look more into VAA and what they offer. They offered a 10% membership code at the beginning of the talk and offer some kind of mentorship scheme. I'm imagining it's like the AOI but for painters?

Wednesday, 26 May 2021

[LAUIL602] LAU Fine Art Blog and Reflection

After speaking with Duncan about the Fine Art course, he provided me with the Fine Art course blog that contains a plethora of information and resources to software tutorials, art supplies, opportunities, contextualising the pandemic as an opportunity, health and safety information, and so forth. This helps me to identify relevant materials, events and opportunities to my emerging practice and make decisions accordingly.

Selected links that are relevant and of interest to me:


Online Collections and Virtual Tours:

• Google Arts and Culture: https://artsandculture.google.com/

• Ubuweb: http://www.ubu.com

• Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza: https://www.museothyssen.org/en

• The State Hermitage Museum: www.hermitagemuseum.org

• Digital Cosmos: https://www.castellodirivoli.org/en/mostra/cosmodigitale/

I can use some of these exhibitions and collections as inspiration and a resource to my Final Major Project and ongoing emerging practice. it is helpful to know collections exist online and in a space that is safe and can be viewed in one's own time - very helpful for my deteriorating vision.

Opportunities:

TSDAP – Young Emerging Artists and Recent Art Graduates Digital Community (https://www.curatorspace.com/opportunities/detail/tsdap–young-emerging-artists-and-recent-art-graduates-digital-community/5080) Deadline 17th July 2021

Many opportunities have now passed but this one is live and relevant which I am thinking of applying to. 

Art Supplies:

• Cass Art: https://www.cassart.co.uk/

• Atlantis Art: https://www.atlantisart.co.uk/

• Jackson’s Art: https://www.jacksonsart.com/

• Hobbycraft: https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/

• Hindley’s: https://www.hindleys.com/

• B&Q: https://www.diy.com/

• Online Fabrics: https://www.online-fabrics.co.uk/

I knew of B&Q, Hobbycraft and Cass Art already but the others are new to me and will be added to my bookmarks.

Project Space:

• LAU Studio Spaces: https://laufineart.wordpress.com/2021/03/26/our-studio-spaces/ Provides an insight into the studio facilities, current student work and the Graduate degree show from 2019

• BAMS Student Medal Project: https://laufineart.wordpress.com/2021/03/25/bams-student-medal-project/

• Erewhon Exhibition - Level 4 Student Exhibition: https://www.artsteps.com/view/5fc101498f1e3408ea34c90c?

• Making a Happening Workshop: https://laufineart.wordpress.com/2020/05/19/making-a-happening/

• And/Now? Level 5 Exhibition: https://www.artsteps.com/view/5eaad0d26bc1e76fd77c9f22

• MegaStructures: https://laufineart.wordpress.com/2020/05/01/megastructures/

• Domestic Photography: https://laufineart.wordpress.com/2020/05/01/domestic-psychogeography/

• No Where: https://laufineart.wordpress.com/2020/04/27/no-where/

• Home as Fortress: https://laufineart.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/home-as-fortress/

Work to educate, inspire and inform my remerging practice - viewing what others in the student cohort and beyond are making and contextualising that. 


Tutorials include links to learn how to use image editing software (Photoshop and Lightroom), InDesign, Illustrator, video editing software, 3D sculpting software, how to document work with a smartphone, how to make a digital exhibition, lighting at home, LinkedIn Learning and photography basics. Having access to this beyond graduation is deeply invaluable and an endless resource for my practice.

[LAUIL602] Webinar with business.connected - Create a Social Media Schedule

• Customer Persona. Customer profiling. Identifying your customer. Who are they?

Asking 3 questions:

- What are their needs?

- What do they look like? (Age, gender)

- What motivates them?

• Is your customer motivated by money? Some don't mind spending money by having a ore expensive item and buying into luxury.

• Does your business have a personality? A voice? This is just as important as the visuals. 

