LinkedIn: Written Post and Joining Groups

I have made my first ever post as a linkedin user! I decided to write about the perception of self and reason for being in terms of what we strive to achieve in life, which was inspired by a talk given by Eleanor Snare about the Japanese 'ikigai' theory at the sustainability symposium I went to last week. 
Surprisingly I really enjoyed writing and publishing this post. It felt like writing a really academic and relevant version of a Facebook status...sort of? Anyway, this has made me think a little more about starting my own blog, talking about current issues and how they relate to illustration. Just food for thought, but if I get a good response this might give me a push to actually start writing on a regular basis. You can read it here if you are interested!

In relation to joining groups, I have only been accepted by one so far which is 'scientific illustration and animation for the research scientist', not just because this was the example group that John showed us, but because I have a genuine interest in medical illustration. I have also requested to join the following groups:

Love Arts Conversation

I'd seen the 'LoveArts' festival being advertised with fliers around college and thought it would be a great thing for me to go along to. I had a few problems booking a ticket because they had sold out online which I was gutted about, but I was able to get a last minute pass through emailing and asking very nicely! 

When emailing Tom, one of the organisers, I told him a bit more about what I do and what I'm interested in and requested if there were any voluntary opportunities that I could get involved with. This was kind of scary because I'm normally too afraid of sounding rude, but if you don't ask you don't get or know. Luckily Tom was really pleased about my enthusiasm and agreed to meet me and talk about potential opportunities.

Festival Itinerary:

• Explore what 'I AM' means to you in a fun and creative way
• Learn about the best practice in arts and mental health work
• Explore current issues in arts and mental health work
• Discover the benefits of creativity on our mental health and well being
• Be inspired! 

There was a choice between 3 different talks to attend, and it was really difficult to choose. I decided on 'I am one of many', and 'I am the walrus'.

I AM ONE OF MANY

Exploring the potential of social change through the arts.

What kind of things affect out mental health and need to change in our society? Who needs to be involved to make changes happen? What do you think are the big challenges? What can arts and culture do? How can we support eachother? 

What needs to change? (work in threes and write ideas down on a post it note)

• There needs to be more access to third sector organisations
• People need to be more informed about understanding mental health
• Wider sense of community to encourage people to talk

Speakers: 

Leanne Buchan-Principle officer for culture and sport

"Culture is not for me": activity testing us on what we perceive as being 'cultured'. E.g. 'Raise your hand if you've been to the ballet in the last 7 days', 'raise your hand if you've bought clothes in the last 7 days', the point being is that we are all cultured.

Culture doesn't exist in isolation.

Paul Barker- Space 2 Project Manager

http://www.space2.org.uk/

Space2's mission statement is 'creating healthy communities and thriving young people through arts and creativity'.

Paul spoke super quickly so I didn't get a change to write everything down that he spoke about. He did speak about Socially transformative uses of art and creativity including recent research projects. One example includes 'Mural Arts Philadelphia'- A public arts programme dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. Through the collaboration of artists and communities, large scale artworks are 'created to transform public spaces and individual lives'. https://www.muralarts.org/about/

Solutions: How do we bring about change?

(Group discussions and reflections)

The Chronosystem Diagram

• Raise awareness on a local level - get people to share experiences - policy change - raise awareness on a bigger level
• Evidence service users and how their contributions influence a healthy culture
• Collect more evidence - good mental health is something that concerns EVERYONE - more real stories in the media - wear our labels more openly - teach children about online and offline behaviour
• Generosity should be a core ethos. Bureaucracy puts us off doing things, lowers any values and hazes opportunities to get involved.
• Self worth - outside the influence - how the world sees you - how you see yourself
• Teaching of creative arts: emphasise finding a voice rather than a correct answer
• Funding - information sourcing - getting the word out - catalogue of places - paths you could undertake

Summary of I AM ONE OF MANY:

• Continue conversations about culture
• Identify problems, be part of the solution
• Create, collaborate and take up shared responsibility

I AM THE WALRUS

Survival strategies for being an artist

We wouldn't do it if we didn't love it, but like most jobs, being an artist can be difficult. It can involve rejection, long hours, no or little money, precarity and a lack of infrastructure. Even the 'good guys' can end up taking the piss without realising. You might have plenty of time to sit, ponder and panic, or you might have no time for yourself at all. All of this can take a toll on our mental health. But there are things that help and people that help. This session is about identifying some of the challenges we face as artists and just as human beings, actually, and coming up with some strategies to overcome them. We aim to end the day just a little more resilient.

Speaker Ellie Harrison's top tips as an artist:

• Put your underwear on
• Behaving like Courtney Love isn't sustainable
• Be generous
• Politely ask 'how you'd like it to be' with clients, i.e. 'it would be really helpful if you could help with this'
• You aren't a superhero, work out what to say no to.

Speaker Sarah Francis: Aire Place Studios:

Artist, Sarah Francis spoke about how has set up an eco-friendly artists studio and gallery space as a place for creativity where you can get support and a sense of community. She conducted the project over two years on very little funding, and is becoming very successful. This is somewhere I could see myself working!

