I was very excited to get started on this course. The sample I had before I enrolled involved making things out of paper but this first project had so much drawing. I found it very daunting to get started, it’s been thirty years since I studied. I have drawn a little bit over the years but always given up pretty quickly. I’m getting used to drawing as a daily practice now. Looking back I understand how important drawing is to understanding a fabric and how it’s been crafted. It forces you to look deeper than it feels nice or is a lovely colour.

During these initial projects I’ve used a range of pencils and occasionally paint. I used various drawing techniques, sketching, linear marks, dots and dashes. I found it difficult to be experimental, it did feel I was in my own head a bit too much. I started to get a bit more experimental by the later projects. I’m hoping this first set of projects has loosened me up a bit!

My drawings started off quite weak. My smaller, more detailed drawings are more successful. I’m not very good at scaling things up.

I really enjoyed the mark making aspect of the projects and I think I would like to move towards that. Being a bit more abstract and trying to illustrate in a simpler, more subtle way.

Practically, I know I have to get better at photographing my work. I’m just using my phone at the moment so I need to find a better light source and set up. Time management started a bit shakily! It’s impossible for me to work on an “as and when I can” basis. Trying to fit studying into daily life has been interesting but I have set up regular work times now. I also know I haven’t made full use of all the resources on hand. Again I think that’s down to time. I didn’t feel I could spend a lot of time learning about video, and Padlet as my deadline approached. I will be able to address this with better timing.