• Business personality traits. Are you sincere, rugged?

• Be mindful of the things you say and what you wouldn't say in regards to your type of content.

Apple: Excitement, innovative, sophisticated.

Nike: Active, cool, trendy, youthful.

Hallmark: Warm, respected, like a family member.

• Rate your own tries from 1 to 5.

High Quality Creativity. If you post blurry or small images, the algorithm will pick that up and your content is shown to less people.

• Make your posts actionable. Provide links to newsletter. Ask for opinions to a question in the comment section. Drive some kind of action. Relate to action. Not every post has to. Draw on engagement. Business goals. What do you want people to do? 

• If it's to generate more customers, post your newsletter, website, shop, products, sales, etc.

• Clean creative. Clean and consistent. Images that are recognisable. Compact text. "shop now!" 

• Inspirational content.

• Tools such as Canva 

Consistency. Consistent choice of colour palette across videos and photos so the community can recognise your posts. Consistent tone. Business personality - write your content in the same way. Don't flit around funny, silly and serious if that's not your personality. In DMs too - embody it in all your content. Don't be robotic. Consistent tone.

Recent, relatable and meaningful. Active, legitimate and caring. Understanding your customers and what they relate to. Make them trust your business.  

• So many people purchase things based on video. 79% use social media on mobile. Make sure to optimise for mobile properly. First 3 seconds thumb-stopping visual. Look on social media yourself - screenshot what makes you feel excited in the first 3 seconds of a video. Why did that make me feel something? What made you stop your thumb from scrolling?

• Showcase your "why" immediately. What do you want them to do?

• We consume a couple of miles of social media content every single day.

• With video, communicate effectively. Sound isn't always on. Captions, subtitles. Overlay text and graphics.

• Using a white wall, well lit, Photoshop, Canva tools. 

• How do you create your own DIY studio? Fabric. White paper. Light. Ring light. Personal brand - you people want to get to know you so include yourself. Light from a natural window. Props/items. Vase. Flowers. Diaries. Flay lays. Stationary. Reflector. Piece of metal to reflect light. Camera and tripod. Can be procured cheaply.

• Getting to know your smartphone is important. Facebook Creator Studio. Schedule your posts into the future. 

• The Plan /Content Plan will help you create a schedule posts. Save time to help you reach your business goals.

• When you have created your content, your schedule, integrate into it into your weekly/monthly workload.

• Always acknowledge your community. Always communicate and engage. Reply to comments and make them feel important to you.

• Need to understand your customer before you start running ads.

• Go back over the content you have created, were there posts that did better than others. Why do you think this was?

• Mysocialmediaplanner. Awarenessplanner. Awareness days/dates.

• Leave posts that don't perform will. Don' delete them to "save face." Understand why didn't they do well. Engagement but not views or vice versa and work out why it didn't do well. It may get traction later on down the line. Imposter syndrome. 

• Archive it if it doesn't fit in but you can't learn if you delete things!

• What time of day to post on instagram. Post regularly at different times of the day. Yo'u'll see from your own analytics from your personal audience how your content is performing on which day and at which time, depending on the country/time zone.

• Carousels are engaging. Taking action to find more information.

Don't focus on the algorithm, focus on your customers and audience.

• You get 30 hashtags. Testing with hashtags is really important. Think about 10 big ones and 10 niche ones and 10 specific ones. Test with hashtags over time.

• Hashtag expert. Little hashtag bundles and sections. When you look at your insights you can see what performs better. Look at your competitors and what they are using!

Monday, 24 May 2021

[LAUIL602] Painting Module and Conversation with Duncan Mosley (Fine Art Tutor)

https://www.leeds-art.ac.uk/about-us/staff/staff/duncan-mosley/

Duncan Mosley is a Fine Art Tutor at Leeds Arts University. I reached out to him to better understand the painting module as part of the Fine Art course, and to ask questions in regards to making canvases, displaying canvases, where to take my practice as someone interested in Abstract Expressionism, and any hints and tips for my portfolio. 