Group Discussion: How do we look after ourselves as artists?

• Accept where you are, keep continuing to move forward
• Time/selfishness in the frame that you are trying to achieve, so it's not necessarily a bad thing saying no
• Subconscious/mundane allows you to develop ideas. Breaks are good. Therapeutic things help your thought process. Inspiration has to come from somewhere.
• Find a good balance between work and leisure
• Schedule at least one hour per week for 'golden time', i.e. doing whatever you want to do

Summarised Group Discussions

• Use eachother
• Support networks both inside and outside of the art world
• Encouraging mentoring
• Having other interests
• Planning time to create work thoughtfully and carefully
• Feeling strong about something, go for it and put all of your energy into it
• Freelance club for admin days

SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE DAY

Today's conference was one of those events where you come out of it feeling absolutely exhausted because you have learnt so much and met so many interesting people. It was great to share ideas with like minded individuals on creative approaches to combating mental health stigmas through the arts and developing communities. This is an area that I am really interested in exploring further within my practice, and will be sure to keep actively engaged in now from the brilliant experience I have had today.

I definitely feel a lot more confident going to events like these completely on my own and just going up to people and asking them what they do. This has already opened up opportunities and insights into things I could get involved with that would really benefit my creative career. For example I spoke to a lady called Gerri Moritary who is an independent arts consultant in Manchester, who gave me some brilliant advice on freelancing and how to manage yourself and finances and 'to say yes to everything!'. Gerri was just one of many people that I spoke to, but I came away with a page full of email addresses and websites of organisations and freelancers specialising in community arts and mental wellbeing, which could create plenty of opportunities to get involved with!

• http://www.space2.org.uk/
• http://www.inkwellarts.org.uk/contact/
• http://www.artsandmindsnetwork.org.uk/
• http://leedsculturestrategy.org/2016/01/26/a-new-approach-to-a-new-leeds-culture-strategy/

Symposium: Expanding Communities of Sustainable Practice

Today I had the chance to attend a symposium held at college about sustainable practice. The whole day was extremely interesting and informative about the steps I want to take in my creative career, and how myself and thousands of other creatives can contribute to developing a sustainable future on a global scale. Admittedly, I wasn't really aware of sustainability before today, and had no idea how quickly our planet is deteriorating, which is so worrying and upsetting.

I was fascinated by the talk from Steve Connor who is the head of ethical advertising company Creative Concern, who were 'born out of the belief that communications can change the world. I really admired what their values and what they care about; things that actually matter as opposed to feeding consumer culture.

I have written a more lengthy and detailed post about today on my COP blog, but in conclusion I have reconsidered my purpose and responsibility as a creative in terms of being mindfully sustainable within my own practice and how I can contribute my ideas and collaborate with others to make the planet a better place to live. Maybe this is my calling, illustrate and be a creative thinker for ethical causes? Who knows, but it something to think about! 

Volunteer Work

Looking through my skills and experience, the voluntary section is a bit of a grey area. The only voluntary experience I have is being a campfire assistant at Leeds Festival 3 years ago...so I figured that this needs updating!

I came across a website called Doing Good Leeds where you are able to search for voluntary opportunities that may come up, and I registered my details. I'd be really interested in any voluntary vacancies within creative arts, for example art workshops in local community centres/hospitals/galleries etc. This would enable me to develop my teaching skills in potentially a more challenging and rewarding role. I also created a profile with Volunteer Centre Leeds via Volunteer Connect, so organisations will be able to get a concentrated summary of my interests and experiences.

Here are some screen shots of the application process:

What next?

I have applied for a voluntary opportunity at the Hepworth in Wakefield, which sounds great! The training day is next Saturday, so if I am successful I will hopefully hear back within the next week.

I might look at other voluntary organisations in Leeds, or enquire directly to different centres.

LinkedIn

I have just set up my LinkedIn page, yay!

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ellie-chappell-a2ab0512b

I'm not so sure how appropriate my profile picture is of me and my birthday caterpillar cake is,but it will do for now as no other decent pictures exist of me on the internet. And I guess it's more exciting than a bog standard selfie?

Summary: I decided to keep the same summary that I devised towards the end of second year; 'An outgoing,versatile illustrator with a passion for creating visual solutions to practical problems', because I believe that sums up my interests as a creative in a broad sense. This may change as my practice develops, or becomes more specialised in time.

Skills: I listed the following as my skills which are appropriate to my creative practice and involvement with my skills that aren't directly related to my illustrative practice which include being a 'Welcome@' mentor (like a buddy to new students) and teaching in my ambassador role.

So I suppose I'll get cracking and try and make some contacts that could help me progress in my creative career. I will also try and post the current projects that I am working on, on a regular basis to increase my following.

Career Track Tuesday: Routes Into Teaching

Yesterday I went along to the routes into teaching talk, just to gain a bit more knowledge on teaching as a potential career.

Why become a teacher?

