# data[].attributes.headline
An exploratory form of drawing and construction

# data[].attributes.subject
An exploratory form of drawing and construction

# data[].attributes.body
1.Bacon, Francis: Complete Essays: Dover Publications 2008 isbn 13-978-0-486-45443-6
2.elanaherzog.com
3.faigahmed.com
4.gabrieldawe.com
5.https://ucreative.kanopy.com/video/creative-person - "the creative person practice and passion 2103"
6.Krysa, Daniella: Creative Block; Get Unstuck..: Chronicle Books 2014 isbn 13:9781452118888
7.editor: Leaver - Yap, Isla : Institute of contemporary arts - exhibition catalogue of Nashashibi 2009 isbn 978-1-900300-62-9
8.leeborthwick.co.uk
9.Inglot, Joanna. The Figurative sculpture of Magdalena Abakanowicz. Bodies, environments and myths. University of California Press 2004 isbn 0-520-281-125-2
10.Mason - Anna: Marsh - Jan: Lister- Jenny: Bain - Rowan: Faurby - Hanne (with contributions from McEwan - Alice and White - Catherine): May Morris Art & Crafts Designer: Thames and Hudson 2019 reprint: isbn 978-0-500-48021-2
11.McMillan,K &Wyers,J (2012) Key approaches to thinking in How to improve your critical thinking and reflective skills. Harlow:Pearson Education Limited pg 15 -21 at https://ebook central.prorequest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/reader.action?docID=51736372ppq+28
12.Moberg - Gunnie and Mackay Brown, George . Orkney Pictures and Poems . Colin baxter Photogreaphy Ltd Speyside 1994. isbn 1. 900455 07 2
13.nationalgalleries.org.uk
14.oddity.com
15.Paasche, Marit and Schlicht, Esther (edts) "Hannah Roggen Woven Tapestries" Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt Prestel Pub. 2019 isbn 978-3-7913-5926-7
16.ptolemymannshop.com
17.Puccini, Gerard. “The innovative team” TED Talk “Creative thinking as a life skill”
18.Rees - Linda: Nezhnie Weaver & Innovative Artist: Image Line Publications 2004: isbn 0-9756775-0-6
19.Reflective writing video 2014 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo167Ve3ds
20.shannonweber.com
21Somerson,R & Hermann,M (eds) The art of critical making, Rhode Island School of creative practice.  New York John Wiley&Sons  isbn 9781118517864
22.St Clair, Kassian The Secret lives of colour. John Murray Pub. isbn 9787 1 473 63083 3
23.Sussman - Elisabeth and Wasserman - Fred. Eva Hesse Sculpture Yale University Press 2006 isbn 13 978-0-300-11418-8
24.tate.org.uk
25.the guardian.com
26.www.victoriamanganiello.com

# data[].attributes.headline
A material and drawn investigation of WW2 on Orkney

# data[].attributes.subject
A material and drawn investigation of WW2 on Orkney

# data[].attributes.body
sketchbook exploration - explosion

# data[].attributes.headline
sketchbook  considering portals open and locked

# data[].attributes.subject
sketchbook  considering portals open and locked

# data[].attributes.body
entry point charcoal sketch

# data[].attributes.body
mixed media scape flow explosion / fragmentation

# data[].attributes.headline
Inspiration for colour explorations: Italian Chapel: sunset over scape flow : imagery of refugees in boats

# data[].attributes.subject
Inspiration for colour explorations: Italian Chapel: sunset over scape flow : imagery of refugees in boats

# data[].attributes.headline
Concept: A continued exploration of art created during times of conflict - led to considering imprisonment and the creative act

# data[].attributes.subject
Concept: A continued exploration of art created during times of conflict - led to considering imprisonment and the creative act

# data[].attributes.body
I felt the balance of research, making , process and the final narrative used in the film shows originality of thought, experimentation of materials and process which I feel can now be revisited in my final course.

# data[].attributes.headline
Artist Statement:Esther Ward is an artist based in North West Scotland. From here she draws inspiration from research of landscapes which have experienced conflict. Collecting artefacts and found objects from an area begins her investigation of  topography, history and materiality. Experimental drawing and painting of the landscape  contribute to her visual exploration of place. This conversation between collecting, drawing and making  is resonant of an archaeological excavation. Listening to the human stories of loss and endurance in times of conflict enables her to create works which explore the exterior and interior landscape of place and people. She refers to this process as redrawing .