Here are the notes from our meeting:

In painting we talk of the 'phenomenal surface' – textured, rough, glows in colours, in agency, means things culturally spiritually, in gender. Theoretical lines of enquiry. Around beauty, aesthetics and politics. Everything has got an aesthetic. A lens of beauty. Contested discourses of history. 

Uncertainty. A word used a lot this year but also prior to the pandemic. Think of what I’m certain about. Am I certain about the medium I use? But if I’m uncertain, what am I uncertain about? Small paintings, large paintings. 

More certain about. 3 box diagram. Most uncertain about and the thing I need to figure out. Audit of my own work. What those uncertainties are and that opens up new possibilities and what my new work can be about. Marry that with the certainties. That is the first session every year. Making work in new ways.

Painting and the digital. Painting in the digital age. Reproduction and distrubtion. Alter certain aspects of images. Notion of time. My paintings have no sense of time When looked at altogether. It's only through my mark making that we can see that I've made something quickly, through layers. How we interact with time is disrupted. Painting is a very different record of time. Marks of paint. Once you look at abstraction, look at marks to see calibrations of time. The canvas as a timer. Contemporary painters are dealing with this. What does paint offer us when we are offered with so many possibilities of image-making?

Colour as subject.

Symbolic. Cultural. Connottion. Gender. Binary. Complementary. Red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple. Figuration.

Picasso and blue period. Palette of blue. Effect of sadness and melancholy. What he’s doing. People often overlook his rose period. Beginning of something else. Colour is used as something else. Primary vehicle for expression.

Performance. Walk around. Canvas on floor. Work quickly. Dance with brush. Aggressively. What are you performing? Person depicted in a painting. Image is historically meaning something different to a selfie. Cruder set of values than painting as an act than something different to a photograph. To a drawing. The making of a painting. The way you make. What you make your body do. Pollock in difference to Hockney or Vasquith. Or Basquiat.

Idea and what you are doing.

Mapping your territory. Practice inventory. Themes. Mediums. Oils, inks, acrylics. Processes. Tools. Brushes. Palette knives. Applicators. Form. Intended form of the work. Small paintings. Large scale. Experimental looking, Multiples. 

Identify what you have and what you need. Self-reflecting. What artists they are referencing. Push it further. 

Fluid marks, flat marks, textured marks, are they using the right marks? The ideas become more activated and engaging wth the slight shift of mark-making.

Value. The value of material, processes, techniques. If you work quickly and swifly, different value and principles than if you use oil painting where it takes longer to dry between layers. Watercolour is maybe more domesticated. Medium of the "Sunday painter". Contemporary artists use it all to their advantage. Paper or cardboard. Framed art has different value. Found materials. Printed work has different value to an original painted canvas.

Wade Guyton. Digital Print making up a printed canvas. Misuses it. Challenges historical markers of paintings. Social political, values. Everything can be unpicked against those values.

Value of presentation. Can change the value how they are transmitted and broadcasted. Low brow and high brow. Roy Lichtenstein. Little frame from a cheap comic, painted the comic and put it within the art gallery. Changes within the image. Within a new set of values.

Primary market where you encounter what’s going on right now. 

12 exhibitions a year, maybe more, have an opportunity, sign up to a newsletter. Everything going on. Maybe set up a different email address “junk” mail sent to them. 

-       Assembly House

-       East Street

-       Munroe Place/House

Boris Groys writes extensively about tech and art. Good book to theorise about.

Abstraction

Curation

Collection

Figuration

How to write and think about art.

Boredom – produces the space that we can make art. Art gallery. Modernity. Industrial revolution. Everything is connected.

Look at the wider contemporary and social.

Andy Warhol. Poor background. Went to New York. Not known. He became the most successful illustrator in New York City. He'd done everthing he could do. He was earning over 100,000 dollars for his work which was monumental at the time. Lived in a 4 story townhouse. He wanted to be a famous artist but didn't know howto doit. When he did know how to do it he brought so much into art. We could never look at a Coca Cola bottle or Campbell's soup can the same again.

