Category Archives: Assessment

Results

Demonstration of Technical & Visual Skills – 26/40 (65%)

Quality of Outcome – 12/20 (60%)

Demonstration of Creativity – 13/20 (65%)

Context – 9/20 (45%)

As the levels increase, the technical & visual skills decrease in importance and demonstration of creativity increases, but as these are at the same level that shouldn’t cause any problem. The area bringing my mark down though is the context mark.

Overall Comments and Feed Forward

Your drawing improved the more inventive and open your approach became as seen in the larger drawings. Endeavour to bring this approach into your sketchbook work which will help you develop this aspect of your practice further. Be determined to continue to take risks in your use of material and the ambition that you have for your work. Try to recognise when your processes are getting results and then exploit them in terms of content and concept.

You need much more reflective comment in the learning log both on your own work and the work of sculptors that you look at, including those working now and in the recent past. It is essential for level 2 that you become less descriptive and much more self critical and analytical in your comments and discussions.

I did think my result was going to be a bit better than this overall mark. It is only 2% higher than my printmaking course and I feel I have come quite a long way since this course. I also thought I had upped my game (admittedly not enough) in my “context” work, but I achieved the same mark as I did in the printmaking course. Still, my marks are going in the right direction, so hopefully I will continue in this manner.

Critical issues to address:

• Sketchbook work – being more inventive and open, taking risks
• Reflective comment – less descriptive and more self-critical and analytical

Blog

My tutor suggested printing out and binding my blog to make it easier for the assessors to view. That would entail printing 189 pages, so instead I have produced PDF’s of my blog and bookmarked the different sections. Hopefully this will be OK.

Assessment selection

Images (submitted at A1 size) and artistic statements:

1) ‘Untitled’ – stage 1, assignment 1

Created by playing around with the materials I had available, this sculpture has no conscious connection to any theme or artist.

2) ‘The flick’ – stage 2, project 3

A modelled hand (based on my own) flicking over matchboxes in a domino effect, inspired by looking at Lorenzo Quinn’s work and the course notes describing the use of matchboxes.

3) ‘Tower’ – stage 2, assignment 2

A development of a small scale stacked structure made out of matchboxes. The hanging glass elements of this sculpture are inspired by the mobile work of Alexander Calder.

4) ‘Flow’ – stage 3, project 6

A development of my still life arrangement of a cloth over a box and bottles, this sculpture shows the organic flow of a substance though two dripping pillars, bringing destruction and oblivion.

5) ‘Residency No.5’ & ‘Residency No.8’ – stage 3, assignment 3

A series of unusual sculptures in ceramic, split by rusted steel shelves. The development of the idea from a thistle root has retained the idea of what is above and below the surface, through splitting the work above and below a shelf. The work has developed from its origins, but retained a natural shape, dissected by an urban/industrial metal shelf. This provides contrast between the two elements, as well as raising questions about the piece and inviting speculation as to its origins and meaning.

6) ‘Untitled’ – stage 4, project 7

This sculpture started off as an experiment with slip casting spheres and leftover plaster cast in plastic boxes. The use of unfired clay and using poured slip onto plaster to get it to crack up as it dried was inspired by the work of Adrián Villar Rojas.

7) ‘The flick 2’ – stage 4, project 7

A casted repeat of my earlier ‘The flick’ sculpture. This time trying out casting from life and seeing how this sculpture works without the metal boxes of the original.

8) ‘Wooden box’ – stage 4, project 8

A six-panel bas-relief sculpture forming a cube placed on one of its corners. This sculpture shows the trapping/compressing of irregular natural objects (tree branches) into a fixed regular container, representing man’s need to control nature.

9) ‘Esther’ – stage 4, assignment 4

Inspired by life drawing classes and the challenge to first model a figure from life, then the technical achievements needed to produce a multi-part mould to cast such a complex shape in wax and then bronze.

10) ‘Landscape 1’, ‘Landscape 2’ & ‘Landscape 3’ – stage 4, assignment 4

The landscape series consists of a 3D map tile, suspended above a metal construction representing grid lines on a map.

‘Landscape 1’ is cast in clear resin to represent the ‘perfect’ landscape.

‘Landscape 2’ is cast in clear wax with holes bored into the tile and filled with red candles and set alight. Representing man’s treatment of this landscape, with particular reference drilling for oil and the news images of the Kuwait oil fields alight.

‘Landscape 3’ is cast in ice which then melts in the sun, representing our ability to destroy the landscape through global warming.

11) ‘Untitled’ – stage 5, assignment 5

Taking inspiration from looking at works by Isamu Noguchi and Barbara Hepworth, with the design more inspired by the flow of water around obstructions (or holes in this case). I have chosen to emphasise the carving marks around the holes to show how it has been created and to provide contrast with the smooth raised areas. It has been painted to represent the colours that could be achieved if this sculpture was cast in bronze.

12) ‘Inward Looking’ – stage 5, assignment 5

This sculpture takes its shape from the lens of an eye with the raised areas depicting retinal blood vessels coming from the optic nerve, with the black colour from the pupil. The retinal blood vessels in an eye form a concave shape going towards the lens of the eye. However, with this sculpture the veins join together at the edges or go into the pupil in the centre, hence the name of this piece ‘Inward looking’. This sculpture also offers the viewer a very restricted view through the optic nerve hole, showing a fragment of the scene behind it. Inspired by Giuseppe Penone, in particular ‘Anatomia / Anatomy’ (2011) where he carved veins in marble, and also the work of Geoff Rushton.

Accompanying work

Because I often worked on large sheets of paper for my sketches, I have enclosed 4 small sketchbooks, 1 assembled book of smaller sketches and 1 assembled book of larger sketches.

I have submitted my assignment submissions of photographs and videos on a USB stick and DVD, plus printed out (and electronic) copies of my tutor reports.