# data[].attributes.subject
Artist Statement:Esther Ward is an artist based in North West Scotland. From here she draws inspiration from research of landscapes which have experienced conflict. Collecting artefacts and found objects from an area begins her investigation of  topography, history and materiality. Experimental drawing and painting of the landscape  contribute to her visual exploration of place. This conversation between collecting, drawing and making  is resonant of an archaeological excavation. Listening to the human stories of loss and endurance in times of conflict enables her to create works which explore the exterior and interior landscape of place and people. She refers to this process as redrawing .

# data[].attributes.body
great shadow play
striking images
strong work
captivating to look through the cage
work explores being in the landscape yet not being free
I hope the work speaks of being able to break free

# data[].attributes.headline
Ferry crossing and walking the landscape. Journeying to visit Scapa Flow and the Italian Chapel Orkney March 2020 the start of my investigation and research.

# data[].attributes.subject
Ferry crossing and walking the landscape. Journeying to visit Scapa Flow and the Italian Chapel Orkney March 2020 the start of my investigation and research.

# data[].attributes.body
Unearthing and recording layers of marks

# data[].attributes.headline
Critical Review: “Did the experience of war lead Magdalena Abakanowicz to create works of art which offer portals of connection to the realities of conflict? Are such spaces of encounter relevant to contemporary practice?”

# data[].attributes.subject
Critical Review: “Did the experience of war lead Magdalena Abakanowicz to create works of art which offer portals of connection to the realities of conflict? Are such spaces of encounter relevant to contemporary practice?”

# data[].attributes.body
“Ancestor - War Games” 1987-9 , 1991-93 Wood and iron 150x630x100cm

# data[].attributes.headline
Learning Goals: To explore Abakanowicz’s use of materials and form: To learn from her  placement of works back into the landscape: To examine the concept of portals:To develop and explore making multiple forms.

# data[].attributes.subject
Learning Goals: To explore Abakanowicz’s use of materials and form: To learn from her  placement of works back into the landscape: To examine the concept of portals:To develop and explore making multiple forms.

# data[].attributes.body
New York Avenue sculpture project Abakanowicz Standing Figures

# data[].attributes.body
1. Research : online presentation of work and inviting comments: peer review: small installation in the landscape with leaflet and  members of public invited to view and comment.
2. Research: academic literature review

# data[].attributes.body
“In the face of war and confinement Orkney’s Italian POWs, like Abakanowicz in mid twentieth century Poland, both lived and created within the confines of their wartime situation and yet broke out of those confines in their art.
Was the art of Magdalena Abakanowicz a portal through which one may travel to discover traces of her landscape, traces of her personal experiences with war, traces of her deep connection to her roots and her philosophical framework? I think we can confidently place Abakanowicz alongside other female artists, such as Schendel, who responded to wartime experiences by creating abstracted forms and spaces through which one can travel and read the signs and traces of thought and emotion left there.”

# data[].attributes.body
Visit to Orkney, Scapa Flow and The Italian Chapel March 2020 considered the experience of WW2 on Orkney, the arrival of Italian POWs to camp 6o and the building of the Italian Chapel by them.
Scapa Flw mixed media panel

# data[].attributes.body
Just a week after returning from Orkney and having made arrangements to return for a longer residency to work on my collection the UK went into lockdown. That reframed the nature of my investigation, for example subsequent drawing became an exploration of memory far more than I had anticipated. I had hoped to achieve a final filming of my work back on Orkney. That was impossible. WW2 sites around my own home in Northern Scotland were then  used to film the final collection. The power of the original context was lost a little. However on a positive note I think it has led to an expansion of possible ways to carry this work forward.

# data[].attributes.body
There has been a sense of energy and journeying throughout this last year in OCA  which in the context of being in "lockdown" seems rather paradoxical. However I felt I have had time to reflect, review and distill thoughts about my practice.
sketchbook exploration:

# data[].attributes.body
Italian Chapel ceiling, The Holy Spirit

# data[].attributes.body
Holy Spirit dove -

# data[].attributes.body
sketchbook charcoal.

# data[].attributes.body
drawing of found feather and bone - "no flight available" - sketchbook

# data[].attributes.headline
Sinking of battleship The Royal Oak 14th October 1939 by German torpedos.

# data[].attributes.subject
Sinking of battleship The Royal Oak 14th October 1939 by German torpedos.

# data[].attributes.body
This is the key event in understanding why Italian POWs were sent to Orkney as a labour force to build The Churchill Barrier. This structure both sealed off the deep water harbour from any further enemy submarine attack and simultaneously created a causeway connecting the islands in a new way. Viewing underwater footage of the wreck led to an exploration of form , wreckage and sea life forms.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Images reveal extent of HMS Royal Oak torpedo attack

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The ship sank with the loss of 835 people after being hit by torpedoes from a German U-boat.