David Steens. MA Fine Art. Discuss with him if I'd perhaps like to take on an MA in the future.

How to display a canvas. Screw canvses to the wall. Could be on the art tech blog that was e-mailed to me. Email Joanne. I also have the freedom to install my work in the uni to photograph for my portfolio and my instagram so that people have the opportunity to see my work in a setting and get an idea of photography lighting, size. 

In regards to my portfolio of work there is no doubt about my level of skill even if I have only started painting in August 2020. Consider making the same painting again - reducing marks, using different brushes or handmade vessels, more canvas coming through to experiment and push further.

Read More:

 

Important publications and links that may differ from Illustration sources:

- Turps Banana

- Aesthetica Magazine

- Hi Fructose

- Flash Art

- Art Forum

- Emergent Mag

- lar-magazine.com

- thisistomorrow.info

- painters-table.com

- Blouin Modern Painters

Thursday, 20 May 2021

[LAUIL602] In Conversation with Ashley Bowersox: Painting, Sizing, and Grounding



•  https://www.instagram.com/abowersox/

• https://www.saatchiart.com/The_Sox

https://www.facebook.com/Ashley-Bowersox-Art-332579953492527/

I was able to network with Ashley Bowersox, a Yale Fellow and Graduate from MassArt in Boston, Massachusetts, who hails from Berlin in Germany. She is an Artist and Painter. Studying in Fine Art, she has acquired a wealth of knowledge that I wanted to tap into regarding paints, gesso-ing, and grounding a canvas, the different mediums available to add to paints for effects. There's so much information and I'm not sure where to start on my own! 

Notes from our Conversation: 

• "At the size you currently work at, you could afford to play around with mediums and slightly more pricey paints. Golden Acrylics makes the bees knees of acrylic paints and a whole host of mediums you can mix in to add texture, gloss, and/or matteness." https://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo/technicalinfo_mattemed

• "Proper gesso application (the ground layer) is very important. The first coats should be diluted with water so that they properly absorb into the canvas rather than lay on top of the fibers. Depending on where you look online the suggested ratios are different, if a gesso is incredibly thick you will have to play around and experiment but generally a 60/40 ratio (applied twice) and then a 80/20 layer is a very good grounding. If it gets too runny the binder in the acrylic will break down."

• "To the gesso/water mixture you could add a small amount of the matte medium to achieve a truly matte texture."

• Rereading your message I had initially just focused on what you said was gesso - but I think you may be referring to a final coating? With Acrylic paints you shouldn't need anything unless you wanted to use UV protection for the paints. https://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo/technicalinfo_polvar This product page explains perfectly how the painting can be protected with Ultra Violet Stabilizers. But, I would say it's not critical.

• "If you are going for luminous and a world of texture and body, Golden or Liquitex paints are going to be what you should be using, and if you use them as directed in the product sheets and DOES NOT mix brands while painting you will get the most reliable results. Golden is an A+ company that has been designing/formulating paints for artists for nearly 100 years at this point. They are fab!"

• "Another critical point is letting the paints dry appropriately. If you aren't giving them a couple months to dry (I know they aren't oils but for oils it's years!) there can be chemical processes that will get trapped under any sealing layer you are adding. Which can causing milkiness, bubbles, etc."

• If you do decide to work with the golden paints, you can read in the product page I sent. The UV sealant comes in Matte, Satin, Gloss, if you are playing with textures and different levels of matte -ness you will have to keep that in mind if you go to coat the final works.

• Matte-ness. and gloss are simply the uppermost layer of texture - applying a gloss UV coating will destroy any underlying differentiation. The UV seal is also not reversible if applied directly the the paint, so an isolation layer needs to be applied first.