• Every child can succeed in something
• Get the point across in many ways as possible
• Share passion with a generation

Attributes of a good teacher

• Confidence
• Approachable
• Respectable
• Honest
• Good organisation
• Knowledge of how to communicate
• Clear boundaries

Six steps to teaching

• GCSE English and Maths (Science for primary)
• Honours degree at 2:2
• Passing the skills tests and gaining a place on the Initial Teacher Training course
• Passing the ITT course and gaining qualified teacher status
• Starting a teaching job
• A successful induction period

Teach First

Jenny Scanall came to talk to us about her teacher training experience with teach first, which is a sort of intensive 2 year programme that is full speed ahead. It is two years long giving you the opportunity to gain PGCE, QTS as well as the chance to complete a masters in education. The first year is the leadership development programme, where you are thrown in at the deep end with your name on the door with a class full of pupils, and the second year is the NQT year to prove that you can teach efficiently.

Pros:

• It's free
• Prestigious
• Qualifications are recognised internationally
• Creates so many career opportunities

Cons:

• It is totally full on and exhausting
• You don't get to choose your own placements

Summary

We talked over other aspects of teaching such as the starting salaries, funding, impact on emotional and physical wellbeing and the overall job satisfaction. It made me realise that I'm not currently in a position where I feel ready to go into teaching on a sort of full time basis. I wasn't planning on being a full time teacher anyway, but going through all the training procedures isn't something that I'm ready for as of now. It is definitely something that I will come back to in the future though, and in the mean time I will continue to assist with teaching workshops between studies.

Who am I?

Who are you now-has anything changed your view of your practice?

Right now I'd say I'm in a good place; I'm feeling excited about the year ahead and I'm ready to embrace all the opportunities that may become available to me that could shape my future creative career. I've proved a lot to myself in the last year both personally and in terms of my practice, facing challenges that I never thought I could accomplish. 
To me, and I'm sure this applies to many others, my creative ability is heavily intertwined with how I'm feeling in myself and what is happening in my surrounding environment. In the last 12 months, the experience of recovering from the most difficult struggles I've ever had with my mental health has honestly changed my perspective on life and the way I think about literally everything. I really don't mean to throw that around like such a blasé term, but when you look back and see how much you have blossomed in confidence, how you approach every day situations, how you interact with others, how you see the world it really is astonishing. 

My new years resolution for 2016 was to "say yes to everything", and this approach pushed me outside of my comfort zone in many aspects and wasn't the easiest mantra at times, yet it bought me so many opportunities. Outside of college I've flown to America on my own, learnt and taught children how to survive in the woods and even run a half marathon, which I never thought I'd be able to do in my wildest dreams! With my practice I've partaken in really exciting briefs, collaborating with others, taken on responsible roles such as putting myself forward for student rep, had the opportunity to be part of a large-scale public art project and many other brilliant things that have made me prove to myself that my level of determination has helped me to realise that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to. Even simple things have been valuable, like making the effort to interact with my peers in the studio more instead of feeling immediately threatened and comparing myself with their style of work which has made a huge difference in the way that I apply myself to a variety of situations.

This wasn't meant to be a huge long cheesy essay because a lot of the things I have written about above certainly aren't easy to talk about, but my recent experiences have shaped who I am now, and given me a much more positive insight and approach to my future aspirations within illustration specifically and the creative industry as a whole. 

What are your plans for the structure of your future practice-Collaboration: Individual : Full employment: Other?

The prospect of leaving the comfortable studio bubble is somewhat daunting, but also really exciting. I've figured that I work best when I'm given a brief to work on in an environment with other creative people doing similar or the same kind of thing. Working off my own back on more self-directed projects would initially make me feel pretty uneasy and confused, which wouldn't start me off in a positive direction career wise. As well, I definitely want to try and avoid working alone. I don't bode well being isolated!

After graduating, the ideal situation for me would be to work full or part time in a creative agency or design house as an illustrator. I am desperate to gain some experience within the industry as opposed to taking up my postgraduate study plans straight away as I have realised that this will be a more suitable option in a few years time.

The option as to what kind of illustration I want to specialise in is still a bit of a mystery. My practice is really quite broad and I have a lot of different interests; the prospect of narrowing down my interests feels more restrictive to me at this point in time as I am still experimenting in different areas. For example, my interest in illustration to do with health and wellbeing is a hop, skip and a jump away from my pattern work. I know that it will become more evident as my extended practice develops as to where I will end up, but for now I feel most confident having a relatively fluid approach to what kind of briefs interest me and the skill set I have to complete them to a high standard.

In relation to 'Other', teaching has always been in the back of my mind as a potential career path. I have heavily stated in previous blog posts that I don't want to teach a-level art as a fresh graduate with no life experience, because I won't have fulfilled my creative ambitions if I go down that path too early on in life. Plus I think A-level art is complete bullshit anyway. Because I have more tendencies of an extrovert it is vital that I have some sort of human interaction within my career, as I've mentioned above that I will go crazy if I have no-one to talk to! As well, I have a huge interest in people and the psychology behind different types of behaviour, personality traits, decision making etc which has made me develop an interest in becoming an Art Therapist, although I have realised that I need a sufficient amount of life experience to be able to do this effectively.

Third Year Strategy

So apparently we didn't actually have to make a PPP presentation for when we came back last week? But I had already made one, so here it is!