# data[].attributes.body
mixed media exploration sea forms

# data[].attributes.headline
Material explorations and design decisions Samples video

# data[].attributes.subject
Material explorations and design decisions Samples video

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
investigation of materials form and burning

# data[].attributes.body
The scale needs to be congruent with being placed back into the landscape

# data[].attributes.body
as used by Abakanowicz to give repetition, space, strong narrative

# data[].attributes.headline
Final presentation of work: reliance now on digital presentation - how do I convey mood, textures, space, context ?

# data[].attributes.subject
Final presentation of work: reliance now on digital presentation - how do I convey mood, textures, space, context ?

# data[].attributes.body
mixed media painting

# data[].attributes.body
This self initiated project grew out of work at level 2 where I investigated the effects of WW1 within the personal landscape of my family and within the community I live in. Further analysis of level 2 work led to my consideration of war art as a genre and I explored this in more depth both within my Research Module and here looking at the war art of Domenica Chiocetti - artist - Italian POW camp 60 during WW2.
An ability to investigate, develop and sustain a project is evident in my completion of work 2020-21.I feel the work is contextualised both within the arena of other female artists responding to issues of conflict and contextualised in the way I considered how and where the work might be shown - namely within a museum setting or project: within a project considering the effects of cleithrophobia: within a site specific exhibition.

# data[].attributes.body
Reflection, research and critical thinking  have underpinned both material and form investigation, an exploration of the narrative of people and landscape leading to the creation of my artistic response. I think choosing a broad interpretation of weaving / unweaving has led me to offer some unity across the pieces in methodology whilst allowing each piece in the collection to explore different materials and process. Some outcomes are more exciting to me which I discuss beneath each piece of work and I hope show the learning I gained through both "failures" and more resolved ideas.

# data[].attributes.body
This is the first time I have been able to so closely align making with inviting others to comment on the work as part of my critical review process. To include that dialogue within my research critical review process has really helped unify my learning between research of Abakanowicz and working on my personal specialism collection.

# data[].attributes.body
Communication of ideas both within P.S but more importantly for me between P.S and Research. Context of reflection , research and critical thinking has been key.

# data[].attributes.body
The horrendous loss of life during the pandemic brought issues surrounding conflict into even sharper focus and I think resonances between the experience of the POWs and experiences within 2020 have been clear. For example this small sample exploring the use of hay into a woven sphere which I named "cannon fodder" went on Instagram just before front line workers began describing themselves with the same term. The post suddenly received a large number of comments and led to conversations about the care of NHS and other workers during lockdown.

# data[].attributes.body
I had to be flexible as the situation of 2020 developed and I used critical thinking cycles about design concepts, narrative, historical enquiry and how materials speak to me in that process. Looking back I think I could have been braver in some of my decision making, but I think that is with the benefit of hindsight and some growth in my confidence levels. So I hope to take that learning forward now.

# data[].attributes.body
Reflection, research and critical thinking have become more refined in the last few weeks. I think that was greatly helped by working on a collaborative project with Sarah Gallear and being asked to write the forward for her final exhibition.

# data[].attributes.body
It has been imperative that review and constantly sending out small samples of work for reaction from colleagues, general public and tutors has fed into making the collection and deciding about presentation. Some ideas were left behind if they did not lend themselves to being effective within the constraints I was working with.

# data[].attributes.body
I hope design decisions have shown my desire to think and work creatively and that in quality of outcome there is a coherence to the presentation of the collection.

# data[].attributes.body
ceremonial markers - with over 800 lives lost, the sunken wreck of The Royal Oak has become an official war grave. After investigating underwater footage I considered a link to Neolithic Cursus monuments - long lines of timber posts - lining processional route to honour the dead. Often burned as part of rituals.

The resulting installation - 3 poles over 2 m tall. show fusion and dissonance between materials. Hard burnt fragments, areas of smooth birch wood, fragments of burnt material imprinted into wood.In the face of death, absence and auditory silence - our senses become acute. Smell, touch, sight. often associated with cloth - paradoxically the fabric of life and a totemic sign of the dead.