• If you have any more questions you can email me! anbowersox@gmail.com

Reflection:

There is a whole heap of information to get stuck into! I had never heard of Golden Acrylics but do use Liquitex acrylic paints, gesso and matte finish. I applied gesso as it was out of the tub, and never considered it may need watering down. I think the gesso I use it already water-based but this can be something I experiment more with in the near future to get the layers just right and built up evenly. I have never used canvas fabric directly, which is stretched over a frame, which is where the gesso needs to be watered down first and applied. I have been using wooden boards or canvas boards that have already been grounded with gesso. It is important to learn not to mix brands as the paints and mediums may not work well together - having been specially creating for that company to work together. I didn't know that acrylics took a couple of months to dry properly! 

It was extremely beneficial to connect with Ashley and add her to my growing network of professional contacts. Her advice has been invaluable.

What next? How can I imbed this information into my practice? I will need to read over the notes a number of times and start to experiment with different mediums. I have a matte medium, which helps to matte-ify and increase the saturation of the colours. I would like to make my own canvas frame, with stretched canvas fabric over it, and learn how to properly apply gesso through experimentation. Making my own canvases will be a step forward in my professionalism and authenticity as an artist, rather than buying them cheaply from Amazon. They work for now while I am learning and while we are in a pandemic, but bigger canvases are what professional artists paint, sell, and exhibit.

Wednesday, 12 May 2021

[LAUIL602] In Conversation with Dr. Diana Basquez-Simpson (Art Therapist) and Reflection

 Beginnings of Conversation:


• I reached out to a friend of mine on Facebook. We are connected to through a favourite band of ours. She is a professional Art Therapist practicing in Denver, Colorado.
• I wanted to lean more about her profession, how she came into it, and what she does. Is this something I would like to do? This conversation can be the starting point.

This conversation also guided some of the content in my dissertation about Art Therapy and art as therapy for trauma and PTSD.

Transcription:

Kimberley: Hello Diana! I hope you're well! I'm currently finishing my art degree at Leeds Arts University, focusing on and finishing my Professional Practice module, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your profession, your education, why you think art and creating is so beneficial to us, any particular case studies where art has really turned someone's life around, and so on. I hope that this is okay with you.

Diana: Hey Kimberley! I would love to help out! Thanks for thinking of me. I’ll be able to answer more completely in an hour or so. 
Hope you’re having a wonderful day!

Diana: My undergraduate degree is from Metropolitan State University of Denver where I majored in Psychology major and minor in studio art with an emphasis in ceramics. For my graduate degree I went to Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. The school is a Buddhist based education combining the best of Eastern and Western healing techniques. Mindfulness practice is emphasized. Some of my classmates in grad school had art degrees so some of us came more from a fine arts based education, where others (myself included) has a stronger background in psychology.

There’s a wonderful read our instructors quoted often called Homo Aestheticus by Ellen Dissanayake (send me an example of your reference format and I can send the citation). Essentially, she says art is in our DNA. As evolving humans we have long observed the practice of “making special” for a very long time. When considered from this point of view, I think it’s so beautifully profound to discover we have an innate need to create and fashion objects and environments in our worlds for no reason other than simply being pleasing to us. 

So it makes sense art is often used as way for us to calm and center ourselves. This is only one of several methods art therapists use in practice. We also support clients in expression challenging emotions in line, shape, and form when words will not come or when they fail to express the subtlety, complexity, and enormity of an emotion. This is especially helpful with children who may not yet have the vocabulary to communicate emotions. Art is also used as a way to externalize internal thoughts, concerns, anxieties. In this way, clients are able to see their diagnosis, thoughts, etc. are not who they are. From here it’s much easier to problem solve and contain problematic inner material.

• What made you want to study art therapy? What value do you see in your work? 