# data[].attributes.body
unexpectedly light and dark held together
reminded me of sea forms
dismembered limbs
haunting
music is haunting it feels like a requiem for lost lives.
I watched it twice straight off and cried !
stunned by what you have made in this last year. look forward to where this now leads to.

# data[].attributes.body
Materials transformed by burning, left traces of former selves yet married into a new form / material. Rather fragile during transportation and parts of fabric that detached were re added on with glue. This was a process of re drawing.
first time I have put myself on a video but I hope it showed scale and added an understanding. I was glad following feedback that I made 3 poles to walk between,

# data[].attributes.body
Critical review was used throughout process considering effectiveness of materials, process and resulting form. Of course the installation would be even more impactful if more poles had been used I think additional burnt forms could be added to vary surface density. This was a work where I pushed experimenting and in each review kept pushing myself over the question of how to convey death and the process of burning seemed my way forward in exploring this. It was a process I enjoyed in level 2 but the challenges of scaling up the process caused me some "searing moments of anxiety!"

# data[].attributes.body
natural woven form

# data[].attributes.headline
Moving target - red circles of cloth were applied over cut out holes on POW uniform. They were placed strategically - leg, arm, over heart. If the red circle was removed the hole beneath still identified them as an escaping prisoner.

# data[].attributes.subject
Moving target - red circles of cloth were applied over cut out holes on POW uniform. They were placed strategically - leg, arm, over heart. If the red circle was removed the hole beneath still identified them as an escaping prisoner.

# data[].attributes.body
War Games -wood and metal

# data[].attributes.body
1.feedback: great sense of movement: I wanted to be close up to touch it: this is fabulous
2.I have some critique of my own which is around construction, using the metal frame for the eco fibre did provide strength and a clear form. to insert the circle the wire used on outer perimeter was not strong enough to give me the clear circular form I wanted. I tried adding in silk to change the outline but the resulting form looked more flower like in form. I wasn't convinced that worked. And marrying silk with eco fibre was too big a transition visually between the materials. Of course a bullet entering flesh is just that, but I added some fine lines of stitched iron wire to at least show the effect of impact onto the silk. Since the iron will rust over time I think that is an interesting development to look out for. Still much to be revisited and learnt from this process and work.

# data[].attributes.headline
learning outcomes Having taken an online course with the sculptor Rachel Carter I was introduced to contemporary use of eco fibre which I went on to experiment with and use in combination with recycled silk and stitch with iron wire. There was some pleasing developments in my desire to combine materials of differing qualities together and much I have learnt and would like to take forward and refine from this exploration.

# data[].attributes.subject
learning outcomes Having taken an online course with the sculptor Rachel Carter I was introduced to contemporary use of eco fibre which I went on to experiment with and use in combination with recycled silk and stitch with iron wire. There was some pleasing developments in my desire to combine materials of differing qualities together and much I have learnt and would like to take forward and refine from this exploration.

# data[].attributes.body
communication of an idea of moving target was achieved with the choice of photographic technique and I learnt a great deal collaborating with a photographer to achieve that outcome. There has been a great deal of evaluation of this piece. See above,

# data[].attributes.body
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

# data[].attributes.body
feedback: love the shadows: stunning image butterflies come to mind: love the balance of stillness and movement: amazing but frightening, maybe because of the location?; I just want to hold that in my hand: I like the way it disappears back and side: love the colour palette it echoes the Italian Chapel
My own critique was that this moment of drawing into space was an "aha" moment.
The materials were of a different quality - recycled silk and colour palette more vibrant. Some people found that beautiful - like a butterfly; others found it caused them unease. I have not  produced work of such vibrant colouration since level 1 , when a pyramidal form of vibrant green/gold and blue was made. It was featured in a subsequent OCA handbook which suprised me at the time but was an encouraging moment. Strange that a work I had forgotten about has come to mind now.The process seemed to take me to a different part of the narrative using a binding technique which was almost instinctual. On reflection the work has set up tension within me. I loved the process of making this work but I was worried about how it sat within the collection as a whole. However my painting tutor offered a comment which is that "Difference within a body of work is good, it wakens you up and makes me realise you have many voices inside you." and I hope that the collection shows there is room for the many voices I am realising lie within me.