Years ago, I was an occupational therapy assistant. I loved that the profession, at that time, took a very holistic approach to healing.  I worked with clients on troubleshooting how they might come to re-engage in hobbies after injuries or disabilities, as well as helping them find new hobbies and passions. It was so rewarding to witness how these activities added meaning and purpose to their lives and gave them a sense of purpose. I was laid off from this job due to nationwide budget cuts. When I returned to school in 2011 I decided to pursue art therapy because I saw how using art as a healing modality not only facilitated  clients healing process, but also helped them find that sense of meaning and purpose (and more!) I had seen as an occupational therapist. 
As an art therapist, it has been rewarding to introduce clients to a new way of expressing and getting to know themselves, using art as a way to calm and ground themselves, and using the art process to heal themselves.

• Do you have any examples of case studies where art therapy greatly changed someone's approach to life and thinking? 

I have not been in the field long. But I find art therapy with younger children can make an incredible difference. I worked with a six year old girl living in foster care. Her mother was addicted to drugs and was in an abusive relationship. I had tried to communicate to the girl that it was okay to feel sad about being separated from her mother. She avoided talking about the situation or her feelings about it. She struggled in school and was reported to be behaving aggressively toward her peers. I knew if I could get her to discuss her feelings and validate them, it would help her navigate these difficult circumstances and hopefully build a trusting relationship.

After seeing her for several weeks, I decided to create art journals with her. I told her she could put down anything at all (happy or sad) on her mind in words or drawings. She tended to draw rainbows and sunny landscapes, stereotypical images for a child her age. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her turn the page and begin writing. Before long, she tapped my shoulder and showed me what she had written.

“Will I see my mother again?”

My heart broke. I began to reply verbally, but she shook her head “no” vehemently and pointed at the paper. She wanted me to write my response. It was as if the words were too painful to speak or hear. We continued to dialogue in this manner for the rest of the session. The art journal became a method for her to communicate with her foster parents and social worker. 

• Why do you think art as a therapy is so enriching and so beneficial to our mental health?

I think there are so many reasons art therapy enhances mental health. It appears to be different for each person. Art can be a way to externalize difficult emotions and thoughts which may provide some relief as well as help in creating a clearer picture of what a client may be experiencing. As with Nina, it can serve as a sort of language of self-expression. For children who may not have the vocabulary to fully express themselves as well as a way to communicate when words fail or may be too painful. Some art activities possess inertly mindful qualities. Repetitive actions can organize and calm a person feeling agitated, working with clay often achieves the same effect. Creating art engages multiple senses and fMRI studies have shown several areas of the brain light up simultaneously when a person is engaging in creating art. These are just a few of the many benefits.

• What kind of exercises do you do in your therapy sessions?

For me, it is important to meet the client where they are. Often it will begin by just talking and getting to know them. Sometimes we will work on a drawing together or try an art media they are interested in. I do lots of art journaling with my clients if they are open to it. Creating small tokens to promote calming and grounding when they feel stressed. Collages can be very useful for self insight and helping me get an idea of what is foremost on the client’s mind. When a client is experiencing difficult, possibly overwhelming emotions, I might have them create a box or container to symbolically contain the thought or emotion. I try to use these activities as a way to educate them about mental health and the way their brain works.

• Do you feel your own mental health is positively impacted because of being creative?  

Definitely!! I’ve always done crafty things but when I began using art as a way to intentionally process emotions, express myself, and as a mindfulness practice


Reflection:

• It was nice to network with Diana, building a stronger connection, learning more about her profession and understanding more about the education and qualifications needed to undertake the work.
• These don't translate to the qualifications needed in the UK but I can conduct my own research into what is required.
• It was interesting to hear about some of the foundations of this work - that creating is a part of our DNA (of which there is a gene) and that we enjoy problem solving and fashioning objects as a species.
• The case study with the six year old girl was incredibly powerful stuff proving that Art Therapy reaches where conversational therapy cannot. 
• Dp I want to situate myself into this work as an art therapist or work with art as therapy in other ways? Being an abstract expressionist painter guiding my own healing journey, employing art as therapy to tell my story has just as much of an impact?