# data[].attributes.body
This work evolved at a more challenging part of my year's work.. I was drawing from an earlier piece of work which had woven squares nailed onto driftwood. The concept in this sample had overtaken the strength of the making, I knew it subconsciously and my tutor report highlighted the weakness. So I set to drawing and thinking about drawing and playing with foam noodles to draw into space. I loved this "play" and within days had made the work caged bird. It felt like a significant interface of process between how I paint and draw and how I responded in my making. The scale provided challenges in creating the form which I met with some success. But now I wonder how to go even bigger and whether a multiplicity of forms hanging in a space would set up an entirely new narrative.

# data[].attributes.body
I think I have learnt a great deal making this piece in terms of materials, colour, process and thinking whether soft materials can convey imprisonment. Some success in conveying that idea, but other ideas of how to extend that process have begun to occur to me and are worth investigating further.

# data[].attributes.body
concertina sketchbook

# data[].attributes.body
After the sinking of the Royal Oak in 1939 Churchill ordered the anchorage be sealed off by the construction of a concrete barrier. There was a shortage of manpower to construct the barrier, so a controversial decision was taken to transport 550 Italian POWs to camp 60 on Orkney. Among the Italians was an artist, Domenica Chiocchetti, he was given the task of transforming two Nissen huts into a chapel.

# data[].attributes.body
monoprint digital manipulation

# data[].attributes.body
salvaged materials from shipwrecks and construction sites were used in the work.

# data[].attributes.body
I have been exploring the creative act in the midst of imprisonment. The Italian Chapel is a striking example of this.

# data[].attributes.body
Her poem Caged Bird, led me to explore the concept of cages.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

# data[].attributes.body
Inspired by found kebab stick on shoreline ,used linen thread to make initial wooden sample. Instability as sample enlarged caused knotting to be modified and glue added for strength. Pointed ends of kebab stick left - added to drawing of inner space

# data[].attributes.body
The work reflects the conversation I had with Chiocetti. Around my own home, as on Orkney are many relics of WW2. The images are photographs of the cage set within the bleak architecture of old look out posts. They explore facets of confinement within a landscape that paradoxically is wild, free and spacious.

# data[].attributes.body
I have some ambiguous feelings about using this work to demonstrate LO2 as that asks for proficiency in process and sample. Whilst the filming of this sample provided me with a diverse and quite strong imagery and had come from a new way of exploratory drawing for me I was left with more questions to explore and try to resolve around whether multiple forms would have been a stronger way ahead and also whether I had fully resolved the fragility of materials with needing to site the work in a wild and windy landscape. However I hope that these questions show I have just paused at this moment in a process to review and need to learn and move on with this work in another iteration.

# data[].attributes.body
This work taught me a great deal about how difficult it is to achieve simplicity at a larger scale. I am still undecided about whether I should have gone down the route of making multiple smaller forms and joining them together . It was a concern about joining or displaying them in a landscape that is always windy that pushed me to make the form I did. Interesting to consider whether context and display can subvert a making process ? However in terms of feedback it is clear some people thought about issues of imprisonment by seeing the work

# data[].attributes.headline
Ongoing exploration of Orkney and the landscape

# data[].attributes.subject
Ongoing exploration of Orkney and the landscape

# data[].attributes.body
The paintings and drawings made on my visit to Orkney exploring explosion and the dangerous tidal waters that surround Orkney

# data[].attributes.body
Several iterations flowed from the original painting, including fragmenting it into 9 parts. This enabled closer examination of mark making .

# data[].attributes.headline
painting again onto handwoven linen cloth

# data[].attributes.subject
painting again onto handwoven linen cloth

# data[].attributes.body
As the image refers back to the sinking of the Royal Oak there seemed little congruence in making a "complete" image

# data[].attributes.headline
A sample of cloth was painted and fragmented and as each became another landscape in its own right I added stitch to each piece

# data[].attributes.subject
A sample of cloth was painted and fragmented and as each became another landscape in its own right I added stitch to each piece

# data[].attributes.body
A 1 metre painting was created and cut up, stitch added and fragments sewn along lines of fishing wire. These were arranged and rearranged to form an installation. It is the only work which was hung within my own home. See below for discussion of this.

# data[].attributes.headline
Finally the image was digitally manipulated to provide an  image for the presentation.

# data[].attributes.subject
Finally the image was digitally manipulated to provide an  image for the presentation.

# data[].attributes.body
can I walk through this work ?
it looks as though I am peering into someone else's story
light and dark again
love the idea of stitch being added
if you are giving Joshua one of the fragments have you thought about a massive sending out of the pieces as starting points for other work, a mass collaboration ?